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Greece's New Leader; Italy's Debt Crisis; Central Bangkok Flooding Fears; Rick Perry Gaffe; Apple Kills Flash

Aired November 10, 2011 - 08:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong.

And we begin in Greece. Lucas Papademos is the country's new prime minister, but can he sort out Greece's economic troubles?

Meanwhile, we will keep watching the situation in Turkey, where people are being pulled out of the rubble after a powerful tremor shakes the same region hit by an earthquake only weeks ago.

And we'll show you the moment Rick Perry's memory failed him, a moment he will probably never forget.

The Greek president's office confirmed just a short time ago that the country has a new interim prime minister. It's Lucas Papademos, and he's a former banker and was once the European Central Bank's vice president. And many considered him the front-runner to replace the country's outgoing prime minister, George Papandreou. Mr. Papandreou had said last Sunday that he would step aside on the condition that the new leader would implement the EU debt deal.

Now, we understand that the new unity government under Lucas Papademos could be sworn in as early as tomorrow, Friday.

Diana Magnay is standing by with the latest in Athens.

And Diana, he has a tough task ahead. He has to form a new interim government, call for national unity, get protesters on side. Is he up to the job?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's probably why it's been taking such a long time to try and get him to agree to taking on the job, but he is an economist of tremendous stature. If you look at his resume, he was a former vice president of the European Central Bank, he was the governor at the Bank of Greece throughout the period that Greece entered the eurozone in 2001. So he understands the economic situations back then, as well as he does now. Most recently, he's been professor of economics at Harvard, and he's been an adviser to George Papandreou throughout this protracted bailing out process.

So, if anyone is up to the job, certainly amongst the candidates who have been rumored to be part of the running over the last week, then it probably is him. And in response to that, the markets here in Athens this morning jumped on the rumors that he might be the new prime minister, and that is what people certainly in Europe hope. He has international standing -- OK, we're just going to listen to what he says.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

LUCAS PAPADEMOS, GREECE'S INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): -- the most efficient way. If there's unity, consensus, understanding, if we all we contribute to this difficult process (ph) of the adjustment of our recovery. And for this reason, it's especially important in this creation of the new government of wider cooperation so that to face the problems in the near future in the best possible way.

The new government is positional, it has concrete work to do which it should perform. And (INAUDIBLE) the implementation of the agreements of the summit of the eurozone countries on the 26th of October this year, as well as the implementation of the current policies which is linked --

MAGNAY: So, Kristie, as we heard there, he was really celebrating the fact that there is this unity government, and that it will have to implement the terms of the bailout agreed on October the 26th. That is, of course, what Europe has been looking to see, that whoever this national unity government is, actually gives a written undertaking to push through that bailout -- Kristie.

STOUT: Also curious to hear more other than the market reaction, just the general reaction there on the street in Greece. I mean, people there, they've been suffering with high unemployment, more austerity measures ahead. How are they taking in this news?

MAGNAY: Well, bear in mind that he is associated with the ECB as a former vice president there, and that is something that people in this country find very difficult to stomach. They hate the idea that with this new bailout, there are going to be foreign monitors posted in their ministries to make sure that Greece is doing what it's promised to do.

They hate the idea of Europe and the IMF and the EDB dictating terms to them. So there is that side of the story.

On the other hand, people want to see themselves get out of this mess. They wanted the government to unite and they wanted to see a figure of national unity. So I imagine that however much they dislike the process and the thought, prospect of what's to come, there's probably a recognition that he is the right man for the job.

STOUT: All right.

Diana Magnay, joining us live from Athens.

Thank you very much for that.

Now, Italy's prime minister could be out of office as soon as this weekend. Silvio Berlusconi has promised to resign after budget reforms are passed, and lawmakers are working to finish that up by Saturday.

Investors have been keeping a close eye on Rome. In addition to the political situation, they have been worried about the government's increased borrowing costs. But nerves eased ever so slightly on reports that the ECB, the European Central Bank, has stepped in to buy bonds, and an auction of one-year treasury bills met with solid demand.

Now, we have been talking about Europe's debt crisis for some time now, and here is why Italy matters.

It is Europe's biggest bond market. And it's important to the international financial system. Italy is also the fourth largest economy in Europe, so any damage would have huge ripple effects. And here's the problem.

According to Eurostat, Italy's debt stands at $2.6 trillion. That is nearly three times the debt of Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined.

So, Italy is both too big to fail, too big to bail out.

Let's bring in Nina Dos Santos from CNN in London.

And Nina, is Italy really too big to rescue?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, the obvious question at the moment, Kristie, is, with the kind of funds that we have in that eurozone bailout fund, I'm afraid it to say, it could be. But the point is, is that opinion is changing on this very quickly, and let me give you a bit of an indication as to what's going on in the yield on the Italian 10-year bonds, because this is obviously the cost of borrowing.

It's been skyrocketing, going above those kind of levels that we saw forced Greece, Ireland and also Portugal to enter bailout territory. But I do have some good news for you, because the Italian treasury did manage to sell about five billion euros worth of bonds just a couple of hours ago, and it managed to sell them at a lower yield. It managed to sell them at about 6 percent.

We saw the Italian 10-year go for 7 percent yesterday, well into the 7 percent, which is the danger zone. So things seem to be looking up.

Also, on the political front, it seems as though they may be able to eventually fast-track those economic reforms, pass them through the senate, the upper house of parliament, and then perhaps have an emergency vote on Saturday to ratify them. And that would send Italy on its way towards reining in its massive budget deficit to support the kind of borrowing that's gone out there on the market -- Kristie.

STOUT: Let's hope so.

Nina Dos Santos, joining us live from London.

Thank you for that.

Now, rescue crews are working to reach dozens of people trapped beneath the rubble in the aftermath of another large earthquake in eastern Turkey. Let's bring up some live pictures from the town of Van. It's near the epicenter of this latest quake, a 5.7 magnitude tremor.

And officials say at least seven people are dead, and some when two hotels collapsed. One hotel reportedly has journalists and Red Crescent workers.

Twenty-five people have been rescued so far, but more than 100 are buried under the debris of destroyed buildings. And a CNN partner station there in Turkey says two of its journalists are trapped. And Twitter messages indicate that they are still alive.

Now, the government says planes are being prepared to fly in rescuers and supplies, and the Ministry of Education says schools have been closed until December.

Earlier in the day, there was graphic evidence of the frantic efforts by rescuers to save lives. Now, here, a man is being pulled out of the rubble and put on a stretcher. He is apparently conscious, as you see crews here carrying him to a waiting ambulance.

And this video shows CPR being performed on another quake victim in the town of Van.

Officials say 25 buildings collapsed in Wednesday night's quake, but 22 of them were empty after that 7.2 magnitude quake hit the same area last month. More than 500 people died in that disaster and thousands were left homeless. And many are still living in tents in freezing conditions.

Now, Turkey is earthquake prone because of its seismic fault lines. In 1999, two strong quakes left some 20,000 people dead.

Coming up next here on NEWS STREAM, central Bangkok is not out of flooding danger yet, and we'll speak to the city's governor about the latest on efforts to deal with the crisis.

And students riot in support of a legendary coach fired over his handling of a child sex abuse scandal.

And some incredible pictures. This one, a surfer riding the biggest wave ever, and you'll see it later on, right here on NEWS STREAM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Now James Murdoch is being questioned by British lawmakers for a second time about phone hacking at the former tabloid the "News of the World." Now, Murdoch is the head of News International, the British arm of his father Rupert's News Corp empire. A parliamentary committee wants to know what and when he knew about the newspaper intercepting the calls and messages of public figures.

Our Atika Shubert has been following this scandal closely. She joins me now live from the houses of parliament in London.

And Atika, how is James Murdoch handling the questioning?

All right. It seems that we've lost our connection there with Atika Shubert in London. We'll try to reestablish that for you a little bit later here on the show.

Now, the death toll from Thailand's worst floods in some 50 years now stands at 533, as 24 provinces remain under water. In Bangkok, the garbage is piling up and floodwaters are continuing to move into the center of the city.

Uncertainty and mixed messages remain the norm when it comes to the situation in the capital. And according to "The Bangkok Post," Thailand's Irrigation Department says the capital could be dry in 11 days. But a far less optimistic report in "The Nation" newspaper quotes Bangkok's governor as saying, "The volume of water coming into the city is greater than that flowing out."

The floodwaters have made living and getting around in Bangkok difficult for many people for some time now. And Liz Neisloss shows us the daily hassles of just keeping dry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The new normal in central Bangkok. Maneuvering around sandbags is a small inconvenience as long as the heart of the city stays dry. These bags are a crucial line of defense against water that is now flowing into other parts of the city from inundated provinces to the north.

(on camera): This gush of brown floodwater represents only a fraction of the water coming from the north of Thailand and down toward Bangkok. The hope is that channels and pumps like this will direct the water into Bangkok's main Chao Phraya River, and then south into the sea.

(voice-over): Extra pumps donated by China and Japan help manage the delicate balance of moving the floodwater out as quickly as possible.

SERI SUPRATIT, WATER ENGINEER: The water upstream is higher than --

NEISLOSS: Engineer Seri Supratit began studying the path of Thailand's water long before the flooding began. An informal adviser to the government, he says there's no way to guarantee that this will be enough to save the heart of the city from flooding. He worries the future depends too much on these pumps.

SUPRATIT: Depending on how old, a pump cannot work. So, sometimes, some (INAUDIBLE). So that is a problem. That is the risk, is depending on the pumping.

NEISLOSS: And then there's the risk that garbage choke (ph) canals will stop the drainage, or that people fed up with living in flooding zones dismantle dikes to release water away from their home. But residents are doing all they can to cope in flooded areas of the city. Moving around in boats or waiting to transport is common.

For nearly a week, the steps of this subway station have been under water. Even the street dogs seek higher ground.

Some areas of the city have been evacuated, but many residents prefer to stay. And for a few, a flooded city underpass makes a fine swimming pool if you ignore the health risks.

But all around them, like some epic film, it's a battle to hold back the tide of floodwater threatening the city's core. The government says they won't know for more than a week whether their plan to save central Bangkok can prevail.

Liz Neisloss, CNN, Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now, Sukhumbhand Paribatra is the governor of Bangkok, and we have reached him live on the phone from the Thai capital.

And Governor, thank you very much for joining us again here on CNN.

The Irrigation Department says the capital could be dry in 11 days. Is that overly optimistic.

SUKHUMBHAND PARIBATRA, BANGKOK GOVERNOR: I'm neither an alarmist nor an optimist. I have always maintained that once water stops coming into Bangkok, we can drain Bangkok, or at least the main streets, within two weeks. We cannot make Bangkok -- every part of Bangkok -- dry in 11 days, but at the moment, the volume of water coming into Bangkok is still greater than the volume that we can take out of Bangkok.

So, at the moment, it's not relevant how long it will take to make Bangkok dry.

STOUT: Now, what you're telling me now directly counters what the Irrigation Department is saying. Why are there these conflicting messages? I mean, for a long time, many residents in Bangkok have complained.

PARIBATRA: Well, we have the same information, but perhaps sometimes we interpret it differently.

STOUT: So you're saying it's just a matter of interpretation?

PARIBATRA: I interpret things how I see them.

STOUT: OK. Well, according to the data that you have on hand, could Bangkok be hit from a new rush of floodwater from the north? Is the risk still there?

PARIBATRA: The flooding situation is still serious, the flooding is still spreading. But I think in the last three days, there is a new trend. The flooding is spreading, but the volume and velocity of flooding have decreased very significantly. And the spreading of the flooding may simply be an indicator that we may see the start of the end of the flooding.

But I'm not going to be optimistic. We take all precautions. We are still prepared in all parts of Bangkok, even though I still don't believe that all parts of Bangkok will be flooded, including the inner city.

STOUT: You're saying that the flooding, or the velocity of the rushing floodwater, is decreasing. That is very good news, but you add that the flooding has -- you did say that the flooding has increased. So can you give us a status update about how many districts in Bangkok --

PARIBATRA: No, the flooding has spread, but the volume and the velocity of water that is evident in cases most affected by the flooding have decreased. And last week, on Thursday, there was a very important junction, and there was a huge flooding there. And everybody thought that the flooding will spread to the inner city in a couple of days. I never believed that, and a week later, the flooding remained roughly in the same place.

STOUT: Well, Sukhumbhand Paribatra, thank you very much for joining us. I wish you and your team the very best as you handle this crisis.

That was the governor Bangkok, joining us live on the phone.

Now, let's go back to London, where James Murdoch is being questioned by British lawmakers. It is the second time he's being questioned over phone hacking at the former tabloid the "News of the World."

Atika Shubert, she's been following this story. She joins us now live from the houses of parliament.

And Atika, what is the headline so far at the hearing?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, he's been grilled for the last two hours nonstop, and James Murdoch is very confidently defending his statement that he did not know any earlier than late 2010 that phone hacking was anymore widespread than one reporter. He says he was not shown any documents, any e-mails, or any discussions of that.

As a result, there's been a lot of, as you can imagine, debate and drama, with one particularly MP, Tom Watson, leveling quite an accusation at him. Here is that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM WATSON, BRITISH MP: You must be the first Mafia boss in history who didn't know he was running a criminal enterprise.

JAMES MURDOCH, CHAIRMAN, NEWS INTERNATIONAL: Mr. Watson, please. I think that's inappropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT: Now, he took offense to that and said that he simply was running the organization, News International. As he very largely pointed out, "News of the World" was a small part of that. He simply authorized a legal settlement and did not know that phone hacking had gone any further until late 2010.

That's the statement that he's standing by. He is still being questioned at this point, and it does seem that he's taking quite a grilling. His lawyers behind him looking very nervous as the questioning continues.

STOUT: James Murdoch standing by his testimony.

Atika Shubert, live in London, on the story.

Thank you very much for that.

And coming up next on NEWS STREAM, going under cover to catch human traffickers. Authorities in northern Spain save women allegedly forced into prostitution, part of CNN's yearlong Freedom Project.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: And as we continue our yearlong effort to expose human trafficking worldwide, we return to Freedom Project Undercover in northeastern Spain. A police unit has given us unprecedented access. And in today's report, Martin Savidge takes us inside a raid on a suspected brothel in the Catalonia region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This raid is the result of a year-and-a-half-long investigation into the trafficking of Chinese women into prostitution in and around Barcelona. The human trafficking unit from Mossos d'Esquadra gave CNN unique access to this raid, one of 33 conducted over two days in late September and early October.

Investigators free more than two dozen women who have been brought from China unaware of the horrors that awaited them. Thirty-nine people were arrested. That's enough to consider the operation a major success.

Yet, what agents discovered in some of the brothels went far beyond the forced prostitution they had already suspected. Signs that this was a major criminal organization with many talents.

First, drugs. Investigators say they found more than 2,600 Ecstasy pills and the means to make an emerging drug called Ketamine, weapons that they suspect were used to keep the women in line, and even to extort other businesses in the Chinese community, credit card forgery equipment, and what investigators considered the most important find of all, evidence of human trafficking.

The head of the central crime organization which includes the human trafficking unit announced the findings in a press conference.

JOAQUIM FRANCES, CHIEF, MOSSOS D'ESQUADRA (through translator): We have, for example, testimony of one victim that states from China, they were taken to Istanbul. From Istanbul, they entered Greece by land. From Greece, they were moved to different countries in Europe to simulate a tourist trade, until they arrive here in Catalonia.

SAVIDGE: Agents found hundreds of forged passports and what they call a high-quality counterfeit document lab as described by the human trafficking unit's head, Xavier Cortes.

XAVIER CORTES, SUB-INSPECTOR, MOSSOS D'ESQUADRA (through translator): What we found that has great value is not the quality of the documents, the holograms and the quality of the paper they used to make the passports, or the passport covers, but the stamps they used to simulate the visa entries into these different countries, which were also falsified. They came here from China with false documents via different tourist-simulated routes. Once in Barcelona, they were taken to a flat for some time until the documents were prepared for this new leap to a third country.

SAVIDGE: Detectives say Barcelona, in essence, was a major layover in an international human trafficking operation. Agents found evidence the women were being sent to highly-profitable first-world countries such as the U.S., Australia and Canada. The next step will be contacting authorities in those countries to try to track the activity from there.

Nearly 700 officers with Mossos d'Esquadra were used in the raids. A massive and delicate coordinated effort.

CORTES (through translator): All of this adds to the complexity, and therefore requires considerable planning and a massive mobilization of agents for simultaneous raids.

SAVIDGE: If any of the raids are delayed, Cortes says, other brothels could be alerted, giving them time to destroy evidence. In this successful mission, 17 brothels were shut down, and 33 of the 39 people arrested are in jail. The other six were released pending further investigation.

The hope now is that the investigators have dismantled enough of the organization to keep it from rebuilding for a long time to come.

For the CNN Freedom Project, I'm Martin Savidge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Let's now take you to eastern Turkey, near the epicenter of that 5.7 magnitude tremor that hit recently in the same area where that massive earthquake took place last month. Live pictures on your screen from the quake zone as the rescue effort is under way. And it appears that someone is being pulled from the rubble.

Now, let's just watch this as it unfolds. The rescue effort under way there.

Rescue crews, they've been working very hard to reach dozens of people who are trapped in the debris. Officials say at least seven people have died, some when two hotels collapsed.

Again, this is the site from the quake zone in eastern Turkey. It looks like a man, he's been pulled out from the rubble. He's been put on a stretcher. And the rescue workers are taking him away. Unclear about what his condition is like.

Again, these are live pictures on your screen from the quake zone, the aftermath of that additional tremor that has hit eastern Turkey just a few weeks after that huge quake that took the lives of hundreds of people.

Now this was a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck overnight. Again, officials say at least seven people have died. They're working to save scores of others. And many are still trapped in the rubble. And here we're looking at these live pictures from eastern Turkey as a man has been pulled from the debris, pulled from the rubble and put onto a stretcher.

Incredible scenes here as we're looking at the man who was just pulled from the rubble, whose condition is still unknown at this moment being put into the ambulance.

OK, you're watching News Stream. And we'll continue to monitor the situation there in eastern Turkey. We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now Greece has named its new interim prime minister Lucas Papademos is a former European central bank vice president. And outgoing prime minister George Papandreou said last Sunday he would step aside if the new leader agreed to implement the EU debt deal.

Now Italy's prime minister could be out of office as soon as this weekend. Silvio Berlusconi has promised to resign after budget reforms are passed, which could be on Saturday. A short time ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it is urgent that Italy clarify its political situation as soon as possible.

News Corp. executive James Murdoch has told a committee of British lawmakers investigating the phone hacking scandal that evidence given against him is misleading. Former employees have claimed he knew about a 2008 e-mail detailing widespread hacking at News of the World tabloid.

And you're looking at video from the town of Van in Turkey where rescue and recovery efforts are underway after a powerful tremor struck the same region hit by an earthquake just three weeks ago. And the quake, it caused buildings to collapse. And we've already seen pictures of people being pulled alive from the rubble. And we will continue to watch these pictures and bring you more throughout the show.

Now last month rain and snow made the work of rescue crews there even harder. And the bad weather also compounded the misery of survivors, many of whom were forced to camp in makeshift shelters. And now we're getting close to the winter. And Wednesday's quake victims are also battling the elements.

Mari Ramos is at the world weather center with more. And Mari, can you describe the kind of conditions that they're up against?

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kristie, you know what, very concerned about what's going to happen in the next few days. As you mentioned, we are now deeper, of course, into the colder time of the year. And there are so many people that did not have proper shelter. They're dealing with some very cold conditions. And that is going to be -- what's going to continue. It's going to get even colder, actually.

Let me talk to you a little bit about the earthquake per se, because I want to kind of tell you and explain to you some of what we can expect. When you have a quake that's a 7.1 which was the original quake back in October, you can expect at least one earthquake that will be around a 6.0. And at least 10 that will be around the 5.0 or higher range. And we've had several of those, including the one that just happened overnight last night.

So that's very significant. And we can expect these to actually last for several months and that is always going to be a concern.

Now what you asked me about the weather. In Van right now, when we saw those live pictures you see everyone is dressed for winter even though the outside temperature is 8 degrees, when you're outside for a long time and the wind is blowing it feels very cold. And it's a hardship for the rescue workers. And of course it's a hardship for the victims of the earthquake. Now those people that are trapped could suffer from hypothermia, especially if they're there longer.

The longer they are trapped, the more that this would be a concern.

We have an area of low pressure that will be coming down here from Russia and Georgia and through the Black Sea and then is going to move across northern Turkey in particular. So we can expect snow in the highest elevations. In cities like Van, for example, it's going to be a snow mix.

But the temperature is really going to get a lot colder. Tomorrow, the high temperature only 4 degrees, minus 1 the overnight low. And then as we head into Saturday it gets colder. And then into Sunday it gets even colder even though the snow, we think, will be coming to an end.

So very wet, high humidity, and a lot of snow expected in some of those areas.

Here you see it one more time. There's the area of low pressure right there. And you can see that colder air sinking in here across this region. And that is why we're concerned about the weather in that part of the world.

Dry, though, as we head across much of eastern Europe. Even though we could see the rain. And look at that, the Medicane (ph), that storm in the Mediterranean Sea that was like a tropical storm is gone, but look at the damage that it did.

These are picture from France that I want to show you first. Look at the piles of rubble that are left on the roadway and on the street. It's going to take a long time for them to dry up from all of this, Kristie. But at least the weather is much better in that region. But it looks pretty bad, though.

Back to you.

STOUT: Yeah, it was. The aftermath of that.

Mari Ramos, thank you.

Now to American politics now and a debate between the Republican candidates who hope to challenge Barack Obama in the next presidential election.

Now Wednesday night's face-off in suburban Detroit left one candidate squirming. Texas Governor Rick Perry, he stumbled badly when he said he would eliminate three government aggencies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: Commerce, Education, and the -- what's the third one there. Let's see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you can't name the third one?

PERRY: The third agency of government I would do away with -- the Education, the...

RON PAUL, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Commerce.

PERRY: Commerce, and let's see -- I can't, the third one I can't, sorry. Oops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Makes me cringe every time I see it.

So where does that leave Rick Perry's presidential ambitions? Now for some perspective Jim Acosta joins me from Rochester, Michigan. And Jim, is it the end for Rick Perry?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this is either being called the Meltdown in Michigan or the Texas Train Wreck, but for Rick Perry this was certainly a bad moment, a dark moment for his presidential campaign. And he was doing the rounds of morning talk shows here in the United States this morning basically saying that he is not quitting this campaign despite what happened last night.

As a matter of fact, on his web site this morning he's inviting visitors to name the department of the federal government they would like to forget most, sort of injecting some humor into what was a serious political gaffe that really ranks among the top political blunders in U.S. -- in recent U.S. presidential history.

But on CNN's American Morning earlier this morning, Governor Perry said that he is going to stay in this race and that he feels voters aren't looking for a debater, they're looking for a president. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: We're going to keep going back to those primary states and talking about our tax plan and talking about how we get America back working again. I may not be the best debater, the slickest politician on that stage, but what they do know about me is that for 10 years I've been the chief executive officer of the state that created more jobs than any other state in the nation while America lost 2.5 million.

What they're looking for is substance, not necessarily the slickest debater.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now the winner of last night's debate might have been Herman Cain. He has been facing allegations of sexual harassment in the last week or so, allegations that he has denied. He was also asked about that during last night's debate. And the answer that he gave was met with really wild applause from the audience. So it was a sign from I think this Republican crowd, Kristie, that GOP voters are sort of rallying behind Herman Cain at this point.

So the conservative businessman, the Tea Party favorite, that has really raced to the top of the polls in this campaign may have some life left in this race. He's not done just yet, Kristie.

STOUT: Incredible story. Thank you very much for that.

Jim Acosta joining us live from Michigan.

Now a college football legend has left his post in disgrace. Now Penn State fired football coach Joe Paterno along with the university's president. And they were ousted amid allegations of child sex abuse by a retired assistant coach. Now students have rallied for their beloved coach. And some took their anger out on this news van. In fact, they tipped it over.

Now Coach Paterno, he has thanked the students for their support, but has also called for calm.

Now earlier he expressed regret for not doing more to help the alleged rap victims.

And Jason Carroll joins us from State College, Pennsylvania live. And Jason, why -- why did the students there react so strongly to the news of his firing?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think one answer for that, Kristie, is because there are such strong ties between so many students here and the legendary coach like Joe Paterno. For an international audience it might be somewhat hard to understand why there seems to be so much passion surrounding this man, but once again he is a legend in the world of collegiate football, the most -- the winningest coach -- football coach in U.S. history. This is a man who has been coaching at Penn State for 46 years. He's not just a father figure to some, but almost like a grandfather figure to others simply because he's been here for so long.

I want you to listen to what some of the protesters who are out here had to say about it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going after the wrong guy. And the justice system needs to take its course.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're pretty much making a stand, because we're in support of our school, we're in support of JoePa. We think it's absolutely ridiculous that he got fired over this sort of situation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think some people are making the mistake of putting JoePa in front of the actual situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tear actually the second -- I mean, I wiped them off now, but the second I heard it tears were in my eyes. He's done so much for our university.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Kristie a lot of the anger was directed last night at the media. A lot of the rioters who were out here basically felt as though the media treated Joe Paterno unfairly in the coverage. They felt as though more attention should have been focused on Jerry Sandusky, that is the former assistant coach. And he is the man who is really at the center of the sexual abuse scandal here at Penn State.

STOUT: But what does Paterno's resignation reveal about the magnitude of the abuse scandal?

CARROLL: Well, I think what it reveals is that this is not over. I mean, when you look at what happened with Joe Paterno, his resignation, you look at the president of the university Graham Spanier he also was forced to resign. You look at two other school officials who are having to -- had to step down while the investigation is taking place. It clearly shows that this sexual abuse scandal is not over and had far reaching affects here at Penn State.

STOUT: Jason Carroll joining us live. Thank you very much for that.

And still ahead here, the long, slow good-bye of Adobe's mobile Flash.

Plus, the dangerously high and fast moving wave that gave one surfer the ride of his life-time.

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STOUT: Welcome back.

Now one of the technologies that made the web what it is may be on the way out. If you've watched a video on YouTube or played a game on the web you probably did so with Adobe's Flash. It was an add-on for web browsers that allowed sites to look more active and dynamic. But the mobile version of Flash has come under fire for its performance, particularly from Apple. And the company refused to include it in the iPhone or iPad.

And co-founder Steve Jobs was especially critical. He once said this, quote, "Flash is a spaghetti ball piece of technology that has lousy performance and really bad security problems."

Now on Wednesday Adobe said it would stop developing the mobile version of Flash.

Now let's find out more about what this means from one of our regular contributors, the New Yorker's Nick Thompson. He joins me live from New York.

And Nick, just how significant is this announcement?

NICK THOMPSON, NEW YORKER: It's pretty significant. Flash has been a very important part of how we use the web and how we use mobile devices for as long as we've had them. Adobe has said we're no longer going to support it on mobile devices. And that's a big move. And also it shows the power of Apple.

STOUT: Steve Jobs, he famously wrote a public letter about Flash back in 2010 laying out several complaints. Let's fact check his charges against Flash one by one.

Now first up, he said that Adobe Flash products are 100 percent proprietary and are thus not open. Is this true?

THOMPSON: It's absolutely true. There are other companies that make proprietary non-open software, such as for example Apple. So I mean, it's true, but it's also in some ways hypocritical.

What's interesting here is that when you use software, there are sort of six or seven layers right there. It's the browser you use. There's what ever you use in the browser. There's the operating system.

Some of these layers are open, some of these layers are closed. The closed ones mean they're run by company, if something has to change, the company has to change it. The open ones mean they're changed sort of groups of developers you can suggest to.

Jobs is essentially saying the level at which Flash operates should be open, but all these other levels, particularly the ones Apple controls, they should be closed.

STOUT: Now Steve Jobs, he also attacked Adobe claim that Apple mobile devices cannot access the full web, because 75 percent of video on the web is in Flash. Was that a false claim by Adobe?

THOMPSON: No, that was a false claim by Jobs. I mean, there were -- everybody who had iPads in the early days would go to sites and try to watch videos and you couldn't watch them. So Jobs' claim that you could access the entire web, that all these other videos were compatible with other standards is wrong.

STOUT: Now the third point is about security. And Steve Jobs, he sites are report from Symantec saying that Flash has one of the worst security records in 2009. True or false?

THOMPSON: That's true.

STOUT: OK.

And then let's combine the next two points. Number four and number five here on the screen Steve Jobs he went for the jugular on the battery life of devices that run Flash. And that Flash was designed for PCs using mice not for touch. So do you agree with that point?

THOMPSON: The battery life is certainly true. And it is also certainly true that Flash was designed for PCs. That's another interesting point in software. Often times tools are designed for one world of software, like the PC world. Everybody gets used to them, and then there's a hard question of whether they're then used when the world changes.

So is this old tool that we're familiar with better than a new tool that we're not familiar with? That was the argument he was making against Flash.

And it was mostly correct.

STOUT: And the last point, not for apps. Number six, Steve Jobs he charged that Flash cannot be used to write the best iPhone, iPod, and iPad apps. Adobe was simply not innovative enough. Harsh, but was he right?

THOMPSON: Well, it's hard to tell, right? So Adobe has just laid off 750 people. They did the same thing in 2008 and 2009. This is clearly a company that's had some issues, having a workforce that works -- being successful.

Now, is Jobs to blame for that? So Jobs has essentially said Flash is going to die off. It's not very good. Because of that we should help kill it off. Now Flash has been killed off. Does that mean he was right in saying it was bad, or does that mean he was just good at killing it off? We can't really play it backwards, but there's clearly a lot of truth in what Jobs said.

STOUT: Now let's to the future. The mobile web will soon switch to HTML5. What does that mean?

THOMPSON: Well, HTML5 is competitive standard. It's designed by a consortium of companies. What is good is HTML5 is open, right. So if you want -- if you write an app, or you write something for the web and you want the web to perform differently, or you want your app to perform differently. And the code you're using isn't up to the task you can try to change it you don't have to write a letter to the CEO of Adobe, you can actually work with the consortiums and try to improve the software.

So in a way that's a much better system.

It's also good that the system will be entirely open, then everybody can see the code that goes into it. As a general principle, I like open systems. I like open code. There is the problem that with open systems and open code it's harder for companies to make money, which means its harder for them to hire developers to innovate.

But I think it's probably a good thing that we're moving into this new HTML5 world.

STOUT: Good stuff.

And Nick, always a pleasure.

And I don't know if you were able to catch it with your peripheral vision, but just moments ago on the touch screen it crashed. And I'm told by my producer it was because of Flash. Flash crashed the touch screen during our segment about the end of mobile Flash. So it (inaudible) full circle.

THOMPSON: Perfect. I know that Adobe will be supporting Flash for giant touchscreens in the future, but not for a small mobile device.

STOUT: That's right.

That's right. Nick Thompson of the New Yorker, thank you so much. And we'll talk again next week.

Now the next time you are in a high rise building, head to the 10th floor, look at the window and see if you can see surfing from that high up. That is what Garrett McNamara says he did. At 27 meters, this is said to be the biggest wave ever ridden. And McNamara did it off the Portuguese coast. If the consensus agrees that it is indeed 27 meters high than he will have smashed previous records and put surfers within touching distance of the Holy Grail. Now 30 meters is the wave that they're all said to be chasing.

Now high school seniors in South Korean can breathe a sigh of relief, the most stressful day of their academic careers is over. Just ahead on News Stream, we look at the pressure the college entrance exams piles on them and its impact on the whole country.

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STOUT: Welcome back.

Now many South Korean students call their final year in high school the year of hell. They're not being overly dramatic here, that's because in their senior year they face the ultimate test: their college entrance exams. Around 700,000 students took the test today. And in their education obsessed country it is considered the chance to make or break one's future.

Now here's how parents at pupils at one school in Seoul prepared.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Korea, the reality is most students have lived for this very day. They have put in so much time and effort, and the fact that everything is decided on this day can be an immense amount of pressure on them who have studied for a year getting ready for this test.

The younger students cheer on their seniors, wishing them the best of luck on their exam. It can be for the honor of each school, but also on a personal level to give the seniors a boost in spirit so they can reap the best results from their efforts.

Usually students should enter by 8:10

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to say do your best as you have so far, and the family has been cheering on up until now, so I think the results will be good if you do your best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just praying for her. It's the same for all the mothers out here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're just praying for the best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; I want to give her a hug when it's over and tell her she did a great job until now.

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STOUT: OK. So we pointed out about the pressure that the South Korean students are under, but let me just give you a little bit more detail on just how big this test really is. Now for a start, this one test it lasts eight hours. And the exam doesn't just impact the student sitting it, flights were halted or rescheduled on Thursday to avoid noisy takeoffs and landings during language listening tests. The stock market opened one hour later than usual just to make sure that the students could arrive on time for the test.

And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

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