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Trump Threatens Unilateral Action On North Korea;; Mudslides Kill More Than 200 People In Colombia; Russia Accused Of Spreading "Fake News". Aired 1-2a ET
Aired April 03, 2017 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: U.S. President Donald Trump says, he's ready to tackle North Korea alone, with or without China's help.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: A frantic search for those missing in Colombia, after hundreds die in mudslides.
ALLEN: And relations between the U.S. And Russia seem to be taking another turn for the worse after the Kremlin called Pentagon comment "absurd." We'll fill in on that one. Thank you for joining us, everyone. I'm Natalie Allen.
VANIER: And I'm Cyril Vanier. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. U.S. President Donald Trump is giving China an ultimatum on North Korea. President Trump says China should help solve Pyongyang's nuclear threats or else the U.S. will do it alone. The President refused to clarify what kind of unilateral action the U.S. might be willing to take.
ALLEN: Mr. Trump told the financial times, if China doesn't help, "it won't be good for anyone." Later this week, President Trump will meet for the first time, with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida. Our Senior International Correspondent, Ivan Watson, joins us now from Seoul, South Korea. Tough talk from Donald Trump; we've heard it before, but what could this mean possibly mean, "the United States could go it alone," Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're left trying to interpret, once again, Mr. Trump's statements. In this case, he was followed up in the interview with questions: are you referring to China? And he said, yes, we could go along against North Korea without China. This has been a conundrum that has faced U.S. administrations now for decades. What to do about North Korea's determination to follow through on its banned nuclear weapons program and its missile program, and successive U.S. administrations have said that the path to Pyongyang should go through Beijing, that China is the main trading partner, and political ally though relations between Pyongyang and Beijing are not very good right now. They have not been terribly good for years now.
One of the questions would be: would the Trump administration conduct more sanctions? They announced sanctions on Friday against various North Korean entities believed to be operating in countries like Vietnam and in China. Would additional Chinese companies be punished for their business with North Korea? And that would probably trigger further tension in the relationship between Washington and Beijing. But it's hard not to interpret this in any other way but as a direct kind of warning to Xi Jinping before he travels all the way to the U.S. for meetings with Donald Trump at his golf resort in Florida. Natalie.
ALLEN: Right. And the President had said, previously, this was going to be a tough meeting with Xi Jinping. They have a lot of things on the table to be sure. What's the reaction there in the region - there in Seoul to this new President who knows real estate very well, but now he's dealing with international threats involving nuclear threats.
WATSON: Well, I mean, we've seen that there's been very high-level diplomacy between Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan. They've had a meeting at Mar-A-Lago, and that North Korea reared its head during that meeting with ballistic missile launches that are banned under United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
The situation in South Korea, another very, very close U.S. ally, is more complicated right now because of the leadership vacuum here, because the former President was just ousted in an impeachment process, is in jail now and about to face questioning, we're hearing, this week in jail. There is an interim government, and there are elections planned for May.
The front-runner in those elections is a left-leaning politician named Moon Jae-in, who has talked about: first going to talk to North Korea before meeting with Washington. And that may make Donald Trump's tough talk on North Korea difficult if there could be a new administration here in South Korea that is more interested in diplomacy than in a hardline approach to its North Korean neighbor. Natalie.
ALLEN: We know they'll be paying attention as the President meets with the head of China later this week. Ivan Watson for us there in Seoul. Thank you. Well, as we mentioned, Mr. Trump has a very busy week ahead full of guests from the Middle East and, of course, China. Egypt's President will kick it off Monday. Then a couple of days later, Jordan's King Abdullah will meet with the President. And Thursday and Friday, Mr. Trump will be meeting with Xi Jinping in Florida.
VANIER: For more on all of this, joining me from New York City is David Rhodes, CNN Global Affairs Analyst. David, this is a big American foreign policy week, and for all of those of us who want to know where American Policy is going under Donald Trump, it's going to be very interesting. Tell me first about China, to what extent do you think Donald Trump can strong-arm Xi Jinping, the Chinese President into a different sort of relationship with the U.S.?
[01:05:17] DAVID RHODE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I'm not sure he can strong-arm, you know, strong-arm President Xi. I mean, President Xi has been in office many more years than President Trump and, you know, this is a very complicated relationship. So, I do think both leaders need a, need a win here to use Trump's term. President Xi has a very important party congress coming up later this
year. Trump would love to, you know, show some kind of success in foreign policy. So, they should come out of this meeting with some sort of joint statement that at least, you know, creates an image of cooperation. But whether they'll actually make headway on difficult issues like North Korea, that's not clear at all.
VANIER: And the idea that Donald Trump is going to use trade as an incentive to get what he wants from Beijing, how realistic is that?
RHODE: I don't think it's very realistic at all. I haven't heard the Trump administration sort of making these threats that it made during the campaign. President Trump said he was going to put a 45 percent tariff on China; all Chinese goods coming into the U.S. If there wasn't an end to what Trump called "currency manipulation." China denies that. Democrats say that currency manipulation stopped several years ago. There was the interview today in the financial times, and Trump made no mention of that tariff or even trade issues at all, he only talked about China and North Korea.
VANIER: All right. And on Monday, Donald Trump's also meeting with the leader of the biggest country in the Arab world, Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. And that in itself, the fact that they're meeting, the fact that Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is coming to the U.S., that's a significant departure from the policy of Barack Obama, who never hosted him.
RHODE: Yes, this is about human rights. And so, the Obama administration refused to have Sisi as a guest in the White House. Trump is moving forward with this. That he's repeatedly praised Sisi during the campaign as sort of a strong ally in the Middle East. You know, the Trump administration is going to use more military force. You've seen an increase in U.S. force in the Middle East.
And I think they'll, you know, they'll back strong leaders. Human rights groups refer to Sisi as a dictator. And This will be the new approach of the Trump administration. You know, the question is will it work? Some say that the softer, sort of less military force, more human rights approach of Obama didn't work. We'll see if this Trump's approach works over time.
VANIER: And what about Donald Trump's approach to human rights, human rights in other countries? I mean this, this question holds for Egypt and for China. The White House has signaled, they don't want to be very public about any potential demands that those countries have more respect for human rights.
RHODE: Yes. I think you'll see much less of just talk about the issue of human rights in general throughout the campaign. Since he's, you know, taken office, Trump has been all about showing strength, keeping his adversaries guessing and, you know, there was, you know, complaints from Republicans about, you know, Obama's initial speeches. There was a talk of it being an apology tour. So, I don't see Donald Trump, you know, pushing human rights at all. It doesn't really help his political base in the United States, so I don't expect that to come up. You know, maybe privately but not very much in public. VANIER: All right. CNN Global Affairs Analyst, David Rhode. Thank
you very much.
RHODE: Thank you.
VANIER: Rescue workers are struggling to find survivors after deadly mudslides hit Southwestern Colombia. Heavy rain triggered the disaster over the weekend. Officials say more than 200 people have been killed and thousands have lost their homes and need clean water and food. Our Rafael Romo has more and we need to warn you, some of the videos you're about to see is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They pick through mud, sticks, and debris, searching desperately for survivors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The floodwaters got stuck up in the mountain, and when it came down, many people didn't have time to react, and they were washed away.
ROMO: Mudslides have killed over 200 people in the Southern Colombian town of Mocoa. As people line up waiting to identify the bodies of their loved ones, rescuers are left scrambling searching to find the hundreds of people still left unaccounted for.
JUAN MANUEL SANTOS, COLOMBIA PRESIDENT (through translator): There are many families telling us: my son is missing, my father is missing, my mother is missing. And we're trying to do a list of the missing. We still don't have it. The number of dead people has risen in an incredible way in the last hours. It breaks my heart.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I am looking for my three daughters and a tiny granddaughter. They disappeared when it happened, and I haven't been able to find them. I ask the whole world, the whole society to help me. I need help. Whether they are dead or alive, I want to see them. I ask all my friends and neighbors to help me because I won't see the end. I will not rest.
[01:10:13] ROMO: The deadly torrent began Friday, triggered by an unusual heavy rainfall; the rivers surrounding Mocoa started to overflow unleashing a surge of mud through the city. Now displaced residents are recovering whatever they can carry. With nowhere to go, they take shelter wherever they can. Some hold out hopes for missing loved ones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I hope somebody has her somewhere out there. She is called Louisa. If you ask her her daddy's name, she might say it.
ROMO: While others contend with a mounting death toll. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Earlier, I spoke with Provash Budden from the Aide Agency Mercy Corps about the emergency response in Colombia. Here's how he described the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PROVASH BUDDEN, MERCY CORPS COUNTRY DIRECTOR: They're looking at assessments right now to figure out if people need what types of certain aid material including fresh water, food, shelter. But also, they need psychosocial assistance for the trauma they have suffered from the floods that hit them on Friday night and the mudslides that destroyed their houses.
ALLEN: Oh, certainly, because it just washed toddlers away. A baby is missing, an infant, because these people have really, are just sitting there like nowhere to turn. And we heard the Colombian President, though, tell a victim yesterday, things will be better for you in the long run. It will be better than it was. What can you imagine that would look like when you build this area back in the same place?
BUDDEN: Well, as Mercy Corps, we've had a lot of experience in building back better in many emergencies throughout earthquakes and tsunamis around the world. And we hope that to collaborate with the Colombian government will be positive in taking the steps for people to build back better: better places for people to live in less danger- prone areas in the area of Mocoa, improved infrastructure, and disaster preparedness as well. This obviously will take a lot of investment from the Colombian government, but also, in assistance with the International Community and the Humanitarian Organizations like Mercy Corps.
ALLEN: And, you know, there are reports that climate change and deforestation helped create this disaster. Are you hearing things about that, and is that being taken into consideration as for long- term help with whether they should move back into this region?
BUDDEN: Well, obviously, those decisions will have to be weighed carefully about how people can move back or not. Obviously, land issues are a big concern in Colombia, especially after 52 years of conflict that dealt with land rights. But climate change is a real threat in Colombia, and we see this across the board in the country, including drought that has affected the northern part of the country this past year and unseasonal rains that have affected the southern part of the country that has led to the landslides and mudslides.
Unfortunately, the risk is still there for the rest of the year, and people in Mocoa are very worried about what could come next and are taking measures to relocate to other places or stay with families in a safer place. But our focus right now and our concern is on assisting people who need immediate attention and life-saving measures, and then also looking at the recovery process over the next several weeks and into months and possibly over a year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: Staying in Latin America, the polls are closed in Ecuador's Presidential election, but the Electoral Council may not declare a winner for days. Leftist candidate, Lenin Moreno, has a narrow lead over his conservative rival Guillermo Lasso and is claiming victory with more than 90 percent of votes counted. However, Lasso is disputing that result and is already asking for a recount. Also, the outcome of this election could decide the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as lasso has promised to remove Assange from Ecuador's embassy in London if he wins.
ALLEN: The rhetoric is heating up between the U.S. and Russia. Coming up here, the Kremlin is blasting the Pentagon over Iraqi deaths following U.S. comments on Crimea. We'll have reports from Washington and Moscow.
VANIER: Plus, Russia accused of spreading "fake news" in the U.S. using Internet troll factories. That story after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:16:40] PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Patrick Snell with your CNN WORLD SPORTS headlines. We start in Miami with Sunday's occasion seeing two legends of the sport locking horns once again. Roger Federer taking on long time rival from Spain Rafael Nadal. But in 2017, Federer really has been the main man against the man from Mallorca. He beat him again 6-3, 6-4 to win the Miami open. So far this year, the Fed has captured the title at the Australian Open and Indian Wells and California too.
You know, anything that could have gone wrong for Brazilian star, Lucas di Grassi, pretty much did on Sunday despite the huge advantage with veracity, the South American keeping his cool and somehow emerging triumphant after a disastrous qualifying session. He then broke his rear wing on the third lap. By the time he came out of the pits he was actually in last place. With nothing to lose, he decided to come in for his replacement car much earlier than he planned, and it paid off. He took the checkered flag two seconds ahead of the French man, Jean-Eric Vergne.
In the Scottish Premier League, the title race is already over. Glasgow Giants Celtic wrapping up their sixth straight league title with eight games still left to play. On Sunday, Brendan Rogers men dropping heart 5-0 on the game that featured a hat-trick from Scott Sinclair. Celtic have dropped just four points all season. but really, they had no other challenges at all. That's a look at your World Sports Headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: Welcome back. U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Senior Adviser is in Iraq. Sources tell CNN that Jared Kushner was invited by joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford and is currently traveling with him. It's unclear exactly where he's going in Iraq but he is expected back in the U.S. early this week.
ALLEN: His trip comes while the campaign to retake Mosul from ISIS drags on. Reuter's news agency reports Iraqi forces put fighting there on hold Sunday. They have entered densely populated areas in Western Mosul, and there are fears of civilian casualties. A military official said safe passageways were open to allow residents to flee. Up to 400,000 may still be trapped inside the old city.
VANIER: And ties between the U.S. and Russia are taking another hit as the Kremlin blasts the Pentagon over an airstrike in Mosul last month that apparently killed scores of civilians. The U.S. says it was targeting ISIS militants.
ALLEN: Russia calls the Pentagon's comments absurd. We get more now from Paula Newton. She's in Moscow for us.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The verbal of all this going back and forth between Washington and Moscow. The language continues to escalate, and the Defense Ministry this weekend also weighing in, this time on U.S. coalition air strikes in Iraq. Now, at issue is an air strike that killed several dozen civilians in Iraq. The U.S. coalition says it's still investigating, but they blame ISIS using human shields. Now what the Defense Ministry wants to say is that it is a double standard, that when it happens to Russia, they say that they had no intention of killing civilians, and that explanation is not accepted.
The Russian Defense Ministry now wants some explanation from the Pentagon, saying in a statement, "What are the motives of the American Command putting the veil of confidentiality and keeping secret the crimes of terrorists from the international community.". They say that if you have evidence that ISIS is using civilians as human shields, show it. But this is really based on a much larger landscape now, and it's beginning to come into focus with the Trump Administration and the Kremlin now coming to grips with the fact that the relationship between the two will begin to look a lot more like what went on with the Obama Administration.
You had Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Mr. Mattis saying that, in fact, they felt that Russia's actions were aggressive. That started off a lot of rhetoric flying on both sides, and it is an indication that while those Russia investigations are going on Capitol Hill and the FBI investigation, that there will definitely will not be a thawing of relations between the U.S. and Russia as they had hoped in the Kremlin. Paula Newton, CNN, Moscow.
[01:21:07] ALLEN: And of those investigations, we are learning new details about ties between Russia and former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, the top former Trump aide did not originally disclose thousands of dollars in speaking fees from three Russian companies. They include the Kremlin-backed T.V. network RT and Cyber security firm Kaspersky Government Security Solutions. This according to financial disclosures Flynn made to the Office of Government Ethics in February.
VANIER: He did disclose the fees in forms filed on Friday, and his lawyer says that Flynn reports it appropriately. Remember this revelation comes as investigations are underway into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. Election. Flynn's lawyer says his client is willing to testify in exchange for immunity, but at least one lawmaker says that's not a deal he's ready to take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADAM SCHIFF, UNITED STATES HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE: Well I think we start out with a very healthy skepticism. There's a lot we need to learn before entertaining anything like this. There's a lot we need to learn from other witnesses. But I start out, I think, with a very healthy skepticism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: U.S. House Democrat Adam Schiff speaking there about immunity for Michael Flynn.
ALLEN: Given that, it's not clear if Flynn will receive immunity if he does testify before Congressional Committees investigating Russia's alleged interference in the Presidential election.
VANIER: Now, U.S. experts told the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee that the Russian Government had an army of internet trolls active during the campaign. CNN's Brian Todd has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It started with several tweets alleging a terrorist attack at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey last summer. Russian state media outlets R.T. and Sputnik posted variations of the story. Soon, even Donald Trump's campaign manager apparently thought it was true, repeating it on CNN.
PAUL MANOFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: There's plenty of news to cover this week that I haven't seen covered. You had the NATO base in Turkey being under attack by terrorists.
TODD: No attack had, in fact, occurred at the base. Researchers say it's an example of fake reports spread online on purpose with the help of pro-Russian users in what's believed to be a disinformation campaign supported by Vladimir Putin, all designed to influence elections and sow dissent and confusion in the West.
CLINT WATTS, FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCHER: They have a coordinated information campaign and a deliberate strategy. So they pick their objectives in the information space.
TODD: In another case, a leaked e-mail from Hillary Clinton's Campaign in which she asks a question about a treatment for Parkinson's disease was spun into a fake story alleging she was sick, triggering allegations and chatter that the Democratic candidate had the disease. Researchers say the story was shared and reposted by pro-Russian sites and read eight million times. Evidence, experts say, of how Russia was trying to throw last year's election.
How easy is it for them to spread bogus stories?
WATTS: Once they build an audience with their accounts, it's very easy to do that just through amplification. Anytime you have the ability to promote a story hundreds or thousands of times, then that puts it into trending feeds. Once it's in a trending feed, it takes on a life of its own. TODD: Experts who research Russia's fake news campaigns testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, explaining how Putin's Government uses an army of trolls, online critics who push their agendas to confuse and frighten audiences in the West, an idea that played out dramatically on the show time series Homeland. a troll factory where hundreds of employees toil away, hosting fake tweets under fake names.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iraq Bob. That's me. Navy wife, that's me too.
TODD: Their marching orders, post-phony stories and tweets and spread them as widely as possible. Experts say the real-life troll factories used by Russians may not look as slick as the T.V. version, but they are real. They say paid trolls who spread fake reports can amplify their impact using botnets. Thousands of other people's computers infected with viruses and harnessed to do their bidding. Analysts say Putin's goal is to create distrust among Americans and their allies in their political systems.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They didn't just want to discredit U.S. Elections. They wanted to discredit Hillary Clinton, sowing division within the European Union. These are all things that are part of the Russian agenda.
[01:25:18] TODD: When asked about accusations of Russia's interference in America's Election, Vladimir Putin said, "read my lips, no". But experts have testified before Congress saying we can expect Putin's Government to continue to support fake news campaign. They say for Putin, it's easy. It's effective and best of all for him it often can't be traced directly back to him. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: Police in Moscow moved quickly to arrest more than 30 protesters as opposition demonstrators took to the streets of the Russian capital for a second weekend in a row. Russian state media say the Police presence was heavy and turnout relatively light.
ALLEN: Authorities wanted to prevent a repeat of last week's protests. The biggest scene in five years in Russia, when Russians turned out in droves demanding government reforms to tackle corruption. Opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, organize that protest against Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev claiming the Prime Minister claiming the Prime Minister had taken bribes from banks and oligarchs. The Kremlin critic is in jail for 15 days.
VANIER: All right we are going to take a short break. When we come back, entire neighborhoods buried after deadly mudslides hit Colombia. We'll have a look at the search for survivors.
ALLEN: And later Donald Trump turns down the chance to throw out the first pitch to celebrate the start of the major league baseball season. We'll share why he's saying, no thanks to a Presidential tradition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen.
VANIER: And I'm Cyril vainer. Let's take a quick look at your headlines this hour. An important foreign policy is coming up to Donald Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:05] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Cyril Vanier.
Let's take a quick look at your headlines this hour.
(HEADLINES)
VANIER: Rescue workers are searching for survivors after heavy rains triggered deadly mudslides in southern Colombia. More than 200 people were killed, and more than 100 are still missing. Power and water supplies to many areas are cut off because of this disaster.
ALLEN: Let's talk more about what created it.
For that, Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is here with us now.
Hi, Karen.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Natalie and Cyril.
What happened here was a cloudburst of moisture. Now, what contributed to this was the topography of the area. Also the hydrology and timing. What I mean by topography, well, we've got this mountainous region. Mocoa (ph) is sitting in a valley. This is a location about 500 kilometers to the south of Bogota. It is a city of roughly 40,000 people. There are three rivers that come together. Here we are looking at a valley. The major river here off on the east side of the city, and they were sensing that this cloudburst was taking place. And from what I have been able to discern is they saw the water running down their streets, and then that began to cascade. Some people were able to get out in advance of this, but the devastation that we've seen from these pictures of huge boulders, homes destroyed, everyone's person effects just strewn about and a half a meter to maybe a meter of mud everywhere. And this is inundated that small city. All right. We take a look at the intertropical convergence zone. This goes completely around the globe, but it does change as we look at the seasons. As we move into the springtime season in the northern hemisphere, this is where we're looking at the ITCZ, the Intertropical Convergence Zone move more towards the north. As it does, we start to pick up that moisture, and there's this collision of moisture coming up from the southwest. These trade winds through the Amazon river basin, also a little bit from the north. We saw those flooding rains in Peru a couple of weeks ago, and now that shifted a little bit further towards the north. So now we've got a valley. We've got the climatology. It looks like Colombia is entering their rainy season right now, march and April. So you've got this collision of the land mass here, just the three rivers coming together, kind of informal housing that takes place here as well, and then just as the timing with the cluster of thunderstorms this region. And this is what produced that deadly, deadly combination that has had such a huge impact across that region.
Back to you guys.
ALLEN: Right. They got that much rain in such a short amount of time. Usually it takes a whole month to get that much rain, right?
Thanks, Karen.
VANIER: Let's look ahead to Mr. Trump's busy week in Washington. We know -- in Florida actually. We know President Trump plans to talk about trade issues and job losses when he sits down with China's president next week. However, we don't know yet if the president will tackle the U.S. and China's dramatic role reversals when it comes to climate change.
ALLEN: Right. While Trump is rolling back some regulations aimed at protecting the environment, China's president is touting the virtues of environmental protection.
As CNN's Will Ripley reports, this would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two dramatically different photo-ops just hours apart. Chinese President Xi Jinping planting trees in Beijing, talking about protecting nature. President Trump signing an executive order in Washington, dismantling President Obama's climate change policies.
The leaders of the world's two biggest polluters switching sides. China ready to take the lead on going green.
"I'm a bit shocked," says this Beijing resident. "But that's OK. Our national leaders are paying much more attention than before."
"I don't feel like President Xi has done very much," he says. "We're not seeing the results."
(on camera): It's true there are still many smoggy days in Chinese cities like Beijing, but as the U.S. seems to be reversing course on climate change, China is changing its approach. Even the hardline state newspaper, "Global Times" is calling out Trump and urging Americans to stop his climate policies.
[01:35:02] (voice-over): For years, the Chinese government misled the public on pollution and suppressed environmental activists.
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS REPORTER: Some of the factories are not in compliance.
RIPLEY: Now they're working together, creating this app showing real- time pollution data, pressuring violators to clean up their act.
UNIDENTIFID MALE: Now finally, there's a real political will to try to control the pollution.
RIPLEY: The times have definitely changed. As the U.S. rolls back environmental regulations, China is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy, like this wind turbine factory, and a Chinese tech firm buying into U.S. electric car maker, Tesla.
Many Chinese are fed up with toxic smog, a deadly by-product of decades of economic growth believed to kill more than two million people in China each year.
"Other countries have experienced pollution," says this man, "so we have examples of how to deal with it."
The world's biggest polluter hopes to put bad air in the past, as the second biggest now faces an uncertain environmental future.
Will Ripley, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: We're going to take a short break. When we come back, we'll have the story of how Ashley Madison is still in business after a hack aired the darkest secrets of millions of people. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: Chicago police have arrested a 14-year-old boy in a group sexual assault of a teenage girl. The attack was actually broadcast live, if you can believe that, on Facebook. Police say this is the first of more arrests to come.
VANIER: The victim's mother told police her daughter had been missing for 24 hours and showed them the graphic video. Authorities say at least 40 people watched the livestream, none of them reported it to police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:39:58] EDDIE T. JOHNSON, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: You know, we've seen a couple of acts in this city now in the last few months involving social media, and it just disgusts me that people would look at those videos and not pick up the phone and dial 911. So it makes you wonder, where are we going, what are we doing as a society?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: It does make you wonder. Officers also say the victim -- the victim continues to be bullied and harassed on social media. They're working to ensure she's safe.
VANIER: Media giant 21st Century FOX is backing one of America's most influential TV personalities, FOX News host, Bill O'Reilly. That's despite the reports in "The New York Times" stating that O'Reilly and the company paid several women a total of about $30 million to keep silent or not pursue litigation after they accused him of harassing them.
ALLEN: This was the headline in "The New York Times" this weekend: "Bill O'Reilly thrives at FOX News even as harassment settlements add up." O'Reilly denies the harassment claims.
Our media reporter, Brian Stelter, looked into it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: According to "The New York Times," there are a series of instances when women who worked with O'Reilly in various capacities, sometimes as a guest on his show, sometimes as a correspondent or reporter at FOX News, alleged harassment by O'Reilly, usually, some form of sexual harassment, an improper advance of some sort. In another case, verbal harassment, not in a sexual nature but abusive or bullying. In five of those cases, O'Reilly or FOX settled the cases. So there was no publicity around most of these. There was publicity around one of them, though. This was back in 2004, a case involving O'Reilly and a woman named Andrea Macris (ph). There was a $9 million settlement that got a lot of attention. But the other cases, until now, were not known about. These were private. O'Reilly wanted to keep them that way. He said he didn't want his kids to know about these people who were seeking money from him.
He said these charges have no merit, these allegations of harassment have no merit. But other people in and around FOX say O'Reilly clearly has a reputation, and they believe other women beyond the five I'm talking about could be coming forward.
These accusations about O'Reilly suggests a broader problem, a toxicity in the culture of FOX News and raise questions about how much the Murdochs know or want to know about the situation there. There's one woman month has not sued or asked for money from O'Reilly. Her name is Wendy Waltz (ph). She said, in 2013, O'Reilly was having her as a guest on his show, but then stopped having her on when she refused his advances. In fact, she said he was going to get her a job and then reneged on that commitment. She's going to hold a press conference on Monday with her attorney, who says they want an independent investigation of FOX. That's why I suspect this is not going to go away for FOX anytime soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Brian Stelter, on that scandal surrounding FOX News host, bill O'Reilly.
VANIER: It was one of the most scandalous data breaches ever, the massive hack back in 2015 that exposed the dirty laundry of millions of users of the Ashley Madison website. That's the online dating site set up for people who are already married.
ALLEN: The hack destroyed families, even driving some of the site's users to suicide.
In CNN's digital series "Mostly Human," senior technology correspondent, Laurie Segall, takes us inside the war room responsible for it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: One of the reasons I wanted to look at the Ashley Madison hack as part of this investigation was it was almost the modern-day "Scarlet Letter." When this hack happened, so many folks wanted to know who was on this list. One of the things I learned was Ashley Madison, the company itself, was actually looking into human behavior and looking into bad behavior, understanding that as human beings we're not all bad and not good. We're all somewhere in between. And what they were able to do, according to a professor who talked me through this, was target us in our weakest moments using technology to try to get us to cheat. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED PROFESSOR: There are very few people in the world who just walk around and say, I'm a liar. I'm a cheater. I'm a bad person. We all find a way to kind of convert the world and tell ourselves a story that makes us seem honest.
SEGALL (voice-over): If people can rationalize their behavior, it becomes easier to cheat.
(SINGING)
SEGALL: Ashley Madison marketed to this. Their slogan made cheating seem normal, like lots of people were doing it.
(SINGING)
SEGALL: The professor says it's easy for companies like Ashley Madison to prey on us because data shows when we're at our weakest.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROFESSOR: There's moments of the day where you're more likely to cheat and moments where you're less. Studies show people are more likely to do something bad when they're stressed, when it's close to the end of the day.
SEGALL: For example, the professor said if Ashley Madison knew you were on a business trip, you might be more likely to cheat. Therefore, if you're browsing from a different zip code, chances are you might see an ad.
UNIDENTIFIED PROFESSOR: All of things we know about you can be used by google and Facebook to target you in different situations. They focus on you making buy more Coca-Cola and Captain Crunch, but the same knowledge can be used for anything. [01:45:11] SEGALL: When Ashley Madison was hacked, we learned it
wasn't just the users who had secrets. It was the company, too. Many of the women on the site were actually bots, computerized programs. That means many customers were paying to chat with robots, not real women.
Another secret, stealth users who paid to have their data deleted were surprised to find out it wasn't actually erased.
Over a year later, Ashley Madison still exists, but its parent company, Avid Life Media, rebranded itself. It's called Ruby.
COMPUTER VOICE: Avid Life Media is changing. As of July 12, 2016, our company's new name is ruby.
SEGALL: And I had a lot of questions. But a funny thing started happening when I tried reaching out to former employees.
COMPUTER VOICE: You have reached the voice-mail box of --
SEGALL (on camera): Hey, there. My name is Laurie Segall. I'm a correspondent at CNN.
This is Laurie Segall calling from CNN.
This is Laurie Segall from CNN.
Were you ever associated with Ashley Madison in any way in management?
(voice-over): And then came the threats.
(on camera): The source, this person who was a former Ashley Madison employee, they said, "Just so you know, there's been talk about the board of directors has claimed that if we speak to the media, we will be sued. It's making me a little nervous."
This is a company that had, like, all their dirty laundry aired for all of us to see. We already know so much. So what else do they have to hide? What are they so afraid some of their former employees will say?
A year and a half post-hack, what's fascinating to me is not only is Ashley Madison still around, but they told me that they have millions more users, even post-hack, even though people were worried that they would be exposed for some of their bad behavior.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Go figure.
Go to CNN.com/mostlyhuman for more on this story as part of Laurie Segall's six-part series. That's at CNN.com/mostlyhuman.
VANIER: We're going to take a short break. When we come back, you'll see the landmarks around the world that turned blue to mark World Autism Awareness Day. You'll also meet the radio host who's seeing red over autism's stereotypes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:51:05] ALLEN: The White House is one of several iconic landmarks around the world lit up in blue to mark World Autism Awareness Day on Sunday. The aim to support autism research efforts.
VANIER: In the gulf region, the United Aram Emirates has some highly praised treatment centers. So much so that one radio host from Saudi Arabia picked up his whole life and moved to the UAE so his son could have the very best environment. Here's their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Hassan, better known as Big Huss. I host Saudi's first F.M. hip-hop show. 99.99 percent of Arabic music is all about only love. We have other issues. Community issues, social issues. And, yes, political issues. I started reading into hip-hop in 2008 when I started listening to it from Syria, Iraq. These rappers were my news source. I would listen to them educate me about what's going on in the region.
Really, so this is my hero. He's 6 years old.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2010, we were blessed with a baby boy. Three, four years down the line, we found out that he's autistic.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the best thing that happened to us, of course, and shout out to this woman, man. Say it live on TV. She's doing really great. My better half.
Dubai is a bit different place, a bit more open, of course. And we moved here exactly a year ago, and now he's starting to speak. He has -- he's starting to be much more aware about his surroundings.
Say hip-hop.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Hip-hop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I say on the air that my son is autistic and I'm not ashamed of it, and when I take a picture with my son, for example, I always use the hashtag, autism is not a disease or autism parent. Some people are a bit rude. They say, why are you so proud? Like he's disabled. And I engage with a discussion. I think that's what we want in our world. As a radio host, that's what I try to do.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number one difference between like Saudi Arabia and the UAE is the awareness that people have. The UAE has done a great job with just making that awareness. A lot of events happen. OK, that's what autism is like, you know? And my son being autistic just has opened another dimension for me.
So it sported local talents. It's changing perception about hip-hop. It's talking about my son. It's talking about how he changed me, how he made me more patient.
I want my son to be the person he's destined to me, to become a man that can be dependent on himself, which is very challenging when it comes to autistic autism, but I will definitely fight for that to happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Very nice.
VANIER: Just before we end this show, another season of Major League Baseball has begun. Fans, celebrities, politicians are packing stadiums to celebrate what's long been called America's pastime.
ALLEN: And it absolutely is, especially when spring training starts with one notable exception, though, our president.
Here's CNN's Jake Tapper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT & HOST, STATE OF THE UNIION (voice-over): Not this year. President Trump declined the Washington Nationals' invitation to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day. He cited scheduling conflicts. A surprising decision from the new commander-in-chief, who discovered America's pastime long before he discovered the boardroom.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, A.C. 360: Did you always know you were going to go into this business?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. I wanted to be a baseball player.
TAPPER: That was no childhood fantasy. Trump was a star player at the New York Military Academy. His coach told "Rolling Stone" he was once even scouted by the Phillies.
TRUMP: I was captain of the baseball team. I was supposed to be a professional baseball player. Fortunately, I decided to go into real estate instead.
[01:55:07] TAPPER: He's already stepped up to the mound for the Cubs, the Red Sox, and his beloved Yankees. But even the leader of the free world apparently gets nervous when he goes into his windup.
George H.W. Bush, a college baseball star at Yale, was visibly upset after a wide pitch at Orioles opening day in 1992. Bill Clinton took note and tried to avoid the same fate in 1996. BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I practiced for
a week before then. I went out, and I paced off the distance in the backyard of the White House.
(CHEERING)
CLINTON: Most of my practice pitches were much better. I think I was a little nervous.
TAPPER: One of George W. Bush's most unforgettable moments as president came at the 2001 World Series in New York, just weeks after the attacks on America.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The gravity of the moment never really hit me until the first step coming out of that dugout. Standing on the mound at Yankee Stadium was by far the most nervous moment of my presidency.
TAPPER: So in this long history of presidential pitches started by Taft, how will Trump stack up?
(MUSIC)
TAPPER: Well, perhaps we'll find out next season.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Oh, well. Maybe next year.
VANIER: The Bush one was a good throw.
ALLEN: It was a good throw.
VANIER: Thank you very much for joining us. I'm Cyril Vanier.
ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen.
More news ahead with Rosemary Church and George Howell right after the break. Thanks for watching.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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