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Political Fight Over Scalia's Replacement; Republican Candidates Lament Court Vacancy; Pope Francis in Mexico; Japan's Economy Shrank in Fourth Quarter; Front-Line Look at Syrian War; Former Israeli Prime Minister Headed to Prison; Winners in BAFTA Awards. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 15, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:08] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Live from Los Angeles.
Ahead this hour, the gloves come off in the latest Republican presidential debate. Just hours after news that shook the entire campaign.
Plus, Pope Francis celebrates Sunday mass in one of Mexico's poorest and most notoriously dangerous cities.
And "The Revenant" is the big winner at this year's BAFTAS. Could this be the year that Leonardo DiCaprio finally walks away with Oscar gold.
Hello, and thank you for joining us. I am Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
Republicans in Washington and on the campaign trail are preparing for a fight over the vacancy left by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The conservative justice died Saturday, and that leaves the high court split with four conservative leaning justices and four toward the liberal side. Some Senate Republicans fear that whomever President Obama picks to fill the void will tip what had been a conservative tilt to a liberal one. They vowed to delay any nominee's approval until the next president takes over. That's almost a year from now. But President Obama is determined to press forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Joining me now is Professor Jonathan Turley from George Washington University.
Professor Turley, great to have you with us. With about 11 months or so left in office for President Obama, do you believe it's the right move for him to nominate a successor for Justice Scalia?
JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Well, I think many presidents would make this move. You know, Wayne Gretzky, the famous hockey player, once said that he missed every shot he never took, and this is a shot that all presidents would likely take. But whether they make it is another question.
The general rule has been that nominations that occur within two years of the end of a term are problematic. This is much closer than that, and during a very contested, very heated and very passionate political race for the presidency. So the odds are against the president that he could get this through a Republican-controlled Senate.
SESAY: And you said it's not just an issue of the amount of time the president has on hand. There are other issues that make this problematic?
TURLEY: Well, that's right. I mean, first of all, the greatest problem that the president faces is that Nino Scalia is a conservative icon. He was indeed the intellectual force of the right on the court. He was legitimately viewed as an intellectual, someone that had great depth and scope in his opinions. There really isn't anyone on the court right now that, on the right side, that is -- would be viewed as his equal.
For that type of iconic figure to be replaced by President Obama, for conservatives, is perfectly nightmarish. It is unlikely, highly unlikely that the president would ever nominate anyone that would be able to fill Scalia's shoes from the perspective of conservatives, and so if he even nominates a moderate as opposed to a liberal, it would significantly move the center of gravity on the court to the left and that's the reason it's unlikely that this is going to be anything but a battle royale with this nomination.
SESAY: As you take a look at the battle royale that is shaping up, we've heard the rhetoric from those on the campaign trail hoping to take the place of President Obama in the Oval Office, and from other members of the legislature. I mean, as you hear the rhetoric and the heat of the rhetoric, the tone, can you remember a time when it was ever this divided or divisive when it came or when it comes to picking a Supreme Court justice?
TURLEY: Well, there's certainly more heat than light that's coming out of this. Unfortunately, that is not unprecedented. You know, we often forget that when the Constitution of the United States was written, it was written not just for times like this, but in times like this. You know, Jefferson referred to his predecessor as the "Reign of the Witches." You know this was a pretty poisonous time even back then.
But the problem that you have in any democratic system is it requires compromise and sometimes there's not a compromise in the offing. Sometimes the parties are too far apart and that may be this case. There is very little runway left to get a compromise and there's also very little interest on either side, it seems, of reaching a real consensus on a candidate. [01:05:13] SESAY: And all that being said, where does that leave the
court right now, in the absence of Justice Scalia, in the absence of a replacement? Where does it leave the court right now and the major issues it has on its docket?
TURLEY: Well, it leaves it in a very precarious position. By the way, even if a nominee is made soon, it's unlikely that there would be a replacement this term. So we will have a number of decisions that could tie 4-4. This is a divided court. It is -- the most controversial cases tend to go 5-4. It's now an even-numbered court, which is not good. And so we are very likely going to have ties. When that happens, it's like the Supreme Court didn't render a decision at all. The lower court decision owns the day and that can be good or bad news for the administration.
In some cases they agreed with the lower court and in some cases they did not. But we have some very major cases from affirmative action, to union dues, to abortion, to Obamacare, all of those were expected to go 5-4. Scalia in 30 percent of the cases has been that fifth vote. So we're expecting a lot of ties. And that means that these historic rulings may be less historic by the end of this term.
SESAY: It is wonderful to have you on the program to break it all down for us.
Professor Turley, thank you so much for your time and for the perspective.
TURLEY: Thank you.
SESAY: Well, it's not just Senate Republicans who want to block the president's Supreme Court nominee. At the debate Saturday on CBS, the Republican presidential hopefuls called for a fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to put people on the bench that understand that the Constitution is not a living and breathing document, it is to be interpreted as it originally meant.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The next president needs to appoint someone with a proven conservative record, similar to Justice Scalia, that is a lover of liberty, and then fight and fight and fight for that nomination to make sure that that nomination passes.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We ought to let the next president of the United States decide who is going to run that Supreme Court with a vote by the people of the United States of America.
SEN. TED CRUZ (TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are one justice away from a Supreme Court that would undermine the religious liberty of millions of Americans and the stakes of this election, for this year, for the Senate, the Senate needs to stand strong and say we're not going to give up the U.S. Supreme Court for a generation by allowing Barack Obama to make one more liberal appointee. DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a tremendous blow
to conservativism. It's a tremendous blow frankly to our country. I think it's up to Mitch McConnell and everybody else to stop it. It's called delay, delay, delay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, I'm joined now by Curtis Lee. He's a political reporter for the "Los Angeles Times."
Curtis, good to have you with us once again. Fight, fight, delay, delay. I mean, they seem to be trying to outdo each other in who could be more outraged that the president would take up his constitutional right of choosing a successor to Antonin Scalia. Who are they playing to? Who is this message for? Is this about the Republican base?
CURTIS LESS, FIELD REPORTER, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Yes. This is certainly all about the Republican base. And here's an issue where you see Republicans kind of in lockstep on, you know, not wanting the president to select -- nominate someone to Scalia's position. So they've very much in unison on that and they're certainly appealing to that conservative base. And we're just a week out before the South Carolina primary. So they want to become -- see who's the most, you know, conservative on this issue. And we saw that last night in the debate.
SESAY: Yes. Everyone obviously trying to blunt the momentum of their rivals, if you will, ahead of the vote in South Carolina. Donald Trump taking a very specific track when it comes to Jeb Bush and really going after his brother, former president George W. Bush, and really challenging his record on safety.
I want to play a little bit of a clip of the back and forth that occurred on Saturday night at the debate and get your view on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: I thank God all the time that it was George W. Bush in the White House on 9/11 and not Al Gore.
(APPLAUSE)
RUBIO: And I think you can look back in hindsight and say a couple of things, but he kept us safe.
TRUMP: How did he keep us safe when the World Trade Center came down?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: The world -- excuse me. I lost hundreds of friends. The World Trade Center came down during the reign --
(BOOS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: How risky a move is it, Curtis, to go after President W. Bush ahead of a vote in South Carolina, a state where President Bush and the Bushes do well?
LEE: Yes. We'll see George W. Bush on the stump tomorrow for Jeb there in South Carolina. And he won the 2000 primary there. The Bushes have a long history there in South Carolina. So it is something -- it's an interesting tack by Trump to really go after the family.
[01:10:05] And you saw last night, you know, Jeb Bush stand up there and say, hey, I'm sick and tired of you going after my family. And it's basically, you know, him saying hey, people here in South Carolina like my family. And, I mean, it's certainly an area that could hurt Donald Trump should he continue to attack the Bush family because they do have deep roots there in South Carolina.
SESAY: The debate was the ugliest yet, I thought. It was feisty. It was a knockdown drag-out. People being called liars, nasty, all sorts of rhetoric was being thrown around. But did anything emerge to change the mind of the voters? And in your view, anything that would alter the dynamic of the race as it stands now with Trump at the top right now leading the polls and everyone scrambling for second place?
LEE: We certainly saw Trump last -- Donald Trump last night on the defensive. I mean, he is the frontrunner. He's fresh off a win there in New Hampshire. And you saw Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz really attack him. And he pushed back on a lot of things because I mean, he's leading by double-digits in South Carolina. Like I said, we're just a week out until the primary. But, you know, he was really on the defensive. And they were feisty. And then they were really engaging each other.
So you see where we're at in the race right now. And people are -- the candidates are really engaging one another as opposed to a few months ago where it was kind of, you know, sit back and let's really focus on Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. They are really engaging each other right now as the primary moves on.
SESAY: That scramble for second place. I mean, when you look at it, I mean, obviously, Rubio is really trying to salvage himself from how he performed in the previous debate where he was kind of Robo Rubio, if you will. Is it becoming any clearer to you who's going to capture that second place in South Carolina, looking at the polls and looking at the performances?
LEE: Well, certainly we see Donald Trump right there as the frontrunner. He is leading by double digits right now. And there is this competition between Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio for that second place spot there in South Carolina. But you also see candidates like John Kasich who did really well in New Hampshire. He is really vying for -- to place well there in South Carolina. So it's truly kind of a wide open race there for second place right now. And to do well in that primary as it heads west to Nevada.
SESAY: And Ben Carson? Is he in the running for second place? I have to ask you about Ben Carson and his performance.
LEE: Yes.
SESAY: At the debate on Saturday night. I mean, you kind of have to wonder what he was doing there.
LEE: Absolutely. At times he was lost in the debate.
SESAY: Yes.
LEE: I mean, he didn't say much. And, I mean, we've seen his poll numbers consistently, you know, begin to sink as this election has gone on. But he said, hey, I'm going to stay in this race. My supporters want me to stay in this race. But if he continues on with the dismal poll numbers, people will be calling for him to, you know, drop out and possibly, you know, back another candidate who's in the race who has a better chance.
SESAY: Yes. Because it's splitting the vote there.
LEE: Absolutely.
SESAY: Prolonging this battle, as it were.
Curtis Lee, a real pleasure. Thank you so much.
LEE: Thank you so much.
SESAY: All right. Well, the Democratic presidential candidates are backing President Obama and pushing Republicans in the Senate to move quickly on the Supreme Court nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just don't think it looks good that for very overtly political reasons that the Republicans would deny this president the right to exercise his constitutional responsibility, which is to appoint members to the Supreme Court. I don't think the public will look kindly on Republican actions to try to thwart what he's supposed to be able to do.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now you will hear, in fact, some might say, a confirmation process would take too long for this president to complete during his remaining days in office. Well, the longest successful confirmation process in the last four decades was Clarence Thomas and that took roughly 100 days. There are 340 days until the next president takes office, so that is plenty of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, turning away from the Supreme Court battle, if you will, at least the upcoming one, Hillary Clinton is struggling to get support from young voters. The NBC sketch show "Saturday Night Live" took notice of that, turning it into a different kind of pitch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary is just too establishment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And Bernie is an outsider who's only been in Congress for like 30 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's the best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he's the best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't make you love me if you don't you., Can't make your heart feel something it won't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like her for my sake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here in the dark in these final hours, I will lay down my heart and I will feel the power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh boy. And guess what?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Kate McKinnon there playing Hillary Clinton. But, you know, all different light there. "SNL" doing what they do best.
OK. Time for a quick break.
[01:15:01] After a weeklong holiday, China's markets are playing catch-up. Ahead, a closer look at the numbers in a live report.
Plus, Pope Francis is urging Mexico to become a land of opportunity and he's taking his message to some of the country's poorest and most dangerous cities.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Massive flames engulfed the main stage at the "Make in India" festival in Mumbai Sunday. The fire broke out in front of a large audience at an event aimed at attract foreign investment. Thousands of spectators including some dignitaries were evacuated safely. An electrical issue is suspected to have caused the fire.
Pope Francis will meet with Mexico's indigenous communities when he heads to Chiapas Monday. He celebrated mass on Sunday in an area plagued by murders and violence against women. He also visited a children's hospital.
CNN's Shasta Darlington gives us a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pope Francis helicoptered into one of the most dangerous places in Mexico on his second full day of this trip. Ecatepec, a sprawling suburb outside of Mexico City, notorious for its poverty and notorious for its violence. In fact, the pontiff's decision to visit Ecatepec ruffled more than a few official feathers.
[01:20:07] Of course it thrilled the hundreds of thousands who lined the papal route hoping to just catch a glance of Pope Francis on his way to celebrate mass. The mass itself was surprisingly critical. He lashed out at what he called the temptations of wealth, fame and power, and during the Angelus, he was even more direct. He called on Mexicans to try and create a land of opportunity instead of a country where young people are destroyed. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (Through Translator): I want to invite you today, again, to be on the frontline, to be the first in all the initiatives which help make this blessed land of Mexico a land of opportunities where there will be no need to immigrant in order to dream, no need to be exploited in order to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARLINGTON: Back in Mexico City, he visited a children's hospital. Many of the patients suffering from cancer. There were some tender moments, for example, when he gave one boy the rosary and asked him to pray for him. Another girl singing "Ave Maria." On Monday he's off to Chiapas, Mexico's poorest state, also the main entry point for Central American immigrants trying to reach the United States.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: The up-and-coming rock group Via La Beach has been killed in a car accident in Sweden. A car carrying the four British musicians and their manager drove off an open draw bridge and plunged into an canal early Saturday morning. The indie group had performed there at a music festival near Stockholm. It was their first tour outside of the U.K.
In Australia, police made a massive drug bust, finding methamphetamine hidden inside thousands of silicon bra inserts. The liquid meth known as "Ice" was found in a shipment traced to a Hong Kong storage facility. Federal police say it's worth $1 billion Australian, that's approximately $700 million U.S. Police also found the drug hidden inside art supplies. Authorities have arrested and charged four people over the haul.
Japan's economy shrank more than expected in the final quarter last year. The GDP fell 1.4 percent as consumer spending dropped. The latest numbers are adding to fears of a global slowdown.
Well, despite that news, Japan's stocks surged at Monday's opening. China's shares, however, slid on a return from a weeklong Lunar New Year holiday. Just take a look at the numbers and you see the Nikkei, they're up over 7 percent, the Hong Kong Hang Seng also up almost 3 percent. Shanghai composite is down. The only one spoiling that picture down well over 0.5 percent. Australia's S&P ASX 200 up over 1.5 percent.
Let's bring in Manisha Tank. She joins us now from Hong Kong with more on the numbers.
And Manisha, give us some perspective on this turmoil we're seeing in China's stock market.
MANISHA TANK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I like that you asked me the question that way or put it that way, Isha, because if you have been looking at the Shanghai Composite when it opened this morning, it was actually down 2.8 percent, and now we have narrowed these losses as we saw on the chart just a second ago. I don't know if we can bring it up again.
We have this rebound across the board. There it is. So we have this rebound across the board in the Asian stocks. But in particular everyone has been focused on Shanghai because actually it's been closed for the previous week for the Lunar New Year holiday. So happy Chinese New Year of the Monkey to anyone who was celebrating. But if you were someone who was investing then you might have been biting your nails and been really concerned about how things were going to look today and how things would fare, because this is the first chance that we've had to react to all of the major stock market movements that we saw in the last week. A week when the Nikkei, for example, was down 11 percent.
There has been quite a bit of news coming out of China today. We've also had -- we've had trade data and we've seen big slumps in both exports and imports. So despite that the market still managing to narrow those losses.
Another really important thing that happened today is we've actually had word from the governor of the People's Bank of China. Zhou Xiaochuan has talked about the foreign currency reserves in China and whether or not it is sustainable to keep on basically selling dollars and buying yuan. This is what the bank has been doing to shore up the value of the yuan, the Chinese currency. He's basically saying it is normal for foreign reserves to rise and fall as long as there aren't other problems. And what he's saying is if you compare it to a basket of currency, there is stability in the yuan relative speaking. There's really nothing to be worried about. But this was important news because normally he doesn't say much. So this has been the first time, he did an interview with Caixin, and he said something about the yuan, and that perhaps has given people some reason for a bit of calm today -- Isha.
SESAY: Yes. To turn attention to Japan. As we know, the final quarter of last year contracted. Give us some sense of how investors are responding.
[01:25:03] Of course, this is something of a -- not necessarily a repudiation but certainly it brings into question Abenomics and the economic policy we've seen in the last couple of years to get the economy back on track.
TANK: Yes, it really does. People asking many questions. And if we can bring up again that chart of the markets, now I can tell you the Nikkei 225 is closed, the benchmark index is closed for the session. But look at that, we're up more than 7 percent. After a big decline, though, last week many will be reassured to see these numbers. It is Monday. Got a whole week to go yet. And this even in the face of those GDP numbers. So you might say well, if the economy isn't going well and that's absolutely clear, why have the numbers been surging?
Well, part of it is bargain hunting, which is what does happen. But there you go. There's the fourth quarter number. Down 1.4 percent. That's not a small number for GDP to fall by but what it does bring into question is what happens next, what does the central bank do? Now we know that at the end of January that they decided to take interest rates below zero. What that meant was it cost money to actually have your money parked.
Normally you would be wanting to earn interest. But if you're having to pay on that interest, you want to get that money moving. And that's exactly what the central bank has been hoping for. And so people are saying, we may see a revision of these particular GDP estimates in the coming month. And the high -- there are high hopes that actually these numbers will improve. So there's a lot of hope out there still. But, yes, what do you do? It's been three years of Abenomics. People had high hopes for the Japanese economy, and we're still not seeing much gain in terms of these numbers.
The numbers are very, very clear. They put it quite bluntly. So people are thinking now and the consensus on that among analysts seems to be that the government and the Bank of Japan is going to have to throw everything that it has at this economy. And if they do that, then hopefully the numbers will look a lot better in the months to come. And there you go, there's that better performance, the closing on the Nikkei.
And just one more good thought to leave you with. And maybe we can just look ahead to 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics. Maybe that will bring us back up. Let's see.
(LAUGHTER)
SESAY: Maybe. Manisha Tank, joining us there from Hong Kong with some great analysis. Appreciate it, Manisha. Thank you.
Well, the Syrian Army is on the move against ISIS. Up next, Fred Pleitgen brings you an exclusive vantage point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are right on frontline in the Syrian military's battle against ISIS. The soldiers here tell us that ISIS positions are literally only a few miles away from this position.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:52] SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay. Let's get you caught up on the latest headlines in the U.S. race for president.
(HEADLINES)
SESAY: Russia is under growing pressure to end air strikes in Syria, while diplomats debate the terms of a cease-fire. At the security conference in Munich, U.S. Senator John McCain accused Russia of using Syria as a live-fire exercise for its military.
The Kremlin says Presidents President Obama and Vladimir Putin held frank and constructive talks by phone on Sunday. The White House says Mr. Obama emphasized the importance of Moscow ending its air campaign.
The momentum in the conflict has shifted in favor of the Sunni regime because of the air strikes. The Syrian army says they have pushed back ISIS militants with Russia's support.
CNN's Fled Pleitgen was given exclusive access to the regime's front line against ISIS in eastern Syria and has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the eastern Syrian Desert, on the fringe of ISIS' self declared caliphate, the Syrian army readied its artillery cannons, tanks, and armored personnel carriers have dug in.
(on camera): We are on the front line in the Syrian military's battle against ISIS. The soldiers tell us that ISIS positions are literally only a few miles away from this position.
(voice-over): The top commander for this area tells CNN his forces constantly clash with ISIS here. He didn't want to appear on camera because of Syrian military rules, and instead designated a civilian working with him to speak on his behalf.
"Over there is the village of Gerbaht," he says. It's considered to be the alternative capital of ISIS.
(EXPLOSION)
PLEITGEN: The Syrian military recently launched a major offensive in the north of the country, winning back some territory, but also causing tens of thousands to flee towards the Turkish border.
(EXPLOSION)
PLEITGEN: The U.S. says Syrian forces, mostly combat moderate rebels, have put very little effort into fighting ISIS. But the troops here say that is not true.
"For three months now, ISIS has not been advancing," he says, "they have only been retreating."
(EXPLOSION)
PLEITGEN: And Assad's army acknowledges that Russian air power has had a big impact.
"Everything is much better since our Russian friends came in," he says. "They gave us the capability to conduct preemptive strikes and also aerial surveillance to warn us in advance about ISIS attacks."
And they vow to continue their push eastward, deeper into ISIS heartland.
(on camera): The commanders here say they are on the move forward. And one of their predictions is that if nothing else goes wrong, they think they can be in Raqqa by the end of the year.
(voice-over): But they are still far away from achieving that goal, and in the past, ISIS has shown it can rebound after being pushed back.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, eastern Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:35:08] SESAY: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is heading to prison on Monday. He was convicted on bribery charges in 2014 and sentenced to six years in jail. That term was later reduced to 18 months. Olmert led Israel from 2006 to 2016. He will be the first former Israeli premier to go to prison.
Our own Oren Liebermann joins us now live from Jerusalem with the latest developments.
Oren, according to the Israeli prison service, Ehud Olmert will be spending his time separated from the general population. What more can you tell us about the conditions he'll be held in?
OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He'll be in what's called Ward 10, an area of the prison that is especially designated to keep him and three other prisoners currently held there separate from the general prison population. That's because Olmert poses a unique challenge to the Israel prison service. He has state secrets as a former prime minister, and the prison service says he's not allowed to come into contact with other prisoners, such as organized crime members. So he will be what's known as Ward 10, which was recently innovated.
It's a small area. It holds up to 18 people but only has four in it right now. Olmert, local media reports, is on his way there. He has another hour and a half to get to the prison. There's media set up outside of the prison. We will see a shot of him going into prison and then he'll begin what is at least an 18-month sentence.
As a prisoner, he will go from a Secret Service detail that he has to a regular prison detail. It will be the Israeli Prison Authority in charge of his security once he is in prison until he gets out. As a prisoner, he is entitled to what other prisoners are entitled to.
He's allowed a certain number of socks and clothing. He is allowed a pillow and blanket from home. In that sense, he is treated like any other prisoner, except for this Ward 10 where he is being held.
Isha, Ehud Olmert did release a video this morning where he insists he is still innocent, that he paid a heavy price, one perhaps that he says perhaps is too heavy, but he also says no one is above the law and he will serve his sentence -- Isha?
SESAY: Still insisting on his innocence, but his legal troubles are far from over.
LIEBERMAN: Absolutely. What we've talked about up until now, this 18-month sentence, deals with the Holyland Affair, where an investigation that dates back to the mid '90s where a real estate investor got a false assessment on the property, that lead to tax benefits for him. And the investigation, which took more than a decade, led to Olmert's conviction and a conviction of a number of others.
Now he is still dealing with what's known as the Talansky Affair) which is where he took envelopes full of cash from an American businessman totaling up to $150,000. That could lead to another eight months in prison. Before all is said and done, he may spend more than two years in prison. That will all play out -- the legal affairs there with the Talansky Affair will play out while he's in prison.
SESAY: Something we should be watching very closely.
Oren Lieberman joining us from Jerusalem. Oren, get some water. Thank you so much for joining us.
Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM L.A., movie stars walk the red carpet as Britain's biggest night in film. Coming up, all the glitz and glamour of this year's BAFTA Awards.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Wait! You may be wondering why the red suits. That's so bad guys can't see me bleed.
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(LAUGHTER)
[01:41:36] The super hero shattered records at the box office this weekend. "Deadpool," starring Ryan Reynolds had the biggest opening for an "R" rated movie ever, taking in $135 million at the U.S. box office, and $260 million worldwide. It also scored the biggest ever opening to date, snatching the top spot from last year's hit "50 Shades of Gray." A "Deadpool" sequel is already in the works.
Britain's biggest night in film, the BAFTA Awards were held tonight. "The Revenant" scooped up the top prizes this year. The gritty drama was honored in five categories, including best film. Also, the award for best director. And Leonardo DiCaprio winning the best actor award to a huge round of applause. This is his first BAFTA Award. "The Revenant" is a favorite to win big at the Oscars in two week's time.
For more on the BAFTA Awards, we're joined by Sandra Monetti, the managing editor with the "L.A. Business Journal" and also BAFTA member and committee chair.
Hope you like how I gave you your name.
SANDRO MONETTI, MANAGING EDITOR, L.A. BUSINESS JOURNAL & BAFTA MEMBER, COMMITTEE CHAIR: No one I voted for won. So I clearly have no influence whatsoever.
SESAY: But "The Revenant" did win very, very big.
MONETTI: It did.
SESAY: Is Oscar gold theirs?
MONETTI: It's really in prime position now. It won best actor, best film, best director. It's the one to beat.
And may I just say, Isha, the BAFTAs are very much like you. Do you know why?
SESAY: Why?
MONETTI: Because they are all about class.
(LAUGHTER)
It's a very British event.
SESAY: You can always come back, Sandro.
MONETTI: Oh, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
The pre party was at Kensington Palace. The awards were at the Royal Opera House. And the goody bag had a tin of tea in it. What's more British than that?
(CROSSTALK)
SESAY: And Leo gave a great speech.
MONETTI: He always does, yeah. He thanked his mum.
SESAY: He likes to do that.
MONETTI: Which you should always do. And he doesn't come from wealth, and he pointed that out, that his mom would drive him three hours to school, take him to all the auditions. Yeah, she must be glowing with pride.
SESAY: She must be.
MONETTI: And she's probably thinking, what took them so long?
SESAY: His first BAFTA. I'm totally blown away by that.
The BAFTAs are very different from the Oscars, which right now is embroiled in this Oscars So White controversy and the lack of diversity that is plaguing the acting noms. At the BAFTAs, Rebel Wilson tackling the elephant in the room. What did you think of that?
MONETTI: I think she should host next year. Stephen Fry has been entertainment for 11 years but Rebel Wilson was great. No one else had the guts to take it on. She went right there on the stage and joked about it. "I don't go to the Oscars. It's racist."
(LAUGHTER)
And then did a whole comedy routine about it. So that was great.
And of course, the camera is right on Idris Elba, right in his face.
Yeah, she was great. She added much needed levity and serious issues and it had to be said. She tackled a difficult issue with humor, and that's always a good way to do it.
SESAY: And Sydney Portier won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
MONETTI: He did. Yes.
SESAY: Very good.
MONETTI: My favorite film of all time, "To Sir, With Love." I was standing and cheering for that award.
SESAY: And the question, why is it the BAFTAs and the way the nominations are chosen, why is it always so different from the Oscars? Why is it that the issue of diversity doesn't come up with the BAFTAs, and it naturally is incorporated? Why do you think that is?
[01:45:] MONETTI: Well, I think these things are cyclical, for example. But I think that in BAFTA, throughout our organization, we have always celebrated diversity, right from the roots. I'm chairman of the BAFTA newcomers. The idea is there, we support emerging British talent coming to Los Angeles. And, you know, British acting has always been very diverse. It's not like, for example, it's always like posh boys who are acting or something like that. We had the likes of Michael Caine (ph), Albert Finny (ph), Tom Courtney (ph) --
SESAY: Gary Oldman (ph). Absolutely.
MONETTI: -- Gary Oldman (ph). These are working class backgrounds. Idris Elba as well. We see no color, only talent.
SESAY: Hopefully, the Oscars will catch up. That's my hope. Sandro, always great to have you with us. I like the tie.
MONETTI: Rule Britannia.
SESAY: I know you're going for a knighthood or something.
MONETTI: At the very least.
(LAUGHTER)
SESAY: Sandro, thank you so much.
Well, our own Nima Elbagir was on the BAFTA red carpet and has more from the star-studded event.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 15 seconds. Can you put this on? Yes.
You are an absolute life saver.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw the panic set in.
(MUSIC)
JOHN BOYEGA, ACTOR: Good lord, they're screaming my name. It's crazy. I'm trying to have a serious conversation.
ELBAGIR: You love it. You love it.
BOYEGA: I'm trying to be deep. I'm trying to be deep.
(CROSSTALK)
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: That's why I'm here, you know. I'm presenting best white actress today.
(MUSIC)
ELBAGIR: Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Spielberg!
(MUSIC)
ELBAGIR: We're going to have Kate Winslet. Can you tell me how long?
Hello.
KATE WINSLET, ACTRESS: How are you?
ELBAGIR: Good.
WINSLET: I know. I'm so sorry. I feel so sorry for you right now.
ELBAGIR: You should. You should.
(CROSSTALK)
You should feel sad. You should feel really guilty.
You've got a whole fur and everything.
(MUSIC)
ELBAGIR: I've been watching you since "Malcolm in the Middle."
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Oh, thank you.
ELBAGIR: It's been extraordinary.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: When you were a baby, just a little, little girl.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: When you were 4.
ELBAGIR: Aren't you the nicest man on the planet?
(MUSIC)
ELBAGIR: It's Valentine's Day.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Will you be my Valentine?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Today and every day.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: We spend Valentine's Day making love.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: And I actually spent the day in the office.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:05] SESAY: Clearly a very glamorous and a very cold night there at the BAFTAs.
Next on CNN NEWSROOM, Kobe Bryant plays his final NBA all-star game. We will show you his send-off.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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SESAY: In pro basketball, the West triumphed over the East in the NBA all-star game, with a record-setting 196-173 win Sunday night in Toronto. A great send-off for L.A. Lakers star, Kobe Bryant, who played his final all-star game. Bryant is retiring after this season. He scored 10 points in Sunday's game, so few that he lost his career lead in all-star scoring to Lebron James, who is now just one point ahead of him. This was the first all-star game hosted outside the U.S.
Well, the rock group OK Go has taken its music to a higher level. The group got the green light from Russian authorities to film a music video in zero gravity.
CNN's Jeanne Moos found out the trick wasn't as easy as it looks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): OK Go has gone weightless.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Don't try this aboard your next commercial flight. The band, known for its unique videos, has come a long way from their treadmill days.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Now they are treading in zero gravity in a plane above Russia.
(SINGING)
MOOS: For three weeks, they practiced and performed as the plane did parabolas, climbing until it goes over the hump, creating 27 seconds of weightlessness.
Time to open luggage --
(MUSIC)
MOOS: -- and release a zillion balls.
The flight attendants didn't yell.
(SINGING)
MOOS: They're actually trained aerial acrobats.
Lead singer, Damian Kulash, called the whole zero-G experience exhilarating and terrifying.
DAMIAN KULASH, OK GO BAND MEMBER: It's a very difficult physical sensation and it just causes a lot of sort of like fear and panic.
MOOS: Russia's F-7 airline O.K. Go the plane in exchange for using the results in a marketing campaign.
The video "Upside Down and Inside Out" is made up of eight periods of weightlessness, with a time in between as the plane repositions, edited out.
The band members took anti-nausea drugs, but the production crew wanted to go natural.
[01:55:21] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had about 58 unscheduled regurgitations.
KULASH: 58 vomiting events.
(SINGING)
MOOS: But what's a little nausea when paint-filled balloons are spilling their guts?
(on camera): Damian himself never actually threw up, but he did pass out --
(voice-over): -- after being spun by the flight attendants.
KULASH: There's actually footage of me like -- you can just see my eyes kind of twirl up and I just go limp.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Watch Damian start to lose it as his eyes flutter. After five seconds or so, he regained consciousness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want me to get you some water?
MOOS: No! I want you to get me some gravity.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
(SINGING)
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Apart from the throwing up and the passing out, it seems like it was a pretty cool adventure.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
The news continues with George Howell right after this.
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