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Ballot Drop Boxes Set on Fire in Oregon and Washington; Bezos Defends Washing Post Not Endorsing a Candidate; Actor Jay Johnston Gets One Year in Prison for January 6 Actions; China Nears Completion of $300 Million Underground Neutrino Lab; L.A. Dodgers One Win Away From Becoming MLB Champions; Scammers Steal $390,000 in Cheddar From London Dairy Company. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 29, 2024 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[02:00:35]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Fears of further devastation for Gaza after Israel bans the main U.N. agency providing aid for Palestinians.

The Trump campaign races to contain the fallout from the racist rhetoric used at his Madison Square Garden rally.

And thousands hit the streets and the former Soviet republic of Georgia protesting an election they believe was stolen by the pro- Russian ruling party.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Where the head of the United Nations says Israel's ban on the main U.N. agency that delivers aid to Palestinians could have devastating consequences. Despite strong international pressure, Israeli lawmakers have banned the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA from operating in Israel. The agency is not barred from operating in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories but because it won't be permitted to transit through Israel.

Experts say it will be harder for UNRWA to work in Gaza and the West Bank. UNRWA supports nearly six million Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and other parts of the region. It provides food, education, medical services, even jobs. The head of the agency posted this on social media. This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human development assistance and services to Palestine refugees.

These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell. Our Jim Sciutto has more on the ban on UNRWA and the backlash.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: This move by the Israeli Knesset to prevent UNRWA, the main U.N. agency for providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza from operating inside Israel is receiving broad condemnation, not just from the U.N. but also from other countries around the world. The U.S. State Department spokesperson said this is a mistake. It's something that the U.S. opposes.

And he said, "there is nobody that can replace them, UNRWA right now, in terms of delivering crucial aid." We also heard from the foreign ministers of a number of countries, including Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom saying that UNRWA provides essential and lifesaving humanitarian aid. UNRWA itself says that this will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians.

It goes on to call this the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA. Where does that come from? Well, Israeli lawmakers in passing this new legislation have cited investigations that showed that some members, some workers for UNRWA participated in, or were alleged to have participated in the October 7th attacks. Now, UNRWA has said and even others involved in humanitarian work in Gaza, that this is a very small number of many thousands of people who work for UNRWA, and of course, they cite the ongoing humanitarian crisis there with shortages of food, basic medical care, and now the outbreak of disease.

In fact, the U.N. is saying that many people, particularly in the north of Gaza, are now in danger of dying because of that shortage. So, this move by the Knesset, though long debated, is getting quite immediate opposition and criticism from around the world.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Jerusalem.

CHURCH: A spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu, says the Israeli prime minister did not receive a two-day Gaza ceasefire and hostage release proposal following talks in Doha, adding that if a proposal had been raised, Netanyahu would have accepted it. Meantime, anti-government protesters called for a deal to free the remaining hostages. On Monday, a massive crowd took to the streets of Jerusalem, chanting as Israeli police forcefully removed some of them.

Alon Pinkas is a former Israeli consul general in New York and he joins me now live from Tel Aviv. Appreciate you being with us.

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAEL CONSULT GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Good morning, Rosemary.

[02:05:07]

CHURCH: So, let's start with this new effort to strike a Gaza cease fire and hostage deal after those talks were held in Doha. A spokesman for Israel's Prime Minister says Benjamin Netanyahu did not receive a proposal from those talks, adding that if he had, he would have accepted it. What is your response to that claim? PINKAS: I'd like to think that he's telling the truth. But, you know, our -- the past experience of the last year shows that he rarely does. Meaning that he reneges on plans that he already agreed to. He, you know, he goes back or backtracks on ideas that he already consented to. It's very strange that Egypt announces this at a very at a very formal level and does this publicly, and yet the prime minister's office said this didn't happen. We haven't seen anything.

It wasn't channeled to us properly or with the Prime Minister would have agreed had he seen it. It's very strange. What -- but if we look at it from a slightly broader perspective, Rosemary, he just does not have an interest in a -- in any deal right now before the American election a week from now and before it is clear who the next President of the United States is. Only then, maybe not, but only then, he will begin contemplating some kind of a ceasefire because for all intents and purposes, the war in Gaza is over. The fact that it is going on is purely for Mr. Netanyahu political purposes.

CHURCH: On Monday, large protests in Jerusalem called for a deal to be made to free those remaining hostages. Do you think Netanyahu has any intention of ever making a deal with Hamas to bring those hostages home?

PINKAS: No, only if he's forced to. And the only country that could have forced him into it was the U.S. and it did not do so. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying you can force another country to do something that easily, but the U.S. was the only one with enough or adequate leverage to affect a behavioral change on Mr. Netanyahu, and it did not exert that pressure. It did not use those levers power.

I do think, however, that since his focus -- his -- Mr. Netanyahu's focuses now on Lebanon, and to a larger extent, perhaps, on Iran. He would be willing to entertain some kind of an agreement in Gaza. The thing is, an agreement in Gaza, Rosemary, requires two things that he's unhappy with. On a ceasefire which he does not want because he did not achieve what he said so publicly and so many times.

"Total victory," or "eradicating Hamas." Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is a post-war Gaza political plan and framework that includes an international force based on an Arab force that includes the Palestinian Authority entering Gaza. He would not relent to that. He would not consent to that. So, you know, I gave you a lengthy response to a very simple question. No, I don't see him doing this anytime soon.

CHURCH: I did also want to ask you about the international backlash resulting from Israel's decision to ban the U.N. agency, UNRWA from entering the country in order to provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza. What is your reaction to this and what will be the consequences of such a decision?

PINKAS: Well, this comes, Rosemary on the tracks of Israel proclaiming or designating rather the secretary general of the U.N. Antonio Guterres, as a person on grata in Israel. The foreign minister of Israel, 10 days ago, announced that he's a persona non grata. And that's almost unheard of for a member state of the U.N. to do that to the U.N. Secretary General, irrespective of whatever criticism justified or not that Israel may have now.

As for UNWRA, that's been in the making for several months now. Israel's discontent with UNWRA is known fact that that certain members or several dozens of UNRWA workers collaborating with Hamas is a fact. The thing is, you're banning UNRWA from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank without any replacement, without any organization with similar or identical logistical capabilities to do what UNRWA is doing.

Now may need to be disbanded all together. I'm not getting into that, but the way to do that is to engage the U.N. and say, this is our problem. This -- these are our grievances.

[02:10:04]

This is the evidence that we have. Let's work on this together. Instead, what Israel is doing is a gung-ho, let's ban them and let's designate the Secretary General as persona non grata. I don't think that's constructive. I don't think that's going to work, and I think it's going to draw criticism because if UNRWA is not there, Rosemary, then Israel needs to do what UNRWA is doing and Israel does not want to do what is -- what UNRWA was doing. So, we're at another impasse in -- among several impasses here,

CHURCH: Alon Pinkas joining us from Tel Aviv. Many thanks for being with us.

PINKAS: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: At least 60 people were killed by Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon on Monday night. That is, according to the country's health ministry. They say it was one of the single deadliest attacks since Israel's war with Hezbollah ramped up last month. Earlier on Monday, Israeli strikes destroyed buildings in the southern port city of Tyre. Officials there say seven people were killed.

Israel's military says it bombed Hezbollah targets in Tyre and issued evacuation orders for several parts of the city.

The race for the White House is entering its final week with the nominees trying to snag every possible vote in the key battleground states that will determine who wins. Donald Trump returned to Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, promising to bring back the American dream before launching into a long list of false and mean-spirited remarks about Kamala Harris, accusing her of destroying the middle class and letting terrorists into the country.

The Republican presidential nominee also dismissed claims from Democrats and his own former chief of staff that he is a fascist and a Nazi.

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DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala is now doing something much worse than what she was talking about. The newest line from Kamala and her campaign is that everyone who isn't voting for her is a Nazi. I'm not a Nazi. I'm the opposite of a Nazi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, the U.S. Vice President spent her Monday in the key swing state of Michigan, speaking to union workers and young voters, Kamala Harris slammed Trump's anti-democratic messages and promised to protect reproductive freedoms.

Well, hanging over the entire race is an ugly episode that unfolded Sunday during a Trump rally at New York City's famous Madison Square Garden. The first speaker, a comedian, Drew backlash after calling the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Further insults were lobbed at Latinos, black men and other minorities. Amid the backlash, the Trump team said the remarks about Puerto Rico do not reflect the views of Trump or his campaign. But Harris disagrees, saying the vibe at that rally was vintage Trump.

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HARRIS: This is not new about him, by the way. What he did last night is not a discovery. It is just more of the same and maybe more vivid than usual. Donald Trump spends full time trying to have Americans point their finger at each other, bans the fuel of hate and division, and that's why people are exhausted with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Growing concerns within the Trump camp that the violent and vulgar language from Sunday's rally is overshadowing Trump's message. CNN's Danny Freeman has reaction from the crucial state of Pennsylvania which has a sizable Latino population.

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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President Harris's campaign wasted little time Monday morning.

EDDIE MORAN, MAYOR OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA: They did us a favor. They woke up. They woke up. They woke us up. They woke us up.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Assembling a host of Puerto Rican surrogates in Philadelphia.

QUETCY LOZADA, PHILADELPHIA COUNCILEMBER: I hope that people are as angry and they turn that anger into vote.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Pennsylvania has more than 480,000 residents of Puerto Rican descent, according to 2022 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, that's the most out of any of the battleground states. And the Philadelphia metro area is among the top regions, with Puerto Ricans outside of New York and Florida. Philadelphia City Council member and Harris supporter Cassie Lazada knew she had to speak up after last night.

LOZADA: I think that what folks don't realize is that Puerto Rican -- Puerto Ricans get angry. We turn into action mode very quickly. FREEMAN (voice-over): Around Philly's largely Puerto Rican fair Hill neighborhood, voters we spoke with had heard the comments.

FREEMAN (on camera): He's doesn't know what he's talking about. Puerto Rico's beautiful island.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Thirty-two-year-old Christian Hernandez is voting for the first time this year for Vice President Harris. The Trump rally remarks only solidified his vote.

FREEAMAN (on camera): You think Puerto Ricans heard those words from last night?

CHRISTIAN HERNANDEZ, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: Yes. For sure, a lot -- a lot of (INAUDIBLE) they're mad and disappointed.

[02:15:05]

FREEMAN (voice-over): Marcos Pagan didn't like the comments at all.

FREEAMAN (on camera): When you hear stuff like Puerto Rico is a floating island of garbage. What goes through your mind?

MARCOS PAGAN, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: To be honest, I feel disrespected because he doesn't know what we go through. You know, we've been through a lot.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But Marcos still is not sure who he's voting for.

FREEMAN (on camera): When you hear comments like that, does that change your perspective about who you might vote for?

PAGAN: No.

FREEMAN (on camera): That's not enough.

PAGAN: I (INAUDIBLE) see it to believe it. You know, everybody -- I actually find the words.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Fernando Santiago already cast his vote for former President Donald Trump. But now he and his whole family are mad about last night's remarks.

FREEMAN (on camera): What did you think about him calling Puerto Rico a floating island of trash?

FERNANDO SANTIAGO, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: This must stop because that's my island, you know, I don't want to -- I don't want any people talking like that, you know, this is not right.

JOSE VEGA, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

FREEMAN (on camera): You he's not going to go far because of this lack of respect towards Puerto Ricans?

JOSE VEGA, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Now, we did reach out to the Trump campaign here in Pennsylvania for comment for the story. They just pointed us to the statement they released back on Sunday evening, saying this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign. I will note, though, former President Trump is expected to be in the city of Allentown on Tuesday. Allentown has an enormous Latino population, specifically an enormous Puerto Rican population. So, we'll see if the former president addresses this controversy then.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Philadelphia.

CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics and the editor of a Return to Normalcy? The 2020 Election That Almost Broke America. He joins me now from Charlottesville. Good to have you with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA'S CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thank you so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Larry, just seven days to go to Election Day in America, and we are seeing significant backlash in the wake of Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden in New York Sunday where racist and vulgar remarks were made by Trump allies. One of them a so-called comedian calling Puerto Rico an island of garbage. He and other Trump allies also making vile comments about Latinos.

So, what impact will this likely have on Latino voters, particularly those in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and, of course, particularly men?

SABATO: Well, it would have even more impact if the news media would run what was actually said. Some of it is so obscene that it's been ruled out for television. But I think people should know it was pretty bad, pretty bad, and not just the so-called comedian, but also some other speakers who just went way beyond what's civil and normal for a political rally. I think this is hurting Trump.

Now it's easy enough to say, well, for nine years, he's been doing outrageous things, and nothing has made a difference. And all of that is true, and maybe it will prove true again. But we're in the last stage of this election. The final day of voting is November 5th. And by the way, millions of people are voting as we move along toward that day. I think we're close to 50 million people already having voted.

So, it accelerates as you get close to November 5th. Now, why would it matter? Because the Latino vote has become increasingly important and Puerto Ricans in particular are really important in Pennsylvania. The key swing state with several 100,000 Puerto Ricans who apparently have been turned off to the extreme by what they've heard about what occurred at the Trump rally. This could be the October surprise that the Harris campaign has been hoping for.

CHURCH: Interesting. And of course, you mentioned those early votes. It is extraordinary. You know it is edging up toward 50,000. I think last time we looked, it was around 45 million Americans having voted. But talk to us about whether this has changed in any way. We're seeing the deadlock. I mean, that's what we're reporting every single day. The two candidates are deadlocked.

Are there any indications, any signals, that that might change? And do you think that you mentioned a, you know that basically this could come back at Trump this rally, but we won't know that for a couple of days. But where do things stand right now?

SABATO: Well, where they stand is, it's still extremely close, and no one has broken through in any particular swing state of the seven that are really important to winning. For a while, Trump was inching up. In fact, I would say it was more like millimeters than inches, but it was making a difference over time. You could see the change. Well, that's more or less been halted, and there's some indication at least in this first day after that outrageous Madison Square Garden rally that Trump had.

[02:20:10]

That there may be some millimeters back in Harris' direction which is not unusual, by the way. In a close race in the last week, small events can be magnified. And I don't think this was a small event because it involved so many voters. So many Puerto Ricans, who are allowed to vote as long as they have established residency in one of the 50 states with the District of Columbia.

CHURCH: And Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance says he didn't see the jokes, but he still said that "We have to stop getting offended at every little thing." How will many undecided voters view these comments as well as what was said at the rally do you think?

SABATO: It's easy enough to tell other people not to be offended when you're not in the offended group, but it's obviously an excuse that J.D. Vance is using and hoping that people will just quickly forget about what happened. And maybe they will, because the next big event is Tuesday evening on the mall in Washington, when Kamala Harris gives her concluding speech, the biggest speech she has yet to give in the campaign right there on the mall.

Why would she pick the mall and in Washington? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that that's exactly where Donald Trump was on January 6, 2021 when he launched an effective coup d'etat trying to steal a presidential term and stop the peaceful transfer of power.

CHURCH: Larry Sabato, always a pleasure to get your assessment and analysis on all things political. Appreciate it.

SABATO: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Georgia's future hangs in the balance. Just ahead, we will go live to the country's capital for the latest on the fallout following Saturday's disputed parliamentary election.

And a series of fires in the Pacific Northwest targeting election drop boxes. We'll have details.

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CHURCH: The U.S. Defense Department believes North Korea has sent 10,000 of its troops to train in eastern Russia. Pentagon officials say some of those forces have already moved closer to Ukraine and may soon be used to support Russian forces on the Eastern Front Lines. U.S. President Joe Biden says North Korea's entry into the war is, "very dangerous." NATO, Secretary General says North Korean troops have already been deployed in Russia's Kursk Region.

Ukrainian forces have maintained a foothold there after their incursion in August, but are now facing increased pressure from Russian fighters who are working to reclaim the land.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is paying a surprise visit to Georgia just two days after the dispute of parliamentary elections there.

[02:25:05]

Orban, who's currently meeting with his Georgian counterpart was the first international leader to congratulate the ruling party on their victory, which the opposition claims is illegitimate. Thousands protested outside parliament on Monday following the outcome of Saturday's election and reports of voting irregularities. Meanwhile, Georgia's pro-Western President urged citizens to help save the country's "European future," as the country remains torn over keeping ties to Russia or joining the E.U.

And joining us now from the Georgian capital Tbilisi is Jill Dougherty. She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a former CNN Moscow bureau chief. Really good to have you with us, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, what is the significance of Viktor Orban visit to Tbilisi and his meeting with the Prime Minister despite other E.U. leaders voicing concerns about the Georgia elections?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I think it's important to note that he is here officially representing Hungary, since he's the Prime Minister and not the E.U. So that's, you know, kind of a definition that sets you up for this visit. But you're right, you know he is essentially espousing ideas that are very similar to the ideas that are espoused by the Georgian Dream party which is the government allied party. And the leader is similar to the leader here.

He's kind of the power behind the throne, but he is -- his last name is Ivanishvili. Bidzina Ivanishvili. And essentially what they are saying is that you can be a conservative Christian state and at the same time you can be pro-European. So, he kind of finds a middle way to define what European means. And the opposition here in Georgia would say, no, no, it's a lot harsher than that.

But they would say, you know, essentially, this is an illiberal type of leadership. There are elements of, you know, cracking down on the media, very conservative policies about LGBT issues, et cetera. So, I think, you know, here in Georgia, we have a lot of polling that shows that people support democracy and being part of the E.U. and that's all true, but I think it's very important to figure out what do people actually think?

How do they define what the E.U. is and what is democracy, Western style?

CHURCH: And Jill, we did see those protests Monday. What is likely to come next for the country do you think?

DOUGHERTY: Well, that is exactly the question, in fact, that a lot of people were telling me on the street last night. I said, why are you here? And you know, what do you think is going on? What are the next steps? And many people that I spoke to said they are not quite sure yet. You know, what can the opposition actually do? Number one was certainly getting people onto the streets and getting attention to that movement.

Bringing people together to see each other and to remind each other that there still is an opposition, and certainly get some support from the west. But then what happens? Well, the people who were elected from the opposition are saying they're probably not going to participate in Parliament, and then the President, as we all know, has been saying we are not going to represent to accept the results of the election. So, I think there's a lack of clarity about what where they go and what precisely they can do.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Jill Dougherty joining us there from Tbilisi. Appreciate it.

Iran has executed a German-Iranian national after his conviction on terrorism charges. Iranian state media says 69-year-old Jamshid Sharmahd who was also a longtime U.S. resident was executed Monday for, "planning and orchestrating a series of terrorist acts." Sharmahd's daughter had repeatedly said her father was innocent and faced a sham trial because of his political activism and criticism of the Islamic Republic. The U.S. and Germany are condemning Sharmahd's execution.

Well, a worrisome development amid early voting in the U.S. election. Ballot drop boxes are set on fire in Washington and Oregon. What investigators are saying that's straight ahead.

And for the first time, Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos speaks out about pulling the plug on the newspaper's presidential endorsement? Why he says it was the right thing to do? We'll explain on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

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[02:32:10]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Police in the Pacific Northwest are investigating fire set inside two ballot drop boxes. Authorities say incendiary devices were found attached to the side of the burning boxes. CNN's Sara Murray has more.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Officials say they've identified a suspect vehicle in a series of ballot drop box fires. Early on Monday morning, there was an incident with a ballot drop box set ablaze in Vancouver, Washington, another one in Portland, Oregon. Authorities also say there are indications there's a connection to an event that was earlier in October, also in Washington State. Now, Washington State is the home of a very competitive Congressional race. One of the candidates in that race, Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat, said I'm requesting an overnight law enforcement presence be posted at all ballot drop boxes in Clark County through Election Day. Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence.

Now, we don't yet have a motive from authorities on what's behind these ballot drop box blazes, but these drop boxes have really become a magnet for misinformation from the right conservatives, who have claimed there is widespread voter fraud even though there's no evidence to back that up.

And the Department of Homeland Security has warned that ballot drop boxes could be targets for violent domestic extremists. Again, we don't know the motivation behind this, but Washington and Oregon, both have predominantly vote by mail elections, and officials in those states are saying that ballots that have been impacted in Washington State, if you dropped your ballot off at this drop box over the weekend, they're saying you should check your ballot tracker online. You can get a new ballot if yours was the one of the ones destroyed.

In Portland, this only impacted a handful of ballots and officials say they're going to reach out to the people whose ballots were impacted. But obviously, a very worrisome development for authorities and election officials.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: While many of the ballots in Portland were unaffected, election officials say hundreds of ballots in Vancouver, Washington were destroyed by the fire. "Washington Post" owner Jeff Bezos is defending his decision not to allow the newspaper to endorse a candidate in the U.S. presidential race. In a rare op-ed published by the Post on Monday, Bezos said Presidential endorsements do nothing to change an election, writing no undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, I'm going with Newspaper A's endorsement, none. What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias of non-independents. Ending them is a principle decision and it is the right one.

The statement came hours after three members of the Post's editorial board resigned over Bezos's decision and thousands of readers, in fact, hundreds of thousands of readers canceled their subscriptions.

[02:35:00]

Actor Jay Johnston has been sentenced to a year in prison for his actions during the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Johnston best known for his roles in "Arrested Development" and "Bob's Burgers" was accused of joining a mob that day and filming the events on his phone. Court documents also say he briefly held a stolen police shield and helped push against police guarding an entrance to the Capitol building. Johnston pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder and was ordered to also pay $2,000 in restitution.

Well, in just a few months, a lab located hundreds of meters underground will attempt to solve one of the mysteries of our universe. We'll explain how when we come back.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. China is nearing completion on a $300 million physics research facility located nearly one kilometer underground. And in just a few months, the lab will be sealed off for the next 30 years as it runs experiments in hopes of understanding the fundamental laws of nature. CNN's Marc Stewart has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 700 meters underground, researchers in Southern China are busy solving a mystery, one that could lead to a scientific breakthrough. For a decade, these scientists have been constructing Juno, an underground observatory. With construction almost complete, they're ready to execute their plan to better understand neutrinos. These tiny sub- atomic particles are among the most abundant particles with mass in the universe, and they move at nearly the speed of light. Neutrinos are all around us, even passing through our bodies, and scientists need to know more about them.

WANG YIFANG, PROJECT MANAGER, JUNE: Goal of this facility to study properties of neutrinos. In particular the mass hierarchy of neutrino.

STEWART (voice-over): That is they want to study which types of neutrino are the heaviest and lightest. Juno's experiments also seek to solve multiple other mysteries, including why they change types while in flight.

CAO JUN, STANDING DEPUTY MANAGER, JUNO: So we don't know the answer yet. That's why we need the Juno experiment to measure the property of the neutrino and get the answer of the fundamental rules of our nature.

STEWART (voice-over): They'll measure neutrinos emitted by two nuclear plants located about 50 kilometers away. Knowing what makes up the fundamentals of neutrinos can open the door to learning more about the past and future of the universe, and discover the nature of matter and energy. China isn't the only country working to understand these tiny particles. Other countries are in the race to be the first to solve the enigma.

[02:40:00]

YIFANG: So the one in the U.S.; the one in Japan that's under construction; there's one in France under seawater, it is in the construction. There's one in South Pole in the planning. So, all of this trying to understand neutrino mass hierarchy.

STEWART (voice-over): In a few months, Juno will be sealed off for 30 years, running experiments and collecting data. And while it may take decades, Juno's team says they're confident they'll be the first to finish their research and solve the mysteries. If they come first, they could set the tone for what we know about the universe moving forward.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from becoming World Series Champions. Facing the Yankees in New York Monday night, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman tied a record with this home run in his fifth straight World Series game. That gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the game. They went on to win it 4-2. The next game is Tuesday night in New York. If they win that, the Dodgers will have their eighth World Series Title.

All right. Now, to a dairy disaster for a famed British company which says it was robbed of more than 20 tons of cheddar cheese.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE OLIVER, CELEBRITY CHEF: Hello, you gorgeous, lovely people. Now, you're going to think I'm joking, but I'm not. There has been a great cheese robbery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver posted to Instagram urging his followers to keep an eye out for the stolen goods, which he says cost Neal's Yard Dairy nearly $400,000. The London-based company sells top- quality British and Irish cheeses to stores and restaurants around the world. The company says it was approached by a fraudulent buyer posing as a legitimate distributor and only found out it had been scammed when it was too late. Police say no arrests have been made as of now.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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