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Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Develop a Bromance; U.S. Concerned by Russian Activity in Syria; Holocaust Survivors Call on Israel to Take in Migrants; Apple Unveils New Products and Product Upgrades; China Eases Global Fears of Economic Slowdown; North Korea Expanding Nuke Program? Aired 12-1a ET
Aired September 10, 2015 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:10] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Political partnership. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz lead a rally against the Iran nuclear deal but can Republicans still do anything to stop it?
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Mr. Trump's attacks did not stop there. Tonight slamming the top female Republican presidential candidate saying, quote, "Look that face. Would anyone vote for that?"
BARNETT: Apple unveils a new product. Why iPad Pencil actually erase the stock value?
ASHER: Hello, there. A warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. Thank you so much for being with us. I am Zain Asher.
BARNETT: Good to be with you, Zain. Hey, everyone. I'm Errol Barnett. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
ASHER: We begin tonight with our top story, the Iranian nuclear deal. U.S. lawmakers will debate three different Republican resolutions Thursday aimed at curbing the deal. Republicans hope to finish voting by Friday.
Now the resolutions allege secret side deals regarding nuclear inspections and they say that President Barack Obama broke the law by not disclosing details of the deal.
BARNETT: Now a spokesman for the White House says if Congress does not vote by September 17th, the deal will automatically go into effect. Democrats say they have enough votes to protect the agreement.
Now demands for Congress to kill the deal were loud and clear at a big rally outside the U.S. capitol. Sarah Palin, along with Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump pulled not single a punch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are led by very, very stupid people. Very, very stupid people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now Donald Trump and Ted Cruz may be running against one another but they've developed a friendly relationship along the way.
Our Dana Bash reports on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here is something you don't see every day. Competitors for the White House embracing, literally. But Donald Trump and Ted Cruz hugging it out is actually just taking their budding political bromance to the next step.
(On camera): You and Senator Cruz seem to have an unusual relationship when it comes to Republican competitors. Why do you have this bromance?
TRUMP: Well, it is a little bit of a romance. I like him. He likes me. He's backed me 100 percent when I came --
BASH (voice-over): Trump is right. Cruz is the one who made the first move.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is a friend of mine.
BASH: While other Republican 2016 candidates slammed the billionaire frontrunner, Cruz courts him.
CRUZ: I know there are not a lot of people --
BASH: The Texas senator even flew to New York for a private meeting. As a result, Trump follows the Trump rule. Say nice things about him, he'll do the same.
TRUMP: Senator Cruz has been so nice to me. I can't hit him.
BASH (on camera): Why have you been so loving towards Donald Trump?
CRUZ: I like Donald Trump. And I'm glad that he's energized and excited a lot of people. I also think Donald Trump has been tremendously beneficial to our campaign.
TRUMP: Mexico sends its people --
BASH (voice-over): Because, Cruz says, Trump has forced the GOP 2016 debate on illegal immigration, a topic he cares about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Cruz.
BASH: At first blush, Cruz's Trump love seems self-defeating since Trump is drawing anti-Washington GOP voters who may otherwise support Cruz.
(On camera): You were the one is supposed to be the outsider. How is he not taking votes because people say, oh, there is an outsider, Donald Trump, not the guy with senator in front of his name?
CRUZ: You know, I am a big fan of Sun Tzu's dictum, that every battle is won before it is fought. It's won by choosing the terrain on which the battle would be fought, framing the argument.
BASH: You are fighting on the same terrain.
CRUZ: Well, now, what Donald Trump, right now the people supporting Donald Trump are looking for someone who will stand up to the Washington cartel. I've got a proven record of doing so.
BASH (voice-over): And Cruz has a more practical reason for liking Trump. He gets attention.
CRUZ: I want to thank my friend, Donald Trump, for joining us today.
BASH: It's why Cruz invited Trump to this rally opposing the Iran deal.
TRUMP: He actually asked me to get along here, come along. And I guess he figured that we'd get a big crowd. And we certainly have gotten a big crowd.
BASH: Cruz says Trump's celebrity helped him in the last GOP debate.
CRUZ: You know, Donald has an incredible ability to attract attention, 24 million Americans watched that first debate. Millions of eyeballs watched that debate. Our national support doubled.
BASH: And unlike other candidates, Cruz has a lot of cash for his campaign and super PAC. The hope, if Trump fizzles his supporters will return Cruz's love. That's where Trump draws the line in this unusual relationship.
(On camera): If it ever came to it and you did drop out of the race for whatever reason, would you encourage your supporters to back Ted Cruz?
TRUMP: I'm not dropping out of anything. I never dropped out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: The question still is what a President Trump would do about this Iran deal? Again he talked in general terms telling me that he would do something very strong, saying Iran will come back and they'll be much different because they're laughing at us right now.
[00:05:12] But, Errol, they're not really -- not really clear on how he would stop Iran from laughing like he says they are -- Errol.
BARNETT: And, Dana, you do just naturally wonder, well, what comes next. I mean, this is an Iran nuclear deal. It has the Democratic support it needs to avoid any disapproval measures by Republicans in the Senate. So was this just plain old political grandstanding that we saw outside Congress or could something more come of this opposition? BASH: Grandstanding in Washington, I can't believe you would ask that
question.
(LAUGHTER)
BASH: Yes, of course there was a lot of grandstanding. I mean, I think unfortunately for the opponents of this deal, and this was hugely beneficial to President Obama, the United States Congress was away. They were on summer vacation for the past five weeks. So this was the first time that the opponents had the chance to rally in front of a capital that actually had U.S. lawmakers inside of it.
There is a move afoot by Senator Cruz and other Republicans to try to convince their own Republican leadership to delay this vote as they try to shore up the opposition, unclear if they're going to get that. So, you know, there is potentially still time for some persuasion but it's going to be hard for them now that the president has racked up so many votes on the Democratic side to help them beat back Republican efforts.
BROWN: Right. OK, well, let's widen out of view a bit here and look at the people battling out on the Republican side. You've got retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson who's been relatively high in the polls, now taking really his first crack at Donald Trump. Let's just listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My humility and the fear of the Lord, our riches and honor and life. And that's a very big part of who I am. I don't get that impression with him. Maybe I'm wrong. But I don't get that impression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Being asked there about what sets him apart from Donald Trump. Up until now, though, the two have had a kind of truce. Is that over? Will Trump now take the gloves off? What should we expect?
BASH: It's hard to imagine he won't. He already told our Sara Murray he -- Trump told our Sara Murray today that Carson was flat wrong when he criticized Trump's plan on illegal immigration and that plan is to take all of the millions of undocumented immigrants and just get them out of the country, and Carson said that's just not workable which a lot of other people say. Trump shot back at him.
But this opens up a whole new avenue of discussion and debate with Donald Trump. He has, in a lot of ways, gotten a pass that other Republican candidates haven't gotten from core evangelical voters in key states in the early primary contest. Iowa and South Carolina. Those are the places where these evangelical voters play big. He's gotten a pass because he's not a religious person. He doesn't speak their language in a way that most Republicans who have won in those states and done well in those states can do. And the fact that Carson who does very much appeal to evangelicals in
a big, big way is going at Trump there means that this is going to be part of the discussion that is very much on Carson's terrain and I think the Trump is going to have to kind of thread lightly when he goes back at him. Not to say that he won't, Errol.
BARNETT: All right. You see the candidates now all looking for Trump's weak spot or weak spots.
BASH: Exactly.
BARNETT: We'll see them exploit that in the weeks ahead.
Our chief political correspondent Dana Bash, thanks so much for joining us from D.C.
BASH: Thank you.
ASHER: Joining us now is Jeffrey Lord, CNN political commentator.
So, Jeffrey, thank you so much for being with us.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Zain.
ASHER: I think what we've all figured out is that every single Republican candidate has to figure out how to navigate the Trump machine. So Ted Cruz, his strategy is to sort of cozy up to Donald Trump whereas Jeb Bush and Ben Carson, they've begun to criticize him.
Which is the smartest strategy when it comes to dealing with Donald Trump do you think?
LORD: I think Ted Cruz has got it now. I should say to you, I'm a contributing editor of the "American Spectator." And back in October 2013, the "American Spectator" has an annual dinner every years, one of these glitzy Washington affairs, and they always have political stars there. And just by chance the two political stars that year were Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. They hit it off. They appeared -- you can find, you know, their respective speeches on YouTube. They were very kind to one another. They liked one another. Obviously they still do.
ASHER: Is it a genuine friendship?
LORD: So I find it very fascinating.
ASHER: Is it a genuine friendship or is it more strategic, do you think?
LORD: No, I think -- I think they're generally respectful of one another. Ted Cruz has made himself an outsider in Washington, D.C. You know, he's a sitting United States senator. I can truthfully say, as he will cheerfully admit, the Washington establishment, a lot of his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, can't stand him. Much of the same can be said of Donald Trump so I think there's a bond there. [00:10:12] ASHER: Yes. This election in 2016 is certainly all about
outsiders.
LORD: Yes, it is.
ASHER: Speaking of which, Donald Trump spoke at a protest against the Iran nuclear deal earlier today. I want you to listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If I win the presidency, I guarantee you that those four prisoners are back in our country before I ever take office. I guarantee you that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So do you think that was a deliberate attempt to evoke Ronald Reagan and is it a smart strategy to promise so much when you know that it's very unlikely that you'll be able to deliver?
LORD: Well, I don't think he does think he's unable to deliver. And that is exactly what happened to Ronald Reagan. Before Ronald Reagan's hand was off the bible on swearing in day of January 20th, 1981. Within an hour, it was announced that the hostages in Iran, American hostages in Iran, that had been held for over 400 days, were released. And the reason was clear.
They were very concerned that Ronald Reagan was now the president of the United States. That is exactly what Donald Trump understands here. And that's why he is saying it. And I think, you know, the American people get the message loud and clear, that he means business.
ASHER: I do want to quickly add, because we're running out of time, is that Trump commented on Carly Fiorina, as we saw in an article today. He said, this is about Carly Fiorina, he said, "Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?" Your reaction to those comments.
LORD: You know, I have to say, at this point in time, I think these things from Donald Trump are -- I mean, he's had a number of these sort of incidents as it were or incidents in the eyes of the media, and --
ASHER: With Megyn Kelly and now Carly Fiorina, of course.
LORD: They're being dismissed by, you know, the American public. You know, his support keeps going up and up and up and up. It's not that they are, you know, necessarily agreeing with the way he comments or whatever. But they are just tired of politicians not speaking out and you know, fooling around with the truth and not, you know, living up to campaign promises. He is very blunt spoken and they like that. I think that's what's really going on here. I frankly don't think this means anything at this point.
ASHER: Completely -- it seems as though completely immune to controversy. And that's Donald Trump.
OK, Jeffrey Lord, thank you so much for that.
LORD: Zain, thanks a lot.
BARNETT: All right. Move our focus now to the worsening migration crisis in Europe. Leaders there are mulling over a new plan from the European Commission president to relocate scores of migrants and refugees across the continent. Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing from Syria, Iraq and from Libya hoping to make their way to Europe for safety. Some estimates have half a million arriving already this year.
ASHER: And among the scenes of desperation, I want to show you this very touching photograph. It's just sort of a brief moment of -- levity, excuse me, during the crisis. You have a Danish policeman there playing with a young girl, as migrants walk along the road. Meantime, though, on a more serious note, Denmark closed the highway and halted train service in an attempt to stop the influx.
BARNETT: But the refugees do keep coming, prompting the European Commission chief to sell out plans for mandatory quotas for EU states. And that would mean 120,000 refugees will be relocated across the EU, Greece, Italy and Hungary.
ASHER: And shifting our focus to the U.S., Secretary of State John Kerry said he wants the United States to play a leadership role when it comes to dealing with the humanitarian crisis, especially on the issue of refugees as well.
BARNETT: He met Wednesday with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to specifically discuss what the U.S. can do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are committed to increasing the number of refugees that we take and we are looking hard at the number that we can specifically manage with respect to the crisis in Syria and Europe and thereby today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now several European leaders say they believe the refugee crisis must be tackled at the source in Syria where so many have fled from the civil war.
ASHER: The French prime minister tells CNN his government intends to launch airstrikes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANUEL VALLS, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (Through Translator): The president of the republic has said that there will be flyovers with a view to possible strikes. These seek to give us information for our armed forces and this is occurring now. Next Tuesday at the national assembly of the French parliament, I will be informing the representatives of the objectives of France and that there will be strikes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: That's French prime minister there. Meantime, Russia now admits it has military personnel in Syria and are helping transfer weapons to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
[00:15:01] BARNETT: And that is a huge admission that U.S. surveillance is picking up signs of a more significant build-up.
Here's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Vladimir Putin sends more of his military into Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry making a second call to Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, ratcheting up U.S. pressure.
JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: He reiterated our concern about these reports of Russian military activities or buildup, if you will, in Syria, and made very clear our view that, if true and if borne out, those reports could lead to greater violence.
STARR: Russia doesn't appear to be backing down. Two Russian amphibious ships have unloaded gear. U.S. satellites have seen more than 100 Russian naval infantry troops on the ground, the equivalent of U.S. Marines, and dozens of vehicles. Russia claims it's all aimed at fighting terrorism.
MARIA ZAKHAROVA, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN (Through Translator): There are Russian military experts in Syria who are instructing the Syrians on the use of military systems being delivered.
STARR: The U.S. says Russia is part of the problem, and their support of the Assad regime has fostered the growth of ISIS.
KIRBY: The intent here is unclear about exactly what they're up to. And why they're doing it.
STARR: The working theories about what Russia may do next, it could attack ISIS positions, but a more likely scenario, Russia attacks Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. That could clear the way for Russia to control what happens if Assad falls.
For now, the U.S. is trying to shut down Russian air routes. Initially the Antonov cargo planes flew from Russia across the Black Sea, Bulgaria and Greece, the Mediterranean and into Syria. But Bulgaria and Greece will no longer let Russia use their airspace. The new route, down the Caspian Sea, and across Iran and Iraq into Syria. If Russia begins military operations --
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): It changes the calculation immensely. It not only would cause potential conflicts in the sky between allied air forces, coalition forces, going after the ISIS targets that are in that area, but it could also risk a confrontation between Russian forces and the coalition forces.
STARR: U.S. satellites are now keeping a sharp eye on Russian ports and airfields, watching for any indication of what the Russians may next load up and send to Syria. Obviously a major concern will be if they decide to send fighter jets.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: ISIS claims to be holding two more foreign nationals hostage saying both men are, quote, "for sale." More on their chilling ransom demands, next.
ASHER: Also ahead, Europe's migrant crisis has struck a chord with many holocaust survivors and now they're calling on Israel to step up and help.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:22:13] BARNETT: Welcome back. In a disturbing new claim, ISIS says it's holding two more foreign nationals hostage and wants ransom money for their safe release.
ASHER: OK. The two men, one Chinese and one Norwegian, are advertised as being, quote, "for sale," in the latest edition of the terror group's online magazine. Now both are dressed in yellow jumpsuits -- excuse me -- and wearing a tag with their names and an ID number as well. And beneath their photos, this chilling warning appears. Quote, "Note, this is a limited time offer." That's what it says beneath their photos.
BARNETT: Norway's prime minister confirms that one of her citizens is being held hostage. She says the -- his kidnappers have asked for ransom but says her country will not pay.
ASHER: OK, want to go back to the migrant crisis in Europe. Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants keep streaming across Europe's borders in search for a better life. Now it is a scene that is all too familiar for people who survived the holocaust. The survivors who remember the horror they escaped during World War II.
BARNETT: And now many of them are calling on Israel to open its doors and help with this modern-day crisis.
Oren Liebermann has more than on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Refugee-loaded trains running again in Europe, a traumatic reminder of a nightmare childhood for Colette Avital. She was born in Romania in 1940.
COLETTE AVITAL, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: We've been refugees ourselves because we in the '30s and '40s found all the gates closed in front of us. Because when you see the scenes of what has happened at the train station in Budapest, you can't forget the trains that led the Jews to their deaths.
LIEBERMANN: Avital remembers her family being forced from their home when she was a little girl, and years of hiding in terror from the Nazis. She looks at pictures from 70 years ago and shudders.
Avital is one of a growing number of Holocaust survivors calling on Israel to take in refugees.
(On camera): Why does the refugee crisis in Europe strike such a chord with holocaust survivors?
AVITAL: I think many of them have been traumatized by the kind of pictures they've seen, by the number of people on the roads with babies. Certainly the picture of that baby dead on the beach is something which has been a wakeup call to many.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): There's been a growing debate within Israel about whether to take in any refugees since Israel and Syria share a tense border. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it would threaten Israel's security.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (Through Translator): Israel is a small country, a very small country, that lacks demographic and geographic depth. Therefore, we must control our borders, both against illegal migrants and terrorism.
LIEBERMANN: When Jews speak of the holocaust they often say never again. They won't let it happen again. Avital says for that to mean something, never again has to apply to everyone.
[00:25:09] Oren Liebermann, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Now ahead, a storm in Sicily has turned at least one neighborhood there into a river. The Mediterranean cyclone swept through the southern Italian island on Wednesday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain.
ASHER: Just incredible video. This video you're looking at actually shows as you can see cars submerged in water. You can see bobbing waste as well, if you look closely. Bobbing waste bins, rather. This is in the town of Taormina.
The storm also hit Calabria and Puglia as well, and is expected to spread southeast in the next few days.
BARNETT: For more on this story our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us from the CNN Weather Center.
And Pedram, we saw some vehicles floating down that kind of, you know, makeshift river taking with it all sorts of objects. What's happening there? PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, it's such a
dangerous scenario. That guy as we see this from the United States, in fact flooding in the United States is the number one weather- related killer and oftentimes, about half the time when it comes to fatalities they're always occurring inside a vehicle. So it's something worth noting.
But I want to show you the storm system that caused the mess because the storm, according to some shipping vessel, just offshore of Sicily in this region, have produced wind gusts about 110 kilometers -- 110 miles per hour, I should say, across that area. Of course with that, you're talking significant waves as well. Bringing down 95 to over 100 millimeters. So four inches of rain coming down in a matter of 24 hours over this region.
Let's show you something here because I want to bring the maps into motion. Kind of show you an animation of what little water it takes to cause a significant flooding. In fact, just about 150 millimeters or six inches of moving water. That could knock an adult off their feet. You bring that water up to about, say, 600 millimeters or two feet. If that's moving swiftly enough then it will move a vehicle right down stream.
And the laws of physics have a lot to do with what's going on here. In fact the water doesn't even have to be moving that fast. At three miles per hour, if the water is at such depth, it will exert about 20 pounds of force on your legs. You increase that to six miles per hour, now you're talking about 80 pounds of force being exerted on your legs. And notice, this is an exponential growth.
So it happens very quickly and people really take this for granted when it comes to the severity of what's happening here. So well show you with the storm system across this region. Of course the migrants that have been trekking across this area certainly is something of concern in recent days. The storm pushes in towards the Balkans. As it does the rainfall continues over land routes associated with people there.
And notice the rain tremendous from Toronto to Sophia, around to Bucharest, upwards of six inches in that region in the next two days, possible, so we're talking 150 or so millimeters. We put the roots again in place. The wind speeds right now, 40 to 50 miles per hour across some of those areas near the island of Malmo where again one of those vessels reported wave heights upwards of 10 meters associated with these waves and winds in that region.
OK, leading with this, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releasing a national map for the United States for the summer of 2015, showing you what's happened. And if you think it's been hot across the northwest, it certainly has. Oregon and also Washington state, record hottest summer on record there. And you notice around California, really much of the United States, much above average when it comes to summer temps.
The areas that were below average around parts of the Midwest, Illinois in particular, and Iowa temps below normal. That is just about it for a lot of the country so far this summer, guys.
BARNETT: A comprehensive weather review with the drone including a car getting flooded the studio. The cars floating away.
(CROSSTALK)
ASHER: Always (INAUDIBLE) so much, Pedram. Very informative reporter. Thank you so much.
BARNETT: See you again soon.
Now as he expected, Apple has unveiled its newest iPhones. We'll tell you what technology is coming to the widely popular smartphone. Also, what's being done with the iPad.
ASHER: And the Chinese leader takes steps to calm global fears about their country's slowing economy. We'll have that story in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:32:20] BARNETT: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for staying with us. I'm Errol Barnett.
ASHER: And I am Zain Asher. Let's give you your headlines.
Denmark has closed a major highway as hundreds of refugees are marching north in an effort to reach Sweden and hoping to -- they're hoping to make it to Malmo, that's more than 200 miles away. And that's because of Sweden's favorable policies on asylum seekers. Denmark has recently cut benefits for refugees.
BARNETT: U.S. presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz slam the Iran nuclear deal at a rally on Wednesday. Cruz said if the deal is approved, Iran could develop a weapon capable of killing millions of Americans. Meantime, U.S. lawmakers postpone a debate on the Iran agreement saying the White House hasn't been transparent enough.
ASHER: Carly Fiorina responded to rival U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's insults of her. In a "Rolling Stone" magazine article Trump mocked Fiorina's looks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: What do you take that to mean? "Look at that face? Would anyone vote for that?"
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have no idea. And you know, obvious -- you know, honestly, Megyn, I'm not going to spend a single cycle wondering what Donald Trump means. But maybe, just maybe I'm getting under her skin a little bit because I am climbing in the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A spokesperson for the Trump campaign declined comment on that.
OK. Well, it is the most valuable company in the world but right now there is basically mixed reaction to Apple's September rollout of brand new products and upgrades as well.
BARNETT: I agree with that.
ASHER: CEO Tim Cook unveiled the new product line and that included an upgraded iPhone, the 6s, 6s Plus, they both feature a 3D touch screen and a better camera. There's also a bigger iPad and new stylus called the Apple Pencil that goes with it.
BARNETT: Now Apple investors responded to these announcements by basically selling shares. The technology stock fell almost 2 percent.
ASHER: And overall the Dow Jones Industrial fell more than 200 points at the close, just to give you some context there.
BARNETT: Shara Tibken is the senior writer for CNET News and joins us via Web cam from San Francisco to talk about what was witnessed at this Apple event.
And, Shara, you know, we look towards these Apple announcements for innovation, right, the surprise for a real wow factor, which we have to say is difficult to do for any company year on year. Now of course Apple is going to reveal something cool, but did you see anything truly groundbreaking?
SHARA TIBKEN, SENIOR WRITER, CNET NEWS: You know, it's kind of funny. They showed a lot of new products today but what we really saw were things that a lot of their competitors have already released.
[00:35:02] So one of the big announcements was a new iPad Pro. So it's an iPad with a much bigger screen. It's more the size of a screen of a Mac Book as opposed to a tablet. But of course we've seen that from Microsoft with their Surface.
Apple also came out with a new stylus, which was a big update for them. They called it the Apple Pencil. So just, you know, some of these things, you know, really interesting updates for them. But nothing really groundbreaking.
BARNETT: Now there is a new iPhone program that essentially locks people in at roughly $384 per year to qualify for a fancy upgrade. They have a new photo feature that records a few seconds before and after a shot but if you think about it, that would take a bit more memory, memory space on their Cloud, it's something you have to pay for. Are we really seeing kind of small shifts in Apple's business model with these tweaks we saw announced?
TIBKEN: I think Apple really wants to get people locked into their ecosystem. That's something that they've always really benefitted from in the past. If you own an iPhone you're, you know, you're likely to upgrade to another iPhone when it's that time. But, you know, as you mentioned, we've seen all the carriers change their pricing. You know, we're just seeing a lot of other changes in the industry so Apple is really trying to address these.
You know, with iCloud, they cut the pricing for that so they also realized that doing things like this new, you know, innovative photo sort of technology, that's going to take up more memory so they are kind of taking that into account.
BARNETT: And then you wonder as you look at this, is Apple really innovating anymore? Are they leading the way or are they simply playing catch-up in a game with now so many competitors?
I mean, we talk about the iPad Pro, for example, and the stylus, you know, this was something the late Steve Jobs was staunchly against aesthetically.
TIBKEN: Yes.
BARNETT: So is that symbolic of an evolution of Apple under Tim Cook and really less of a leader in the industry now?
TIBKEN: I think Apple is still a leader. They are still out there. All you have to do is kind of look at the smart watch market. So Samsung, Sony, all of these other guys had a huge lead on Apple but in the first three months that the Apple Watch was on the market, it just completely dominated the market. So Apple has never really been first with products. They just have been really good at refining them and making changes that people really want to see in their devices.
We just really have to see where Apple is going with all of this. It does seem like a lot of the new features and a lot of the new areas that they're getting into are not quite as groundbreaking as what we saw under Steve jobs.
BARNETT: Yes. But as always true for them, there's always next year.
TIBKEN: Yes.
BARNETT: And many of the tech writers like yourself will be there watching and waiting.
Shara Tibken, senior writer with CNET News, thanks for joining us, from San Francisco.
TIBKEN: Thanks so much.
ASHER: Has Apple lost its magic touch then? I mean, what is going on?
BARNETT: Well, you know, you can't reinvent the phone every single year.
ASHER: Right.
BARNETT: You can't come up with a new platform all the time.
ASHER: Right.
BARNETT: Still a valuable company.
ASHER: It fell flat with investors I can tell you that.
BARNETT: Just the wow factor that's just a little missing right now.
ASHER: Missing.
OK. Let's take a look at the Asia Pacific stock market. Let's see how they're doing. Let's zoom in here. OK, so the Nikkei is down about 3.5 percent. The Hang Seng, down about 2 percent. Shanghai Composite pretty much down about 1 percent.
China is trying to ease global fears about a slowing economy. Our Asia Pacific editor Andrew Stevens joins us live from the World Economic Forum Meeting in Dalian, China.
So Andrew, thank you so much for being with us. We just saw the markets there, they are pretty much red arrows, basically down across the board. We got some not-so-good economic data from Japan but interesting enough we did get comments from the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, speaking about China's economy. I imagine that his remarks would be anticipated. What did he have to say and what was the reaction to these comments?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: I think you're right. I think the comments were anticipated. But people I've been speaking to after he made his speech saying -- did say that it was actually grounded in realism as well. It wasn't just a park place, if you like. He wasn't just spinning that the Chinese economy is in wonderful shape. He talked about the ups and downs. He talked about the treacherous conditions that the economy faces but overall, it is on the right footing.
It is interesting because it's the first time we've heard from senior Chinese leadership, and Li Keqiang is the man who is responsible, if you like, for the economy. He is often known as sort of the number two behind the supreme leader, Xi Jinping. So when he spoke, this was the first time we heard publicly what China thinks about what's been happening on the stock markets the last two months or so, three months, and also what's been happening in the economy, a slowing economy which of course has caused all these gyrations around the world on stock markets.
[00:40:08] He was realistic and that he acknowledged it had been a difficult couple of months. But listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LI KEQIANG, CHINESE PREMIER (Through Translator): Despite some moderation in speed, performance of the Chinese economy is stable and moving in a positive direction. Having said that, we also face some difficulties. But on the whole we have more opportunities than challenges. It is the creativity and passion of the public that gives us confidence in overcoming the difficulties we face. We have the capability to achieve all the major targets of economic development for this year and lay a solid foundation for economic growth for the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEVENS: And he underlined this point about China is not a source of risk for the global economy -- for global investors. It's a source of optimism. And the fact that it is a shock resistant and resilient economy. And this is all backed up by the fact that he says, saying that there are plenty of reserves if there is an unexpected downturn in the economy, they have the wherewithal to actually get the economy moving again.
That is -- that is a line you hear not just from China. That is a line you hear from independent analysts as well. We were talking to the head of Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific just last week and he was saying pretty much the same thing. No hard landing. They've got the tools if they need it.
And talking to delegates here afterwards, as I said, there was a feeling that it was a fairly pragmatic approach that the fears about China and China's impact on the rest of the world are probably overdone. Obviously he highlighted the positive but he didn't ignore the negative -- Zain.
ASHER: Yes. It's surprisingly optimistic comments from Li Keqiang as he tries to calm fears. But he did vow to press ahead with reforms.
OK. Andrew Stevens joining us live there. Thank you so much. Appreciate that, Andrew.
BARNETT: Now routine maintenance or something more. Concern growing after new satellite images appear to show North Korea increasing its nuclear activity. We'll have more on that after this.
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[00:45:33] BARNETT: In the U.S., attorneys for the embattled clerk at the center of a religious liberty dispute say she will return to work on Monday.
Kim Davis recently captured the world's attention, didn't she, by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. She said that would violate her conscience and her religion.
ASHER: Yes. And that does landed her five days in jail for contempt of court because of course same-sex marriage is legal in the United States. Not clear how David is going to be handling the licenses once she returns to work. We'll be watching.
Now as we've been reporting, not everybody was cheering for Kim Davis after she was released from jail. The rock bond, Survivor, says they do not support her and they do not want her using their songs.
BARNETT: There we go. Now for those who may not know that is Survivor song, "Eye of the Tiger."
ASHER: Very catchy tune. BARNETT: Playing as Davis met supporters in Grayson, Kentucky. Now
Survivor band member Jim Peterik says permission was not granted to use that theme song which is from the "Rocky III" movie at the rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM PETERIK, SURVIVOR BAND MEMBER: We were not asked about this at all. And the first time we saw it was on national TV. And you know, this really isn't a song that was meant to be a political statement, you know. It is like, probably the number one motivational song ever written, right now at least. You know, but we are talking about personal achievement. We're talking about one man's struggle or one woman's struggle to be the best at what they do. This is sporting -- you know, sporting events. This is not about taking political sides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now on the flipside Davis' lawyers says his client didn't choose the song for the rally which is organized by Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's team. Huckabee's spokesman couldn't say why that song was selected. So we will leave that there.
ASHER: OK. Well, lesson learned. OK.
Both the U.S. and U.N. officials say they are concerned over activity at North Korea's nuclear complex.
BARNETT: Now it could just be maintenance or it could mean Kim Jong- Un's regime is ramping up its nuclear program. This comes as the dictator is seen supervising military drills.
Our Brian Todd has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As his network's news anchor gives breathless play-by-play, a cruise missile is fired from a warship and Kim Jong-Un shows his approval. Newly released propaganda video shows him reviewing military exercises, targets at sea explode in the distance. At night he supervises a furious barrage of heavy artillery fire.
It comes as U.S. and U.N. officials tell CNN of new concerns over the possible expansion of Kim's nuclear weapons program. Anticipation is now building over one possible threat.
DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: There is a great deal of concern that North Korea may conduct a fourth nuclear test. It's hard to know when.
TODD: It could happen early next month around an important anniversary celebrating North Korea's dictatorship. New satellite images analyzed by the Web site 38 North shows signs of activity at Yongbyon, North Korea's sprawling complex which produces material for nuclear bombs. JOEL WIT, NUCLEAR EXPERT, 38 NORTH: We have trucks, there's one
truck, here's another truck, and what we see is a lot of activity at this facility which is the reactor. And in this reactor there are fuel rods and over time plutonium is built up in those fuel rods.
TODD: The truck activity could mean routine maintenance, analyst Joel Wit says, or it could mean more plutoniums being produced for bombs. Also the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency says the floor area of another building at Yongbyon housing a nuclear fuel rod fabrication plant has doubled in size over the past year.
At a time when there's furious disagreement over the Iran nuclear deal, analysts see a disturbing possible parallel with deals reached long ago to curb North Korea's nuclear program.
ALBRIGHT: The most chilling lesson of the North Korean deals, and there's been two sets of them, is that they just don't hold.
TODD: But the Iran deal, analysts, say will be much easier to verify. At this point North Korea's volatile young leader is in a dangerous place.
ALBRIGHT: We're faced with a growing threat from North Korea and no way to stop that threat. And you have to worry that accidents could happen. You'd have to worry that North Korea may miscalculate.
[00:50:12] TODD (on camera): And it's not just one nuclear bomb Kim could miscalculate with. Analysts say he's got between 10 and 15 nuclear bombs right now and at the rate he's accelerating his build- up, he could have as many as 100 by the end of 2020.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Time for a quick break here on CNN. When we come back, we'll have a look at some of the quirky strange achievements recognized as Guinness world records. Trust me, you do not want to miss this story. Stay with us.
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JAVAHERI: Good morning to you. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. This is "CNN Weather Watch. And look at the heat across the San Francisco bay area, one of the hottest temperatures trends so far this year. Same story out of Los Angeles. About 31 degrees.
Denver once again shoots up to 31 degrees. We all notice Chicago to New York. We'll get a few thunderstorms. Temperatures finally coming back to reality into the mid 20s. But the jet stream, major dive out of Canada. The door opens up for some cool Canadian air to filter in. Back to the west, the high pressure ridge remains in place at least across the northwest and expand a little bit as the temperatures go back up into the upper 20s and this is a part of the world where we've had the record hottest summer now taking place across the states of Oregon and Washington. Notice the only spot that is really below average has been across
parts of the Midwest in Chicago and in particular, around Illinois. That's an area where we've had some heat in recent days but overall the theme has been a quiet one. But here we go to the south. Temperatures should be into the mid 30s. San Juan also at 32 degrees. Caracas will have some thunderstorm, temps into the lower 30s as well, while we'll get some sunshine around northern portions around Panama, 34. El Salvador should be into the upper 20s today. And notice the thunderstorms popping up yet again around portions of Uruguay and Rio also getting in on some of the isolated showers in the forecast across that region.
BARNETT: A trio of unique animals and BMX stunt rider were among the new record setters acknowledged by Guinness World Records.
ASHER: Yes. It's an interesting list. The annual round-up of achievement was just released. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG GLENDAY, EDITOR IN CHIEF, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS: It's been a remarkable year for record breaking. We've sifted through about 1,000 applications every week for the past year to bring you some of the most amazing, awe-inspiring records.
[00:55:01] We've got a Texas longhorn steer that's got incredible rack, a three-meter wide horns. And also Purin the dog whose got the record for catching balls in his paws.
MARCO CALZINI, BERDIE'S OWNER: This is very unusual for a tortoise to be so active. We're so proud of Berdie to be a Guinness World Record holder.
GLENDAY: In Japan, we find an incredible BMX trick artist who smashed some great records this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: It's adorable.
BARNETT: It shows that you just have to find something unique and innovative that no one has done before.
ASHER: Yes.
BARNETT: Walking backwards, eating cake, longer distance. They'll give you an award people.
ASHER: I'll think of something soon enough.
OK. Thank you for watching, everyone. I'm Zain Asher.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Stay where you are because we'll be back with another hour of the world's biggest stories after this short break. See you in a moment.
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