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Honoring the Victims of Holocaust Day; South Korea and U.S. in Talks on Joining Forces; France Votes for Next President; A Warning for Russia; U.S. Carrier Prepares for Provocative Actions; Obama Will Speak to Community Leaders Fresh From Vacation; Brazilian Gov't Cracks Down on Abusive Ranches. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 24, 2017 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church.

It's Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel and we want to listen in now.

(SIREN)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just sleeping the camera, (Inaudible).

CHURCH: Sirens in Jerusalem honoring the six million Jewish victims of World War II.

We want to go now to our Oren Liebermann who joins us live from Jerusalem. So, Oren, talk to us about the significance of this day for the people across Israel.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, as you saw, with everyone standing still, an incredible somber moment two-minute siren that sounds here in Jerusalem and across Israel to remember here to remind everyone of, as you point out, the six million Jews murdered in the holocaust.

It is a solemn day. It begins remembrance we hear in Israel later in the week there will be Memorial Day and that leads into Independence Day. But it is a somber and this is that most somber moment.

The events began last night as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Jerusalem and in Israel begins a night before where there was six torcher lived, one for six million Jewish of the Holocaust and there were speeches.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin speaking about the horrors of Holocaust and hot it can be used today, what lessons can be learned today. Interestingly, both of them referenced atrocities committed today just across the border in Syria, talking about the world needs to pay more attention and to step in to stop what's happening there as the consequence as a lesson from the Holocaust. Both leaders the prime minister and president making that point.

President Reuven Rivlin also made another interesting point, and he said it's important to view and to make sure of the lens through which we view the holocaust.

It cannot be the defining event for the Jewish people but it must be a lesson, not only for the Jewish people and also for the world.

He says that is where you must view the Holocaust with your humanity and must remind you of your humanity, for never again, a statement that will be repeated today reference not only to Jewish victims but victims of other atrocities around the world. Rosemary.

HOWELL: Oren, that statement never again. The other statement we will never forget, this moment where people stood where people didn't move. Where people took a moment to pause and reflect.

Is there a concern that around the world, that sentiment is not being respected enough?

LIEBERMANN: It is, and it has certainly been much more in the limelight recently with a wave of anti-Semitic threats, not only the U.S., but also across Europe. And that has shown a light on what is supposed to be the lesson of the Holocaust, not only when it comes to anti-Semitism, but also to Islamophobia.

That idea that never forget, that that lesson hasn't been instilled or being forgotten or erased in some way as it should be.

It's also important because the number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling. Somewhere around the 100 or 150,000 range from the estimates I've seen and because of their age many are passing away very quickly.

[03:04:57] That is the strongest the most powerful testament of the horrors of the holocaust that needs to be carried on and still in others, and it becomes more difficult as they pass away. So that idea, both of those ideas, I should say, never forget and never allow this to happen again, both of those -- as each year passes, it becomes harder and yet become more important to pass on.

CHURCH: And Oren, we also saw a number of missteps by the Trump administration here in the United States, particularly, by the president's Press Secretary Sean Spicer with comments he made. But also, now, there's a lot of push back from some comments made by the pope. How have all of those comments been resonating there in Israel?

LIEBERMANN: Holocaust comparisons and Hitler comparisons never go over well here nowhere what the comparison is. And that relates both of President Donald Trump and to the pope.

In terms of President Trump, he has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial. Many see that as the opportunity to rectify the mistakes by his Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Let's not forget than an international Holocaust Day the White House

released a statement it was very early in Trump's presidency that didn't mention Judaism or anti-Semitism, and he caught a lot of flak for that here.

So the chance to get a keynote speech is an opportunity for him to attempt to rectify those mistakes and set the path, set the record straight, Spicer has apologized for his missteps and hiwscomparisons between the Assad regime and Hitler.

As for the pope, the pope compared refugee camps to concentration camps. Nobody here thinks it was meant from some sort of ill will and yet, it's one of those missteps, again Holocaust comparisons here simply never go over well.

CHURCH: Holocaust remembrance day here in Israel. Our Oren Liebermann joining us live from Jerusalem where it is just past 10 in the morning. Many thanks.

HOWELL: Thank you, Oren.

CHURCH: Well, French voters are rejecting the political system that's been in place in their country for decades. They turned away from established politicians and instead sent political novice Emmanuel Macron and far right leader Marine Le Pen to the May 7th run off.

HOWELL: Macron is the most centrist, the most pro-Europe of the candidates. The only main candidate committed to keeping France inside the European Union. He wants to boost the economy, he wants to cut corporate taxes and increase public investment. And on security he is promising to hire an expert 10,000 police officers.

CHURCH: Le Pen wants to call France out of NATO and promises a referendum on E.U. membership as soon as she takes office. Immigration is central to her platform. She's promised to slash immigration to 10,000 entries per year. Le Pen is also big on fighting radical Islamism. A position that has earned her support in the wake of terror attacks in France.

HOWELL: CNN correspondent Melissa Bell is following the story live for us in the French capital. It is good to have you with us, Melissa. I know it's been a long many hours for you covering this. But just help our viewers to understand the differences here between these two very opposite candidates and who may have the advantage here?

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The differences are absolutely stark and that choice facing French voters on May the 7th, could not be clearer in all of its differences. Let's begin first of all with Marine Le Pen. You know, it is the second time that National Front it's made is to the second round.

And of course they celebrated up there in Henin-Beaumont where she held her victory party last night, but make no mistake, this is a disappointment where she's been saying for months that she believes that the populace way that led to the brexit vote of the United kingdom that has led to Donald Trump's presidency was, but a foreshadowing of what would be her own victory in France.

She really felt that she was on her way to the Elysee Palace and was clearly hoping to make the top spot heading into the second round. She's fallen shy of that and of course that's a disappointment to her and reminder of possibly of the fact that the National Front, although it enjoys a clear and strong support in its space, has struggled to translate that into power.

This is a party that's existed since 1917. It has two MP's and a dozen mayors. That is not a tremendous amount of power for a party that has been so loud and so visible on the political landscape for as long as it has been.

It did do very well in the last week in the last elections, but then in the second round, again, so it helped rob of the final victory in the second round in many of France's regions.

Let's have a listen to what Marine Le Pen had to tell her supporters last night in Henin-Beaumont that party. Because she immediately turned her fire to the man who is now her competitor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINE LE PEN, NATIONAL FRONT PARTY PRESIDENT (through translator): This great debate will finally take place. The French must seize this historic opportunity for the key issue of this election is rampant globalization that puts our civilization in danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:09:55] BELL: Now, she has a very strong policies on a number of issues. She wants to cut immigration. She wants to take the 10,500 or so people who under active surveillance for suspicion of terrorism and simply shift them out of the country at her rhetoric has gotten more extreme as the election day has come closer because, again, she believed that she could capitalize on those issues.

Against her on the other side, Emmanuel Macron who stands for almost everything that she does not, the big question is how this -- was how this untested quality electorally would be able to translate his lack of partisanship.

Because he represents no established party into electoral success, that he managed to do it so spectacularly in the first round, is a major of the fact that the French team willing to find an alternative to Marine Le Pen. Someone that represents change, but not in that same way.

Let's have a listen to what Emmanuel Macron had to say to his supporters last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): The challenge is to start a new political chapter and to act justly and effectively so that each person find his or her place in France and in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: It is George, a much more inclusive much more progressive message that he's trying to put forward. He's profoundly pro-European, he's in favor of more rather than less globalization. And that is really the choice facing the French on the seventh of May. It's going to be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks pan out.

HOWELL: Melissa Bell, covering the story live for us in Paris. Melissa, thank you so much.

CHURCH: France's presidential election is widely regarded as the latest test of the sweeping populism that led to U.S. President Donald Trump and brexit.

Mr. Trump weighed on Twitter saying "This very interesting election currently taking place in France." he recently praise Marine Le Pen in the press, and former President Barack Obama called Emmanuel Macron with words of encouragement.

CNN senior political analyst David Gergen spoke to CNN's Ana Cabrera about the ties between the French candidates and their American counterparts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: This election does represent yet another rejection of the elites who have been running politics, we've seen that here in America. We saw it in Britain with brexit and we see much of the same sentiment in France with you know, another traditional parties getting into the second round.

But what's fascinating about this also is, yes there is a Trump candidate in the race. Donald Trump has been his team have been clearly favoring Marine Le Pen, the far right populist party.

And yet, at the same time we've seen the emergence in this election of a new figure, an Obama like figure, Macron who, and Obama had called Macron before the election. He's young, he's a globalist like Obama. He has some rhetorical similarities with Obama.

And so you got in from our perspective in a fascinating way, a Trump candidate versus an Obama candidate and that's very interesting now of itself where it goes.

But the more serious aspect of this, of course is, if Le Pen wins and she does have Donald Trump support, really important. If she wins, she is going to basically pull France out of the European Union. The euro may well collapse, France would go and we would go back to another age is the nationalism that Steve Bannon and others represented in the Trump White House would come to victory in France.

At the moment, that's unlikely to happen. She's unlikely to win. The poll that decided most often that is head on head between the two of them. Ahead, Macron ahead by 26 points just not long ago before this election today.

So she's not likely to win, but I think having Trump versus Obama in France and it really could have a lot to do with the future of Europe, that's a big story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: David Gergen there with our Ana Cabrebra. Well, political commentator and journalist Agnes Poirier joins us now from Paris. Good to see you. So, when we look at the electoral map how is the second round of voting likely to take shape. And is the winner Macron as certainty as some suggest or should we be more cautious if the U.S. election is anything to go by?

AGNES POIRIER, FRENCH POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, considering how French elections are usually divides. I mean, there's little fair to have, considering a chance of Marine Le Pen's victory in two weeks' time. Of course everything is possible, but, you know, I think she's going to lose by 40 percent and is going to win by 60 percent.

But, of course, as you mentioned there are two weeks of campaign and Macron is going to turn 40 this year and he's very young and slightly experienced although he was and the economy minister for Francois Hollande and he will have to prove that he can be president. He will have to behave more presidentially than he has in the past.

[03:14:58] And Marine Le Pen who strangely is a formidable of course opponent, but he hasn't done a very good campaign. So, if she goes on not being so good then you know, great chances for him to win the presidency.

But, of course, if she bounces back, which she could, then things might become slightly, you know, more difficult for him.

CHURCH: So how much of a hindrance will it be for Emmanuel Macron being an outside and also having no party to fall back on as he goes into the May 7th run?

POIRIER: Well, it is also the appeal you see, I mean, he's inexperienced, but it's fresh. Therefore people think, you know, it's a good thing. Also he doesn't come from -- he doesn't have a party behind him, which some people was bad, but others find it extremely appealing, although it belongs to the establishment.

It is, you know, it's new and therefore hasn't belonged to the system, as they call it. So and also the appeal is that because he will have to provide new MP's, new faces for the general elections that will be taking place after the presidential elections in June.

Then it means, basically a renewal of the whole political class. Because traditionally, the French gave a majority through the president they have chosen. So, fascinating times in France. It's a historical day and historical few weeks ahead.

CHURCH: Yes, certainly it is. So, if Emmanuel Macron wins this election and the numbers seem to show that that is more than likely who will he govern with and how will he govern, given there's no party behind him. Who does he reach out to?

POIRIER: Well, that's a very good question, you know, who is he going to choose as his prime minister, perhaps, who Francois Bayrou who is a centrist as well and who tried to do what he achieved yesterday in the last two presidential elections.

But what's going to happen and we've seen it, already happening yesterday is that a lot of people on the left and the right are going to rally around behind Macron, so there will be some season and serious and experience politicians behind him as well as, you know, completely new political class.

So I think a bit, you know, of the old and a lot of the new.

CHURCH: Definitely interesting times across France. We'll be watching very closely. Many thanks, Agnes Poirier joining us there from Paris, where it is 9.17 in the morning. Many thanks.

Well, North Korea has taken another American into custody and is threatening to destroy a U.S. warship.

HOWELL: Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM how these new provocations could make it harder. So, all the nuclear tensions with Pyongyang. Stay with us.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the U.S. and its allies are trying to figure out how to stop North Korea's nuclear test. South Korea is in ongoing talks with the U.S. to see if they can do joined drills with the American warship making its way to the Korean Peninsula.

HOWELL: But in the meantime, North Korea is threatening to sink that same that same U.S. carrier with both a single strike.

CNN is covering the story with our correspondents throughout the region, David McKenzie live in Beijing. Let's start though with Paula Hancocks live in Seoul, South Korea.

Good to have you both with us. Paula, so tensions are clearly high on the Peninsula, though, all the while this is a time of transition ahead expecting in the weeks to in South Korea with government a new leader, how is that playing in to what as I mentioned a very tense situation at hand.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, certainly others in the region are completely focused on North Korea in the heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. But for many South Korean officials obviously they have a close eye on what's happening, the threats that Pyongyang is making against the USS Carl Vinson.

But they are more focus that this point the election, the presidential election coming up on May 9th. There's no actual president in this country. There was an acting president as the previous one was impeached and has been imprisoned and indicted. And so certainly for many South Korean people as well there is far

more focus on domestic issues and domestic politics than what's happening with North Korea at this point.

Now all the presidential candidates were also doing their presidential debates are being ask about North Korea. Security is certainly one of the number one issues that moderators are asking them about and people want to find out about.

But certainly it is tricky for and has been for many months for this country to consolidate a policy on North Korea along with President Trump's new administration where there hasn't actually been ahead of state that's been able to talk directly to those coming here.

The vice president, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense from the U.S. who they've been meeting as someone with the acting president who will actually be in power in the next few weeks. George?

HOWELL: You say the timing is tricky I think that couldn't be said better. Let's now go to David in Beijing, China. It continues through to be a very important part of this puzzle given the tensions between the United States, North Korea, and now Japan also taking a very strong stance.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. I think the phone call between the President Trump and the leaders of China and Japan can be summed up with China calling for calm in Japan urging strength. And that really reflects the prison through which they view this crisis.

China has repeatedly said that it wants the situation to be calmed down for rhetoric, ease and potentially for there to be talks like there were some years ago that failed and tried to stop the Kim Jong- un regime from developing nuclear weapons.

We've only got obviously got the version of those so far from China and Japan, no word yet from the White House.

[03:24:58] What President Trump was saying, China did say they want no more provocative action and that they are hoping to ease the tension.

As I mentioned, Shinzo Abe spoke to reporters after making that phone call with President Trump. He said that Japan is uniquely in a dangerous position because of this crisis and here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I'm told President Trump that appreciate his stance that showing with his words and actions that all options are on the table.

We agree to keep calling strongly on North Korea to refrain from provocative moves.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MCKENZIE: Well, North Korea is saying that the provocative actions are coming from the U.S. and Japan as they send military assets into the region. George?

HOWELL: David, thank you. Now to Paula, this other question all the while another U.S. citizen detained in North Korea, what more do we know about Tony Kim, why he was detained and what could happen next here in this climate between two nations, that it's very tense?

HANCOKS: Well, we don't know the exact circumstances surrounding the detention of Tony Kim. We understand he's a professor at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.

We have had a statement from that university, from that school. And they've that he was trying to board a plane in the Pyongyang airport and that he was detained at that point. But they said they don't believe that he was detained because of anything he had done within the university.

They don't know exactly what the investigation is surrounding or at least they're not publicly saying that. The Swedish embassy as well who works on behalf of the United States when it comes to anything North Korea and the U.S., obviously has no ties diplomatically with North Korea.

They say that he was also trying to leave the country. And of course he's now number three when it comes to American citizens who are being held by North Korea. There is a 21-year-old student who's been sentenced to 15 years hard labor and also a man accused of espionage. A Korean who a naturalized U.S. citizen. He's been sentenced to 10 years and hard labor as well.

So the U.S. Department said they're looking at this very closely.

HOWELL: CNN international correspondent Paula Hancocks live in Seoul, South Korea. David McKenzie, following the story in the Chinese capital. We thank you both for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.

CHURCH: All right. Let's take a very short break here. But still to come, French voters have had their say on establishment politicians. Coming up, how investors are reacting.

HOWELL: Plus, a government shutdown looms over a major milestone for the U.S. president. But the U.S. lawmakers may be hard pressed to put together a spending bill that both parties could agree with and approve. Stay with us.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with you.

I'm George Howell.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: I'm -- and I'm Rosemary Church.

I want to update you now the top stories we've been following. The U.S. secretary of state says sanctions begins with Russia will remain until it returns Crimea and implement the Minsk agreement.

That's according to the State Department. Rex Tillerson spoke to the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Sunday after a U.S. paramedic was killed by an explosion in eastern Ukraine.

HOWELL: In North Korea, the nation threatening to take out the U.S. aircraft carrier making its way toward the Korean Peninsula. State media report say that the North is ready to sink that warship with, quote, "a single strike." The carrier is doing training drills with two Japanese in the Western Pacific.

CHURCH: Since he left the White House three months ago, we have seen former President Barack Obama vacationing. Well, now Mr. Obama will deliver his first public remarks since the end of his presidency.

In just a few hours, he's scheduled to speak about community organizing to young leader and students in Chicago where his political career started.

HOWELL: This story just in to CNN, in Afghanistan, the nation's defense minister and army chief of staff have resigned from their post. This comes just a few days after the Taliban launched a deadly raid on an army base in northern Afghanistan. As many as 140 people have been killed there.

The U.S. President Donald Trump is approaching his 100th day in office. It is an important benchmarks here the in U.S. and here's the thing about it. He has the lowest level of support of any modern U.S. president in this ABC/Washington Post poll. Fifty three percent of Americans say they disapprove of his performance, 42 percent say that they approve.

CHURCH: And the poll from NBC and the Wall Street Journal is pretty similar with 54 percent approval.

Well, there is another cloud hanging over President Trump's milestone, a possible government shutdown. Congress has until midnight Friday to pass a spending bill to continue funding the government. The issue is so important. Vice President Mike Pence is cutting his overseas trip show and returning to Washington to help get this something passed.

HOWELL: We'll get some context now bringing in Leslie Vinjamuri, a senior lecturer on international relations with SOAS University of London. It's good to have you with us this hour, Leslie.

Let's talk about the plus minus here of the president's first 100 days in office, how has he done?

LESLIE VINJAMURI, SENIOR LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: It's been grueling first 100 days. Remember that Donald Trump has recognized when at the start of his presidency, he recognized the importance of the 100-day mark, he set out an agenda. Now of course he's faced an incredibly difficult set of circumstances in a domestic front.

If you remember back 100 days ago, his, the first thing that he wanted to accomplish was to repeal and replace Obama care, the Affordable Care Act and that went tremendously badly. I mean he hasn't moved forward with tax reform.

So it's two key a legislative agenda items really haven't gone anywhere. We're looking at tax reform proposals coming out on Wednesday. But he faced a lot of push back, there. Remember the early days of the travel ban and the protest that he -- that he got there and that's gotten nowhere.

So the domestic politics front, he's been plagued by investigations of his relationship, and his team's relationship with the Russia. And then if you look at the foreign policy, Arena.

You know, a number of reversals he hasn't renegotiated trade in the way that he said he would. He's rethought his relationship with NATO. He's now saying it's not obsolete.

[03:44:57] So a lot of things have changed about what he said he would do and but there hasn't -- there haven't been able a lot of boxes that he's able to tip, just to demonstrate a lot of success.

And I think he's phenomenally aware of this. I think there was a moment there, probably the thing that was best received in terms of his popularity were actually the air strikes that he launched in response to the chemical weapons attack.

But even then, if you look at that, it's not clear now where that goes because there's no progress really in terms of solving the broader conflict in Syria. There have been chlorine weapons used even since the chemical weapons attack that he responded to.

So it's been -- it's been a rough 100 days and at the operational level we have a number of appointments, a very senior level appointment across the government that have made no confirmations. The fact the vice president is the one doing diplomacy, and we don't have other high level officials able to manage that, it doesn't bode well for this administration.

HOWELL: All right. The other big question, now, can a government shutdown, can that be avoided with democrats digging in? Will this president sign a spending bill that does not include, that does not pave the way for the border wall that he wants built?

VINJAMURI: The border wall is clearly become tremendously contentious, as we are approaching this debate over, you know, the possibility of a government shutdown. The idea of the tax reform, that a proposal for tax reform is going to be put down right in the middle of that on Wednesday.

So I think this is going to be an incredibly volatile week for the president, very difficult to predict what will happen. But certainly he doesn't want to go into that 100-day, which is Saturday, April 29th with the government haven't shutdown.

But I think the thing to remember here is that, you know, setting aside the numerous difficulties. I think the most troubling and probably problematic thing has been the tone that the President Xi has said.

Both at home and abroad. He's come in to one of the most divided periods in American domestic politics and in our society and he's created a tremendous amount of division and contention and uncertainty and unpredictability in terms of what America's role in the world as abroad.

So the way that the presidency has been conducted is arguably -- in some ways the most significant and not the best thing that's come out of this particular 100 days.

HOWELL: Leslie Vinjamuri giving us some context, live from London. Thank you so much, we'll stay in touch with you, of course.

Back to our top story we're following you this hour, France, has dealt a heavy blow to its established political party of the first round of that nation's presidential election.

Nearly complete result shows centrist Emmanuel Macron leading far right leader Marine Le Pen as they move on now to the runoff vote that is set for May 7th.

CHURCH: Now, this is a stunning victory for Macron, an independent who has never held an elected office. This vote is also a success for Le Pen who has tried for years to clean up her father's toxic legacy in the National Front Party.

And CNN's Nina dos Santos joins us now from London with more on how the markets are reacting to the French election results. Good to see you, Nina. So how are investors responding to the news?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPPONDENT: Overwhelmingly positive here, Rosemary. This morning we've seen the French markets, in particular, really be the beneficiary of this trend. The CAC 40 which the main Paris market opened up in excess of 3.9 percent, almost touching the 4 percent past the level at one point. It's gone down a little bit since then.

But still these are significant gains for a market like that. One of the biggest market across the Eurozone, and as you can see it's lifting one of the other markets up across the region with the exception of smaller markets like, for instance, Belgium.

Take a look at the Milan MI there, that's the market in Italy. Remember, Italy is the next country that could go to the polls between Germany and Italy, we've got various selections taking place over the next six months to come across Europe. And take a look at the excess to that one also up around 2.4 percent, which Germany election set to take place in the fall.

So it's not just the European markets that are up. I should point they're actually up by the most since June at the moment. But we're also seeing a significant appreciation for the single currency. This is the euro, and as I pointed out before, France one of the biggest economy in the single currency area.

Had Marine Le Pen come out with more votes if that, she has made it through to the second round against Emmanuel Macron that could have spoken disaster with single currency, because she wants to take France outside of the Eurozone. She also wants to take the country out of the E.U. as well.

But as you can see, the fact that Emmanuel Macron got more votes, he's a pro-European, pro the E.U., pro-trade and globalization as well, that's been seen as major positive for the euro. It's currently trading at - 1.0852 against the dollar up in excess of 1 percent.

But it was at a five and a half high when they first saw the exit polls released that showed that Emmanuel Macron had gained the most of those, not just up against the dollar, I should point out, Rosemary, also against significant other currencies like France's sterling, the British pound, and the yen.

[03:40:06] And people are plowing out of gold, which is what they often go to in times of nervousness. Now this just goes to show you that the markets are saying this is the result, so far, the most pro- business result that they wanted to see. Of course the runoff will take place in two weeks from now. So the question is, can this momentum really be maintained, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. The run off will be the deciding factor on May 7th, of course. And with these two very opposite candidates, we can assume, of course that the markets are excited and they think that Macron has this in the back, right?

DOS SANTOS: Well, there are few analyst notes that are out there that say it will do remember that a significant portion of the French population still voted for very euro skeptic candidate of Marine Le Pen. And there shouldn't be any room, some of these pro-Macron hostess are saying for apathy, if you would like, voter apathy.

Because then Marine Le Pen could make some significant gains over the next couple of weeks, the larger the markets as you can see here pricing in, the fact that Emmanuel Macron will be able to continue his momentum here, that's just remind you why the markets they are positive about Emmanuel Macron.

Because you quite rightfully pointed out in your production, Rosemary, that this is a candidate that yes, has been the economy prime minister of France but he wasn't elected to that position and he's considered relatively young and inexperienced.

What he wants to do, though, is make sure that he continues with liberalizing policies. He's very pro-globalization and free trade. Remember that a lot of the world, including the United States, is becoming increasingly protectionist.

Marine Le Pen wanted to be protectionist if she manage to get into office. And he wants to free off France as notoriously draconian and inflexible labor markets as well as shrinking down the budget of the public sector which easts up more than 50 percent of French's GDP. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, it has been an intriguing outcome and the markets appear to like it. Nina dos Santos, many thanks for joining us live from London where it is 8.41 in the morning.

HOWELL: And still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, Brazil trying to crack down on abusive branches.

CHURCH: While some say workers are held in slave-like conditions. That is still to come. Stay with us.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: In Brazil, the government is trying to crack down on abusive ranches, laborers can be forced into a cycle of low wages and slave- like conditions.

CHURCH: And as our Shasta Darlington reports it can trap entire families. She has more in this CNN Freedom Project report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Barreling down on their target, an eight car convoy speeds along the back roads of Brazil's cattle country, only recently carved out of the vast Amazon rainforest.

This, one of just four mobile units cracking down on labor exploitation across the country.

We've got 25 kilometers ahead of a pretty rough road. We're looking for this ranch after they got tips.

On this day, they get sent in different directions, but the info is old. Workers have moved on and they come up empty handed. Andre Wagner in charge of this latest operation in northern Tokantins states says exploitation is entrained in Brazil's lawless agriculture frontier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You'll see someone working in the grading conditions with an exhausting work schedule eating one meal a day, while they don't receive any form of salary or very small salary because their food and tools are discounted.

DARLINGTON: Days like this make it all worthwhile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Today we are leading to inspect a complaint we received 15 days ago. It's very recent, so there's a very high chance that we'll still find the conditions described in the complaint.

DARLINGTON: In fact, the task force finds something that shocks even veteran inspectors, a family of seven workers who say they haven't received any money for two years. Living literally like animals. Maria Dalva (Ph) shows us the hammocks slung in the coral where

workers sleep. And the outdoor spigot where they bathe.

"This is the bathroom where we wash clothes," she tells me, "and the bushes is where we relieve ourselves." Maria Dalva (Ph) does the cooking and cleaning for workers on the ranch sharing a shack with her husband and toddler son.

"Nobody deserves this. This mud, only rats can sleep in a place like this. I can't sleep with all the noise the rats make."

Marcelo Gonsalvez Campos (Ph) one of the labor ministry inspectors on the team, interviews workers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is one of the worst cases I've seen. I've been an inspector for almost 20 years and this is really one of the worst.

DARLINGTON: Luis Cardoza da Silva or say Luis is the patriarch of the family. He says they had to buy their own tools, and instead of paying salary, he says the ranch owner paid them in food and accused them of owing him money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We always have hope that it will get better, we'll have a better life, but it just gets worse and then a point comes that you can't leave because you owe money for the food he's given you, you have debt.

DARLINGTON: He tells me, he was afraid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He could do anything to us. He's a mean guy.

DARLINGTON: The ranch owner is nowhere to be found and doesn't answer his phone. That makes it hard for the task force to negotiate an immediate pay out.

For them, the work is just beginning. They log hours of interviews and investigate assets. Evidence used to pressure for financial compensation, which they say often ends up at about $2,000, but when the case is strong, it can be ten times that.

More than 50,000 workers have been rescued from what Brazil defines as slave like conditions since the mobile units were created in 1995.

[03:50:02] Theo Luis now among them. But today, Wagner isn't completely satisfied.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's possible Mr. Luis won't return to his working conditions but it's also possible he will, given his age and his limited professional qualifications, he will continue to be a potential victim of slave labor.

DARLINGTON: Theo Luis and his family pack up the few valuable items they can claim after two years of grinding work on the ranch and head to an uncertain freedom back in the town they started in. Shasta Darlington, CNN out of Poema, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, on Tuesday, find out how the family is adjusting to that uncertain freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I left there, my heart opened up. It was a pleasure to get back to my house with family. So many things have changed.

DARLINGTON: A house that Theo Luis, nearly 70, rents in town for his youngest children, paid for with his government pension.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Freedom. We'll have their story and more and pursuit of traffickers on the Amazon Tuesday on the CNN Freedom Project.

CHURCH: And we will be right back after this very short break. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOWELL: Welcome back. A four-year-old girl tumbled out of a moving bus and a volunteer firefighter save her life. The back door of that bus opened. The girl fell out and go on to a busy highway.

CHURCH: Unbelievable. And that firefighter was driving behind the bus, stopped his car and ran to her rescue. He's also a trained emergency medical worker, and he told CNN's Fredrick Whitfield of what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN CIAMPOLI, VETERAN FIREFIGHTER: It was just unbelievable, you know, one minute I'm just driving down the road and the next minute I see a little girl swing open the door on this church bus and fall to the highway.

It was heartbreaking, but instantly, you know, I used my EMS training and firefighter training and assessed the scene as best as I could. I realized it wasn't a good place for her to land there, you know, typically, you know, and EMS we're not supposed to move the patient unless they're in a pretty dangerous situation.

And because she was on state highway there in Arkansas, it was grounds to get her out of there. I couldn't stand for her to get hit by a car or someone hit us both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Thank goodness for people who see something and do something about it.

CHURCH: Yes.

HOWELL: The little girl suffered a broken jaw, but she's expected to be OK.

CHURCH: They still cannot figured out she actually opened that door.

HOWELL: Yes.

CHURCH: No one in the bus was aware. Just extraordinary.

Thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

Early Start is next for our viewers here in the United States.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. For viewers around the world, more news with Max Foster, live in London.

You're watching CNN, the world's news leader.

CHURCH: Have a great day.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)