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Olympic Torch Arrives in Rio; Russians Waiting on Olympic Decision; Race for the White House; Emirates Plane Catches Fire at Dubai; South Africa Votes; Inside Rio's No-Go Ganglands; Going Green. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 03, 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: the Olympics torch arrives in Rio.
A plane crash lands in Dubai.
And will Donald Trump's staff stick by?
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CURNOW: Hi, there, welcome. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center.
The Olympic torch is now making the way through the streets of Rio. The flame arrived in the host city by boat just a few hours ago. It'll wind
its way across Rio before reaching its final destination, the opening ceremony. That is still two days away.
But the Olympic competition actually starts in just two hours' time. That is when women's football group stages begin; while most players right now
are getting ready for the games, Russian athletes are waiting to hear if they'll be able to compete amid a doping scandal.
We're following all of this with our team in Rio. I'm joined now by Shasta Darlington and Amanda Davies.
Shasta, hi, there. I'll start with you. You're on the move. You're in Rio. You've been following the torch. Tell us what it's like.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Listen, Robyn. We've been trying to keep up with these torch runners. You can see they just
passed us. Those are the riot police, who are now keeping a close control on this torch relay after it was mobbed a couple of days ago.
Everywhere it goes, you'll see those riot police. And every 200 meters they're changing up. We've been running alongside them, trying to keep up.
But the excitement really is building, Robyn.
The torch arrived from the sister city of Niteroi in a sailboat. It was then handed over to a rowboat by Olympic medal-winning sailors themselves,
like Turin Grail (ph) and now -- then it was handed to the mayor. And now it's going through the downtown part of the city, people coming out of
their offices to wave the torch bearer on.
And this is a part of the city that officials take great pride in. Ten years ago a lot of these areas were abandoned no-go zones. And they've
revitalized a lot of it. So they'll be taking the torch through there. Again, just more and more enthusiasm building. It's good to see -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes. Yes, and I know that you actually carried the torch as well, you and Arwa, ran with it for a little while a few days ago.
So really this has been a huge journey for this torch, 300 cities over three months and, of course, two more days until that opening ceremony. In
terms of -- there you are, Shasta and Arwa, running with the torch. It reached its final destination now.
This is very exciting. There's been a lot of troubles in the lead-up to these Olympics but essentially it begins in two hours.
Amanda, to you. We know that it's going to be kicked off with the South African women's soccer team, Baniana Baniana (ph), playing against the
Swedes. It's all happening.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Robyn. It's maybe a little bit of a misconception that this is just a Rio Olympics. We know
that an Olympics always is focused on one city rather than a country.
But because of the number of football matches taking place across both the men's and the women's tournaments, there are actually five football venues
across Brazil.
People who were fans of the World Cup in 2014 will know a lot of those venues. As you said, it's Sweden against South Africa that kicks things
off. But actually, all 12 of the women's football teams are in action today. You've got the host nation, Brazil.
The women, perhaps not under the same degree of pressure as the men's football team is, to bring home a first Olympics football gold from Brazil.
But there's high hopes. They've got a tough opening test against China.
And then the defending gold medalists for the USA actually looking for a fourth straight gold medal there in action as well against New Zealand.
And certainly will be no easy test for the teams that they play.
But we are in this situation, aren't we, Robyn, where the action is underway. The final countdown to the opening ceremony has really begun,
with the arrival of the torch here in Rio. And still we have these Russian athletes, who don't know whether or not they're going to be allowed to
compete.
We're waiting on the verdict from the appeals of a number of Russian athletes against the bans that have been handed down from their
international sporting federations following that explosive McLaren report with the allegations of state-sponsored doping across so many sports in
Russia.
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DAVIES: The individual sporting federations have said that a number of athletes can't compete because of either concerns about their doping status
or because of concerns about the integrity of their sport with really a lack of knowledge as to the testing that has taken place with these
athletes.
So there are Russian athletes here in Rio who are training. They're carrying on with their preparations. But still so many questions remain
unanswered. We're waiting for cap (ph) and then the final verdict from the IOC, which we do know will happen ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
CURNOW: Yes, either today, tomorrow or the next day. So we're keeping an eye out for that. And of course we'll bring it to our viewers as soon as
we get it.
Shasta, back to you. This is going to be a human drama-filled month. This is about individual feats of heroism and perhaps failure as well. And
already it's becoming quite memorable for some athletes before they've even competed.
DARLINGTON: Unfortunately that's true, Robyn. There have been sporadic reports of robbery. For example, the Australian delegation, they were
evacuated from their apartments in the Olympic Village because of a small fire in the basement and they discovered the next day that some of their
bags had been stolen during the small fire alarm.
Another athlete, a Chinese cyclist, was actually hit by a car while he was out training. Luckily doesn't seem that he was very badly injured. But we
have also got some interesting anecdotes coming to us.
You know, the NBA is going to be staying on a cruise ship off the coast of the city here in the bay, right off one of those areas that has been
revitalized. And one of the reasons is because the beds in the Olympic Village here in -- and traditionally, actually, this has been a problem for
a couple of decades -- are so small.
The basketball players just don't fit in. So they will be on this cruise ship off the coast and we've heard that a lot of fans are going to be
camping out in and around that area not far from here, hoping to catch a glimpse of them, maybe take some selfies. We'll see -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Indeed. I'm sure they want a selfie with you, too, as well.
Amanda, Shasta, thanks so much.
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CURNOW: It seems any goodwill gained during the Republican convention between Donald Trump and the party is in jeopardy again, at issue this time
Trump's refusal to drop the feud with a fallen soldier's family and his refusal to endorse two of the Republican Party's top lawmakers. Manu Raju
takes a look at the tension.
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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't regret anything. I said nice things about the son.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republican leaders and Donald Trump's own campaign staff frustrated with their
candidate. Sources tell CNN even Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is upset with Trump. The tipping point: Trump openly challenging the
parents of slain Muslim soldier Capt. Humayun Khan.
KHIZR KHAN, CAPT. HUMAYUN KHAN'S FATHER: This person is not fit for the office he's seeking.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump refusing to drop his fight with the Gold Star family, despite the urging of senior staff, and failing to stay on message
and attacking Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP: I was hit very hard from the stage. And you know, it's just one of those things. But I don't -- no, I don't regret anything.
RAJU (voice-over): This as Trump refuses to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his Republican primary, telling "The Washington Post," "I'm just
not quite there yet. I'm not quite there yet."
Trump thumbing his nose at Ryan's delayed decision to endorse him back in May.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I'm just not ready to do that at this point. I'm not there right now.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump also declining to back former GOP nominee, Arizona senator John McCain, who is in a tough re-election battle.
"I've always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets."
Trump's tension with McCain has been brewing ever since Trump criticized the war hero for being captured in Vietnam, McCain telling me back in May
that he wants Trump to apologize to POWs.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZ.: When he said, "I don't like people who were captured," then there's a great -- there's a body of American heroes that I
would like to see him retract that statement.
RAJU (voice-over): The avalanche of Trump's controversial statements prompting several Republicans to break from their party and back Hillary
Clinton; President Obama using the weight of the office to slam Trump at a news conference with a foreign leader at the White House.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president.
RAJU (voice-over): And blasting Republicans for standing by their nominee.
OBAMA: If you are repeatedly having to say, in very strong terms, that what he has said is unacceptable --
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OBAMA: -- why are you still endorsing him?
This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily and weekly, where they are distancing themselves from statements he's making.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump firing back.
TRUMP: Well, he's a terrible president. He'll probably go down as the worst president in the history of our country. He's been a total disaster.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: That was Manu Raju reporting there.
Well, let's take a closer look at this turn of events. Clarissa Ward has the backlash from abroad.
But first, we're joined by senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson in Washington.
Hey, Nia-Malika, I mean, are we on now defection watch?
Are we waiting and watching to see which other major Republicans and donors abandon Mr. Trump?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that's right. We've seen a slew of pretty high-profile Republicans come out and say that they either
wouldn't vote for him and maybe just write someone else in or that, in fact, they would back Hillary Clinton instead.
And this, obviously, is a continuation of what we saw from the Republican primary -- or the Republican convention, with Ted Cruz basically calling on
other Republicans to vote their conscience.
And then, of course, at the Democratic convention, we saw people like Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, an independent voter,
also say to Republicans that they should back Hillary Clinton.
And then, of course, President Obama yesterday questioned whether or not Republican leaders should continue to endorse a candidate who they have to
denounce every other day.
So listen, I think this is going to be a continuing story. I think privately many Republicans, elected officials, are questioning whether or
not Trump even stays in this race. The folks I talked to, who are familiar with Trump's thinking, say he wouldn't drop out. It's just not his style.
But that's certainly some of the chatter and, in some ways, the fantasy of a lot of Republicans here in D.C.
CURNOW: Yes, indeed. But certainly some of the most senior Republicans upset with him. We know that there are also reports from CNN reporting
that his staff is demoralized, fearful that they're wasting their time.
So Clarissa, to you, Republicans -- some Republicans -- seem to be having trouble digesting the possibility of a Trump presidency. But so, too, do
many world leaders.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. And we've heard from President Francois Hollande, the French president, coming out in
really unprecedented language from a world leader, talking about a potential president of the United States.
He was talking about this issue of the Khan family and the ongoing debate between Donald Trump and this family that seems to have sort of galvanized
U.S. public opinion and which has spread overseas.
And he said -- I want to read his exact quote -- he said about Donald Trump, quote, "His excesses make you want to retch."
He called the comments "offensive and humiliating."
And then he went on to say, "Should the American people choose Trump, there will be consequences because a U.S. election is a global election."
And I think, Robyn, that's what this really comes down to. And sometimes perhaps the people in the U.S. forget this, that the whole world looks to
America for global leadership.
We are -- you know, the U.S. is the leader of the free world. And so it's not just American voters who are desperately concerned about the future of
their country and what the future will look like politically.
It's also world leaders across the globe who are concerned, perhaps, that Donald Trump has been very erratic in some of the policies that he's
outlined, particularly with regard to international affairs.
CURNOW: Yes. And no longer just an amusing curiosity, perhaps, but people around the world watching with real concern at the tone of this.
Nia-Malika, to you, Donald Trump really has seemed to have broken every political convention here. He's insulted Muslims and Mexicans, mocked
disabled reporters, insulted the family of a dead soldier, as we've been reporting. And yesterday he was mean to a baby and its mother.
How does this help him?
How does he think this helps his campaign?
And more importantly, who is he still speaking to?
Who is this resonating with?
HENDERSON: Well, it's certainly resonating with the folks who already back Donald Trump, the people who carried him to victory in the Republican
primary. He believes that that strategy won him the primary and he believes that if he doubles down on it, he could win a general election.
He doesn't believe in the old rules of politics, which say you have to pivot toward the center. You sort of have to modify some of your policy
views and your tone on to get a broader audience.
He believes that that primary audience, the Republicans who voted for him in those campaigns in different states across the country, that that is
enough for him to win a general election.
All of the conventional wisdom suggests he's wrong; the polls suggest he's done a great bit of damage --
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HENDERSON: -- to his standing, particularly among women, among Latinos, among African Americans and independent voters as well. He's down, I
think, 8 points in our last poll because you saw Hillary Clinton get a convention bounce after her four-day convention in Philadelphia last week.
But listen, there's still, what, 97 days to go for this campaign. I talked to some Republicans. They still think he can right this ship if he pivots,
if he changes his tone and his behavior, becomes a more disciplined candidate and really sticks to an anti-status quo, an anti-Hillary Clinton
message.
But that is a Donald Trump we have yet to see. The question is for Republicans whether or not they ever will see that Donald Trump.
CURNOW: And just to see how far he can go and how much he can push it in terms of breaking conventions.
We were talking now about the polls there with Nia-Malika. Clarissa, to you. Hillary Clinton is a known entity. She's a former secretary of
state. And it seems like, also, Donald Trump's comments about Vladimir Putin and how he'd deal with Russia also playing strongly in the polls in
Clinton's favor.
WARD: Yes, that's right. There's a new CNN poll that shows, specifically on the issue of handling of foreign affairs, Secretary Clinton is leaps and
bounds ahead of Trump, with 59 percent for Clinton as opposed to 36 percent for Trump.
And you brought up the issue of Russia and President Putin. And I think the issue here is not that Donald Trump has advocated having a more close
or friendly relationship with Russia, that he's advocated perhaps working with the Russians to combat the threat of terrorism.
There are many different schools of foreign policy and plenty would support that kind of an approach.
The issue is more that the pendulum seems to swing quite erratically, depending on the day of the week. And there doesn't seem to be a coherent
overriding principle that is guiding all of these foreign policy decisions.
And of course, we heard over the weekend there was some brouhaha because Donald Trump was on ABC's "The Week" and said with regard to President
Putin that he would guarantee he would never be in Ukraine. Of course the show host, George Stephanopoulos, pointing out, well, they already do have
troops in Ukraine because of what happened with Crimea.
So I think there's always this wild card with Trump in the eyes of the international community.
How deeply does he understand the issues?
How well does he understand the complexities?
For some they're saying there's echoes from what we heard of former vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, when she said, "I look out my window and
I can see Russia."
And I think you're feeling that same fear in the international community, that you'll have someone potentially coming into having a lot of power who
doesn't necessarily understand these deep and complex issues -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes, indeed, President Obama saying this week that not only was he unfit but woefully unprepared; Republicans having that conversation among
themselves now.
Nia-Malika in Washington, Clarissa in London, thank you both so much for coming and joining us, giving us your perspective. Thanks.
Well, one of the world's busiest airports in Dubai is minutes away from reopening after a fiery accident shut down operations for hours. Take a
look at this.
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CURNOW (voice-over): Some unbelievable images. This was an Emirates Airline flight from Southern India. It appears to have crashed on landing,
after landing, and then bursts into flames. The airline says all 300 people on board escaped safely and crew as well.
Well, our Jon Jensen is at the Dubai airport with the latest developments.
And, hey, there, Jon. I mean, it's very clear from these images that these passengers were incredibly lucky. This seems to have been a textbook
evacuation as well.
JON JENSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, Robyn. There are some online already calling this the miracle of Dubai. And there are other
reports that we have not yet been able to verify that the evacuation took 90 seconds, which seems very quick for a plane that had 300 people on it.
However, the big question right now is why did this plane land as it did and skid down the runway in Dubai and eventually burst into a ball of
flames toward the end of the plane?
We still don't know. But if you look at images that are pouring in on social media that came in in the first hour, it is clear that the plane
crashed after it landed. There were a number of videos showing billowing smoke coming from it, the fireball toward the end.
And interestingly, Robyn, all of the photos and video show a plane without its undercarriage.
So another question right now is what happened to the landing gear?
Was it down?
Did it collapse on landing?
Either way, there was no landing gear. Right now, authorities in Dubai, Emirates at the airport and the UAE indeed are trying to figure all this
out and find out what happened to this plane -- Robyn.
[10:20:00]
CURNOW: Jon Jensen there at the scene, thank you so much.
Coming up here on the IDESK, the new officers taking posts in London look nothing like the bobbies of the past. We'll hear from the mayor about what
the city learned from the attacks in Nice and Paris.
Plus: South Africans are casting their votes in what could be tough elections for the ruling party. We'll be live from Johannesburg. Stay
with us.
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CURNOW: Terror attacks are transforming life and security in Europe. And in London, 600 new armed police are taking to the streets in what is being
called Operation Hercules. CNN's Nima Elbagir shows us.
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NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sight of armed officers on the streets of European capitals has,
unfortunately, become, sadly, all too familiar. But not here in London -- until now.
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: Well, we learned the lessons from Europe, from Nice, from Paris, from Munich. And we're assured that not only to
Londoners feel reassured and safe, but frankly speaking, the bad people recognize that our police service, security services, all of us will do our
bit to keep us all safe.
ELBAGIR: And this is what a critical response will look like, counterterror officers on 24-hour call. This is all part of an accelerated
level of alert that will see an increase in the number of armed officers able and willing to deploy on the streets of the capital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we'll feel safer.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Especially after what we --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- through in Paris, I think it's -- we need to be safer and feel safer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have more police men. You have more chance of being there in the right place at the right time. It doesn't make me feel
particularly any safer but I guess it's probably necessary.
ELBAGIR: London's senior police officer, one of the top police officers in the country, has said it is a matter of when, not if, an attack happens on
the streets of Britain's capital. And this is what the new normal could look like -- Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
CURNOW: The U.S. State Department has condemned North Korea's latest missile launch. South Korea and U.S. officials say North Korea fired two
missiles from the southwest of the country. One appears to have exploded almost immediately. The other traveled about 1,000 kilometers and landed
in the Sea of Japan. The U.S. State Department says the test violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.
And in India, a search-and-rescue operation is underway for 20 people missing after a Colonial-era bridge connecting Mumbai and Goa collapsed.
It happened early Wednesday morning, sending two state passenger buses into waters below. Navy helicopters, boats and divers are at the scene right
now.
Authorities say flooding of --
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CURNOW: -- the river triggered the collapse. India has been hit by severe flooding over the past few days, killing more than 160 people.
And South Africans are voting in key regional elections. They're seen as a difficult test for the ruling ANC Party, especially in major cities. CNN's
David McKenzie has been following the vote in Johannesburg. He joins us now live.
Hi, Dave. These are local elections but they're really a key barometer of just how disappointed South Africans are in the ANC.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, I think you're right. And, hello to you. Yes, we've been all throughout Johannesburg today, looking at the
different polling stations. We're in Soweto in the morning through here now to downtown Johannesburg at one of the biggest polling stations there
are in this nationwide election.
Yes, it is local elections but, as you say, a crucial test of the ruling ANC. Many people are upset and angry with the levels of corruption in the
country. They have seen a series of scandals against Jacob Zuma, the president; corruption scandals, specifically.
And when you talk to people on the street like we did earlier, it's a mix, really, between legacy and change. That's the message you get.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: You're wearing a Nelson Mandela T-shirt.
So why did you vote today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mandela fought for this country. We must then for that. We must then for that as a country. We must push for what the
country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is most impressive and important is life, basics, you understand, it's what we are waiting for. If you come up with
something which you can help me, then I'll vote for you because what I need, I need some services from you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's we need change. That's why.
MCKENZIE: What change do you need?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need any political party that will bring change. Then we can vote for it today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: As you know, Robyn, this time of year in Johannesburg it's pretty chilly. People are inside the voting tent here in Jubeir Park,
getting ready to cast their ballot, leaving it a little bit late. But we've seen steady flows of people in throughout Johannesburg and throughout
the country.
The vote has been peaceful and also certainly people have a feeling that this could be very significant as they wait to see the results come out in
the coming days -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes, indeed. I've covered a few of those. And they always seem to be elections in winter. So thanks. Keep warm. And to all of you,
thanks so much for bringing us this important story.
Well, still ahead, past the brand- new Olympic stadiums lies a world tourists shouldn't wander through. We'll talk to a drug dealer about the
hard realities on the other side of Rio.
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CURNOW: Hi, there. Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here is a check of the headlines.
(HEADLINES)
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CURNOW: Brazil is deploying thousands of extra officers and soldiers for this year's Olympics Games. But there are some places in Rio yet even the
police don't dare to go without expecting a gunfight. Our Nick Paton Walsh got a rare look inside these ganglands. He joins us now from Rio.
Hi, there, Nick.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, it's extraordinary, just a short drive from these golden beaches behind me, there are
barricades, past which you say police really don't dare to go unless they're in armored cars, expecting a gunfight, inside which there's
basically the rules of the drug dealer.
They have their own communities reliant upon them, which they preside over with firearms in a very separate society, very distant from the riches
Brazil has on show here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): Drive just past one Olympic venue and there, sprawling in the dusk, is the Rio that Brazil doesn't want you to see.
You're heading with us into a place where police cannot go unless they want a gun battle, a surreal otherworld, where those with guns set the rules.
They agree to talk if we didn't identify them. Going to Junia Boca (ph), says the radio, a place where they deal. At the wheel is Traval (ph); he
passes for a veteran here.
"I didn't think I'd last 'til 20 because of our lifestyle. Now I'm 38. If God allows, one day I'll be 60. It's my dream to leave, to have a quieter
life."
We drive through, off-camera, a crazed, detached world of street parties, open dealing, teenagers in a world without rules or a future. The rest of
Rio speeds past this spot, taking nobody away with it. This is where the deals are done.
Will the Olympics boost business?
"Sell, always sell," he says. "Sell more. That's the point. The quality is good."
WALSH: This is where their world meets the rest of Brazil, a country sometimes of great riches and opportunity that many people here will never
know.
Pick your own sample, all cut from pure in a nearby laboratory. The local drug lord tells us he dreams of leaving to study business. But this is the
business here. Traval (ph) has 11 children by six different women.
"All we want to do is sell our little drug to look after our kids. We don't shove guns in their faces and say, 'Buy.' We just have it
available."
What would you say to people coming here for the Olympic Games?
"Enjoy Rio but with your eyes open. Brazil is not prepared. A few from here will be watching -- or there. There will be businessmen, politicians.
Me, I'd like to be there but I can't. The worst thing is that I can't leave. It's what I want, to leave here. I feel like a prisoner."
Walls that keep the grandeur and brilliance of the Games out of reach.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Well, and let me tell you some of the things our camera wasn't allowed to film, how young everybody really was there. The men holding the
guns, standing over huge tables of what must have been cocaine in small bags, barely in their 20s; that's the average age, frankly.
And the strange sense of lawlessness, like a land detached from the rest of society, where there seemed to be constant street --
[10:35:00]
WALSH: -- parties, loud music, open use of drugs on the streets there, a very surreal place to step into, so far away from law and order with its
own sense of rules, perhaps horror as well, where the Games are a very distant light far away from them.
CURNOW: Yes, so awkward. Thanks so much, great reporting there, Nick Paton Walsh. Thank you.
Well, we have breaking news out of Washington. We understand a Metro transit police officer has been arrested for allegedly providing support to
ISIS. Now that's according to two law enforcement officials. Let's go straight to Washington. Our Evan Perez has been hitting the phones.
What are you hearing?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Robyn. We now have the first police officer in the United States that's been charged with providing
material support to ISIS. We've had over a hundred of these arrests over the last couple of years and we've had reservists in the military, people
who are former military, but we've never had a police officer. This is the first.
His name is Nicholas Young (ph). And he is a police officer with the Metro Transit System here in Washington. Now it's -- one thing that's important
to make clear is that, according to the investigation, there was no threat to the transit system. There was no plot against the subway system here in
Washington.
This man, his name is Nicholas Young (ph), was focused on providing money to ISIS overseas. It's still a very -- obviously a very scary scenario
because this is a person who is entrusted in a position of trust with the Metro Transit System and obviously viewed as a top target for terrorists.
And now he's been arrested this morning, according to our sources we've been talking to. He's been under investigation for over a year and the FBI
finally pulled the trigger and arrested him earlier this morning -- Robyn.
CURNOW: So under investigation for more than a year.
Is there anything else we know about what he wanted to do and the kind of communications he might have had with ISIS members?
PEREZ: Well, that's what they've been doing. They've been keeping an eye on his communications. I think one of the things that they were
particularly focused on was whether or not he was working with anybody else.
Was there anybody else who might have been trying to plot something against the D.C. Metro System?
It's a metro system, obviously, here in the nation's capital, in the U.S. capital, and it's viewed as a top target for terrorists. It's a big, big
concern for the FBI when they were doing this investigation. But all they found was that he was trying to provide money and support to ISIS overseas.
He was supporting ISIS overseas but not apparently focused on carrying out anything here in the United States -- Robyn.
CURNOW: OK. Keep us updated if you hear anything more. Evan Perez there in Washington, thanks so much.
PEREZ: Thanks.
CURNOW: You're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. Much more after this short break. Stay with us.
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CURNOW: For many of us, a hot cup of coffee is an essential part of our day, starting that day. And in addition to energizing us, the leftover --
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CURNOW: -- grounds can also be used to power a lot of other things besides our day. We have the details in today's "Going Green."
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's something about coffee. It's an amazing drink. It's the second most traded quantity on the planet after oil.
In the U.K. there's about 500,000 tons of waste coffee grounds each year. In London, about 200,000 tons.
My name's Arthur Kaye (ph). And I found a way to use waste coffee grounds to create clean energy. On a daily basis, the world collects hundreds and
hundreds of tons from not just independent coffee shops and coffee chains but also from large coffee factories, which produce hundreds of tons of
waste on a single site.
We're here in the (INAUDIBLE) coffee waste collection van. We're going to go on a route around London and collect from hundreds and hundreds of
different coffee shops, restaurants, officers, train stations, et cetera.
How many cups do we get today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's about 100 cups of coffee in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awesome.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So for me, the light bulb moment was when I was studying card tricks for university and designing a coffee shop and a
coffee factory (INAUDIBLE) this. And I was one day having my morning cup of coffee. There had been -- it was a bit old. It had been left out
overnight, et cetera. And there was a thin film of oil on top of it.
And I thought there must be something useful in there if there's oil in the coffee. We got to the factory in Cambridge here, where we (INAUDIBLE)
carbon-neutral biofuels. There's a (INAUDIBLE) process for 10,000 (ph) tons of waste coffee grounds in the U.K.
One in 10 cups of coffee roughly, we could quite power all of London or we could certainly power a full panel in a very large village.
It's just fantastic visual because you save carbon not just in diverting waste from landfills generated in AV, but also you just face conventional
fuels whether that be a diesel, whether that be a coal put-up. And the same man field kitting for you burgeon one sense.
So these are by these newest products, coffee logs, made from waste coffee ground. they're just packed full of energy, even more highly calorific
than wood. They can be used in a whole range of different devices, from burnt logs those like these to peat robins and even barbecues.
Our ambition's really after do two thins, firstly, to expand that reach and not just one in 10 but we want to recycle half of all the coffee in the
U.K. by 2018 and be on that one we want to get all of it. So there's nothing to say that fiving couldn't work as well in the United States, in
South America, in -- even in the barrios (ph).
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, that's all from us at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. Thanks for watching. I'll be back in just over an hour. In the meantime, I'm going
to hand you over to Amanda in Rio. Stay with us.
END
