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South Korean President Asks Parliament For Way To Cede Powers; Plane Carrying Brazilian Football Team Crashes; Wisconsin Vote Recount Could Begin This Week; 11 Wounded In Attack At Ohio State University; Cubans Unsure What Trump Means For U.S. Relations; Syrian Government Retakes Key Areas of Eastern Aleppo; Oakland Uses Hip Hop to Bring Attention to Human Trafficking; Trump Calls Recount Effort a Scam. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 29, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:0:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm John Vause in Los Angeles. We're following two breaking news stories right now. First out of South Korea, President Park Geun-Hye has announced she has asked parliament to manage a way for her to relinquish power. A corruption scandal has been threatening to unravel her administration for months. And in Colombia, there's word of a crash of a plane carrying a Brazilian football team.

But first, let's go to Paula Hancocks live in Seoul, with the very latest. Paula, the president (INAUDIBLE) shall be resigning, but she's effectively paved the way to be replaced.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. I think there will be a lot of surprised people here in South Korea today. This wasn't the speech we were necessarily expecting from the president, that was an assumption it would be a third apology to the public. But what she has done is President Park has effectively said to parliament, you determine my fate, you determine if my term in office needs to be shortened, you decide exactly what the timetable is, you decide how the procedure will go forward and I'll abide by that, I will step down afterwards, once you have made that decision.

So, she's effectively given the power to the national assembly, the parliament, and said that she will abide by it. She said that she wants to make sure there's no power vacuum, she will concede authority to her successor. But certainly, it's - it raises many questions as well. Of course, the legality of exactly what happens next. Opposition parties were planning to impeach her or at least starting the impeachment process this week. And some of those, according to local media close to President Park Geun-Hye had suggested, she tries to find a more -- a better way of stepping back rather than going through the disgrace of impeachment.

This could potentially be what we're seeing here, the fact that she's trying to find a middle way. So certainly, it's not a resignation speech, but she has said that she will relegate the power to the parliament to decide exactly how she will step down. John?

VAUSE: And two questions here, is there little doubt that parliament will take action to remove her in a short period of time? And will that (INAUDIBLE) the millions of people who have been protesting on the streets of Seoul for the past few weeks?

HANCOCKS: Well, opposition parties have made it abundantly clear they want her out. They have said they will impeach her if she doesn't step down herself. Of course, she's given them a third option now. And we know that many of her own party, the ruling Saenuri Party, believe that she shouldn't be in power anymore, because she's lost legitimacy, she doesn't have the trust of the people. And we've seen hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Seoul, around the country calling for her to resign. She hasn't resigned, but she has effectively said that she will resign if that's what the parliament wants.

It's clear it's what the parliament wants, at this point, it's clear it's what many people around the country wants. So, you would hope that this would placate many of the people that have been calling for her to step down. But of course, the devils in the detail, we don't exactly know how this is going to play out at this point. John?

VAUSE: OK. Paula, thank you for the very latest on that breaking news out of Seoul. We'll have our breaking news now out of Colombia, where a plane carrying a Brazilian Football team has crashed. The Chapecoense Football team was due to play in the South American Football Cup finals in Columbia on Wednesday. So far, there are no details yet on the status of the aircraft. Local news is reporting the plane lost contact in the north-western region of Colombia, more than 70 passengers are believed to be on board. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now for a look at the weather conditions in Columbia. At the time of the crash, also the terrain where this plane disappeared from, and may have crashed. Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. You know, John, it's pretty fascinating when you look carefully at what the terrain we're dealing with across this region, because thunderstorms of course are a common (INAUDIBLE) across this portion of the world, especially this time of year. And I just want to go in for a closer perspective near Medellin, Rionegro where we know the crash occurred just south of this region. And -- thunderstorms into Monday afternoon, and beyond (INAUDIBLE) tapered off generally cloudy conditions across this region but it is not just the weather element that comes into play when you think about this region of Colombia. You've got go in and look at the landscape as well, because the Jose Maria Cordova sits at an elevation around 2,100 meters or 7,000 feet high.

[01:04:59] You port this airport, say, in the United States, maybe the second highest airport in elevation in the entire United States. An incredible elevation here with varied terrain. You see the valleys nearby. Of course, there's a lot of variability in the wind patterns, as they interact with the landscape across this region. And there's the airport itself, the latest report saying, the plane likely went down on approach to the airport just south of the airport. And that is, of course, an area with a tremendous landscape when it comes to the mountain and elevation, on the northern tip of the Andes mountain range.

And Rionegro, one of those closer communities, you see the thunderstorm potential over a week period. This is the time of year you begin to see these afternoon thunderstorms. Some of them tower up to 40,000 to 50,000 feet high in elevation. Certainly, it would be in the path of an incoming aircraft across this region and this is precisely what, as meteorologist, we talk about with regards to what is known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone. And essentially, it's just a fancy word of saying, the winds would like to come together near the equator, from the southern hemisphere, it'll come from the south; from the northern hemisphere, they'll come from the north, where they meet near the equator is where you have the thunderstorms really begin to blossom and take to really tremendous heights.

So, at this point in the early stages, John, to be able to tell for sure if weather did play a role, but of course, this area of the world, well-known for thunderstorms and not just your average thunderstorms but among the tallest ones in the world. So, it's something worth following as well.

VAUSE: OK. Pedram, we'll also try to work out whether it was a charter flight. We understand 72 passengers, 9 crew on board the plane. Pedram, thank you for the update on the weather integration. Of course, more details on this story as we get them.

JAVAHERI: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: A source tells CNN that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked House Republican Tom Price, a harsh critic of Obamacare to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. A formal announcement is expected Tuesday. U.S. Vice President-elect Mike Pence said several other important announcements will also come on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Wisconsin officials are preparing to recount ballots at the request of the Green Party could begin as early as this week. The Green Party has also filed petitions to recount votes in Pennsylvania, from a Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, explained why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL STEIN, FORMER GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are a lot of voters who feel like this is a really critical movement and it's a need that hasn't been filled by the other parties and we intend to carry this movement forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I'm joined now by democratic strategist Dave Jacobson, and republican consultant John Thomas. OK. John, first for you, for Jill Stein, this is a win-win, isn't it? To raise a lot of money and gets her name out there and get a good journalist?

JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Yeah. I - Jill, I mean, she wants to chase windmills. I guess, this is a profit-motivated thing. That's all I can is, she's created a list of think about it. Extreme basically democratic donors across the country that are willing to put money into a cause after the election has already happened.

VAUSE: Yeah.

THOMAS: I mean, this list is good to go for eternity.

VAUSE: Because more people now heard about >> more people now heard about Jill Stein than I did in the 16 months

leading up to the election. So, this is not going to change the outcome of the election anyways?

DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Of course. I think it's a frivolous attempt. Now, look, at the end of the day, like, there is a very small discrepancy in Michigan, there's only about 10,000 votes that determined who won that state, Donald Trump obviously won. And Wisconsin by 22,000 votes, but if you look to say, like, Pennsylvania, you get 70,000 plus votes. It's a very steep hill to climb in terms of the make or Hillary Clinton would have to catch up (INAUDIBLE)

THOMAS: And she missed the deadline in Pennsylvania that would require to file for a recount, so I think now they're suing.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Yeah. So - yes. OK. Given all of that, given the fact this isn't going to change the outcome of the election, democrats are taking, sort of, an active interest, but they're not pushing it. Why can't Donald Trump leave this alone? He keeps tweeting out that he won the election in a landslide, he won the Electoral College, he won the popular vote, because millions voted fraudulently for Hillary Clinton.

A short time ago, he had a go at us, tweeting this, "CNN is so embarrassed by their total 100 percent support of Hillary Clinton, and yet her loss in a landslide that they don't know what to do."

Again, you know, this is the president-elect. Surely he has better things to do right now than, you know, tweet fictitious stories and kind of (INAUDIBLE) CNN.

THOMAS: Well, first of all, Trump learned one thing in the - in the election, which was it's never a bad idea to kick the media and make it about the media. So, he's doing that, but also, look, it's like he just can't help himself. Trump is - wants to be known as a winner across all fronts. And the idea that he might not have won the popular vote is just too much for him to stomach. The thing is, he won. Everybody knows he won fair and square. And so, this is beneath him, and I hope we move pass this.

VAUSE: Dave, do you think that maybe that's one of the motivation factors here for Donald Trump is that Hillary Clinton is up by, I think, about 2.1 million in the popular vote, and he's having trouble dealing with that.

JACOBSON: Yeah, it's a coping mechanism, right? Twitter - I think that - here's the challenge here, John, like, at the end of the day, like, Donald Trump is pushing out conspiracy theories and that is a real danger and a threat to Americans all across the country who look to the president or the incoming president to be a truth teller, to, like, tell us what's going on in the world and what's going on domestically and abroad, and, like, you've got this guy who's spewing out continued lies on Twitter. I think it's a real problem.

[01:10:02] THOMAS: Well, but you also have hypocrites on the other side. Hillary Clinton joined in with Jill Stein. Hillary Clinton knows it's B.S., but she joined in to give this legitimacy - I mean, she should be ushering in President-elect Trump but she's not. So, there's plenty of blame to spread around here.

VAUSE: Do you think the fact that Hillary Clinton and the democrats did join in, could that change Donald Trump's mind on a special investigator, special prosecutor of Hillary Clinton?

THOMAS: And that would be quite something to make out.

VAUSE: OK. Well, you - OK. You mentioned conspiracy theories, because we know that the count is now underway in Wisconsin. You mentioned the Pennsylvania, they're now suing to get that - the process underway there. In Michigan, the deadline to request a recount is on Wednesday. But election officials in Wisconsin are especially unhappy with Donald Trump. They blasted the president- elect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK THOMSEN, WISCONSIN ELECTIONS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: Firstly, I'd like him to come down out of his Trump Tower and go up to Wautoma in Waushara County, and spend the time with the folks on the ground that are counting these votes. I mean, he won that county but, I mean, to say that it's not being fair or that it's not - that people are counting illegal votes, from my vantage point, is an insult to the people that run our election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: John, how much damage is the president-elect doing to faith in the electoral system by putting forward these allegations without any proof?

JACOBSON: I think he is undermining the legitimacy of his - of his election as president. But, look, Donald Trump has been full of surprises throughout the course of the campaign. I'm not surprised that he is insinuating that there were millions of votes that we're cast that were illegitimate. He spent the last eight years attacking the legitimacy of President Obama, building up the birther movement, so, you know, we continued to expect the unexpected when it comes to the president-elect.

VAUSE: I meant Dave, sorry, John.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: -- to what's going on. So, Dave?

THOMAS: Look, Trump is not afraid to attack anyone. He attacked the Gold Star family. There is no one - I mean, this is a case where the head of the elections commission is ticked off that Trump is attacking him. VAUSE: Yeah. OK. We heard from Mike Pence that there will be announcements coming tomorrow, on Tuesday, the issue of Mitt Romney as Secretary of State. This has been bubbling along and being played out in real time, almost like reality TV here. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, she went public over the weekend. Some say she went rogue over the weekend on why Mitt Romney should not get the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP ADVISER: I'm all for party unity, but I'm not sure that we have to pay for that with the Secretary of State position, but again, let me repeat what Donald Trump decides, Kellyanne Conway and everybody else will respect. It's just the backlash from the grassroots. I'm hearing from people who say, "Hey, my parents died penniless, but I gave $216 to Donald Trump's campaign, and I would feel betrayed."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: What's incredible is that Trump's spokesman is on Fox a few hours ago, Jason Miller. He says that all of these is being coordinated sort of by Donald Trump. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGYN KELLY, FOX BUSINESS NEWS THE KELLY FILE HOST: So, the MSNBC report that Trump was livid, that he's furious with what she did, that's not true?

JASON MILLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR OF DONALD TRUMP: No, no, not at all. In fact, the president-elect gave her permission to go out and do that and she did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: John, this seems unprecedented or what's happening here in this transition?

THOMAS: I think this is Trump just trying to manipulate the media again. He sent out his number one operative, Kellyanne Conway in an - in an essence to make a play. Look, I think, it looks like Donald Trump will choose Mitt Romney as Secretary of State. That's where my bet is. And if he -- if he can -- chooses Romney despite his base opposing him, saying not to -- it almost makes Trump look like a leader who's rising above all political pressure and making the right moderate choice for America. So, I think it's all a stunt and Trump is just playing the strings, because there's no way Kellyanne Conway, his most loyal servant would go on national television making those statements.

VAUSE: Dave, do you believe it, because we also heard from Mike Huckabee in criticizing Mitt Romney as Secretary of State, we've also heard from Newt Gingrich criticizing Romney as well. All three people criticizing Romney as Secretary of State, none of them have jobs in the administration, so I think there's a motivation, perhaps. JACOBSON: Well, and they feel like they've got skin in the game, right? They took a risk, like, throughout the course of this campaign and much of the general election. Donald Trump always had a polling deficit behind Hillary Clinton. They feel like they overtly, like, campaigned on the stump for Donald Trump, and they put a lot up, you know, for risk going out there against -- on behalf of Donald Trump. Paul Ryan for God's sake, like, didn't campaign with Donald Trump.

VAUSE: Yeah.

JACOBSON: The highest ranking republican leader out there. And so, I totally get the loyalist argument, but I also understand, you know, Paul Ryan -- pardon me, you know, Mitt Romney, being someone who there's a lot of animosity, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich both ran against Mitt Romney in 2004, so like I understand that dynamic. The question is like, you know, is Kellyanne Conway like the mouthpiece of the Trump campaign or does this really underscore the continued divisions in the Trump echo chamber?

[01:15:01] VAUSE: OK. Well, Dave Jacobson, John Thomas, thanks so much, I appreciate it. Good to have you guys here?

THOMAS: Thanks.

JACOBSON: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, U.S. authorities are trying to figure out if a rampage at Ohio State University was terrorism. They say 11 people were wounded when 18-year-old Abdul Razak Ali Artan rammed his car into a crowd on campus, Monday, and then got out, slashed them with a knife. One officer shot and killed him. Artan was a legal U.S. resident from Somalia, a student at the school. Investigators are looking into his Facebook posts, which they believe he made, which are critical of attacks on Muslims.

Steve Moore, CNN Law Enforcement Contributor, joins us now, for more he's also a retired Special Agent with the FBI. So, Steve, clearly, the motivation does appear to be terrorism if you look at the way the attack was carried out some of the Facebook postings. Is there any other explanation to what this could have been?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think you hit the nail on the head. First of all, let me say it that simply posting outrage against perceived attacks against Muslims does not make you a terrorist. However, that combined with you running your car into people at a crosswalk, and then stabbing them, does.

The motivation here is when you get to a crime scene like this, what you're looking for is the motive. And if the people who have been attacked are complete strangers, and there is no other obvious motive, then you have to look at the fact that this person is following the Al-Qaeda playbook -- or I'm sorry, the ISIS playbook, which says if you don't have a gun, you have a car, if you don't have a car, you have a knife. Well, he had a car and a knife. And so, when you combine his strident Islam view with the attack with the playbook, you can't - you know, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

VAUSE: OK. They're looking at the anti-U.S. rant which Abdul Artan allegedly posted on Facebook. It was posted just minutes before the attack. Part of it reads, "My brothers and sisters, I am sick and tired of seeing my fellow Muslim Brothers and Sisters being killed and tortured everywhere. Seeing my fellow Muslims being tortured, raped, and killed in Burma led to a boiling point. I can't take it anymore. By the way, every single Muslim who disapproves of my actions is a sleeper cell, waiting for a signal. I am warning you Oh America!" You know, when you look at that last line in particular, where does that take investigators?

MOORE: Well, that, with the timeframe, I mean, if he posted that immediately before he gets in the car, he's probably not heading to class. So, that really goes the motive here. And again, being angry with the politics of the world or making statements like that, is guaranteed by our constitution. I'm not saying that that made him the terrorist. But, it is an indication that the attack he committed was motivated by those exact -- by those exact sentiments.

VAUSE: OK, Steve. We'll leave it there. We're out of time, but we appreciate you being with us. Steve Moore, CNN Law Enforcement Contributor and retired FBI Agent. Thanks, Steve.

MOORE: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, the fierce battle for Syria's second largest city may be nearing a critical turning point. The regime's latest gains in just a moment.

Plus, Cuban business owners have profited from the recently warm ties with the U.S., but now, tough talk from the President-elect has many worried. It could all change and change in a hurry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00] DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hey, there. I'm Don Riddell with your "CNN WORLD SPORT" headlines. Manchester United's manager Jose Mourinho is in trouble, again. On Monday, he was charged by the football association in England with improper conduct, after he was sent off during United's weekend draw against West Ham. The Portuguese was angry when his player Paul Pogba was booked for diving and he kicked over a water bottle. It was Mourinho's second dismissal in just a month. He has until the close of business on Thursday to contest the charge.

The Formula One star Lewis Hamilton could also be in trouble with his Mercedes team after he repeatedly ignored their guidance during the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton won the race, but he couldn't prevent his teammate, Nico Rosberg, from finishing second, and snatching the title by just five points. The Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff accused Hamilton of anarchy. Hamilton could be sanctioned by his team.

And Tiger Woods is preparing to play his first round of competitive golf in well over a year. The former world number one, who's been plagued by injury in recent times will tee off at the Hero World Challenge on Thursday. He's paired with the American player Patrick Reed for his opening round. The two of them collaborated recently in America's victorious Ryder Cup team, where Woods was one of the assistant captains. That is a quick look at your sport headlines. I'm Don Riddell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Cuba is honoring its long-time leader, Fidel Castro, this week. Monday's tributes kicked off with 21 gun salutes in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, the country's two biggest cities. People also gathered in Havana's revolutionary square to pay their respects to Castro, who died Friday at age 90. His ashes are being held nearby, and they'll be taken on a ceremonial journey across the island starting Wednesday.

American Airlines operated the first U.S. commercial flight to Havana in more than 50 years on Monday. Officials are calling it a big step forward in affirming the two countries renewed ties. But that partnership may prove short lived under the Trump administration. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Monday, that he'd reverse course if Cuba won't make what he called, "A better deal". Ed Lavandera has the mood right now in Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the shadow of this historic church, Chef Hector Santana is building his future on "Angel Hill" in old Havana.

Santana says it's a myth that Havana is nothing more than crumbling buildings. Four years ago, he and his business partner, Jacqueline Fumero, opened "Cafe del Angel" or Angel Cafe. Since the thawing of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, he says he's seen tourists flooding this colonial-era neighborhood.

Which they had a restaurant here, it was two tables. They're expanding here, have tables outside and now they're going to put four tables inside, because they're getting so much business they were able to expand, which we're seeing here.

Santana is spending his modest profits expanding this restaurant at an uneasy time. For the first time, Cubans will now experience operating their own businesses without the ever-present gaze of Fidel Castro looming over them. Donald Trump is threatening to quote, "terminate" the re-established diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba. Trump administration officials say Cuba needs to become less repressive, free political prisoners and embrace a more open economic system. Jacqueline Fumero says she doesn't think Trump will close the door that President Obama has already opened.

She says it's like Cuban and American politicians have given a baby sweet candy, and they can't take this opportunity away now. Fumero and Santana say running a business in Cuba is far from easy, strict regulations and permits are tedious, but Santana says this opportunity is the reason he's stayed in Havana. [01:25:01] He says in recent years with the opportunity to open up a business here in Havana, if he wasn't able to do that, he probably would have left the country by now. Santana says he wants to continue building his future here and his banking that the angels are looking over his small cafe. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Havana, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: American Airlines is just the first U.S. carrier to touch down in Havana on Monday. JetBlue has also standard regular flights from New York. United Airlines and Delta will follow in the coming days. American cruise ships have signed agreements to dock at Cuban ports. One major U.S. hotel chain is now operating on the island. Other deals are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

So, could a President Donald Trump roll back not just diplomatic ties but commercial deals as well? John Kavulich is the President of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, he joins us now from Buffalo. So, John, on the issue of those trade deals between Cuba and the United States, this is what the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Unwinding that chip is not as easy as the stroke of a pen, because there are significant consequences for doing that. There will be an economic impact in the United States and in Cuba for unraveling that policy. Again, those who are the harshest critics, particularly, those in Congress, who the harshest critics of the president's policy say that part of their concern is for the plight of the Cuban people. Well, first of all, the Cuban people overwhelmingly support this policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, John, how difficult would it be for Donald Trump as president to terminate these deals? Can these accords be single- handedly revoked or renegotiated?

JOHN KAVULICH, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.-CUBA TRADE AND ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Yes, they can. If President Trump wants to remove the flights and the cruises, rescind the contract of Starwood to manage the hotel in Cuba, stop their BNB from operating, the answer is yes, he can do that. Are there potential consequences? Yes, there are potential political consequences, there are potential legal consequences. The companies could go to court and say that they engaged in these activities in good faith, and therefore, if the U.S. government wants to stop those activities, they need to use due process. On the Cuban side, from President or President-elect Trump's perspective, harming the Cuban military which is in control of the Cuban hospitality sector isn't a great concern to him. So, you have all of that going into it and -- but the simple answer is if President Trump doesn't want President Obama's initiatives to continue, he can stop them.

VAUSE: Well, Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway very highly critical of President Barack Obama's Cuban policy. This is what she said over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONWAY: What you heard from President-elect Trump is that we should not be romanticizing Fidel Castro. He was a ruthless dictator, who imprisoned and tortured, and had murdered many Cubans. Well, President-elect Trump is also saying is that he just objects to the way that we reengaged diplomatic relations with Cuba in the last several years in this administration because we got nothing in return.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Is she right that the U.S. get nothing in return from all of those deals?

KAVULICH: Miss Conway has a point. There is very little debate that if you take a piece of paper, divide it in the two, put a column, what did Cuba do and what did Cuba get? Cuba did very little, Cuba got quite a bit. The estimates are that the Obama administrations have provided Cuba with well over $1 billion in the last 23 months. The U.S. business community is immensely appreciative of what President Obama's done. The challenge though has been during the last year, the business communities wanted President Obama to do more and he could have done more with regulation change. He chose not to. And so now, where we are, is an unexpected political result in the election of Donald Trump. The Obama administration can no longer create new regulations because they would be seized upon by the -- his successor's administration.

VAUSE: Right. Well, Trump Advisor said the incoming president would demand the release of all political prisoners in Cuba, more religious and economic freedoms. Do you think they're likely to get that?

KAVULICH: No. Cuba is likely to respond to the United States now by saying, "Do whatever you want. The revolution was not about one man. The revolution was about 11.3 million people. The revolution endures after Fidel's death. The revolution is a fabric that envelopes the country. So United States, whatever you decide to do, do it, we're going to do what we want to do."

[01:30:00] The challenge for President Trump is the day that he's inaugurated, 13 months from that date, president Castro is retiring, so President Trump will have the unique position of being the first U.S. president in 59 years to be able to preside over a truly post- Castro Cuba. And more the Cuban government is in the news and if they do something provocative or say something provocative that's going to elicit a response. And the challenge is with President Trump his definition of provocative changes from day-to-day and can be influenced by social media.

VAUSE: There are a lot of uncertainties moving ahead. But some believe this could be a moment of opportunity as well.

Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

KAVULICH: Thank you. VAUSE: Just ahead here, Syrian forces make significant gains in

Aleppo and the uprising against the Assad regime could be coming to an end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Park Geun-hye is asking parliament to decide her fate. In a national address, she asked lawmakers to find the proper way for her to relinquish power. It will be up to parliament when or if she leaves office. But it is expected they will follow public sentiment and have her step down sooner rather than later.

We continue to follow breaking news out of Colombia. There has been a serious plane accident in the northwestern region of the country outside the city of Medellin. Colombian officials say the plane was carrying more than 70 passengers, including members of Brazil's football team.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us with more on this.

Rafael, what more is known about where and how the plane crashed?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN LATIN-AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT: John, the information we have is preliminary at this hour. What we know and there have been reports there is a crash. There is some sort of accident out of this flight out of Bolivia. But carrying a football team. The accident happened at 10:00 p.m. Local time nearly about three to four hours ago, and it had 72 passengers and nine members of the crew on board. Now at this hour and we just received information there might be six survivors. Let me tell you the area around Medellin is a mountainous area and can be treacherous for flights. But we don't know if there was an accident or an emergency landing situation or if this was indeed a crash. Authorities in the city of Medellin have said and have confirmed they are sending firefighting teams and the mayor is on his way to the site - John?

[01:36:22] VAUSE: What do we know about the football team on board?

ROMO: It plays in southern Brazil. It is a team that was play a match against Atletico National. The game was to be held on Wednesday. And a number of games that are being played as part of a regional tournament - John?

VAUSE: Rafael Romo bringing us late details about the plane crash in Colombia. Rafael, thank you.

The Syria Civil Defense group is warning of an imminent humanitarian disaster in eastern Aleppo. The Syrian army and its allies say it captured a large section of the city on Monday. Activists believe over 10,000 people have fled the area in the past few days.

For more on Syria, we are joined by Barbara Walter, a political science professor at the University of California in San Diego.

Barbara, thank you for being with us. There seems to be a determine ma for the Syrian rebels. Go on fighting and allow the civilians to die of starvation or be killed in air strikes or give up eastern Aleppo.

BARBARA WALTER, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, UNIVERITY OF CALIFORNIA: I think that's true. This will be a decisive victory for the government and means that the government will now be in control of the five most populated cities in Syria as well as the populous coastline. It is not good news for the civilians.

VAUSE: When Aleppo falls is that the end of the Syrian opposition as we know it?

WALTER: Yes, and no. It means that it's going to be very, very difficult for them to push back and to regain territory but it also means that the Syrian government does not control all of the territory of Syria. It contains the most important pieces of territory, those pieces of territory where large populations live. But the opposition controls -- or rather the Syrian government does not control large portions of eastern Syria which are not particularly well populated.

VAUSE: If Assad stays in power could he end up with an economic waste land with no end?

WALTER: If the government cannot win a decisive victory and neither are the rebels, the rebels are able to operate at a very low level. Even with a victory by the government over Aleppo you could see continued low levels of violence in the future.

VAUSE: And again, assuming Assad stays in power, how beholden will he be to Russia and Iran?

WALTER: He will be dependent on them he won the war because of Russian support and help from Iran. He survived in power because of support from Iran. Those are his two main allies. And he's going to need their continued support.

VAUSE: On the other side of the ledger what is the cost for the United States and western countries which failed to get involved in any meaningful way to support the moderate opposition in Syria?

WALTER: Well, the interesting story here is that Assad made gains and made so many gains in part because of the air strikes and the military assistance he received but also because the United States and the west failed to intervene in any significant way. And I think the story that's going on there is partly that having Assad win the war is not the worst possible outcome for the United States. I think that is part of the decision to stand back even though that's something that our leaders would never publicly is say. But on some level having Assad regain control and having a more a calmer, perhaps more orderly Syria is not the worst outcome for the United States.

[02:10:34] VAUSE: OK. Unless you are one of the 250,000 people in Aleppo and things are look grim.

WALTER: Yes. VAUSE: Barbara, thank you very much. Barbara Walter, from San Diego,

thank you.

WALTER: My pleasure.

VAUSE: Next on NEWSROOM L.A. a California city turning to music to raise awareness of human trafficking.

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VAUSE: Viewers of a Moroccan state-owned TV station are furious after the channel aired a makeup tutorial on covering up marks of domestic violence. Critics say it normalized violence against women instead of condemning those who carried it out. The channel has removed the clip from its website and apologized and says the segment was inappropriate.

Here in California, the city of Oakland is turning to hip hop to bring attention to human trafficking.

Sara Sidner has today's "Freedom Project" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A hip hop concert with a noble purpose. The city of Oakland closing down a busy section of downtown to send a strong message, human trafficking has no part in this city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We exciting to be announcing the launch of reportjohn.org.

SIDNER: The site cracks down on demand for the sexually exploited by encouraging people to photograph the license plates numbers of vehicles of suspected sex minors. Once uploaded to reportjohn.org, police send a warning letter to the address where the vehicle is registered.

The concern is whether the site itself could be exploited with license plate numbers being sent in anonymously by people looking to cause problems for the owner of that vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an innovative approach. Every innovation has risks but we have already sent out 200 letters and not got a complaint.

SIDNER: The city like many others around the country is hoping to fight back against the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It's an issue front and center in Oakland and the San Francisco Bay area.

In September, four officers were fired as a part of a department-wide sex scandal that began last fall. One has pled not guilty. An 18-year-old former prostitute alleged she had sex with police

officers when she was 17 in exchange for money or tips of upcoming raids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The city of Oakland is one of the hot spots for human trafficking but it is more shameful to be silent about it.

SIDNER: While the scandal rages, the city's concert festival organizers and performers are resolute, saying this is a chance to write a new chapter for the future for the city.

(SINGING)

SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN, Oakland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Tomorrow, a teenager refugee in Athens tells us how he and others refugees like him end up in the sex trade just to survive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's shock. It really is shocking. They are desperate. There is no way out unless they find money.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It's all part of the CNN Freedom Project special series tackling demand.

Back in a moment.

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[01:50:38] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. President-elect Donald Trump is slamming the recount push in three states calling it a scam. Green Party Candidate Jill Stein filed a petition in Pennsylvania on Monday seeking a recount there. In Wisconsin, a recount may begin this week. They promise a fast and fair process but have turned down a request to count the ballots by hand. Stein plans to request a recount in Michigan by Wednesday.

My next guest wrote and directed a documentary, which takes an in- depth look at how votes are counted or not counted in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON SMITH, DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR: Most people when they leave the voting booth they feel confident that they have done their duty. But if they realize stop to examine or if somebody presses them on this, how do you know that your vote was recorded the way you intended, they have to say, gee, I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you cast your ballot how do you know they are getting it right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That they're getting it, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Isn't that their job to get it, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Jason Smith joins me now for more on this.

Jason, thanks for coming in.

SMITH: Sure.

VAUSE: Are you saying the system doesn't work or there is no way to know if the system is working?

SMITH: It's challenging to know whether or not the systems are working because we don't know if large sections of the country have mechanisms in place to ensure that the technology is doing what it is designed to do because we are relying on digital ballots and we are not doing any audits like in Michigan.

VAUSE: Everybody was surprised in 2000, Bush and Gore, the entire election was dependent on hanging chads on these ballots. There were demands to bring in electronic voting machines but there were still errors even with the electronic machines. You point that out in the documentary. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Show me how you choose them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By pressing somewhere -- I was trying to press Jim Buck and it messed up. See that? I was trying to press Jim Buck and it messed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Is there any serious effort to try to fix the problems with the ballots and with the e-voting?

SMITH: There are all kinds of efforts at local, state and federal levels. There is a congressional voting rights caucus taking on the issues with the technology and the voter suppressing in general, which the technology is part of suppressing the vote. So, there are all kinds of people making efforts but it's not a priority for the American people.

VAUSE: Why is that because it comes around every four years. Every four years there seems to be a problem somewhere. But you know, this is a country where people just don't vote. More people cast a ballot for "American idol" than for the next president.

SMITH: It's a great question. I don't know why it's not more of a priority. In this past election, we were focused on Donald Trump's tax returns and Hillary Clinton's health records but the mechanisms used to vote one of them into the White House no one was pay eight tension to that.

VAUSE: One of the scenes in the movies is do you know if your vote is counted? And most people don't think beyond the punching a ballot or pushing a button.

SMITH: Because people have faith that it all works.

VAUSE: Where does that doubt come from? Why shouldn't they have that faith?

SMITH: They absolutely should not have that faith. Doubt is not good for democracy. But questioning the instrument of voting is very good. I think election officials and state and federal and local lawmakers should be held accountable for this.

VAUSE: Is this a question of money or funds or updating and improving the system?

SMITH: Yes. It's a challenge within it. But you can't money this. There are remedies that would work. Paper ballots and post-election audits.

VAUSE: I think in one part of the documentary you make the point that the standards in the United States would not meet the standards of democracy that international election observers go to monitor in third-world countries.

SMITH: Yeah. Yes.

VAUSE: How do you get to that conclusion?

[01:55:13] SMITH: Because we don't require transparency and auditability in many parts of the country. If you don't have transparency and you can't recreate the election through evidence such as paper ballots how do you know the system is working?

VAUSE: One of the reasons the recount is underway in Wisconsin is because of Alex Halterman (ph), at the University of Michigan, who is an expert in all of this, and he has successfully hacked an online system.

SMITH: Yes. Washington, D.C., did a test in 2010. They were planning on rolling out an online system, mainly for military and overseas, for those voters to handle their needs. They opened the system up to try to hack the system, because they wanted to know what the problems were. So, the professor and his students not only hacked the system but they left a unique calling card where the system played the University of Michigan fight song when someone cast a ballot.

VAUSE: It's a vulnerable system to say the least?

SMITH: Any system that cannot have an election recreated through paper ballots and post-election audits is vulnerable. VAUSE: It's a good documentary.

SMITH: thanks.

VAUSE: I encourage people to have a look.

SMITH: Yeah.

VAUSE: Thanks for being with us.

SMITH: Thanks very much.

VAUSE: You have been watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. And I'll be back with another hour of news right after this.

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