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Thousands of Migrants Stuck in Limbo in Greece; Syria's Fragile Cease-Fire; Aired; American Confesses to Hostile Act in North Korea; Iran Elections; Rubio and Trump Trade Personal Attacks; Republicans Prepare for Super Tuesday; Oscar Winners; U.S. War Veterans Track Down Child Predators; Lady Gaga Makes Hollywood Cry; Bloch's Worst Dressed. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 29, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST (voice-over): Ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, migrants charge a fence at the Greek border.
Will the partial cease fire hold?
We have an exclusive report from inside Syria.
And a new CNN poll shows Trump and Clinton commanding leads.
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CURNOW: Hi, there, welcome, everyone, I'm Robyn Curnow.
There's been panic and desperation at a Greek border camp. Just hours ago thousands of people tried to storm a barrier fence into Macedonia.
These were some of the scenes.
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CURNOW (voice-over): As you can see adults frantically shoved forward, children cry out and what appears to be tear gas chokes the air. Macedonia
has all but sealed its border, allowing only a few hundred people to cross over the weekend. More than 7,000 people are waiting to pass, terrified
they won't be allowed to push further into Europe.
Our Atika Shubert is following the story from Berlin and she joins me now live.
Hi, there, Atika.
What's the latest?
Has the situation calmed down?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The situation has calmed down and they have also restored the border fence. They have also
reinforced the number of riot police they have on the Macedonian side. A special helicopter actually came in to deliver more police onto the scene.
For now things have calmed down but about 20 people were injured and almost half of that were children, which you could see in the crowd. A number of
families were caught up in the chaos.
And this is exactly what Greece had been warning might happen over the next few days as it reaches boiling point. There's about roughly between 5,000
to 7,000 people camped out at that Idomeni border crossing.
And the reason they are there is because Macedonia and other Balkan nations have actually cracked down on the number of refugees that can cross. What
they are saying now is that only Syrians and Iraqis can go through and only if they have valid photo ID, which not every refugee has.
All Afghans, for example, who are trying to claim asylum, are being turned away. So it's caused a bottleneck here at that border point. And even
though there's only 5,000 to 7,000 there, that camp can only hold about 3,000. So that's why you see the kinds of chaos there where they tried to
break through the border fence.
And consider that, in all of Greece, there's more than 20,000 asylum seekers trying to make it to Europe and an estimated 70,000 on their way to
Greece. So it really is a pressure cooker waiting to explode at this point.
And it's something that Chancellor Angela Merkel here in Germany has warned that we cannot leave Greece alone in this, that the E.U. as a whole has to
help it figure out a way to deal with this refugee crisis.
CURNOW: Yes, and the answers to that haven't come easily for Europe, this growing pressure across the continent.
Let's talk about Calais authorities trying to break down a camp there.
What do you know that's happening right now?
SHUBERT: What we know is that this is an ongoing process. It was started -- a judge made a ruling earlier later last week that basically said they
could dismantle a number of the tents and shacks that have built up in Calais. And these are obviously asylum seekers who are trying to get into
the U.K. from France.
And so that process began earlier this morning. About 20 or 30 or so of the shacks had been dismantled by midday. It's a process that could go on
for a few weeks.
There are about 100 police on site for security reasons but it was far less chaotic than, for example, scenes we have seen in Macedonia. It has been a
security concern for a number of years now, the sort of growing number of asylum seekers trying to cross the English Channel there.
And France is under tremendous pressure from the U.K. to find a way to diminish the number of people that are camped out there.
CURNOW: Atika Shubert keeping an eye on things there in Berlin, thank you.
Many of those migrants are fleeing the war in Syria, where there are real questions if Syria's fragile cease-fire can hold. We are in the third day
and there have already been reports of violations. Syria's main opposition group tells the United Nations there have been barrel bombings --
[10:00:00]
CURNOW: -- and other attacks from regime forces and from Russia. It said under such conditions, negotiations will not be feasible.
The group wants the U.N. to take immediate action. France called a meeting, now underway in Geneva. Despite the opposition claims, the U.N.
secretary general says the three-day truce is by and large holding.
Senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward has just returned from rebel-held Syria, where she was able to witness first-hand how the cease-
fire is holding up. She's virtually the only Western journalist to have traveled to the heavy-hit area in more than a year. Here's her exclusive
report.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are in the heart of rebel-held Syria and this entire area has seen some of the most intensive bombardment in the
past few months.
We have been traveling all around here for nearly a week now and certainly it is fair to say that, since the cessation of hostilities began, there has
been a dramatic decrease in the number of airstrikes.
Having said that, earlier we visited a town called Darat Azza on the outskirts of Aleppo. And people there told us that about 30 hours after
the cease-fire began, there was an airstrike on a house. We were able to capture some video of the aftermath of that airstrike.
There have also been reports of clashes in other parts of the country. But certainly it does feel quite a bit quieter here.
What's interesting is that you won't find anybody here celebrating about the cease-fire. And that's for a number of reasons.
Firstly, in the run-up to the cessation of hostilities, there was a dramatic increase in the Russian aerial bombardment.
Secondly, the people here who live in rebel-held territory simply don't trust the regime of Bashar al-Assad. They see the cease-fire as a trick or
a ruse designed so that the regime can take more territory.
And for that reason, many people we have spoken to are in fact actually against the cease-fire.
Just a few days ago, we attended a protest where people were carrying signs that said, "This cease-fire is a betrayal of our martyrs, of those who have
died for the cause."
They were chanting over and over again, "We must keep on fighting," and "We must unite."
Even the imam in his weekly sermon was urging people not to heed the cease- fire and to continue fighting.
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CURNOW: Clarissa joins me now from the Turkey-Syria border.
Hi, there, Clarissa. It really seems like from your reporting that there's a real disconnect between Syrians on the ground and the political process
that's taking place in Geneva or in other capital cities.
WARD: Absolutely, Robyn. There's a complete disconnect. The people who are fighting and dying on the ground do not believe that their needs and
their desires and their concerns are being represented. They see what's happening in Geneva and Munich and other European cities as essentially a
chess game between super powers.
And I want to just highlight, in the days leading up to the cease-fire, we witnessed a Russian airstrike on a fruit market in a small town. We saw at
least eight people killed there, among them civilians, a young boy we saw with our own eyes. We visited courthouses and hospitals that have been
leveled to the ground.
We talked to people who had been living under consistent bombardment now for years. And that bombardment, of course, has been become even more
intense in the past few months, particularly even in the days running up to the cease-fire, which I think really gives you a sense that, while these
people want peace, they have sacrificed too much in their eyes to be willing to give up on their fundamental demands -- Robyn.
CURNOW: So, Clarissa, the U.N. secretary general says this truce is by and large holding.
Did you get a sense in your travels that it would last?
How sustainable is this?
What happens next?
WARD: Well, I think that's the million-dollar question. Certainly, I have to say that every single person I spoke to either said they did not believe
for a second that the cease-fire would hold, that they did not trust that the regime would honor their word and uphold it or else they said that they
simply didn't want to have any part of it at all, that they didn't feel it was fair, at this stage, that they should be asked to give up the fight
after being on the wrong end of what they see as a very one-sided conflict.
It's important for our viewers to remember that the people in Idlib and Aleppo, living in these rebel-held areas, they are being bombarded from the
skies day in and day out. And there's very little they can do to defend themselves against that.
So for them, when you talk about negotiations that don't have as a prerequisite that Bashar al-Assad must leave, they say we want no part in
those negotiations.
CURNOW: You make some extremely important points there. Thanks, Clarissa Ward.
And do continue to watch CNN to see Clarissa's full series of exclusive report from inside Syria.
Moving on, an American held in North Korea --
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CURNOW: -- has admitted to, quote, "hostile act against the state" in a video released by Pyongyang. Authorities there accuse Otto Frederick
Warmbier of trying to steal a political banner from his hotel in January. They say the college student was encouraged by the CIA, a U.S. church and
student group.
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OTTO FREDERICK WARMBIER, NORTH KOREAN TOURIST (from captions): (INAUDIBLE). I entirely beg you and the government of DPR Korea for your
forgiveness. Please, I've made the worst mistake of my life but please act to save me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Warmbier was traveling with a tour group at the time of his arrest and it's unknown if the 21-year-old was forced to confess.
Ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, a shift to the center. Reformists in Iran's capital make their voices loud and clear as election results flow
in.
Plus:
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SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He doesn't sweat because his pores are clogged from the spray tan that he uses. Donald is
not going to make America great. He's going to make America orange.
CURNOW (voice-over): New poll numbers just released show the personal attacks against Donald Trump aren't working. Stay with us.
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CURNOW: You're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks for joining me.
Reformists in Iran are making big gains in the country's most populated area. Early election results show they've won 15 of the 16 seats for the
Assembly of Experts in the Tehran region.
Now that assembly is crucial because it's responsible for picking the next Supreme Leader and the moderates also look to have clinched all of Tehran's
parliamentary seats. Results for the whole country are expected soon.
Our Fred Pleitgen joins us now live from Tehran keeping an eye on things there on the ground.
And, as you've been saying all along, this has always been seen as a referendum on President Rouhani's reform.
This really is a ringing endorsement, isn't is?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly seems like a ringing endorsement and it clearly is also, from what we see
at this point, a mandate for them to continue these reforms.
One of the things we have to keep in mind, Robyn, is that it's not going to mean that Iran all of a sudden is going to change course and become pro-
West or accelerate these reforms. But they will continue on that path.
That's certainly something where, speaking to high-level Iranian officials over the past couple years, they said it's very important for them to
especially get a parliament that is positive towards continuing those reforms and, of course, also for international business people coming into
this place here, it's also important for them to see that the current political course of Hassan Rouhani --
[10:15:00]
PLEITGEN: -- is one that is endorsed by the population, because they want security if anybody is going to invest here in this country, as so many
people and so many companies want to do.
Now we were on the streets of Tehran throughout the day today and we spoke to people about this election result that has come through. And many
people said they were happy with it. Let's listen in.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A lot of people voted and they gained a lot of votes to get into parliament. So we expect them to work
hard and fulfill their promises. And they should work hard so that that can be an answer to the conservatives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were not satisfied with the last parliament and I hope that both parliament and the Assembly of Experts
think and do something, especially for the young people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think 100 percent there's going to be lots of changes. With my friends, we were partying. And we all
believe that this is the best parliament that has ever been elected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So as you can see, Robyn, a lot of people said that they are very happy with all this but also say that now they want to see results
because one of the things we also always have to see is that, while people here are very positive towards the nuclear agreement, towards sanctions
relief, not many people have really witnessed the benefits of that yet.
And another thing is that there is still also some controversy in these elections, where the conservatives here are saying, yes, the moderates may
have won Tehran; however, they believe that, in the rest of the country it still is pretty much an even race, which would still mean big gains for the
reformers.
But the conservatives are saying not so fast. We are still in this.
CURNOW: In Tehran, Fred Pleitgen reporting, thank you.
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CURNOW: In the U.S. race for the White House, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are running away with their respective contests, according to a new
CNN/ORC poll of voters across the U.S.
Trump has opened such a commanding lead, he's beating all four of his rivals combined. Nearly half of those surveyed said they would vote for
the billionaire businessman.
On the Democrat side, the new poll shows Hillary Clinton with 55 percent support compared to 38 percent for Bernie Sanders.
The personal attacks between Trump and his Republican rival, Marco Rubio, are increasing. Trump is also taking some heat for something he wouldn't
say in a television interview with CNN. Chris Frates has more.
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RUBIO: He doesn't sweat because his pores are clogged from the spray tan that he uses.
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CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marco Rubio unleashing on onslaught of insults and putdowns Sunday night in his latest string of
personal attacks on Donald Trump.
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RUBIO: Donald is not going to make America great. He's going to make America orange.
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FRATES (voice-over): Only hours after Trump took jabs at the freshman senator at a rally in Alabama.
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Little Marco Rubio, a total, total featherweight.
RUBIO: He's always calling me Little Marco. And I'll admit, they guy, he's taller than me. He's like 6'2", which is why I don't understand why
his hands are the size of someone who is 5'2".
Have you seen his hands?
They are like this.
And you know what they say about men with small hands.
You can't trust them.
FRATES (voice-over): This as Trump stirs up controversy for what he didn't say.
RUBIO: Donald Trump refused, refused to criticize the Ku Klux Klan.
FRATES (voice-over): The billionaire refusing to disavow support from former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke.
TRUMP: I don't know anything about David Duke, OK.
FRATES (voice-over): Trump deflecting questions by CNN's Jake Tapper.
TRUMP: I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So I don't know. I mean, I don't
know.
Did he endorse me or what's going on?
Because I know nothing about David Duke.
FRATES (voice-over): But on Friday --
TRUMP: Did David Duke endorse me?
OK. All right. I disavow.
OK?
FRATES (voice-over): And Trump does know of the Klansman. Back in 2000, the billionaire ended his brief flirtation with a presidential bid with a
reform party who had ties to the former KKK leader, saying in a statement reported by "The New York Times," This is not company I wish to keep."
And Trump took to Twitter Sunday to once again disavow Duke's support but only after he was attacked by some rivals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRATES: Donald Trump picked up some establishment support here in Alabama yesterday when Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions endorsed his candidacy at a
big rally here outside of Huntsville and that is huge.
The immigration hardliner is the first sitting senator to get behind Trump's candidacy as the billionaire continues to coalesce establishment
support behind his run -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Now, Chris, many in the Republican establishment perhaps couldn't have thought it would get any worse but it has -- any lower. I mean, the
conversations you have just recorded are something like out of a high school locker room.
FRATES: That's exactly right. I say it's almost a middle school spat, the way --
[10:20:00]
FRATES: -- it's a "I know you are but what am I" kind of race.
The reason we're seeing this -- and it started at CNN's debate last week when Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz ganged up on Donald Trump. They realized
that he has the best path to the nomination right now and they are trying to stop him.
And Marco Rubio is taking a page essentially out of Donald Trump's playbook. He's attacking him to show that he's the guy who can take Donald
Trump on and become that Trump alternative.
Right now, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are splitting the anti-Trump vote, Rubio trying to coalesce the establishment and knock Ted Cruz out.
The question is, is there enough time?
Or will Donald Trump have such a big run on Super Tuesday and win so many states that it will make it very, very tough for either Ted Cruz or Marco
Rubio to knock Trump off? -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Indeed. With these polls, these CNN/ORC polls, is, as one political pundit I heard say, is Donald Trump a runaway freight train or
can this be made up by one of these other guys?
FRATES: It's getting harder and harder for the Trump alternative to knock Trump out of the field. That new CNN poll that is out today has Donald
Trump up with 49 percent of the vote, Marco Rubio way back at 16 percent and Ted Cruz at 15 percent.
Donald Trump has more support than the rest of the field here. That does not bode well going into Super Tuesday.
And remember when Donald Trump started, there were always pundits talking about his cads (ph). He won't get more than 35 percent, people said as he
started to grow his support.
Well, now he's at about 50 percent going into Super Tuesday. That is not a good sign for either Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz as they try to knock off what
has become the runaway freight train of Donald Trump -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Chris Frates, thank you so much.
You're watching the INTERNATIONAL DESK. Ahead --
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CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: Is Hollywood racist?
You're damn right, Hollywood's racist.
CURNOW (voice-over): The big winners on Oscar night and how host Chris Rock handled the racial controversy surrounding the awards show. More on
Rock's monologue and some surprises, including the Best Picture winner.
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CURNOW: Most years the big stories leading into the Oscars surround who is going to win the coveted trophies. But this year the absence of black
acting nominees overshadowed the awards themselves -- at least at the start of the show.
Chris Rock took the controversy head on with a scathing monologue about the lack of racial diversity. But the Academy still doled out dozens of
awards, mixing the expected with a few surprises. Here's Stephanie Elam with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCK: I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White People's Choice Awards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chris Rock wasted no time addressing the #OscarsSoWhite controversy delivering one of the most
anticipated Oscar monologues ever.
ROCK: If they nominated hosts, I wouldn't even get this job.
(LAUGHTER)
ROCK: So y'all be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now.
ELAM (voice-over): Soon we are watching a parade of winners from "Mad Max: Fury Road," which earned six Oscars, all in technical categories.
MARK MANGINI, BEST SOUND EDITING: For thousands of years, we have been telling stories in the dark around a flickering light, whether a campfire
or a projector.
ELAM (voice-over): Some winners were expected --
[10:25:00]
ELAM (voice-over): -- like "Room" star, Brie Larson, taking Best Actress.
BRIE LARSON, ACTOR: The thing that I love about movie-making is how many people it takes to make it.
ELAM (voice-over): Some winners made history. Alejandro Inarritu became just the third man ever to win back-to-back Best Director Oscars. The
Mexican filmmaker urged us to.
ALEJANDRO INARRITU, FILMMAKER: Liberate ourself (sic) from all prejudice and this tribal thinking and make sure for once and forever that the color
of the skin become as irrelevant as the length of our hair.
ELAM (voice-over): Some winners were long-awaited. "Revenant" star, Leonardo DiCaprio, finally took home an Oscar and connected the film to his
environmental advocacy.
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real.
It is happening right now.
ELAM (voice-over): The show also addressed the issue of sexual abuse with a stirring performance by Lady Gaga.
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ELAM (voice-over): And "Spotlight," the true story of "The Boston Globe" reporters who uncovered sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the cover-up,
taking Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture of the Year.
TOM MCCARTHY, BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: We made this film for all the journalists who have and continue to hold the powerful accountable and for
the survivors whose courage and will to overcome is really an inspiration of awe.
ELAM (voice-over): Plenty of inspiration to go around on Oscar night -- Stephanie Elam, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Busy night, wasn't it?
We'll have much more on the Oscars later on in the program, including the big competition that has nothing to do with the awards -- the fashion hits
and misses, who ruled the red carpet. Hollywood stylist Philip Bloch will give us his opinions. Stay with us.
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CURNOW: You're watching the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow.
Here's a check of the headlines.
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CURNOW (voice-over): A sense of panicked desperation is boiling over in Northern Greece, where a crush of migrants attempted to break through a
border fence into Macedonia just hours ago.
More than 7,000 migrants are gathered at a nearby refugee camp. The camp can only temporarily house less than half that number.
Protests erupted in Pakistan after authorities executed a man for killing a provincial governor. Mumtaz Qadri shot and killed the Punjab governor in
2011, allegedly because the official criticized Pakistan's blasphemy law. Supporters consider Qadri a hero for defending Islam.
Syria's main opposition group reports violations in a tenuous cease-fire now in its third day. It claims regime forces --
[10:30:00]
CURNOW: -- dropped bombs and Russian launched airstrikes on opposition territory but the United Nations secretary general says the truce is
largely holding. A U.N. task force is meeting today in Geneva to address the opposition claim.
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All this week, the CNN Freedom Project is focusing on a unique program to end modern-day slavery. Many U.S. service members have returned from the
battlefield with career-ending injuries but they still have a lot of fight left in them. Our Kyung Lah tells us how they are trying to track down
people who abuse children.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's training day for former Army Ranger Tom Block.
TOM BLOCK, FORMER ARMY RANGER: (INAUDIBLE).
LAH (voice-over): Block and 23 other elite war veterans from the U.S. special forces for the U.S. military, spent more than $1 million each
training to be physically and mentally exceptional, are now prepping for a new mission.
J. CHRISTIAN, CEO, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TO PROTECT CHILDREN: The HERO Corps being just the completely unique program that it is gives a veteran
the opportunity to, not only take on a mission but really, really go out and make efforts to rescue children.
LAH (voice-over): J. Christian himself, a former highly decorated Army Ranger, leads the team as head of a nonprofit called PROTECT. The group is
partners with Homeland Security investigations and U.S. Special Operations Command to train and place these veterans with law enforcement agencies
around the country.
CHRISTIAN: You see groups of children being abused at levels the average American can't fathom. And the abuse seems to be getting more documented
and worse.
LAH (voice-over): PROTECT says the United States is the world's largest producer of child pornography. The images too hard to look at, often too
horrible even to describe. But for these heroes, the idea of not taking action is not an option.
CHRISTIAN: What we're dealing with is actual capturing of crime scenes. It gives you that sense of urgency to make sure you're able to get there as
fast as you can. And when they go out into the field, the main objective for the HERO is to aid and assist in child rescue.
LAH (voice-over): These HERO Corps veterans share another trait. In order to qualify for the program, the veteran must have been wounded, ill or
injured in service to their country.
Block, the "Army Times" 2014 Soldier of the Year, was badly wounded during a raid in Southern Afghanistan in 2013. A suicide bomber charged him and
his team. The explosion went off just eight feet from where Block was standing.
BLOCK: We lost four friends that night. A few IED blasts leveled some of the house, most of the house, threw me back 30 feet into a ditch, wounded a
bunch of others.
LAH (voice-over): Getting back to fighting shape wasn't easy. After learning to walk again, Sergeant Block endured several reconstructive
surgeries. Doctors couldn't save his right eye but Block decided to use the setback to make a statement.
BLOCK: I picked Captain America's shield for my fake eye because I feel it's something that represents what I stand for in a big way. He doesn't
like bullies and neither do I.
LAH (voice-over): Let that serve as notice for anyone who may be terrorizing children -- Kyung Lah, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: J. Christian, the CEO of the National Association to Protect Children, who was featured in that report, is with us now.
Thank you so much. What an extraordinary program. It makes so much sense.
How did it all start?
CHRISTIAN: Certainly. The National Association to Protect Children really developed the idea and took it to Special Operations Command and
immediately had a large effort behind the opportunity to put some of their best, highest trained men and women into the program.
From there they went in to present the opportunity to Homeland Security and it's been flying high ever since.
CURNOW: This is about detecting, locating and rescuing children.
How many children have being rescued?
How successful is it?
CHRISTIAN: This program is wildly successful. Unfortunately, the numbers are staggering. On a daily basis, there are children, not only around our
nation but around the world, that are being abused and victimized.
CURNOW: But in terms of actually able to detect them and able to rescue them, it's a tough job, isn't it?
CHRISTIAN: It certainly is a tough job. Coming down, doing proactive work and having your hands involved as a computer forensic analyst, allows you
to dig deeper into the material that's found and generate new leads and oftentimes leads to new victims.
So where it's a very tough job, per se, it's very rewarding for the individuals that are taking it on, too. And for individuals that are --
[10:35:00]
CHRISTIAN: -- actually being abused in that manner, to know that there's a group of individuals that are this highly skilled and trained at this level
that are out there solely with this mission to do this, that's unspeakable to them.
CURNOW: We kind of mentioned it. This is a new kind of battlefield but also dealing with a different kind of trauma. Just having to look at some
of these images must be horrifying in itself.
CHRISTIAN: I would say that as a HERO alumnus myself, this oftentimes gives individuals the opportunity to get a brand new mission. See, these
men and women have lost their mission on the battlefield and they are right in the midst of high-level military service.
And to come back and do something on their own soil and really affect the lives of children that are being tortured and abused in ways that are just
unspeakable and unimaginable, anything that individuals are really going through and sticking to and seeing, they know that there's a reason there's
the outcome of safety in taking those children out of that predicament.
CURNOW: It gives them a real sense of purpose.
CHRISTIAN: Absolutely.
Let's talk about the realities, the practicalities of this red tape, bureaucracy.
How much is that an enemy in all of this?
CHRISTIAN: I think that we have had great success through some of the legislative work the organization has done to maximize opportunities.
But one of the challenges that really faces us is the real financing of a program like this and what it takes for communities to get behind and
support it financially to keep it going and ensure that it's there for the long term.
When it comes to working through some of the obstacles with the Department of Justice and Homeland Security and things like that, fortunately, for us
they recognize the mission is so important and the vast majority of law enforcement is calling for help. They need support.
So we have been very fortunate to be able to provide some of that support with high-level individuals.
CURNOW: OK. J. Christian, thank you so much. Good luck.
CHRISTIAN: Thank you.
We've got a week of coverage on this issue but you can also go online to learn more about the heroes working to protect abused children. Go to
protect.org.
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CURNOW (voice-over): On Tuesday, you'll meet a former member of the elite Delta Force, Shannon Krieger, sustained injuries in Afghanistan that left
him hopeless. But as he told our Paula Newton, quickly found a cause in his hometown of New Orleans that helped him rebuild his own life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANNON KRIEGER, FORMER DELTA FORCE MEMBER: As child exploitation, people were busy this time of the year.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For example, monitoring chat rooms to identify people planning to come to Mardi Gras to have sex with
children.
KRIEGER: There's a lot to do because of Mardi Gras, because a lot of people are here that aren't normally here and they bring some really bad
habits with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW (voice-over): He's one of the heroes at home you'll meet this week as part of our Freedom Project, only on CNN.
We'll have much more news at the INTERNATIONAL DESK in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
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CURNOW (voice-over): That's Lady Gaga at Sunday's Oscars awards show, performing the nominated song, "'Til It Happens to You."
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CURNOW: Besides bringing people to tears, she's made at least one critic's best dressed list among many others. Hollywood stylist Philip Bloch joins
me now from Los Angeles.
Let's talk about the clothes. Let's start with Lady Gaga. We saw her there.
She's on your best dressed?
PHILIP BLOCH, CRITIC: It was absolutely beautiful. There's a new Lady Gaga out there. She's very chic. She's very elegant and it's all about
the movie star Lady Gaga. You know, she's an award winner now and I think that Brandon Maxwell couture outfit was very, very chic.
CURNOW: Very chic and it seemed like two parts of a little bit of a dress and a little bit of a pantsuit. I'm not sure if I agree with you but I'll
leave you. You're the expert.
Let's talk about Alicia Vikander.
BLOCH: Well, at least it wasn't the meat dress --
(CROSSTALK)
CURNOW: -- she looked kind of fab in that meat, didn't she?
I don't know if that works for me.
Let's talk about Alicia Vikander.
BLOCH: Alicia Vikander was one of the stars of the evening. She has a campaign with Louis Vuitton, so I think it was very important that she was
obviously going to wear Louis Vuitton. And she was like a little princess. That yellow is always a big hit on the red carpet.
(CROSSTALK)
CURNOW: A little princess?
The criticism has been that she looked like a Disney princess. She was more like "Belle," not belle of the ball but more like "Belle" from "Beauty
and the Beast." I mean, one article had her -- this was the Best Duvet award.
BLOCH: I know. Well, you know, people are always going to have memes now. And a lot of the dresses looked like cartoon characters. Cate Blanchett
also had also, with sort of with all the flowers, it looked like an "Ariel," "The Little Mermaid."
(LAUGHTER)
CURNOW: I mean, yes. I mean, I think Cate Blanchett is on your worst dressed list. She did look a little bit, perhaps, like she just changed
into a human after being a mermaid for a while.
I think it's beautiful, though, isn't it?
BLOCH: It was very work -- you know, it's a couture piece, it's Armani Prive but when you see it, it's just so overpowering, the flowers and the
sparkle. It wasn't Cate Blanchett's best look and she usually looks amazing.
She's someone we really look at award show season to see what she's going to wear. She wears intellectual gowns, we like to say in the fashion
business, but this was a little too cartoonish and not so intellectual, I guess.
CURNOW: Not too smart. Not smart enough for you.
So let's talk about Rooney Mara, another one; somebody described this as her looking like a bride at an intergalactic wedding, embroidery goth.
BLOCH: Well, that is one way to put it. It was definitely a bit goth. Everything Rooney Mara wears is a bit goth. Even when she wears white,
it's still very goth.
It was not her best look. Again, very pale, the tight hair. We've sort of seen this and seen this and seen this with her.
This is kind of the worst version of what we have seen with her. It just felt wilted. Even she's got to zhush the dress because it just doesn't
feel very like a big impact. It was very, very stiff and very blah.
CURNOW: There we go. There were sort of panels and slits and buttons and ruffles and all of it together.
I'm sorry, we are going to have to leave it there. We could gossip all day about these outfits but I'm sure it's all going on online. Thank you so
much.
BLOCH: Thank you.
CURNOW: That does it for us here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. I'll be back in just over an hour with more
on that bottleneck of immigrants at Macedonia's border and the fragile truce inside Syria. But in the meantime, I'm going to hand you over now to
"WORLD SPORT."
END
