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Protests After Porter Mistrial; Tour of Russia's Syrian Air Base; Federal Reserve Hikes Interest Rates; Top Republicans Struggle to Explain Debate Answers on National Security; U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan Angers China; South African President Fights for Political Life; Returning Cuba Major League Baseball Players Get Hero's Welcome; Australia Hit by Tornado, Suffers from Heat; Bottled Air a Hot Seller in China. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 17, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:25] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
And we begin in Baltimore where angry but peaceful protests broke out after a judge declared a mistrial in the case of Officer William Porter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Shut it down!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we don't get it --
CROWD: Shut it down!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Porter is one of six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, who broke his neck while in police custody last April. A jury couldn't reach a verdict on any of the charges against the officer.
Now the Gray family is hoping prosecutors will retry the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY MURPHY, GRAY FAMILY ATTORNEY: A hung jury means that this particular jury could not agree. It's not at all uncommon. And we are confident that Ms. Mosby is going to retry this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Jean Casarez has more details now.
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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For prosecutors it was all about what Baltimore City Police Officer William Porter didn't do when it came to Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old died from wounds suffered while in police custody on April 12th. Prosecutors say it was callous indifference when Porter didn't call a medic after hearing Gray in the back of a police van say "help, I can't breathe. Help me up," and, "Yes," when Porter asked if he need a medic. The case made national headlines after Gray's arrest was captured on camera. After his death the city of Baltimore was under siege with protests taking over the streets.
Porter is the first of six officers to go on trial in connection with Gray's death.
Prosecutors told the jury Gray's injuries were sustained after officers failed to secure him with a seat belt while transporting him to a police station. Assistant medical examiner, Dr. Carol Allen, testified that Gray broke his neck, describing his horrific injuries to the jury saying nothing held arteries to the brain in place. Gray wouldn't have been able to breathe, she testified. Allen also telling the jury if Gray had gotten medical care at that point when Porter spoke to him she wouldn't have determined the death to be a homicide. A forensic pathologist for the defense testified that Gray's injuries happened after Porter questioned him and that his injuries were likely the result of an accident and accidents happen.
Porter took the stand in his own defense, telling the jury he knew Gray from patrolling the streets of west Baltimore, they had a mutual respect but every time Gray was arrested it was a big scene and he thought this was like all the other times, Gray having a bit of jailitis, trying to avoid a trip to central booking. Porter testified he never saw any external injuries. And after three days of deliberations the jury was unable to decide if he was guilty.
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CHURCH: CNN senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, says a hung jury gives the defense an advantage in this case.
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JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The technical legal term for the prosecution up this point is "up a creek." They really have big problems here because they were counting on using Porter as a witness against the others and now he's now in this sort of hyperspace. Prosecutors -- when you have hung juries, that is almost always a win for the defense.
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CHURCH: But an attorney for the Gray family says the mistrial is not a victory for either side, just a setback on the road to justice.
Well, in just a couple of hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his big annual news conference where he'll take questions from hundreds of journalists. He'll likely talk about domestic and foreign policy. Russia has made headlines lately with its military presence in Syria, and now for saying it will suspend its free-trade zone with Ukraine. Well, the Russian warplanes striking Syria take off from an air base
in the Western part of the country.
CNN was given rare access to that base and Russia's military. Here's our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance.
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[02:05:06] MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how the Kremlin supports its Syrian allies and battles its enemies. We gained rare access to the Syrian base at Latakia, now the military hub of Russia's air war.
(on camera): This really does feel like the center of a massive Russian military operation. The air is filled with the smell of jet fuel, and the ground shudders with the roar of those warplanes returning from their bombing missions.
(voice-over): Russia's defense ministry says more than 200 targets have been struck in just 24 hours. 320 militants killed, it says, from ISIS and other rebel groups fighting the Syrian government and its president, Bashar al Assad.
(on camera): So I'm joined by General Igor Konoshenkov. He's the chief military spokesman for the Russian government, the Russian defense ministry.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
I said thank you for the trip. He's escorting us here on the Latakia military base.
Let me ask you that question. That question about who you are targeting. Is it is or are you supporting Assad?
GEN. IGOR KONOSHENKOV, SPOKESMAN, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: (through translation): I can answer that question with our actions. Every day we show you how Russian aviation is fighting international terrorism, destroying their infrastructure in Syria.
CHANCE (voice-over): On our tour of the base, we were shown how Russia carefully arms its bombers, with high-tech precision weaponry. We also saw unguided, or dumb bombs, being loaded. Human rights groups accuse Russia of killing civilians from the air. A charge the Kremlin strenuously denies.
(on camera): Well, there's another plane coming in now just touching down. It's an SU-24 that's going to be very noisy. But it's just carried out an air strike somewhere in Syria against rebel targets, either ISIS or some other opposition group.
(voice-over): Russia says it's stopping ISIS in its tracks, striking their assets and shrinking the territory they and other rebel groups control. And after more than 4,000 sorties over Syria, this Kremlin air war shows no sign of winding down.
Matthew Chance, CNN, at the Latakia Air Base in western Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, for the first time in nearly a decade the U.S. central bank has hiked up interest rates. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen announced the move Wednesday. It's seen as a sign that the economy is on the right track.
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JANET YELLEN, CHAIRWOMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: This action marks the end of an extraordinary seven-year period during which the federal funds rate was held near zero to support the recovery of the economy from the worst financial crisis in recession since the Great Depression.
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CHURCH: So what does this mean for Americans? Big banks wasted no time increasing their rates. Millions of people will pay more for loans, things like mortgages, car loans, and credit cards.
Richard Quest, host of "Quest Means Business," explains why the Fed chose to act now.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: It was the smallest of moves, but of course it's what it says about the U.S. economy and the future direction of the country's interest rates. Janet Yellen made it clear the committee felt the time was now right, even though inflation is still well below the 2 percent target, unemployment has come down, growth is moderate, and even at elevated levels, well, interest rates are still historically low.
So to put this into perspective, the last time the Fed raised rates was nine years ago. They reduced them down to zero. And they have been there for seven years. Not surprisingly, as soon as the rate rise came out, even though it had been widely expected and telegraphed by the Fed, the market was somewhat perturbed. Here you have the start of the day. Here you have the moment when the announcement was made. And you get a sell-off initially. The market still remains positive. But as the day goes on toward the close the markets, the Dow Jones closes up 224 points, a gain of nearly 1.3 percent.
Why such a strong result? Simple. Because the Fed made it clear that the future increases in interest rates would be gradual. Nobody's expecting a repeat of 2004 to 2006 when there were 17 interest rate rises in consecutive meetings. Instead, the best people are expecting maybe two or three interest rate rises next year.
Make no bones about it. Times have changed when it comes to increasing interest rates the Fed's making it clear it will be slow and possibly not even steady.
Richard Quest, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:10:39] CHURCH: And there is how markets in the Asia Pacific region are doing following the fed's decision. Very healthy gains across the region.
I'm joined from Hong Kong by our Asia-Pacific editor, Andrew Stevens; and Fred Neumann, the co-head of Asian Economics, and managing director at HSBC.
Great to talk to you both.
I want to start with our Andrew Stevens, who's keeping a very close eye on the Asian markets and how they're reacting to this long- expected rate increase.
So, Andrew, those markets seem pretty happy with the move so far. Why is that?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: They seem very happy with the move so far. Often when you see rates on the rise you see stock markets declining, Rosemary, but it goes back to this very, very clear signal that the central bank and the U.S. says the U.S. economy is getting back to a normal stage. Given the fact that we had the global financial crisis 2007, 2008, near-death experience, we're over that now. Normal service is being resumed. That, on top of Janet Yellen's indications as Richard was saying that interest rates aren't going to increase as sharply or dramatically as perhaps the market had been expecting, so therefore, you're not going to get the same sort of pressure on a lot of emerging market currencies here in Asia, all added up to very, very positive reaction on the markets, all around the markets. The emerging countries like the Philippines, like Indonesia, having a pretty strong day as well.
All in all, the Fed manages pretty brilliantly, people are saying, because they did what they said they would do, no nasty surprises, and they got the right message out to the markets about future rate hikes.
CHURCH: All right. Our Andrew Stevens joining us there live from Hong Kong. Many thanks to you.
Let's go now to Fred Neumann. As I mentioned, he's with HSBC, and he joins us now for some analysis.
Thank you, sir, for talking with us.
Now, we saw a sell-off on the U.S. markets when the interest rate increase was initially announced but by the end of the day markets closed nearly 1.3 percent stronger. Now we're also seeing Asia markets respond well to the news. How do you think those numbers will look in the days ahead and what will be the likely economic impact across Asia, particularly in China?
FREDERIC NEUMANN, CO-HEAD OF ASIAN ECONOMICS & MANAGING DIRECTOR, HSBC: Well, the first thing is really relief. We now know that the fed has hiked rates, is out of the way, investors lack certainty. So we know interest rates are now higher and we know the Federal Reserve will not slam the brakes next year. They said they'll move gradually. So that provides a lot of relief for Asian markets. Investors trickling back into the region after having sort of taken the chips off the table earlier this year. We're going to see a bit of steadier growth. China as well could benefit at the margin. They had seen a lot of capital outflows that stabilizes as a result. It would be good for China as well.
CHURCH: So your sense is this was timed perfectly. And because everyone knew what to expect, and of course we know now that we're probably only what, two or three interest rate Mikes -- when I say hike, it's not really going to be a hike, is it? What economic impact might this have throughout that New Year, do you I? How will global markets overall respond with this steady as she goes approach? In surprise like we saw back in 2006.
NEUMANN: Well, the markets are very good at looking forward into the future and the markets are saying already there are going to be two rate hikes next year. It's already in the price. So as long as the fed stays the course and really delivers two rate hikes, there shouldn't be much by way of volatility or sell-off in markets. The big risk is that the fed moves faster than this, and that is not yet in the price. And if we get three, four rate hikes next year then you might see emerging markets coming under pressure especially. Even if the fed only raises rates twice it's still going to be a headwind for growth out here. Remember that Asia has leveraged up quite a bit and the higher interest rates go even if very gradually, it's going to raise debt servicing costs and make spending a little bit more costly at the margin.
[02:14:57] CHURCH: All right. We'll be watching for the impact of that more long-term perhaps.
Fred Neumann, thank you so much for joining us with your analysis. We appreciate that.
Let's take a very short break. But still to come, China has plans to punish U.S. companies over an arms deal. Why officials are upset the U.S. is selling weapons to Taiwan, and what they're going to do about it.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. CNN's Republican presidential debate on Tuesday had a strong focus on foreign policy and national security. But now some of the top Republicans are struggling to explain their answers. Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and even front runner, Donald Trump, are all coming under fire from critics.
Chief U.S. security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have people across this country who are scared to death.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the wake of the largest terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, the Republican presidential candidates delivered tough talk on national security.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president hasn't kept us safe.
SCIUTTO: Still, their command of some of the defense topics was, well, up for debate.
Senator Ted Cruz said he would launch an indiscriminate bombing campaign against is, a tactic known as carpet bombing as opposed to the surgical strikes the U.S. currently uses.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR & DEBATE MODERATOR: Would you carpet-bomb Raqqa, the ISIS capital where there are a lot of civilians? Yes or no?
[02:20:14] SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You would carpet-bomb where ISIS is. Not a city but the location of the troops. You use air power directed and you have embedded Special Forces to direct the air power.
SCIUTTO: But directed strikes, as he called them, are the opposite of carpet bombing.
CRUZ: We need a president --
SCIUTTO: The Senator also blamed the Obama administration for not identifying social media posts made by San Bernardino shooter, Tashfeen Malik, before being granted a visa to the U.S.
CRUZ: We didn't monitor the Facebook posting of the female San Bernardino terrorist because the Obama DHS thought it would be inappropriate. She made a public call to jihad, and they didn't target it.
SCIUTTO: While it's true that Malik's social media trail was not reviewed during the visa process --
(SHOUTING)
SCIUTTO: -- her views on jihad would not have been found without a warrant because they were expressed in private direct messages, not in public social media postings.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: We should be able to penetrate the Internet --
SCUITTO: Donald Trump advocates shutting down parts of the Internet to cut off ISIS's access to the web.
BLITZER: Are you open to closing parts of the Internet? TRUMP: I would certainly be open to closing areas where we are at war
with somebody. I sure as hell don't want to let people that want to kill us and kill our nation use our Internet. Yes, sir, I am.
SCIUTTO: Trump seemed stumped on a question about the nation's nuclear Triad, capability to launch nuclear bombs from the air, land, and sea.
HUGH HEWLETT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST & DEBATE MODERATOR: Of the three legs of the triad do you have a priority? I want to go to Senator Rubio --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I think, to me, nuclear is just, the power, the devastation is very important to me.
HEWLETT: Senator Rubio, do you have a response?
RUBIO: I do. Well, first, let's explain to people at home what the Triad is. Maybe a lot of people haven't heard that terminology before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Jim Sciutto with that report.
And British Prime Minister David Cameron is making his feelings on Donald Trump clear. Listen as he answers a question in parliament about Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.
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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It is right that we exclude people when they are going to radicalize or encourage extremism. I happen to disagree with Donald Trump.
(SHOUTING)
CAMERON: I think his remarks are divisive, stupid, and wrong. And I think if he came to visit our country, I think he'd unite us all against him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, didn't just single out Trump, he said he was embarrassed by the candidates' answers to some of the foreign policy questions. Take a listen.
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LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I was taking copious notes and trying to figure out what was going on, and I was alternating between being amused by Trump talking about something he knew nothing about, the nuclear triad, which he will get that briefcase the first day of office where he has all the nuclear codes. You had Ted Cruz talking about carpet bombing where he obviously didn't know he was violating the laws of land warfare by doing that.
I was not only amused but embarrassed that we were continuing to talk tough instead of talking smart from our political candidates and that our friends and some of our enemies all around the world are hearing this, not only ISIS but Russia. And as reported today, Prime Minister Cameron in the U.K. is making fun of one of our candidates.
And finally, I was angered. You know, it's continuing the sound bites of every solution is to bomb more, send in forces, and we're talking about a generational issue in this fight against ISIS, and yet people are treating it like a very simple problem. It's just really unfortunate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And the next Republican presidential debate is scheduled for January 14th in Charleston, South Carolina.
Well, now that the U.S. has agreed to sell almost $2 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, China is threatening to impose economic sanctions on any company involved. On Wednesday, Chinese officials said they have to safeguard national interests. China also summoned a top U.S. diplomat to protest the sale. The country considers Taiwan part of its territory and strongly opposes the deal.
Matt Rivers is in Beijing right now. He joins us live with more.
So, Matt, explain to us why China is so angry with the U.S. over its deal to sell two warships to Taiwan and what impact will this likely have on already strained relations between the U.S. and China.
[02:25:46] MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, this is an issue that goes back decades and decades to when Taiwan was first created back in the late 1940s, early 1950s.
China, as you mentioned, views Taiwan as a, quote, "renegade province." It views Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory. And so because of that, what you see from China is that this becomes a national security issue when the U.S. agrees to sell arms to Taiwan China views that as a threat to its safety.
But as I mentioned, this has been an issue that has been around for some time now and so because of that I don't think that we're going to see much of a difference in the relationship between the United States and China. Yes, it has been strained as of late. But the U.S. has been selling arms to Taiwan for decades now. This particular deal was authorized by the United States Congress over a year ago. So it's certainly something that both sides saw coming. And I don't think it's going to have much of an impact on the overall relationship between the U.S. and China.
CHURCH: So, Matt, what sort of sanctions might China apply to the U.S. companies involved, and when this deal does go ahead, because it will, of course, how has the U.S. responded so far?
RIVERS: There are some questions surrounding what the sanctions would look like. The Chinese government was certainly not specific in its statement when it mentioned those sanctions. And frankly, there is some speculation as to whether the sanctions will ever be put into place. Reuters reported that the two companies mainly involved in this deal are the defense contractors Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, neither of which have much of an impact here in China. And so because of that it's unclear how big of an impact these sanctions will have. As for the U.S., the State Department in its briefing in the United States on Wednesday said that this is part of its normal relationship with Taiwan. And so you can expect these kinds of arm deals to continue in the future.
CHURCH: All right. We thank you there. Matt Rivers joining us live from Beijing.
We'll take another short break here. But still to come, protesters in South Africa say President Jacob Zuma must go. We will take you live to Johannesburg to see why they're so angry. We're back in a moment.
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[02:30:27] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome back to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Want to update you on the main stories we've been following this hour.
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CHURCH: Well, South African President Jacob Zuma is fighting for his political life in the face of growing protests. Mr. Zuma replaced his finance minister a week ago and opponents say that caused a major sell-off in the country's financial markets.
We get more from CNN's David McKenzie in Johannesburg.
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(CHANTING)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chanting for change.
(CHANTING)
MCKENZIE: The symbolism is lost on no one as protesters cross the Nelson Mandela Bridge.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: They are tired of selfishness. They want to return to the values that Nelson Mandela represented.
(CHANTING)
MCKENZIE: In nationwide protests, they are calling for president Zuma to step down.
(CHANTING)
MCKENZIE (on camera): There have been protests throughout this year in South Africa on Zuma must fall, corruption, and student fees. But this represents a dramatic shift because their anger is focused on the president.
(CHANTING)
MCKENZIE (voice-over): The anger has been building for a while with a struggling economy, stubborn income gab and rampant unemployment.
(SHOUTING)
MCKENZIE: So even lifetime supporters of the ruling ANC, like Tanyani Mbezi, are fed up.
TANYANI MBEZI, ANC LIFETIME SUPPORTER: No fighting, no accident.
(LAUGHTER)
MCKENZIE: He drives a taxi for 14 hours a day. He's happy to have the job but says the water and electricity cuts out at his home, that the roads are bad.
(on camera): So do you think Zuma should go?
MBEZI: I think he must go, must step down.
MCKENZIE: Why?
MBEZI: Because already people are complaining.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): For years Jacob Zuma was called the Teflon politician, cleared of rape charges.
JACOB ZUMA, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: Why do you say I should -- when you don't even know how much?
MCKENZIE: Weathering the corruption scandal and the gunning down of scores of striking miners in Maricana.
KHEHLA SHABANI, IMPRISONED ON ROBBIN ISLAND: Zuma has been able to ride over all the storms that have happened in the past because he's projected himself as a victim in the past.
MCKENZIE: Khehla Shabani, who was imprisoned on Robbin Island with Mandela, said Zuma couldn't escape the blame when he sacked the finance minister. The ANC says it's done much to improve the lives of South Africans.
But supporters like Mbezi have lost faith. MBEZI: Every four or five years, we are voting. Voting for what?
Only the people from the top are surviving.
MCKENZIE: So he says, at the next election, he won't bother to vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:35:36] CHURCH: And our David McKenzie joins us now live from Johannesburg.
David, the pressure is increasing on the South African leader to resign. How likely is it that he would go, and what are the plans of these protesters? Are they going to continue these protests for the next days, weeks perhaps?
MCKENZIE: Well, I think, Rosemary, they will continue the protests. It does seem to be that there's been this sea change in the political landscape in South Africa in the last week. Extraordinary developments that it seems like president Zuma, who was seen as untouchable, had his wings clipped from within the ruling anc. I think it's far too early to even contemplate he would actually resign because the party has publicly come and defended him to the people, but it does represent a chink in the armor and it does seem that there's this battle within the ruling ANC between those politicians who base their rule on policy and those who base it on patronage. And it does seem that there is at least a shift toward the policy side -- Rosemary?
CHURCH: So let's talk about these protesters and how representative they are of the population of South Africa.
MCKENZIE: That's a very good question. You cannot escape racial politics here in South Africa given its history. There have been chatter and complaints on social media particularly that many of these protesters were white South Africans, to put it bluntly. I certainly saw a representative of the population at the march in Johannesburg. And also it's been the case just speaking to South Africans over the past few years that anger, dissatisfaction at the president is pretty widespread across different racial and economic groups here in South Africa. But there is still a great deal of support of course for the ANC given the fact it dominated last election, though that support has been slipping. We have crucial elections next year here in South Africa, local elections. If the ANC loses support, particularly in the urban areas of Johannesburg and coastal cities, it could see a very different political landscape in the coming year but I think the level of robust discussion about the president himself, these people aren't necessarily calling for the ANC to get out of power. They're asking for the president to leave. I think that is potentially a very big change in South African politics and potentially an explosive one in the next six months to a year -- Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. David McKenzie watching that shift, that sea change, as you call it. Reporting there live in Johannesburg. Many thanks to you.
Well, Canada wants access to a Canadian pastor who's been sentenced to life in prison in North Korea. Hae Young Su Lim's family says he traveled to the country in January on a routine humanitarian trip. North Korea's state news agency says he was found guilty of anti- government activities and spreading false propaganda. Canada calls the sentence unduly harsh and criticizes North Korea's refusal to allow consular visits.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, we have tremendous concern about it. The issue of North Korea's governance and judicial system are well known.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Lim's family is also calling on North Korea to show mercy and compassion.
Well, Spanish police have detained a teenager for punching the prime minister during a campaign event. And you can see here what happened. Prime Minister Mariano Rojoy was surrounded by a crowd when the teenager came up pretending to want to take a photograph and then hit him with his left fist. Mr. Rojoy was not seriously hurt although he did have a bruised face. It's not clear why he was attacked. Spain has had high levels of youth unemployment for years, though.
Another political event and another outburst. This one happened during a meeting of Ukraine's National Reform Council. Odessa's regional governor, who happens to be the former president of Georgia, accused Ukraine's interior minister of being involved in corruption. In a fit of anger the minister threw a glass of water in the governor's face. No surprise, the meeting came to a screeching halt.
[02:40:04] Well, baseball players who defected from Cuba for the U.S. get a hero's welcome at home during a goodwill tour. Up next on CNN NEWSROOM, details on a new plan to allow players into the United States legally. We're back with that. Stay with us.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The United States and Cuba are reportedly close to restoring commercial flight service between the two countries. There's no formal deal yet, but a Cuban foreign ministry official tells Reuters the two sides have made important progress. U.S. airlines haven't had regularly scheduled flights to Cuba since the 1960s, when a travel embargo went into effect. Right now, American travelers can only fly directly to Cuba on charter flights.
Cuban baseball players could have an easier and legal path to the United States if they want to play in the major leagues. U.S. baseball officials say they want to negotiate with Cuba so players don't have to defect.
Meanwhile, some who already left Cuba illegally are being welcomed home.
Patrick Oppmann explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For these young Cuban players, it was an opportunity that until recently would have been unthinkable, getting pointers not just from Major League Baseball stars but from Cuban players who defected to the U.S. and were banned by the island's Communist-run government from ever returning home. That is, until now.
"I'm very happy to be back in my country," L.A. Dodgers star hitter, Yasiel Puig, says, "after so many years where I haven't returned it's emotional."
In Cuba, Puig scraped by on the comparably meager salary a baseball player here earns. In 2012 after several attempts he left the island in a smuggler's boat. A year later, he signed a seven year deal with the L.A. Dodgers for $42 million.
[02:45:10] The promise of big money in the United States has emptied the Cuban league of many of their top players. A better lesson in market economics for a country that once claimed that love for the revolution was all their athletes required.
(on camera): Cubans for generations have excelled at baseball, but a spree of defections and a lack of resources leave many people here wondering if their beloved national pastime could ever recover.
(voice-over): During a three-day goodwill trip MLB officials say they want to find a way for Cubans to play in the U.S. without turning to smugglers and criminal gangs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, ultimately negotiate with the Cuban Baseball Federation, cooperation of the U.S. government and the Cuban government, a safe and legal path for Cuban baseball players who desire to play major league baseball to reach the major leagues.
OPPMANN: Officials have indicated they want to make a deal, if it could lead to badly needed revenue for the government.
And as Cuba continues to open, more fans want to see how the game is played in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's not on the enticement or the motivation of the money for these young players to leave, but also they don't have the same status at home as they used to have, the guys who used to be branded as traitors and still are to some degree by the government. But for the fans these guys are now the heroes.
OPPMANN: Cuban fans might see more of their heroes up close again soon. Major League Baseball officials say they're negotiating to bring spring training games to the island next year.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Well, people in Australia are picking up the pieces after a tornado tore through Sydney. The tornado brought a wind gust of 213 kilometers per hour in one suburb. And across the country it's getting hotter and hotter. Adelaide topped 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, and there doesn't seem to be relief anytime soon.
We want to get more on this story with our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
Let's start with that tornado in Sydney because that is extraordinary. I mean, I spent many years living in Australia, and it's -- we didn't talk about tornadoes.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
CHURCH: I mean, there are small ones but nothing like this.
JAVAHERI: You were even surprised when I told you during the commercial break that they get about 20 per year. But the country itself is about 7 1/2 million square kilometers of land. So 20's not much. The U.S. is about 9 million square kilometers of land, they get 1,100 of them. Sought density of it is far, far limited in Australia. But this is very unusual across areas south of Sydney. It's very populated. Could have been very bad. The winds are equivalent to a category 4 hurricane. We'll show you exactly what transpired here because it wasn't just the winds, wasn't just the rain. 14 centimeters fell in 50 minutes. Significant flooding took place across this region of Sydney. But also the areas with the wind gusts, 213-kilometer per-hour winds in Cornell (ph), just south of the airport across the water. This was the single strongest observed wind gust ever across New South Wales. The weather authorities here saying they're surprised the weather instrument was able to hold up to such incredible winds and large hail was reported across this region as well. But there you go, 15 to 20 tornadoes per year, what you get across this part of the world in November through January, June through August, when you see most take place. Nine so far in 2015, but hail stones reported as well. Some of them coming in, in excess of four centimeters. You see what a grapefruit is, about four inches. 10 centimeters slightly smaller than that. We had cricket ball size hailstones reported in some of these places. Rosemary told you also extreme heat in recent days across this region. Want to take you toward Adelaide in the south. Look at the average temperature. 25 degrees if you're in tune with the Fahrenheit scale we're talking about 70. Shooting to 100-plus Fahrenheit or 42 degrees or so from Friday into Saturday. They come right back down to reality toward the latter portion of the week. But the heat is not just confined to that region. It's much cooler to parts of Sydney.
I want to compare Atlanta, Georgia, where the CNN Center is, to Sydney, Australia. This is your Christmas Eve temperature. Incredible. Atlanta should be at 11. They will be at 23. Sydney will actually be cooler on Christmas Eve than Atlanta. Rosemary, I can assure you you've probably never seen that.
CHURCH: No, I haven't. And I've been telling friends we're coming up to have an Australian Christmas here in the south. JAVAHERI: El Nino has a lot to do with it.
CHURCH: It's crazy stuff out there.
Thanks so much, Pedram. Appreciate it. Talk to you soon.
JAVAHERI: Yeah.
CHURCH: Well, still to come, what would you expect to come after bottled water?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You attach it to the can and just put it over your mouth and spray and inhale.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:50:05] CHURCH: OK. That's right, bottled air. And it's selling like crazy in China. We'll explain.
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(SPORTS)
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, if you've ever found yourself trying to catch your breath or looking for a breath of fresh air, one Canadian startup is now willing and able to sell it to you. That's right, air in a bottle.
Sound familiar? Maybe you remember this scene from the Mel Brooks film "Spaceballs."
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I can assure both you and your viewers that there's absolutely no air shortage whatsoever. Yes, of course. I've heard the same rumor myself. Yes. Thanks for calling. And not reversing the charges. Bye. (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: There it is. Well, the movie may have been a spoof, but taking a breath of air from a canister is not. Sales for Vitality Air are now booming in China, where cities have been choked with thick pollution. Chinese citizens are buying the bracing Rocky Mountains air for $14 to $20 a pop.
Amara Walker spoke with the developers of this so-called bottled goodness.
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[02:55:24] AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And how do the customers use it? It's kind of like that clip in "Spaceballs"? Do you actually open it and kind of inhale it from the can?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Ours actually has a two in one mask. So what you do is pop off that cap and pop off the mask part. You attach it to the can. And then you just put it over your mouth and spray and inhale.
WALKER: OK. Very interesting. What do you say to critics who say this is a gimmick, guys?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, in China there's always that saying, "Let's go out for a break and catch a breath of fresh air." In China they really can't have a breath of fresh air. But with our product here, they have a chance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you just take a deep breath, it gives you that moment of relaxation for sure.
WALKER: Take that deep breath for me again before we go.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more shot.
WALKER: It comes with the mask.
Feeling the goodness?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: You saw it here. Maybe pure oxygen might do same thing, huh?
Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Stay with us.
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