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Trump Makes Next Stop on Victory Tour; South Korean President under Pressure over Scandal; Trump Taps Climate Change Denier to Head EPA; Populist "Dutch Donald Trump" Could Become Next PM; Black Eyed Peas Taboo Won't Stop Fighting; Taboo Joined Protectors at Standing Rock. Aired Midnight-1a ET
Aired December 09, 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, as Donald Trump's victory tour rolls on to Iowa, top Democrats are calling his cabinet picks scary and warning one may even pose a threat to the planet.
We're live in Seoul as South Korean lawmakers decide their president's fate in the middle of a corruption scandal.
Also, we meet the fighter on the front lines in the protests against the Dakota pipeline and is a cancer survivor. Taboo from the Black- Eyed Peas will join us here in the studio.
Hello everybody. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. The first hour of Newsroom L.A. starts right now.
It seems a majority of Americans are unhappy with the choices Donald Trump is making for his cabinet -- 51 percent according to a new poll. His latest the new announcements include Scott Pruitt the Oklahoma Attorney General as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He's a climate change denier and has repeatedly sued the EPA. Labor Secretary Andrew Puzder is a fast food CEO opposed to a $15 minimum wage and overtime pay for low earners, also Obamacare.
Meanwhile Trump took his "thank you" tour to Iowa. He introduced Iowa's governor as his choice for ambassador to China while defending his controversial cabinet and incredible wealth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: By the way, some of the people I put on to negotiate, you've been noticing, are some of the most successful people in the world. And one newspaper criticized me. Why can't they have people of modest means? Because I want people that made a fortune because now they are negotiating with you -- Ok?
It's no different than a great baseball player or a great golfer. We want the people that are going to bring -- and they're so proud to do it. These people have given up fortunes of income in order to make a dollar a year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Joining me now Mo Kelly. He's a political commentator and host of "The Mo Kelly Show" a radio program here in Los Angeles. Mo -- great to have you with us.
MO KELLY, RADIO HOST: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Ok. We're on to the third stop of the Trump tour. More promises to bring the country together. Listen to Donald Trump a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I was lucky enough to receive the "Time Person of the Year. They used to call it "Man of the Year" but they can't do that anymore. So they got person. They want to be politically correct. That's ok.
And they talked about it's a divided nation, on the cover. They give me this honor then they have to go a little bit of this stuff, a divided nation. I said I haven't been president, what are you saying that for? But you know what, we're going to bring the nation together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He can't let that go -- the title on the "Time Magazine" cover. But are these tours -- are they helping to bring the country together? Or are they just goading the battle?
KELLY: No, it's almost like spiking the football. I mean you have already won the game. Now you want to run back on the field and spike the football one more time and say we won, again. That's not helping bring the country together and it speaks to what I call the petulance and the childishness of Donald Trump to feed his ego as opposed to helping America move forward.
VAUSE: Yes. Ok. In some ways though Trump is moderating his tone. At that rally he was honoring astronaut John Glenn who died today. And during the rally was interrupted by protesters. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: For the next seven decades he devoted his life to serving the American people, which he did from the cockpit of his bullet-riddled fighter jet, tough times, in the weightless silence of his Mercury -- that's ok. That's ok.
We have to respect John Glenn. That's all right. I think they're actually on our side. They just don't know it yet. They will be soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At least it's not "punch him in the face". Maybe those conversations with President Obama maybe they're sinking in a little?
KELLY: Hopefully. I just want to see more of that. I just I want some consistency with that. There's nothing wrong with moving away from the campaign rhetoric. He's won the campaign. Now let's show everyone that he is the President for all Americans but he has to do it all the time, not some of the time. That was a good moment for him. Can we do it day after day after day?
VAUSE: And maybe stop tweeting.
Trump has tapped the Andrew Puzder for Labor secretary. He is the CEO which operates fast food chains in the United States -- Hardee's and Carl's Jr. He's against Obamacare. He doesn't want to raise the minimum wage. This is what he said to Fox Business last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW PUZDER, CKE RESTAURANTS CEO: States have every right to decide what the minimum wage should be. I have been opposed to minimum wage increases that kill jobs. And a lot of these state increases are to that level where they would kill jobs. I think that's bad for American workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:05:11] VAUSE: The Labor Department is responsible for investigating violations of minimum wage payments, also other workplace regulation violations. This is -- he's in a difficult position.
KELLY: Well, I would say it's counter intuitive and this goes beyond just this pick. It's about any pick to head any federal agency. Is the person an advocate for the agency? Is the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is that person going to be an advocate for the agency? Is the Labor secretary going to be an advocate for labor? His history is not consistent with that which concerns me.
VAUSE: Ok. Let's get -- you brought this up. This is the bigger picture now. If you look at many of the people who Donald Trump has tapped for his cabinet we have Ben Carson for Housing, Betsy Devos for Education, Tom Price for Health and Human Services, Scott Pruitt at the EPA and we mentioned Puzder at Labor. And as you say all of them fundamentally opposed to the mission of the agency or the department they have been tapped to lead. This also looks like one of the most conservative cabinets this country has possibly seen since Herbert Hoover.
KELLY: I don't mind that they are all conservative. To the victor go the spoils. Donald Trump won the election. He's going to pick the people that he feels most comfortable. But a person like Scott Pruitt who sued the EPA twice and is a friend to big business and also fossil fuels you can't tell me that he's going to choose America clean air and water as opposed to let's say the Dakota Access Pipeline. Those are conflicting ideologies and that's what concerns me more as opposed to his political ideology. VAUSE: What we had though in past Republican administrations they was
always, even though they were conservative as you say to the victor go the spoils. But they were sort of, you know, this cushy conservative. There was always sort of some moderating force within that cabinet and that was specifically done be it Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush.
In fact to, you know, bring Democrats, to bring the people who lost the elections to say listen, we are representing everybody. And that doesn't seem to be happening again -- this time rather. So yes, if you want to bring the country together some of these picks, shouldn't they be more moderate?
KELLY: They could be. But I'm more concerned that you already have three generals in the cabinet. And that doesn't say compromise. That doesn't say pragmatism. That doesn't say reasonable, measured decision making. That is like a military worldview which is good if we are talking about war but we are talking about domestic policy. And once again, this is conflicting ideology.
But Donald Trump has been consistent. He has been very pro military. He's been pro big business. What does he have in his cabinet? Those people who represent the military and big business.
VAUSE: Yes. You mentioned the military and all the generals that we have. Marine General John Kelly for Homeland Security -- this is a massive agency. It has 250,000 people working for it, controls everything from the Coast Guard to the Secret Service. They formed this after 9/11.
In other countries, something like this, you know, like in Britain it would be the Home office or, you know, the Department of the Interior or something like that. Not to be critical of John Kelly but is there a problem with having a military guy in charge of your internal security.
That seems to be something that would happen in a country like Egypt where the military is used to control the civilians in cases of unrest.
KELLY: It's concerning. I think the Department of Homeland Security, an apparatus of our police force from city to city and coordinating all around the country. I'm not so sure it needs a military application but Donald Trump did campaign on that and did promise a more militarized response to issues of terrorism which he includes those acts which happen on our domestic soil.
So I understand why he's moving in that direction. It doesn't make me feel more comfortable but he has been consistent in that regard.
VAUSE: Ok. Before Donald Trump became President-Elect, before he was a nominee for the Republican Party, he was famous for this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Ian -- you're fired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. Ok.
TRUMP: Thank you. Good job. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ok. "Celebrity Apprentice". And we found out tonight that Donald Trump will stay on as the executive producer of "Celebrity Apprentice".
KELLY: Yes. I didn't know that presidents had time to moonlight as a show runner in Hollywood. This goes back to that fundamental idea that a president needs to singularly focused on America and America only. As opposed to trying to raise his entertainment profile or to hold on to some other business, which again is another conflict of interest. It's not illegal but it's questionable as far as about motivation and also focus.
VAUSE: Yes. I guess Ronald Reagan made movies and those are still out there but this is kind of different in a way.
Mo -- come back next hour because we have a few other topics to get to.
KELLY: Sure -- thanks.
VAUSE: Thanks so much.
Lawmakers in South Korea will vote in the coming hour on whether to impeach President Park Geun-Hye for her alleged ties to a corruption scandal. Even though she has denied any wrongdoing, the president has been under pressure for weeks to step down.
171 opposition lawmakers supported the impeachment motion earlier. If it passes Park would be first suspended and the prime minister would become acting president.
[00:10:01] Paula Hancocks standing by live in Seoul right now for more on this. So Paula -- very noisy where you are right now.
This impeachment needs a two-thirds majority. It means it's going to pass with support from lawmakers from her own party.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right -- John.
There are basically 300 lawmakers in the South Korean parliament. They would need 200 to be able to pass this impeachment vote and approximately 171 actually put this motion forward. So you'd assume that they're going to vote for impeachment.
So that means that some of her own party needs to vote against her and some of her own party does need to vote against her and some of her own party have publicly said that they will vote against her.
So it's not -- it's expected to be passed but it could be very close. No one is saying 100 percent that it will be passed. But you can probably hear the noise as well here. It is particularly noisy. Hundreds of protesters have just joined us here just outside the gates of the national assembly. They want to make sure that President Park is impeached.
VAUSE: One of the problems with President Park are have been revelations this week that she was actually getting her hair done at the time of the Sewol ferry disaster back in 2014 and essentially they couldn't find her at the time and she's been accused of being aloof. Could that now play into this impeachment vote? Could that sway some undecided lawmakers?
HANCOCKS: Well this is effectively part of this impeachment motion that these lawmakers put forward. Part of the reason they want to impeach her is her behavior while the Sewol ferry disaster was going on.
There are seven hours where she was unaccounted for and she was not heard from according to local media. And there have been rumors, as you say, that she was getting her hair done at this point. There have been so many rumors the Blue House, the presidential palace, actually had to come out and admit, yes she was getting her hair done but that was only for 20 minutes. But they haven't accounted for the other six hours, 40 minutes.
And that's something that's really stuck in people's minds here in South Korea. They want to know where the leader of their country was during one of the worst maritime disasters in its history -- John.
VAUSE: Ok. So walk us through what happens. If the impeachment vote goes ahead and she is in fact impeached we know that the prime minister will take over for a time but what is the process for her ultimate removal?
HANCOCKS: That's right, so if the vote goes ahead she is instantly removed from power and the prime minister as you say runs the country on a daily basis.
Then it goes to a constitutional court. There are nine judges and six of those nine have to agree that the impeachment should be upheld but this could take up to six months. They've got 180 days to decide on this. They have to look through all the evidence of this motion that has been filed and figure out if they think that's enough evidence that she could have misused her power and she could be guilty of the things lawmakers accuse her of being guilty of. So, six out of nine have to agree to that.
Of course, there is a problem. There's always a problem. Two of them are going to resign or retire because their terms are up before the end of the 180 days. So then you've only got seven left. So it's pretty tight. Six out of seven have to agree that President Park should go. And bear in mind two of those were actually appointed by President Park.
So that part's tricky. It's not 100 percent by any means that this will go ahead in the long run -- John. VAUSE: Politics are complicated in South Korea as they are in many
places.
Paula -- thank you. We'll be checking in with you next hour to find out exactly what is going on. Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul.
Donald Trump has promised to reduce the U.S. environmental agency to tidbits (ph) and the man he picked to lead the EPA, he's right on board. He sued the agency 12 times trying to roll back regulations. We'll have more on that controversial choice coming up.
And also ahead singer Taboo from the hip hop group the Black-Eyed Peas joins us to discuss his fight at Standing Rock and his personal fight against cancer.
[00:14:02] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump has a message for the Environmental Protection Agency -- we don't need you. And his choice to lead the agency, Scott Pruitt does not believe in climate change and has a cozy relationship with the fossil fuel industry. The Sierra Club says his nomination is like putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires.
Here's what Trump says about his vision for the agency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We are going to end the EPA intrusion into your lives. On energy, we will cancel the job killing restrictions on the production of American energy and that means lower energy prices for farmers, households and small businesses in Iowa and frankly all over the United States.
CNN's Rene Marsh has more on Trump's controversial choice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Scott Pruitt, the man Donald Trump wants to lead the Environmental Protection Agency has spent most of his career trying to dismantle the agency he could soon lead.
SCOTT PRUITT, TRUMP EPA APPOINTEE: We have an EPA, we have a federal government that is actively involved in picking winners and losers and using regulatory power to penalize fossil fuels.
MARSH: As Attorney General of Oklahoma, the biggest oil and natural gas producing state in the nation, Pruitt launched multiple legal battles against the Obama administration's key climate change laws. Regulations, his soon to be new boss, made clear he opposes.
TRUMP: Department of Environmental Protection -- we are going to get rid of it in almost every form -- we're going to have little tidbits left.
MARSH: The Trump transition team says Pruitt quote, "brings a deep understanding of the impact of regulations on both the environment and the economy".
NICK LORIS, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Attorney general Pruitt has been a leader in fighting against excessive regulations from the EPA that have driven up costs for American families and businesses and have been devoid of any real meaningful environmental benefit.
MARSH: But tonight critics are pushing back hard saying Pruitt is a climate change denier. The 48-year-old once said quote, "Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connections to the actions of mankind."
And in a November radio interview he gave insight on how he would run the agency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell us, under a Trump administration, what are you looking forward to?
PRUITT: Regulatory roll back. Washington has become way too consequential to lives of citizens across the country. They've been dictating to the states, dictating to business, dictating to industry, sometimes outside of the constitution.
-- joy to be with you this morning.
MARSH: The fastest and easiest action Pruitt can take on day one without help from Congress is to simply not enforce the laws on the books like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Power Plan.
Trump has said his administration will value clean water and air. But his EPA pick has sued the agency at least 12 times challenging its clean power plan which seeks to curb carbon emissions from power plants. He's also sued the EPA for trying to curb methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.
FRED KRUPP, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: As head of EPA, it would be like letting the fox in the hen house.
MARSH: Pruitt is a strong supporter of the energy industry and they support him too. In 2014 his campaign committee received more than $700,000 in contributions, more than 17 percent of that came from energy donors.
A 2014 "New York Times" investigation found he collaborated secretly with the energy industry sending letters lobbyists wrote for him to the U.S. government attacking the EPA.
[00:20:06] In a statement today Pruitt said quote, "I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Rene Marsh for that report.
And joining me now is Bruce Nilles. He's the senior director and co- founder of the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign. Thank you for being with us -- Bruce.
After Pruitt was announced as Trump's choice to lead the EPA, Dan Pfeiffer, a former adviser to President Obama tweeted this out, "At the risk of being dramatic Scott Pruitt at EPA is an existential threat to the planet." Is Pfeiffer being overly dramatic or could Pruitt really be that bad?
BRUCE NILLES, THE SIERRA CLUB: He really is one of the very worst persons you can imagine in charge of the agency. If you think about the fact for 45 years this agency has been the backstop to make sure all Americans breathe clean air, clean water and have safe drinking water wherever you live in this country.
And what he has said and what he has been trying to do for the last six years is stop EPA from doing their job and simply allow polluters to run amok. And so if we think about the progress we have made as a country over 45 years he is actually going to try to take us backwards and why he is simply unfit to lead this agency.
VAUSE: Looking back to previous directors of the EPA even ones chosen by Republican presidents has there ever been one with the same level of anti-science beliefs, with sort of antipathy towards the mission of the agency?
NILLES: It's simply unprecedented. There's been appropriate disagreement about how to keep making progress and how to make sure the air we breathe is safe, how to make sure the water we drink is fit. But there has never been a proposed EPA administrator with one exception back in the days of Ronald Reagan who actually believed that the agency shouldn't do its job. And so it really is an existential threat to all that we hold dear.
VAUSE: You know, Democrats they can protest all they want. They can try and do what they can in the Senate. But many Republicans, like Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, they're thrilled with Pruitt as the head of the EPA.
In case anyone has actually forgotten, Inhofe is the guy who got a snowball into the Senate chamber to prove that climate change isn't real. This is that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: In case we have forgotten because we keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record, I asked the chair, you know what this is? It's a snowball. And that is just from outside here. So it's very, very cold out, very unseasonal. Here, Mr. President, catch this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Inhofe chairs the environment committee which will be continuing Pruitt during his confirmation. It seems like a done deal.
NILLES: Well, if you think about there are many other U.S. Senators who live in states that really value clean air and clean water, senators in Nevada, senators in Maine. Maine has been on the receiving end of pollution from coal plants in the Ohio River Valley for decades. Mainers care a lot about making sure that the air is safe to breathe.
And I don't think the senators from Maine are going to stand up and say it's a good thing to allow coal-fired power plants to put more pollution in the air and make the air and water unsafe to breathe in Maine.
So this really is an issue we're going the take to all the states and say do we really want to go backwards in the 21st century? This is not a tradeoff between doing the right thing by our economy and protecting our planet. We can do both as we have over the last eight years.
VAUSE: There is a feeling out there though with Republicans in control of both houses Pruitt will be essentially unopposed to do whatever he wants. And in some cases, you know, wildly supported by many Republicans.
NILLES: Well, there has long been a pretty bipartisan support for making progress on clean air and clean water. The Republicans talk about rolling back laws and trying to stop Obama from doing various things. Ultimately we have made enormous progress over the last eight years and we're going to take this fight to the streets and hold people accountable to the fact that we have never in our 45 years gone backwards and allowed more pollution to happen and allow air and water to get worse in this country.
So we think this is a huge potential to raise awareness about the importance of EPA to protect our families and our communities and our food supplies and to make sure that everyone understands that this is really a question about do we continue making progress or do we actually go back to the days of smoggy skies and unsafe drinking water across the country?
VAUSE: Very quickly, did you see a glimmer of hope earlier this week when Leonardo diCaprio and former Vice President Al Gore, both high- profile environmentalists turned up for that meeting with President- Elect Donald Trump and now it seems that all that was for nothing.
NILLES: I don't trust a single thing Donald Trump says. Obviously his actions speak louder than words and by proposing someone as extreme as Scott Pruitt we know that his true agenda here is to take the country backwards, not forward.
[00:25:04] VAUSE: Ok. Bruce -- thank you very much. Bruce Nilles there, senior director and co-founder of "Beyond the Coal" campaign in San Francisco. Thanks for being us.
NILLES: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, to sad news now, John Glenn has died at the age of 95. In 1962, Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. He had already served as a decorated colonel in the Marines flying 149 missions during World War II and the Korean War. He later became the U.S. Senator from his home state of Ohio.
As one of the Mercury 7 astronauts, Glenn orbited the earth three times and then age 77 he was back in space, flying in a shuttle mission in 1998.
Well, bright blond hair, anti-immigrant rhetoric and (inaudible) rallies, they call him the Dutch Trump and now he is leading in some of the polls just months before voters choose a new government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.
In South Korea, lawmakers are expected to hold an impeachment vote next hour as President Park Geun-Hye faces continued pressure to step down amid a political scandal. If the vote passes, she would be suspended and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn would become acting president.
Donald Trump's "thank you" tour went to Iowa on Thursday. He defended his controversial cabinet picks and their wealth.
The U.S. President-Elect also introduced his choice for ambassador to China for repeating his claims China manipulates its currency.
Russia says Syria has halted military actions in Aleppo and has launched a massive civilian evacuation of the city's east. The announcement comes after a crushing government offensive against rebels. Despite the claims of a truce, CNN crews in Aleppo say they still heard mortar fire on Thursday.
[00:30:10] A Dutch politician facing charges of inciting racial hatred could become the Netherlands' next prime minister. Geert Wilders is one of the most vile, vilified politicians in Europe, but he is leading in some polls and that lead -- sorry, some leaders, rather, are likening Wilders to the U.S. president-elect. Nic Robertson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Times in Holland are changing. Political upheaval is gripping remote, rural communities like this.
HENK JAN PROSMAN, CHURCH MINISTER: Wilders was -- had a vote of about 20 percent in this area.
ROBERTSON: Church minister Henk Jan-Prosman is talking about Geert Wilders, Holland's bleach blonde hair nationalist politician, many compare to Donald Trump.
PROSMAN: I think that's the same in Holland with Wilders. His voters take him serious but not literally.
ROBERTSON: (INAUDIBLE) Wilders has compared the Koran to Mein Kampf says Muslim immigrants are going to Islamize Holland, but he is steadily gaining popularity.
PROSMAN: Wilders explicitly refers to the Moroccan community as a --
ROBERTSON (on-camera): Criminals?
PROSMAN: Yes, as criminals, but that's statistically true.
ROBERTSON: But in the same way that Donald Trump referred to Mexicans?
PROSMAN: For example, yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They beat him up. And he has to give money. He has to give his phone.
ROBERTSON: A half hour's drive away, Cindy Von Kruistum, a financial administrator shows me where she says one of her neighbor's son was beaten up by immigrants.
CINDY VON KRUISTUM, FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR: The government establishment don't listen about people on the street. They don't go on the streets. Geert Wilders is near to people on the streets.
ROBERTSON: She, too, sees the similarities between Trump and Wilders.
VON KRUISTUM: I support him because he dares to talk about the problems we have with Islamization.
ROBERTSON: But supporting Wilders is not easy.
Comedy writer Have Van Der Hayden tells me it cost him his job.
HAVE VAN DER HAYDEN, COMEDY WRITER: I have been excluded from work from various jobs.
ROBERTSON: What frustrates him is that main stream politicians are trying to ignore a marginalized Wilders.
VAN DER HAYDEN: I'm not really a fan of Mr. Wilders. I don't like many things he is saying, but I'm a supporter of the democracy.
ROBERTSON: Wilders' comments have landed him in court more than once. Most recently accused of inciting racial hatred. And like Trump in the spotlight, the attention isn't hurting him.
PROSMAN: The case is broadcasted live on national television. He gets the floor. The media and politicians are really doing him a favor.
ROBERTSON (on-camera): Across the country, Wilder's supporters believe that may just be the help he needs to win the elections here next year.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: The gentle giants of the African Savannah. Giraffes are facing a silent extinction. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature says the giraffe population has plunged by nearly 40 percent in the past three decades. Now the preservation group is putting giraffes on the vulnerable list, which indicates specifies as at high risk of extinction.
The IUCN says habitat loss, illegal hunting and civil unrest are largely to blame for the decline in giraffe populations.
And giraffes aren't the only animal in danger. Biologists say the planet is on the verge of a new era of extinction. That means 3/4 of all species could disappear over the next few centuries unless we make drastic changes now.
In a new CNN special, we introduce you to five endangered species and the people working to save them. "Vanishing: The Sixth Mass Extinction" coming up in a few hours at 10:30 a.m. at London and 6:30 p.m. in Hong Kong. You will see it only here on CNN.
This is NEWSROOM L.A. live from Los Angeles. Coming up, musician Taboo opens up about his health scare with cancer and his passion for protecting Native American land. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Black-Eyed Peas!
TABOO, ARTIST, BLACK EYED PEAS: What if this was your last day?
Hey, what's up, you all, this is Taboo.
What if today they say that I'm not going to survive this? I took that darkness and create a song "Fight."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That's the new single by Taboo from The Black Eye Peas. It's called "The Fight." He has been doing a lot of fighting lately. He's been on the front lines with fellow Native Americans trying to stop the Dakota access oil pipeline from being built on their sacred lands.
And he also recently revealed his own battle with cancer.
Taboo joins us now here in Los Angeles.
Great to have you with us. Thank you for coming in.
TABOO: I appreciate that.
VAUSE: It's good to have you here.
There's good news on two fronts. Let's start with the cancer. You're all clear. It's been going for two years. Why go public with the battle with cancer?
TABOO: Well, first of all, you know, it was a long process of doing chemotherapy for 12 weeks, five days a week, six hours a day. It was really intense. And there were moments where I wanted to give up. And, luckily, I continued my fight, got through all the rounds of chemo, and I wanted to rehabilitate myself fully.
You know, when you're doing chemotherapy, you usually get chemo brain. It's psychological, it's physical. And I needed to heal first before I came out and said anything.
Along my journey of healing I had a baby daughter, a baby girl who came, you know, as a surprise because they had told us that we weren't going to be able to have no more kids.
VAUSE: Oh, that's great.
TABOO: So, you know, by the grace of the creator, we were able to have a baby girl.
VAUSE: Congratulations. That's awesome.
TABOO: Yes, thank you, man. So I wanted to make sure that that as well as healing and making sure that I was in the right state of mind, no more chemo brain. And throughout my journey, I was able to build a partnership with the American Cancer Society.
And I said to myself, you know what, with my music career I'm able to speak to over 70 million people. How can I use that platform and that voice and be a voice and help millions of people with the same fight that I went through, the same struggle. So I utilized that moment as a momentum to become part of ACS. And that's why it took me a while to really come out and tell my story.
VAUSE: OK. Let's talk about what is happening in North Dakota. It seems like there is a win. The army corps of engineers had come out and said that essentially the pipeline will not go ahead across sacred lands, essentially block it. Many protesters as well as yourself believe this is not necessarily winning the war, but more of a delay.
Why is that?
TABOO: So just to clarify, we're protectors, not protesters.
VAUSE: OK.
TABOO: I think there's a misconception and I just want to educate the media and let people know that a lot of time people say we're protesting, but how do you protest protecting sacred land that, you know, has been there for thousands of years, hundreds of years.
I feel like it was my calling as a Native American, but more than that as a human being to stand in solidarity with North Dakota, with my people that are there from different tribes, different ethnicities coming together. [00:40:00] I mean, there was over 9,000 people at the camp site when we were there the day after Thanksgiving. And I feel like -- it's a small step forward in this battle, but we still got a lot of work to do.
VAUSE: OK. Because we have a statement from the company behind the pipeline, two companies, in fact.
This is what it reads. "ETP and SXL are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and expect complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way."
Clearly, they are not giving up.
TABOO: No.
VAUSE: And, what, in 40 days or so, President Obama will not be in the White House. There will be President Trump. And he is much more sympathetic to the pipeline. So what are you expecting?
TABOO: You know what the power of the people is a lot stronger than people in power. And I feel like the fact that we've come together and stand with our brothers and sisters at Standing Rock, you know, there's a lot of us that have the same mentality of there's a lot of fight in us.
You know, it's not a -- it's not like, actually a fight where we're going to be causing a ruckus or, you know, pulling out weapons or anything like that. I think that's another misconception, because I always see that.
I see, you know, the protesters are burning down cars and doing -- you know all this chaotic type of behavior and I feel that's a big misconception. I want to clarify.
I went to Standing Rock the day after Thanksgiving and what I saw was positivity. I saw family environment. I saw children at the camp site. I saw a sense of community, something that is not painted by the media and I feel like we need to have more people like yourself that are really addressing it and bringing that topic to the world.
VAUSE: I want to talk about people coming together for this, because there has been a star-studded cast of musicians. Dave Matthews. Jane Fonda was out there giving Thanksgiving dinner.
It has also united the native communities as well. And that is symbolize in a new song, which you wrote together, "Stand Up, Stand Rock."
I want to play a quick clip.
TABOO: Cool.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ("STAND UP, STAND ROCK" MUSIC VIDEO PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This seems to be about a lot more than just the pipeline. It seems like an anthem for indigenous people.
TABOO: It is. You know, the fact that I was able to bring all these talented artists like Emcee One, Doc and Spencer, you know, my version of Rock City Crew, Shailene Woodley. It was produced by Printz Board. He is part of our team. Perry Cheevers, Tony Duncan.
All these amazing artists create a song and stand in solidarity with Standing Rock. It's our way of saying thank you to the protectors for being at the front lines, for putting their lives on the line, because we didn't know those water cannons were going to kill anybody, hypothermia, you know, pepper spray, mace, whatever it was that they were using. I'm not really too sure because I wasn't there. But I saw a lot of, you know, activity that was pretty cruel.
And you know, I wanted to do something that uplifts the spirits of people with an anthem. You know, I feel like bringing all these amazing artists together that I need to, I need to shed my light that I've got through my career with the Black-Eyed Peas and show how amazing these artists are. You know, it's not about me no more. It's about us. How do I be of service.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Also, at the same time, it seems to be bringing all those native communities together, too, like never before.
TABOO: Yes.
VAUSE: It just seems unprecedented in many ways.
TABOO: I'm the voice. I'm going to be the voice. I will be the voice that brings all my people together, you know, whether it's here in North America or whether it's aboriginals in Australia, Maoris in New Zealand, you know, South American indigenous people, people in Brazil and Amazon. So that's my new perspective in life and my new purpose.
It is -- yes I'm in the fight against cancer. That's without being said. But how do I now channel that energy and give these brothers and sisters a platform for them to express themselves as well.
VAUSE: Good luck. Thank you so much.
TABOO: Thank you, man. I appreciate it.
VAUSE: Great to meet you.
TABOO: Thank you.
VAUSE: And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. "World Sport" is up next. You're watching CNN.
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(WORLD SPORT)
