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President Trump Replaces His Secretary of State; What It Would Take to Build a New Border Wall; "My Freedom Day" is Observed Worldwide
Aired March 14, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: A change in the Trump administration that could be noticed around the world is today`s first story on CNN 10.
I`m Carl Azuz.
We`re starting to look at the U.S. secretary of state. This is the top adviser to the president on international affairs. He or she conveys U.S.
foreign policy to the rest of the world. The person who`s held the job since last February is Rex Tillerson. He`s a former businessman who used
to lead the ExxonMobil oil and gas company, as well as the Boy Scouts of America.
And some observers say Tillerson tackled the secretary of state job with the same diligence and dedication he used to lead the Boy Scouts from 2010
to 2012. But critics say that Tillerson`s business experience did not translate to effective leadership at the State Department. And on several
issues, like international trade and government policy, related to Iran, North Korea, and Russia, Secretary Tillerson often disagreed with President
Donald Trump.
Yesterday, the president announced that he was firing the secretary of state, saying the two of them were not really thinking the same.
President Trump said he and Mike Pompeo have a similar thought process. Pompeo is the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and he`s now
President Trump`s choice to become the next secretary of state.
Pompeo graduated first in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and later from Harvard Law School. The Republican from Kansas served
three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before he became CIA director. But like that job, the position of secretary of state is cabinet
level. So, Director Pompeo will need approval from the Senate to fill it. His confirmation hearings are set for April.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
A border measuring 1,954 miles separates what two countries?
North Korea and South Korea, U.S. and Canada, U.S. and Mexico, or China and Russia?
This is the length of the border between the U.S. and its southern neighbor, Mexico.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Yesterday, President Trump had a look at prototypes for the wall he wants built on that border. One of his first promises as presidential
candidate was to build the wall and have the nation of Mexico pay for it. That country has refused, but the Trump administration says it will
eventually find a way to have Mexico fund the wall. For now, it needs money from Congress.
Estimates for building the wall ranged from $10 billion to $70 billion. The president says walls work to keep illegal immigrants out of the
country. Critics say borders can be secured more cheaply with fencing, border agents and technology.
The eight prototypes the president saw yesterday in San Diego, California, had been standing and tested since October.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What would it take to build a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico?
You`re talking about an area 1,954 miles, stretching across California, Arizona, New Mexico and right here in Texas -- just about 100 yards away
from Mexico.
We spoke to civil engineers, architects and academics. They all say the wall can be built. It can be done. The question is, how?
The first thing one has to do is, before you go up, you have to go down and build a foundation. This will help provide support for the wall. In order
to prevent people from tunneling under it, it should be at least five feet deep.
The second thing one must consider is what do you use to build the wall? What materials do you go after?
Well, how about cinderblock? The upside is it`s strong; it`s secure; it`s readily available. The downside is, it`s labor intensive to have to stack
every single brick in order to build the wall. So, our experts say that option doesn`t work.
There is another option. Using poured concrete on site. That`s what they did when they built the Hoover Dam. The downside to that is when you poor
concrete in warmer climates like along many of these border states, experts say what you could end up with is a weaker wall, because the concrete might
not dry correctly, meaning a wall that could end up crumbling.
So what could be the answer here?
The experts that we spoke to say the way to go is pre-casted cement wall panels. Those panels will be lined side by side, sort of like what you
might see on a highway. Each panel would be about 20 feet high, again, five feet below ground, about 10 feet wide and eight inches thick.
Again, that wall would be stretching some 2,000 miles, and our expert says it would require 339 million cubic feet of concrete. And that`s just for
the panels. You`re also going to need reinforced steel, at least 5 billion pounds.
So what about the estimated cost?
And what about the timing on all of this? How long would it take to build? According to our expert, if you`re ambitious, you could get it done within
a presidential term, four years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Next today, 10 million. That`s the number of children who are estimated to be caught up in modern day slavery around the world.
CNN`s My Freedom Day, which is Wednesday, encourages students and schools to hold events that celebrate freedom and draw attention to modern slavery.
It`s a student-driven action. Groups from India to Kenya to the Philippines are planning to take part. One hope for what`s called "A Day
Against Slavery" is that steps will be taken to help eliminate human trafficking worldwide.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We first met Fedna in October 2011 while filming "COMMON DREAMS", a CNN Freedom Project
documentary that aimed to shed a light on the issue of restavek in Haiti.
Local non-profit say as many as 400,000 children work as domestic servants in Haiti`s restavek system, a traditional practice where children are sent
to live with a relative or a friend in the hopes that children will receive an education in exchange for doing household chores.
But too often, the children are exploited during work beyond their years and left vulnerable to all manners of abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s doing work that`s beyond her physical strength, that`s beyond her capabilities, work that the adults should be doing.
HOLMES: Fedna was just 8 years old, living as a domestic servant in her grandfather`s house. Like most restavek children, she had never been to
school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s never been to school.
HOLMES: Most restavek children especially the girls do not attend school. Through negotiations with an advocate from the non-profit Restavek Freedom
Foundation, Fedna`s grandfather agreed to let them take her to school the next day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said he would be fine with us to come in and get her to take her to school tomorrow.
HOLMES: Six years later, the CNN Freedom Project went back to Haiti to find Fedna. Now, 14 years old, she still lives with her grandfather and
she is still in school.
FEDNA, FORMER RESTAVEK (through translator): The big difference in my life is that now I can read and write.
HOLMES: Fedna says being in school has been life-changing.
JEANTILIEN: I feel really good for all that I`ve accomplished. And I have learned so much. All the things that I`ve learned, I apply them in my
daily life and I share them with other children as well.
HOLMES: Samuel Jean Baptiste is Fedna`s child advocate. He says she has grown from a shy, tentative girl into a confident young woman.
SAMUEL JEAN BAPTISTE, CHILD ADVOCATE, RESTAVEK FREEDOM FOUNDATION: She has motivation. She is devoted to learn. She is working very hard. And I`m
really happy for her. And I hope and I`m sure that she will reach her goal one day and very, very, very soon because she has motivation for that.
HOLMES: Fedna`s grandfather says he is grateful to Restavek Freedom for the opportunity to send Fedna to school and he is optimistic about her
future.
FEDNA`S GRANDFATHER (through translator): I really hope that she will become somebody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think now as we work with him and we talked to him about giving her time to play and giving her time to study, things are
getting better for this child and her life has improved. And she`s a beautiful, beautiful child.
HOLMES: Fedna says she still does chores at home but she is grateful that she`s been allowed to make her education the top priority in her life.
FEDNA: It`s important to me because I go to school, I believe I will become somebody in the future.
HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: The Capital Plaza Tower used to be the tallest building in the Kentucky capital of Frankfurt. But -- well, that changed earlier this
week. In 10 seconds, what was once 350 feet tall became a heap of rubble. A state senator`s camera gave us this drone`s eye view of the demolition.
The 46-year-old building had needed a lot of work, and an architectural group said it would be cheaper to tear it down and build a new tower than
to repair the Capital Plaza.
Of course, they`ll need to do a little undusting first. It`s a towering job that`s anything but a Febreze to Mr. Cleanup. But you can`t be scoured
to get involved and you can`t bulldozed on the job. The vacuumulative effects of Lysol solving and oxidingly (ph) big mess of glass plus steel
could lead to a new dawn of a Rezunit (ph) skyline.
I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
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