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China Ambassador Appointment Could Ease Concerns; Fierce Critic of Agency to Head EPA; Trump Effect in the Stock Markets; Pakistani Plane Crash; Syrian Troops Move in to Aleppo; Ohio Passes "Heartbeat" Abortion Bill; Ohio Passes "Heartbeat" Abortion Bill; Trump Named Time Magazine's "Person of the Year". Aired 12-1a ET

Aired December 08, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:10] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour -- after the diplomatic fight with China, U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump taps a friend in Beijing as the next U.S. ambassador there.

New questions about who was in the cockpit and flying the Pakistani plane when it crashed, killing all 47 on board.

And the Syrian regime inches closer to retaking Aleppo. As the civilian death toll continues to climb, Bashar al Assad moves (ph) out (inaudible).

Hello. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. The first hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

Well, first came the diplomatic joust (ph) with Beijing, now maybe a peace offering. President-Elect Donald Trump has named Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as his ambassador to China. Branstad considers Chinese President Xi Jinping an old friend.

The announcement comes days after Trump broke with decades of diplomatic protocol by speaking with Taiwan's leader by phone. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province.

Other appointments include retired Marine General Jon Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security; Oklahoma's Attorney General Scott Pruitt the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt is a climate change denier and fierce critic of the agency. And the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Linda McMahon tapped to head the Small Business Administration.

Let's get to all this with our panel. Joining me here in Los Angeles talk radio host Ethan Bearman, CNN political commentator Lanhee Chen joins us from Malibu California, Mallika Kapur is in Hong Kong, Matt Rivers also standing by live in Beijing.

Ok. Well, let's start first with the issue of China. We have the diplomatic (inaudible) earlier in the week over Taiwan and now we have Governor Terry Branstad as the next ambassador to Beijing. So Lanhee -- is this scene almost some kind of olive branch coming from Donald Trump to the government in Beijing?

LANHEE CHEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it is the case -- John, first of all that Governor Branstad and Chinese President Xi Jinping actually go way back. They are actually old friends and have spent time together in Iowa.

I do think that it signifies the importance that Donald Trump places on the bilateral relationship between the United States and China. I think selecting Governor Branstad indicates that Trump wants someone who understands China and who I think the Chinese people and specifically Xi Jinping particularly as he pursues another term would respect as well.

So I think it's a good choice from that perspective and signifies, as I said, the value of the relationship.

VAUSE: Ethan, do you want to weigh in?

ETHAN BEARMAN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Yes, I mean I think that Lanhee is absolutely right in terms of what this choice means for China. But again with President-Elect Trump we have these mixed messages. Those tweets about China and the military and the South China Sea and also the reaching out to the Taiwanese premier -- I mean these are mixed messages.

This is a consistent concerning theme that I'm seeing from President- Elect Trump is which way are we going? Are we going both ways at the same time? I don't know.

VAUSE: Ok. Let's go to Matt Rivers standing by there in Beijing. So Matt, has there be any official announcement from Beijing to the Branstad announcement?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As compared to the last several days when we heard from Chinese state-run media very negative rhetoric about Donald Trump's tweets about him talking about labeling China a currency manipulator. This really is a 180 here in Beijing with official commentary coming from the Chinese government where they really praised this announcement. We have a sound byte for you from the foreign ministry spokesman speaking to reporters who was quite happy apparently with the appointment of Governor Branstad. Let's play that sound for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU KANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): Firstly I want to say that Governor Branstad is an old friend to the Chinese people. We welcome him to play a greater role in advancing the development of China-U.S. relations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: And so he used the term in Chinese, "lao tong yo (ph)", which means old friend but here in China that really is a term of great significance. It's something that you don't just say all the time. And so for the fact that the foreign ministry spokesman comes out, uses that kind of terminology really does signify that Beijing is quite happy with this particular appointment as opposed to what Beijing has been quite unhappy with which would be Donald Trump's tweets and actions over the last several days.

VAUSE: Matt -- thank you. Matt Rivers, live in Beijing.

A happy Beijing, I guess, is good news.

Ethan -- we know that Branstad still has to be confirmed by the Senate -- that should not be a problem. But there could be problems with Scott Pruitt, the choice to head the EPA. He is a climate change denier. Democrats in particular will not be happy with that.

[00:04:59] BEARMAN: Yes. I mean this is their opportunity to do a Merrick Garland on this choice and block it every step of the way. I mean remember Pruitt is actively suing and part of a lawsuit against the EPA right now. And then we want him to head it? What is he going to do -- dismantle it and return us to before Richard Nixon's era so we can have the Cuyahoga River on fire again? I'm not quite sure where we're going with this pick. But I think the Democrats have every right to try and filibuster it.

VAUSE: And Lanhee, this does kind of fit a pattern. We've had three appointees. We have Ben Carson for housing, Betsy DeVos for education. So you now have three people being tapped ahead, you know, agencies which they're philosophically opposed to in many ways.

CHEN: Yes. I think though, John, these are the kinds of appointments that for a lot of conservatives create great comfort because ultimately I think these are people ideologically who represent conservative points of view on all of those issue areas and by and large I think will act accordingly. The matter of the fact is that these appointments in many ways probably would not be all that dissimilar ideologically from appointments we might see from a President Jeb Bush or a President Marco Rubio.

So in fact, I think what you're seeing are relatively main line conservative picks for all three of these agencies, granted they are opposed to many of the policies the agencies have promulgated. But I think for conservatives these picks make a whole lot of sense.

VAUSE: Ok. We also have Marine General John Kelly for Homeland Security and Ethan, that would be the third general in the cabinet. Is he saying it looks like a bit of a military junta?

BEARMAN: Not quite that bad but definitely military heavy. Look, I mean General Mattis I would say is almost a perfect pick for secretary of Defense. General Kelly in terms of Department of Homeland Security, you have to remember, this is the most sprawling bureaucracy in the federal government right now. It needs a very strong hand.

I'm not sure if a military hand is the right one to try and rein in and reorganize this bureaucracy. He's probably the right guy if you are most concerned about border security. But I'm not sure if he is the best for managing this bureaucracy.

VAUSE: You know Lanhee, Trump certainly likes his generals.

CHEN: Yes. Well, I think first of all it reflects a certain level of comfort he has particularly with General Mattis and his positioning on the military and his experience. And I agree with Ethan, I think it's a great pick. Obviously, you know, yes, it's something he is comfortable with. We'll see how the other generals do. Certainly the National Security Adviser job is one where you've got to have a good rapport with the President. And obviously through the course of the campaign, that is what was had between General Flynn and the President-Elect. And with respect to General Kelly, he's picked someone that was a vocal opponent of Donald Trump for a long time so I think that reflects maybe a certain degree of being able to look past the campaign to look for the people he thinks are best for those jobs.

VAUSE: Ok. We have the Small Business Administration, not necessarily a high profile agency, but Donald Trump has tapped Linda McMahon, for that position. She's the former head of the World Wrestling Entertainment. For anyone out there who is not familiar with Miss McMahon -- look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, a classy woman, Linda McMahon. And I forgot to say, thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no. Oh my God.

LINDA MCMAHON, CEO OF WWE: You're fired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: She is colorful but Lanhee is there some criticism that McMahon essentially bought this posting? She did give $6 million to a pro Trump super PAC during the campaign?

CHEN: Yes. I mean, first of all it's not unusual for presidents to select supporters, financial supporters, to important positions in government. One questions really what the Small Business Administration actually can do. So in that sense I'm not too entirely concerned about the posting.

You know, McMahon did run for governor of Connecticut, was the Republican nominee for governor of Connecticut. So she's been in politics. She's made a transition over to the political setting and by all accounts is actually quite well-studied on these issues.

So while a colorful pick, I think that's right, maybe a little unusual I do think it reflects in general Donald Trump's desire to have people from the business world as part of his cabinet.

VAUSE: Ok. Let's talk about the business world right now because Wall Street is certainly betting on Donald Trump being good for business.

Take a look at the Dow. It closed up 300 points on -- almost 300 points on Wednesday, almost or more than 1,200 points since the Election Day.

Let's go to Mallika Kapur who's standing by now in Hong Kong. So Mallika -- is all of this being driven by Trump euphoria and is it being felt by stock markets elsewhere around the world?

[00:09:59] MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is very much because of the Trump euphoria and we are seeing a rally in stock markets around the world. This is by no means limited to just the U.S.

Take a look at the markets here in Asia. Now, markets here usually do take their cue from the performance on Wall Street and it's no different this time. And if we look at the numbers and we start with Japan and we look at how that's done since November 8, since the election, the Nikkei is up around 8 percent. Here in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng has risen about 2.5 percent just since the election. And in China, the Shanghai composite, that's up about 5 percent in November. And the China market, remember that took a huge battering in February but has recovered a lot of those losses.

Where we are really seeing the Trump effect though is in the currency market. And right after President-Elect Donald Trump became President-Elect on November 8th, people started pouring money into the dollar. The dollar has gained significantly since then. The yen has lost about 10 percent versus the dollar since November. And the yuan has dropped 1.5 percent.

So we are seeing the Trump effect affect the currency market and the stock markets around the world -- John.

VAUSE: We'll see if it lasts. Mallika -- thank you.

You know, Trump -- Ethan and Lanhee -- he received a lot of praise for that Carrier saving a thousand jobs but earlier on CNN the union boss from the Steelworkers Union actually complained about the deal saying that it just simply wasn't as Trump said it was. The jobs weren't there. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK JONES, STEELWORKERS UNION: You hear better than 1,100 jobs retained in Indianapolis. Those folks probably had to think I'm keeping my job only to find out last Friday, well no, there is 550 being laid off. That never was mentioned by anybody -- Trump, Pence or any of them; never mentioned about 550 moving to Monterey, Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ok. Now less than 20 minutes after that interview went to air, Trump was on Twitter, he posted a nasty tweet about Jones. He said this. "Chuck Jones who is the president of United Steelworkers 1999 has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!"

Ethan there's going to be a lot more criticism that it's going to be a lot worse than that in the months and years to come. Is there some concern that maybe, you know, Donald Trump will not be able to handle it?

BEARMAN: Well, I mean this is the key problem. Why is he personally attacking the head of the union? Why is he directly attacking individual companies like Boeing, like Carrier? That gets into crony capitalism when you are picking winners and losers.

The government's job is to set an even and level playing field and to set those policies so if he was doing it industry wide or business wide saying here's our new tax rate, et cetera. But going after individuals, going after individual companies this is unprecedented in the modern era. And I think it's an absolutely terrible example for not only our individuals here in the United States but for the world and it just sets a terrible tone.

VAUSE: Last word -- Lanhee?

CHEN: Well, you know, look. I think first of all it's not unprecedented. The entire stimulus package that Barack Obama put in place in 2009 was about picking winners and losers like Solyndra and other companies that were to benefit from government funding. And in fact President Obama himself intervened in 2012 to save an oil refinery in Pennsylvania on the eve of the election in 2012.

So I don't think it's unusual -- I think a lot of --

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: He didn't personally attack anyone who criticized those deals, Lanhee. I didn't mean to interrupt. He didn't personally attack anyone who criticized those deals. I think that's the point.

CHEN: The personal attacks are certainly of a different variety. I would agree with that. But in terms of the actual activity of working to keep Carrier in the United States or working to keep any other company in the U.S. I don't think that that's all that unusual frankly. And I think it generally happens whether it's presidents or governors -- they make these decisions to keep job sin America and in their states.

VAUSE: Ok --

BEARMAN: And conservatives argued against every single one of those and not conservatives are ok with it because Trump is doing it? That's illogical.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: And on that we'll pick it up next hour.

CHEN: Both sides do it. Both sides do it.

VAUSE: Both sides do it. Ok.

BEARMAN: Yes.

VAUSE: Lanhee Chen, thank you very much. Ethan Bearman, also Mallika Kapur and Matt Rivers in Beijing -- thanks to you all.

Pakistan International Airlines says a trainee pilot was one of the three crew members in the cockpit when flight 661 crashed into rugged mountains near Abbottabad. About 47 people on board were killed including two infants. A former Pakistani pop star Junaid Jamshed was also on the flight. He tweeted this photo from Chitral, the tourist spot where the flight began and called it "heaven on earth". That flight was heading to the capital Islamabad where it crashed.

Sophia Saifi is there for us now. Sophia -- there are reports in Pakistan suggesting this plane had a history of engine problems. What are officials saying?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well John -- from what we know from the spokesperson of Pakistan International Airlines is that this plane, an ATL 42, it had an impeccable record. It had flown over 18,000 hours and that the pilot who was flying it was also very experienced.

[00:15:06] Now they're saying that it was not problematic at all. It did not have any history of engine failure earlier and from what they've explained to the press and to the media is that this plane took off. It was a normal flight that takes off at around 3:30 in the afternoon and it was due to land in Islamabad, the capital, within an hour.

And they received a May Day call from the pilot saying that one of the engines had crashed. Now they assumed that the plane would be able to land or glide down with the use of the other engine. However, that was not the case. According to PIA this plane did not have any engine issues and this is just an unfortunate accident -- John.

VAUSE: Ok. Sophia -- thanks for the update. Appreciate it.

Rescuers in Indonesia are still trying to find survivors after Wednesday's powerful earthquake. The 6.5 magnitude tremor struck in Aceh Province just as many people were preparing for morning prayers. Officials say the disaster killed 102 people including young children.

We'll take a short break. When we come back Syrian rebels are quickly losing their hold on Aleppo as forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad continue with the relentless takeover of the old city.

Also the Syrian leader says that a truce there is practically nonexistent as the U.S. and Russia strive for a peace deal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Talks are on again between the U.S. and Russia to end the military offensive on Aleppo. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met on Wednesday. They are working on a deal to get civilians and rebels safely out of the besieged city and to try and get humanitarian aid in as soon as possible. Syrian rebels are now pleading for a five-day cease-fire in Eastern Aleppo as government forces gain control of almost the entire city.

Here's Fred Pleitgen reporting in from Aleppo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what rebel desperation looks like during the (inaudible), firing at jets in the skies, unable to stop them from dropping their deadly load.

And this is what the rebels' defeat looks like when daylight comes. Thousands of civilians fleeing the old town of Aleppo only hours after government forces took most of it back among them Najura, with her seven children, one of them her baby.

"When we left there was a lot of shelling behind us, a lot of shooting in front of us and the airplanes above us." She says, "We barely managed to get out."

Most seem weak and malnourished, some resting, finally in safety in this former school.

[00:20:04] The smallest, a baby girl Anzal (ph) is only seven days old born right as the battles were at their worst.

It's really remarkable some of the scenes that we're witnessing here. Hundreds of people have already come across the border crossing between eastern and western Aleppo and many of them are taking shelter in buildings like this one carrying only the very few possessions they could take as they fled.

Soldiers take us to the places they recaptured from opposition forces only hours before. We see Syrian troops evacuating weak and elderly and rebel barricades showing just how intense the fighting was.

Just look at all the destruction here. We are actually in the old town of Aleppo right now. And this entire area until a few days ago was right on the front line.

While this may not be the end of the opposition's fight in Aleppo many of those fleeing describe the rebels' morale sinking and the harrowing conditions in the besieged areas.

"We didn't have food and barely any bread", this man says. "We were eight people. They would only give us two loaves of bread every two days. That was it for all of us."

While much of eastern Aleppo has been reduced to rubble, the one thing expanding was the cemeteries. This one ran out of space as the bodies kept coming.

Now that much of eastern Aleppo has changed hands Syrian soldiers plant their flag on the ruins of the place they just conquered. Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Aleppo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining us on the line Barbara Walter, professor at the University of California in San Diego. She's an expert on civil wars. Barbara -- thank you for being with us.

The Syrian president, Bashar al Assad gave an interview to the El Watan (ph) newspaper. He was asked about the possibility of a cease- fire in Aleppo he said this. "It's practically nonexistent of course. The Americans in particular are insisting on demanding a truce because their terrorist agents are now in a difficult situation."

Right now it doesn't seem as if the Syrians and the Russians rather have much interest in a cease-fire. Is there anything the U.S. can do to make it happen?

BARBARA WALTER, CIVIL WAR EXPERT vital: I don't think there's anything the U.S. can do. I think Assad and the Russians know that they are in a very good position. The Obama administration is on its way out. The Trump administration is on its way in. There's a lot of uncertainty about what Trump intends to do in Syria so there's a real opportunity to make as many gains militarily on the ground as possible. And Assad and the Russians are taking advantage of it.

VAUSE: Assad also was quoted as saying "It's true that Aleppo will be a win for us. But let's be realistic it won't mean the end of the war in Syria but it will be a huge step toward this end." The question is what happens to the rest of the opposition in Syria once the fight in Aleppo is over?

WALTER: Well, it's interesting because Assad is systemically capturing the populated rebel areas and that is an advantage but there are still (inaudible) territory-controlled by the rebels. That's going to be more difficult to control because it's just a vast amount of territory.

People think the war is over but even if -- even if Assad were able to defeat the rebels he still has Kurdish forces that have started to rule autonomous regions in the north. In the north there is still ISIS and there's a possibly of powerful, very prominent war lords who could turn against Assad. He has a number of additional enemies even if he is successful in defeating the rebels that currently have occupied Aleppo.

VAUSE: Ok. Barbara -- we'll level it there. Thank you so much. Barbara Walter there with some perspective on what's happening and what is likely to happen in Syria.

A short break. When we come back, the state of Ohio is now the center of a heated abortion debate in the United States with a controversial new bill which would effectively ban the procedure. But can it stand up in court?

Authorities say that fires which ravaged Tennessee were set on purpose and the suspects, two juveniles.

[00:24:06] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.

International teams will help investigate the crash of a Pakistan International Airlines flight. All 47 people on board were killed. It went down in the rugged mountains near Abbottabad in northern Pakistan. The airline says the pilot made a May Day call saying he lost control of one of the two engines.

U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump is lashing out at a union leader who criticized his deal with the air conditioning company, Carrier. Chuck Jones accused Trump of halfway delivering on his promise to save jobs. Trump says Jones has done a terrible job representing workers and appeared to blame union leaders for companies leaving the U.S.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has handed in his resignation days after voters rejected his proposed constitutional reform. He told his center left Democratic Party the country has less taxes and more rights under his leadership. He will stay on as a caretaker until a new government is formed.

ISIS hostage John Cantlie appears in a new propaganda video, the first time he's been seen alive since July. The British journalist appears (inaudible) and talks about coalition air strikes which destroyed several bridges around Mosul in Iraq. Cantlie was taken hostage in Syria four years ago.

One U.S. state is on the verge of effectively banning abortions. Lawmakers in Ohio approved a bill that would prohibit abortions once a fetus has a heart beat -- that is usually around six weeks. No other state bans abortions until the 20th week of pregnancy -- that's the earliest. The American Civil Liberties Union plans to fight the bill if it becomes law.

Lisa Bloom is a trial attorney at the Bloom Firm and a legal analyst for Avo. She joins us now. Lisa, explain if this bill does in fact become law, how does this effectively outlaw abortion in Ohio?

LISA BLOOM, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Well, this would be one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the United States. And let's be very clear, under the current law it is unconstitutional because under the current law and the famous case of Roe v Wade no state can ban abortion before the fetus is viable which is much later in the pregnancy or approximately 25 weeks. So states can't ban abortions at six weeks of pregnancy.

But what the Ohio lawmakers have done is they've said we are emboldened by the election of Donald Trump because he is anti-abortion and he has said that he will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would essentially reverse Roe v Wade.

[00:30:03] And so they're hopeful that this law gets passed. It goes up to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court uses this as the case to get rid of Roe v Wade.

[00:30:00] VAUSE: And just from a, you know, purely medical point of view here, you know, six weeks in, most women don't even know they're pregnant.

BLOOM: That's correct. And especially girls who get pregnant and it's their first time and they're scared and they're unsure, they generally do not know by six weeks. And so this is really a devastating law if it gets passed.

And let's be clear. I mean, if we are banning most abortions in the state of Ohio and if other states take this up which they very well could, because we have many Republican-controlled states in this country, girls will die, women will die just like they did before Roe V. Wade. They will resort to coat hanger abortions, back alley abortions and they will die.

VAUSE: It's now up to the state governor John Kasich who has said that he is anti-abortion. He has already signed 17 anti-abortion laws in Ohio. Is there any indication that he could veto this bill? And how long does he have?

BLOOM: Well, I would certainly expect him to sign this bill. As you say, he has made it very clear that he is anti-abortion. I don't know exactly the time here. He has usually about seven to ten days in most states. I would expect him to sign it, especially because he knows that it will immediately be struck down by the courts.

So what Ohio lawmakers are doing is, you know, this is a shot across the bow to women's rights activists like myself. They will immediately be hit with a court challenge and the courts will have to strike it down, because only the Supreme Court has the ability to reverse Supreme Court law. But it does set a very dangerous precedent.

And, you know, this is what is happening with the election of Donald Trump. We are seeing these kinds of things all over the country, especially when it comes to abortion rights.

VAUSE: Yes, you mentioned the fact that, you know, many of these lawmakers believe that the election of Donald Trump who has promised to appoint anti-abortion or very conservative judges to the Supreme Court. Right now there is a vacancy left behind by Justice Scalia. The assumption being that Trump will appoint someone just as conservative as Scalia to the Supreme Court. That wouldn't actually change the status quo of the Supreme Court, though.

BLOOM: That's correct. But we have three other justices who are currently serving on the court who are over the age of 80. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for example, has been on the court for a long time.

She's been in poor health. She's been a real beacon for women's rights all of her life, both as an attorney and then as judge and as judge on the Supreme Court. Obviously, she's not going to live forever although I wish she would. And, you know, eventually, Donald Trump will probably get to choose several other justices as well. VAUSE: And this just seems to be the latest example of states taking the initiative to really challenge Roe Versus Wade and challenge the validity of the right for women to have abortion across the U.S.

BLOOM: This is a severe roll back of women's rights. The rights that, you know, my mother and her generation and our grandmothers fought for, because the right to control your own body, the right to determine whether you're going to bring a pregnancy to term or not is such a fundamental issue in a women's life and that choice should belong to her.

And to have that taken away from women and decided by the government is a very severe roll back of women's rights. And it's what we knew that was going to happen if Donald Trump was elected. I think some of us are shock that it's happening this soon. He's not even president yet, but the Ohio legislature, which is Republican controlled has chosen to do this and to make a very bold statement against women's rights.

VAUSE: Possibly a sign of things to come.

Lisa, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

BLOOM: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, two young people are now in custody in connection with the wildfires which killed at least 14 people in Tennessee. Both in charge with aggravated arson. The fire started late last month in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park then spread to the town of Gatlinburg. Authorities say the suspects could face additional challenges and it could be heard in adult court.

Donald Trump, well, he is "Time" magazine's person of the year. But people are also talking about the magazine's cover and what may have been a hidden message. That's up next.

Also, Pope Francis lashes out at the media with some unusually descriptive Greek words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:36:45] VAUSE: In what was not one of the biggest surprises of the year, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has been named "Time" magazine's person of the year. The magazine gives the title to the person they believe has done the most to influence events for better or worse.

Trump won they said for reminding America that demagoguery feeds on despair and that truth is only as powerful as the trust in those who speak it. "For empowering a hidden electorate by main streaming its furies and live streaming its fears, and for framing tomorrow's political culture by demolishing yesterday's."

For more CNN's senior media correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources" Brian Stelter joins us now from New York. Brian, so for a lot of people on social media, they are pointing out that previous winners had been Vladimir Putin, Stalin, Hitler. On the other side of the legend, there are people like Pope Francis, former President Ronald Reagan and Martin Luther King.

The question is, which side does Donald Trump fit in here? Where does he lie in all of this?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: And that is why the subject line, the cover line on the magazine says "These are the Divided States of America."

You know, yes, Trump was the winner of this prize, but you know, "Time" says it's not an honor. This is never meant to be an honor. They, of course, point out people like Hitler having been put on the cover as person of the year many years ago.

And right now, we are in this -- as the magazine says a divided states of America where there is very much an ongoing argument and ongoing conversation about who Trump is, whether he is for better or worse. I think there is no debating that he was the person of the year, you know. Who else had as much of an impact as Trump did this year? Whether that is for good or bad, of course, is the debate.

And, yes, I do think, given Trump's strongman tendencies, something we're seeing even today with him tweeting very critically about local labor leader, seeming to intimidate that person, seeming to try to stand on criticism of him.

Those sorts of behaviors are why today there were all of these Hitler references, all of this reminders that Hitler had been on the cover of "Time" before. Certainly, Trump's critics wanting to bring that up again and again.

VAUSE: Well, Donald Trump, he was upset last year when he missed out on person of the year. He's not been a big fan of the magazine. Just a few years ago he tweeted this, "The Time magazine list of the 100 most influential people is a joke and stunt of a magazine that will like Newsweek soon be dead. Bad list."

Seems now his opinion of "Time" has changed. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: "Well, it's a great honor. It means a lot especially me growing up reading "Time" magazine. And, you know, it's very important magazine. And I have been lucky enough to be on the cover many times this year and last year. But I consider this a very, very great honor."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Is that about -- it seems to be speaking in so many ways about the overall relationship Trump has with the mainstream media.

STELTER: Yes, you're absolutely right. I mean, we're talking about someone who does view this into the personality contest, as a popularity contest actually.

He wants to be -- like he craves and courts positive media attention. And, clearly, when he is on the cover in a flattering light then he views this of course as a great honor. Even though the magazine said it's not supposed to be an honor.

One year ago he was complaining about not being person of the year, that it went to Angela Merkel instead.

[00:40:08] I think we're going to continue to see this from President- elect Trump. And, also, once he is president. He courts this to the kind of media attention where he rewards that outlet when he receives it and then punishes news outlets that he feels are not respecting him enough, treating him like the popular figure he believes he is.

VAUSE: He also said it was snarky, the title on the cover, which he said he was the president of the divided states of America.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When you say divided states of America, I didn't divide them. They're divided now. There's a lot of division. I think putting divided is snarky. But, again, it's divided. I'm not president yet. So I didn't do anything to divide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: What? A lot of people might be listening to that scratching their heads right now in disbelief.

STELTER: Trying to make me speechless. You know, clearly, the data supports the conclusion that Trump did sow division during his campaign. It was an effective strategy, but the data is very clear about racial resentment, about sexism and about other issues that were clear and present in the electorate and in some cases were worsened during the long campaign season.

You know, he talks about it being snarky. He says he didn't divide and he's not president yet. What was notable also about his interview on "The Today Show," right after he said he's not president yet, he said he hopes he gets credit (INAUDIBLE) since Election Day one month ago.

He wants credit for the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial average is up 1,000 points since his election day. He wants credit for some of the deals he says he's already struck.

So you might say he is trying to have it both ways, but says I'm not president yet, but I hope you'll acknowledge all the good things that have happened ever since I was elected.

VAUSE: Yes. He wants to claim credit for the sunshine and not get blamed for the rain. Despite all the conspiracy theories out online, "Time" didn't use the "M" in "Time" to put devil horns on the president-elect.

Is that true?

STELTER: No, they are saying this was definitely not intentional. Some people have drawn other comparisons to this image. And prior, "Time" magazine cover images of Hitler and of other dictators, they say the chair, the posture, the lighting, people wonder if "Time" was going for an effect there and then of course the "M" above there suggesting devil horns.

I think it's possible, maybe stare too closely at this image and see more than is actually there.

On the other hand, the image of President Obama in 2008 when he was the person of the year before becoming a president was a very different image. It was him standing up on a side angle, almost aglow.

So I do think some conservatives were looking at the cover saying there is something conspiratorial about it.

VAUSE: There's always something conspiratorial about it.

Brian, as always, thanks so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

VAUSE: Well, Pope Francis is taking a jab at the media and he's throwing around the insults in Greek. In an interview with a Belgian magazine, he compared the media's interest in scandal to an unhealthy obsessions with feces. He called it coprophilia, wanting to communicate ugly things even if they are true.

And he says people who consume scandalous information are engaging in coprophagia, which is, sorry to say this, the consumption of feces. Pope Francis then excused himself.

And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, I'm John Vause. "World Sport" is up next. Then I'll be back with another hour of news from around the world. You're watching CNN.

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