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USA Patriot Act Provisions Expired; Iraqi Forces Target ISIS in Fallujah; EU Seeks Answers Over Russia's Travel Ban; China Launches Cigarette Smoking Ban; Australian Leader Introduces Gay Marriage Bill; Weather Forces Solar Impulse to Land in Japan; Rare Apple 1 Computer Left at Recycling Center; Aired 3:00-4a ET
Aired May 31, 2015 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:43] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: They're tools used to help the United States fight terrorism. Coming up this hour, why U.S. lawmakers let chief provisions of the Patriot Act expire.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, we will take you inside Iraq's Anbar Province as the fight intensifies against ISIS.
BARNETT: And one of the men indicted in the FIFA corruption scandal uses an article he found online to help his defense. Just one problem, the story was a fake.
CHURCH: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and of course all around the word. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
The United States has lost some of its tools to investigate terrorism. Late Sunday night the U.S. Senate failed to extend key provisions of the USA Patriot Act and they expired three hours ago.
CHURCH: The most controversial is Section 215 which allows the NSA to collect and store telephone metadata on millions -- on millions of Americans. Also expired roving wiretaps which are used to track terror suspects who frequently change communication devices.
BARNETT: And the lone wolf provision allows surveillance of people believed to be engaged in terrorist activities but who are not linked to a known terror group. That expires, too.
Athena Jones has more on the political fighting in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Several Patriot Act provisions have expired because the Senate failed to pass a biological to extend the law. Take a listen to some of the debate last night on the Senate floor from the two Republican senators from Kentucky, Majority leader Mitch McConnell who supports these programs and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul who opposes them. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: These aren't theoretical threats, Mr. President. Not theoretical threats. They're with us every day. We have to face up to them. We shouldn't be disarming unilaterally. As our enemies grow more sophisticated and aggressive.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: The people who argue that the world will end and we'll be -- overrun by jihadists tonight are trying to use fear. They want to take just a little bit of your liberty but they get it by making you afraid. They want you to fear and give up your liberty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: In the end in a vote of 77 to 17 the Senate did agree to begin debate on a bill that has already passed the House, the USA Freedom Act, that would allow these programs to continue while also reforming the bulk phone collection program that has been so controversial. That sets up a vote for final passage in the Senate some time midweek. That's because of some procedural rules in the Senate and also some amendments that could be voted on.
If of course they do end up amending the USA Freedom Act it will have to go back to the House for them to consider those amendments. So this is not over yet.
Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Now one person who is likely watching this debate very closely is Edward Snowden.
BARNETT: He of course is the whistleblower who revealed almost two years ago now that the NSA was using the Patriot Act to justify bulk surveillance.
Glenn Greenwald who broke Snowden's story spoke with our colleague Brian Stelter about these latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN GREENWALD, CO-FOUNDING EDITOR, THE INTERCEPT: Well, remember, though, when the Patriot Act was enacted even in the weeks after 9/11 when the country was pretty much willing to do anything the government wanted, it was recognized. It was an incredibly radical and extremist piece of legislation. And the idea was these powers were given to the government should be temporary, not permanent.
So they're going to sunset every five years unless Congress renews them. And yet in 2005, the Bush administration demanded renewal and overwhelmingly Congress renewed it with no fight. In 2011, President Obama demanded renewal and Congress overwhelmingly renewed it without any debate. And now you see not just Rand Paul but dozens of House liberals and House conservatives and other people standing up together and saying, we're not going to just renew the Patriot Act without reform. We're going to have serious reform.
And in some cases a lot of people are saying we should just let these provisions lapse. The whole world has changed when it comes to this debate as a result of the revelations from Edward Snowden.
[03:05:05] BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Have you been in touch with Snowden recently? How does he feel about what's about to happen in the Senate today?
GREENWALD: I mean, he feels, you know, very good about the fact that there is a real debate. He has serious qualms like, I think, most privacy activist and advocates do about the USA Freedom Act, which is the piece of legislation that the Obama White House and the intelligence community has gotten behind. It's woefully inadequate at best. But it's really good to see. This is going to be the first time.
And this is extraordinary, since 9/11, 14 years ago, that the Congress is taking away powers in the name of terrorism rather than giving them new ones. And so hopefully this can be built on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Now you can find much more on this story including a look at what happens next now that the key provisions of the Patriot Act have expired. You can always, when you're away from the telly, head to CNN.com.
CHURCH: The Iraqi battle against ISIS in Fallujah is intensifying. Warplanes pounded ISIS targets over the last three days with the heaviest strikes coming on Sunday.
BARNETT: Witnesses say this mosque was hit along with a warehouse and a market as well as other locations. They say at least 31 people were killed and 82 wounded over the past three days.
CHURCH: The Iraqi military isn't battling ISIS alone. It is aligned with Shiite militia and moderate Sunni tribal fighters. But Nick Paton Walsh reports there are Sunni tribesmen who feel abandoned by the Iraqi government.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These sandbags is exactly what Iraq needs to stay together as a country. Meters away, you can glimpse the flag of ISIS, extremists from Iraq's Sunni minority. But holding them off here are the men the U.S. says are key to victory -- moderate Iraqi Sunnis who will die to rid their hometown of ISIS.
(On camera): If America is to send help to the Sunni tribes to Anbar here is where it is most badly needed. They have been in combat with ISIS for months and now the enemy is just across the river.
(Voice-over): But they have been without pay for months. Some have Kalashnikovs made of cheap metal and chipboard. "No one has come to help us," he said. "Not help with anything. We
buy our own weapons and we're supposed to (INAUDIBLE)."
"Such people like ISIS," another says, "and not Sunnis, no. They're enemies, the ones who destroy, not build."
The local mayor of the town of Amirat Al Fallujah, around which ISIS swarms and fires mortars daily, sees his enemy on the TV screen. This long distance camera shows their mortars slamming into ISIS positions and was paid for by locals themselves. They say Baghdad, whose officials are often Shia and distrust Sunnis, has ignored months of their pleas for help. Now they arm themselves.
"We buy them," he says. "There are lots of weapons for sale on the Iraqi market, whether it's from the previous army or what ISIS took from this army as they put it up for sale through a third party. Even some things come from Iran and are sold directly."
Here is where local volunteers are trained and armed. But again, we're shown the chipboard, 500 of them, they say. This man was trained by the U.S. nine years ago, then to help them fight al Qaeda here. Now they want America's help again.
"We want the Americans to arm us directly," he says. "If they give it to the government, they'll take what they want and give us the tired weapons. The good stuff they'll keep."
Outside the hospital, you can see the help they are getting, an ambulance from Sunni Saudi Arabia. Inside, three injured from a mortar that hit off-duty young fighters playing football the day before. Another died. This town endures, yet feels abandoned despite broad recognition it is vital they win.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Amirat Al Fallujah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Ian Lee is tracking developments and joins us now from Cairo with the latest on what's happening in Iraq.
Ian, how did this three-day operation in Fallujah go, considering you do have some of these sectarian tensions still, and as we just saw from that report some fighters not even being paid yet?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going very slowly as we've been hearing, we've been seeing on the ground that while they are able to push and push ISIS back, ISIS has been planting roadside bombs, mines, and that makes it a very dangerous push forward as ISIS holds back. You have these pipe bombs, these explosives, killing Iraqi soldiers. Also if they do find them, they take some time to disarm them.
[03:10:09] So it is a very slow go push as they are -- we are also hearing that, you know, they're using airstrikes and artillery to try to loosen the ISIS hold of these areas. And that was so crucial and instrumental in other parts of Iraq when they were able to take back territory. But this as we have been seeing in other places. This isn't going to be a quick fight. This is going to be very slow. ISIS has no intention on losing ground and they do fight to the last man.
BARNETT: And what makes it so difficult the fact that this will go on for a long time is the fact that you've got innocent people trapped in the middle while all of this is unfolding. Two sources telling CNN more than 100,000 people still trapped inside Fallujah, although the elderly and those with medical issues are permitted to leave.
I'm just wondering how challenging it has been to protect those civilians amid what have been now days of airstrikes.
LEE: Really it's the one thing that you have to take into consideration, Errol, when in these sorts of operations because if -- there is recklessness, carelessness and there is a huge civilian casualty, the death toll rises, is you can quickly turn a civilian population against you. We are hearing that at least a few dozen people have been killed in the past days of fighting, and including children. And so that is going to be very difficult especially when you are using artillery.
Artillery is not a precision weapon. It is to hit an area. It is -- so when you have these kind of tactics, there are the real risk of civilian casualties. That's something that they're going to have to take into consideration because you don't want to turn an already very leery Sunni population against the central government. You do have Sunni fighters going in, in there but the Iraqi government does not have the best track record of when it does go into a predominantly Sunni area. So they have to be especially careful.
BARNETT: That's right. Even the alliances now between the Sunni and militia -- Shiite militia. This is very fragile one at the moment and it could disintegrate resolve at any time.
Ian Lee, live for us this morning in Cairo. Thank you.
CHURCH: U.S., Qatari and Afghan officials are working to find a long term solution for five senior Taliban leaders living in Qatar. The men known as the Taliban Five were released in a prisoner swap for U.S. Army Sergeant Beau Bergdahl in May of last year.
BARNETT: Now Qatar temporarily extended their travel ban which is set to expire on Sunday. Bergdahl who was captured and held by the Taliban for five years has been charged with desertion.
CHURCH: The European Union is blasting Moscow after it imposed a so- called travel black list banning 89 European officials from entering Russia. And we are now getting reaction from some politicians on that list.
For more on that, I want to bring in CNN's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance. He joins us live from Moscow.
So, Matthew, talk to us about why these particular European officials were blacklisted by Russia and what some of them are saying about it. MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's
been a pretty angry response, Rosemary, from those individuals who are on that list of 89 people from the European Union, who have -- are now facing travel bans to Russia. I'll just read out a couple of tweets from a couple of individuals on that list. One of them from the Belgian member of the European parliament, Mark Demesmaeker, tweeting that, "Putin puts me on his black list. Not welcome in Russia. Too much honor for me, Mr. Putin."
And that remark is kind of reminiscent for the kind of flavor of remarks we got from Russians when they were placed on the European Union's own black list. Now the Swedish MEP Gunnar Hokmark tweeted that, "It's worth to note that Putin's regime fears dialogue and freedom of speech. The blacklist is not a show of strength but of weakness."
And so some pretty scathing remarks there from a couple of the European Union officials that are that list. European Union spokesperson saying that this was arbitrary, that it was unjustified. Calling for more transparency from Russia as to why these individuals were put on a list and others were not. But it's slightly disingenuous, of course, because it's pretty clear that this is a response by the Kremlin to the European Union's own travel blacklist and asset freeze list of individuals from Russia who have been implicated or associated with the annexation of Crimea and the ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine.
So I think we can clearly see it as a tit-for-tat response. The European Union have their list. Now the Kremlin might say we have ours.
[03:15:06] CHURCH: Yes, very much. That the situation, of course, apart from the symbolism here of this travel blacklist. What's it likely to achieve? What's the likely impact here?
CHANCE: Well, I think it's really interesting to look at the timing because when I -- June 1st, it's 26 days until the European Union Summit, which will decide whether or not to extend the sanctions that the European Union has imposed on Russia over its actions in Ukraine. That is a key summit. And so, in a sense it's interesting to try and work out whether this list is going to affect that decision or not.
I mean, directly it probably won't because the Europeans have made it quite clear that what they're going to be assessing in that June 26th summit on the extension of sanctions is whether or not the Minsk agreements have been implemented or not. The Minsk agreement, the cease-fire that you bring to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine. And so in that sense they'll be narrowly looking at those issues pertaining to the Minsk agreements. But of course indirectly and it may have an impact the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier saying, "At a time when we are trying to diffuse a bitter and dangerous conflict in the heart of Europe this does not help".
And so there is a sense in which this Kremlin list of the U.N. individuals may further poison the atmosphere between Russia and Europe. CHURCH: Yes, and we'll be watching to see what the next step here is,
of course.
Matthew Chance reporting there live from Moscow. Many thanks to you. Errol.
BARNETT: Rosemary, a U.S. surgeon is traveling to Switzerland to evaluate an injury to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. On Sunday, Kerry broke his leg in a cycling accident in France near the Swiss border. He was later airlifted to this Geneva hospital. That injury is not life threatening.
The American physician is the same doctor who performed a previous hip surgery on Kerry. The secretary of state plans to return to the States later today. He's going to be getting more treatment in Boston.
CHURCH: And when we come back, Australian lawmakers introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. But the plan is not sitting well with the government and some of the critics.
BARNETT: Plus it's going to get much tougher to light up in Beijing. And the rest of China may not be far behind.
Stay with us here on CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:21:23] CHURCH: Well, an English Premier League club is apologizing over its players' behavior while on a tour of Thailand.
BARNETT: A newspaper reported that three Leicester FC players were apparently caught on tape at a sex orgy and one man used a racial slur to describe the women.
CHURCH: The club says James Pearson and Tom Hopper, both shown here, and Adam Smith want to say they are sorry to the women involved, to the club's owners and to the club's fans. The club says the players are being brought home early.
BARNETT: And the club also says, quote, "Our players at every level are expected to behave as representatives and ambassadors for our football club so we treat their conduct extremely seriously."
CHURCH: Now Pearson is the son of Leicester manager, Nigel Pearson. The club was on a tour of Thailand, which is the home of Leicester's owners.
Just unbelievable story.
BARNETT: Sickening.
CHURCH: And you just wonder about the culture of that club.
BARNETT: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: There'll be a lot of things to come.
BARNETT: A lot of people have questions. Yes.
CHURCH: All right, well, Jordan's Prince Ali Bin al Hussein is back in Amman after losing the FIFA presidential election to Sepp Blatter. Blatter was elected to a fifth term even though the U.S. Justice Department has charged nine FIFA officials with corruption.
BARNETT: Now Prince Ali withdrew from the race before the second round of voting when it was clear Blatter would win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE ALI BIN AL-HUSSEIN, JORDAN (Through Translator): I want to thank everyone. And this is a democratic decision, and we did our best. And this is the most important thing. The issue is really difficult. It is not an easy thing. But I think we earned the respect of the whole world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, Britain's secretary of state for culture, media and sport is renewing calls for Blatter to step down. Blatter isn't named in the Justice Department indictment but he has suggested the U.S. timed the charges to damage his chances of re-election.
BARNETT: And there have been threats of tournament boycotts now if Blatter refuses to resign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WHITTINGDALE, BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT: Well, obviously one option would be to withdraw from the World Cup, whilst FIFA, under its present leadership, is organizing it. Now that is a very big step to take. It's one for the FA and the other home nations and indeed other football associations around the world to consider. But there'd be no point in doing such a thing unless a quite a large number of countries are willing to take that step at the same time. But it is something which obviously I think football association is now considering.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And now one of the men charged in the indictment appears to have missed the point of a satirical article about the scandal. Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner denies bribery charges against him and claims the indictment is the result of U.S. frustration over not hosting the event.
BARNETT: Things were fine up until he held up an article from "The Onion" to support his case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK WARNER, FORMER FIFA VICE PRESIDENT: If FIFA is so bad why is it the USA wants to keep the FIFA World Cup?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Well, Warner was referring to "The Onion's" spoof that frantic invisibly nervous FIFA officials have suddenly awarded the 2015 World Cup to America. The article was a joke. He later removed references to that article and the video.
CHURCH: Think so.
All right. Well, summer is fast approaching in the northern hemisphere. But you wouldn't know it by looking at these pictures taken over the weekend in Norway. Meters of snow piled up along a mountain road in the southern part of the country.
BARNETT: And even more bad weather is moving into northeast Europe. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam back with us once again with more on that.
Pretty incredible snow cliffs.
CHURCH: Crazy pictures.
[03:25:05] DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Incredible photos. But just so we are clear on this. That is just a whole season's snowfall that's accumulated there. But they do have more snow on top of that.
CHURCH: Wow.
BARNETT: Huge.
VAN DAM: I mean, you can see that. I think you could probably fit around seven cars stacked on top of each other. So let's say, roughly, seven, 10 meters high? Snow bank. Yes. It makes Boston look --
(LAUGHTER)
CHURCH: Right. Yes.
VAN DAM: You know, tame. Right. Exactly. Exactly. Guys, so this storm system is going to bring more snow to Norway but it's also going to bring an extreme amount of wind to the United Kingdom. And more on that in just one second I'll just let you ponder at this picture one last time because it is quite an amazing sight.
This is the latest satellite imagery coming out of northwestern Europe. And I want to bring attention to what's taking place near Glasgow and into the greater Ireland and Scotland region at the moment.
This is the storm system that we're monitoring for the possibility of extremely strong wind strong winds. Storm force winds, in fact. Upwards of 80 to 100 kilometer per hour wind gusts expected along the west facing shores of Scotland and Ireland. That's at least for the next 12 hours. And eventually that storm will slide eastward across the United Kingdom. And it will also bring strong wind to places like Manchester,
Birmingham, and into the greater London region. You could experience wind gusts upwards of 65 kilometers per hour. This brings the possibility of bringing down some tree limb, perhaps, even power lines. On some of those susceptible areas. So it's something we'll have to monitor very closely.
You can see stronger winds moving through the area. We all know that makes it very difficult to travel and fly during that strong and unseasonable weather. Look at what we have forecast for this region, Glasgow, to Amsterdam and Dublin all expecting anywhere between one and two delays today so please double check your flight. More of the same as the system moves eastward into London.
We're expecting the airports there to be impacted by this low pressure system. Not a big main maker for London but points northward could experience upwards of 50 millimeters of rainfall. Temperatures really not going to be affected too much by this. But we do have a slight cooling trend in the forecast for those regions.
So, really, with wind gusts over 80 kilometers per hour along the coastline. That could cause some serious problems and also turn up some high surf as well. So.
CHURCH: Wow.
BARNETT: All right.
VAN DAM: There's still room in (INAUDIBLE) of possibility.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: Thanks (INAUDIBLE) today. Appreciate it.
BARNETT: Thanks very much.
Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, singer Enrique Iglesias injured during a run-in -- a bloody run-in with a drone at this concert.
CHURCH: Unbelievable. Plus, reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her rapper husband Kanye West are expecting a second child. And the jokes about the new baby's name, well, have already begun online.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:31:19] BARNETT: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for staying with us. The last half-hour of the day with us, too. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: Thanks for sticking around. And I'm Rosemary Church. Want to check the headlines for you this hour.
Key parts of the U.S. Patriot Act expired about 3 1/2 hours ago. Leaving the U.S. without several counterterrorism tools. Now the Senate will consider a compromised bill that would limit how the country can spy on citizens and terror suspects. A final vote isn't expected before Wednesday.
BARNETT: Iraqi forces are fighting to retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS militants. Witnesses say warplanes and artillery hit this mosque, a market area and other locations Sunday. At least 31 people were killed. More than 82 wounded there in the past three days.
A U.S. surgeon is traveling to Switzerland to evaluate an injury to U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry. You see on Sunday, Kerry broke his leg in a cycling accident in France near the Swiss border. He was later airlifted to a Geneva hospital. The secretary of state plans to return to the states later today.
Well, Ireland's recent vote in favor of marriage equality has helped fan an ongoing debate in Australia. That's where opposition leader, Bill Shorten, has presented a bill to parliament to legalize gay marriage.
CHURCH: The legislation aims to change the current definition of marriage in Australia, but as he explained it will not force religious leaders to perform same-sex weddings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL SHORTEN, AUSTRALIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: If your priest doesn't want to consecrate same-sex marriage in your church, or your mosque, or your synagogue, you still won't have to. This bill is not telling religion how to practice religion. It's just saying let's respect all people, all Australians, and allow marriage equality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now -- sorry.
CHURCH: And we'll have more on this a little later of course.
BARNETT: Yes. A guest we're trying to connect with, hopefully we'll have him back before the end of this hour.
Now after a weekend long security forum in Singapore, the U.S. and China no closer to a solution on disputed waters in the South China Sea. A Chinese admiral on Sunday defending building up islands in the waters and downplayed the entire issue. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): The situation in the South China Sea has been on the whole peaceful and stable. There is no reason for people to play up this issue in the South China Sea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the U.S. is concerned about militarization of some of the islands. In April, CNN was on board a surveillance plane that flew over the waters. The Chinese Navy sent warnings to the U.S. to back off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Throwing an underwater rock into an airfield simply does not afford the rights of sovereignty or permit restrictions on international air or maritime transit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: At Sunday's summit the Chinese admiral said China has not decided whether to set up an air defense zone but that it could.
Well, Beijing is cracking down on cigarette smokers. A new law bans smoking in restaurants, offices and public transportation.
BARNETT: The unprecedented measure imposes fines on individuals and businesses if the ban is violated.
China is the world's largest tobacco consumer. This is certainly a big deal.
David McKenzie now joins us from the streets of Beijing with details on this.
And, David, I'm wondering how many people around you were aware of this ban going into effect today, and just tell us how exactly this ban will now be enforced and how it will work.
[03:35:01] DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Errol, it's a great question. In fact here in (INAUDIBLE), it's a street with a lot of buy cigarette shops, it's kind of ground central of where they'll try to enforce this ban, stopping people from smoking in public spaces, also in bars, internal and offices. A lot of these laws or some of them in fact were in place. They're just making them more stringent they say in China. Enforce them in the capital of China.
There's 300 million smokers across China. They say it's caused in part more than a million deaths last year so this is a major public health issue here in China. Yes, people have heard of the law. They put out messages in the last few months about this coming into effect today. I guess the big question whether they're going to actually enforce those -- that ban and whether people will in fact change their behavior -- Errol.
BARNETT: And when you look at the financial angle of all this, David, you know, China enjoys the taxes, purchased by the more than 300 million smokers there. But why this decision to really enforce this strict ban now, is there some kind of realization of the high cost of caring for those smokers over time?
MCKENZIE: Well, it's a cost benefit analysis, and certainly it's got a lot to do also with the lobbying of the World Health Organization to China and others. Yes, China does make a great deal of tax revenue from all those cigarette sales. But individual boxes of cigarettes here in China have a much lower tax rate than in some other parts of the world.
Also the cost of cigarettes here is so cheap. You know, you can get a box of local smokes for under $1 at times. So certainly there is less punishment of smokers here compared to, say, buying a pack of cigarettes in other major capital like D.C. or New York in the U.S. It's so much cheaper here. So that's -- there isn't really the disincentive finally for people to buy cigarettes.
You know, the way they're going to push this they say is by naming and shaming people who might be smoking in public spaces by posting their photos on government Web sites, on calling on people effectively to rat out those people they say who are breaking the law and they will do that on social media.
Whether they can enforce it is the big question. But there is a realization, I think, by the government, that there is a huge cost to the health care system of smoking at such high degrees here in China. It's just in Beijing for now but they're hoping to roll this out to the rest of the country if it works here. The World Health Organization is saying it's a really significant moment. If they can enforce it -- Errol.
BARNETT: That's right. And it certainly looks good on paper. But as you say it's almost a pilot program they're launching in Beijing and hopefully they can replicate it and roll it out elsewhere.
You wonder, though, how stringent they will be on making businesses pay that fine. Of course China is working to stamp out corruption in its many manifestations there. Has the government given any assurances that business that break the law will in fact pay a fine no matter who they're friend with?
MCKENZIE: Well, we have only -- we've only had this law for several hours now. So it will be interesting to see. You know, in the past, similar laws, less stringent though, didn't actually work. And also, you know, it is also about culture here. China, getting a box of cigarettes is kind of a normal gift here. And there has been other aspects that they haven't done.
You know, if you look -- I think I have in my pocket, it's not mine. A foreign brand of cigarettes here. It's got a warning label on it, saying, you know, smoking is bad for your health. We see that in other parts of the world. Local cigarettes here don't have that. And they haven't succeeded in lobbying for that to help authorities well, because people say, I don't want to give a gift to someone if it says my gift is going to kill you.
So there are cultural aspects of this as well. China is a bastion of success for tobacco companies, big tobacco companies, huge sales, of course, just in virtue of the huge population. But the health authorities and the government now realizing the cost this could have on the their own health care system. And at least getting in line with some of the treaties they've already signed. And so, they say they want to kind of stamp out this kind of public smoking especially for young children and adolescents which has been a huge problem here in China in the past -- Errol.
BARNETT: That's right. And as you say this is -- these are the first few hours of day one. It certainly will take much longer to really stamp out layers of culture and how this is really part of many people's everyday lives.
David McKenzie, live for us today in Beijing. Thanks very much. Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Let's return now to a story we covered a little earlier. Australian opposition leader, Bill Shorten, has introduced a bill in parliament on Monday to legalize gay marriage in the country saying it's time to, quote, "make equality a reality." But not everyone supports the move.
Want to bring in Piers Akerman, he's a national columnist with "The Daily Telegraph" and he joins me now live via Skype from Canberra.
Thank you, sir, for talking with us. Now as we explained, Australia's opposition leader, Bill Shorten, introduced that bill into parliament Monday, aiming to legalize same-sex marriage and to pressure the prime minister, Tony Abbott, to allow a conscience vote on the issue. Why not let that go ahead? It seems fairly straightforward.
PIERS AKERMAN, NATIONAL COLUMNIST, DAILY TELEGRAPH: Well, there are a couple of things and it's basic politics, Rosemary. The coalition government hasn't had a party who are meeting on this issue for a number of years. It was defeated three years ago under the Labor government. Bill Shorten, the current Labor leader, has introduced this on the back of the Irish referendum.
I think that the coalition and indeed a fair number of Australian people would prefer to -- themselves rather than leave it to parliament. That is to have a --
CHURCH: All right. We were having problems. Let's just -- all right. We're having problems there. Piers Akerman joining us there from Canberra, Australia. Explaining of course we know that Tony Abbott, the prime minister, has said there were so many other more important issues. And doesn't want to go forward on this. But we can expect in the next few months in fact this bill will likely go to a vote. But as it stands along party lines, the Labor Party would not be able to pass this. So it would have to go to this conscience vote to allow the conservatives to vote on this as a free vote.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: We will continue to follow that.
BARNETT: Centered around. I mean, it's almost as if just let them vote. Let people decide on whether or not this is something they agree with.
CHURCH: Yes. And certainly the opinion polls in Australia people are behind this. They want an opportunity to follow the 20 or so, the 20 plus countries who have gone ahead with this. As we heard there from Piers Akerman, it was the Irish referendum that was the catalyst for this. But we will see what happens. Watching it very closely.
BARNETT: All right. Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, bad weather forces a solar powered plane to make an unplanned stop. That after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:45:25] BARNETT: Bad weather conditions are forcing the Solar Impulse II plane to land in Japan. The experimental aircraft is attempting to fly around the world powered only by the sun. The plane will wait out the bad weather in Nagoya. It will then head to Hawaii. It took off from Nanjing in China early Sunday.
CHURCH: And the journey to Hawaii is expected to take 130 hours. The plane's toughest leg yet. In the cockpit, veteran Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg is flying solo. Earlier he spoke to CNN about his excitement for the flight after weeks of delays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRE BORSCHBERG, SOLAR IMPULSE PILOT: We had started and then decided 12 years ago. We have worked so much. Everybody has worked so much to make it -- to make it happen. And now it's -- in some ways it is the moment of truth. If this solution is the right one. It's the way we do it the proper way. So everybody is discovering. We have challenges, I guess, day and night to overcome. And the -- that's what makes it extremely, extremely exciting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And our meteorologist Derek Van Dam is back with us to talk more About this. And of course, you know, he's very excited. But it's a problem when you've got delays like this and when you've got a solar powered plane and bad weather. Not good combo.
VAN DAM: Yes. They don't go well together.
CHURCH: No.
VAN DAM: Now he's been forced to land now. He was in the air for about a day and a half. And now he's landed in Japan once again waiting for that optimum weather window to open up across the Pacific but that is an 8,000 kilometer journey that has to have perfect weather conditions, you guys. This is really difficult to achieve. Let me explain why. This plane, this Solar Impulse II, is roughly the weight of a vehicle, around 5,000 pounds or 2,300 kilograms.
And you can imagine any kind of crosswind what that does to the stability of the airplane. And by the way, there is no insulation with this cockpit of this plane. So the pilot is susceptible to temperature of 40 above zero and negative 40 degrees Celsius. So extreme temperature variables. Very dangerous mission to say the least. This is where he is trying to go. He was across Japan. He is trying to make it into Honolulu.
But there is something in the middle of the -- the Pacific that is really concern for him. Before he landed just a few moments ago, he again was in the air for one day and 13 hours. And he actually has the capacity to go about five to six days, believe it or not. They started in Abu Dhabi. They'll obviously end in Abu Dhabi. But they have an 8,000 kilometer trek. The most dangerous part across the Pacific. And that weather window unfortunately is just not cooperating.
Hey, I want to take you to the East Coast of the United States because we have an interesting situation for some of our viewers located in the nation's capital or New York City. We have heavier rainfall moving through the region. That's going to make your Monday morning commute very difficult. Flood watches for the Big Apple at the moment. And here's a fine how do you do?
A temperature swing of 20 degrees Fahrenheit from yesterday's daytime highs to what it is today. We're talking about a major difference in temperature thanks to this cold front moving through New York. Only expected in the middle 60s today.
Here's our flood watches for Manhattan and the surrounding regions. Something we want to monitor very closely. High resolution radar showing thunderstorms still moving through the Big Apple. But this is all part of a storm system that's -- that has, well, brought rainfall to the plain states of the U.S. That'd be in Texas and Oklahoma.
And I want to show you this video, you guys because --
CHURCH: I see it.
VAN DAM: I've seen cowboys on horses. But here's the modern take on the cowboy. They're actually herding cattle with air boats.
BARNETT: Wow. Yes.
VAN DAM: I've never seen that before.
BARNETT: And we saw that last hour. Pretty impressive. They're doing a pretty good job. Yes.
VAN DAM: They're doing a really good job. To actually saved -- they saved 250 cattle. They brought them to a drier location which is about nine miles. By the way, those cattle, those cows were actually herded along a major highway in Loughton, Texas.
CHURCH: Wow.
BARNETT: Wow. Unbelievable stuff. Derek Van Dam with the scoop all the time.
CHURCH: Thanks.
BARNETT: Appreciate it.
Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, she is a cancer survivor and now an inspirational record holder. We'll meet the 92-year-old who just became the oldest woman to finish a marathon.
[03:49:43]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BARNETT: Now if you are in California listen up. A recycling company there is looking for a woman who dropped off an old computer at its facility.
CHURCH: This is an incredible story. It's not just any computer, it is an Apple I vintage computer worth $200,000.
Janet O from our CNN affiliate, KGO, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANET O, KGO REPORTER: This Milpitas Recycling Company made a surprising discovery.
VICTOR GICHUN: It was like, you know, like you won the lottery.
O: Last month a woman dropped off several boxes of what she thought was junk.
GICHUN: She brought, like two, three boxes. Like you can see on the table. It was some stuff like wires, keyboard, mice, some old stereo, or something like that.
O: But inside one of those boxes was a vintage Apple 1 desktop, one of only 200 first generation models created in 1976. Here's one on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. After some research, Green Bay area sold the Apple 1 to a private collector for $200. They're now looking for the original owner who didn't leave a name.
GICHUN: I said you need to pick up receipt or tax receipt, she said no, no, no. I'm fine. I just want to clean out the garage.
O: The company wants to honor its policy by giving her half the proceeds from the sale.
GICHUN: Her husband just passed away like recently. And I don't know their financial situation but I think that it felt, too.
[03:55:04] O: The recycling company says all she needs to do is come down and pick up her check.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Hope they find her.
CHURCH: Yes.
BARNETT: That was KGO's Janet O reporting.
CHURCH: Well, singer Enrique Iglesias injured his hand on a drone ring of concert, on Saturday the Spanish pop star was performing in Tijuana, Mexico when he grabbed the drone used to get crowd shots. Something he's done before.
BARNETT: But this time when he did. Something went wrong. He injured his hand. It got sliced up as you see. He was treated and later flown to L.A. for treatment from a psychiatrist.
CHURCH: And won't do that again, I'm sure.
Well, reality TV star, Kim Kardashian and her rapper husband Kanye West are expecting their second child. Kim announced that she was pregnant in a clip about upcoming episodes of her show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
BARNETT: So now we're keeping up with the Kardashians, right? The couple also known as Kimye, for those out of the loop, already have a daughter named North who will turn 2 in two weeks. The pregnancy news has already sparked jokes on social media. But of course the new baby's name should be South, as in South West.
CHURCH: Yes.
BARNETT: And the options gone from there, doesn't it?
CHURCH: And whether many people care, but they seem to, there's more tweets about that but sell the things.
All right. So now to an incredible record-breaking fate out of California. A 92-year-old cancer survivor has become the oldest woman to finish a marathon.
BARNETT: Easily my favorite story of the day.
CHURCH: Yes.
BARNETT: Harriet Thompson ran the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll marathon on Sunday, finishing just over 7 hours and 24, the race has 26.2 miles and more than 42 kilometers. And get this, she has completed the same marathon some 15 times before.
CHURCH: Oh, fantastic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIETTE THOMPSON, MARATHON RUNNER: I have lofty ideas. Really lofty. I keep thinking, I wonder if I am going to be able to finish this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: She is one awesome woman.
CHURCH: And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. You should always dream big.
CHURCH: Yes.
BARNETT: Stay with us. The news continues after the break.
CHURCH: Have a great day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
