hollywood's message to harvey weinstein, good-bye and good luck. in northern california, thousands more are evacuated as new fires break out, but a change in weather conditions may help firefighters get the fires under control. and is austria about to swing to the right? voting in the parliamentary election is now under way. it is all ahead here. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we're live in atlanta. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm cyril vanier. this is "cnn newsroom" from atlanta.

harvey weinstein's fall from grace continues. most the movie mogul has been kicked out of the most elite group, best known for hosting the oscars. the academy says the allegations against weinstein have caused him to lose the respect of his colleagues. >> weinstein has already been fired from his namesake company amid dozens of allegations of sexual assault, harassment and rape. he denied many of the allegations against him and hasn't acknowledged others, but said his behavior call caused of pain. >> he was one of the most powerful men in hollywood. >> now the academy hopes to send a message with his expulsion. brian stelter has more. >> reporter: the harvey weinstein scandal has been profoundly embarrassing, not just for the weinstein company, but also for hollywood at large. on saturday, we saw the representatives of the hollywood elite make a bold statement, expelling harvey weinstein. the academy is made up of

thousands of hollywood workers, both stars, but also behind the scenes workers, producers, et cetera, et cetera. the board of governors, a group of 54 representatives of all of those different parts of the industry met on saturday to make this decision. the board includes huge household names like steven spielberg, whoopi goldberg, a lot of behind the scenes people, representing makeup artists, casting directors, producers, executives, et cetera. the academy's rules require a two-third vote of the board to expel harvey weinstein, something never done in association with a scandal like this before. and according to the academy, there was well in excess of the two-thirds needed to make the decision. here is a portion of what the academy said in a statement. it explained the decision by saying this was meant to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace

harassment in our industry is over. that is striking to me, it is acknowledging there are very embarrassing episodes in hollywood's past. this sexually predatory behavior that is alleged by harvey weinstein has also been something known in the history of hollywood. this is something that dates back to the dawn of the movie age. but you can feel that the culture is changing in the united states. that sexual harassment and assault, that these kinds of allegations are being taken more seriously and the women who come forward to make them are being respected, being supported, in a way that wasn't even true ten years ago. so the academy trying to be on the right side of history at this point. and after this decision, hours later, we still haven't heard a word from harvey weinstein. brian stelter, cnn, new york. >> let's get an insider's perspective on this. with us is sandra minetti, he's based in los angeles, the british equivalent of the

oscars, and sandra was telling me the first organization to expel harvey weinstein, pretty much like the motion academy pictures just did. your reaction, sandro. >> it is a great day for hollywood. the abominable showman that is harvey weinstein has been cut down by the very organization that he courted so successfully over more than two decades. his films responsible for around 80 oscar wins, and now he's been expelled from the academy. more than that, it is an important decision which sends a message that hollywood no longer is going to put up with sexual harassment. >> is there any hypocrisy in today's decision, i asked the question based on the argument we heard a lot over the last few days, his behavior was an open secret within hollywood, within the industry, and there must have been people not just in his company, but throughout the

industry, that must have known about his behavior. >> it was an open secret but what other decision could they take. imagine if they decided not to suspend harvey weinstein. there would have been condemnations from women's rights groups and decided that the time was right, yes, hollywood has put up with this long enough. and the academy, they sit in judgment of professional excellence. they never sat before in judgment of professional behavior. but someone's got to take a stand and it might as well be them who does it because the casting couch has been around since the days of silent movies. it is time to throw it in the garbage and hopefully this decision is the first step towards that long overdue step. >> it is interesting, i want to seize on something you said, you say they never sat in judgment of behavior outside of the actual field -- the professional field of cinema. but they have been faced with

scandals before, mel gibson, most famously, most notoriously of roman polanski in the '70s who fled the u.s. to avoid the legal consequences. is this a sign of the times? >> bill cosby is a member of the academy. but until the decision, the only person ever publicly expelled by the academy was carmen caride for the offense of piracy of his dvds. not the same league. before it is about breaking the rules of the academy. and it is actually very difficult when you look at the bylaws to get expelled from the academy. you need over two-thirds of the board of governors to make that decision. 54 members of the board of governors. they met on the 7th floor of the academy office in beverly hills. my understanding is far more

than two-thirds were in favor of kicking out harvey weinstein. finally they decided to take a moral stand rather than a professional one and draw a line in the sand. i think all of this knew this was an open secret, saying about time. harvey wants a second chance. no. they told him go away, and don't come back. >> just finally give us a sense of what the talk of the town is like, in hollywood. i'm sure everybody is talking about it. what did people say? >> everyone is sharing their harvey weinstein stories and their own personal experiences. very sadly, every single actress i know has been a victim of sexual harassment in some shape or form. hollywood is just sitting up and realizing that this is just the tip of the iceberg and hopefully the punishment meted out to harvey weinstein will make other predators think twice and that's got to be a good thing because out of this horrible circumstance, hopefully some

good can come and it is about time. hollywood has woken up to its guilty little secret. >> sandro, thank you very much. i'll remember that. i'll take that away with me. every actress you know has been the victim of some kind of sexually predatory behavior. thank you for coming on the show. another story we're following, flames from a new wildfire forces thousands more people to leave their homes in northern california. the fast moving inferno started spreading across the state last sunday. 39 people are dead. more than 200 others are missing. >> some neighborhoods have been reduce ed to ash and twisted metal. wildfires consumed more than 86,000 hectares, 214,000 acres. and officials are warning that if new fires start, they too will spread quickly. >> california's governor has called these fires one of the greatest tragedies the state has ever faced. and even though firefighters are making progress, he warns california is not out of the

woods. >> i just -- we drove by the houses, hundreds of houses that were totally destroyed, and just brings home just what a horrible situation this is, but at a time like this, we all pulled together, and all the resources, the people, the police, the fire, elected officials, neighbors, volunteers, it is a real example of how america pulls together and how california is pulling together and all the local communities. so we're not out of the woods yet. still fires burning, still danger, people have to not come to the conclusion that they don't need to be on the alert. people need to move when they're told, they have to take it very seriously. this is just part of the dangers that we face in this kind of very dry weather with high winds. >> firefighters have been working around the clock for almost a week to contain these

fires and weather conditions haven't always been working in their favor. hopefully, however, that's now about to change. here's cnn's miguel marquez. >> reporter: very long hard week of trying to get a hold of this fire, this may be the last of it, the winds have come down and three fires here in sonoma have come together and you can see fire crews from the air and the ground are working this thing very hard. they have been doing it for the last eight or ten hours, just pouring buckets after bucket of water on these fires. this is over a winery on highway 12 in sonoma, down the middle of the valley. this is the sort of stuff they have been doing all day, moving into the hot spots like you have here, and then dumping those 300 gallon buckets of water on the fire, trying to keep it from spreading anymore. if the wind cooperates, they think it may from now forward, they believe they can get a hold of these fires.

and there goes that helicopter dumping that 300 gallons of water. if you look further south, you can see yet there is another fire down there, that's close to the town of sonoma. this is what firefighters are dealing with, these very big plumes, very big fires, dotted throughout this absolutely gorgeous area of california. but now the weather seems to be cooperating. the winds have come down. it is still warm, but not hot, that humidity is also very, very low, but there is rain in the forecast. miguel marquez, cnn, sonoma county, california. >> spelling it out there, firefighters on the front lines have been pushed to their limits, they're both physically and emotionally drained as one can understand. >> absolutely. hundreds of additional resources are being sent from other states to help them because of that. cnn's robin creel brings us the story. >> reporter: a heart breaking image of battle weary

firefighters. these men are from the sebastapol fire department, getting a brief reprieve from the fight against the deadly blaze. here, they get much needed rest after spending 16 hours on the front line in napa valley. there are similar scenes across northern california as firefighters try to stop one of the worst wildfires in california's history. this firehouse in santa rosa burned to the ground sunday night, for the people who work here, no time to grieve, they were on the front line elsewhere, battling the fire. with their fire station gone and no time to head home, they share a meal on the front lawn of a family. the kids in the picture live here, and the niece and nephew of one of the firefighters. what's even more disturbing for some of these first responders is what they're finding in remnants of burned homes. the remains of victims of the

blaze. >> some of these remains are actually in tact bodies, much easier to identify, much easier to get things from. some are merely ashes and bones. >> reporter: yet they go on, working endless hours. fred who took this photo of his colleagues have dinner wrote, we slept off and on, in engines, pickups, hose beds, et cetera. more long hours may be ahead. robin creel, cnn, atlanta. >> appreciate from that story what they're going through and the big question is, when will they get some rain to help out the firefighters and the families there? >> it is going to be the end of the week, thursday, friday, but that doesn't mean it is all doom and gloom because the winds have died down. that's the good news here. rain doesn't come until thursday, friday. let's get the details here. show you the graphics. we still have 16 million residents across california. and into nevada, still under a red flag warning.

but they are starting to shed away this morning. as we focus in on the northern sections of california, this just outside of the sacramento valley, towards the cascades, sierra nevada mountain range, this is the area that expires at 6:00 a.m. this morning as we focus toward southwestern california near ventura, los angeles, and into santa monica. this is the region where red flag warnings continue through the day, on sunday. so our critical fire danger really focus ed in on the greater los angeles region today. notice that northern and central california, thankfully, is not within that critical fire threat today. and the reason is because the winds have died down, so this is what mother nature really playing its part to help the firefighters there battle the blazes. we have a ridge of high pressure settled in, that means temperatures will be on the increase. it also means that winds for this area died down and as i mentioned before, rain really not in the forecast until thursday or friday, and that will be much needed rainfall for

that region. let's move to another part of the world, another major story we're following, hurricane ophelia, churning across the atlantic and it is equivalent to a category 3 hurricane, 185 kilometer per hour sustained winds, the storm has picked up speed as it travels in the general northeasterly direction. it will weaken, but extra tropical, fancy meteorologist cal term saying it is going to lose its tropical characteristics but pack a punch when it makes landfall monday and into the day on tuesday. for ireland, and into wales as well as parts of the rest of the uk. let's time this out for you. across the iberian peninsula, portugal and extreme northwestern spain, later today, tropical storm force winds. fast-forward into monday morning, we'll feel the outer effects of hurricane ophelia into southern ireland, into wales as well as scotland and into england. and midday monday, and the overnight period into tuesday morning, that's when the brunt of the storm will make its

presence known, not a major rainmaker for this area, because the storm is moving so quickly. bottom line, though, the threat is going forward, from hurricane ophelia, structural damage possible, especially along the coastal areas of ireland, electricity outages as well as trees and power lines down because of the strong winds that we're expecting. >> derrick, thank you. >> derek van dam from the cnn international weather center, thank you. after the break, the u.s. led coalition says isis may be close to losing raqqah. we'll see how much they still control. ahhhhhhhh! you know what's easy? building your website with godaddy. get your domain today and get a free trial of gocentral. build a better website in under an hour.

in iraq, two allies in the war against isis may be headed for a conflict of their own. >> tensions have been mounting in the region since the kurdish independence vote last month. kurdish officiales say iraqi paramilitaries warned of an attack if the kurds do not withdraw from a key junction. >> isis appear to be near defeat and raqqah says there are reports isis militants are trying to flee their de facto capital.

>> the collapse of the terror group has many residents celebrating, you see it right there, kurdish anti-isis group, the ypg, released this video, showing a woman cheering the aree arrival of ypg fighters, chanting their name. >> what is the latest on the ground in raqqah in terms of fighting and what is the plan for the evacuation of isis fighters? >> well, when it comes to the fighting, natalie what we're hearing from activists on the ground, they're saying intense fighting is continuing in those few neighborhoods that remain under the control of isis militants. the estimates that we're getting from the u.s.-led coalition and their partners on the ground, the syrian democratic forces, they say that about 15% of the city remains under isis control, that they have liberated as they call it 85% of the city. but to put things into perspective, it was about a

month ago that we heard that 80% of raqqah had been recaptured. so the u.s. led coalition is really not putting a timeline on this. they expect some intense fighting to continue, but on the other hand, we're hearing different reports from the groups fighting on the ground, expecting this to possibly come to an end in the coming days, perhaps. now, of course, there is also this is coming at the same time we heard about this agreement where the evacuation of isis militants announced yesterday by the u.s. led coalition who distanced themselves from this agreement saying that they were not a part of it, they're not involved in it, but it was brokered by the local raqqah an agreement between them and isis militants in the city. under the evacuation deal, they say aims to minimize civilian casualties, there have been reports of a staggering death toll of civilians during the months of the fighting, has been

taking place in raqqah, aiming to try and minimize that and that isis local firefighter fig ready to be evacuated yesterday. unclear at this point natalie if that convoy of isis local isis militants and civilians left, where they're going to be headed what the numbers are and what is the fate of the hard core foreign isis fighters who remain in those few neighborhoods possibly also using civilians as human shields. >> and as we watch that, what is next? what comes after raqqah? >> well, you know it does seem at this point that the recapture of the city of raqqah, the de facto capital of isis, seems to be imminent. that's a huge blow to the terror group, but at the same time, the fighting is not over. a lot of focus right now on eastern syria and that desert, oil rich province and also in

the iraqi syrian border region where a lot of militants have moved in months. there has been a race to recapture that part of the country, syrian regime backed by russian air power, and the other hand, you have the u.s. led coalition and that is expected to be a tough fight on both sides of the border, also in anbar province, in iraq, and those areas that are still under isis control. but, again, it would seem -- you're seeing city after city are collapsing, being recaptured by forces both in iraq and syria, so as u.s. officials would say, the days of isis as a group that controls territory are numbered. but that doesn't mean the end of isis this terror group, that is so lethal, that still possesses the capability to carry out attacks, not just in iraq and syria, but around the world. >> absolutely. all right, thank you.

coming up here, austria may not be an especially large country, but the results of sunday's general election there could send shock waves through europe's capitals. bannon's back. he's feistier than ever. who the former trump adviser is taking aim at now in a speech to conservative voters. stay with us. these days families want to be connected 24/7.

that's why at comcast we're continuing to make our services more reliable than ever. like technology that can update itself. an advanced fiber-network infrustructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most. hey, everyone. welcome back to the cnn newsroom. glad to have you with us. i'm cyril vanier. >> i'm natalie allen. here are the top stories at this hour. the academy voted to expel harvey weinstein.

more than two dozen women accused the producer of sexual misconduct including rape and harassment. weinstein, who is in a rehab facility right now, denies any nonconsensual sex. in raqqah, the syrian town that isis calls its capital, 85% of the city has been liberated and the remaining isis fighters are surrounded. coalition forces say there is a deal to help people escape the fighting. civilians will be able to leave in a convoy of dozens of buses. no one has claimed responsibility for a vehicle bomb that killed at least 20 people in the somali capital. mogadishu police have been tipped off about the explosives and were giving chase when it blew up. another bomb went off two kilometers away. european leaders are keeping a close eye on sunday's general election in austria. the results are expected to tip the country's government sharply to the right. the foreign minister is expected to become the new chancellor. his center right party has taken

a hard line against middle eastern refugees. official results won't be known until the end of the month, but the general outcome should be apparent fairly soon. atika shubert is live monitoring that for us. the polling stations have now opened. atika, before we get to the policies, the man himself, sebastian kurtz, the foreign affairs minister, he just turned 31, how did he get to where he is? >> reporter: you know, a lot of people wondering what they have been doing with their lives with the amount he's been able to achieve by the age of 31. but basically, you know, reportedly he first decided he wanted to get into politics at the age of 10, had taken over the youth wing of the people's party, which is sort of the center right conservative party here at the age of 24. and then he was -- became integration minister as well and became foreign minister by the age of 27. so he's had this meteoric rise.

part of the appeal is his youth. he's given this very fresh revamp to the party, not only has he physically changed it, the colors are different, it has gone from the color black to the color turquoise now. but he's changed the structure. it now feields a list of independent candidates. he's completely changed the party around and it really has shown in the polls. they're leading the polls and he's tipped to win the most votes and possibly become the world's youngest head of government. >> tell me about his politics. >> reporter: well, you know, it is interesting, he was integration minister. he had a lot of experience with the issue of immigration, which is really the top issue this election. so he pushed forward a lot of integration policies, which got kids learning german at very early ages, he sped up a citizenship process for those who passed language tests. but at the same time as foreign minister, this is where he really made his mark during the 2015 refugee crisis, he took the

unilateral decision to close oft a austria's borders. that stranded refugees in places like greece and the balkan route. it made him very popular with austrians who felt like the government was losing control over its own borders. he made his mark that way, and as a result, now, a lot of people are saying he's taken the country -- the party further to the right. >> all right. atika shubert reporting live from vienna, thank you very much. do you remember back in august, when steve bannon, the controversial senior adviser to president trump, was fired? at the time he promised to go to war. >> on saturday, he gave a conservative audience a taste of what he meant by that. cnn's ryan nobles reports. >> reporter: he was once one of president donald trump's closest advisers and one of the chief architects of his campaign. and on saturday, steve bannon was in washington, speaking to the values voters summit. he talked a lot about undoing the establishment grip on

washington. he even went after a prominent republican, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. evoking shakespeare in his conversation about taking mcconnell down. >> up on capitol hill, because i've been getting calls, it is like before the ides of march. the only question is, this is an analogy or metaphor, they're looking to find out who is going to be brutus to your julius caesar. the donors are not happy. they all left you. we cut your oxygen off, mitch. money is not courageous, but money is smart, okay. right now money is sitting there saying, hey, i see these folks, they're worked up, they're mad and mad for a reason. >> now, even though steve bannon and some supporters of president trump may not like mitch mcconnell, he still is very important if the president hopes to get anything done. and the president is still working on trying to repair his relationship with some republicans in the senate. on saturday, he was at his golf

course in northern virginia and was accompanied by south carolina senator lindsey graham. graham has taken opportunities to criticize the president when appropriate, but has also attempted to find ways to work with him. one area where they're continuing to hope to find some common ground is on health care. this after the president announced he was ending subsidies to insurance companies to help keep premiums down for low income americans. that could be one of the many important challenges that the president faces over the next several months, but with outside groups run by steve bannon and others that once worked in this white house, it is clear that that job is not going to be easy. ryan nobles, cnn, at the white house. and in our next hour here, i'll have an interview about steve bannon's quest. join us for that. u.s. adopted families told they're taking foefrn e ining o uganda, but they have biological parents waiting for them at home.

a cnn investigation is uncovering what could be a network that traffics in children. so you're looking for male customers, ages 25-54,

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welcome back. an exclusive cnn investigation is uncovering what appears to be a network trafficking children in uganda. mothers there think they are temporarily sending their children to be educated. >> instead, their kids are sold to adoptive families who think they're welcoming orphans in desperate need. randi kaye has part one of the cnn investigation "kids for sale." >> reporter: her name is namada, and this is her in ohio with her adoptive family. she was born here in a tiny village in yuganda, but in 2015

when she was 5, jessica and adam davis adopted her. they call her mada. the ohio couple already had four children of their own, but wanted to take in an orphan. in october, 2014, they got the call from their adoption agency, european adoption consultants. what did they tell you when they called you? >> we were told her father was deceased, that she was being severely neglected at home and her mother was leaving her open to abuse. >> couldn't provide an education, never had been in school. >> couldn't provide daily sustenance. >> they were saying this is a mother who does not want her child. >> reporter: it was made clear to you that mada's mother was relinquishing her. >> 100%, no question. no. not at all. >> reporter: in april, 2015, the davises flew to uganda to meet mada, their new daughter. >> she was in an orphanage, no

toys, bars on the windows. >> reporter: the orphanage was called god's mercy and was about four hours from mada's village. by september 2015, mada was in ohio, bonding with her new siblings. but after about six months as her english started to improve, she opened up to jessica davis about her life in uganda, and what she shared was alarming. mada told jessica her biological mom was a really good mom who loved her, she even detailed how her mother there would walk her to school every day. >> every single thing in that file and that we were told aside from the file she unraveled to be a lie. >> reporter: a lie? how could that be? jessica alerted the u.s. state department. what did you tell the state department? >> everything that she told me, everything was not true. and sounds like she has a mother out there that really loves her, and possibly a father. >> reporter: what were you

afraid you'd find? >> that we had somehow participated in taking a child from a loving family. >> reporter: their fears would be realized. jessica contacted an organization run by karen riley, who actually found mada's biological mother in uganda and arranged a video reunion. >> why are you so excited? >> i get to talk to my mom. >> how nice. are you happy? >> yeah. >> we are doing fine. how are you? >> good. >> reporter: in that moment, everything changed. the real story of why she was given up by her mother to this family in america was exposed. >> with that facetime call, she learned -- >> the true story. >> -- that her mother was tricked. >> reporter: tricked, the

davises say, because mada's mother was lied to, told the davises were simply sponsoring her daughter's education in america, not adopting her. and that, if you can believe it, was just the tip of the iceberg. because the davises have learned their experience is not unique. in fact, a cnn investigation has discovered that multiple families have been duped. it works like this. children are being taken from their homes, placed in orphans, even though they weren't orphans, and then sold for as much as $15,000 a child to unwitting american families. the promise of education with an ultimate return home all just a ruse. >> they will hone in on vulnerable families, usually single parents, widows, would you like an educational opportunity for your children? >> reporter: karen riley, an advocate for ugandan children and runs a group called reunite uganda says a villager makes a

sales pitch to mothers at a local church. mada's village was targeted. >> that's how it starts at the beginning. seven children went from a tiny village, the same village. >> reporter: this affidavit from the you ga ugandan government's investigation, has a statement from mada's mother. i had not realized i had gone through a process to take away my parental rights completely. she states clearly she thought mada was going to be educated and returned back to me. >> i don't want to see another mother go through this. >> reporter: a court says mada's referral form to the orphan is fraudulent. it says her mother is helpless. the reason given for referral, no care is provided by the mother. the referral form is dated october 21st, 2014, one week after the davises say they got the call that mada was available

for adoption. at the time of that call, the davises now believe mada wasn't an orphan at all, but still living at home with a mother who loved her. >> if our child had been taken from us, we would want our child back. >> reporter: so the davises did something remarkable. they filed paper work to have the adoption vacated. they would take mada back to her birth mother. did you have the state department's blessing? >> they were saying, you could just keep her if you want. i said to them, i didn't purchase her at walmart. >> reporter: one year after they brought mada home to ohio, this. >> what's today? >> i'm going home! >> are you excited? >> yeah. >> are you going to uganda? >> yes. >> what is the first thing you're going to do when you see your mom? >> hug her. >> is this a long flight or short flight? >> long. >> reporter: she finally arrived home to her village.

>> oh! >> reporter: in september, 2016, the ugandan government officially gave parental rights back to her biological mother. but jessica's story wasn't unique. and enter stacy wells. >> i wasn't in it to -- i don't know, to buy a child. i didn't need a child. >> reporter: stacy wells and her husband shawn already had two sons. but in 2016, they adopted 7-year-old viola from uganda. they worked with, you guessed it, the same company the davises used, european adoption consultants. they too paid around $15,000 to the company. they say that agency told them a story strikingly similar to namada's, but this time about viola. what did they tell you about her

mother? >> just she had abandoned the girls, that after the dad died, they told us she didn't feed them, that they were found sick, like, dying, basically. >> reporter: viola, it turns out, was taken to the same orphanage as mada's, god's mercy, but later at her new home in west virginia, as viola became fluent in english, the truth started to unfold. >> a lot of it was how she talked about her mother, her experience and her home just did not match the paper work. >> reporter: stacy, who spoke exclusively with cnn, also contacted reunite uganda to find viola's biological mother. karen riley told us viola's mom was also lied to by local traffickers, using the same false promise of education in america. she wasn't an orphan. she was made an orphan so you could adopt her. >> right, right. >> reporter: stacy traveled back to uganda in november, 2016, and

reunited viola with her mother. >> she was just running, and we get out, and her mother just embraces me. >> reporter: her adoption was a fraud, and stacy says it is all about money. >> they're getting the orphans because there is a dollar sign. a market has been created. >> reporter: a market for children with a pipeline, it appears, back to the united states, which is where european adoption consultants is headquartered and where we found the director of eac's africa adoption program. you helped organize the uganda adoptions? >> no, there are people in uganda that did it. >> reporter: were these mothers lied to? >> no. absolutely not. >> reporter: it is hard to say how many other families were misled or tricked, but we may have just scratched the surface. we have been told at least two other girls from uganda, actually viola's sisters, adopted by american families and so far those women have been unwilling to reunite the girls

with their mother in uganda. and regarding the orphanage where they were taken, the ugandan government told us it has been closed. they found they were operating illegally, processing guardianship orders fraudulently and, yes, trafficking children. we weren't able to reach anyone from the orphanage to ask about this since it is closed, meanwhile, the fbi and the state department have been investigating eac and its ties to this alleged trafficking scheme. last year the state department debarred and shut down the adoption agency for three years after finding that eac failed to adequately supervise its foreign country providers to ensure they didn't engage in the sale, abduction or trafficking of children. no charges have been filed against eac but the fbi told us the investigation is ongoing. back to you. >> we'll have the second part of the disturbing story in the next hour of cnn newsroom. we'll be right back.

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in solidarity with nfl players in the us us. >> this probably looks familiar to you, the berlin team linked arms and knelt on the field before their game on saturday. the team says they're calling for tolerance of diversity. >> u.s. football players have denounced social injustices by kneeling, sitting or locking arms during the national anthem before games, something which donald trump described as unpatriotic. >> a lot of americans agree, but looks like that protest style is being exported. u.s. citizens in puerto rico are struggling to survive a humanitarian crisis. drinking water is special scarce after hurricane maria devastated the island three weeks ago and now following a cnn report, a top u.s. congressman is asking federal officials to investigate potentially toxic drinking water in puerto rico. >> cnn discovered local authorities were distributing water from a hazardous waste site, we were reporting on this yesterday. consuming that water could have very serious health risks.

the local water authority says it did not know the site was contaminated until cnn alerted them. >> issues across the island, but in the capital city, san juan, there are signs of recovery. >> still, though, you don't have to go very far to find people who lost everything and who are not getting the help they need. here is cnn's nick valencia. >> reporter: he says welcome to his home. beneath the wreckage littered across his driveway is some of what's left of johnny dejesus' home, the scene is sobering. this is all that's left, he says. as we walk up the hill, the damage gets worse. here is the washing machine right here. he says his dog, he rode out the storm with his dog here, that's all he has left. says this is where he sleeps right here and the dog sleeps

right there. the dog has a better bed. alongside his dog, he smiles because he says it is better than crying. he does a lot of that too. he can't believe he's not dead. he's certain he should be. this is where he was, he says, if his bedroom when the hurricane passed through. he said he just had a little transmitter radio listening to what was going on. and when he heard the governor say those that are in wooden homes like this, they're going to die, he said this was just shaking and shaking he said thi shaking and shaking and shaking, and the way it is now, it is uneven, it picked it eed it up, storm physically picked up his floor and that's why it is uneven here. what do you think when you see all of this? it hurts him a lot, he says.

he's not a man of money. for 50 of his 59 years, this has been his home, his sanctuary. today, there are only its broken pieces, left to remind him of what he built and what hurricane maria mercilessly took away from him. without insurance, he says, it is unlikely he will rebuild. but he has truko. for now, that's enough for dejesus. nick valencia, cnn, puerto rico. >> that man and his dog have spunk. we wish them well. that's our news for this hour. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm cyril vanier. don't go anywhere. we'll be back with another hour of "cnn newsroom" right after this short break. stay with us.

hollywood elite have their say about harvey weinstein. he's been expelled from the powerful group that presents the academy awards. the rising death toll and more evacuations. is there any relief in sight for the thousands dealing with the wildfires in northern california? and in the battle for raqqah, u.s. led coalition forces say they are eroding the isis stronghold in syria. thanks for joining us, everyone. pleasure to have you with us. i'm cyril vanier. >> i'm natalie allen. it is 5:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast. we would like to say, it is primetime somewhere in the world. "cnn newsroom" starts right now.