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Trump Reverses on Controversial Abortion Remarks; Clinton Pushes in New York, Sanders Edges in Wisconsin; Brazil's Rousseff Scrambling to Hold on to Power; Evidence Found Related to Brussels Attacks; Lahore Blast Victims Struggle to Recover; Amnesty International: Qatar World Cup Workers Abused; China Key in Enforcing North Korean Sanctions; Technology to Help Restore Palmyra History. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 31, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:10] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, rivals pounce after Donald Trump made controversial comments on abortion before quickly backtracking.
Brazil's political crisis threatens to spin further out of control with the Olympic Games now just months away.
And new clues suggest the terrorist bombings in Brussels could have been part of a much larger plot.
Hello, and thank you for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump dialing back controversial comments on abortion he made during a heated TV exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC ANCHOR: Do you believe in punishment for abortion? Yes or no, as a principle?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman?
TRUMP: Yes, there has to be some form.
MATTHEWS: Ten cents? Ten years? What?
TRUMP: I don't know. That I don't know. That I don't know.
MATTHEWS: Why not?
TRUMP: I don't know.
MATTHEWS: You take positions on everything else.
TRUMP: I do take positions on everything else. It's a very complicated position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, Trump scrambles to clarify his position a few hours later saying, quote, "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be legally responsible, not the woman."
Well, his Republican rival Ted Cruz jumped on the businessman accusing him of damaging the conservative anti-abortion cause. Cruz said, "Once again Donald Trump has demonstrated that he hasn't seriously thought through the issues and he'll say anything just to get attention."
John Kasich was equally critical of the frontrunner and predicted his about-face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But of course, women shouldn't be punished. I don't -- look, you know, I think probably Donald Trump will figure out a way to say that he didn't say it or he was misquoted or whatever, but I don't think so. I don't think that's an appropriate response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, reaction on the Democratic side was equally harsh. In an online statement Hillary Clinton said, "Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, horrific and telling." She told Anderson Cooper that Trump is in line with all the Republicans in trying to make abortions illegal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's very clear that Donald Trump wants to repeal that fundamental right and just like all the other Republican candidates and when he was asked whether women should be punished, he said yes, and that is absolutely unacceptable. It is outrageous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Bernie Sanders also slammed Trump saying, "Your Republican frontrunner, ladies and gentlemen, shameful."
Well, CNN's senior reporter for media and politics Dylan Byers joins me now.
Dylan, everyone, in terms of his rivals on the GOP side and of course the Dems, piling on to Donald Trump. What a remarkable 24 hours. You know, I have to ask you whether you've seen anything like this ever before.
DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR MEDIA AND POLITICAL REPORTER: We've never seen anything like it in terms of the scale because no candidate has been like Trump. No candidate for nine months has managed to say things that would have tanked any other candidate and gotten away with it. I mean, he has been so fundamentally unapologetic and self- confident in everything he's done, even when the media and his rivals thought that he -- you know, he had committed political suicide.
I think what's significant about what happened in the last 24 hours, it was the first time we saw Donald Trump stumble the way a normal candidate stumbles. Yes, he's still saying, I haven't changed my position on anything, even though he's clearly done an about-face, but what's different is that he's sort of always been able to cast aside past statements, hypocrisy, inaccuracies, lies, and basically say well, no, whatever, I mean, I'm consistent, you know, forget about that.
It's harder for him to do it now. We're seeing him stumble the way we see candidates -- political candidates stumble. It finally feels like he's being brought down to the level of your typical politician.
SESAY: It's also, it seems to me, one of the first times at least I can remember where he's backtracking scrambling to shift into damage control. Interesting that he's doing that in this case with these comments but he didn't with the Corey Lewandowski stuff, where they revealed this video which appears to show his manager handling Michelle Fields. But he doubled down there. You know, it's interesting his response to the crisis in the last 24 hours.
BYERS: Right. I mean, and if you think about what his initial comment to Chris Matthews was, there does need to be some sort of punishment for women, what he's trying to convey there is the same thing he's trying to convey by standing by his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. Look, I'm a tough guy, I don't back down, I -- you know, I stand by my team. The law is the law, if you're going to ban abortion then there has to be punishment for the women.
[01:05:01] I think what happened inside the campaign is they made a political calculation that oh, you know, first, we're already struggling with women to begin with. There are probably even a lot of men in our sort of core base of supporters who don't necessarily like what you just said so let's scramble to correct that, and again, that goes back to him acting like a normal politician. It's not the usual Donald Trump we've seen. The usual Donald Trump we've seen wouldn't have issued a follow-up statement.
SESAY: We heard from the White House spokesman a little earlier on Wednesday, Josh Earnest. He weighed in on the Lewandowski situation. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I am confident that neither President Obama nor President Bush would tolerate someone on their staff being accused of physically assaulting a reporter, lying about it, and then blaming the victim. That is completely unacceptable behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SESAY: Normally with Trump, whenever the White House weighs in, is a bit of a bump for him and you know, he normally rises out and actually makes hay out of it.
Do these words mean anything more this time around because of the context of the last 24 hours?
BYERS: They do. I think they do mean more. What happen -- look, there is a core base of Trump supporters how are never going to leave him. They love everything he does. They love everything he says. He can do no wrong in their eyes. I think what we're coming to understand is that the group of people who are not core Trump supporters is very big indeed, and it includes a lot of Republicans. It includes a majority of women, a majority of young people, a majority of every single minority you can name.
So I think what we're coming to see is that the group of his core supporters is actually smaller than we initially thought that it was and that's why these comments from the White House are probably going to play a little bit differently in the press. It's harder for him to spin this as a victory, to spin him as the outsider when it's becoming more and more clearer that his core group of support is smaller.
SESAY: Talk to me about Wisconsin and what we're seeing there because the polls, the Marquette Law School poll shows Ted Cruz in the lead by 10 points. Donald Trump basically stuck at 30. Ted Cruz getting to that position. It's a major surge. Talk to me about that in your read.
BYERS: Yes -- no, and this again is what it goes back to look, what is Donald Trump's ceiling? I think in the media we've become very reticent about saying that Donald Trump is done, saying that he's hit his ceiling, because so often he has defied political gravity and he is overcome our expirations, but look, he does have a ceiling and that's what you're seeing now.
You're seeing what matters now is not the numbers of supporters that people have. It's the growth. It's the momentum. You're seeing that momentum with Cruz because it looks like Trump has hit a point where he's offended every single group out there other than disenfranchised, under educated blue-collar men, you know, that he's left, he's tapped out.
SESAY: Wow. We shall see how this plays out. You know, it's been a remarkable 24 hours but Trump again continues to surprise us in his ability to generate more controversy. So let's see.
BYERS: Right. He's not done. He's not going anywhere.
SESAY: He's not going. This isn't over.
BYERS: No, no, no. Not by any stretch.
SESAY: Dylan, thank you.
BYERS: Thank you. SESAY: All right. Well, Clinton's campaign is pushing ahead in New
York while Sanders is hoping his edge in Wisconsin will keep him in the race.
Jeff Zeleny has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINTON: It is a thrill to be live at the Apollo. It is wonderful to be back home in New York.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton back home but hardly taking a victory lap even after winning nine million votes so far.
CLINTON: That is more than a million that Donald Trump has received. And 2.5 million more than Senator Sanders'.
ZELENY: She has her eyes fixed on both rivals.
CLINTON: New York. 20 million people strong.
ZELENY: In a new television ad for the New York primary in just three weeks, she took on Donald Trump.
CLINTON: So when some say we can solve America's problems by building walls, banning people based on their religion, and turning against each other, well, this is New York.
ZELENY: She also has Bernie Sanders in mind, imploring Democrats to be practical as they pick a president.
CLINTON: Now some folks may have the luxury to hold out for the perfect, but a lot of Americans are hurting right now and they can't wait for that. They need the good and they need it today.
ZELENY: Worried about next week's Wisconsin primary, Clinton is looking ahead but not Sanders.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can't do it alone. Really can't.
ZELENY: A new Wisconsin poll shows Sanders with a narrow four-point lead over his rival. He's hoping a win in the Badger State, eats away at her lead in delegates and keeps the race alive.
SANDERS: Powers to be are too powerful. We need a movement.
ZELENY: Sanders CNN's told Erin Burnett that anger among Americans is justified.
SANDERS: Your average guy, he is asking why he has to work longer hours for low wages.
[01:10:04] What Trump is doing is taking that anger and saying, it's the fault of the Mexicans or it's the fault of the Muslims. We've got to scapegoat people. Well, beating up on Mexicans that make eight bucks an hour is not going to deal with the real issues.
ZELENY: Trump ignored Sanders but took note of his starring role in Clinton's new ad campaign.
TRUMP: Did you see the ad? It's a New York City ad. She's talking about New York except for one problem. She used a sign that's on Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm building a big hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue because if for some reason this doesn't work out, I'm going to live in Pennsylvania every year no matter what happens.
ZELENY (on camera): Now it's an open question whether Trump would ever actually leave New York and move to Washington even if he didn't win. But setting that aside for a minute, New York is the focus of the campaign at least for a little while. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton will be holding dueling rallies on Thursday campaigning for those 247 pledged delegates in New York that primary on April 19th.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: To some other news now, the Pentagon plans to move about a dozen prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison to at least two other countries willing to take them. That's according to reports quoting a U.S. official who says the transfers could start within days. 91 inmates are being held right now at the U.S. naval base in Cuba.
The transfer is part of President Barack Obama's final push to close Gitmo before he leaves office in the new year. Many Republicans want the prison to stay open.
With just four months to go until the Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil's the sports minister is resigning. George Hilton is the latest to quit President Dilma Rousseff's cabinet as she faces growing calls for her impeachment. The International Olympic Committee says it is confident the games will be a success despite the political confusion.
Miss Rousseff is turning to her remaining allies to fill her cabinet. Brazil's biggest political party pulled out of her coalition government on Tuesday. Opponents blame her for Brazil's worsening recession and a wide ranging corruption scandal. She says she's not going anywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DILMA ROUSSEFF, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (Through Translator): Impeachment without proof of a crime of responsibility is what? It is a coup. This is the issue. There is no point pretending that we are discussing a hypothetical impeachment. We are discussing a very concrete impeachment without crime of responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, one expert tells CNN Rousseff doesn't have to be guilty of a crime to be impeached. Richard Quest has more now on how the process would work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Protest and instability come at a time of serious strain for Brazil. Let's put all of this together. You have political instability. The impeachment committee, let's look and see exactly what the process of impeachment actually is.
Once the process begins you have the impeachment committee, which then goes to the Lower House of the Brazilian Congress. And then a third of the votes are needed for it to proceed, two thirds of the vote, and that could happen at this stage as early as mid-April.
Once it's finished in the Lower House it goes to the Senate. And there you only need a simple majority. That could happen as soon as May. If all of this takes place then you get to a trial. And the president is suspended for 180 days during the trial. So you've got the committee, the House, the Senate, the trial. But if that goes ahead then impeachment is under way.
As to the economy itself, well, you see why this is quite so significant. Take a look at these factors, the federacy budget deficit is twice as big as expected. The tax revenue was down, benefit payments are up. The country is in the worst recession for a quarter of a century and the fiscal deficit as you can see is some $6.3 billion.
Into this maelstrom add in the biggest event in the sporting calendar anywhere in the world and it's the Olympics. And the turmoil is likely to happen if there would be an impeachment in the middle of the Olympics. Think about those dates I was talking about, April, May, June, July. It could well go on towards August and then you're well and truly into the Olympics.
However, the International Olympics Committee says, "Brazil will offer to the world excellent Olympic Games of which the whole country can be proud."
Now the U.N. struck a more ominous tone when it comes to Brazil.
BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Any political instability in Brazil will be a reason to worry. Therefore I'm asking Brazilians, the political leaders, for a harmonious resolution in this. I know it's a challenge but I think they can address it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:15:06] SESAY: Richard Quest there with how the impeachment process of Delma Rousseff would work if indeed it takes place.
Now time for a quick break. A discarded computer and the disturbing clues about possible future terror attacks. Details ahead.
Plus, we go inside a Pakistani hospital where the traumatized survivors of a deadly bombing are struggling to heal. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Hello, everyone. The man accused of hijacking an EgyptAir flight bound for Cairo and forcing it to land in Cyprus has confessed in court. Cyprus authorities formally charged Seif al-Din Mustafa Wednesday for diverting the passenger jet. He pleaded guilty to threatening the flight crew and passengers with a fake explosive belt during the Tuesday incident. Everyone on board the plane was eventually freed. Officials say the hijacking was not related to terror.
With just over a week after the terrorist attacks in Brussels, there are major concerns militants could target the city again.
Brian Todd has details of the disturbing evidence found on a discarded computer and the clues Belgian authorities have missed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:20:10] BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Belgian capital, reeling from the devastation of last week's terror attacks, and now bracing for another possible strike.
A source close to the investigation tells CNN, photographs and plans for a number of Belgian government buildings were found on a computer, belonging to Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, who's believed to have blown himself up at the Brussels airport. The computer discovered in a garbage can outside the terror cell's bomb factory in Brussels. The buildings on the computer suggest that, at one point, this was a larger plot.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: They recovered photos and plans of the prime minister of Belgium's office in Brussels, suggesting that that was targeted potentially by this cell or they were looking to target that in an attack.
TODD: Security at the Belgian parliament building is also stepped up over information that it could be the next target.
And new questions about clues Belgian authorities missed before the bombings last week. CNN has learned the Belgians had been looking for Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui, the brothers who blew themselves up at the train stations and the airports, months before the Brussels attacks. Belgian officials say, in December, this red notice from Interpol went out seeking the arrest of Khalid el-Bakraoui on terrorism charges. They were looking for his brother on suspicions of criminal activity.
Where Belgian authorities failed, they simply couldn't find the brothers.
CRUICKSHANK: They were hiding in plain sight in Brussels in an apartment in the Schaerbeek district where the bombs were made. The Belgians clearly did not know this.
TODD: Another missed clue. Last summer, Turkey deported Ibrahim el- Bakraoui after he was arrested near the Syrian border. According to a top Belgian broadcaster, the Belgians asked the Turks if Ibrahim was involved in terrorism. They were told he was known for criminal activity. But it's not clear how much more information the Turks gave the Belgians.
AKI PERITZ, FORMER CIA ANALYST: Obviously, it turns out that he was a hard core jihadist. The fact that they're not sharing the exact information and have the laws to put these guys into jail, suggests that there's a huge miscommunication between intelligence agencies, between law enforcement.
TODD (on camera): And another major clue seems to be still eluding Belgian authorities. CNN has told Belgian officials do not know where this man is, the third terrorist at the Brussels airport, the man in white. He is believed to have left a bomb there and then taken off. CNN was also told Belgian officials don't know who he is. And there is major concern now that this man, along with more than half a dozen other suspects from the same terror cell, still at large, could be planning another attack.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Meantime in France, a terror suspect is now under formal investigation on suspicion of planning an imminent attack. Prosecutors say an unprecedented amount of weapons, chemicals and explosives were found in Reda Kriket's suburban Paris apartment. Police also found five fake passports, new mobile phones and two computers that held information about bomb-making and jihadist groups. Investigators have -- have been tracking, rather, Kriket since the Paris attacks in November.
Well, Pakistani police say a series of raids have led to 17 arrests in Lahore after a suicide bombing at an amusement park. They say the suspects are linked to the attack that killed at least 74 people on Easter Sunday. A Pakistani Taliban splinter group is claiming responsibility.
Well, severe burns and ball-bearing wounds to vital organs are the kinds of injuries doctors in Lahore had to deal with after that bombing. Almost 400 people were wounded. Many of them children.
A warning now that some viewers may find the images in this report disturbing. Saima Mohsin went to a hospital in Jinnah, one of many where young children and adults who survived, are recovering from traumatic injuries.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A toddler's tears sting his face. His cries ring out across the wards. He is inconsolable, in extreme pain. But 3-year-old Shibal (PH) cannot be held. He is covered in burns.
Shibal's mother is in intensive care with severe burns. His father split between two wards. This man is a neighbor. He's been at Shibal's bedside since the attack. Sharing the bed, his cousin, Tehmina, just 4 years old, shrapnel wounds on her skull. Her uncle tells me she has special needs. She doesn't know her father and sisters have died.
"I have lost count of how many family members have died," he tells me.
Khizer's chest is peppered with ball bearings. He and his friends were just deciding which ride to go on when --
[01:25:07] KHIZER UBAID ULLAH, BOMBING VICTIM (Through Translator): I felt like something was on fire. And there was an explosion. My friend grabbed me and pulled me to the ground. He saved my life.
MOHSIN: His friend is lying in a bed opposite him.
In each ward we found friends, complete strangers, family tending to their loved ones.
"He shouted momma on the phone. His voice," his mother tells me. "My heart sank as he told me a bomb has gone off. Please come to me. I'm in the hospital."
(On camera): This is a mixed ward of young children, men and women are being kept together because the doctors are keen that these traumatized families are kept together.
PROF. MAHMOOD SHUNUKAT, JINNAH HOSPITAL: It was a horrible picture. There were about 137 patients within 20 minutes and with every patient we had 20 other people who are well-wishers, other relatives, so we had to bring immediately about 30 doctors and 40 nurses and we had to open up 20 more operating rooms.
MOHSIN (voice-over): Many of the patients agreed to talk to us, but others are in intensive care. We did not film them. They have not regained consciousness since the attack.
SHUNUKAT: We had to open up the abdomen of these patients because sharp things went in them and had ruptured their intestine. And we had about 10 patients who had serious head injuries because the brain had been entered by these sharp objects.
MOHSIN: Local people are coming together to deliver food and toys to the families and children like Shibal's, who will live with the physical and mental scars of this bombing forever.
Saima Mohsin, CNN, Lahore, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:16] SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
SESAY: Now, evidence of systematic human rights abuses is what Amnesty International says workers, building sites for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, face every day.
According to the group's new report, migrant workers, mostly from South Asia, live in squalid conditions and subjected to forced labor, but world governing body, FIFA and Qatar kingdom deny the allegations.
Salil Shetty is the secretary-general of Amnesty International and he joins us from San Francisco via Skype.
Mr. Shetty, thank you for joining us.
This isn't the first time they looked into the condition of migrant workers involved in building projects for the 2022 World Cup. In your view, has anything changed since the last time you looked into this?
SALIL SHETTY, SECRETARY-GENERAL, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Right. It's not just Amnesty but "The Guardian" newspaper and the labor movements have looked at these issues closely. I personally visited Qatar three years ago and camps and it was quite shocking at the time. I think what is unique is that this time we've actually interviewed more than 230 workers in one of the main World Cup sites, which is going to host the semi final game and, unfortunately, very little has changed over the years. There have been a lot of commitments and statements and promises but, on the ground, if you look at the systemic problem, which means that any concession worker coming into the country has to have a local sponsor and they cannot change their job or cannot leave the country without the sponsor actually approving it, which means, effectively, they are into that situation that continues. And until that fundamental system reform happens, you know, individual cases that the Qatar government dealt with, a few labor companies, on the edges and not seen as reform.
SESAY: The Qatar government is pushing back the findings of this report. I want to read part of what they have had to say. They say, "We have always maintained this World Cup will act as a catalyst for change. It will not be built on the back of exploited workers." Response there from Qatar. How do you respond to that statement?
SHETTY: Well, from what we've seen on the ground all Amnesty International research is primary research talking to the migrant workers directly. I can assure you that in 2022 when the football fans reach Doha, they will be pretty shocked listening to what the worker haves to go through. Right now, there is 3,500 workers and the next will go up to 35,000 workers. If the Qatar government doesn't meet major reform right now, I think they are really in for quite a shock. And this is really focused on FIFA. FIFA knew, when the World Cup was given to Qatar, the construction label treatment was really quite appalling in Qatar. They ignored this for five years. Now there is a new leadership and I think the sponsors of FIFA need to take this very seriously. These are big brands, Coca-Cola, Adidas, et cetera. Their reputation is at risk. They need to put pressure on FIFA to ask the Qatar government to go for fundamental reform. The time is now. It's already too late.
SESAY: And given -- as far as your concern, there hasn't been enough change or significant change made despite the pledges, how much confidence do you have there will be change in the days and weeks ahead, that there will be urgency applied to the situation?
SHETTY: I think if the change doesn't happen, it's really incumbent on people to put pressure on the government and it's really the pressure on FIFA has to come from the sponsors. I think, you know, if the football fans get to know that this workup is happening on the backs of labor abusers of a scale really shocking, I don't think Qatar or FIFA will be forgiven. At this point, we're saying enough rhetoric, let's move into action.
[01:35:41] SESAY: Salil Shetty, secretary-general, Amnesty International, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for the insight.
Now later Thursday, leaders from more than 50 countries will be meeting at a nuclear summit in Washington. North Korea will be high on the agenda. They continued to develop nuclear weapons after new Western sanctions. You see the top leaders from China, South Korea and Japan arriving in the U.S. earlier, as President Barack Obama will meet with them on the sidelines of the summit.
And China plays a key role in ensuring the sanctions against North Korea are enforced.
Our Matt Rivers is joining us live from Beijing.
Matt, what are the expectations between President Obama and his Chinese counterpart? What do we expect them to discuss specifically?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Both sides are saying the North Korean nuclear issue is at the top of both of their agendas, and the two countries have made some progress working together on that issue in recent months. It was back in January that China and the U.S. negotiated together that -- ultimately that agreement ultimately led to new sanctions being levied against North Korea from the U.N. Security Council. But the big question is will those sanctions be enforced. China faced criticism in the past by other nations for not enforcing those sanctions.
So last week we went to the Chinese city of Dandong, a border city on the Chinese/North Korean border, to see if those sanctions are beginning to be enforced.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS (voice-over): They drive across the old narrow bridge around 9:00 a.m. each day. Chinese trucks carrying goods into North Korea. They leave from Dandong, the border city on the river. It's the economic lifeline of North Korea. China the only country left willing to do significant trade with Kim Jong-Un's regime.
(MUSIC)
RIVERS: New U.N. sanctions levied against North Korea's nuclear program has impacted that relationship. For example, North Korean coal exports, important revenue for the country, are now banned if any profits from them might be funneled to sanctioned programs. China must also now inspect all shipments into and out of the country. Criticized in the past for not enforcing sanctions, officials deny that, but say they will strongly implement this latest round.
We watched as North Korean trucks drove into China around midday, mostly empty. They end up in yards like this, loaded up with Chinese goods that get sent back across the border.
We asked how officials specifically plan to inspect those, making calls to authorities in Dandong and at the ministry of foreign affairs. Neither would provide details. Security guards we met outside the yard were not keen to talk with us, either.
(on camera): Trying to see for ourselves how these inspections are done can prove to be difficult, as you can see.
We try and talk to ordinary people, truck drivers even, to talk to them about inspections, but none of them would agree to speak with us, and we constantly face harassment, like you're seeing right now.
(voice-over): It's near impossible to determine if the inspections are effective. What is clear, though, is the continued struggle of those inside North Korea. For ordinary people, poverty and hunger remain chronic. A heavily sanctioned Kim Jong-Un regime can't or won't provide supplies to its people, so others do, seeing a business opportunity.
We met this man in secret along the border at night. He illegally smuggles goods into North Korea for a living. He tells us he deals in basic living supplies, focusing on every day grains and car parts. For him, the sanctions don't mean much, but for other smugglers he works with, the added restrictions are good for business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The North Koreans have to buy lots of goods because there are fewer legal shipments from the border, more from us.
RIVERS: Since the latest sanctions began, there's more requests from North Koreans for industrial chemicals and steel. He has no idea what they are used for but he knows who is buying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Not ordinary people. It's the military and their families. Everything is completely corrupt there. Ordinary people have no money so the goods are purchased by wealthy people.
[01:40:06] RIVERS: He thinks China stepped up the inspections but doubts that any sanctions enforced or not will ultimately do any real harm to Kim Jong-Un's regime. (END VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: Now, we did reach out to several import/export companies in the city of Dandong to ask them if the sanctions are being enforced. Most hung up on us once we identified ourself. But one company did say the Chinese government told them to stop importing coal from North Korea. So it does appear, at least in some instances, that the sanctions are being enforced -- Isha?
SESAY: It appears so.
Matt, Let me ask you this, shooting that piece clearly was not without incident. Why was it so challenging?
RIVERS: Well, we were there for two days in that city, and we had different run-ins with different types of authorities, uniformed officers or plain-clothed officials, probably a half dozen times or so. And to be fair, that can happen in China, no matter where you go, for no specific reason. But when it comes to these -- this particular trip, this issue is extremely sensitive here. And when it comes to trying to peel back the curtain of the Chinese/North Korean relationship that is something Chinese authorities really don't want to allow us to do.
SESAY: Very interesting.
Matt Rivers joining us from Beijing. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Time for a quick break. Syria's government is assessing the damage ISIS caused in the ancient city of Palmyra. Just ahead, how technology could help them restore a bit of history.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:44:52] SESAY: Antarctic ice will melt faster this century than previously thought. U.S. climate scientists say a 2013 U.N. global warming report under estimated how high sea levels could rise. The new study estimates a sea level rise of 1.5 meters, half a meter more than expected, and can pose an even greater threat to low-lying cities.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad says he hopes peace talks can bring about an inclusive government in his country but he tells the Russian news agency, Sputnik, that countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the U.K., have been supporting terrorism in Syria. Government forces recently recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS thanks in large part to Russian air strikes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASHAR AL ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): The occupying of Palmyra by terrorists for less than a year was proof in the coalition failure in fighting ISIS. And liberating it through Russian support was another proof of them not being serious. We could do this simply because we have the will to make Syria terrorism free and because we cannot protect Syria without ending terrorism in addition to the political process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Retaking Palmyra is a strategic victory for the Syria government but the city is also known around the world for its historic importance. With government forces back in control, we're getting a look at what's been lost and what can be salvaged.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY (voice-over): The face of history in Palmyra chipped away by ISIS militants, part of the terror groups cultural cleansing campaign. Palmyra's museum reportedly transformed into an ISIS courthouse. Images from inside reveal the destruction that ISIS had boasted about since last May. Statutes toppled, rubble lining the museum hallways.
Some of these cultural treasures are 2,000 years old. The Arch of Triumph once framed the entrance to the city. Now it lies in ruins.
But there is hope. Specialists are already at work creating a replica.
The Palmyra castle, sitting high a top its hill, was damaged also, the walls crumbling and stained from explosions. And satellite images in August confirmed the fate of the Temple of Bell (ph). The main building now a pile of dust from the sky.
Compared to 2008 when CNN flew over the ruins, this week, drone footage taken after the recapture of the city offered a different view. ISIS did not completely erase history. Some experts say they are surprised the damage wasn't worse.
UNIDENTIFIED SYRIAN ANTIQUITIES CHIEF: Today, I can confirm you that I am the happiest person in the world.
SESAY: Syria's antiquities chief says they will rebuild the Temple, with Russian UNESCO offering help.
But there is no recovering from the human atrocity. Hundreds of lives were lost in Palmyra, including the 82-year-old head of antiquities, publicly executed by ISIS for refusing to reveal where valuable artifacts were kept.
Now as the city is secured, experts hope artifacts can be restored to their historic value.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Let's all hope so.
We'll take a short break. More news right after this.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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[01:52:24] SESAY: L.A. Lakers start, Rookie D'Angelo Russell, says he is sick over the fallout from video he frequently shot of teammate, Nick Young. Russell issued a public apology Wednesday after the video went public. It shows Young responding to Russell's questions about being in relationships with women other than his fiancee, Australian rapper, Iggy Asa (ph). The couple announced their engagement last June. Russell says the video was not for everyone else to see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D'ANGELO RUSSELL, L.A. LAKERS BASKETBALL PLAYER: There's really no explanation for that topic of the discussion, but like I said, we play around and we joke and we laugh and we say things that you don't really repeat. And that was just an incident of, I guess, playing too much -- goes wrong. And I take the full blame for that recording the video or doing that, but leaking the video wasn't -- wasn't me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: As for Young, he says the incident is a private matter he and Russell need to sit down and talk about.
Well, Donald Trump is described sometimes as a bully but the Republican presidential candidate may have smashed his own record for a rather polite term.
CNN's Jeanne Moos counts it down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When a Trump interview gets intense.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Give me a break.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Come on.
TRUMP: Anderson --
COOPER: Politically motivated.
MOOS: You have to excuse the Donald for excusing himself.
COOPER: 5-year-old started that.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: You're running for president of the United States.
TRUMP: Excuse me.
MOOS: He may sometimes sound like a little kid.
TRUMP: I didn't start it. COOPER: That's --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I didn't start it.
COOPER: Sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a 5-year- old.
TRUMP: I didn't start it.
MOOS: But a 5-year-old with manners.
UNIDENTIFIED CARTOON CHARACTER: You said excuse me. You used good manners.
MOOS: And if this sounds familiar --
TRUMP: Excuse me --
MOOS: -- that's because we first focused on Trump's favorite verbal weapon last summer making this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me.
MOOS: The sequel. We thought it deserved a sequel when "Washington Post" counted 18 "excuse mes" in just one hour of a CNN town hall.
COOPER: Whether or not you think it was --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Excuse me.
MOOS: One.
COOPER: You've suggested --
TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me, I didn't suggest.
MOOS: Two, three.
COOPER: It doesn't concern you --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Excuse me.
MOOS: Four.
TRUMP: Excuse me. Excuse me.
MOOS: Five, six.
TRUMP: You're supporting Japan. We're supporting --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me --
MOOS: Actually, when you add them all up --
TRUMP: Excuse me.
MOOS: -- 18 was an under count.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Excuse me.
MOOS: 20.
Sort of makes Bernie Sanders lonely single interjection --
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Excuse me, I'm talking.
MOOS: -- seem like a poor excuse for an "excuse me" compared to Trump's 20.
Maybe the Donald could add a little variety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MOOS: Break down those cultural walls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MOOS: Even when he interrupts himself, his own story, the Donald excuses himself.
TRUMP: When he said we had a big day, we won Utah -- excuse me, I won Arizona.
MOOS: Mr. Trump, you are excused.
TRUMP: Excuse me.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos --
TRUMP: Excuse me.
MOOS: -- CNN --
COOPER: A 5-year-old --
(CROSSTALK)
MOOS: -- New York. TRUMP: Excuse me, excuse me, I didn't suggest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
SESAY: A 3-year-old photo of Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is suddenly everywhere on social media. Take a look at this. There he is busting loose with his yoga moves in what is called the peacock pose. He first tweeted the picture in 2013. And Trudeau has always been athletic. He was a snow boarding instructor in the 1990s and he packs a mean punch as a boxer. Those are some moves there.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
The news continues with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett right after this.
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[02:00:13] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: A rare moment for Donald Trump.
