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Facebook Under Fire; How is Macedonia Is Cashing In On Fake News; Hurricane Maria's Devastation; Developing Story; Hugh Hefner Dies at 91; World Headlines; Iraq Kurdish Referendum; Putin and Erdogan Meeting in Ankara. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 28, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

CNN finds new evidence of how Russians use Facebook to try to sow chaos in the U.S. during the election.

We travel to the global capital of fake news to show you people in Macedonia are cashing in on lives.

A week after Hurricane Maria, aid finally arrives in Puerto Rico, but the next challenge is to reach the people that need it most.

Facebook is used by over quarter of the world's population, more than two billion people are on it, and now the potential it has influenced an

enormous numbers of users is causing trouble for Facebook. CNN has found evidence of how Russians used the platform to try to create political chaos

in the United States.

And the U.S. president accuses Facebook of being out to get him. Now he says, Facebook was always anti-Trump. The networks were always anti-Trump.

Hence, fake news and New York Times and Washington Post were anti-Trump. Collusion.

Facebook co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, responded directly to President Trump's attacks, saying that he is working to give all people a voice and a

platform for all ideas and that both Trump and liberals accused him of being biased because they are upset about ideas and content that they don't

like. He added that is what running a platform for all ideas looks like.

Mr. Trump has been lashing out after Facebook reported that it will give congress information about ads it sold to the Russians. CNN has exclusive

information information on how those ads referenced the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Our CNN senior reporter, Dylan Byers, joins us now live from Washington. Dylan, thank you so much for joining us here to talk more about your

exclusive reporting. What did your sources tell you about the Russian campaign to influence the U.S. elections through Facebook ads?

DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR REPORTER FOR MEDIA AND POLITICS: What our sources revealed to us and it's the first instance in which we actually have

evidence of how at least one of these ads was geographically targeted. What they told us is that an ad referencing Black Lives Matter was targeted

toward the cities of Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore.

Those two cities obviously were huge flash points for racial tensions in this country for violent protests following the police shootings of

African-American men.

The fact that these Russian ad buyers would have a sophisticated enough knowledge of the American political and cultural landscape to understand

that a Black Lives Matter ad should be targeted to those areas in order to sort of amplify political and social discord, it shows a level of

sophistication that I think tells us a little bit more about what the goals and what the level of engagement of these Russian ad buyers was.

LU STOUT: Very sophisticated targeting, geographically targeting with these ads. What was the goal here? I mean, were they out to create chaos and not

necessarily back a specific candidate?

BYERS: Yes, that's absolutely right. The principal effort here at least is we understand it and again we are dealing with a small sampling of the ads

as senators have said, it's only the tip of the iceberg, but what we can take away from that is that the principal goal was really creating,

amplifying, fomenting political divisions this this country.

It was not so much about promoting Donald Trump, taking down Hillary Clinton, although we certainly seen some of that both in terms of Facebook

ads and we believe we're going to see some of that with Twitter. It was more about just creating this environment where the is so much incivility,

so much discord, and where Americans really were pitted against one another.

LU STOUT: Yes, you just mentioned Twitter. This is not just about Facebook. The Russian engine of election meddling also involves Twitter as well. And

we know that that company will have a closely watched briefing there in Washington later today. What are you going to be looking out for?

BYERS: It's absolutely right. That meeting is happening just in a matter of hours. We are going to be looking for a lot of the same things we saw with

Facebook. But, of course, Twitter is a different platform. With Twitter, you can create multiple accounts.

You don't have to, you know, disclose your identity. You can create automated accounts that just pump out information automatically over and

over and over. In fact, there are groups here in Washington that are looking

[08:05:00] at accounts with ties to Russia, with ties to the Russian government, trying to monitor what information they have been pushing. As

recently as this weekend with the sort of debate going on in this country over the NFL, there have been Russian-linked accounts that have been

pushing both people who support the protests, the national anthem protests in the NFL, and people who also are against those protests and support

Trump in his argument that NFL players should stand. So, again, it's a perfect example of the way that these accounts are so division and amplify

the partisan divides that we have in this country.

LU STOUT: Yes, your exclusive reporting, you know, it's a big one. It's just a tip of the iceberg as we are going to learn more from Twitter later

today and from Facebook as well. Dylan Byers reporting live for us in Washington. Thank you so much. We'll talk again soon.

BYERS: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Other than politically divisive ads, Facebook and Twitter have also been accused of helping spread face news during the U.S. election. Isa

Soares visited this town in Macedonia, key in generating those fake articles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tucked away in the hills of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is the small city of Veles, a place

many thousands of miles away from Washington, but whose voices echo across America.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE (voice-over): So-called fake news can have real world --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): Fighting the fake news, it's fake, phony.

CLINTON (voice-over): False propaganda.

SOARES (voice-over): In the build up to the U.S. election, over a hundred fake news websites were traced to the city. Today, fake news producers are

still pumping out false headlines, and in a shocking revelation, one revealed its next target, 2020.

SOARES: That's about seven tabs or so that were open. Just in, Sarah Palin hospitalized. You can spot the stories are really untrue, completely fake.

Bill Clinton (INAUDIBLE).

The stories on this particular website are fake, but other websites are actually going further. They are mixing fact and fiction.

That is a lie, and that's mixed in with news in the main political page. And someone in the U.S. could potentially be influenced by that. And then

make you want to click, and then they make you want to share.

Website owners make their money from advertising. Platforms like Google AdSense plays ads on their sites. Every page visit earns a fraction of a

cent, but as you can imagine, it quickly adds up with hundreds of thousands of clicks. Then to drive traffic, fake news producers use Facebook. They

post link to their stories in fan groups often on the fake profiles, all in the hope that they will go viral.

We spoke to Facebook and Google, who told us they are actively identifying and blocking accounts linked to fake news. On the ground, producers are

adapting, although, many are reluctant to speak openly about the industry, as we learned at a local cafe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you create Facebook profiles by yourself, Facebook is going to take it down in the next 24 hours.

SOARES: So, how do you get around that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go and buy real profiles --

SOARES: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- from kids, then we change the names to American persons.

SOARES: Real profiles exist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Existing profiles, yes.

SOARES: And then you change it to American names?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Small kids, they've never had two euros before. You give them two euros, they give you the profiles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all about the money.

SOARES (voice-over): Money is clearly the driving force here. And at the very top, there are people making a lot of it.

We are driven out to the city center and taken to an industrial part of town, all to protect the identity of a man who says he is one of the

pioneers of fake news in Veles.

So,, the first office.

Mikhail (ph) has arrived. He's locked into his website and I noticed that it's not your own name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

SOARES (voice-over): It's someone else's profile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That we're doing all the time. We are faking -- fake numbers to fake accounts, so I can reach more and more people.

SOARES: Right. So, here, you're Jessica. A lot of people commented but also a lot of people sharing it as we are talking. A lot of people here are

liking your posts. What are you working on now? What are you looking at now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My primary goal is to prepare (INAUDIBLE) like I was having before, to be ready for the next election in America.

SOARES: U.S. election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SOARES: How do you prepare for like that? What are you looking at?

[08:10:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simply, you need to make million front page. Like you see, Jessica, it's a fake. A lot of fake pages, a lot of fake

numbers, because I at the beginning, you need to do that to make people like your page. I know how it is to build big site and I will do it again.

I can tell you how much money I have earned in one day. It was around $2,000 to $2,500 at one day. For this kind of money to earning per day, you

need to have maybe a front page more than half a million, a million people.

SOARES: What makes a good, clickable story in your opinion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you need to find interesting topic. When Donald Trump's name is in it, it is interesting for everyone. Even in my country,

everything he said, it's worthless, he's an interesting face. When you have million friends, if you post something even if it's not interesting, a lot

of them will open it just to see what it is and you will get money.

SOARES: You don't know if it's true or not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know and I don't care.

SOARES: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the people are reading. Even if they open, I'm getting paid.

SOARES: Are you proud of what you've achieved?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 22 years, I was earning more than someone that will never earn in his entire life, with the standard that we have in my

country. So, yes, I'm proud.

SOARES (voice-over): Later at the opening of a new bar in Veles, we've seen how Mikhail's (ph) generation spends his money. Here, the alcohol is

flowing and (INAUDIBLE) around. Even the mayor of Veles has made an appearance. This is what (INAUDIBLE). When the celebration is over, the

mayor tells us what he thinks of this lucrative pop-up (ph) industry.

SOARES: The young fake news producers have put Veles on the map, on the the world map. Are you proud of that?

SLAVCHO CHADIEV, MAYOR OF VELES, MAACEDONIA (through translator): Well, frankly speaking, every town wants popularity (INAUDIBLE) the situation is

that (INAUDIBLE) country was not broken.

SOARES: It may be legal, but is it morally right?

CHADIEV (through translator): (INAUDIBLE)

SOARES: Is there a bigger puppet behind this guy who is influencing them to influence the U.S. election?

CHADIEV (through translator): I think it's more about the money (INAUDIBLE) it's like the American dream.

SOARES (voice-over): The allure of fast cash (INAUDIBLE) country when the average salary is a little more than $400 a month.

This man promises a young Macedonian he can change their fortunes.

You think they look up to him as a role model?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Some of the students, definitely.

SOARES: He teaches them to run click fake websites.

At what point did you start getting students knocking on your door or calling you and say, I want to create a fake news website, teach me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The defining moment was when some of my students discovered that they can earn money writing about politics. It spread like

fire. Right now at least four of my students are millionaires.

SOARES: Four of them are millionaires?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least four. Many of them new students invested a lot. They get some credits, some loans from the bank.

SOARES: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To grow their pages, yes.

SOARES: I almost understand why they are doing it. High unemployment, very little opportunity here in the city. As long as people in the United States

keep engaging, keep clicking, keep sharing, keep liking, these guys will be in business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was Isa Soares reporting from Veles, Macedonia.

U.S. authorities are rushing aid supplies to Puerto Rico, but a lot of it is not getting to those who need it most. We got a live report coming up.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream."

In hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, it is an uphill fight to get aid to the millions of people who still need it. Food, water, and other supplies have

arrived and much of it is still sitting in shipping containers at the main port. Trucks don't have fuel to transport supplies to the people. In many

cases, there are no drivers because they can't get to work. More than a week after the storm hit, 97 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power.

Half of the population has no running water.

CNN has a team of reporters across Puerto Rico covering every aspect of this growing humanitarian crisis. You will be hearing from all of them in

the coming hours. We will take you to the island of Vieques with Bill Weir in just a moment. But first, let's go to Boris Sanchez in the capital of

San Juan. He joins us now. Boris, is aid finally arriving and reaching areas that needed or still, people still have to wait?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Frankly, Kristie, it depends on who you ask. Some people just standing outside this ice plant just a few minutes

outside of San Juan are telling us that they're not seeing any of that aid. You mentioned that issue at the main port here in San Juan, the 3,000

shipping containers that haven't been able to reach their destination in part, as you said, because there aren't enough truckers.

They're having trouble communicating with workers to try to get them there to transport those containers. Beyond that, there's a tremendous lack of

cash because banks and ATMs are closed due to a lack of electricity. So when you go to a gas station where there is no electricity, a credit card

isn't going to work. And frankly, there isn't enough fuel. There are a lot of gas stations that are also closed.

So, it's a serious problem here in Puerto Rico, the gridlock of issues that are keeping those resources from places where they need to go. Just outside

this ice plant where we have been standing all morning, when we first arrived, there was a tremendous line, dozens and dons of people lined up

outside, hoping to get ice for food and for medication.

They have been lining up overnight for several days in a row and for several consecutive days they have been told there will be no ice. Just a

few moments ago, despite a large line here, the owner of the ice plant came here and said that there was not going to be ice, because there is not

enough fuel to run the machine to make the ice.

There was a lot of disappointment and the crowd, one father of three, telling me it is going to be chaos if this situation continues because

tensions are running high as people are getting more and more frustrated that they're not getting what they need. Kristie?

LU STOUT: And Boris, we just learned that U.S. President Donald Trump has made his decision on the Jones Act. He has decided to waive it. This is the

100-year-old log that was getting in the way of much needed aid being delivered to Puerto Rico. That must be very, very welcome news to people

there.

SANCHEZ: Anything that can be done to spur aid getting into these communities is very, very welcome. We've had several people here asking us

if we have seen FEMA coordinators in the streets. It seems that there is a lot of miscommunication between local officials and these communities

because a lot of people don't know where to go to get the resources that they need. Many of them have been asking us, where is the aid? Where can we

find the aid?

[08:20:00] Frankly, it's unclear at this point for them. We know there are several shelters available, but it's simply not getting to those who don't

necessarily need shelter but rather cash, food, and simple medication. Kristie?

LU STOUT: All right. Boris Sanchez reporting live for us from San Juan. Thank you.

With communications largely cut off across Puerto Rico, it has been difficult for people to get in touch with their loved ones. The island of

Vieques is just 10 kilometers east of the mainland, but as Bill Weir shows us, it seemed a lot further apart right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Landing at what is normally a tropical paradise, the first impressions are shock, awe, and dread. It

looks like a war zone with every lush trees stripped and broken, the tarmac littered with shattered planes.

We catch a ride through the wreckage to the town center where the deputy mayor tells me all of the 10,000 residents survived the storm but a few of

the most frail have died since. After a charity called Vieques Love brought in a few satellite phones, battered locals wait in the heat for their first

contact with the world in a week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are out of food. We're running out of food and water.

WEIR: That is the kind of heartbreaking soul-draining scene that's getting played out again and again as people look at her cry as she gets on a sat

phone for the first time. It crushes your soul to watch that. Ans this is the line. This is a two-hour line of folks waiting to give proof of life to

a wife or a husband or a father. It's rough.

This is an officer who lives on the island. He is from the state National Guard, the Puerto Rico National Guard, but he can't carry a gun for

security until he is activated. And bureaucratic red tape is holding that up. Things are so primitive. They drive around in a speaker truck letting

people when water is coming, if water is coming.

I just spoke to former president of the senate here in Puerto Rico, current senator who gave me the most impassioned plea yet from an official that

they need a general, they need ships, and they need help right now.

EDUARDO BHATIA, PUERTO RICAN SENATOR: This is something that needs and requires someone who knows how to distribute goods in the middle of almost

of a war zone.

WEIR: So you're making a plea for martial law?

BHATIA: I am making a plea for martial law. I'm making a plea for having three, four, five days where we can distribute diesel, where we can

distribute water, we're going to get food. I mean, it's bee six days after the hurricane and it's just a horrible scenario in Puerto Rico. We need

orders and we need to follow a certain amount of law. And right now, it's no man's land at night. After 7:00 p.m., it's no man's land and that should

stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I lost everything.

WEIR: Bill Weir, CNN, Vieques, Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Some heart-crashing moments caught on camera there. We are now following developments also on two volcanoes in the pacific ring of fire.

First, Vanuatu. The government there has ordered all 11,000 people on the island of Ambae to leave. A huge volcano has been spewing ash and volcanic

gas since last weekend. Aid workers will use government boats and commercial fishing vessels to get everyone off the island into emergency

shelters on nearby islands.

And on the Indonesian island of Bali, more than 130,000 people have been evacuated from the area around Mount Agung. The warning level for the

volcano is now at its highest level. Seismic activity has been very, very high over the last few days. The head of Indonesia's volcanology center

told CNN that an eruption could happen at any time.

The founder of an American multimedia empire, Playboy Enterprises has died at the age of 91. Hugh Hefner shocked America in the early 1950s by

publishing full color nude photographs of Hollywood's starlet Marilyn Monroe. It was an immediate success. The decades that followed, his

business expanded from Playboy magazine to night clubs and television shows. Stephanie Elam has a look back at his life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was one of the original American playboys, a magazine tycoon who helps spark a revolution, one that

challenged the nation's views on sexuality.

HUGH HEFNER, "PLAYBOY" FOUNDER: I have celebrated (ph) the romantic connection between the sexes. That's part of what "Playboy" is all about.

ELAM (voice-over): Hugh M. Hefner who liked to be called Hef was born in Chicago in 1926, and raised in what he said was a strict household by

conservative Protestant parents.

HEFNER: I felt there was something more to life than the world I saw around me.

ELAM (voice-over): In 1953, with just $8,000, the aspiring publisher produced the very first issue of

[08:25:00] "Playboy" magazine on the kitchen table of a Chicago apartment. The cover featured a photo of Marilyn Monroe and sold more than 50,000

copies when it hit newsstand in December of 1953. Hefner now had the funds to finance another issue and the "Playboy" empire was born.

HEFNER: Well, I have never really thought of "Playboy" as a sex magazine. What I've tried to do is create a lifestyle magazine for men.

ELAM (voice-over): Hefner divorced his wife, Mildred Williams, in 1959 and during the early days of the magazine's success decided he would not only

promote the fantasy he helped create but he would live it as well. Audience has got a taste of Hefner's good life in an early 1960s television show

called "Playboy's Penthouse."

HEFNER: Come on in and meet some of our guests.

ELAM (voice-over): Having already established himself in Chicago, Hefner made the move out west. In the early 1970s when "Playboy" magazine was

selling seven million copies a month, he made his permanent home at the now famous "Playboy" mansion in Los Angles. In 1989, Hefner uttered the two

words many thought he's never say again when he married Playmate of the Year Kimberly Conrad.

HEFNER: I do.

ELAM (voice-over): The couple had two children but separated in 1998. Hefner said he realized he was much happier as a bachelor.

HEFNER: I am essentially a romantic, so I think my life revolves and always has, revolves around women.

ELAM (voice-over): Hefner continued to live out the "Playboy" fantasy even in his later years. Often seen in his trademark silk pajama surrounded by

busty blonde lingerie clad women while hosting extravagant parties with celebrity guests. He even returned to television in 2005. This time sharing

the small screen with three live-in girlfriend in the reality show "The Girls Next Door."

In the late 2000, he began an on again-off again relationship with Playmate Crystal Harris, 60 years his junior. They tied the knot on New Year's Eve

in 2012. Hefner sold his beloved "Playboy" mansion for $100 million in 2016, on the condition that he be allowed to live there for the rest of his

life. "Playboy" and provocateur, Hugh Hefner wanted to make the world a happier, sexier place.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: What's your definition of obscenity?

HEFNER: Racism, war, bigotry, but sex itself, no. What is sad in cold world this would be if we weren't sexual beings. I mean, that's the heart of who

we are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Stephanie Elam reporting. You're watching "News Stream." Still ahead, international backlash as Iraq's Kurds vote

overwhelming for independence. Why Iraq, Turkey, and Iran say they won't accept the vote.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

Emergency aid is arriving Puerto Rico but the island's badly damaged infrastructure is slowing down the movement of supplies. Shortages of fuel

are a major problem. Ninety-seven percent of the island is still without power and half of the population has no running water.

The CEO of Facebook has responded directly to Donald Trump after the U.S. president said the company was always anti-Trump. Mark Zuckerberg said both

Mr. Trump and liberals accused the platform of being biased because they ere upset about ideas a content they don't like.

Tributes are being paid to Hugh Hefner, the founder of "Playboy" magazine, who has died at the age of 91. His businesses eventually expanded from

magazines to nightclubs and then televisions. It all began with his magazine in 1953.

Iran and Turkey say they don't accept the results of the Kurdish referendum held in Iraq. More than 92 percent of the three million who cast ballots

voted for independence. Baghdad says the poll is unconstitutional and it authorized the use of force against the Iraq's Kurdistan region. Let's get

more now on the regional impact to the Kurdish vote in Iraq. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live for us in Irbid (ph), Jordan.

Jomana, after the referendum, there seems to be more and more political tension both inside Iraq and with neighboring countries. What's the latest

on the backlash?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT:Reporter: Kristie, the pressure is really mounting on the Kurdistan regional government. We are seeing these

moves to really hurt them economically, moves to isolate that region in Northern Iraq. They're hearing the threats coming from Turkey. Of course,

Turkey is a major economic partner for the Kurdistan region.

Today, the prime minister apparently in a phone call with the Iraqi prime minister reiterating what Iran and Turkey and Iraq agreed on before this

referendum, saying that Turkey will only deal with the central government in Baghdad, also in issues like the export of oil. This could be quite

damaging for the Kurds.

We're also hearing the threats coming from Baghdad. You have parliament yesterday asking the prime minister to deploy troops to seize oil fields in

disputed territories like in Kirkuk, for example. And there is also some measures that are already going into effect. The Baghdad government had

asked the Kurds to hand over control of their airports in the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah to Iraqi authorities.

Something they refused to do. So, the Iraqi civil aviation authority that still control the air space in Northern Iraq informed airlines that they

could no longer as of Friday fly into that part of the country and so in the past 24 hours or so, we've had airline after the other in the region

announcing that they will no longer be flying. They are spending flights as of Friday at 6:00 p.m into Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.

So, really the pressure is mounting on the KRG and the ball really is in the court. The Kurds right now have to wait and see what their next move is

going to be, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes. I'm wondering if the Kurds are thinking that this could backfire on them, it could result not an independence but an erosion of the

autonomy that the Iraqi Kurds already have because of the level of pressure from Baghdad.

KARADSHEH: You know, Kristie, I was speaking to some Kurdish officials before those referendum took place. They were really defiant. You know,

they knew there was a lot of international pressure on them to not hold this referendum, but they insisted that they knew that the vote was risky

but they were still going to go ahead because the status quo as they said could not continue this failed partnership as they described it with the

central government if Baghdad could not continue and they have to hold this referendum.

But I think to a certain degree, they really did not expect this kind of reaction and this kind of backlash that we are seeing unfold right now. But

the biggest threat and a real danger right now, Kristie, is the concern that this could easily turn into an armed conflict that you could have some

sort of an incident between Kurdish and Arab forces especially in disputed territories like Kirkuk and that could easily and quickly spiral out of

control.

This is exactly why you had countries like the United States warning and saying that this is not the right time to do this referendum. They were

really concerned about this and of course, always the concern is that this could distract

[08:35:00] away from the fight against ISIS as we've heard so many countries saying. And they really are seeing some indications that the

focus of shifting away from that fight right now, Kristie, a battle that's not over.

LU STOUT: We heard that for quite a long time already, the fear that this could be destabilizing in the region and also hearing from the United

States saying we don't want this to happen. What do Iraqi Kurds make of that lack of support from the U.S. because they were so closer to get there

in Iraq to fight ISIS. Are they disappointed that the White House has not supported this vote, this referendum?

KARADSHEH: They are extremely disappointed by the U.S. disposition and disposition of other countries, but especially the United States, because

they feel that the Kurds in Iraq are (INAUDIBLE) after what they say are obvious sacrifices after being such an important partner for the United

States and Iraq when it comes to not just the fight against ISIS but over the past 12 years or so.

At the same time, Kristie, they're not just disappointed with this administration with the United States right now. This has been building for

years. And they are really disappointed with the United States who they have trusted because the Kurds have -- they have their issues with the

central government in Baghdad but it was always the United States that convince them, make promises that they need to stay in this political

process and they need to wait and they trusted the U.S.

So this attitude of enough is enough that led them to the referendum is not just about Baghdad, it's also about broken promises by the United States, a

country that's attitude has been since 2005, since 2004 is kicking the time down the road and not really dealing with the issues that were building

between the Iraqi government, the central government in Baghdad and the Kurds in the north.

LU STOUT: Jomana, we appreciate your reporting and walking us through all facets of this story. Jomana Karadsheh reporting live for us from Amman.

Take care, Jomana.

The leaders of Turkey and Russia are expected to discuss Monday's independence vote as well as curving the fighting in Syria as they meet in

Ankara. Matthew Chance is in the Turkish capital. He joins us now with the preview of this important talk. Matthew, when this talk takes place? How do

Russia and Turkey together with Iran plan to reduce the fighting in Syria?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fighting in Syria is going to be one of the main things that needs to -- leaders who have met increasingly over

the past 12 months are going to be discussing. For the first time, Turkey of course has a agreed to take part in what are essentially peacekeeping or

peace-enforcing operations in Northern Syria as part of the Russian plan deescalation zones that they've established across the country.

Turkish forces along with Russian troops and Iranian troops as well are going to be working, putting pressure on the various sanctions (ph) in

(INAUDIBLE) Province which is in the northwest of Syria. So, kind of impose a ceasefire there. It's important to say because the first time Turkish

troops have worked alongside in such a direct fashion, Russian forces and Iranian forces on the ground in Syria.

You know, it speaks to that process that has been under way for the past year or so. With Turkey, sort of shifting its foreign policy position when

it comes to Syria certainly but in other areas as well away from its western allies towards a more sort of Russian orbit. I mean, the western

powers particularly United States are opposed to Russia's presence in Syria and certainly to Iran's presence in Syria.

But now of course the Turks who are NATO members will be working alongside those armies to establish what the Russians are calling deescalation zones.

So it's significant, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Interesting to hear this pivot to Russia there in Turkey. Matthew Chance reporting live for us from Ankara. Thank you.

You're watching "News Stream." Up next, why Saudi women are celebrating. They'll soon have the freedom to get behind the wheel, as you know. We are

going to get more of the reaction to that story just ahead.

[08:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: It is a ban that has no doubt -- I mean, driven Saudi women crazy for decades. But women in the kingdom will soon be able to legally get

behind the wheel of a car. Jeanne Moos takes a look at reaction to the long awaited milestone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thelma and Louise, your next desert could be in Saudi Arabia. The news rang out from the U.N.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giving women the right to drive.

MOOS (voice-over): To the the daily show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That will allow women in Saudi Arabia to drive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MOOS (voice-over): Prompting Hillary Clinton to tweet, it's about time. Ladies, start your engines.

Until now, Saudi ladies only started their engines to protest and drive around illegally. As this activist author did in 2011, she got arrested and

charged.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The crimes driving with female.

MOOS (voice-over): Now, she's tweeting Saudi Arabia will never be the same again. The rain begins with a single drop.

Some Saudi women were downright gleeful. Tweeted one, started from the bottom in a bumper car, now we're here in a real one.

Women should be able to get drive's licenses starting next summer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't wait until June.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't slept from excitement.

MOOS (voice-over): Some non-Saudis were sarcastic. Wow, Saudi Arabia trying to catch up with the world. One century at a time, guys.

But singer Rihanna instagrammed a celebratory illustration. Some Saudi women spend a third or more of their salary to pay low-wage foreigners to

drive them to work. This cartoon showed a woman driving one of those chauffeurs to the airport wishing him safe travel.

MOOS: Figures Saudi women would finally get the right to drive just when cars are about to become self-driving. Time to throw this joke to history

dump read one tweet featuring a Thelma and Louise cartoon. It was only eighth minutes says the husband. They edited out all scenes of women

driving answers the wife. Time for that ban on women driving to be driven right off a cliff. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

LU STOUT: Change can happen. That is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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