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NEWS STREAM

Trump Lashes Out Over Probe In Weekend Storm; Former Trump Aide To Cooperate With Mueller; Inside Look At Russian Troll Farms And Benefactors; Survivors Vow Not To Stay Silent; Netanyahu Warns Iran At Munich Securtiy Conference; South Korea Trans Special Decapitation Unit; Indonesia's Mount Sinabung Erupts. Aired at 8-9a ET

Aired February 19, 2018 - 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 ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Memorials for the victims of Florida's school shooting as momentum gathers for the student-led movement called Never Again, and why

many are angry at Donald Trump.

Expected to plead guilty -- the president's former campaign aide Rick Gates may testify against others. And aviation red alert, as Mount Sinabung

erupts in Indonesia with ash spewing some five kilometers into the air.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And we begin in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where the U.S president spent the weekend airing his many grievances on social media. Donald Trump

launched a fiery tweet storm, attacking the Russian investigation and falsely claiming that he's been vindicated of collusion. Kaitlan Collins

reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump lashing out about the Russia investigation, unleashing a series of angry attacks that began with

the president blaming his own FBI for the school massacre in Florida that left 17 dead.

Mr. Trump tweeting that the FBI missed signals because they are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.

The charge prompting criticism from a number of Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's an absurd statement, OK. Absurd.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: So many folks in the FBI are doing all that they can to keep us safe. The reality of it is that they are two

separate issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president should be staying out of law enforcement business.

COLLINS: Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego calling the president a psychopath, tweeting, America will regret the day you were ever born.

President Trump also going after his own national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, who said this at a security conference in Germany about Russia's

interference in the 2016 election.

H.R. MCMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: As you can see with the FBI indictment the evidence is now really incontrovertible.

COLLINS: Mr. Trump publicly scolding McMaster, saying he forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the

Russians, a conclusion that the intelligence community hasn't reached.

The president has not mentioned what, if anything, his administration is doing to retaliate against Russia or to prevent them from interfering in

future elections.

The president asserting that the Russia probe are creating discord, disruption, and chaos rather than condemning Russia, adding, they are

laughing their asses off in Moscow.

Mr. Trump also falsely claiming that he never said Russia did not meddle in the election despite multiple statements that prove otherwise, including

remarks aboard Air Force One in November when he said he believes Vladimir Putin when he says that Russia did not meddle in the election.

Mr. Trump sarcastically praising Democratic Adam Schiff for saying that the Obama administration could have taken a stronger stance against Russia,

insulting him as, quote, little, and calling him a weakened monster of no control.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, (D) RANKING MEMBER, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNICATIONS: This is a president who claims vindication any time someone sneezes. I've

said all along that I've thought the Obama administration should have done more, but none of that is an excuse for this president to sit on his hands.

COLLINS: Schiff challenging the president directly, asking if McMaster can stand up to Putin, why can't you? The president insisting Special Counsel

Robert Mueller's indictment of 13 Russians and three Russian entities for attempting to sway the election vindicates him, insisting it proves there

was no collusion between his campaign and Russia despite the fact that Mueller's investigation into potential collusion is ongoing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That was CNN's Kaitlan Collins reporting. And now to another major development in the Russia probe, the L.A. Times reports that former

Trump presidential campaign aide Rick Gates is set to plead guilty in the Mueller investigation.

It says he plans to testify against Paul Manafort, his longtime business partner, who once managed the Trump campaign. In return, Gates is to

receive a reduced sentence.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin says no substantial evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election, that was a response to U.S. indictments of 13

Russian nationals.

Let's get the very latest from CNN's Matthew Chance. He joins us live from St. Petersburg, Russia. And, Matthew, what more is the Kremlin saying

about the indictments and Russian state involvement in U.S. election meddling?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, isn't it? Because that was the first time the Kremlin had said anything at about

these U.S. indictments, which implicate 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies in the process of meddling in the U.S. political system.

But they denied it. They said there was no substantial evidence. But, of course, the whole way in which this thing operates, the whole reason that

private companies like the Internet Research Agency, which was based building right behind me here in St. Petersburg, was set up, is that

they're not official, they're run by private businessmen, private individuals.

[08:05:14] And so it gives the Kremlin a high degree of deniability. And of course, they have been, indeed denying any Russian involvement

officially in the U.S. meddling saga.

But what that indictment says is that from this building right behind me here in St. Petersburg, significant measures were taken to really sew

discord U.S political process. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: This is the only glimpse we have of a Russian troll factory in action. The undercover video was recorded inside the secretive Internet

Research Agency in St. Petersburg where paid internet provocateurs works 12-hour shifts distorting the U.S. political debate. CNN spoke to a

Russian journalist who went undercover there as an internet troll in 2016.

LYUDMILA SAVCHUK, JOURNALIST (through a translator): The U.S. elections are the key issue for the Kremlin and, of course, Russia has invested a lot

of effort into them, that's why the troll factories are working, I have no doubt.

CHANCE: And this is the publicity shy Russian oligarch now indicted in the U.S for bank crawling the troll factory. Yevgeny Prigozhin dubbed by

Russian media as, Putin Chef, has lucrative catering contracts with the Kremlin but denies any involvement in election meddling.

Americans are very impressionable people, he told Russian state media. But they see what they want to see. I have great respect for them, I'm not at

all upset that I'm on this list. If they want to see the devil, let them see one, he added.

But the possible extent of Prigozhin's alleged involvement in the often shadowy world of Russian foreign policy is only now starting to emerge.

He's already under U.S. sanctions for supporting Russian forces in Ukraine.

And now through a complex web of relationships, he suspected of links to covert Russian mercenaries deployed in Syria where CNN has reported several

were killed in a recent U.S. airstrike. Prigozhin denies any connection to the group. Whatever the truth, Putin Chef, and his network of secretive

companies seem to extend far beyond the kitchen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, it certainly does. And in fact, one his companies is still based inside this building here in St. Petersburg. It's called Nevsky

Novosti. We spoke to one of its employees earlier and he told us that that was, indeed, the business that was operating on at least two of the floors

inside that building.

You can see, there's a red sign outside that says that the building is up for rent. We called the rental agency and they told us that there are

still people on two floors and it's not going to be vacant for at least another 30 days.

And so, you know, as far as we're aware, that troll factory or the people who have been involved in it and the Internet Research Agency are still

very much working in this building in St. Petersburg. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Wow, so this so-called Internet Research Agency could very well be still up and running, this trolling farm right behind you. How does

this trolling work? This troll farm manipulate online platforms to so discord, to create chaos?

CHANCE: Well, I think that was one of the fascinating things about this latest U.S. indictment. It's set out in very clear black and white terms,

the process by which that the Internet Research Agency and the various individuals that were mentioned set about doing that.

Sewing discord, posing as Americans and entering internet chat rooms, to sort of divert the debate towards topics that are more favorable towards

Russia or the Russian point of view, buying political ads that favored one candidate or another, even going so far as to organize divisive political

rallies, which is anti-Islam rallies on the streets of U.S. cities.

All of that -- all of that attempt to create chaos in the United States, according to the indictment was organized from inside that building. And

it's really the first time we have really seen it articulated in that very clear legalistic way. And so that was what interesting about the

indictment.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Matthew Chance, reporting live from outside a Russian troll factory in St. Petersburg. Thank you, Matthew, for your

reporting.

It seems nothing is off limits for Russian efforts to sway public opinion. In fact, monitoring groups warn that Russian-linked bots are leveraging the

Florida school shooting to sew divisions online.

For instance the alliance for securing democracy has a tool that tracks what it describes as Russian propaganda and disinformation efforts online.

[08:10:04] It looks as automated social media accounts also called bots, which latch on to existing topics and hashtags to amplify them, to make

them more popular, opposing views and become more amplified. Division are zoned, and those controlling the bots are able to sway the conversation.

But the survivors of Wednesday's mass shooting in Florida are doing their best to focus the conversation and making in the laws to this doesn't

happen again.

They are also reacting to President Trump's tweet about the FBI spending too much time, investigating possible collusion between his election

campaign and Russia.

One student replying saying this quote, 17 of my classmates and friends are gone and you have the audacity to make this about Russia. Survivors and

supporters, they held this rally on Saturday to contempt law makers who take money from the gun law.

And they are planning to do it again in Washington next month. They are calling it, The March For Our Lives, calling on students to assemble on the

Capitol on March 24th. One 17-year-old survive the rampage by hiding in a closet.

Justine (ph) on Thursday about her grandfather saying that when he was 12- years-old, he too had hidden in a closet at his home and survived America's first mass shooting. Rosemary Church spoke with the young survivor, her

name, Carly Novell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARLY NOVELL, SENIOR AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: I think that we won't stop until something changes and I don't know how long that will

be.

But personally, I'm not going to stop talking about this. I can't just sit here and keep watching these things happening in our country with no

change.

It's just heartbreaking every time you see a shooting in the news and all of the media flocks up to it and everyone is talking about it for three

days and then they stop caring. And I can see it happening here but I think the students won't let that happen. And I hope something comes out

of that.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Why do you think it's different? Why do you think your generation is making a change here? Do you think it's the part

that social media has played here?

Do you think it's that you, as teenagers, have grown up, having to do these drills? You've lived with this fear of someone coming into your school and

shooting at students in the school. What do you think has made this different?

NOVELL: I think it's a combination of those things. But I don't know. I just felt passionate about it and I think my school is full of passionate

people and outspoken people, and -- because everywhere there is people that are talking. And I don't know why it's different. But I'm happy it is.

But it is too late. This should have happened a long time ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now the 17-year-old survivor of the Parkland, Florida, Carly Novell there. Now, Nicole Hockley and her 6-year-old son Dylan.

Dylan, was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting five years ago. And she is now the managing director of Sandy Hook Promise. Hockley

said change may finally be coming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE HOCKLEY, DIRECTOR, SANDY HOOK PROMISE: Momentum has continued to build since Sandy Hook. What's different about Parkland is that these are

the actual kids speaking out.

My son, Dylan, was far too young to have a voice. The survivors from his classroom were too young to have a voice. These are teenagers.

These are intelligent young people, who know what they want and they know how to articulate their pain and their needs. And, therefore, we really

need to listen to them.

This isn't parents advocating for their children. This is kids advocating for, themselves and saying, help us. Listen to us. Keep us safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Sandy Hook mother and activist Nicole Hockley there. And do join us for a special CNN town hall with students, parents and other

affected by the recent Florida school shooting. It is called Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action.

It is love, 9 p.m. Wednesday in New York. That's 2:00 in the morning, Thursday is London, 10:00 a.m. here in Hong Kong on Thursday, Only on CNN.

You are watching News Stream.

Still to come, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames the media (Inaudible) reaching the top levels of the Israeli government. We

have the details.

And decades ago, South Korea, tried to set up a kill squad to take out North Korea's leader. We'll tell you how that plan went horribly wrong.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right. Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream. The Israeli prime minister is blaming a media witch

hunt for a new police investigation.

Benjamin Netanyahu is not named as a suspect but the investigation is reaching high levels of his government. Israeli police announced last week

they have enough evidence to charge Mr. Netanyahu for corruption and two other cases. He denies all the allegations.

Meanwhile, Israel and Iran continue to talk tough, a week after they were involved in military clashes in Syria. At a security conference in Munich,

the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran on trying to increase its influence in Syria and across the Middle East.

That, you seen here, holding up what he say is a piece of Iranian drone. Now, Iran was quick to respond to them. Nic Robertson has more from

Munich.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the big concerns of this security conference has been Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel

issuing a very stern warning for Iran who he said was developing ballistic missile capable of hitting beyond the region right across the world.

He said that Iran has an agenda to expand its influence into Syria, to build military bases, naval bases, air bases within the country, to build a

bridge essentially he said between Tehran and Beirut in Lebanon. This was something he said Israel was not going to allow to happen.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel will not allow Iran's regime to put a noose of terror around our neck. We will act without

hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran's proxies that are attacking us but against Iran itself.

ROBERTSON: At one point in his speech, Netanyahu holding up what he said was a piece of an Iranian drone flown into Israeli airspace. When I spoke

at the conference here with the U.N. Secretary-General, he told me he was very concerned about Israel's growing involvement in the Syria conflict,

that it could spark a further escalation.

When he took the platform a little later however, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif responded to Netanyahu's statements by calling it a cartoonish

portrayal that didn't require, didn't justify a response.

However when he was asked a question about Iran's red line, particularly when it comes to the nuclear deal, the JCPOA, with the United States and

many other nations he said that if Iran's interests won't respected that was also a line for them.

MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through a translator): If Iran's interests are not secured, Iran will respond, will respond seriously

and I believe it would be a response that people will be sorry for taking the erroneous actions.

We will not be the first ones to violate an agreement for which all of us tried in spite of Netanyahu's attempts to achieve. We achieved it in spite

of him.

[08:20:00] We implement it in spite of him and the world will maintain that agreement in spite of his delusional attempts.

ROBERTSON: A lot of other security issues discussed at this conference but Syria really highlighting some of the deep divisions that still exist.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it was time for real and artful diplomacy to try to bring and end to that conflict. No indication

that this conference for that is anywhere near close. Nic Robertson, CNN, Munich.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Iranian T.V. reports the search for the site of a Crashed Aseman Airline's plane is still underway. It went down is a mountainous area

south of the capital, less than an hour after takeoff. Severe weather has prevented search and rescue helicopters from flying. All 65 people on

board are presumed dead.

North and South Korea are seeing thaw in tension right now, but only few weeks ago, South Korea said it was forming a special team capable of taking

out the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Some are looking back at the last time South Korea trained an assassination squad and how horribly it ended.

Ivan Watson has the chilling story of South Korea's Unit 684.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Faced with a hostile-nuclear armed neighbor, South Korea's military has announced a creation of a decapitation

unit. In the event of a war, the mission of the special task brigade would be to take out the leadership of North Korea.

But this is not South Korea's first attempt at creating a team of possible assassins. In 1968, after a bloody North Korean incursion, South Korea

created a top secret hit squad called Unit 684.

The assassination squad was sent to this uninhabited island called Silmido, for years of training, the initial plan was to recruit death row inmates

but in the end, intelligence officers chose 31 civilians from the streets of South Korean cities.

YANG DONG-SOO, A FORMER UNIT 684 TRAINER (Through a Translator): They were either a shoe shine boy, a newspaper boy, a cinema worker or a bounder.

They would approach the ones who like they might have played some sports and had a strong physique.

WATSON: In 1970, Yang Dong-soo was a 21-year-old Air Force sergeant sent to Silmido Island to train Unit 684. The conditions on the island were

often brutal.

DONG-SOO (Through a Translator): There were accidents. In the middle of sea survival training, one recruit die of fatigue.

WATSON: In fact, five other recruits were executed for desertion or crime such as threatening their trainers. For more than three years, Unit

members weren't allowed to communicate at all with the outside world.

Finally, something snapped. On the morning of August 23rd, 1971, Unit 684 staged a bloody mutiny on this beach. They begin killing their trainers,

one by one. When, Yang, heard gunfire that morning, he initially thought it was a North Korean attack. But then he says one of his trainee shots

him through the neck.

DONG-SOO (Through a Translator): When I woke up, I was bleeding from the neck, everywhere. Trainers like me were being killed by our recruits or

running away. It was chaos.

WATSON: Yang says he dragged himself out onto these rocks and hid, and somehow escaped being murdered. After killing 18 of their trainers, Unit

684 wasn't finished.

They made it to the mainland and hijacked a bus to the capital, where 20 members dies in clashes with Korean security forces. Four survived to be

later executed. For decades the brutal story of Silmido Island was covered up.

Until the Korean blockbuster movie, Silmido, hit screens in 2003. Though it led to a public government investigation, this former Unit 684 trainer

claims much of the film is fiction.

DONG-SOO (Through a Translator): The mutineers were victims who were sacrifice he tells me, and so are the trainers. To this day, the survivor

often preaches about how God saved him on that terrible day when the assassins turned on their commanders. Ivan Watson, CNN, Silmido, South

Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Chilling story of a deadly mutiny there. Now Indonesia has issued a red alert for flights in Mount Sinabung after the volcano erupted

on Monday. It spewed a thick cloud of ash, at kilometers into the air.

Now, Sinabung is northwest of the capital and has been off-limits for years due to frequent volcanic activity. Now meteorologist Jennifer Gray joins

us now from CNN world weather center.

[08:25:00] Jennifer, Sinabung has erupted again, releasing that impressive ash cloud. Thankfully, no injuries or fatalities but just how disrupted is

it for local residents, as well as air travelers?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, it's going to be disruptive for residents, because tens of thousands have had to be evacuated, not only

that but you have the respiratory problems from all of the ash, and you are right. Planes are being diverted.

And we'll talk about why in just a little bit. But I want to show you this photo. This is that ash cloud from the volcano. And if you zoom out, you

can get incredible respective. Look at the school children down here at the bottom of the picture and then that ach cloud.

I can only imagine how surreal that it has got to be for people living in this area. So it erupted just before 1:00 p.m. local time, that ash cloud

rose, as you said as high as five kilometers in the air.

Tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate right around there. And so here's Jakarta, where we can get an idea of exactly where

this is.

This volcano in the interior, and so all the people living around the base of that, of the ones that have had to be evacuated, and because of the wind

direction, all of that ash is being pulled to the south.

And so, we are going to see that forecast through Thursday, just a little bit more to the west than it has been, so you can imagine all of this ash

is going to be pulled to the south and to the west of the actual volcano, so people living in those areas could possibly be affected.

We were talking about how the places are having to be diverted and here is why. Because if an aircraft flies through that as cloud, that ask

particles will melt. Once it enters the engine of the plane.

After that happens, it's going to push to the back side of the engine, and those melted material are going to rapidly cool. And what happens -- once

those happens is that those tiny particles will stick to portions of the engine.

And so it can create engine trouble and even engine failure. So that's why it's incredibly important that those airplanes are diverted, which they

will be.

Here's the rain forecast, now the rain with this volcano is going to be a double edged sword. When you have the rain, it does clear a lot of the ash

out of atmosphere.

But on the other side of that, once it reaches the ground, all of that ash is going to turn into a thick, thick mud. Almost like clay. And that's

going to take onto everything.

And that can be a problem, not only for the roads, but also agricultures as well, because it's going to stick to those plants.

And so, basically, what can happen on the side of volcano end as well, is that rain can cause sort of like a mudslide, and all that ash can go down

the side of that volcano, and so something else to watch.

So it's definitely something we're going to be watching, Kristie, over the next couple of days and hopefully those people can return to their homes,

sooner than later.

LU STOUT: Yes, absolutely. Especially with the rain in the forecast after this volcanic eruption, and for the reasons that you pointed out, it's a

double edge sword. Jennifer Gray reporting for us.

Thank you so much and take care. You are watching News Stream and still to come, we're going to head to Liverpool, where a youth football is due to be

sentenced for abusing children. And a sea of black on the red carpet called Times Up made its presence at the last major award ceremony before

the Oscars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world

headlines.

The L.A. Times reports that Rick Gates, the former aide to the Trump election campaign, is to testify against former campaign chair Paul

Manafort in the Russia investigation. It says Gates is to plead guilty to fraud-related charges in return for reduced sentence.

In the U.S. state of Florida, families and friends of 17 people who died in last week's school shooting are laying loved ones to rest. Survivors are

vowing not to stay silent, sharing their experiences on Twitter and using the hashtag "Never Again." They are planning rallies to pressure lawmakers

for gun control measures.

A running TV reports to search for the Aseman Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday is ongoing. The aircraft went down in a mountainous area south of

the capital less than an hour after takeoff. All 65 people on board are presumed dead.

An internal report from Oxfam says three workers physically threatened a witness. The organization was looking into the 2011 Haiti prostitution

scandal. In the report, Oxfam's former country director in Haiti acknowledged using prostitutes in Oxfam guest houses. He recently denied

the accusation.

In the next hour, a U.K. youth football coach is due to be sentenced for child abuse. Barry Bennell was found guilty of dozens of counts of sexual

assault that took place over decades.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin joins me now live from Liverpool Crown Court. Erin, we are still awaiting the sentencing of Barry Bennell. What has the quarter

so far?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, the court has been hearing from victims of Barry Bennell, recall the horror that they

experiences as children. They have been reading their impact statements.

This is the first opportunity that they have had to address Barry Bennell directly. He was not present for trial due to medical issues. And they

recall not only the horror that they experienced, but also the aftermath, that not Barry Bennell shattered their dreams of football, but also scarred

the rest of their lives.

They recounted how -- many recounted how they were dealing with mental health issues, flashbacks, recalling the moment they had to tell their

parents what happened to them, the moment they had to tell their life, about the abuse, something that had an impact on their children, the next

generation.

One victim, Gary Cliffe, saying that he chose not to have children because of the abuse that he suffered as a child. At the end of his impact

statement, he moved towards Bennell who was behind a covered glass enclosure in the dark, asking the simple question why, Bennell just looking

at the ground not responding. This gives you an idea of the emotion here. We are expecting the sentencing to happen within the hour for all 50

charges. Kristie?

LU STOUT: This is a man who destroyed lives. He destroyed the innocence of dozens of young players. Tell us more about Barry Bennell. I mean, what did

the court learned about him, his past, and how he got away with the abuse for so long?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, victims are saying that he simply abused his position of power, that he knew that these children wanted to be football stars, that

that was their life dream. And he abused that dream. And he manipulated it. He also abused the parents' trust, staging sleepovers as well as trips

away.

That's how he was able to orchestrate this. Some of the victims taking it as step further, saying that the football club, some of the football clubs

simply turned a blind eye to what was going on. There was a culture of complacency.

Some of the victims saying Crewe Alexandra was one of the clubs to employ Bennell in the 80s and 90s, responding to those allegations in the form of

a statement, saying that the police so far has found no evidence to backup, that anyone else at the club knew that this abuse was going on.

In that statement, saying, quote, the club wishes to make absolutely clear that it had any suspicion or belief that Mr. Bennell was committing acts of

abuse either before, during, or after he left the club's employment. The club would have informed the police immediately. The thoughts of everyone

at the club go the victims and their families at this difficult time.

But, you know, I was speaking to Any Woodward.

[08:35:00] He was one of the first victims to come out vocally and talked about what happened to him. He said that that is simply not enough, that he

wants an apology from Crewe Alexandra for what happened. Kristie?

LU STOUT: The club needs to be held accountable as well. Erin McLaughlin reporting live for us, thank you for that.

Now, politics took center stage at the British Academy of Film and TV Awards ceremony or BAFTA. Many stars wore black to stand against sexual

harassment and gender inequality, but that didn't overshadowed the awards, which are often seen as a precursor to the Oscars. Isa Soares has this from

London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The red carpet awash with black as directors, actors, and producers put on to show a solidarity for

the "Time's Up" movement, calling for an end to sexual harassment and inequality. The talk, too, was political, with men and women standing up

for the cause that began in the United States.

SOARES (on camera): How do you feel seeing what we're seeing here tonight?

ANNETTE BENING, ACTOR: Well, I thin that we're very lucky to do what we do and that we do have a chance to help other people in other industries.

ALLISON JANNEY, ACTOR: I think there are so many people who work tirelessly for social injustice, who aren't in Hollywood, but we're just

pushing the movement along and doing what we can with our voices and our solidarity in wearing black. It's an important time, one I never thought

I'd see in my lifetime certainly.

KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS, ACTOR: This is our job and when we make films, we make films and we perform to bring attention to subjects. And this is a

perfect -- this is a perfect issue, subject, or topic. And I think that, yes, it is distracting, but let's just be distracted.

SOARES (voice over): Some actors went further, ditching partners for rights and equality activists. Jaime Winstone (ph), star of "Made in

Dagenham," was accompanied by two women who, in 1968, staged a three-week walkout from a Ford plant in the same town because of pay inequality.

On the red carpet, the Duchess of Cambridge walked a more diplomatic line, wearing olive green with a black sash, pleasing and offending observers in

equal measure.

Inside the Royal Albert Hall, the powerful protest continued.

GRAHAM BROADBENT, PRODUCER: There's a tectonic shift taking place. It turns out that meaningful change can happen very quickly if we put our

minds to it. That's good not just for film industry but for everybody.

SOARES (voice over): Even Frances McDormand, best actress for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," took a stand.

FRANCES MCDORMAND, ACTOR: As Martin said, I have a little trouble with compliance.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

MCDORMAND: But I want you to know that I stand in full solidarity with my sisters tonight in black.

SOARES (voice over): But the discourse didn't distract from the awards celebration. Outstanding British film and best film, "Three Billboards

Outside Ebbing, Missouri," took home five gongs.

Guillermo del Toro won best director for "The Shape of Water."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The BAFTA goes to Gary Oldman --

(APPLAUSE)

SOARES (voice over): And Gary Oldman proved playing Churchill was his "Finest Hour."

A night of celebration, protests and empowerment.

Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching "News Stream." Still to come, we got the latest from the Winter Games in Pyeongchang and a look at the suspected doping

violation by a Russian curler.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, this is "News Stream."

Now, the Court of Arbitration for Sport is reviewing a possible doping violation at the Pyeongchang Games.

[08:40:00] Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky is waiting for the results of a second test. He won bronze in the mixed double event this year

as part of the Olympic athletes from Russia delegation. The results are expected soon.

The Olympics are all about pushing the limits of athletes. It takes years of training and then skills as well as talent. But for those of us who are

not Olympic athletes, there is a way to experience the thrill without the tough training. Paula Hancocks pressed her hands at skiing through virtual

reality.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): If you're watching Olympic athletes at the top of their game, the sacrifice, the

dedication, you're feeling a little bit inspired. That's where this comes in, the Olympic Park.

(LAUGHTER)

HANCOCKS (on camera): This is the cross-country. And it is hard. It's really exhausting. But these virtua reality experiences mean you can be one

of the Olympic athletes although I think I've gone a fair way to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moving up and down, the sport's in the scene, also moves up and down, left and right. You move --

HANCOCKS (voice over): No Olympics is complete without the torch relay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moving your body, the treadmill part will move you left and right when you actually (INAUDIBLE) experience.

HANCOCKS (on camera): OK.

(voice over): K.T. says in this VR experience, motion sensor data and video image transmission views the 5G network, a network K.T. plans to

commercialize by next year.

(on camera): So this is the skeleton. I was quite tempted to give this one a miss but the rest of the team decided I should do it. Thank you,

(INAUDIBLE). Thank you, (INAUDIBLE).

What this is, is going headfirst down an icy track at speeds of up to 130 kilometers an hour, headfirst with your arms behind you. OK. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the track.

HANCOCKS (on camera): OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

All right, you're good to go.

HANCOCKS (on camera): Whoa! So this is apparently based on the track in Vancouver, Canada. Oh, it's fast, which is apparently one of the fastest

sliding tracks in the world. Ah, this just goes against every instinct you have, headfirst and not putting your hands out to stop yourself. Oh. Oh.

Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

HANCOCKS (on camera): That was unbelievable. I mean, I just can't believe people do that. Whoa! It's quite fun, though.

(voice over): A 19-meter ski jump, designed on the Olympics ski jump here in Pyeongchang.

(on camera): I think we can all agree that is the closest I will ever get to competing in the Olympics. It's been fun.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Gangnam, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Well done. Sign me up next. That is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. We got more Olympics coverage coming up in

"World Sport" with Amanda Davies, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END