Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
GOP Debate Wrap-Up; Putin Calls a Meeting of Top Sporting Officials; At Least 14 Migrants Died When Boat Sank Off Turkey's West Coast. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 11, 2015 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWSROOM HOST: Fight night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Republican contenders for the White House mixed it up on Immigration, Foreign Policy and the U.S. Economy. We will tell you if anyone was knocked out.
ERROL BARNETT, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWSROOM HOST: President Vladimir Putin calls a meeting of his top sporting officials amid accusations of rampant doping in Russian athletics.
CHURCH: And Alibaba smashes records during the world's biggest online shopping spree.
BARNETT: A big welcome to our viewers here in the States and those of you watching from all around the world. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us. This is "CNN Newsroom." And we will have those stories in just a moment. But we begin this hour with breaking news. We are getting word of another migrant tragedy. CNN Turk reports at least 14 migrants died when a boat sank off Turkey's western coast.
BARNETT: Now, we are told 27 people have been rescued and rescue operations are still under way at this moment. Arwa Damon joins us now on the phone with the latest from Turkey. Arwa, what can you tell us about this boat sinking and rescue efforts under way?
ARWA DAMON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (over phone): Good morning. Well the boat sank off the coast in an area called Ayvacik, which is just about 10 kilometers away from the Greek island of Lesbos, and all along this Turkish coastline where we are, you can see Lesbos in a distance. There are numerous launching points all along the way.
At this stage, we don't know the nationalities or how many children, women, men were among those who were killed and rescued in this ongoing operation at this stage, but the number of people still trying to reach what they believe will be the safety and sanctuary of Europe has really only been increasing over the months and weeks.
Numbers that are very difficult to actually comprehend. When you walk along this coastline, Errol, and so many of these launching points, you see clothing that has washed up or been left behind.
You see the remnants of those who were trying to make it across and on occasion you do see people piling into these rubber dinghies that are hardly sea worthy, trying to make that one- to two-hour trip to the Greek island, at least that's what it should be, but tragically more and more people are dying as time goes by.
This is perhaps one of the biggest failures of the international community at this stage because people are not being deterred. They just keep on going.
To give you an idea of the numbers, according to phone text, 150,000 people made the crossing from Turkey to Greece just in the month of October. That's 13 times more than attempted to make the crossing just last year.
Two days ago, according to the Turkish Coast Guard, 168 people were rescued, as they call it effectively caught and brought back to Turkey's shores and that's why, because people are not being deterred by the fact that they are risking their lives, because they believe so fundamentally that this is their only chance because most of the them are Syrians and Iraqis and cannot go back home.
They continue trying to make it across in these waters and the numbers of bodies washing ashore is just increasing and it's surely going to increase even more as winter approaches and the weather worsens.
BARNETT: And that fact, that this could get worse as time moves on adds to the importance of that meeting of E.U. ministers today and later this week as they discuss what to do with the millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and perhaps a request to have them slow their migration to Europe.
But these topics are certainly of massive importance. Arwa Damon on the line there, and we will check with her throughout the day as we get more information. Arwa, thank you.
CHURCH: All right there. As we heard from Arwa, conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere have caused this unprecedented number of people to try to escape to Europe. And as we just heard there from Errol, European Union and African leaders will meet in Malta in the coming hours to discuss what to do about the crisis.
BARNETT: Wednesday summit focusing on key issues is addressing the cause of all of this and improving the protection of migrants and refugees.
The U.S. Republican presidential candidates are laying out their plans for the future of the nation's economy. The top eight contenders took the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tuesday night, arguing, really, over tax reform, military spending and the banking industry.
[03:05:00] CHURCH: But an exchange between Donald Trump and John Kasich over Trump's immigration plan was one of the most heated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KASICH, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For the 11 million people, come on, folks, we all know you can't pick them up and ship them across -- back across the border. It's a silly argument. It's not an adult argument. It makes no sense.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I can say is you're lucky in Ohio that you struck oil. That's for one thing. Let me just tell you that Dwight Eisenhower, good president, great president, people liked him.
"I like Ike," right? The expression, "I like Ike," moved a million and a half illegal immigrants out of this country. Dwight Eisenhower. You don't get nicer, you don't get friendlier. They moved a million and a half people out. We have no choice. We have no choice.
KASICH: You just --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Bush --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a --
TRUMP: What happened to my --
KASICH: You're not going to have my back. I'm going to have my back. Let me say a couple of things here. First of all --
TRUMP: Governor --
KASICH: We have grown --
TRUMP: You should let Jeb speak.
KASICH: We have grown --
TRUMP: No, it's --
KASICH: The fact is, all I'm suggesting, we can't ship 11 million people out of this country. Children would be terrified and it will not work. This is some --
TRUMP: Let me just -- built an unbelievable company worth billions and billions of dollars. I don't have to hear from this missed -- missed. Believe me. I don't have to hear it from him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Wow. You see Trump getting tangled up with some of the other candidates there. When the conversation turned to Russian involvement in Syria, it was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush who took issue with Trump's position. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As far as Syria, I like -- if Putin wants to go in -- and I got to know him very well because we were both on "60 Minutes." We were stable mates. We did very well that night. But -- you know that. But if Putin wants to go and knock the hell out of ISIS, I am all for it 100 percent and I can't understand how anybody would be against it.
JEB BUSH, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're not doing --
TRUMP: They blew up -- hold it. They blew up -- wait a minute. They blew up a Russian airplane. He cannot be in love with these people. He's going in and we can go in and everybody should go in.
We can't continue to be the policemen of the world. We owe $19 trillion. We have a country that's going to hell. We have an infrastructure that's falling apart, our roads, our bridges, our schools, our airports, and we have to start investing money in our country.
INDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, sir.
BUSH: Donald -- Donald is wrong on this. He is absolutely wrong on this. We're not going to be the world's policemen, but we sure as heck better be the world's leader.
There's a huge difference where without us leading, voids are filled and the idea that it is a good idea for Putin to be in Syria, let ISIS take out Assad and then Putin will take out ISIS? That's like a board game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And Ben Carson got some of the loudest applause of the night defending himself against criticism that he hadn't been completely honest about his past. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CARSON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We should vet all candidates. I have no problem with being vetted. What I do have a problem with is being lied about and then putting that out there as truth. And I don't even mind that so much if they do it with everybody, like people on the other side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: So a lot going on there. But who do CNN's political analysts think fared the best? Anderson Cooper spoke with them right after the debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The so-called frontrunners, Trump and Carson, complete non-entities in my view that benefits Ted Cruz, and I tend to look at what's going on, on that stage as a race among Mavericks and a race among establishment types. So, Cruz wins the Maverick contest. Among the establishment types, Marco Rubio had a good performance tonight.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: David Axelrod?
DAVID AXELROD, POLITICAL OPERATIVE AND ANALYST: You know, I would agree with that. The one thing I noted in a poll earlier this week was that when you take Carson or Trump out of the race, Rubio actually gains at least as much or more than does Cruz and it raises the question as to whether he has the inside track because he can appeal more broadly across the factions of the Republican party.
I think he helped himself again tonight. He had a spirited presentation, new generation, you know, he really banged his themes and he did his strong on defense pitch, which is something that's integral to his appeals. So I think he had a good night.
COOPER: Nia?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Jeb Bush had a good night, too, I think, because he didn't have a bad night. His last debate performance obviously was terrible.
He came in with this debate coach, and I thought he was fine. He wasn't memorable in terms of having any kind of knockout punch or any sort of home run.
[03:10:00] But I think just by being steady, but being present, I thought he was good. I thought his answer on immigration was good.
He definitely, I think, benefited from Kasich who was there, really fighting I think on the immigration debate particularly it was Kasich who opened the door for him, kicked it down, really, and then you saw Jeb Bush with a pretty strong follow up when it comes to immigration.
COOPER: Gloria?
GLORIA BORGER, CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: What struck me tonight was the fact that these people [TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY] it was kind of extraordinary. We were all expecting Carson and Trump, perhaps, to go after each other.
But you had Kasich and Trump going after each other. You had Rubio and Paul going after each other. You had Trump and Fiorina, you know, why does she keep interrupting everybody?
And I think Trump was -- I'm going to disagree with Michael a little bit. I think Trump was more of a factor in this debate than he has been in past debates because he was on terra firma here on the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now, the first electoral contests are getting closer every day. One of the early and most decisive primaries is in South Carolina.
CHURCH: CNN'S Gary Tuchman talked with some voters in the town of Mt. Pleasant who watched Tuesday's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First question, did you think it was a high quality debate?
CROWD: Yeah.
TUCHMAN: You can see there's a lot of enthusiasm. This is not scientific, but they did do a straw poll that ended who they support, which candidate they support and of the people here, 47 said Ben Carson for first place, 17 for Donald Trump and Ted Cruz tied for second place, Jeb Bush at 12, Marco Rubio 11, Ron Paul 10.
Nobody else had more than 10, so Ben Carson dominated this audience, it's fair to say, right?
And this is an important state. South Carolina is the first primary after the New Hampshire primary. So it's a very important state. Plus, I want to ask you, did anybody change their mind about their candidates after this debate? Anybody at all? You.
TOM WILLIS: Hi there.
TUCHMAN: The only man in this whole room.
WILLIS: Yes.
TUCHMAN: OK. What's your name, sir?
WILLIS: Willis, Tom Willis.
TUCHMAN: Tom, why -- who did you support when you walked in here?
WILLIS: Donald Trump.
TUCHMAN: And who do you support now?
WILLIS: Carly Fiorina.
TUCHMAN: And why did you change your mind?
WILLIS: Because she articulates her position, unemotionally, and very few words, and I understand exactly what she said and the message she wanted to deliver.
TUCHMAN: You don't think Donald Trump is unemotional?
WILLIS: I think he's very emotional.
TUCHMAN: Not a joke. But you're supporting Fiorina now?
WILLIS: Yes.
TUCHMAN: This gentleman, next to you, was telling me that you're supporting who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rand -- Rand Paul. TUCHMAN: Rand Paul. And you haven't changed your mind, but you said
you learned something from this debate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I did develop a little more appreciation for some of the other candidates. I thought Ted Cruz did really well. I even liked some of the things Jeb Bush said, which I didn't expect, but he did -- he did make some good points.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, the Republican presidential candidates did a lot of talking and made a lot of claims during the debate. But were they accurate?
BARNETT: We will let you know in our reality check later this hour
CHURCH: All right, so let's check some other news now. U.S. authorities are investigating a small plane crash in Ohio that killed everyone on board.
Local media are reporting nine people were on the aircraft when it hit a small apartment building. The plane was approaching a regional airport when it went down. No one on the ground was hurt.
BARNETT: Two of the largest daily fantasy sports companies have been told to stop accepting wages in New York. The State Attorney General calls it illegal gambling.
He started investigating DraftKings and FanDuel last month. They say daily fantasy sports are a game of skill and they plan to fight this.
CHURCH: A governing body for soccer in the U.S. wants all children under the age of 10 to stop playing with their heads. The group, U.S. Soccer, says its recommendations are based on a medical committee's advice. Players involved with two of U.S. Soccer's programs are already following this directive.
BARNETT: A top Russian official says it will be months before it's safe to fly into Egypt. Still to come, new revelations from the MetroJet crash investigation.
CHURCH: Plus, China is once again breaking records with its annual singles day. We will have a live update on the world's biggest shopping day. Back in a moment.
[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines. Russia has dismissed claims they're involved in a wide reaching state sponsored doping program in sport. They also added the accusations are not backed up by any clear evidence.
Now the Olympic committee is asking the IAAF to start to plenary proceedings against athletes accused of doping. They're also calling for five Russian athletes and five coaches to be given lifetime bans. Wolfgang Niersbach will keep his place on the FIFA Executive Committee
despite the chairman football association president resigning on Monday over bribery allegations. He quit over a $7-million payment to FIFA. The money was allegedly used to bribe officials to vote for Germany's bid to host the 2006 world cup.
The scandal has forced the team manager, (of the bear hug), to reassure fans this won't affect the national team.
And turning our attention to the Premier League now, know shock Chelsea's troubles are continuing. They've been fined $75,000 over misconduct charges. West Ham has been fined $60,000 for them. It all relates to when the two sides played last month. Both teams admitted failing to ensure players acted in an orderly way.
And that is it for all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The Syrian army looks to have retain a key military airport which has been under siege from ISIS for two years.
BARNETT: According to local reports, the government began a major offensive, almost a month ago to retake the airport in Aleppo province. The Syrian army spokesman says the operation was successful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): Our forces have high spirits and they are executing their duties accurately following the operations plans. The successful operations of our forces cost the terrorist groups huge losses and frustration in their lines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: The army says it's also reclaimed some strategically important areas near the airport.
CHURCH: The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will soon take a look at the jet engines from MetroJet flight 9268. The plane was built in Europe, but its engines were made in the United States.
BARNETT: And until now, American investigators haven't had access to the wreckage. But based on other information, including photos and intelligence from Israel, U.S. officials say jihadists most likely planted a bomb on that plane. The crash killed all 224 people on board.
The American assessment raises more concerns about airport security in Egypt. A high level official in Moscow says it could be months before Russians are safe, flying into the country.
For more, let's turn to our Ian Lee, he joins us live from Sharm el- Sheikh, Egypt. Ian, the top aviation experts from the state, the NTSB, have been invited now to join the Egyptians, but what took so long?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Egyptians have been bringing in different international partners into this investigation since the very beginning. First, it was the Russians then the French, the German, the Irish, and now they're bringing in the Americans.
[03:20:00] They have said that anyone who has had a hand in developing or operating this plane can be brought in to help with this investigation, and the United States has that origin of these engines, these Pratt & Whitney engines that this plane had and so the NTSB will be there to inspect these engines.
An invitation was put out by the Egyptian government to come in and it does kind of go along with the lines, still, that the Egyptians say, you know, this could still be an engine failure that brought down this plane.
But with the NTSB there on the ground or when they do come, we don't know when or where, they will be inspecting those engines but we'll find out, then, definitively if the engines were the cause of this plane crash. But as we know right now, the predominant theory is that a bomb was put on board this plane.
BARNETT: And you get the sense, Ian, as you watch the speed at which Egypt accepts or denies the possibility that a bomb could be involved, you get the sense that they really want to protect tourism, a major revenue stream that has been in decline the past few years.
Any evidence that just from this tragedy so far people are staying away from certain places?
LEE: You know, what's really interesting about that is if you talk to tourists here, a lot of them say they feel safe and, you know, some of them didn't mind expanding -- extending their vacation a few days because the flights couldn't take them home.
But this will be really damaging to Egypt's economy because if you look at the two top nations that send tourists here, you have Russia and you have the United Kingdom.
Well, Russia says that they're suspending all flights to Egypt until further notice as they investigate and look at the security at the airports.
You have the British who have suspended -- well, not suspended, but who had suspended flights and now have a very complicated way of getting home.
They're hoping that that will be resolved in the days and weeks to come. But, still, these are the top two countries that send people here, and tourism makes up over 10 percent of Egypt's GDP.
So any sort of hiccup in bringing tourists here will be damaging to the economy, although yesterday we heard from British officials that said they understand that Egypt's economy relies heavily on tourism and they want to try as quickly as possible to make sure they can get tourists back here safely and at a normal pace and a normal routine.
BARNETT: All right. Ian lee, live in Sharm el-Sheikh this morning, just past 10:20 in the morning there. Thank you.
CHURCH: More fallout from allegations that Russian athletes have been doping.
BARNETT: The World Anti-Doping Agency suspended work at Moscow's main sports drug testing lab on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee is making its own call for disciplinary action.
CHURCH: It says that if athletes and coaches were proven to have cheated, they could be stripped of medals and banned from future competition.
Israeli police say there was a surge of Palestinian attacks on Israelis on Tuesday. Israelis Forces in the West Bank shot and killed a Palestinian, they say, pulled out a knife and tried to stab a border officer near a checkpoint.
BARNETT: In Jerusalem, guards shot and killed a Palestinian who allegedly ran toward them with a knife. This is near the Old City. Earlier in the day, police say two Palestinian boys stabbed a guard on a tram. He shot at them, seriously wounding one of the boys.
CHURCH: Now, while violence continues between Israelis and Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on a campaign to mend his relationship with the United States.
And for more on that, let's bring in CNN correspondent Oren Liebermann. He is live in Jerusalem.
And Oren, of course, our viewers and all of us have witnessed a lot of awkwardness and a lot of tension between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Barack Obama.
But not this time. In this meeting, it was very different. We saw particularly on the part of the Israeli Prime Minister an effort to bend over backwards to make that relationship look a lot better. What is behind all of this?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, that's very much what this trip was all about, making it look like these two get along. Even if they don't get along personally, continuing the relationship between the countries, the relationship, the security coordination, military cooperation between the U.S. and Israel.
We spoke with a political analyst here who said all they need for this meeting so be a success is further to be no negative publicity, no negative fallout from these two meeting. We saw that very public debate that we saw playing out in the media between these two leaders over the Iran nuclear deal.
[03:25:00] But now that's done. That's passed. Nuclear deal is a fact. Netanyahu now focusing on sort of rebuilding (ph) that relationship that took quite a few hits, not only with President Obama, but also with the American Jewish community that was very divided with this very public spat between the two leaders. So that is what this was all about. Prime Minister Netanyahu visiting the U.S., starting to mend those fences, essentially. And he knows he only has to work with President Obama for just over a year at this point. He wants it to be a good ending, even if everything up until now was more than a bit rough.
CHURCH: Indeed. We'll continue to watch this and of course progress in the Middle East and that back drop with the violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Oren Liebermann, joining us live from Jerusalem. Many thanks to you.
BARNETT: Okay, to Myanmar now where the pro-democracy leader is requesting a joint meeting with the military chief, the parliament's chairman and the country's president.
Aung San Suu Kyi is confident her national league for democracy will win enough votes to form a new government and she's made it clear she will be in charge if she wins.
CHURCH: And the Election Commission says her party has won 163 of 182 seats declared so far. Military rulers annulled election results in the 1990s, you'd recall, but Suu Kyi and the presidential spokesman say that won't happen this time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YE HTUT, MYANMAR PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON: There's little to understand in the 1990s, there is no constitution. But today, we have the 2008 constitution which granted - peaceful transition of the power to the winning party on the election.
And the most important thing is the President and the Commander-in- Chief already pledged they will respect the position made by the Myanmar people. So the situation is very different in the 1990 and 2015.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now, final election results are expected within two weeks. But we do have a bit of information just in to CNN on this.
Myanmar's President, Thein Sein, has agreed to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi. The president's office tells CNN that they intended to wait until the ballot counting eases to arrange an exact time when they will meet. But very positive signs in the country right now.
CHURCH: Well, more on the Republican presidential debate is just ahead, including this pointed comments on immigration reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED CRUZ, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I will say for those of us who believe people ought to come to this country legally and we should enforce the law, we're tired of being told it's anti-immigrant. It's offensive.
[03:30:01] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: Glad you could join us for our last half hour. Welcome back to those of you watching in the states and around the world. This is CNN Newsroom. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. It is of course time to check the headlines for you. At least 14 migrants died when their ship sank off the Turkey's western coast. CNN Turk reports 27 people were rescued and the search for more survivors is ongoing. The wooden boat was apparently trying to reach the Greek Island of Lesbos.
BARNETT: Meanwhile, the president has agreed to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (inaudible) these past few minutes. A statement from the president's office says the meeting will take place when the vote counting eases. Suu Kyi is confident her National League for Democracy Party has won Sunday's election, even though full results aren't yet in.
CHURCH: The Republican presidential candidates are outlining their plans to grow the U.S. economy. They met in Milwaukee and Wisconsin Tuesday night for their latest debate. Donald Trump came under fire from Jeb Bush and John Kasich for his plans to send millions of undocumented immigrants back to Mexico.
Tuesday was a big night for eight top U.S. Republican presidential candidates. It was their fourth debate, this one in Wisconsin as we mentioned.
BARNETT: That's right. And they talked for more than a few hours about issues like taxes, immigration, and at times, things got very heated.
CHURCH: It did.
BARNETT: Tom Foreman takes a look at one of these exchanges and whether the candidates stuck to the facts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FOREMAN, REALITY CHECK HOST: One of the hardest confrontations of the night came when Donald Trump took exception to the trans-pacific partnership trade deal and Rand Paul took exception to Donald Trump. Listen.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The TPP is a horrible deal. It is a deal is going to lead to nothing, but trouble. It was a deal that was designed for China to come in, as they always do through the back door, and totally take advantage of everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Gerard, you know, we might want to point out China is not part of this deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: True. That's true, yeah.
FOREMAN: Yeah, China was very specifically left out of this deal. Part of the plan here was that by leaving China out, it would blunt their ability to use their massive economy to push around smaller nations with smaller economy economies. So what is Trump talking about here? We were tempted to say that what he said was just false, but we're going to call it true, but misleading because he did talk a little bit about currency manipulation in the fine print of his statement, saying maybe it opens the door for that. But what he said was very questionable. But what Rand Paul however said was absolutely true in this exchange. You can find out more about this and many more of them by going to our website, CNN.com/realitycheck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Joining me now is Larry Sabato, the Director for the Central Politics at the University of Virginia. Thank you, sir, for talking with us. So what did you think of this fourth GOP debate? Who were the winners and losers, and what were the most memorable moments, do you think?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTRAL POLITICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: I think in this particular debate, all eyes were on Jeb Bush. His donors were expecting a performance. I don't believe he delivered it. But he was better than he was in prior debates. But that just simply means he wasn't comatose. He gave several good answers, but he often faded from the stage and was not heard from for quite a while. So I don't think he got what he hoped to give and that was the central focus of this debate.
CHURCH: Yeah, many people watching to see how it would go. He had a coach, didn't he, to try to help him. So that's interesting. But on to another moment there, we saw Donald Trump come out fighting, sparring with Jeb Bush and John Kasich on the issue of immigration. They blasted Trump on his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. Who came out on top in that exchange?
[03:35:01] SABATO: Within the Republican Party, it wasn't even a contest. Trump was the winner. And he was the winner on that issue because the Republican base is so strong in anti-immigration. But, of course, the general election is different and the Republicans may well suffer for this position.
CHURCH: And Ben Carson has been riding high in the polls, hasn't he? But he struggled with these questions on his personal life. How did he fare in the debate Tuesday? And do you think he will remain in the lead?
SABATO: Trump and Carson could not be more alike and disliked, and different at the same time. How are they alike? Because they're both outsiders and they draw strong support from the base. But they're unalike because for every bombastic aspect of Trump, there is a quiet, calm demeanor in Ben Carson. So he is (inaudible) any of his supporters. And I don't think he gained any either. He's just where Trump is.
CHURCH: So the winner of the debate?
SABATO: Actually, they all had their moments. I would say it's easier to identify losers. Jeb Bush would be at the top. Probably Governor Kasich did poorly. In the under card debate, Governor Christie won. But it's not going to help him. He's not going to be the nominee.
CHURCH: All right. Larry Sabato, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.
SABATO: Thank you.
BARNETT: A good night for Trump, bad for Bush.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: Apparently, many of the commentators are taking that same view.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is coming under fire for laughing off a comment about Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.
CHURCH: It happened during a campaign appearance Tuesday in Dairy, New Hampshire. Take a listen to that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time I see her on TV, I want to reach through and strangle her.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I know that doesn't sound very nice.
(LAUGHTER)
HILLARY CLINTON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wouldn't mess with you.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now, a Republican National Committee spokeswoman said, quote, by laughing off a male questioner's desire to strangle Carly Fiorina, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats have lost all credibility, claiming to be a party that stands up for women. Now, a Clinton spokesman later told a CNN reporter, quote, you were there, what was your take? It was a joke.
CHURCH: A lot of people losing their sense of humor throughout this whole campaign.
BARNETT: Yeah. It's getting intense.
CHURCH: Yeah. Well, sales are through the roof on China's Singles Day, the biggest shopping day of the year and it's not over yet. We will have a live update on the annual shopping bonanza.
BARNETT: And the deceptive appearance of celebration in a Mexican village.
Next, the danger our reporter encountered there while investigating human trafficking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:40:55] BARNETT: Right now, China's online retailers are raking in billions of dollars on what is Singles Day, the biggest shopping day of the year. By mid-day, sales topped last year's total of $9.3 billion. CNN's Steven Jiang joins us live from Beijing with the latest numbers. Steven, these figures already are staggering. I'm wondering if they were expected in any way.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, definitely, Errol. If you can see behind me, that's a huge screen with sales data being live streamed and the numbers now over $11 billion. We still have some eight hours to go. And you know, in the first 90 minutes actually, they sold more than $5 billion worth of goods and products. So that's the kind of amazing skill we are talking about. This is just Alibaba, one of the many online e-commerce giants here. Other companies like JD.com are launching their own shopping festivals. When you look at the broader picture, it's even more incredible. The National Postal Service estimated it will be shipping 760 million packages in this 24- hour period on Wednesday. And as I said, we still have eight more hours to go, Errol, so a lot of records are being shattered here.
BARNETT: And the initial concept, which I understand has been around for a while, is that single folks can just buy things for themselves. It's November 11th. You know, 1-1-1-1. But how did it become this cultural phenomenon it is now? I know Alibaba had a huge part and played a huge role in that.
JIANG: They did. Basically, it was Alibaba who basically turned this anti-Valentine's Day of sorts into a shopping bonanza because they are basically encouraging single people to pamper themselves on this day. And I think a lot of people bought into this. I interviewed an online shopping addict before Singles Day and then she really ticked all the boxes, young, female, single, educated, professional, you know, buying almost everything online. And she is -- she was really gearing up for this Singles Day for all the discounts and promotions. She is just one of millions. When you add them up, it's really adding up to these amazing sales figures. Even more incredible considering what we have been talking, these economic slowdowns. So all these weak manufacturing and export numbers aside, on this day, these numbers are telling a very different story. Errol.
BARNETT: And those numbers behind you continue to move up. Steven, go ahead, there are some hours left. Buy yourself something nice. Steven Jiang live for us in Beijing, just past 4:43 in the afternoon there. Thanks.
CHURCH: A senior Thai army general is among dozens of people facing trial in the country's crackdown on human trafficking. The suspects include military officers. They appeared in court Tuesday.
BARNETT: Over the weekend, a police officer in charge of the investigation resigned, saying he feared for his life. The crackdown began in May, but it's also resulted in smugglers abandoning thousands of migrants on land and at sea.
CHURCH: Well, we've been telling you about a small Mexican village that has an international reputation for sex trafficking. It's been going on for generations.
BARNETT: We've heard from some of the victims. And in this freedom project story, Rafael Romo talks to local officials, but immediately, it is clear he's not welcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A traditional feast honoring St. Michael, the Archangel, Catholic teaching says St. Michael led heaven's forces on a war against people. But here in Tenancingo, Mexico, anti-trafficking groups say he goes by a different name. They call him the Patron Saint of Pimping.
[03:45:01] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember that I asked my mother for permission to go to the fair the day before.
ROMO: Matilde (ph) was 14 years old when she and her cousin were kidnapped, leaving a town fair. They were drugged and taken to a place many anti-slavery activists have called the sex trafficking capital of the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would cry every day. I would beg that woman to let me go. It was nauseating for me to be taken to a bar to sleep with 20- to 30 men every day.
They were young and old, even elderly and we couldn't complain at all.
ROMO: From afar, Mexico's Tenancingo village appears quaint, even serene.
ROSIE OROZCO, HEAD OF MEXICO'S SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING: This is really the place where you can see slavery in the worst of the story.
ROMO: Rosie Orozco, head of Mexico's Special Committee to Combat Trafficking says just how the religious teachings became so corrupted goes back decades with fathers teaching sons and uncles teaching nephews.
OROZCO: They know how to end in five minutes. So they will be with 20 men in a home and then in another place with 10 and at the end of the day, 60 times a day, they say.
ROMO: Authorities say Tenancingo is the start of a pipeline of forced prostitution, the headquarters of a vast criminal enterprise, stretching across Mexico and the United States. Matilde (ph), now in hiding in the United States, was one of hundreds of victims forced to provide sex to dozens of men each day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He told me he's sending me to the U.S. because he can make twice as much.
ROMO: Susan Coppedge, the U.S. State Department Ambassador At Large to Combat Human Trafficking says the traffickers often refer to their upbringing in court.
SUSAN COPPEDGE, THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT AMBASSADOR AT LARGE TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: One of the defendants when he was sentenced, his argument was my dad was a pimp, my granddad was a pimp. At 13, I was told I was going to be a pimp. So that's what the town does. That's their industry.
ROMO: When you come here, you immediately get the sense that there's something different about this town. As a matter of fact, authorities told us that they cannot guarantee our safety. And you get the idea that no matter who you are, if you're not from this town, you're not welcome here.
We tried over the course of several months to speak with Tenancingo's mayor, even visiting his office upon first arriving in the town. We were denied and warned to stay close to the Town Square. By late afternoon, the tension we felt became more palpable. We had been warned of the dangers journalists face in this town.
Two church officials approached.
I tell her we came because we would like to speak to the mayor about the issue of human trafficking.
She motions for (inaudible) to come over. Burn them, the young men behind them shout. It's time to go.
The driver says he noticed that when we were leaving the town, there was a gray car that started following us and they followed us for about 10 minutes.
As the town recedes into the rear view, there's a sinking feeling present among our crew. On this day, Tenancingo proved too dangerous, leaving the battles to protect girls like Estrella (ph) and Matilde (ph) from the evils of sex trafficking solely in the hands of St. Michael and his army of angels. Rafael Romo, Tenancingo, Mexico.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And in his next report, Rafael will talk with a human trafficker. And at CNN.com/freedom, you can learn how to fly to freedom by making a plane and a pledge to help end modern slavery. We'll be right back.
[03:49:40] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is Pedram Javaheri for CNN Weather. This is Weather Watch. A quick update here for weather across the America and across the eastern side of the United States, where temperatures moderating a little bit. Up to 14 around New York City. Atlanta mixes it up to 22 degrees. Watching areas like Denver, Colorado, high temperature of about 20 degrees on Tuesday, makes it only up to about 6. The concern is morning snow showers come in here literally during the morning commute. So we're watching the radar very carefully, as the snow showers begin pushing in from the west, portions of the I-70 corridor pick up significant snow accumulations. And we know certainly the winter weather advisories all over this place across this region, even the first blizzard warnings of the season in place across the area. Anytime you get your winds upwards of 56 kilometers per hour, you have visibilities reduce to less than a quarter of a mile. With the snow coming out, it certainly becomes a problematic issue across that region. The storm quickly exits the pictures. The concern with that is that it interacts with warm air locked in place. We have very, very active jet stream (ph) across this region as well. So certainly severe weather threat in the picture, a possibility for about 20 million people to deal with some rough weather across the Central and Midwestern portion of the United States.
To the Caribbean, quick glance around Kingston, Jamaica, looking at 32, generally it is going to be a windy day across that region with partly cloudy skies. (Inaudible) makes it up to 22. Thunderstorms also in the forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: A marathon runner in the U.S. State of Georgia looked like he might be defeated after falling down just 200 yards short of the finish line. But with the help of a police officer, the runner finished the race strong.
BARNETT: Yeah. Take a look at this. This video has gone viral, but the police officer doesn't want to take any credit, insisting that, quote, the runner is an inspiration and the hero in this story.
CHURCH: Love stories like that.
BARNETT: Yeah.
CHURCH: Well, Thursday marks the anniversary of the armistice ending World War I. And whether it's called Veterans Day in the United States or Remembrance Day in Britain and commonwealth countries, millions of people around the world are remembering those who served and often died for their country.
BARNETT: CNN's Richard Roth introduces us to a 99-year-old World War II vet who was a dive bomber during the Battle of Midway, U.S. Captain Dusty Kleiss is the last surviving member of that pivotal battle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. planes roaring to the attack amid a reign of anti-aircraft fire.
[03:54:37] U.S. CAPTAIN DUSTY KLEISS: Here I am, you know, one of the newest people and yet Vice-Admiral Halsey has put me to the most critical, important location in this Battle of Midway.
After four hours of flying, I was able to see a little hole in the clouds. I went up to 20,000 feet and I looked at the big red circle on the Kaga. So I dived down there at Mach one. I pulled out at the last minute. I had already planned where to put my bomb. The main bomb went down four decks below.
They hear you. I knew that this was going to be a tougher target. They saw us coming. I saw that it was going to -- not where it was, but where it was going to be. And I put it into that red circle and it went down. And again, it was a bonfire. No one in there was able to survive. Regardless of anything, God would give me strength enough if I work hard enough that I would be able to accomplish something to preserve the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: You're a brave man, Dusty.
CHURCH: Absolutely. And he looks fantastic, 99 years old.
BARNETT: You would never know.
CHURCH: Unbelievable. Thanks for watching CNN. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Our two hours are up. Early Start is next for those of you here in the states.
CHURCH: And for the rest of you, stay tuned for CNN Newsroom. Have a great day.
BARNETT: See you tomorrow.
