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Jordan's King Abdullah Visits Pilot's Family; Jordan Begins New Airstrikes Against ISIS In Raqqa; What Is Net Neutrality; The Future Of Real Estate

Aired February 05, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: Quote, "Russia must commit to ending the Ukraine conflict." You've been listening to a live press conference in

Kiev with the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry along with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.

Now the Ukrainian president said this, quote, there was a growing escalation of violence in Ukraine which is supported by Moscow.

Now as the fighting escalates, there has been this flurry of international diplomatic activity to end the crisis. Secretary John Kerry,

he announced that the United States will provide 16.4 million dollars in aid to Ukraine. The French President Francois Hollande and the German

Chancellor Angela Merkel are said to be working on a joint proposal to help end the crisis in Ukraine.

Now let's get more now on the situation there. The international diplomatic effort to stop the fighting there with the French and German

leaders there to hold meetings in Kiev and then Moscow.

CNN's Jim Sciutto is traveling with the U.S. Secretary of State. He joins us now live from Kiev. And Jim, Secretary Kerry there expressed,

quote, "unwavering support for Ukraine" and he also outlined very specifically the concrete steps Russia must take for peace.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN SECURITY EXPERT: That's exactly right, Kristie.

I think very strong words from Secretary Kerry here on the first point being that this is a Russian operation. In Secretary Kerry's words saying

we cannot close our eyes to tanks crossing the border from Russia into Ukraine, to Russian soldiers crossing the border leading what he called so-

called separatists.

So, the U.S. in lockstep with Ukraine referring to this as a Russian military operation that has accelerated a grave escalation, U.S. officials

telling me, particularly in the last several days. Much more Russian heavy equipment coming across the border. And action moving further west out of

those strongholds in the east towards cities such a Mariupol. A real crisis inside this country now.

But, at the same time, Secretary Kerry still saying that there is a diplomatic off ramp that U.S. officials have been talking about for months

in those three steps that you referenced, pull those key heavy weapons back, he says, from civilian areas, remove heavy weapons and troops, he

demands, from Ukraine, but also a third step, closing the border so that you don't have this constant flow across the border of troops and weapons.

Those are the demands.

But right now it's moving in the opposite direction, frankly, Kristie, an escalation rather than any sign of de-escalation.

I can tell you, in my experience traveling here with U.S. officials the level of concern, the alarm, frankly, very severe and that's why you're

seeing not just Secretary Kerry here, but the French President Francois Hollande, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel arriving here later today.

LU STOUT: Yeah, level of international concern over the fate of Ukraine very, very high right now. But just then, we heard from the U.S.

Secretary of State. He said, quote, we want a peaceful resolution. So Jim, is the U.S. approach still diplomacy over potentially arming Ukrainian

troops with defensive weapons?

SCIUTTO: It is. Still no decision inside the administration to give what are called defense weapons, but really are lethal weapons,

particularly anti-tank weapons, other things like that. Still a debate in the administration about whether to take that step.

I know that there are those in the State Department, the Defense Department even, I hear, a reassessment of this inside the White House, but

still there are other White House officials speaking very publicly, among them Ben Rhodes deputy national security adviser, saying that it's there --

it's his view and others that adding weapons to this mix won't solve the problem that there is no military solution to this. But it is something

that we're told they are at least reconsidering.

The fear here is that you put more weapons in, doesn't necessarily change the calculus on the ground, because no one is saying if you add more

weapons to the Ukrainian military that you're going to defeat Russia. The military -- the Russian military just too powerful. The calculation is if

you give the Ukrainians weapons to hold territory that that will make it more likely that Russia will come to the bargaining table.

But there are those who fear that it's just as likely that it'll cause Russia to escalate further. It's a difficult calculation to make. I'll

tell you from the very beginning it's been very difficult for U.S. officials and western officials to judge Vladimir Putin's intentions and

that's still the situation today.

LU STOUT: And Jim, Secretary Kerry is in Kiev not only for talks, not only to express unwavering support for Ukraine, but also to but also to

deliver a humanitarian aid package. Can you give us the details on that?

SCIUTTO: That's right, 16.5 million. That's no small number in light of the deep, deep humanitarian need, particularly in the eastern part of

the country. That's coupled with a billion dollars in loan guarantees to help shore up the Ukrainian economy, discussion of a possible additional

billion dollars down the road.

But I'll tell you, 16.5 million dollars in light of what's happening in the eastern part of this country, when you speak to Ukrainian officials

privately -- they won't say this publicly, and you heard President Poroshenko there just thanking the U.S. for the maximum assistance in his

words possible today to Ukraine -- but in private, Kristie, you will hear Ukrainian officials say that they need more, and particularly weapons,

military aid on the ground to change the calculus on the ground, because they are losing ground, hundreds of square miles of territory in recent

days.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Jim Sciutto joining us live from Kiev. Thank you, Jim.

Now we have some breaking news for you from Jordan. Now the country has begun the first round of airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria.

That is according to a U.S. official.

Now U.S. warplanes are also flying alongside in support.

We'll have much more on this story in just a couple of minutes after break. And then we'll be going live to Atika Shubert in Jordan's capital

Amman. So do stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now Jordan vowed to step up its fight against ISIS and now we are hearing from a U.S. official that Jordan has carried out air strikes

against ISIS targets in Syria.

Now CNN's Atika Shubert joins me now live from Amman.

And Atika, King Abdullah has vowed to strike back hard and it seems he is now indeed carrying out that promise.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very much so. And I want to stress the timing of this, because it appears that this was timed

for the visit of King Abdullah to the Kasasbeh family in the village of Eye (ph) near Karak. We know this because my colleague Jomana Karadsheh went

there to speak with the family of the Kasasbeh family and here is what she is telling us that according to Safi al-Kasasbeh, the father of that

Jordanian pilot, he's saying that King Abdullah told him that the strikes against Raqqa have started earlier today with 30 fighter jets bombarding

the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

Now that chimes with what we've been hearing from the Jordanian government that four jets that we saw fly over the skies of Amman and Karak

were actually returning from missions they had been carrying out against ISIS.

So it does seem that those retaliation attacks are now underway. We don't have all the details, but we do expect to hear more from the

Jordanian military very soon, Kristie.

LU STOUT: In the wake of the brutal killing by ISIS of that Jordanian pilot, we are seeing stepped up action by Jordan against the militant

group. What other military options are being explored?

SHUBERT: Well, I think the most important ones will be these air strikes against ISIS. The key here is that for so far Jordan has really

been hitting stationary targets. The U.S. has been taking care of the sort of more targets of opportunity.

Now that Jordan wants to take on more of those missions, that may change.

The key question, however, is what about ground troops? What about getting those boots on the ground to not only contain ISIS, but to actually

confront ISIS and to push them back. This is the key question that still remains.

It doesn't seem likely that Jordan will commit ground troops at this point, however, with more of these air mission, we might start seeing more,

for example, special operations being conducted and of course we do know that Syria rebels, for example, are being trained in neighboring countries

to eventually become those ground troops on the ground that will fight ISIS where their home base is near Raqqa.

LU STOUT: The killing of the Jordanian pilot by ISIS is a significant turning point, isn't it? I mean, how has it changed opinion not just in

Jordan but across the Arab World as to how to fight ISIS?

SHUBERT: It has changed opinion. You know, there was a poll actually late last year. And 60 percent of the Jordanian public was in support of

the fight against ISIS. But that still left a significant portion that wasn't convinced that this was Jordan's war. That seems now to have

completely change with this brutal, horrific murder that has been put out by ISIS.

It now seems Jordanian public opinion is fully behind Kind Abdullah and his fight against ISIS. And it's not just changing opinion here in

Jordan, but across the Arab world. This is having repercussions far beyond the borders of Jordan and it could be a significant turning point in the

battle against ISIS>

LU STOUT: All right. CNN's Atika Shubert reporting live from Amman. Thank you very much indeed for that.

And you're watching News Stream. And still to come, a landmark proposal from the head of the FCC can insure that the internet remains open

and free. We'll have much more on this important story after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now 32 people are now confirmed dead in that TransAsia Airways plane crash in Taiwan on Wednesday. Now the plane clipped a bridge before

plunging into a river. Twelve people are still missing, some fear to have drifted downstream from the crash site. A mayday call from the plane

suggests there could have been an engine failure.

Now we are getting word that Jordanian planes have conducted airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria. It comes after King Abdullah

traveled to the home town of a military pilot who was captured and burned alive by ISIS to offer his condolences. Now the king had promised a strong

response to the pilot's death.

Now police in Japan have arrested a man accused of using a fake sleep study to drug, rape and film around 100 women. Now authorities say the 54-

year-old suspect had no medical training. Now he is accused of selling tapes of the attacks to porn sites.

Quote, "Russia must commit to ending the Ukraine conflict," that's what the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry just said after a joint

statement with the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Poroshenko said, quote, there is a growing escalation of violence in Ukraine which is

supported by Moscow. As the fighting escalates, there has been a flurry of international diplomatic activity to end the crisis. Kerry also announced

that the U.S. will provide 16.4 million dollars in humanitarian aid.

Now I want to take you to a story that affects everyone: net neutrality. Now the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in

the United States says he will propose that the internet should be regulated as a public utility.

Now this major shift is a victory for activists who want the internet to stay open and free and a blow for some companies who wanted to profit

for asking users to pay for faster access to certain sites.

Now Tom Wheeler wrote an op-ed in Wired saying, quote, "my proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want when they want."

Now the FCC is, of course, part of the U.S. government. So anyone who is an American might be thinking why does this matter to me?

Now don't forget the United States still dominates the internet. In fact seven of the 10 biggest websites in the world are American.

And ICAN, that the organization that controls the domain name system is still in American control.

Now that's a system that allows you to access a website by typing its name instead of using a numeric IP address.

Now what this all means is that what happens to the internet in the United States is still of critical importance to the rest of the world.

Now the concept of net neutrality is hard for some to grasp. Now CNN's Brian Stelter broke down what it means and the implications of the

FCC's proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is net neutrality? It has nothing to do with a volleyball or a tennis court. The net refers to the

internet, something that's become as necessary as water and power for most of us.

The neutrality part is about keeping the net the way it is today. It's a set of rules the FCC approved in 2010 to prevent speed traps on the

information superhighway in other words, speeding up access to some sites and slowing down access to others; or blocking certain sites entirely.

So, are these rules a bad thing? It depends who you ask. The companies that deliver your internet, like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T has

spent millions in lobbying money to get rid of net neutrality, arguing that having the government micromanage their business is not good for them or

their consumers.

On the other side, are internet giants like Facebook and Google, streaming services like Netflix and President Obama. They all argue the

internet is a public good and should be regulated like one. They also say that companies that own the pipelines can play favorites. For example, a

content provider like Netflix is in direct competition with Comcast, which owns NBC Universal and controls access to the internet for more than 20

million customers.

You can imagine a scenario where NBC might want to speed up streams of its shows and slow down streams of its rival Netflix.

Now Netflix can afford to pay for a fast lane. They make $4 billion a year. But the next Netflix, some awesome startup, can't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now to explain this even more, our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter joins me now live from CNN New York. And

Brian, please walk us through the FCC's proposal. Exactly how will it preserve equal access to the internet for everyone?

STELTER: The proposal is being circulated today inside the FCC. Unfortunately it's still a secret document, so we won't get to see it until

the end of the month when these FCC commissioners vote on it.

But what we believe it says, and what the chairman has said it says, is that he wants to make sure there's no way to have fast lanes and slow

lanes on either wire, broadband, or importantly wireless broadband. This is the first time there's been talk about making sure that people's cell

phones internet connections are also under the same protections.

Now there are some caveats here. You know, the internet will be treated more like a utility in the United States if these rules get

approved, however there won't be rate regulation. The government won't be telling Comcast and Verizon how much they can charge for broadband or how

little they can charge for broadband. And there won't be a lot of oversight over the backbone of the internet. These are the deals that get

struck between companies like Netflix and Verizon, or Netflix and Comcast in order to make sure that videos stream pretty fast back in the backbone

of the internet.

There will be some looking at that, but there won't be as stringent measures.

So that is actually why we saw the stocks for some of the cable companies, some of the broadband providers, actually go up yesterday when

some of these rules started to be rumored. There hasn't been as much opposition as maybe there was expected, at least in the market.

However, some of these big internet providers have threatened to sue the government over these new rules. So this is very much the beginning of

the process, not the end of the process.

STELTER: Yeah, these big internet providers and other companies they're threatening to sue, they're upset with it, because they believe

that this is a plan that would constrain them, would constrain media companies, it would hurt innovation, it would hurt investment.

LU STOUT: But Brian, I want to get your thoughts, what will the real impact of this proposal be on media firms from the titans all the way down

to the startups?

STELTER: I think what we're seeing is that the internet has become like social security or like guns in the United States, it's like a third

rail issue that politicians have to be very careful about, very sensitive about not to alienate constituencies. Because when the internet is

something that people value so much now, they don't want to imagine their connections being slowed down or having websites being blocked, it's really

become a core issue for many voters, especially for younger voters.

I think what we're seeing is the government here trying to react to mostly hypothetical concerns. The ones I described in the piece haven't

actually happened. But they could happen in the future. And the government wants to take steps to make sure they don't happen in the

future.

However, because these are mostly hypothetical concerns, it allows these broadband providers, these internet giants to say, whoa, we don't

need you to be meddling, we don't need you to be involved here. So it does set up a big fight over the role of government, over the proper role of

government.

But like I said, Kristie, I think this comes down to all Americans -- and frankly folks all around the world these days -- just want a fast,

speedy, reliable, unfiltered, uninterrupted internet connection. And as long as that is preserved, consumers are going to be happy.

LU STOUT: So what's next? I mean, consumers around the world want this, the FCC has made this big stand for net neutrality, this is what

President Barack Obama wanted. Will this proposal be adopted?

STELTER: It will be voted on at the end of the month, the end of February. There are three Democratic commissioners and two Republican

commissioners, so it is expected to pass. Then it'll go to the courts. And then it'll be battled in the courts for years, at least if history is

any guide. That will be the fight that'll move over in that direction.

But essentially this creates a blueprint for future battles in the courts. This creates a blueprint also potentially, as you said in the

intro, for other countries as well to think about how to preserve in their language here, an open internet.

LU STOUT: Yeah, an open internet on PC, and as you mentioned earlier quite critically, mobile internet as well. Brian Stelter reporting live

from New York, thank you and take care.

Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come in the program, searching for a new home: it used to mean going house to house or clicking

for sale signs, checking them out -- but in this week's Tomorrow Transformed, we'll show you how technology has changed that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now finding your dream home has never been easy, but technology has streamlined the process. In this week's Tomorrow Transformed, Richard

Quest looks at the seismic shift in the real estate industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm so glad you could come. I am so excited to show you this.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Buying a home used to mean hiring a licensed real estate agent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brand new whole bath, but let's do the second bedroom first.

QUEST: And visiting place after place after place until you found the one you loved.

Thanks to technology and the internet, buyers can now browse real estate listings whenever and wherever they want.

DOTTIE NEWMAN, CEO, DOUGLAS ELLMAN: At least 80 to 85 percent of all consumers, I don't care where they live, search, go online, before they

actually buy anything and well before they're ready to buy.

QUEST: It means traditional real estate companies must also embrace technology.

NEWMAN: You have to be ahead of the curve. Not so far ahead that you lose your consumer, but if you're not you're out of business basically.

QUEST: Today, even with technology, red tape and paper abound. But Tomorrow Transformed of real estate will take it all online.

That's the vision of Square Feet, an internet based realtor.

JAMES SIMPSON, CO-FOUNDER, CEO, SOFT: We've streamlined the process substantially so you as the seller would download the app and it's a very

simple process. We start the process having you take pictures of your home and once you're finished it takes, you know, five or six minutes to create

a listing.

This is going to be cleaner, simpler and faster.

QUEST: And it's cheaper, too. List your home with a traditional agent and you pay 6 percent commission. Do it yourself with Square Feet on

your smartphone and pay 1 percent. That's a 25,000 dollar saving on a half a million home.

SIMPSON: We're really sort of anticipating a big shift when the Millenials become the primary home consumer. And they are so used to doing

things a certain way through the internet. They've grown up with the internet. It's just part of their daily life.

QUEST: The question for the future is whether people really will want to do it themselves.

NEWMAN: I wouldn't mess around trying to take shortcuts with a big investment like real estate.

People will pay for a service they feel is a benefit for them. And to me, would I look for the cheapest doctor when I was having surgery? I

don't think so.

SIMPSON: Real estate sales is a service industry. And to not offer the consumer multiple choices of service I think is a little silly.

QUEST: Technology may not put the broker out of business, but it does let us decide whether or not we need one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere, World Sport is up next with Alex Thomas.

END