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Trump Disavows Alt-Right Movement; Japan And South Korea's Agreement; Deadly Storms Threatens Costa Rica; More Political Turmoil in South Korea; Shia-Led Unit Advances Against ISIS West of Mosul; Five Children Killed in Tennessee School Bus Crash; Modern Underground Railroad in France; Britain's Economic Outlook Post-Brexit. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 23, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHO: Changing his tune. Donald Trump is doing an about-face with some of his most controversial positions and hinting at changes to others.

Plus, for the first time since World War II Japan and South Korea sign a military agreement, and not everyone is happy about it.

And later, this deadly storm could become the first hurricane ever recorded to make landfall in Costa Rica.

Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN NEWSROOM.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is disavowing the so-called alt- right. Just a few days ago, a white supremacist group celebrated Trump's victory with Nazi-style salutes.

Trump tells the New York Times he doesn't want to energize such groups.

CNN's Jim Acosta reports Trump is also backing off some of his more controversial campaign positions.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Today, Donald Trump met face to face with one of his favorite targets, the New York Times, and the newspaper's reporters were live-tweeting the highlights.

To all of his supporters calling for Hillary Clinton to be jailed over her e-mails and the Clinton Foundation, Trump hinted he's leaning against pushing for any sort of prosecution saying it would be very, very divisive for the country. It's a reversal for Trump who shattered presidential campaign norms by threatening to imprison his opponent repeatedly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT-ELECT: I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation because there has never been so many lies, so much deception.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: On his chief strategist Steve Bannon who's been accused of showcasing racist views on his Breitbart news site, Trump said it's very hard on Bannon.

I think he's having a hard time with it because it's not him. And Trump even moderated his stance on global warming, which he once called a hoax, telling the Times "I think there is some connectivity between humans and climate change."

With his inauguration getting closer, the president-elect has no shortage of flames to put out. From a new revelation in the Washington Post that the Trump Foundation admitted to the IRS it was engaged in self-dealing and illegally misusing charitable donations to the mounting conflicts posed by his business affairs overseas.

Trump told the Times, "In theory I could run my business perfectly and then run the country perfectly. There's never been a case like this."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FLYNN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: We are facing another ism, just like we faced Nazism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And there are new questions about Michael Flynn who's tapped to be Trump's national security adviser after the retired general's comments on Islamism last August.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNN: This is Islamism, and it is a -- it is a vicious cancer inside the body of 1.7 billion people on this planet. And it has to be excised.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Trump also met with rival turned supporter Ben Carson and tweeted he is seriously considering the doctor to run Housing and Urban Development. Even though a Carson adviser just last week said, "Dr. Carson doesn't think he's qualified to run a federal agency."

Trump has mostly tried to bypass the media since his election, revealing his upcoming agenda in this transition-produced video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: My agenda will be based on a simple core principle, putting America first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: A top supporter's message to the press, get used to it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, TRUMP SUPPORTER: But now Donald Trump is going to make his own way with the press and he's probably going to do a lot of those videos I would imagine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

INGRAHAM: Where it's straight to the American people, go around the press.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN has learned Mitt Romney is seriously considering the possibility of joining Donald Trump's administration as secretary of state.

A source familiar with transition discussions says it's likely the 2012 republican nominee will be consulting with his family over the weekend. That source tells CNN a decision is not expected until next week.

Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: As we mentioned, the New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman sat down in the meeting there live-tweeting Trump's remarks about Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, and she spoke to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGGIE HABERMAN, NEW YORK TIMES POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He said that he thinks that she has suffered enough, that she has -- I'm paraphrasing here. But she has been through too much, this was a brutal campaign and then said that the Clinton Foundation some say has done good work, which is a little different than the, you know, it's a scam line that we heard from him and Rudy Giuliani for most of the final weeks of the campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is Hadas Gold. She is a media reporter for Politico. Thank you so much for being with us.

[03:04:58] So, when Donald Trump met Tuesday with the New York Times, we started seeing a softening of his positions, and particularly there as we just heard on the subject of Hillary Clinton, a total reversal, even though he had promised to throw her in jail over her e-mail server while he was on the campaign trail, he now says he won't be doing that at all. So how surprised are you by this, this flip-flop?

HADAS GOLD, POLITICO MEDIA REPORTER: Not really surprised. I think a lot of people knew that a lot of Donald Trump's suggestions and, you know, things that he would throw out as promises during the campaign trail were really unrealistic, in reality everything from building a border wall to throwing Hillary Clinton in jail after the FBI and DOJ had already probed her use of the e-mails. It is striking to see how quickly that flipped and how willingly he

was willing to just say so right outright. I think it will be really interesting to see how his supporters react.

I've already seen some of his supporters playing it off as a sort of oh, he has to do that in order to really placate everybody but he really is going to go after her, the DOJ or FBI is going to go after her.

And to be clear, Donald Trump can't just decide he's going to investigate Hillary Clinton. That's the DOJ and the FBI to do so.

CHURCH: And how surprised were you by Mr. Trump's meeting with the New York Times given the way he had criticized the paper during the campaign? What do you think that might signal?

GOLD: It's really interesting with Donald Trump a lot of the times he tends to criticize often the one -- the subjects that he often craves their approval of the most.

He has often criticized the New York Times over Twitter, called them a failing newspaper, and yet, he still goes to talk to the failing newspaper. It's a similar thing that was fascinating with places from Fox News to CNN.

It is really interesting that the president-elect within the first couple weeks of being elected decides to take these meetings with these media organizations whereas, most presidents would hold a press conference or wouldn't have had the acrimonious relationship with the media that they would need to hold these types of meetings.

It was notable the New York Times especially the back and forth over whether it was on and then it was off and then it was back again. And I think it was very notable that he went to the New York Times. He didn't have them all come to him.

Donald Trump is a Native New Yorker. I think that he really craves the approval of the people who work there and the people who write for them. He even made notes to the columnist Frank Bruni saying that I'm going to make you write good things about me, as in saying like, I'm going to do a good job so that all of you here are proud of me and approve of me.

I think that's really notable. And I think perhaps it will show an improvement in press relationships but you know, actions speak louder than words right now.

CHURCH: Yes. We're watching media access very closely, of course. And in that meeting Mr. Trump disavowed the so-called alt-right movement, which has elements of white supremacy and neo-Nazism and has celebrated his election.

He came under a lot of criticism, didn't he, for not disavowing sooner than this. When he quickly criticizes others on Twitter and demands apologies constantly. What's his strategy here? GOLD: You know, a lot of these people were really fervent Donald

Trump supporters and it's without question that their enthusiasm maybe helped him win the election.

Clearly Donald Trump doesn't necessarily want to be associated with these types of people. The problem for him is that he's continuing to be asked about it. Because he hasn't come out and made any sort of big pronouncement against it.

Yes, he says in interviews when prompted of course, of course I disavow it. But Donald Trump speaks very clearly in big speeches and rallies and over social media. And as you noted, he berated the cast of a Broadway show and told them to apologize for giving a speech from the stage to Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

And yet, he's not saying much more beyond the disavowals that he's made in these interviews with people such as the New York Times. Are those -- are his supporters who tend to feel like -- who tend to agree with the neo-Nazis and whatnot, are they necessarily going to be paying attention to the New York Times and believing what he's saying there?

I think a lot of people hope that he will come speak to those people directly, use his social media channels, use a big speech to really come out and make a really big pronouncement that he doesn't stand with these people.

CHURCH: Yes. We'll certainly be watching all of that very carefully. Hadas Gold, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

GOLD: Thank you.

CHURCH: And it's still not clear how Donald Trump will address concerns about his sprawling business empire, his new role as president and potential conflicts of interest.

CNN's Tom Foreman reports.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Donald Trump opened his billion- dollar Scottish resort in 2012, he had big ambitions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:10:00] TRUMP: We wanted to build what we determined could be easily the greatest golf course anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: But soon he was tilting at windmills. Embroiled in a legal fight with the Scottish government over a wind farm just offshore ruining the view.

A fight he lost less than a year ago. Yet shortly after his election, he met with British politician Nigel Farage, who helped lead the Brexit movement. And did they discuss wind farms again?

Just today, Trump told the New York Times, I might have brought it up. The story embodies everything political watchdogs are worried about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA WRAGE, TRACE PRESIDENT: Whether a position is abused or there's just the potential for that abuse, there's just the opportunity to abuse it, either way it's undermining of confidence in government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: The billionaire politician told the Times, "In theory, I could run my business perfectly and then run the country perfectly," adding, however, he's phasing that out now, letting his children take over.

But a firewall has clearly not gone up yet, so the president of Argentina says when he called to offer congratulations, Trump's daughter Ivanka was on the line, too. The transition team says no business was discussed, but the Trump organization is working on a $100 million project in Buenos Aires.

When the Japanese Prime Minister came calling, there was Ivanka again. With the Trump organization doing business with at least 150 companies in 25 countries, the potential for professional ties colliding with politics is huge.

Will the new president recognize the new envoy from the Philippines picked just before the election? Sure. It's his former business partner. Lawsuits are also a worry, such as the one over Trump University, which he just settled for $25 million.

So, are reports of questionable behavior and bookkeeping at the Trump Foundation. And even that fancy new D.C. hotel he so proudly opened recently, it is on property leased from the very government he will now lead.

Even as the president-elect promises to step away from all these entanglements, it remains unclear when he will complete that step. But one thing is very clear, he's confident this will not be a problem. Telling the Times, the law is totally on my side. The president can't have a conflict of interest.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Two weeks after her devastating election loss, Hillary Clinton is enjoying private life with some public moments. She was shopping Monday with her family when she went into a bookstore in Rhode Island. Employee Jessica Wick, a Clinton supporter, had her picture taken with her. She said Bill Clinton snapped the shot.

And a source says top computer scientists are urging Clinton's campaign to call for a recount of the vote in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The scientists believe they've found evidence the totals have been manipulated or hacked.

They said the trend of Clinton performing worse in counties that relied on electronic voting machines was questionable and should be reviewed independently.

Well, the long-running conflict between the Colombian government and the Marxist rebel group called FARC may soon be over. Both sides will sign a new peace accord in the capital on Thursday.

President Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement in a televised address. The agreement will then go to Congress for approval. Voters rejected the last peace deal in a referendum in October. If it's approved by Congress, the agreement would end a half century of war in Colombia.

Well, the situation in eastern Aleppo is worsening after a week (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

[03:15:00] (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: ... they have not tried since World War II. We'll explain when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. I'm Amanda Davies with your CNN World Sport headlines.

The Champions League was back in action on Tuesday and the dream goes on for Leicester City. In their first ever Champions League campaign last season's fairytale Premier League winners have booked their place in the knockout stage of European Football's top club competition.

[03:20:08] The Foxes beat Club Brugge 2-1 at home thanks to goals from Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez.

Paris St. Germain have said they've been left stunned at decision by British authorities to revoke the visa of defender Serge Aurier, which means he won't be able to play in London against Arsenal on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old has been refused entry because of a conviction for assaults. Aurier was arrested in May and found guilty of assaulting a police officer. He denies the charge and is appealing the verdict. And PSG have expressed their anger over the late decision.

Less than 24 hours after removing Jurgen Klinsmann from his post U.S. soccer has appointed Bruce Arena. The American takes the job for the second time, having previously been in charge from 1998 to 2006.

The tough time to take over, though. The U.S. hit bottom of the six- country Hexagonal qualifying group but the 2018 Russian World Cup, having lost their first two games.

That's a look at your sports headlines. I'm Amanda Davies.

CHURCH: More political turmoil in South Korea. Two senior politicians offered their resignation to President Park Geun-hye this week. It's not clear if she will accept them, though. Pressure has been building on Ms. Park to step down after she was

named a suspect in a corruption probe that has plagued her presidency for weeks. Park cannot be charged, however, due to a law that makes her immune from prosecution.

And Japan and South Korean, countries that were once enemies, have agreed to share military intelligence. Officials signed the deal Wednesday. It's the first military-related agreement between the two countries since World War II.

But the deal has prompted protests in the streets of Seoul. A recent poll from Gallup Korea found almost 60 percent of respondents did not want the deal.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now from Seoul with more details on this. So, Paula, why is there so much resistance to this agreement?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, there is a fair bit of anti-Japanese sentiment still here in South Korea. First you have to remember that Japan occupied South Korea for around 35 years in the first half of the 20th century.

There are still territorial disputes ongoing between the two countries. And as I say, those sentiments are lingering on for some people. So that's partly why there's this reticence to share military information with Japan, which one's occupied this country. It's not just that, though.

There's also a political side to this. As you just mentioned, President Park Geun-hye is embroiled in the middle of this corruption scandal at this point, and opposition party and leaders are saying she doesn't have the power or the legitimacy to try and push this deal through quickly.

It doesn't need parliamentary approval, otherwise they'd vote against it. And so, they're saying that given that difficulty she is going through at this point she shouldn't be making this (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

[03:25:00] (TECHNICAL PROBLEM)

[00:01:37] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: ... so that gives us what is happening now.

The water temperatures upper 20s Celsius, about 84 degrees Fahrenheit. It's about one and half degrees Celsius above what is normal. So the storm certainly be in field, and very readily with this.

And the numbers are pretty staggering when it comes to the lowest latitude hurricane since the 1970', the latest hurricane to be formed in the Caribbean in history, and the last time we had a hurricane this late in November was 10 years ago, Rosemary.

So, again, season's almost done but for some folks but it's going to be a rough ride for a few days.

CHURCH: It's hard to predict things. (CROSSTALK)

JAVAHERI: It is getting a little bit, yes.

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks, Pedram. I appreciate it.

JAVAHERI: That's right.

CHURCH: Well, later this hour on CNN, how Brexit could impact the resurgence of London's iconic Battersea Power Station.

We're back with that in just a moment.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump appears to be backing off some of his more controversial positions. In an interview with The New York Times, he said he has an open mind on climate change and he thinks prosecuting Hillary Clinton would be "very, very divisive for the country."

The Colombian government will sign a new peace deal on Thursday with the Marxist rebel group FARC. President Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement in a televised address. The agreement will be sent to congress for approval. If it's approved, the deal would end 50 years of conflict.

Survivors of Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime are praising a court decision against two senior leaders. The court upheld their life sentences for crimes against humanity. At least 1.7 million people died from forced labor, starvation, and execution during Khmer Rouge rule.

Iraqi and coalition forces are battling ISIS village by village as they move closer to retaking Mosul from the militants. On Tuesday, Iraqi air strikes killed at least 10 ISIS fighters in the town of Tal Afar.

Meantime, more civilians are fleeing the eastern outskirts of Mosul as clashes intensify there. This video captured people leaving the area with whatever personal items they were able to carry.

According to the latest count from the International Organization for Migration, more than 68,000 Iraqis are currently displaced by the ongoing battle for Mosul. Many Iraqis could barely contain their joy as their long-time tyrant Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

But that was more than 10 years ago. The country has been embroiled in sectarian fighting ever since. And soon America's next president will take his turn trying to fix it. Becky Anderson reports.

(START VIDEO CLIP) BECKY ANDERSON, JOURNALIST, CNN ANCHOR: With "Operation Shock and Awe," America invaded Iraq. Iraqi army couldn't hold them back. But that didn't stop the regime from doing some wishful thinking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATED): They will try to approach, to enter Baghdad. And I think this is where their graveyard will be.

ANDERSON: American troops took the city easily, in weeks, tearing its dictator Saddam Hussein from power. In every way, that's something perhaps president-elect Donald Trump regrets seeing.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. Right? He was a bad guy. Really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good.

(APPLAUSE)

ANDERSON: Barely two months after the Iraq war began, this.

GEORGE W. BUSH, 43RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The united states and our allies have prevailed.

(CHEERING)

ANDERSON: The war wasn't even close to over. Countless Iraqis killed in a merciless tailspin of violence. Then seven years after Mr. Bush announced mission accomplished...

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American combat mission in Iraq has ended.

ANDERSON: But again, the fighting didn't run to Washington's timetable. ISIS fed on Iraq's smoldering ruins, something U.S. warplanes are trying to undo.

TRUMP: I would bomb the (bleep) out of them.

(CHEERING)

ANDERSON: But while bombs kill terrorists, they don't kill their ideas.

MINA AL-ORAIBI, JOURNALIST AND POLITICAL ANALYST: Carpet bombing Iraq and Syria to try to defeat ISIS of course won't solve the problem.

ANDERSON: So fixing Iraq isn't just about fighting. It's about strong ideas and ideals. And many here in the Middle East are questioning America's role in providing them.

AL-ORAIBI: You don't find Arabs thinking oh, we can turn to U.S. as being leader of the free world that will support human rights and support the people against oppressive governments. That time has shifted.

[03:35:00] ANDERSON: So for an American president who talks so much about putting America first, many Iraqis will have to keep watching and waiting to see what a Trump presidency means for them. Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Investigators are trying to determine the exact cause of a school bus crash in Tennessee. Five children were killed, and many more injured. Police say the driver was speeding. He has now been charged with vehicular homicide. CNN's Martin Savidge has the latest.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A school bus flipped off the roadway. It is occupied with children. They believe there's ejections.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN: A drastic accident. According to his mother, that's how the driver of this mangled school bus described the crash that killed at least five children Monday afternoon in Tennessee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the back, I can see an arm moving.

SAVIDGE: That driver, 24-year-old Johnthony Walker, has now been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving. Authorities' key focus now, his speed.

CHRISTOPHER HART, NTSB CHAIRMAN: The police are aware of a following car. So that witness we have. But we are looking for other witnesses who may know not only about this event but also we've talked about previous behavior of that driver.

SAVIDGE: According to a newly obtained arrest affidavit, Walker was traveling on a narrow winding road, driving the bus in a high rate of speed, well above the posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wasn't paying attention. He was going real fast. And he had hit a garbage bag. And he had hit a mailbox and then we flipped over.

SAVIDGE: Witness statements and evidence indicate the bus swerved off the road, hit an elevated driveway and a mailbox, then swerved again, hitting a telephone pole and a tree as it overturned.

DWIGHT WILSON, VOLUNTEER HOSPICE CHAPLAIN: Broken ribs. Broken legs. Broken arms. Bleeding kidneys. Our hearts -- our hearts have been going out to these families.

SAVIDGE: Thirty-seven school children ranging from kindergartners to fifth-graders were riding that bus with Walker when they crashed. They remain hospitalized, some being treated in intensive care.

ANDY BERKE, CHATTANOOGA TENNESSEE MAYOR: There are no words that can bring comfort to a mother or a father. And so today, the city is praying for these families.

SAVIDGE: One father told NBC News he had concerns about the bus driver before. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been times where I've seen him going a little faster than he probably should be going. That's the reason why I've tried to be there in the mornings when he's pulling up so I could try to get a rhythm for what he was doing.

SAVIDGE: The driver's mother tells CNN her son was "terrified" when he phoned her shortly after the crash, telling her he tried to pull children from the wreckage. She says he is the father of a 3-year-old son who worked two jobs and has never been in trouble before.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the incident, hoping to use video and informational boxes on board to find out just what happened on this bus, whether it could have been prevented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That was CNN's Martin Savidge reporting. Well, it is a modern- day underground railroad. In France, why one man has helped hundreds of migrants enter the country illegally. We will explain when we come back and have a live report.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A farmer faces charges of helping migrants illegally cross into France. His trial is set to begin in a few hours from now. Melissa Bell visited his farm to find out why he's taking such a risk to help others.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the French side of the Roya Valley, poultry and olives are sources of Cedric Herrou's living by day. By night, he breaks the law by helping migrants to cross the border.

CEDRIC HERROU, HELPED MIGRANTS ENTER FRANCE ILLEGALLY (TRANSLATED): The Roya Valley, it's a tradition. If you look at the second world war, we have a history of helping people, of welcoming them. We have a rebellious spirit. If we have to work outside the law to defend values that represent us, the French people, then we'll do it.

BELL: Today, 35 migrants will share his tiny farmhouse and his clothes. He says he's just picking up the pieces of a broken system.

HERROU (TRANSLATED): Sometimes at 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m., we go and pick up the migrants. I help the minors who don't have papers across the border. It's not my job to ask people for their papers.

BELL: As more Eritrean boys arrived at Cedric's, we tried to speak to local police but our calls were not returned. After the longest of treks, the boys rest here for the first time in months and share stories. Stories of a journey that has taken them from sub-Saharan Africa through the desert across the sea and on to northern Italy.

Ventimiglia is only 20 miles away from Cedric's. Here, hundreds of migrants wait in the shadows for their chance to get across the border, relying while they wait on the kindness of strangers. It's nearly midnight in Ventimiglia and this group of 15 and 16-year-old Eritrean boys is waiting to make another attempt to get across the French border.

When midnight comes, they'll make their way down this railway track for the three to four-hour walk that will take them to France. Through the Roya Valley, the most fortunate ones will arrive at Cedric's farm, like this Eritrean girl and her niece who've been on the road for six months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): He's like our father, our mother. I don't know. All my life, I never met anyone like Cedric.

BELL: Soon, these two children will set off in the hope of finding another kind soul on their uncertain journey northwards. Melissa Bell, CNN, Breil-sur-Roya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Cedric's days helping migrants may be ending soon. Melissa Bell joins us with details on the charges he faces in court. So Melissa, what more are you learning about these charges and of course the trial that he faces and what will likely happen to the migrants he's been helping?

BELL: Now, specifically, Rosemary, he's facing charges of having helped undocumented people to get across the border. It isn't the first time he's been up in front of the law. It happened back in August when he was called with eight Eritrean children in his car. None of them of course had passports.

This time, and you saw in that report when we caught up with Cedric, he had 35 minors living with him at the time and the numbers kept on growing. He said that he couldn't believe the numbers that were ending up on his doorstep with nowhere else to go.

Just after we filmed that report, Rosemary, he and some members of his local association found a disused public building in which they housed some of these that he simply couldn't fit onto his farm.

[03:45:00] For this, he was arrested, spent 48 hours in police custody, and today will answer to those charges of helping those undocumented minors across the border.

He says he's the one who's upholding the law that French authorities under the International Convention of Human Rights and under the European Convention of Children's Rights has a duty to take in any unaccompanied minor wherever he's from to find him a tutor, to get him shelter, and to provide for his education.

He says that ever since France closed its border with Italy a year ago as a result of the November 13 attack that the French police have systematically been taking minors back across the Italian worder. It is they, he says, who are acting against the law and he is simply doing his duty as a citizen. CHURCH: And we'll be watching to see the outcome of that trial.

Melissa Bell joining us from Paris. It's 9:45 in the morning. Many thanks for that report.

Well, the British finance minister is just a few hours away from unveiling his first budget since the vote to leave the European union. His stark choice has been more to cushion the United Kingdom from uncertainty or show restraint in the face of mounting debt. CNN's Nina dos Santos spoke to one CEO who says now is the time to spend.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For generations, the chimneys at Battersea Power Station have loomed large over London's skyline. They graced the album cover of Pink Floyd and provided the backdrop for major movies like the 2006 blockbuster "Children of Men." Now, after four owners and a $12 billion investment, this powerful symbol of decline is rising from the ashes.

ROB TINCKNELL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE BATTERSEA POWER STATION DEVELOPMENT COMPANY: It is a very challenging building. It hasn't sat here for 35 years because if was easy. This is our office base in the power station, 80,000-square-foot floor plates that surround the whole of the boiler house and the building. You can fit St. Paul's cathedral inside this space. It's absolutely vast.

DOS SANTOS: And buying a slash (ph) of the action is Apple, which has taken six floors. So this is effectively going to be an early look into Apple's new European headquarters.

TINCKNELL: I suppose it is, yeah.

DOS SANTOS: Once earmarked consumed to be transformed into luxury homes and shops, the 42-acre site has been on a wild ride and now thanks to Brexit, it faces its toughest challenge yet.

TINCKNELL: The impact of Brexit is very mixed to be honest. On one side of the coin, we've got some of our subcontractors and main contractors who are European-based and therefore they've been affected by exchange rates.

And yet international investors are obviously taking advantage of that from a residential point of view. We've seen a huge reduction in the number of local buyers. And yet we've got an increase in the number of international buyers. But it's not a matter of increase.

DOS SANTOS: What would you like to hear from the government? Spending or restraint?

TINCKNELL: I think spending. I think we need to be spending more on infrastructure across the country, getting our cities running again, in the north, in London. We need to be getting on with these key projects that are going to drive the economy in the years to come.

DOS SANTOS: By the time the first residents move in next year, the UK may be moving out of Europe's single market. TINCKNELL: I think confidence is the key thing. We're in this very

uncertain world at the moment what is going to happen with Brexit. We need to have confidence across the business community in London. We also need to have stability about things like immigration.

Many of the workers -- we've got 3,000 people here working on site, building Battersea, making this historic project happen. And they need to be assured that they've got a future in this country.

DOS SANTOS: From eyesore to icon, this London landmark is taking on a new meaning just as the country takes on a new identity. Nina dos Santos, CNN Money, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We'll take a short break here but still to come, Barack Obama is making the most of his final weeks in the White House. We'll tell you why all of these famous faces were celebrating with the president on Tuesday and why one celebrity guest came very close to missing out. Back in a moment.

[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAVAHERI: The busiest travel day of the year upon us across the United States. It is Thanksgiving eve. And the weather pattern for parts of the southern United States remains rather tranquil.

It's going to really begin a moderate a little bit. But we do have severe weather lock in place. That's for eastern Texas, parts of Arkansas, State of Oklahoma.

Wintry weather around the mid-west. Very cold temperatures around the northeast. And more wet weather coming in around the western U.S. Put it together, travel headache spots going to be around the Chicago O'Hare area.

Major delay potential there for Wednesday afternoon. While Minneapolis, places like Atlanta, Houston, Texas, all these areas could see some minor to moderate delays as we work our way into the busiest travel day of the year.

You'll notice the showers will begin to migrate over to the east some winter variety weather lock in. Some of the northern latitudes. And out towards the west, high elevation snow showers come in and any travel plans around the I-5 corridor is certainly going to be impacted with some gusty winds and heavy rainfall at times across that region.

Here's the perspective. Vancouver, B.C. 9 degrees and some showers. Winnipeg makes it up do around 1. Chicago has cooled off significantly now down to 6 degrees with scattered showers. Look at this, we got a hurricane out there in the Caribbean.

We got the hurricane Otto that's sitting there just east of Nicaragua. This storm system slated to make landfall as a category 1 somewhere near the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. If it moves ashore in Costa Rica, that will be the first hurricane to make landfall there in history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Motown singing sensation Diana Ross, Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda were awarded the Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Obama on Tuesday. They were just some of the famous faces to receive the honor, but one recipient almost missed the occasion.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just because you have a face known to millions around the world, you take selfies with your A-list buddies at the Oscars and you hang out with presidents and presidential hopefuls on your chat show, don't expect VIP treatment when you visit the White House.

This is a rather resigned-looking Ellen Degeneres as she turned at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to receive the highest civilian award in the United States but forgot to bring her I.D. Ellen was one of several famous figures looking forward to receiving the presidential Medal of Freedom, with Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro among the other honorees.

Thankfully, the comedian's one-time dancing partner Barack Obama was expecting her and she made her entrance for the ceremony after an hour shut out in the cold. Whether these tears signal pride or plain relief, the outgoing commander in chief made sure that Ellen had her moment in the spotlight.

OBAMA: Today, every day in every way, Ellen counters what too often divides us with the countless things that bind us together, inspires us to be better. One joke, one dance at a time.

[03:55:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And one viral video too. In typical Degeneres style, she united the gathering in the latest internet craze, the mannequin challenge. And if this absent-minded entertainer plans to celebrate her big achievement with a glass of wine, let's hope the bartender gives her the benefit of the doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: How about that? Well, one man who did remember his I.D. on Tuesday was sports legend Michael Jordan. You might not have seen him on a basketball court lately, but there's a good chance you've seen him on the internet.

As a symbol of sports defeat or just general disappointment, an image of Jordan letting his emotions show has been transplanted onto everyone from Tom Brady to former president Andrew Jackson. And this online infamy was not lost on the current president.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: He's more than just a logo, more than just an internet me.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: More than just a charitable donor or business owner committed to diversity. There is a reason you call somebody the Michael Jordan of -- Michael Jordan of neurosurgery or the Michael Jordan of rabbis.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: The Michael Jordan of outrigger canoeing.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: They know what you're talking about. Because Michael Jordan is the Michael Jordan of greatness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That he is. And naturally, the ceremony prompted one twitter user to place the original crying Jordan onto Michael Jordan crying at Tuesday's event. And what a day it was too. Well, thanks for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. You're able to connect with me anytime on twitter @rosemarycnn. We want to hear from you. The news continues next with Hannah Vaughn Jones in London. And have yourselves a great day.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)