hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the united states and right around the word. i'm isa soares in london. just ahead right here on "cnn newsroom." breaking overnight, the actor alec baldwin accidentally shoots two people with a prop firearm on a movie set, killing one of them. new details this morning about what investigators found in a florida nature park while searching for brian laundrie. and as nicaragua soon heads to the polls for election, the

critics and opposition leaders are being thrown to jail. i speak to one of nicaragua's silenced voices. >> announcer: live from london, this is "cnn newsroom." with isa soares. hello, everyone. it is friday, october 22nd, and we begin with breaking news overnight in the united states. police say actor alec baldwin was holding a prop gun on the set of his upcoming movie "rust" when it discharged, killing the film cinematographer and injuring the director. an investigation is currently underway. cnn's sarah sidner has all the details for you. >> reporter: a real tragedy unfolding on a movie set in new mexico. we are told by the sheriff's department in santa fe county that their investigators say it appears that a scene was being filmed in this new movie called "rust." and in that scene there was a

prop firearm that was being used, and that firearm was discharged. and two people were suddenly hit with some kind of projectile coming out of what was supposed to be a prop. now, we have learned that the two people who were hit are the director of the film, 48 years old, taken to the hospital, and 42-year-old director of photography. her name, hemina hutch inches. she died from her injuries. a shock to everyone there on set, and to the rest of the community. the filming community. what we also know is that the person holding the firearm and in the scene was producer and well-known actor alec baldwin. alec baldwin there on the set helping to produce this new film called "rust" which is a western that is sort of based in the 1880s, and as you might imagine, you know, there would be shootouts that are often filmed

in westerns. and we see photos of him that appear to show him extremely distraught on the set after this happened. we know that he and many others were excited about being able to go back to work and be therein person with a whole big crew doing the job that they love. but now one person has died and another injured, two integral people to this film. and the investigation is currently active and underway, but so far no charges have been filed in this case. back to you. >> thanks very much, sarah sidner. of course, we'll have much more on that story in roughly 50 minutes or so on early start. now i want to stay in the united states. there's been a major development in the gabby petito case. the manhunt for her fiancee brian laundrie has officially come to an end. questions still remain surrounding the time line of his disappearance. cnn's leyla santiago has more for you. >> reporter: tonight the fbi has

confirmed that skeletal remains found in the carlton reserve are those of brian laundrie. the fbi confirming in a tweet a comparison of dental x-rays confirm the reserve and the environmental park wednesday are those of brian laundrie. >> certainly the clothing, you know, that was there as well is consistent with what we believe he was wearing. >> reporter: the laundries were informed this evening when police visited the house. their attorney putting out a statement on their behalf saying, chris and roberta laundrie have been informed that the remains found yesterday in the reserve are, indeed, brian's. we have no further comment at this time and we ask that you respect the laundries' privacy at this time. investigators continue to process items found near the remains, items believed to belong to brian laundrie, including a backpack and a notebook. >> the notebook, to my understanding, has not been opened, you know. that will need to be processed.

we want to make sure that that's handled as carefully as possible. >> reporter: also today north port police pushing back on the account the laundries' attorney gave to cnn wednesday night about how quickly brian disappeared. >> let the record be clear. the laundries reported brian did not come home the night he went out for the hike. i actually reported that to the fbi personally. on friday, the 17th, the fish fib called me. we didn't call them, they called me and said, we have a tip that brian was seen in tampa and we want to see if he's in the house. on friday when the fbi came to the laundrie residence, we then said, yes, we will fill out a missing person's report. and that got twisted as though the family waited until friday to report him missing, which is not how it happened. >> reporter: today north port spokesperson josh taylor telling cnn, that's not true.

>> if we had that information, there's a million things we would have done differently. i mean, you can look at our actions. very publicly that don't coincide with that information at all. >> reporter: for example, he says, north port police chief todd garrison publicly called out the laundrie attorney on twitter wednesday september 15th sig saying, the police need your help in finding gabby petito. please call us to arrange a conversation with brian laundrie. two people left on a trip and one person returned. >> we received no response. i mean, i think most people found it appropriate to get a response saying he was missing. that didn't happen. >> reporter: as to why he thinks the lawyer is saying this now? >> well, he's protecting his clients. >> reporter: and the attorney for the petito family saying in a statement, in part, they are grieving the loss of their beautiful daughter. gabby's family will make a statement at the appropriate time and when they are

emotionally ready. leyla santiago, cnn, north port, florida. now, there is new optimism from joe biden this morning that he can get his infrastructure bill and sweeping social spending plan through congress. at a cnn town hall, the u.s. president mentioned that a number of his proposals could be cutback or scrapped altogether. but he says he's confident lawmakers can find a way to pay for the package without increasing corporate tax rates as originally planned. mr. biden also hinted that he's willing to look at possible changes into a u.s. senate main stay, the filibuster. >> are you saying once you get this current agenda passed on spending and social programs, that you would be open to fundamentally altering the filibuster, doing away with it? >> well, that remains to be seen. exactly what that means in terms of fundamentally. whether or not we just end the

filibuster straight up. there are certain things that are just sacred rights. one is a sacred obligation that we're never going to renege on a debt. we're the only nation in the world. we have never, ever reneged on a single debt. >> but when it comes to voting rights -- >> voting rights particularly is consequential. >> just so i'm clear, though, you would entertain the notion of doing away with the filibuster on that one issue, is that correct? >> maybe more. >> and maybe other issues? >> so, how exactly would it change in the filibuster work? cnn's chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins is traveling with the president. >> reporter: well, president biden made a significant amount of news in this cnn town hall in baltimore. perhaps most symbolically on the filibuster, saying that there could come a point where they have to fundamentally alter it, though, of course, they do not have the 60-vote threshold in the senate that has prevented the president and democrats from getting some of their biggest priorities through, including, of course, voting rights legislation, something that

republicans have blocked three times in this congress. and the president saying that could be a reason to alter the filibuster, and potentially other reasons as well. but saying right now he does not think is the time because he would lose potentially up to three votes on, of course, the sweeping economic package that he is currently negotiating with democrats. but saying that that time could come. of course, the president does not have a vote when it comes to changing the filibuster. but given he is a senate institutionalist, it is a significant step for the president to be open to changing it. it remains to be seen how those on capitol hill respond to that, but it did come tonight as the president got into several details of the negotiations that are underway with democrats. revealing positions that those two moderate holdouts, senator manchin and senator sinema have that they themselves did not reveal in public. the president seemed to concede that paid leave is not going to be 12 weeks as he had initially proposed but will be down to four weeks. he talked about some of the climate provisions potentially

changing. also confirmed community college, two free years he had promised, and touted several times on the campaign trail are not likely going to make it in here. he also said that senator sinema is opposed to expanding those medicare benefits on the level that you see people like senator bernie sanders push for. so certainly some big alterations could happen to this bill from that initial proposal, and from we've even seen this week as democrats do figure out a new way to pay for it. one other front where the president made news is he said he should have closed, in his words, more widely when he talked about the justice department potential prosecutions of those like steve bannon, former president trump's ally, who defied those january 6 congressional subpoenas. the president saying he will not call the attorney general and tell him who he should prosecute, though he did note he answered that question honestly. kaitlan collins, cnn, traveling with the president in baltimore. well, the u.s. attorney jen is not revealing what the justice department will do after the u.s. house voted to call

steve bannon, an ally of president trump, in contempt. they will investigate the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. thursday's vote marks a major escalation in how far lawmakers are willing to go to punish people who refuse to cooperate. take a listen. >> do not believe for one moment that if we fail to hold steve bannon accountable that he will be the exception. he will become the rule, not a rule of law, but the misrule of men. either we are all equal before the law or none of us is. this is the essence of our democracy. >> well, the justice department will now have to decide whether to prosecute, if bannon is found guilty, punishment could result in a fine and up to a year behind bars. but the process rarely leads to jail time and could take years. now, the u.s. state department believes a new video showing a haitian gang leader is legitimate. a senior department official

spoke up to the gang leader, apparently threatening to kill his 17 hostages. they are americans and one canadian who were kidnapped while doing missionary work. matt rivers has the story for you. >> reporter: in a disturbing new development in this kidnapping case here in haiti, in a video posted to facebook on thursday afternoon, a video that cnn is choosing not to show nor to quote directly from, the leader of the mawozo gang, accused by authorities of carrying out the kidnapping, the leader of the gang said he is willing to kill the people he has kidnapped, and his fellow gang members, if his demands are not met. cnn has previously reported that the gang is demanding $1 million per person as a ransom, according to a source in haiti's security forces. that would bring the overall ransom amount the gang is asking for to $17 million. this video on facebook was taken at a funeral for some of these

gang members that the gang alleges were killed by haiti's police forces. now, a source in haiti security forces also tells us that the kidnappers have provided proof of life, proof that the kidnapping victims are still alive. that the security force believes is it credible. authorities do believe that all of the people that have been kidnapped are still alive. so that is an important development. and for the first time we heard from some family members of some of the people who were kidnapped when a statement was read in ohio which is where christian aid ministries, the group that these missionaries were here working for, is based. and in that statement it read n part, quote, god has given our loved ones the unique opportunity to live out our lord's command to love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you. so that's the families that are going through a very difficult time right now as they continue to await word on the negotiations that are ongoing. to try and free their loved ones.

matt rivers, cnn, port-au-prince, haiti. >> the dire warnings on climate change just keep coming. no country will be spared as temperatures rise. and tensions flare. why intelligence agency said this particular threat is a game changer. plus, booster shots are pacing new vaccinations in the united states. now americans have two more boosters to choose from. we'll have much more ahead for you when we return. you are watching "cnn newsroom." dayquil severe for you... and dailily vicks super c for me. vicks super c is a daily supplement to help energize and replenish your body with vitamin c and b vitamins. dayquil severe is a max strength medicine for cold and flu relief. it's the daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, power through your day, medicine. someone is feeling better. get your shoes. alright! try the new vicks convenience pack. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus.

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now, the west coast of the u.s. is about to be hit with multiple storms. but will it bring relief to the extreme drought, of course, in the region? let's turn to cnn meteorologist derek van dam. derek, good morning to you. >> isa, we have a wild weekend of weather unfolding across the western u.s. anywhere from seattle to san francisco, heavy rainfall with heavy mountain snows in the forecast. just look at this radar imagery, taking you into the future. you can see it lighting up like a christmas tree. of course, shades of white indicating the snowfall. with the coloring of oranges and yellows, that's the heavy rain that's moving on shore. we're going to be measuring snow

in feet for the higher elevations, and several inches of rain for the coastal areas. the other story that's going to unfold this weekend will be the strong winds. really culminating into sunday and monday along the coast line of washington, oregon, as well as central and northern california. we have the potential for winds in excess of 50 to 60 miles per hour. that will most certainly take down some tree limbs if not some smaller trees as well. this is all part of several atmospheric river events taking aim on the western u.s.. and this is going to just produce copious amounts of precipitation. heavy snowfall for the northern rockies, the cascades as well as the sierra nevada mountain range across central california. look at the snowfall totals there. 1 to 3 feet. rainfall totals for the lower elevations, san francisco northward, could potentially exceed half a foot of rain with locally higher amounts. so flash flooding certainly a possibility. national weather service recognizes that. they've hoisted flash flood watches across the region. now, you think this would be

good news for the ongoing drought over the western u.s. 100% of the state of california under drought conditions. with copious amounts of precipitation, perhaps it's just a little bit too much too quick, and that could lead, of course, to the potential of flash flooding and local mudslides as well. think about the burn scars that are left over from the wildfire season over this particular area. those are flash flood watches. we have storm watches for the sierra nevada range. it will be tricking driving conditions to say the least. rain for san francisco right through tuesday of next week. isa, back to you. >> thank you very much, derek. have a look at this. you're looking right now at a human chain in india trying to rescue people stuck in a flooded shop. at least 200 people are dead after torrential rains and flooding hit northern india as well as nepal. crops are destroyed. bridges and homes collapsed and washed away by massive landslides. it comes amid an unusual monsoon

season that experts blame, of course, on climate change. well, a new round of dire warnings about our warming planet. they come from the biden administration with the headline, climate change will be far reaching and create problems for every country. four major reports were released on thursday that really examine current and future threats to the united states. just days before the big u.n. climate summit in scotland, president biden is trying to bring ironclad commitment to the conference, but keeps running into domestic opposition. cnn's chief climate correspondent bill weir explains. >> reporter: the first acknowledgment that climate change is a so-called threat multiplier came from the u.s. naval war college over 30 years ago. but now for the first time ever, all 18 elements of the u.s. security apparatus have put out a consensus report saying this will be a game changer when it comes to national security. at the top of their concerns is migration. climate migration. what happens if the 80 million

people in the nile delta run out of airable land and freshwater and have to go is north into europe? what happens when the glaciers in the himalayas stop providing enough freshwater for both pakistan and india? here in charleston, south carolina, it's so real they're planning for a billion dollar seawall, and they're completely rezoning this historic city to deal with the realities. but the politics in washington continue to whistle past this graveyard. joe biden's build back better plan would spend about $350 billion a year including a big carrot and stick program for big utilities to move away from planet-cooking fuels and into renewable resources like solar and wind. but senators like joe manchin say that's too expensive. in the meantime, they approved a $750 billion a year budget for the pentagon, 10 billion more than they asked for going forward there. of course, all of this comes as we count down the days to cop-26. that is the conference of parties who signed onto the

paris agreement. that's happening in glasgow where all nations are expected to come with even more ambitious promises than they made a few years back. but so far joe biden's ambitions are falling short in the halls of congress. bill weir, cnn, charleston, south carolina. well, leaders from around the world will head to scotland soon for cop-26. russia's president won't be among them. the kremlin announced this week that vladimir putin sitting this one out, although russia will participate in the summit. the decision is just one of the dramatic developments and puzzling foreign policy moves coming out of moscow. cnn's sam kiley is there for more. good morning to you, sam. i mean, given what we've just outlined there, what is putin's strategy here? i mean, he doesn't seem to be making many friends. >> reporter: well, no, but making friends is not really what vladimir putin has been all about for the last ten, 15 years. his troops, of course, illegally

occupying east ukraine, have illegally annexed the crimean peninsula. he has troops in georgia. all of this in response, though, from the russian perspective to moves by nato to encourage countries like ukraine and georgia to think that one day they might join the north atlantic treaty organization, an organization that lloyd austin, secretary of the u.s. defense secretary, again on a recent tour to both of those countries, reiterated his view that russia is perceived as a danger and a threat to its neighbors. so in that context, vladimir putin is flexing his muscles, playing a bit hard to get, getting a bit of extra attention by not appearing at cop-26. we're all talking about his non-appearance. we're not talking about him if he were going. and similarly with the g20 saying he's not going to go to that appearance either. meanwhile at home, isa, the covid pandemic is beginning to spin not quite out of control, but certainly out of control of

the moscow authorities and indeed the national government. with vladimir putin signing a decree just a couple days ago to enforce a week long national holiday at the end of this month to try to get -- try to break the cycle of infections that are now seeing daily death tolls of over a thousand, and climbing every day, isa. >> very quickly, i mean, how much of this is a distraction, sam, from exactly what is happening at home? >> reporter: well, i think it's a distraction in terms of the international community who are always slightly on the back foot having to kind of respond to vladimir putin's initiatives. at home, though, given the extent to which he's muzzled the local press and been able to essentially dilute any effective opposition with the jailing of navalny, the leading opposition figure here, vladimir putin is able really to side step a lot of these very serious domestic

issues whilst occasionally focusing attention stexternally which clearly he's doing with cop-26. >> sam kiley. thanks, sam. after the break, two more vaccines given the green light for booster shots in the united states. we'll explain what that means for millions of americans. plus. >> join me after the break in london where i'll be giving you the latest health updates on the queen.

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welcome to "cnn newsroom." i'm isa soares. if you're just joining us, let

me bring up up to date with our top stories at this hour. alec baldwin discharged a prop gun, killed the prop person and injured the director. remains found at carlton reserve belong to brian laundrie. he disappeared days after gabby petito was reported missing. now, the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention has officially signed off on moderna and johnson & johnson vaccines as booster shots. the agency also endorsed using booster interchangeably a so-called mix and matcha approach authorized by the u.s. food and drug administration. and that means any of the three approved boosters can be given regardless of the initial vaccine, and the fda vaccine advisory board spoke to cnn after the decision. take a listen. >> i think they were the right decisions. basically what they're saying is if you're over 65, you'll clearly benefit from a booster dose independent of which vaccine you've gotten. if you're between 50 and 64 and you have the kind of medical

condition that puts you at high risk of severe covid, then you, too, likely benefit from a booster dose. for the most part, young healthy people are protected against severe disease. what's been amazing about these vaccines whether it's moderna or pfizer or johnson & johnson, protection from severe disease has held up for all age groups, it's held up for delta. for those two groups i just mentioned, a booster dose clearly would be of value. >> while u.s. cases have been on the decline, new infections and deaths have been rising sharply across europe in recent weeks. a look at this uk report in more than $52,000 case on thursday, a level not seen since last july. the prime minister boris johnson is rejecting calls for new restrictions. italy's new green pass to prove vaccination or testing status is getting a lot of pushback on the streets. protests planned for this weekend were abruptly canceled at the very last minute because of potential violence. the fear, of course, is the protests may still happen.

and in australia, the city of melbourne has finally reopened ending one of the world's longest covid lockdowns. angus watson is standing by for us in sydney. first, i want to begin this hour in rome. there is rising opposition to the green pass. you and i have spoken about this before. we have seen violent protests. who exactly is behind this protest? who is leading this? >> reporter: well, you know, this is one week after the green pass mandate has been in effect, and there is still a lot of tension about this. this protest in the port town was organized by people who work in that port. and they have had great support all across the country. they canceled this protest. they are expecting about 20,000 people at the last minute, 12 hours before. a lot of people would have been en route to go there already, but they said to the people who were supporting them to instead stay in their town. in rome they've asked people to gather here, even though the official police said there is no authorized protest.

so a lot of people are wondering where they should protest to support the port people, to demonstrate against the green pass. and we are expecting to see a lot of confusion about where these people will gather all across italy. there were about 25 cities that have now been asked to protest at home. so we're going to see what happens as the day progresses. but there is a lot of concern by authorities here that things could get a little hot later on today. isa? >> do keep us posted on the developments there. in rome this hour, thank you very much. i want to go over to get more on the lockdown in melbourne, the covid lockdown in melbourne from angus watson. angus, there's been a day of celebration from those in melbourne, no doubt, from what has been the longest lockdown. covid cases are still stubbornly high. what is the strategy here from the government? >> reporter: that's right, isa. the strategy here is vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. people are confident to get out now and celebrate, as you say, because the vaccination rates

have gotten higher and higher in the capital melbourne, the state capital of viktoria. now in viktoria, we're seeing 70% of adults at the age of 16 fully vaccinated against covid-19. 90% of the adult population has had one shot. so that's given the government the scope to start relaxing some of these restrictions. and as you say, isa, melbourne has been particularly affected by lockdowns as the pandemic has gone on. one of the most lockdown places in the world. it's a cultural capital, however, for australia, restaurant capital, and they are some of the things people can go out and start enjoying again on what was a beautiful day down there in melbourne. here's what some people had to say. >> visiting family and friends is just fantastic. it's been such a long time since we've been able to do that. >> i've been sort of separated from what i do for so long, it's super nice to be back to that.

and it's a sunny day, so it's happy. >> reporter: now, more good news for people in melbourne today. the state premiere of viktoria daniel andrews announced as of the first of november, it would order open its international border through melbourne airport. melbourne joining sydney in welcoming australians, residents and their families across the world back into melbourne without having to quarantine. that's if they are double-dose vaccinated. but, isa, wait. here seeing this strange situation here in australia where the more vaccinated states of new south wales, viktoria, the australian capital are open to each other, and the world, the less vaccinated states queens and west australia, south australia, want to hang on a little bit longer to see if they can give their populations a chance to catch up on those vaccination rates. so if you're in sydney next month, you'll be able to travel to london, but you won't be able

to travel to perth, isa. >> angus watson for us in sydney, australia. thank you, angus. good to see you. the new zealand prime minister said covid restrictions will be lifted only when 90% of the eligible population is vaccinated. once each district hits that target, then a new traffic light system will come into effect that uses vaccination certificates. so far only 68% of the country's eligible population is fully vaccinated. this comes, of course, as the larger city auckland enters its 12th week of lockdown. cases continue to climb with the new daily record of nearly 130 cases reported on friday. well, here in uk, queen elizabeth is back at windsor castle and in good spirits after spending a night in hospital. buckingham palace says the 95-year-old returned home thursday afternoon after undergoing preliminary investigations on wednesday. cnn's salma joins us live. it is easy to forget that the queen is 95, because she does so much, doesn't she?

>> reporter: absolutely, isa. just looking at the official record, she had 16 events in just the month of october. she's also expected to be in glasgow in a few weeks' time to cover cop-26. she is absolutely a busy woman. and we found out about this hospital stay after the fact the news sort of broke yesterday after there were some leaks that forced the palace's hand. and here's what we know so far. the queen did stay overnight in the hospital on wednesday for preliminary investigations according to palace officials. she returned to windsor palace on thursday at lunchtime and is said to be in good spirits. palace officials say she even was at her desk on thursday for some light work duties, and that coming up they will be balancing, of course, her need forest and time as well as her very busy and demanding schedule and her need as well to fulfill there. so already cop-26 is where she is expected next so you're going to be taking this into account

in the future. i just want to give you a little story here, isa, that i read today, an anecdote from earlier this week that tells you exactly where the queen's spirit lies. there was a magazine, local magazine, that wanted to award her oldie of the year award. she rejected it firmly. and in a statement from her palace essentially said, the queen believes you are only as old as you feel. and she does not feel she's adequate for this title. it gives you a sense that even at 95 years old, this is a queen that is going, going, going. she's been head of state for nearly seven decades here. it is someone that generations of people across this country have expected to see on a very regular basis, isa. >> and good on her, salma, for rejecting oldie of the year. let me ask you this. in terms of engagements coming up, have we been told by windsor castle whether she's reducing those engagements? do we know any more? >> reporter: well, we're going to still -- we're still waiting

to find out more from palace officials. her schedule is set in terms of cop-26 glasgow. that is a date that is coming up and the queen is expected still to be there. but there is an expectation that potentially there might be more of a balancing act in the future, but you have to remember, the queen wants and needs to be at these events. this is something that she very much desires doing. again, 16 events just in the month of october. of course, northern ireland, that was a trip that was scheduled for the day that she ended up going to hospital. instead she said she reluctantly accepted that visa corresponding to palace officials. so, yes, there is an expectation there might be more balance, but we're waiting to find out more, isa. >> she's such a role model, isn't she? salma with the latest there. salma, good to see you. now, nicaragua's government goes after more political opponents as the presidential election gets close. now the family of one jailed former diplomat says they're afraid for his life. we have that story coming up. plus, eu leaders have fresh

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now, leaders of the european union are meeting in brussels at this hour and two disputes with poland are expected top the agenda. they say the treaty blocks the very foundation and poland's treatment of refugees also isn't letting them in. and some accuse border guards really of pushing them back into belarus. cnn's fred pleitgen has been following this and joins me on set. there is so much we can get into. let's start first on where europe stands with this working situation at the border. we have heard from your reporting throughout the week that the eu believes lukashenko is orchestrating this. from that side, what can the eu

do leer? >> that's really the big question. it's one of the things when you hear about the criticism that many have of poland, the eu always couches that and says, look, we believe lukashenko is very much at fault in all of this because he's the one, they say, who is manufacturing all this. he's the one who is essentially telling people to come there and then pushing, literally pushing them across the border. we've talked to refugees who said they were driven to the border by belarusian border guards who then cut the barbed wire fence for them and pushed them across. now, the poles are obviously saying this isn't going to happen here. what they did do is they declared the area around their border into an emergency zone, and that means no press is allowed inside. that means no ngos are allowed inside and they have been accused of a lot of these ngos who are operating outside of that zone of simply taking people who do make it across and pushing them back. that, of course, is something that meets with a lot of criticism. >> you and i were talking a couple days ago actually while i was getting my makeup done, in fact, about sanctions and

airlines being involved. did that have teeth? >> that could have teeth. essentially, it's a really fundamental question actually for the european union because the poles are saying we're not letting anyone across our border. we're not only going to build the barbed wire, we're going to build a wall as well. when the rest of the eu has wall, they're not happy about that at all. what they did, the german foreign minister, that's where they end up realistically. we need to sanction the airlines that fly people into belarus, knowingly fly them to belarus. if you have a route, for instance, of a middle eastern airline that flies, say, from beruit to gradano in belarus, that's not exactly a touristic center. they're saying, look, they know these people are going to try and get across the border. they know these are not students that are going to stay in belarus. eu is saying airlines are benefiting from this, and those airlines need to feel some teeth as you say, from the european union. >> poland, very quickly, has been blamed for being very heavy

handed here. >> exactly. the poles, really they make no excuses for it. they say that's the line they're going to continue. >> fred pleitgen, thanks very much. now syria has carried out the death penalty of those setting last year's wildfires which killed three people and scorched thousands of acres of land. the ministry of justice said three people were executed on wednesday after being convicted on terrorism charges. the government says they all had made full confessions. nearly a dozen others received life sentences with hard labor. now, nicaragua is stepping up its crackdown on political opponents ahead of next month's presidential election. two prominent businessmen were put behind bars thursday including michael healey who is seen in this picture. police say the other businessman is alvaro vargas. they joined 37 others locked up since may and they include seven presidential hopefuls and a foreign minister. the children in the u.s. told me they are afraid they may never see their father again.

was denied permission to leave the country and my passport was retained. those were the last words francisco exchanged with his children george and roberto in the united states on july 27th. words that shook them to their core. >> they took my father out of the car and that's the last time my mom saw him until, you know, a month later when he was in jail in managua in federal prison. >> that's the last time they saw him as a free man. a doting grandfather with a love for life. ♪ but also a d.c. man at heart. now at 77, the former nicaraguan foreign minister and ambassador to the u.s. remains behind bars in a notorious prison for allegedly committing acts of conspiracy and treason.

under a law passed last year empowering the governmenter daniel ortega to lock up opposing voiced as traitors to the nation. [ speaking foreign language ] charges that george and roberto, of the hit series "riverdale," say it is baseless. >> nothing concrete has been said to anyone who is working with my father on our father's case. so it's -- >> i have in my hand the government's report on what they say is the evidence against francisco. now, i can't show you it because my source could face reprisals. i can tell you this. there is no real evidence here. what it does indicate is he's been arrested simply for speaking his mind. for instance, the government cites as evidence online videos where francisco describes u.s. saf sanctions against the ortega regime as extraordinary and important. >> it's outrageous what's

happening, you know, in the united states' backyard, as we like to say about central america. our father sadly was caught up in those -- in that machinery. >> this very machinery has according to human rights watch arrested 37 opposition leaders and critics since may. many of whom, says the watch dog group, are facing human rights violations and abuses. the state department says nicaragua's presidential election next month has lost all credibility. and while the eu and the u.s. have already imposed sanction, latin american expert christoffer sabbatini said the biden administration can and should do more. >> if the u.s. cannot act on this egregious case of human rights abuses within its own sphere of influence, it really sends a very strong signal not just in nicaragua, not just in cuba and venezuela, but to other aspiring autocrats throughout the hemisphere and globally. >> for george and roberto it isn't political, it's personal. >> i think my biggest fear is

one day we're going to get a phone call from someone in nicaragua that says that our father died in jail. >> so here we are speaking up for those that don't have a voice right now, hoping that our efforts afford us the opportunity to see him again. >> and cnn has asked for comment from nicaragua's public ministry and ber we are still waiting tor back. we'll have morore news aftea short break. stayay right here. including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant s spray. lysol. what it takeses to prote. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the inging. my skin was no longer mine.

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there is fresh trouble for the nba in china. fans are angry after some harsh criticism from the boston celtics player and called xi jinping a dictator and said people's rights and freedoms are nonexistent. you can see china's foreign ministry they are only looking for attention and his comments are not worth refuting. stay on top of that story for you. now, the atlanta braves are one win way from going to the world series if they can get past the los angeles dodgers. patrick snell has our highlights in our minute in sports for you.

>> isa, we start with major league baseball season where the reigning champs l.a. dodgers still have hope in their series with the atlanta braves. thursday night in the city of angels, the dodgers emphatic 11-2 win, chris sale hitting three home runs. the braves lead the series 3-2. they need just one win to advance to the world series. game six saturday right back here in atlanta. meantime, humiliating defeat for roma. the conference league breath taking goal for patrick berg, 6-1 victory over the norwegian team ensuring this is the first time that any jose morena team exceeded six. slumping to a 1-nil loss, the only goal of the match there. a 7-goal in prague, lucas paketa

scoring overnight after they trailed 2-nil, spot of 4-3. the final. with that, isa, it's right back to you this friday. >> thank you very much, patrick. now, ohio is proud of the wright brothers who designed their famous plane in dayton before their famous manned flight in 1903. have a look at this. how did they get this wrong? if you look close, you'll see ohio's new license plate show the birth place of aviation banner trailing out of the front of the brothers' plane. so a correction, and now that banner on the wright flyer is in the right spot. the embarrassment, though, didn't stop there. north carolina chimed in saying, leave ohio alone. they wouldn't know. they weren't there. north carolina, of course, was where that famous first flight took place in kitty hawk. thanks very much for joining, i'm isa soares. early start with christine romans and laura jarrett up next. they'll have more on the breaking news we brought you at the top of the hour, the deadly accidental shooting on the set

of alec baldwin's latest movie. do stausy with us on cnn. haveve a wonderful weekend. bye-bye.

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♪ a major revelation from president biden at cnn's town hall. what it means for voting rights and negotiations for his domestic agenda. and breaking overnight, one person is dead, another hurt after a prop gun was fired on a movie set by actor alec baldwin. a tragedy there in numerator invest. it is friday, october 22nd. happy friday. 5:00 a.m. in new york. thanks for getting an early start with us. i'm christine romans. >> i'm laura jarrett. welcome to our viewers in the

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