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Proof of Life Video Gives Hopes for Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls; The New York Delegates; Fragile Partial Ceasefire in Syria Holding; Gay Couple in China Fights for Marriage; Kobe Bryant's Final Game. Aired 12-1aET

Aired April 14, 2016 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: That is it for us tonight; I'll see you back here tomorrow at a special time, tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 live from Brooklyn, ahead of our CNN Democratic debate. If you missed any of our Town Hall with Ted Cruz and his family, you can see the whole thing, starting right now; good night.

[00:00:19] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is "CNN Newsroom," live from Los Angeles; ahead this hour:

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Proof of life video. CNN exclusive reporting, the Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. It's been two years and now finally a bit of hope.

VAUSE: Threats of violence and intimidation. Ted Cruz accusing Trump supporters of acting like union boss thugs.

SESAY: And what a night in the NBA. Kobe's last game here in L.A. and is Golden State the best basketball team ever?

VAUSE: We will find out. Hello, everybody; great to have you with us. i'm John Vause.

SESAY: And i'm Isha Sesay. "Newsroom L.A." starts right now.

It has now been two years since gunmen in northeast Nigeria kidnapped almost 300 schoolgirls; and on this extremely grim anniversary, we're learning that some of the girls may still be alive.

VAUSE: CNN has obtained this video being used in negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. It shows some of the missing students. They were taken from their beds in the dormitory in the town of Chibok, leading to the worldwide plea, "Bring Back Our Girls."

SESAY: CNN's NIMA ELBAGIR, producer Stephanie Basari and videographer Sebastian Kinos (ps) bring us this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lined up against a yellow wall, 15 girls, only their faces showing. An off camera voice asks each girl what's your name.

[Off Camera Male Voice] ELBAGIR: Is that the name your parents recognize? Where were you taken from, the voice asks?

"Chibok School" and the date they say is the 25th of December, 2015.

This video is obtained by CNN from a person close to the negotiations to get these girls released. For the parents, it's finally a glimmer of hope these girls are still alive.

Two years ago we met Mary Ishia (ps) (Inaudible) on our visit to Chibok after the abduction of their daughters, and more than 200 other girls. We asked them if they recognize any of the girls in the video. They lean closer. Another girl is identified. Howa. One by one, they name all 15 girls.

But one mother, Yana, realizes her daughter isn't there.

The off camera voice asking the questions is familiar to CNN as that of Boko Haram spokesman, Abuzinarah (ps).

A source close to negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Government said the video was provided by the terror group as an asked for show of good faith. Nigeria's Information Minister told CNN they have received the video, but are still reviewing it.

LAI MUHAMMED, INFORMATION MINISTER, NIGERIA: If you study the video, you find out the questions were asked in a rather very controlled environment. (Inaudible) bit concerned too that after two years in captivity, the girls in the video were under no stress whatsoever. There has been little transformation to their physical appearance.

ELBAGIR: Is your government negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of these girls?

MUHAMMED: There are always talks. We cannot ignore -- we can't ignore leads but of course many of these investigations, you know, cannot be disclosed, you know, openly because it could also endanger, you know, the negotiations.

ELBAGIR: We took the video to a classmate of the Chibok girls. She had been at home with family the day the other girls were kidnapped. For her safety, we're not showing her face and not using her name. She told us there is no doubt these are some of her kidnapped classmates.

CLASSMATE, via translator: These two were prefects. Watching the video, I'm [00:05:01] reminded of how we used to play together, how we used to do our chores, do our homework.

ELBAGIR: She says seeing her friends again will likely give her nightmares.

CLASSMATE: Sometimes still, if i hear news about them, i have bad dreams and i wake up crying.

ELBAGIR: The video ends with the girl addressing the camera with a message to the Nigerian government: "We are all well," she says, pointedly; perhaps suggesting girls not seen in this video. She then delivers what sounds like a scripted plea, urging the Nigerian government to fulfill unspecified promises.

For the mothers of these girls rapidly becoming women far from home, the video is overwhelming. They say they just want someone to bring their daughters home.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Nigeria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, as you just heard on Nima's report, the missing girls in the video have been identified by their own relatives. Here are their names and photos. For more information on the missing Chibok schoolgirls, go to CNN.com.

VAUSE: There is a lot of reaction on social media. This man tweeted out:

"Now is about two years; please bring back our girls."

Andrea A. tweeted out, "Boko Haram has constantly been ignored. This is an issue just as horrible as ISIS."

Lovonda wrote this, "Everyone say a prayer tonight for the mental and physical recovery, continued health of all the girls abducted."

And, April Owens tweeted, "April 14, 2014. these darlings stolen from their beds. Today proof of life. Yes! Let's not forget them."

Pardis Sabeti is a Harvard University professor who felt compelled to lend her voice to efforts to keep the story of the missing Nigerian schoolgirls alive. She joins us now from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Pardi, thank you so much for joining us.

You wrote the song about the plight of the missing girls before the world heard about the "Proof of Life" video uncovered by my colleague Nima Elbagir and her team. Let me start by getting your reaction to this development.

PARDI SABETI, PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, via satellite: i think it's -- i mean, it's an extraordinary video clip. It's heart- wrenching. It's sort of mixed emotions. There is the joy to know that at least 15 of them are alive and they believe -- and they say that the others are well but also, heart-wrenching that this was in December of 2015, that time has passed; that we don't know where they are still; and, fundamentally, they're just not back yet.

SESAY: The song you wrote about the girls is inspired by a speech given by the Obi Ezekwesili, who is the Co-Founder of "Bring Back Our Girls." What was it she said that moved you so much, moved you to the point of doing this?

SABETI: Well, her speech was extraordinary. It was at the gala for "Time's" 100 Most Influential, and it was this really special evening where you have individuals from around the world who have, you know, influenced in so many different ways, from teachers to celebrities to politicians and we're having a moment of celebration for a lot of good that is happening in the world; but Obi stood up and said, you know, these girls are out there and they're crying to be rescued and we have to rescue them.

It was really amazingly moving to me. It had this feeling that as long as there are women and children and men and women out there that are enslaved and that are taken from us, that there is no moment that is pure. One of the lines of the song i wrote is, you know, "if we let them fall, one day they'll take us all." In a way they take us every day; they take that joy, because we recognize that anything good that we have in this world is compromised by the fact that there is a lot out there that needs to be saved and solved.

SESAY: Let's listen to a little bit of the song:

We must rescue Around the world, to take back our little girls

Because they're strong And probably think that (inaudible)

SESAY: What do you want people to take away from the song? What do you hope it will achieve?

SABETI: To me actually it is a -- it's my opportunity to say what i feel, which is that we have to stand up and we have to take back these girls and we have to have a sense of empowerment. If others can - if that can resonate with other individuals and they can participate and connect with me on that, then i'll be extraordinarily happy; but i think more broadly, this song just one piece. i think that it's about this idea that we need to be empowered, we need to be strong and it's on us to take back these girls and to take back our world from terror.

SESAY: I couldn't agree more. Pardi Sabeti, thank you so much for joining us, and thank you so much for being moved to the point of actually doing something and actually writing the song. i know how much Obi loves it [00:10:02] because she told me that personally. So, thank you.

Well, CNN is going to stick with this story, asking the tough questions about what happened to the Chibok girls and efforts to rescue them.

Join us for full coverage on Thursday, the two-year anniversary of their abduction, here and on CNN.com; there are also a number of special features on our website.

VAUSE: And you can ask Nima and her producer Stephanie about the story during a live Facebook chat -- please go to Facebook.com/CNN -- at 7:00 p.m. in the UK and in Nigeria; that will be 2:00 a.m. in Hong Kong.

Moving on to U.S. politics now, Ted Cruz says Donald Trump's campaign is bullying potential delegates ahead of the Republican Convention. SESAY: The U.S. Presidential Candidate and his wife Heidi attended a

family Town Hall here on CNN, with less than a week to go before New York's primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ (R-TX) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, literally, in the last few week, Donald's team, Roger Stone, his Chief Political Adviser, was threatening to out the hotel rooms of delegates who dared to cross Trump so they could be intimidated. They're asking like union boss thugs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well joining us now from San Diego is Mike Slater. He is a Conservative Radio Host and Political Analyst. Mike, always good to have you with us.

Before we get to what was said, let me start by asking you, how did Ted Cruz and family do tonight? i mean, the issue of likability is one that he struggled with somewhat. So how did he do in the setting with his family by his side?

MIKE SLATER, POLITICAL ANALYST AND CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Yes, really good question. Fine; so i had the privilege of interviewing Ted Cruz two days ago on my radio show, and i was very taken aback by how different he

was on the radio versus on TV and at a debate and when he gives big speeches. When he gives big speeches, he goes into this, like, Harvard Debate Club mode. It's very serious and very dramatic and everyone -- and i think that creates a disconnect between him and everyone watching but when he was on the radio, very casual, very relaxed, very calm, very relatable. A very different Ted Cruz than we normally see.

i think the CNN interview was great, but again, it was very -- i don't want to say rehearsed, but it didn't connect like i know he is capable of connecting.

VAUSE: It makes you wonder if he talks like at at home, doesn't it? Could you pass the maple syrup? It is very dramatic and I think --

SLATER: Yes; he says stuff like "and i would also like to observe"; no one talks like that, but again --

VAUSE: Exactly.

SLATER: -- that's his Harvard Debate Club. Let me say one thing on this because this is important, and i'm not saying this as a sycophant of Ted Cruz. Alan Dershowitz, super far left professor at Harvard Law School, called Ted Cruz the most brilliant student he has had in 50 years at Harvard Law.

VAUSE: Yes.

SLATER: Think about that, and that's coming from Alan Dershowitz. So Ted Cruz is brilliant, but sometimes he's got to come down here and talk to the people.

VAUSE: No one doubts that Ted Cruz is a smart guy, okay; but this is the first Town Hall -- this Town Hall, rather, was Ted Cruz's first appearance in New York in almost a week.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: The primary is about a week or so away. He is going to lose there; there's no doubt about that. He is behind in Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Indiana, that's looking okay, but that's almost a month away. And this is going to be a long time in between primary wins for Ted Cruz, right?

SLATER: Yes; so - so -- so a couple things. Let's talk about New York first. So he is probably going to get third place in New York, but the main goal is to prevent Trump from getting 50-percent. If Trump gets 50-percent, he gets all of the delegates. Now here is the deal; in New York for the first time in recent history, the parties, the county parties, pick the delegates. So Trump may win a lot of delegates and on the first ballot in Cleveland at the convention, they may have to begrudgingly vote for Trump; but on the second ballot, it's game on. They can vote for whoever they want if Trump doesn't reach the 1,237.

So Cruz might have a lot of great connections in the rest of the state of New York, and may have, in the end, at least on the second ballot, a majority of the delegates. Cruz can still come away, even getting third place, with getting most of the delegates in New York on the second ballot. So the main goal for Cruz is to prevent Trump from getting 1,237.

That's why -- i live in California. Cruz was here a couple of days ago. He is putting a lot of effort here in California to prevent Trump from getting the magic number.

VAUSE: It's all about the second ballot?

SESAY: It's all about the second ballot; and mike, as you well know, much of the conversation now between the two campaigns, the Cruz and the Trump campaign, is about the tactics being used to secure delegates and this rhetoric is getting ugly and uglier. We heard much of that again tonight from Ted Cruz.

[00:15:04] SLATER: Okay, so this delegate thing is nothing new. A couple of things: i think both the talking points are pretty lame.

So Trump's talking point is that Cruz is stealing delegates. No he is not. This has been the process for a very long time. He is not doing anything shady. This is how it works. i think Cruz's talking point that Trump is, you know, like a mobster, that's pretty lame too. So i think both those guys got to cool it on that one.

This whole thing with trying to earn the delegates and at the convention giving offers for rides on Air Force One and White House visits, that's nothing new; and i wouldn't be surprised to see Donald Trump say hey, if you vote for me, you can spend a week at Mar-A-Lago in Florida. So these offers and negotiating tactics is nothing new and you're going to see a lot of it in Cleveland too.

CAUSE: Okay; we've got a short time left. So very quickly, the issue is Marco Rubio. He's petitioned 21 states to keep his delegates bound to him, to deny them from going to Donald Trump. Cruz is very complimentary about Marco Rubio tonight. Are we seeing the emergence of a Ted Cruz-Marco Rubio ticket?

SLATER: Perhaps, yes. They're definitely teaming up in all these states. In the end, I believe, will give his delegates to Cruz. Whether that means a VP slot or something else, I don't know. But those guys are staying pretty close and definitely leaving the option open.

VAUSE: Okay.

SESAY: Interesting.

VAUSE: All right; Mike Slater there in San Diego.

SESAY: Always a pleasure, Mike.

VAUSE: Good to speak with you.

SLATER: Thanks, guys.

SESAY: Thanks, Mike.

VAUSE: And you can see a replay of the Town Hall with Ted Cruz and his wife Heidi here on CNN at 7:00 a.m. Eastern, 12 noon in London; and tomorrow don't miss the Democratic Presidential Debate as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders face off live from New York. That happens at 9:00 p.m. Eastern; that's 2:00 a.m. in London. only here on CNN.

SESAY: Time for a quick break. A sham and a farce, that's what many are calling parliamentary elections in Syria; That story next.

VAUSE: Also, ISIS launches a new propaganda offensive as President Obama says the terrorist are on the defensive. What's the next step in the U.S. war with ISIS?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (WEATHER HEADLINES)

[00:21:06] SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. U.S. defense officials are calling the Russian fighter jet maneuvers you see here "unsafe" and "unprofessional." This video shows the jets buzzing by a U.S. destroyer. It happened this week in the Baltic Sea.

VAUSE: The U.S. says the unarmed Russian aircraft made a number of aggressive maneuvers near the ship. One jet came within 22 meters. The destroyer had a Polish helicopter on board for routine training. A. U.S. official says there is speculation the Russians were sending a message to Poland.

U.S. President Barack Obama says it's been a bad few months for ISIS leaders and the U.S. Coalition has the upper hand. In a rare visit to CIA headquarters, he says the territory held by ISIS in Syria and Iraq is shrinking and its fighting force is as small as it's been in two years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Today, on the ground in Syria and in Iraq, ISIL is on the defensive. Our 66-member coalition, including Arab partners, is on the offensive. We have momentum, and we intend to keep that momentum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: And our Jim Sciutto reports that European authorities believe they have largely dismantled the ISIS cell behind the Paris and Brussels attacks but officials fear there are many more ISIS cells out there.

VAUSE: The president was also talking about Syria, saying the partial ceasefire there is holding, despite fears it could collapse. This comes as U.N. peace talks to end the civil war resumed in Geneva. Mr. Obama is calling for a political transition away from Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

SESAY: Despite that call, the Syrian regime held parliamentary elections Wednesday in areas under government control, which is about 1/3 of the country. France, Britain and the Syrian opposition called the vote a sham and a farce.

We want to discuss the prospects of peace in Syria with Majid Rafizadeh. He is a Harvard Iranian Syria scholar and President of the International American Council. So good of you to join us again. Welcome again.

Can we start with the comments made by President Obama earlier on today at the CIA, where he talks of this progress being made against ISIS; what is your sense in terms of his rhetoric and what actually is taking place on the ground? Do you see evidence to support this talk of an upperhand?

MAJID RAFIZADEH, IRANIAN-SYRIAN SCHOLAR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Well, i think still the political gap between let's say the pro-Assad groups, the Syrian government, Iran, Russia, and other side you have United States and the western allies. i think the political gap is too deep to breach, first of all. i think still the two side don't agree really on a platform where they can take that platform and make a resolution for the Syrian conflict.

As long as the Syrian conflict continues, i don't think they can really eradicate ISIS.

VAUSE: I guess the situation now where we have these peace talks resuming, no coincidence that Bashar al Assad went and voted today. Clearly the opposition groups want Assad to be gone and Assad voting in these elections, sending a message that ain't going to happen.

RAFIZADEH: Exactly; i think he is sending a message that he is a legitimate leader of Syria. The parliament is a representative of the Syrian people and he is definitely not going step down when he is going to the peace talk. So i think it's pretty clear that he is also trying i think to strengthen his position when it comes to the peace talks. So, again, as i mentioned, i think the political gap between two sides is really too deep to bridge and unfortunately, i think you're going to have to gain a collection of words and speeches in the peace conference without any really positive outcome.

SESAY: So with that, no positive outcome from the talks in Geneva, as you see it, what is the Plan B for America here?

RAFIZADEH: Well, they're arguing that they are going to finance and arm the [00:25:01] rebel group to send more advanced weapon; but again, this is actually radicalizing and militarizing the conflict more because once the United States send more advanced weapon to the rebels, you have on the other side Russia also justifies action and Iran will justify sending more troops to Syria.

So you have Syria turning into -- it's already turning into one of the largest proxy battleground, in the regional battleground and also international battleground, where you have dozens of countries are fighting with each other. So i think the Plan B is definitely the plan that is going to radicalize, I think, and exacerbate the conflict more. The people who will suffer will be the civilians and the civilian citizens.

VAUSE: Look at the election in Syria, in the government-held areas. Just explain to us or describe to us exactly how much of a sham that election really is.

RAFIZADEH: Well, you know, i have family members actually in Damascus and i called them and i talked to them about the elections and there is really not that much enthusiasm even among people who supported Assad at one time. There is no enthusiasm.

The other thing you see on the media they argue that Damascus is under control of Assad, so he had legitimate election there. Actually, it's not true. In Damascus, you have different neighborhoods dominated, controlled by different rebel groups. So -- and he is only holding election in those areas that is under his control, very small areas and there are a lot of reports that they're sending their loyalists to vote but it's still the return, the turnout is really very low.

So i think your question is really interesting because even within his territories, Assad doesn't have really high turnout and so only i think a cosmetic move to show that he is legitimate.

VAUSE: Sort of an election campaign. There is no international observers there.

RAFIZADEH: Exactly.

VAUSE: It really is just going through motions in some ways, a display for the government.

SESAY: Theater.

VAUSE: Theater of the absurd.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: Majid, thank you for being was.

SESAY: Thank you --

RAFIZADEH: Thank you.

SESAY: -- always appreciate it. Thank you.

VAUSE: A short break here. When we come back, a crushing setback for a gay couple in China; they wanted to get married. We'll have details of their lawsuit and why they plan to continue on with the fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:34] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles; I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay; the headlines this hour:

CNN has obtained a video that suggests some of the missing Chibok girls might still be alive. They were kidnapped in Nigeria two years ago by the militant group Boko Haram. It's believed the video was recorded in December as part of negotiations between the government and the terrorists.

VAUSE: U.S. President Barack Obama says coalition efforts to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria are working. He says the terror group is now on the defensive and ISIS financing and territorial control are shrinking. Mr. Obama says U.S. plans to its campaign against the terror group.

SESAY: Demonstrators in Macedonia threw eggs at the president's office and are calling for him to resign. The protest followed his decision to pardon dozens of politicians and other people linked to a massive wiretapping scandal. Macedonia has been in political turmoil since the scandal was uncovered last year.

VAUSE: Taiwan's foreign ministry is bringing a solemn protest against Kenya. The country deported dozens of Taiwan nationals to mainland China this week. They had been accused and acquitted of telecom scams. Taiwan says Kenyan police illegally detained their citizens then forcibly sent them them back to the mainland which is not their home. Kenya denies violating international law.

SESAY: Now, a gay couple in China says it will continue to fight to get legally married after a court in Central China rejected the same- sex marriage lawsuit on Wednesday.

VAUSE: They had sued their local registry office after it would not give them a marriage license. The couple argued there are no explicit laws in China against same-sex marriage but the court said there are a number of provisions which specify genders in the marriage law.

SESAY: Matt Rivers joins me now from Beijing. Matt, good to have you with us. How surprising it is that a district court in China accepted this case in the first place?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, via satellite: Well, there is no doubt, Isha, that this is very surprising to the people that filed this case and to watchers of this kind of thing. It is unprecedented. A district court had not heard this kind of case, which is why you and I are talking about this in the first place, frankly. This is something that hasn't happened in China before but isn't surprising, and CNN has been in touch with the couple at the center of this case as well as their lawyer, and I don't think that any of them would say that they were overly surprised at the decision that came from the court, but they might still call the mere fact that the court heard the case a sign of progress.

SESAY: And can the couple appeal the court's decision?

RIVERS: They can, and they do say that they will. We heard from the couple after the court's decision came down yesterday here, local time, and they say they do plan to appeal the decision and they say they are upbeat. They say they were ready for this kind of an outcome and that despite the fact that they are disappointed, they are hopeful for the future and that they will appeal this decision. What happens during that appeal though is anyone's guess.

SESAY: And Matt, give us some perspective on the state of LGBT rights there in China and what impact this ruling will have on gay rights activists.

RIVERS: Well, there has been a progress for LGBT rights over the last decade or so but I would say that's very, very slow progress, very incremental progress. I mean, this court case, for example, is unprecedented and I think most LGBT advocates would call the fact that the court heard this case a sign of progress; but with every step forward, there is often two steps back. So the court heard the case, but the court heard the case but they did not rule in favor of the people who filed the case.

We've seen gay film festivals get shut down here recently. We have seen a TV show that was a gay drama actually get banned here recently. The government didn't say why but many advocates speculated that it was because of the content. So there is a bit of a contradictory thing here but it's also maybe a generational gap, that you see frankly in lots of other countries where younger people tend to be more okay with LGBT people and their advocates and you see the older generation, where perhaps they're not as okay with the choices that LGBT people make; and so that is something that we see in other [00:35:01] countries. It's something you see here in China.

Finally, too, it's worth mentioning that the Chinese government is often wary of any type of movement that could be deemed political, whether that would be people advocating for LGBT rights or, frankly, for protest rights. So there's a lot of things at play here, Isha, but it's a very interesting time here in China.

SESAY: It certainly is. Matt Rivers reporting there from Beijing. Appreciate it. Thank you, Matt. VAUSE: 18 people are dead after a crane collapsed during a heavy storm in China's Guangdong Province. Officials say it landed on a building which housed workers at a construction site. 33 others were hurt on Wednesday. An initial report found the crane was blown over by strong winds, but the investigation is ongoing.

SESAY: All right; well, a basketball legend ends his 20-year career. Up next, we'll see what made the L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant so, so great.

VAUSE: A big night in basketball. The Golden State Warriors go for the record books, virtually unbeatable on their home court this season. You're watching "Newsroom L.A."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The Golden State Warriors are hoping to end the NBA regular season in historic fashion. They're going for their record-setting 73rd win right now against the Memphis Grizzlies.

SESAY: The Warriors are tied with the 1995-'96 Chicago Bulls at 72 victories. No other team in NBA history has ever won more than 70 regular season games.

VAUSE: Right here in Los Angeles, future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant is playing in his final NBA game. He announced back in November this would be his last season. Bryant was selected as an All-Star in 18 of his 20 NBA seasons. He led the Lakers to five championships; he is number three on the all-time "Leading Scorer" list.

SESAY: Wow! Well, CNN's Paul Vercammen is at the Staples Center here in L.A. and he joins us now on the line. Paul, before we get to the atmosphere and the sendoff itself, I understand Kobe, the man himself, is going out in style.

PAUL VERCAMMWN, via telephone: Oh, he is absolutely going out in style. Right now you can hear the music behind me. Those little Laker Girls, (inaudible) are they so euphoric right now? Kobe Bryant has 43 points. He may wind up with 50 before the night is over. He has taken 40 shots, but it truly is a celebration of career. Every chance they get, the fans chant "Kobe, Kobe" or "MVP." There have been video tributes from the world of sports including David Beckham, English support Robbie (Inaudible), Keith Irish, and so many others.

Then, standing by the court, Diane Cannon, long-time Laker fan, and actress and she shared a different side of Kobe Bryant. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANNE CANNON, ACTRESS/L.A. LAKER'S FAN: I'll tell you my fondest Kobe memory. I had a fire in my condo and I missed a game and I didn't know that [00:40:02] anybody even saw it. The next game Kobe, right over here, came over here and said, are you okay? Is your home okay? In the middle of everything he has to think about, he was thoughtful enough to remember that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And as we said, the game is back on. The Lakers are trailing the Jazz, 80-85; but Kobe Bryant so far 43 points and there is 7:10 left here in the fourth quarter.

He is indeed going out in style. He will address -- he will address the crowd after the game and many of his former teammates are going to join him on court in what is sure to be an emotional moment. Right now Kobe Bryant is dribbling the ball to the key and it looks like it has gone off his foot but he is sure to increase his point total with so much time left.

By the way, he played an astounding 35 minutes; so most of the game. Back to you now, Isha.

SESAY: Yeah, and I think it's worth pointing out, as you say, he is playing over half an hour. This is an athlete who was known for his physical prowess but in the last couple of years, has really been struggling with injuries. So, you know, going out in this way really means so much to the fans, after all he has been through physically.

VERCAMMEN: Yes, it does; and in talking to many of the fans here to why they admired Kobe Bryant so much, is that he came back from devastating injury. by all accounts, tearing an Achilles heel is one of the most painful things an athlete can endure.

In talking to a Laker trainer earlier tonight, he said Kobe called him within 12 hours and said how are we going to get this done, meaning how do I (inaudible)repair my Achilles and return to the basketball court. That sort of grit and determination is what fan after fan and the Trainer and teammates have all highlighted. You can hear right now the fans are now chanting "Defense" behind me, as they've got about six minutes left.

Kobe Bryant with 43 points thus far, and a lot of highlights as well: three-pointers, a beautiful block, plenty for the fans to celebrate and cheer about, Isha.

SESAY: Yes, he's going out on a high. A five-time champion, third all-time leading scorer, 10 time All-Star. Kobe Bryant is going to be missed by those L.A. fans, L.A. Lakers fans. Paul Vercammen there at the game, Staples Center. Appreciate it; thank you.

VAUSE: Okay; "World Sport" picks up all the NBA excitement from here. Kate Riley is in Atlanta. Yes, Kate, I guess the thing about Kobe Bryant, you know, you love him, you hate him. He has his place in history though, hasn't he?

KATE RILEY, CNN HOST, "WORLD SPORT": Very much so, and deservedly so as well; and didn't the atmosphere sound great in the Staples Center tonight? So obviously it's all about the NBA right now, isn't it? As you know, we're saying goodbye to an icon of the game, as we mentioned, Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, up the coast from where you guys are, Golden State Warriors

are going all out to bag place in the history books. Steph Curry and Co. currently on course to win a record 73 games in a regular season.

All those details coming up on "CNN World Sport" shortly.

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