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Presidential Candidates Travels South Carolina; Bernie Sanders Takes Victory Lap Ahead of South Carolina; North Korea Executes Top Military Leader; China's Toy Industry Banking on New Child Policy; Iran Airs Video of Detained U.S. Sailor Crying; Syrian Refugees Resettling in Canada; Twitter Shares Fall as Company's Growth Stalls; Johnny Depp Stars as Trump in Satirical Biopic. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 11, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:12] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, fresh off his landslide victory, Donald Trump heads to the next presidential battleground with his Republican rivals looking to pick a fight.
VAUSE: Also ahead, we're learning North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un may have executed another top military leader.
SESAY: And we gather with a group of Syrian refugees forces to travel far beyond the Middle East and Europe in hopes of finding a new home.
VAUSE: Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
We begin with the U.S. Republican presidential race already gaining momentum in South Carolina. The state holds its primary a week from Saturday.
VAUSE: Donald Trump is already campaigning there, following his win in New Hampshire. At a rally on Wednesday, he focused his attacks on Hillary Clinton, as well as his Republican rivals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Honestly, women don't like her, men don't like her. Take a look at what's happening to her. A guy that nobody ever heard of, literally, is beating her so badly. I don't know. I honestly -- I talk about Hillary. I honestly don't know if Hillary is going to be running.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, as Trump the frontrunner does his victory lap in South Carolina again and again and again.
VAUSE: Another one. Yes. Keep going. It never ends.
SESAY: Yes. The Republican contenders are preparing for an intense battle for the presidential nomination.
CNN's Jim Acosta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God bless the great state of South Carolina.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In South Carolina, a state well known for its cutthroat politics, the knives are out for Donald Trump.
CRUZ: The only way to beat Donald Trump is to highlight the simple truth of his record. It is not conservative.
ACOSTA: And it's not just Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush with Trump in their sites.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need someone that creates a strategy. Not bouncing back and forth saying, I'm the strong man, I'll take care of it. He has no clue.
ACOSTA: Every candidate in the party's establishment lane is in hot pursuit of the GOP frontrunner, including a newly aggressive Marco Rubio.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The pressure will be on him to say OK, here's how I'm going to deal with ISIS, this is what we're going to do about bringing jobs back, here's how we'd handle the trade imbalance. I don't think you can keep saying, trust me, I've got a plan for it.
ACOSTA: That sense of urgency is due in part to the winnowing field of candidates, as Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina dropped out of the race. And there's a new threat to Trump in John Kasich who declared he wouldn't be dragged into a dog fight with his rivals.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going to be a pin cushion or a marshmallow. But I'm also not going to spend my time trying to trash other people. I'll tell you why. Because if this message works, it's fantastic.
ACOSTA: Trump is gearing up for a South Carolina brawl, unleashing a new attack ad on Cruz.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who runs a campaign accused of dirty tricks that tried to sabotage Ben Carson?
ACOSTA: Cruz is firing back with an ad that mocks Trump as an action- figure toy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to take your house eminent domain.
ACOSTA: Trump is also facing tougher questions on his releasing his tax record.
TRUMP: I fight like hell not to pay taxes. I hate the way the government spends my money.
ACOSTA: And the New York tabloids that aren't letting up.
TRUMP: Well, the owner of "The Daily News," which is a totally failing paper -- in fact, I think it's out of business.
ACOSTA (on camera): Even though Trump has been attacked by his rivals nearly all day long, the real estate tycoon rarely talked about his GOP opponents at this event in South Carolina, just a couple of lines on Jeb Bush. That's it. But he did spend some time sounding like a general election candidate, hitting Hillary Clinton as somebody who, he said, can't even beat Bernie Sanders.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Pendleton, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Conservative radio host and political analyst Mike Slater joins me now from San Diego here in California.
Mike, great to have you with us. Huge, huge win for Donald Trump in New Hampshire, and he's clearly feeling very, very confident. And I want to play a little bit of sound from him from a little bit earlier on, and get your view on the other side.
MIKE SLATER, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We did a good thing, New Hampshire, what a great place. What a great place. And we won it big. We won it big. You know, the networks, they called and said, we're going to be announcing at 8:00. 8:00 is when the final vote is cast. And I said, I think that's a good thing. I hope that's like for us. And we won by a lot, really a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: So, Mike, as he said, we won by a lot. But on to South Carolina. Very, very different state to Iowa and New Hampshire. Does he have the message or the ground game to win over the folks of South Carolina?
SLATER: Yes, he won by more than he was expected in New Hampshire, and in South Carolina, he's already in double-digit leads, a commanding lead over the rest of the field.
[01:05:09] I predicted a while ago that he would take the rest of the states pretty much in a landslide everywhere he goes and I see no reason why he wouldn't do the same in South Carolina. And this is what I always tell people who are skeptical of that. Because it may be hard to wrap your head around that. Why wouldn't he? He has done some of the craziest things that any candidate has ever done running for president of the United States, and nothing has slowed him down.
The one moment I always point to when I realize this is when he said that John McCain, who people may not know, he's a senator here, a war hero, spent many years in the Hanoi -- and as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Donald Trump said that John McCain sat out the war, and I'm thinking, wow, how is he going to recover from this? And a lot of people -- a lot of Trump supporters said, you know what? I never thought of it that way. He did sit out the war. And that's the first time when I realized that Trump can do no wrong. I don't see him losing in South Carolina.
SESAY: You don't see him losing South Carolina, but the question becomes, is Carolina possibly the place where establishment Republicans coalesce against an anti-Trump? Could it happen here? I mean, is this the place or maybe a Kasich, Cruz, Bush or Rubio to really stand tall?
SLATER: They could all unite, but who would they unite behind to do that? That's the interesting thing. Because Bush is still in it. People in the south in general really like George W. Bush. They still have a lot of respect for man and the Bush name. So Jeb Bush has a lot of support in the state, a lot of ground game potential to do really well there. If he doesn't, then the support will go to Marco Rubio. But I think Jeb could surprise a lot of people, but I don't see them all uniting against Trump at this point because they're still bickering it out for each other -- at each other for second and third place at this point.
SESAY: So, Mike, let's stay with the issue of Jeb Bush because we're now hearing that the former president, George W. Bush, will be joining Jeb on the campaign trail there in South Carolina. It's an interesting move. Bear in mind, we are looking at an election cycle where the electorate is basically railing against old-school politics, old-school politicians. So the question becomes, bringing out your brother, does it hurt or help you?
SLATER: No, it -- it's interesting. In some states, it would hurt. But in the south, and in South Carolina, bringing out George W. Bush is a power move. It'll be very well received by the people of South Carolina. I know what you're saying about the establishment, but for some reason, George W. Bush doesn't -- he's not perceived that way by people in the south. So, you know, bringing out his mom in New Hampshire, like Jeb did, the former first lady, that may be -- that's not a power move, and Trump told him it wasn't.
But bringing out George W. Bush is a smart move for Jeb in this state. This week is crucial for the rest of the field and it is going to get nasty on these campaign ads for the next week and a half. So I think George W. Bush is a smart move.
SESAY: Well, we should be watching very, very closely, as those fists go flying and the cage match continues for that anti-Trump pick.
SLATER: Yes.
SESAY: Mike Slater, it's always great to have you on the show. Thanks so much.
VAUSE: Well, fresh off his New Hampshire win, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders had a very busy Wednesday.
SESAY: He certainly did. It included a stop on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." They talked about healthcare and jobs, and Colbert asked the senator about comparisons to his and Donald Trump's supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, people have a right to be angry. You have a right to be angry when we are the only major country on earth that doesn't provide paid family and medical leave. When we have more people living in poverty today than almost any time in the history of this country.
People have a right to be angry. But what we need to be is rational in figuring out how we address the problems and not simply scapegoating minorities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And that wasn't his only appearance. Senator Sanders made a few other stops after winning in New Hampshire.
SESAY: Senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar has more on that and what's ahead for the candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDERS: Tonight we serve notice to the political and economic establishment.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reporter: Bernie Sanders claiming a big win in the New Hampshire primary taking a victory lap on "The View" tasting the ice cream named after him, Bernie's Yearning.
SANDERS: It's the first time I taste it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You did? Did you like it?
KEILAR: And showing off his basketball skills while also looking to expand his appeal to a broader swath of the Democratic Party.
SANDERS: There's a lot of hard work in front of us, but I think the message that we're bringing forth that this country is supposed to be a nation of fairness and we're not seeing that fairness right now.
KEILAR: Sanders is also firing back at former President Bill Clinton for recent attacks like this.
[01:10:02] BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: When you're making a revolution you can't be too careful about the facts.
KEILAR: Sanders trying to appear above the fray.
SANDERS: I was disappointed by President Clinton. I've known him for 25 years and I like him and I respect him. And I hope that this campaign does not degenerate into really kind of --
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Well, he's fighting for his wife.
SANDERS: Right. I understand that.
BEHAR: Yes.
SANDERS: But nonetheless, let's keep it on the issues, not making personal attacks.
KEILAR: Sanders' New Hampshire victory is also proving to be good news for his campaign coffers, hauling in $5.2 million in the 18 hours after the polls close Tuesday night.
As the Democratic primary fights enters a new phase, Sanders faces a new challenge making inroads with African-American voters. A crucial constituency in states like South Carolina, which holds its primary later this month.
Part of Sanders' stepped-up outreach a meeting today in Harlem with the Reverend Al Sharpton. The civil rights activist saying afterward he'll wait until he meets with Hillary Clinton next week to pick a candidate.
One South Carolina poll showed Sanders trailing Clinton by 57 points with black voters, a sign of his uphill climb. But that was taken before Clinton's narrow win in Iowa and Sanders' decisive victory in New Hampshire.
Following last night's stinging loss, Clinton said she's ready for a long fight.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And here's what we're going to do, now we take this campaign to the entire country. We are going to fight for every vote in every state. We're going to fight for real solutions that make a real difference in people's lives.
KEILAR (on camera): One day after defeat in the state that delivered Hillary Clinton such a sweet victory in 2008, she spent the day taking it easy preparing for the Democratic presidential debate hosted by PBS here at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Our thanks to Brianna Keilar for that. And you can watch the PBS NewsHour Democratic presidential debate on Friday at noon in London, 1:00 p.m. Central European Time, right here on CNN.
SESAY: Now U.S. President Barack Obama went back to the site of his campaign launched nine years ago to talk about the state of politics today.
VAUSE: In a speech in Springfield, Illinois, Mr. Obama said the tone of politics has gotten worse during his time of office. He didn't go into specifics about the 2016 presidential campaign but says it should be about ideas, not insults. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've always gone through periods when our democracy seems stuck. And when that happens, we have to find a new way of doing business.
We're in one of those moments. We've got to build a better politics. One that's less of a spectacle and more of a battle of ideas. One that's less of a business and more of a mission.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Mr. Obama will spend Thursday in California raising funds for Democrats here in Los Angeles and the bay area.
Well, CNN is learning that a senior North Korean military leader has been executed. We'll have more on the crimes he's accused of straight ahead.
VAUSE: Also China's new two-child policy could mean a big boost for the country's toymakers. We go behind the numbers. When we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:17:10] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. The FBI has surrounded armed anti-government militiamen in Oregon that have been holed up at a wildlife refuge for more than a month.
SESAY: Agents say they tried to approach one of the occupiers when he drove outside the barricade, but he quickly fled back to the refuge. They believe four protesters are left there. They're demonstrating against federal control of some public land.
VAUSE: CNN has learned from a South Korean source that a top North Korean military leader has been executed. That source says General Ri Yong-gil was executed for misuse of authority and corruption and factualism.
SESAY: Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks who joins us from Seoul, South Korea with more.
And Paula, at this stage, what more do we know about these reports of another top military official being executed?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isha, Ri Yong- gil was appointed back in 2013 as a general, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. In the same month, in August 2013, he was then promoted to the Joint Chief of Staff of the Korean People's Army. So it was a very powerful position he was in.
We know that over the months and years following that, he would accompany Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader to military drills. The last time he was mentioned as far as we can see in state-run media is January 5th when he went to an artillery unit with the North Korean leader. So we understand from South Korean officials that he has been purged. He has been executed.
Of course, it is impossible for CNN to independently confirm this. But if true, it is just another in a long string of purges and excuses we've seen from this leader -- Isha.
SESAY: And Paula, as you speak to your sources there in South Korea, how are they reading this latest development? I mean, what does it tell us about Kim Jong-Un's grip on power?
HANCOCKS: Well, it really depends on who you speak to. Some say it shows that he's still weak because he still feels the need to get rid of certain individuals within his regime. Does he feel threatened by them? We have heard that it is corruption and misuse of authority and corruption that he has been purged for. But then others say it's a sign of strength, that he's able to get rid of quite significant members of his regime and of the military.
So it really depends on who you speak to, whether it shows he has an iron grip on power or whether it shows that he is still trying to consolidate his power. It is very difficult to be able to get a gauge of it. We do know that he has purged a number of people within the military itself, just in May of last year, or at least this is what it was reported. We heard that he had got rid of his defense minister.
Now at that point, there were reports he had been publicly executed. Again impossible for CNN to independently confirm, unless North Korea itself announces it.
[01:20:01] But we have seen over the past four, five years of this young leader being in charge that he has done a number of purges, got rid of really the old guard. Many of those who were following his father, the late Kim Jong-Il, and he seems to have put in a younger vanguard of personnel within him -- within his regime -- Isha.
SESAY: Yes. And, Paula, another important development in the last few hours, getting word from South Korea, that in light of North Korea's nuclear test and that rocket launch, they're now taking steps to disengage from that Kaesong industrial complex, that working with North Korea. Talk to us about the significance of this and how this will impact the North Korean economy.
HANCOCKS: Yes, this is a joint economic zone, Kaesong, which has been in power -- in position since about 2004. It's a very good way of North Korea getting some hard cash. I think there was about more than $100 million made by North Korea just last year alone. But of course, South Korea does benefit financially from it, as well. So there's tens of thousands of North Koreans that work here. The 120 South Korean companies, and now South Korea has said that they are suspending activities there.
Throughout today we've seen some cars crossing into North Korea, just on the North Korean side of the border, this complex. Most North Koreans didn't turn up to work today, we understand, from the Unification Ministry. And this is really the last symbol of inter- Korean reconciliation, inter-Korean relations being all and well. And the fact that this has now gone by the wayside as well shows that relations really are pretty bad between North and South Korea following both the nuclear test and the rocket launch, that satellite launch.
South Korea is saying simply they believe that the money that North Korea is making from this joint economic zone are going towards missiles and nuclear and they are not prepared to continue with that -- Isha.
SESAY: A lot going on. Paula Hancocks, joining us there from Seoul, South Korea. Appreciate it as always. Thank you.
VAUSE: Hong Kong stocks took a dive at Thursday's opening. The Hang Seng plunged more than 4 percent as traders returned from the three- day Lunar New Year holiday.
Let's take a look at some of those latest numbers there. We can see, though, that the ASX 200 has bumped the trend in Sidney, up by almost 1 percent. But in Seoul, the Kospi is down also almost by 3 percent. Shanghai and Tokyo both closed for the holidays.
SESAY: Now the Federal Reserve chair sees warning signs for the U.S. economy. Janet Yellen told members of Congress higher borrowing costs, declining stock prices and the strength of the dollar against foreign currencies are putting the economy at risk. She added the slowdown in China's economy sparked the current market volatility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET YELLEN, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: Declines in the foreign exchange value of the Renminbi have intensified uncertainty about China's exchange rate policy and the prospects for its economy. This uncertainty led to increased volatility in global financial markets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, China's new two-child policy could be a bit of boost for the country's economy. A number of industries are trying to capitalize on it, all in different ways.
SESAY: Yes. But perhaps no one is banking on the policy more than China's toy makers.
Our Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR (voice-over): That's the sound of momentous change in China. For the first time in decades, Beijing is allowing couples to have more than one child. It's a government initiative aimed at tackling slowing growth and an aging population. And for some industries, it's also a big opportunity.
(On camera): What did you think when you first heard?
WILLIAM CHE, GENERAL MANAGER, KINGSWOOD TOYS AND NOVELTIES: On the first couple of days, we were like, yes.
STEVENS: (voice-over) William Che's family has been making toys for nearly 40 years. The Hong Kong based company has mainly focused on the American and European markets. They're shifting that focus to China and betting it will pay off in sales.
CHE: I'm looking at probably three or four times increase in five years.
STEVENS: Many others at this year's Hong Kong Toy Fair, Asia's largest and number two in the world, share that optimism. The industry is expecting 2.4 million more babies born in China every year. Translating to an additional $11.5 billion in spending every year.
HENRY CHENG, SALES MANAGER, NICETOYS LIMITED: This is a great opportunity. It's a great chance. So with this year, we'll go for it.
STEVENS: Henry Chang is expecting a 30 percent jump in sales for his company, NiceToys. But he makes a point that some economists have flagged as well.
CHENG: Like Shanghai and Beijing, they're not so keen on the second kid, because to raise a child in those city is very difficult and very tough.
[01:25:02] STEVENS (on camera): Because it's so expensive?
CHENG: Yes, of course.
STEVENS (voice-over): Officially China says the two-child policy will boost the economy by half a percentage point but doesn't say how long it will take. Some economists also say it's too little too late to reverse the effects of decades of the one-child policy.
But the toy industry is counting on one thing. In a country known for saving, spending on children is one thing parents won't be holding back on.
CHE: They're more generous towards their own children. They won't spend so much on their self but they will spend on their children.
STEVENS (on camera): Good news for you?
CHE: Yes. That's very good news for me.
STEVENS (voice-over): Andrew Stevens, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: One short break here, but when we come back, a month after they were released and detained, the Iranians are airing more video of those U.S. sailors. When we come back we'll explain why the State Department is so angry.
SESAY: And the adjustment to a new country. How Syrian refugees are resettling in Canada.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. Let's take a look at the latest headlines in the U.S. presidential campaign.
U.S. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is campaigning in South Carolina after his win in the New Hampshire primary. At a rally Wednesday, he went after one of his familiar targets -- Jeb Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The last thing we need is another Bush. That I can tell you. That I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:30:00] SESAY: Jeb Bush finished fourth in the New Hampshire primary.
VAUSE: On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders is making the talk show rounds after his primary win. Senator Sanders stopped by "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert and helped out with the monologue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE SHOW: But, Senator, these shows are supposed to start off with the host talking to a camera.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Stephen, that's what the elites want you to think.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Sanders' rival, Hillary Clinton, spent Wednesday preparing for Thursday's Democratic debate. Secretary Clinton admitted on Tuesday she needs to win over young voters. Many of them seem to be choosing Sanders over her. The U.S. State Department says it's disgusted by Iran's release of a
video which appears to show a detained U.S. soldier crying.
SESAY: The State Department says Iranian television aired the video for propaganda purposes. The 10 sailors were released a day after their boat strayed into Iranian waters last month.
VAUSE: It's unclear why these American sailor was crying, nor was it clear why the Iranians would release these images now almost a month since all 10 sailors were captured and released.
Michael Pritchard is a former intelligence adviser to General David Petraeus and is a Mideast expert and joins us from Washington.
Michael, let's talk the timing. Why now? Some have suggested it could be to coincide with the anniversary of the toppling of the shah.
MICHAEL PRITCHARD, MIDEAST EXPERT & FORMER INTELLIGENCE ADVISOR TO GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS: It could be that. But it's something we expected them to do after Implementation Day. We knew there was additional footage of the American military personnel, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard chose to release this video footage. None of this gets released without the supreme leader's approval.
VAUSE: So Implementation Day being the agreement day on the Iranian nuclear deal, just for people who may not be caught up on the language here.
Let's go to the why now. What does Iran have to gain by doing something like this?
PRITCHARD: We have to remember that the Suleimani and the supreme leader gave awards to the Revolutionary Guard navy that detained the Americans, and the awards, when they were given the awards, the plaque has the American military members on their knees or their hands behind their heads. That's part of the award. Also, we have to remember that Iran has to sell the Iran deal as a victory for the supreme leader and something that shows that the Americans acquiesced and gave something up. Nothing better than to show an American on his knees with his hands behind his head and an American service female wearing the veil and now an American servicemember crying.
VAUSE: I question the bigger picture here is a lot of people would like to know, apart from cheap propaganda, what is the -- I guess, what is the harm here? Because there is a clear violation of international law.
PRITCHARD: It's a violation of the Geneva Convention. Regardless of whether or not you're at war -- Iran has said they're at war with the U.S. going back to 1979. So any time another military detains a military personnel, you have to treat them in accordance with the Geneva Convention. So videotaping Americans where you can clearly identify them, videotaping Americans on their knees with hands behind their head set to national music or propaganda music, and then now release thing video. And if you watch the video, and you listen to it, there's propaganda music behind it. So this is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention. It should be condemned by the international county and this administration.
VAUSE: But it has not been. So where do you think this is all now heading? This is the kind of stuff that we've seen before from Iran. Is this an indication that Iran's behavior is not changing?
PRITCHARD: Well, it's not changing. We look at what the Iranian Expert Council did with delegitimizing political candidates ahead of February's parliamentary elections and then letting a few of them come back in, if we look at these events, we're not seeing it. We're seeing Iran be more provocative. We're seeing Iran be more emboldened with what they're doing in Syria and in Iraq, in Yemen, in Beirut, and now this clear propaganda message that's showing the West can be brought to their knees in a video by Iranians, it all ties into the narrative that Iran will not be moderated and, in fact, the mullahs are stronger now post-Implementation Day with the Iran deal.
VAUSE: With the hundreds of billions of dollars now in the bank.
Michael, good to speak with you. Thank you.
PRITCHARD: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
SESAY: Now, Russia is said to be proposing a cease-fire in Syria. A diplomatic source says it would apply to all sides in the conflict and begin March 1st.
[01:35:07] VAUSE: The source says it's unclear whether rebel groups would agree to it. It's believed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wants an earlier cease-fire so peace talks could resume February 25th.
SESAY: But the government assault on Aleppo is not letting up. The Red Cross says about 50,000 people have been displaced by the fighting there.
VAUSE: The Red Cross said some aid supply routes have been cut off and civilians are suffering in the cold without enough food, water or shelter.
SESAY: For those who tried to escape the fighting, the future can remain uncertain for quite some time.
VAUSE: Canada is resettling 25,000 Syrians. And Drew Griffin traveled to Calgary to see what the refugees are facing after they arrive in their new country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's quite but can barely contain the joy inside. This is Calgary's Margaret Chisholm Resettlement House, and it's dinner time.
(CROSSTALK)
GRIFFIN: Huge families, huge smiles. Cries, laughter, and everywhere children. They are all Syrians, refugees plucked from uncertain futures in Jordan and Lebanon selected under the Canadian Refugee Resettlement Program to be accepted as newly landed immigrants.
Amush Newman (ph) helps run this center. "In three years," she says, "everyone you see will be able to become a Canadian."
(on camera): They really have nowhere else to go.
AMUSH NEWMAN (ph), CALGARY'S MARGARET CHISHOLM RESETTLEMENT HOUSE: No, they can't, because the surrounding countries such as where they were, they don't give them citizenship. So they'll remain as refugees for the rest of their lives.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Zaid Andowi (ph) arrived just 10 days ago. He and his wife and children fled Aleppo, Syria.
NEWMAN (ph): They left because they were worried. Many times they came very close to death. So that's when they decided to leave before it gets worse. He took his family and left and now they're settled as refugees.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Do you miss Syria?
NEWMAN (ph): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ZAID ANDOWI (ph), SYRIAN REFUGEE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
NEWMAN (ph): Of course, of course. From my heart. We're very, very happy and very, very relaxed.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): For the first time in years, he feels his family is safe. But there's a long way to go. They speak almost no English. They are
new to just about every Canadian custom. You shake hands with men and boys but not with the women.
AWAFOR BERSHANI (ph), DIRECTOR, CALGARY'S MARGARET CHISHOLM RESETTLEMENT HOUSE: And we do a lot of parenting skills.
GRIFFIN: Awafor Bershani (ph), the director here, says that, too, will change, and soon.
BESHANI (ph): In three months, if you talk to these children, you won't even recognize them as a refugee. 10 days ago, they didn't even know they were coming to Canada. Now they're here obviously. So we realize they have a lot of fears and a lot of hopes.
GRIFFIN: Most arrive in families. There are only a few single Syrian men.
And just as in the U.S., the program has raised concerns about safety and terrorism.
(on camera): I've got to ask you, they don't look dangerous to me.
BERSHANI (ph): No, they are fantastic people. They've gone through hell.
GRIFFIN: While in the United States, there is still deliberation over how many or even if Syrian refugees should be brought into the country. By the end of February, Canada will have reached its goal of bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees onto its soil, confident that its screening process can tell the bad guys from the good.
IAN HOLLOWAY, DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY LAW SCHOOL: Most Canadians are not that worried about the security issue for these -- for the people we have selected. GRIFFIN: Ian Holloway, the dean of the University of Calgary Law
School also works with the Canadian government reviewing security intelligence operations. He says the refugees Canada brings in are screened and, quite frankly, he sees them as no threat at all.
HOLLOWAY: We feel that we have been able to take reasonable measures to not guaranty -- you can never guaranty -- but to do everything we can to satisfy ourselves the people we have taken in are not likely to be bad guys.
GRIFFIN: To make sure Canada follows the progress of its newly arrived immigrants for two years all the children will go to school. Families will be helped to find work, housing, and their ultimate goal, a permanent home in their new country, Canada.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Calgary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:39:36] SESAY: Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM L.A., Twitter stock plummets after a not-so-positive outlook. Our expert weighs in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back, everybody. Shares of Twitter dropped after trading on Wednesday. That's after the social media company said it's failing to attract new users.
SESAY: Twitter lost two million users in the last three months of 2015. But the company reported record sales for the fourth quarter at $710 million. Twitter currently has about 305 million active users.
VAUSE: Fitz Tepper is with us now. He's a writer with TechCrunch.
This Twitter, a wounded bird, a sitting duck, an overstuffed turkey, is it going to --
(CROSSTALK)
SESAY: Is it dying?
VAUSE: Is it dying?
FITZ TEPPER, WRITER, TECHCRUNCH: It's dying. I don't think it will ever be dead.
SESAY: OK.
TEPPER: But it's downhill. Revenues are good. They made $710 million last quarter, up 48 percent year over year, which is a lot. But they lost users.
SESAY: What is the principal problem with it? Why is it in a stalemate, so to speak this?
TEPPER: Twitter is not fun for the average user. You throw out a tweet and no one sees it, it goes into the dark abyss. But if you're a celebrity, it's different Twitter experience. So Twitter needs to work on bringing that experience and engagement to the Average Joe Twitter user.
SESAY: If it's that simple, why haven't they figured it out?
VAUSE: That's the thing. We heard from Jack Dorsey was saying -- he talked about opportunities to fix some broken windows and fix some confusing aspects of Twitter. Twitter has been around for nine years.
SESAY: Yeah.
VAUSE: I mean, why don't they fix these things up?
TEPPER: Twitter is like a nerd product deep down. It's technical. You need to know what you're doing to use it well. And it's hard for the average person to learn to use. They send a tweet, no one sees it. If they reply to a celebrity, that celebrity is never going to see their tweet. It's really hard to use. Facebook on the other hand is easy to use. They show you what you want to see and it's simple.
SESAY: We're getting word from Dorsey, they're going to focus on the live streaming, that the strength of Twitter is when there's a live event and everyone shares in the collective experience. Is that enough to keep it going?
They show you what you want to see and it's simple.
TEPPER: If it's going to keep going that is what will drive it. If there's a world event happening, the Super Bowl, you check Twitter, you have by-the-second updates of what's going on. Facebook can't provide that, and that's what Twitter's strong suit could be.
SESAY: Is that attractive to advertisers? Because that's the other thing here, right?
TEPPER: It's attractive to advertisers because people will be looking at it during the Super Bowl, during a major event, during an election. But they don't have the info that Facebook has, for example. So if you're targeting a Twitter user, it's a lot harder. You can only target age, location, sex. Not, I went to this high school, this college.
[01:45:16] VAUSE: There seems to be a Catch 22 here as the company looks to move forward. They have to change an event and keep Twitter engaged all the time. But they don't want to make it too complicated so new users aren't scared off. So is it a choice between either/or here?
TEPPER: It's weird because Twitter has a very passionate user base who live it on 24-7.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
TEPPER: So they need to find a happy ground, somewhere in the middle. That's why Jack Dorsey came back to Twitter.
SESAY: He came back to Twitter, but the executives are heading out the door.
TEPPER: They're out the door.
SESAY: They seem to be running faster than we can keep up. Why is that? Is it a lack of faith in his leadership? What's going on internally, organizationally?
TEPPER: I think when Twitter went public, people thought it would be the next Google or Facebook or Apple. It's not going to be. It's a different company and service. That's what people inside are starting to understand. Some may not like that. That's why they're leaving. But Wall Street is going to have to understand that. $50 a share at 14.
VAUSE: Yeah. It's not going to be a $25 billion company.
And if you look at those results that came out, the $700 million in revenue is a good step to where they are right now. The losing of the users or the falloff in the users is a bad indication where they will be.
(CROSSTALK)
TEPPER: They went from 307 million users in Q3 to 505 million in Q4. They had a loss of two million users. That's not good.
VAUSE: Yeah.
SESAY: We'll see if it is the end of days for Twitter. You say no? We'll be watching.
VAUSE: Absolutely.
(LAUGHTER)
Good to see you, Fitz.
SESAY: Thank you.
TEPPER: Thanks so much.
SESAY: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM L.A., American actor, Johnny Depp, has a new role to add to his resume, U.S. Republican presidential, candidate Donald Trump.
VAUSE: That's the real Donald Trump, actually, not Johnny Depp, in case you're wondering.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:50:55] SESAY: Welcome back, everybody. Just as the GOP front- runner, Donald Trump, won the New Hampshire primary, a new mock- umentary about the businessman-turned-politician hit the inter-waves.
(CROSSTALK)
SESAY: The 50-minute spoof TV movie put out by a comedy website, Funny or Die, is called "The Art of the Deal," loosely based on Trump's 1987 best-selling book.
VAUSE: Second-best book ever.
SESAY: Huge sells.
VAUSE: Absolutely.
SESAY: Johnny Depp plays Trump, complete with the blonde comb-over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Witness the Art of Money.
JOHNNY DEPP, ACTOR: I want you to survey every square inch of Trump Tower in brass.
ANNOUNCER: The art of persuasion.
DEPP: I would hate to see your mother have an accident.
ANNOUNCER: The art of struggle.
(SHOUTING)
ANNOUNCER: The art of love.
DEPP: Somebody remove Ivana from the set because she's killing me.
ANNOUNCER: The art of art.
DEPP: Thank you.
ANNOUNCER: "The Art of the Deal."
DEPP: That is what you call "The Art of the Deal."
ANNOUNCER: 9:00 p.m. eastern, 8:00 p.m. mountain, except where tonight's football game is being broadcast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: OK, joining us now, social and political commentator, Jasmyne Cannick.
SESAY: Welcome back. VAUSE: OK, there was some great moments. I love the way it had that wonderful made-for-TV --
(CROSSTALK)
CANNICK: Yes. '80s, baby. I loved it.
VAUSE: And what did you think of Johnny Depp? This is sort of all a bit of a gag, but people saying this is one of the best things he's done in years.
CANNICK: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: What did you think?
CANNICK: I actually love Johnny Depp as an actor and I thought he did a really great job. There's a lot of material there when you take on someone like Donald Trump. And I think he pulled it off.
SESAY: Can we separate your love for Johnny Depp, which is coming through --
(CROSSTALK)
CANNICK: I think he did a good job.
SESAY: You're love for Johnny Depp is fine. What did you think about the material?
CANNICK: I laughed. It was funny. But then again, I laugh when I watch Donald Trump in a debate.
VAUSE: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
CANNICK: He's fun. There's a lot of material there.
VAUSE: He's entertaining. So you get into the politics of something like this, this is a 50-minute send-up of Donald Trump. Is this something that comes back to hurt a candidate or they got no other choice but to laugh along?
CANNICK: They have no other choice but to laugh along. If it wasn't this, it would be "SNL" or something else. There's just a lot of material out there with several of the candidates. I mean, I love the way they spoofed Sarah Palin.
VAUSE: Tina Fey.
CANNICK: And when she endorsed Donald Trump, I mean, the jokes just started. I think "SNL" Tina Fey brought that character back. I think he's used to it. The people that love Donald Trump, they don't care about that. (CROSSTALK)
SESAY: And the skewering of these candidates, in this case Donald Trump, they're being mocked but it helps in name recognition.
CANNICK: We're talking about it. It's just continued media coverage, just a different sort of way.
VAUSE: I didn't watch all of it, but this whole '80s story was great. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALF CHARACTER: I know, Donald. I could never repay you, nor what you've done. But I will die trying. I love you, Donald Trump.
DEPP: You know what, you too, Alf. You are the only illegal alien I truly love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: It goes into the political. It basically mocks his stance on Mexicans and building a wall and everything.
SESAY: And women and interaction with Ivana is clearly a jab at his perceived feelings about women. It's clear, they lay it all out there.
CANNICK: And they do it in such a way it keeps you laughing the whole way through. We got to see great characters like Alf reemerge. When was the last time he was on television?
VAUSE: I miss Alf.
There's more than one Donald Trump spoof which is out there right now. One which I saw a while ago, I loved it. And it's actually Darth Trump "make the galaxy great again."
(LAUGHTER)
Here's the clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:55:12] UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Whoa, Rebels. My lord, there are so many uncharted settlements.
DEPP: You don't have to be a total genius to figure this out, even though I am a genius, OK? I'm more militaristic than anybody in this room. Just so you understand. I'm really good at it. I love war in a certain way. But only when we win.
By the way, when is the last time we won a war?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Are you OK over there?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: That's my favorite clip. When is the last time we won a war?
I'm sorry. Go ahead.
SESAY: Again, he's rich for mockery. He's made for all of these. He's a gift to the comedy gods.
CANNICK: I think he keeps his hair the way he does just so we will talk about it.
(LAUGHTER)
And we continue to.
VAUSE: Thank you.
SESAY: Jasmyne, always good to have you here with us.
CANNICK: Thank you.
VAUSE: Thank you. Thank you.
Do you need a tissue?
VAUSE: I do.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay.
The news continues with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett right after this.
There, there. You'll be OK.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
