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NEWS STREAM
Developing Story; Search for Missing Submarine Enters Day Six; Nigeria Suicide Bombing; Sexual Harassment Scandals; U.S. Justice Department Suing to Stop AT&T and Time Warner Deal; UCLA Player's Father Speaks to CNN: Turkeys Arrived to D.C. to Await Trump's Pardon. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired November 21, 2017 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe faces the start of impeachment proceedings by the very part he led. Donald Trump names North
Korea, again, a state sponsor of terror. Nations in the region are bracing for possible provocation from North Korea. And political impasse in
Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel considers her next move.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: From the upper ranks of Zimbabwe's political hierarchy to the people on the streets of Harare the message from Zimbabweans flat and
clear, they want President Robert Mugabe out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Crowds are rallying outside parliament where Mr. Mugabe's Zanu- PF Party is leading efforts to impeach him. They call for his exit from the war veterans and from his former vice president and potential
successor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Let's get the latest from our David McKenzie who is in the capital. And, David, impeachment proceedings begin today. Just how much
longer can Robert Mugabe cling on to power?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the big question everyone is asking and right now we are just outside parliament. If you come with me,
these are people who've got signs saying Mugabe must go.
They are flooding the MPs coming into the parliament building and if you just walk a little bit closer, you can see that almost at one time they try
to storm the building.
And what they are doing here is both the opposition and the ruling party supporters are in here, Kristie, on the streets really trying to apply this
pressure inside the state Houses of Parliaments in Zimbabwe.
We have the MPs trickling in for what will be the first stage of a two- stage vote potentially and you really see dramatic scenes. At one point, Kristie, there was supporter of Grace Mugabe.
The first lady must be put on the house, (Inaudible) pushed him around in the back of a pick-up truck and made him leave. We had the opposition
party leader in the park next door, everything culminating together here today to really pressure the president to step down.
And the MPs will be feeling that pressure as they see these crowds, as they enter parliament for this historic front. Kristie.
LU STOUT: And, David, around we can see, wow, quite vividly this people power pressure for Robert Mugabe to go and in the event, the Mugabe is
removed. What next? Who would replace him?
MCKENZIE: Well, assumption is that Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former vice president is trying angle himself towards getting into power. But I kind
of want to show you a bit closer here if we can.
If you just look into the actions of parliament, you can see all of these supporters who want him to go are standing there, arguing with the people
trying to get in, talking to the MPs, telling them their opinion -- I mean their opinion universally.
That I have heard is for Robert Mugabe to leave and they are both opposition supporters here and they are Zanu-PF supporters here. They are
saying Mugabe must go and Emmerson Mnangagwa, you must help us.
There is a really -- real sense of the people want the patience here in Zimbabwe but it looks like this is not going through a slowish process.
They want actions and they want action now. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, they want action -- they want action now. They want Robert Mugabe to step aside. What about his wife who has been a controversial
figure in all this? What could happen to her next?
MCKENZIE: We just don't know. Grace Mugabe is under detention. And you get a real sense from the people here that they want Robert Mugabe to go
but there are real impassioned feelings also about the first lady.
Really she doesn't engender much support and love in this country even before these events and now there is a real theory, and anger about the
person that was known as Gucci Grace.
And you have already, as I described see one person they said was a Grace supporter, wrapped up and thrown out of this area. There is no way a
couple days ago even I could be standing here, and reporting live from outside parliament.
This is a whole new era in Zimbabwe. Whether it's a long-running era or a transition to the same old politics, we don't know. But certainly the
people here have made their voices heard. They want this impeachment process to go ahead and to go ahead swiftly. Kristie.
[08:05:00] LU STOUT: And are the voices of the people behind you representative of the voices of the nation? Robert Mugabe is still
technically in power, is there a sense of frustration? Enough is enough. He's got to go now.
MCKENZIE: Absolutely, Kristie, there really is a sense of frustration, I have talked to a lot of people on the streets saying why hasn't it just
happened yet?
We were in that press conference right inside military headquarters yesterday and the head of the military seemingly to back off this sort of
precedent that we have been hearing from our sources to push Robert Mugabe to resign.
They have even given this whole operation a code name, operation restore legacy. So on the streets you have this push and even Emmerson Mnangagwa
from his exile saying that if the rule of the people that Mugabe must to go.
And you really feel that on the streets here but there is from the military, a sense of this has to be done constitutionally, even if it's
just a veneer of constitution -- constitutionality.
And that's why I think you have Zanu-PF in parliament trying to throw out the president who has defined that party for nearly three decades -- more
than three decades and that's why you have this real anger and frustration building on the streets here of Zimbabwe. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, the pressure is mounting on the streets in Zimbabwe and in parliament as well, David McKenzie, reporting live for us from Harare.
Thank you, David. Another political crisis is gripping Europe's largest economy, Germany.
The president has called for politicians to return to negotiation to form a government. He is to meet separately with the free Democratic Party and
the Green's in the coming hours. Now Chancellor Angela Merkel was re- elected for a fourth term.
And she spent weeks trying to form a coalition but those talks fell apart. Now she says that she'd rather have a new election than govern with
minority.
Now CNN's Atika Shubert is in Berlin with more in the story. And Atika, Angela Merkel apparently, she wants to go down the path of new election,
what does that involve and what does that mean for her political future?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she said she wanted to go down that path rather than form a minority government. But she also said she was
willing to give it another shot to try and form this governing coalition.
It's not clear that that's going to be possible and this is why the German president Steinmeier is actually right now meeting with the Green's Party.
He will meet with the FDP, the Free Democrats later on.
But there is a big question mark over whether or not an election would actually solve anything. We could see very much the same kind of result.
And in fact for parties like the CDU, it could mean seeing even more votes going to far right parties like the AfD. And this is something that
Chancellor Merkel, herself said that she held responsibility for after the last election two months ago.
She said that her party the CDU, the Christian Democrats had lost a million votes to the AfD. And that is something that she wanted to get back.
Whether or not she can get those voters back in time for a new election is another question.
LU STOUT: And what is the feeling among the people in Germany by now, are people casting doubt on Merkel's ability to hold together a strong
government and to survive politically?
SHUBERT: Not yet, people are clearly unhappy that the talks have broken down, in fact recent media polls show more than 60 percent of respondents
regretted what had happened. And there is some support for this idea of having new elections.
In fact the ZDF local broadcaster poll said that 51 percent of respondents wanted to see -- wanted to go to the polls again. So, but it's not clear
what kind of an impact that would have on Chancellor Merkel, herself and her party, and whether or not it might benefit other parties such as the
far right AfD.
LU STOUT: All right, Atika Shubert, reporting live for us from Berlin. Thank you, Atika. Now, the United States is expected to announce fresh
economic sanctions against North Korea in the coming hours.
That after President Donald Trump put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. So, did Pyongyang's main ally Beijing know that
this was coming?
Our CNN Andrew Stevens is in the Chinese capital. He joins us now live and, Andrew, Donald Trump has done it. He has put North Korea back on the
terror list, how is China responding?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, CNN asked very clearly of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today whether President Xi Jinping of China had
been informed by the U.S. that Donald Trump was preparing and would go ahead with his designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorists.
So that question was totally, what the official line from China is -- is the same as it pretty much always has been, this is a sensitive and complex
issue and China urges negotiation and dialogue to people to get back to dialogue to solve this issue.
[08:10:00] China's longstanding position is that the Korean Peninsula should be denuclearized. And it hasn't wavered from that at all. So it's
very, very straight announcement from the words of welcome from Japan, from Australia and from South Korea to Donald Trump's decision to designate
North Korea.
The South Koreans saying that it would add more pressure, Kristie, on North Korea to return to the table, the Australian prime minister also welcoming
in as I say, the Japanese did inject one note of course saying that they were expecting some of the strong reaction by North Korea.
And we're expecting something from North Korea, they didn't give a time frame, they're saying they wouldn't be surprised to see if North Korea
actually took some action as a result of Donald Trump's move. So the Japanese are certainly expecting North Korea to do something. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, something else I think to provoke North Korea. The U.S. is set to announce fresh sanctions against Pyongyang in the coming hours.
We heard from America's Chief Diplomat Rex Tillerson earlier in the week, he said that the pressure campaign is working in North Korea, that's
starting to bite. But is it working?
STEVENS: Well, Rex Tillerson also said that anecdotal and from intelligent sources because it is so difficult to get a clear picture of what is
actually happening in North Korea, and also having is from the sort of deprivations being felt by regular North Koreans.
But certainly the anecdotal evidence does suggest that it is getting tougher and tougher in North Korea. If you look at the latest round of
sanction set in September, there are the ninth rounds of sanctions -- U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
These are tackling, they are banning exports -- North Korean exports and imports, and they're also banning the North Koreans to work overseas, which
is a key source of income.
So all in all the U.N. says by the time these are expected to be gendered next year. That's going to take about $1 billion off North Korea's
earnings. Remember of course their earning by the North Koreans which is helping to prop up this regime.
But certainly the anecdotal evidence of what you hear from Chinese -- Chinese indent all which is the border tower with North Korea is that the
Chinese are much, much tougher, much more stringent on making sure that the embargo.
And the trade sanctions are being observed by the Chinese on the borders. So the story coming back from Dandong is it is difficult there and it is
very difficult for the North Koreans.
LU STOUT: Got it. Andrew Stevens reporting live from Beijing, thank you. You are watching News Stream. Still to come, tens of thousands of Haitian
who sought in the U.S. after that devastating earth quake years ago will now have to leave.
But the Trump administration says it is time to ends their protected status. And in CNN's Freedom Project, (Inaudible) pastor dedicated to
fighting human trafficking in the orphanages of Haiti. Stay with us.
[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream. Now the Trump administration has rolled out a new
controversial decision targeting Haitian refugees who fled to the U.S. after an earth quake devastated our county in 2010.
Our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns joins me from the White House. He's got the details on the story. And, Joe, why is the Trump
White ending protected status for Haiti?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the administration essentially says that it's time. They can go back and this was only a temporary status.
And they are required to go back the administration says under law.
But this is part of a larger push on immigration as you know, it wasn't too long ago that the administration was focusing in on childhood arrivals from
other countries. Now they are zeroing in on these tens of thousand of Haitians who came to the United States fleeing the catastrophic earthquake
of 2010.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: The Trump administration ending a humanitarian program, allowing approximately 59,000 Haitians immigrants to temporarily live and work in
the United States, giving them until July 2019 to leave the country or risk being deported.
Temporary protected status was given to Haitians in the U.S. in 2010 after a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake killed hundreds of thousands in the
island nation. The Department of Homeland Security declaring those extraordinary, but temporary conditions caused by the 2010 earthquake no
longer exist.
However, Haiti remains the poorest country in the western hemisphere and a recent United Nations report estimates 55,000 Haitians are still struggling
in the aftermath of the quake, with thousands still living in makeshift camps seven years later.
The head of the Democratic National Committee responding in a statement, writing, Donald Trump's cruelty knows no bounds, Republican Congresswoman
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, insisting that Haiti is not prepared to take back nearly 60,000 people.
This announcement coming as a federal judge permanently blocks the Trump administration's executive order that would deny funding to so-called
sanctuary cities.
The judge ruling that the president cannot set new conditions on spending approved by Congress, rejecting the administration's argument that the
order was merely an instruction to enforce existing law.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to defund anybody. If they're going to have sanctuary cities, we may have to do
that. Certainly, that would be a weapon.
JOHNS: This, as the White House seems to imply that they would prefer to have alleged child molester Roy Moore in the Senate rather than his
Democratic opponent if it means getting tax reform passed.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO DONALD TRUMP: Doug Jones is a doctrinaire liberal, which is why he's not saying anything and why the media are trying
to boost him.
BRIAN KILMEADE, CO-HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL'S FOX & FRIENDS: So vote Roy Moore?
CONWAY: I'm telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax -- this tax bill through.
JOHNS: But just last week, White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway sending a different message.
CONWAY: Whatever the facts end up being, the premise is, of course, the principle -- the incontrovertible principle is that there's no Senate seat
that's worth more than a child.
JOHNS: Press Secretary Sarah Sanders refusing to take a stand on behalf of the White House.
SARAH SANDERS HUCKABEE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes this is a decision for the people of Alabama to make. The people
of Alabama should make the decision. The decision that the people of Alabama need to make.
JOHNS: President Trump has not personally weighed in on the Roy Moore controversy in more than six days.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe Roy Moore's accusers, Mr. President?
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Roy Moore continues to deny those allegations. And he has vowed to stay in the Alabama Senate race. The president for his part today is
expected to participate in the annual tradition of pardoning two Turkeys in advance of the coming Thanksgiving holiday. The president will very likely
get some questions about the controversies of the day. Kristie, back to you.
LU STOUT: And no doubt he will be able to avoid that. Joe Johns reporting, thank you. Now all this week, CNN's Freedom Project has been
shedding light on modern day slavery in Haiti.
Now in part two this series, we meet a pastor who is making tries to stop the human trafficking and to reunite children with their families. Here is
Michael Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[08:20:00] MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The view of Haiti from above belies the depth of despair on the ground. Haiti is the poorest country in
the western hemisphere, one of the poorest in the world.
Christopher Joan Joseph says it is because of this poverty that he grew up in an orphanage. He's not actually an orphan, though. His parents just
couldn't afford to raise him.
CHRISTOPHER JOAN JOSEPH, RAISED IN AN ORPHANAGE (through a translator): At least here they do everything they can to provide, pay for school, food and
health care.
HOLMES: Christopher was brought to this orphanage when he was four-years- old. He says he was always well cared for and sent to school. But not all orphanages in Haiti are following good practices. The government's top
anti- trafficking official says many orphanages are trafficking in children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through a translator): They are forced into labor. They are not allowed to eat, not allowed to wear proper clothing, not
allowed to bed and they are allowed to live in squalor, so foreigners will give money out of pity.
HOLMES: According to a report released at Haiti's first national conference on child trafficking in June, there are at least 30,000 children
living in orphanages and most of them have at least one living parents.
GEORGETTE MULHEIR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LUMOS: No one knows for sure how many orphanages there are in Haiti. But we know it's around 750. Of
those, it's probably 20 percent to 25 percent that are considered by the government to have conditions that are so bad they should be toast
immediately.
HOLMES: Georgette Mulheir is executive director of Lumos, a nonprofit start by Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling, but aims to end the
institutionalization of children world wide by 2015.
Mulheir says one way to do that is stop well intentioned donors from supporting orphanages. A recent Lumos report estimates $100 million a year
is being given to orphanages in Haiti, money that they say should be donated to community services aimed at keeping families together.
MULHEIR: We have to educate the donor and the volunteers. And we have been working with faith-based organizations in the United States catholic
and evangelical who are really trying to change the minds of their own communities and raise awareness. If you are giving money to orphanages, if
you are volunteering in orphanages , you are helping to drive trafficking in Haiti.
HOLMES: Pastor Reginald Celestin runs a ministry in a poor community outside Port-au-Prince. He used to support orphanages but today, he's on a
mission to close some. It's not been easy.
PASTOR REGINALD CELESTIN, PASTOR, LIGHT FOR LIVING INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES: You cannot just take a kid from an orphanage and bring it back
to the parent if you don't provide some sort of financial support to that parent in order to not send the kids back to another orphanage.
HOLMES: He's made great strives at the orphanage where Christopher was raised. That facility with just 18 beds once held 40 children.
In the past two years, 25 had been reunited with their families, including Christopher who now lives with his father. Even though the two-room block
house is sparse, Christopher says he is happy.
JOSEPH (through a translator): I'm not saying I was mistreated at the orphanage, but it is more important when you are closer to your parent.
They'll always show you affection.
CELESTIN: The best place for kids to live is with the family.
HOLMES: Christopher still goes to the orphanage everyday for meals and to visit friends. He hopes that one day his younger brother and sister who
still live at the orphanage will be able to move home, too. Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: That was such an eye opening reporting there. Now, coming up Wednesday on our latest CNN Freedom Project series, we're going to meet a
girl named Hope. And she was just 13 years old when she entered a form of domestic servitude that's common in Haiti. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Hope became (Inaudible) after both of her parents died. She says she was forced to do all the household chores, was not sent to school and
was sexually abused by a member of the family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through a translator): I first suffered (Inaudible) and then I suffered rape.
HOLMES: Hope lived there for nine months before she managed to run away, not even realizing she was pregnant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now joining us Wednesday to find out more about Hope and her daughter as a part of CNN's Freedom Project series all this week on CNN.
You are watching News Stream. And still to come, a rare meeting between Presidents Putin and Assad, what they are now saying about the conflicts in
Syria next.
[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You are watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now crowds have gathered outside parliament in Zimbabwe's capital to show support for the impeachment of the president.
Robert Mugabe's own party is leading the effort after he ignored calls to step down. His vice president who he sacked has told him to accept the
will of the people.
The German president wraps up meetings in the next few hours with the Free Democrats and the Green Party to try to convince them to come back to the
negotiating table.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was elected for a fourth term but talks on forming a coalition collapsed. She says she is willing to try again but prefers a
new election to a minority government.
China says the situation on the Korean Peninsula is highly complex and sensitive and a call for all parties to do more to ease tensions. This
after U.S. President Donald Trump put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Puerto Rico is struggling to cope with the devastation from hurricane Maria that hit months ago. And now CNN has found the death toll might be nine
times higher than reported by the government. Now, the official count stands at 55. CNN has learned hundreds more are believe do have died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, Russian president Vladimir Putin plans to discuss Syria's future with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming hours and the white
House now says it is expecting the call.
Now earlier Mr. Putin hosted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in Sochi. The Russian president praised Assad for his work for fighting ISIS and
stressed the need for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.
Now CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now live from Moscow. And Matthew, Putin and Assad met. They apparently hugged as well. What does Putin say about
the Syrian president and their work against ISIS?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are right. They did hug. There are official photographs that have been released showing this sort of close
-- increasingly close personal relationship between these two figures.
The meeting actually took place in Sochi in Southern Russia yesterday. But it took place in secret. We didn't know it will happen early as of Tuesday
and presumably by the time the announcement came from the Kremlin.
This meeting had taken place. Bashar Al Assad was safely been ensconced back in his palace in Damascus. In terms of what they discussed, they seem
to -- according to Kremlin read-out, they discussed the fact that the Syrian conflict has transformed from being mainly military operations.
And of course Russia has been engaged in conducting many of those military operations, turning the tide of the battle in favor of Bashar Al Assad with
its use of air strikes, SO turning from the military operations towards the search for a political solution.
And it's that prospect of a political solution bringing in sort of approved opposition groups into a political process which the Russians have already
started alongside various other countries. That was discussed and it was explored between the two leaders, Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad.
Indeed it is the contents of those discussions which the Kremlin says it will communicate to the White House when President Putin speaks with Donald
Trump in Washington presumably later on today.
It feels a bit like a courtesy call, all this hard work of finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict is being done by Russia and the
Syrians and a few other countries directly. They're merely communicating what they discussed to the United States rather than bringing the U.S. into
the process.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: Got it. So to clarify this phone call that the White House is expecting, when Vladimir Putin called
Donald Trump, it's merely just to share the notes of the meeting that he had with Bashar al-Assad, not to ask Donald Trump for anything?
CHANCE: I don't think so, because I think that actually the Russians along with the Iranians and the Turks as well to a certain extent. They got a big
summit of leaders here tomorrow. The presidents of those countries are meeting in Russia to discuss the Syrian conflict. They basically
intentionally cut out the United States from this problem.
And Russia has really emerged or asserted itself as a power broker in the Middle East. That's why you are seeing these face-to-face talks with him
and Bashar al-Assad and with Iranian and the Turkish presidents tomorrow in Russia, and then simply communicating what was discussed, what they decided
effectively to the U.S. president in Washington.
LU STOUT: Got it. A courtesy call after cutting the U.S. out of the process. Mathew Chance reporting live for us from Moscow. Thank you so
much.
The search for a missing Argentine navy submarine that has entered its six days and 44 crew members are on board. The navy lost contact with the
submarine on Wednesday. Authorities don't know if the vessel is at the surface of the ocean or is completely submerged.
It has now been determined that underwater noises detected on Monday were not from the missing crew. Officials warned it could be just over a day
before the crew runs out of oxygen.
Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Chad Myers for more on the story because weather plays a big part here. Chad, we know that strong winds, high waves,
they have been getting in the way of the search effort. What are the conditions like now and will they improve?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND SCIENCE REPORTER: Better than yesterday, but not as good as tomorrow. They will get better tomorrow. We are still
looking at six-meter waves right now. And that swirl and that churn and the foam on the ocean. Truly, any plane that's out there with the cloud cover
being at about 300 or 400 meters can't get a really good view of anything with that foam and that spray over the ocean.
Let's zoom you in to the search area here because they were leaving the archipelago and moving up toward (INAUDIBLE). And this is the area that we
are seeing the winds right now still somewhere in the ballpark of about 40 kilometers per hour. You can imagine with that whips into the ocean, what
kind of foam, what kind of just mass of whiteness it turns into when you're trying to look for a vessel out there.
Now tonight we start to get down to about 20 kilometers per hour. And that is good as it gets because by the time we roll into Thursday, we are back
up to 70 kilometers per hour, just making this thing look like a washing machine down there. Now this is a hurricane force wind gust. But when you
get in wide open oceans like this, you can certainly with the cloud cover and the rain coming in, you reduce your visibility and you reduce your
chances of seeing the vessel.
Now, we are hoping, of course, that the vessel didn't continue under water (ph) at five knots and is still making its way at the surface up to the
north and all of a sudden we can't see it because we don't have a good enough field of vision. That's the hope. But, you know, the hope is running
out at times because there's a lot of vessels out there looking for this and we hope they find it soon.
LU STOUT: Yes, absolutely, because the clock is ticking. Chad Myers reporting. Thank you, Chad.
Now at least 50 people were killed in a suicide attack in Nigeria. Witnesses say the bomber who looked to be about 17 years old, detonated his
explosives at a mosque in the town of Mubi. That attack happened during early morning prayers. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
You're watching "News Stream." Up next, the U.S. Justice Department is suing to stop the merger of an American telecom and a media company, AT&T
and Time Warner. Coming up, we explore why this action is so controversial.
[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right. Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream." A second woman is accusing Democratic U.S. Senator Al
Franken of inappropriately touching her. Lindsay Menz says she asked for a photo with Franken in 2010 at the Minnesota State Fair, but she was
horrified when he grabbed her bottom during the picture.
She posted the picture on Facebook at the time, commenting that the senator was a creeper who molested her. Franken tells CNN he doesn't remember
taking the photo, but he feels badly that she felt disrespected.
A long-time journalist, Charlie Rose, is also facing accusations. CBS suspended him after eight women accused him of sexual harassment. The
Washington Post published accounts from the women who described groping and nude calls from Rose. Some said Rose got naked in front of them.
CBS says it is investigating. PBS and Bloomberg said that they have stopped airing Charlie Rose's show. Rose apologized in his statement to the Post,
and says he accepts responsibility for his actions though he doesn't believe all of the allegations are accurate.
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block AT&T's takeover of Time Warner, CNN's parent company. It says the deal violates anti-trust
laws because AT&T could use its control of programs to harm competition, but the company's hired lawyer says the vertical merger is one that is
routinely approved because it doesn't remove competition.
The case has raised eyebrows because the U.S. president said he will consider blocking the deal while he was home to campaign. A lot to get to
hear. CNN's senior medial correspondent Brian Stelter is with us from New York. He joins us now. Brian, before we get into that political cloud of
suspicion, CNN versus Trump --
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Right.
LU STOUT: How is AT&T and Time Warner responding to the DOJ lawsuit?
STELTER: The companies say it's inexplicable that the government has decided to step in here because it breaks with decades of legal precedent,
normally a so-called vertical merger like this one where it is a content owner and a distributor coming together.
Normally, those kinds of deals are approved by the U.S. government with some typical predictable conditions attached. That's what happened seven
years ago when Comcast and NBC got together. This deal is pretty similar, but the reaction from the government is very different.
The Trump administration decided to take a very hard line on this case, saying that this deal would be anti-competitive, it would harm consumers
and thus has to be blocked. So that is the battle line. The battle lines have been drawn in this case. We are going to have a judge appointed today
and then this battle begins for months. I think at the very least, this will take several months to be litigated.
LU STOUT: The legal battle begins. We know how Donald Trump feels about CNN through his speeches on the campaign trail, his tweets. Last year, Trump
spoke out and on the record against any sort of merger between Time Warner, again, the parent company of CNN, and AT&tT. So, how strong is the feeling
that his lawsuit is really a political power play?
STELTER: Certainly AT&T and Time Warner executives are privately suspicious. I don't think they necessarily want to say that publicly.
[08:40:00] But we heard AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson say to press conference yesterday, he doesn't know if the Trump and CNN is a factor, but her
understands why there are so many questions, giving them usual nature of the government's objection to this deal.
So AT&T in court if this gets to the point where there is discovery process. We will try to find out if there were communications between the
Trump White House and the Justice Department. What is of course so unusual about this entire year, 10 months of the Trump presidency, is that
President Trump shares all these feelings on Twitter about CNN, about the Justice Department, about his enemies.
You know, he has publicly said that Hillary Clinton should be investigated by the same Justice Department that right now is suing AT&T. So because of
President Trump's vocal criticism of his opponents, it creates a much more interesting court battle. You know, this issue of whether Trump tried to
interfere is going to be a key issue.
But to be clear, the White House and the DOJ have basically denied there has been interference from the White House. According to the government,
these are career officials who decided to bring this lawsuit because they are trying to stand up for consumers.
LU STOUT: Got it. And this is why you call it the antitrust battle for the ages (ph). Brian Stelter reporting for us live. Thank you, Brian.
STELTER: Thanks.
LU STOUT: Now, LaVar Ball, the father of one of the U.S. college basketball players recently arrested in China says he doesn't know what role President
Trump played in getting his son and teammates out. The three UCLA students were allowed to fly back to the U.S. last week after being arrested for
shoplifting.
And they thanked President Trump for his help. Mr. Trump was upset over LaVar Ball's reaction, calling him ungrateful in an angry tweet. Now, Ball
since told CNN's Chris Cuomo, he rather thank the Chinese leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAVAR BALL, FATHER OF UCLA PLAYER ACCUSED OF SHOPLIFTING: If he said he helped, that's good for his mind.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: What do you mean good for his mind?
BALL: If you helped, you shouldn't even have to say anything. If I helped somebody, I don't walk around saying, you know, I helped you now, come on
now, you give me some love, I helped you. Come on, for real? I would say thank you if he would have put him on his plane and took him home. Then I
would have said, thank you, Mr. Trump, for taking my boys out of China and bringing them back to the U.S. There's a lot of room on that plane. I don't
know.
CUOMO: Why do you --
BALL: I don't know. If I was going to thank somebody, I'd probably thank President Xi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Referring to President Xi Jinping of China. Now, there was this somewhat positive end to the interview though with Ball wishing the U.S.
president a happy Thanksgiving. Now, in the hours ahead, President Trump is said to wield his power on to turkeys. The birds named Drumstick and
Wishbone, they arrived in Washington over the weekend for this longstanding tradition.
They had been nestling in a suite at a luxury hotel, apparently relaxing before their big day, and the president plans to grant them clemency from
Thanksgiving dinner plates at a Rose Garden ceremony. After that, they will join pardoned turkeys from previous years at the Gobbler Rest exhibit at
Virginia Tech University.
And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane is next.
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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
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