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NEWS STREAM
Stormy Daniels Break Silence About Alleged Trump Affair; Russia Says U.S. Developed Novichok Nerve Agent; Ex KGB Agent: I Was Warned Avout Skripal Poisoning; Former Catalan Leader To Appear In German Court; Market Turmoil Eases As Fears Of Trade War Subside; World Headlines; U.S. Sends New F-35B Fighter Jets To The Pacific; A Look Inside U.S. Strategic Command; Uber Sells Southeast Asia Business To Rival Grab. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired March 26, 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: Stormy Daniels speaks out, the adult-film star talks about her allege affair with Donald Trump, and the threats she says that she received
after it.
Are China and the U.S. going to negotiate while business leaders warn against the trade war after tariff announcement and retaliation? We'll get
a reality check from an economic analyst.
And grabbing Uber, the taxi booking app is selling its South East Asia operation to grab, which will take over its business within a matter of
weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: In that highly anticipated interview, adult-film star Stormy Daniels breaks her silence about her allege affair with Donald Trump before
he became President.
Daniels tells Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes that she was threatened to keep quiet, and was pressured into signing documents denying their relationship.
It is unclear if Mr. Trump watched program, but a source says the President has been complaining about the attention the allegations have received.
Sara Sidner has more on what Daniels revealed in that interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. Stormy Daniels, breaking her silence to 60 Minutes about her alleged affair with Donald
Trump, and the aftermath.
STORMY DANIELS, ADULT-FILM STAR: He's like, wow, you are special. You remind me of my daughter.
SIDNER: Daniels telling Anderson Cooper that that was what Trump told her when they met for the first time in 2006. She says their only sexual
encounter happened afterwards in his Tahoe Resort hotel room.
DANIELS: He's like, have you seen my new magazine?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was showing you his own picture on the cover of a magazine?
DANIELS: Right, right. And I said, like, does this -- does this normally work for you? And I was like, someone should take that magazine and spank
you with it. And I said, you know, give me that. I just remember, like, you wouldn't. Hand it over, and so he did. I was like, turn around, drop
them.
COOPER: You told Donald Trump to turn around, and take off his pants?
DANIELS: Yes.
COOPER: And did he?
DANIELS: Yes.
SIDNER: Eventually, the joking stopped, and she says she and Trump had sex for the first and only time in their relationship. The White House has
denied the affair.
COOPER: Did you want to have sex with him?
DANIELS: No. But I didn't -- I didn't say no. I'm not a victim. I'm not...
COOPER: It was entirely consensual?
DANIELS: Oh, yes. Yes.
COOPER: You work in an industry where condom use is an issue. Did you use a condom?
DANIELS: No.
COOPER: Melania Thump had recently given birth to his son just a few months before. Did he mention his wife or child at all in this?
DANIELS: I asked, and he brushed it aside and said, oh, yes, yes. You know, don't worry about that. We don't even -- we have separate rooms and
stuff.
SIDNER: About four years after the relationship ended, Clifford talked about the alleged affair to the sister company of InTouch Magazine.
She was offered $15,000 for the story, but she says she never collected. Clifford says the article didn't initially publish. Trump's attorney,
Michael Cohen, reportedly threatened to sue the magazine. A few weeks after she did that interview, Clifford says she was personally threatened
in Las Vegas.
DANIELS: I was in a parking lot going to a fitness class with my infant daughter. And a guy walked up on me and said to me, leave Trump alone.
Forget the story.
And then he leaned around, and looked at my daughter, and said that's a beautiful little girl. It would be a shame if something happened to her
mom.
SIDNER: Daniels did not file a police report about the alleged threat, saying she was too afraid. Cohen's attorney now accusing Clifford of
defamation and demanding a retraction in a letter immediately following the 60 Minutes interview, insisting Cohen had absolutely nothing whatsoever to
do with any such person or incident.
[08:05:12] And does not even believe that such a person exists, or that such incident ever occurred. Cohen brokered a confidentiality agreement
with Clifford days before the presidential election, paying her $130,000 to keep quiet, although Clifford says she wanted to tell her story.
COOPER: Was it hush money to stay silent?
DANIELS: Yes. The story was coming out again. I was concerned for my family and their safety.
COOPER: I think some people watching this are going to doubt that you entered into this negotiation, because you feared for your safety. They're
going to think that you saw an opportunity.
DANIELS: I think the fact that I didn't even negotiate, I just quickly said yes to this very, you know, strict contract, and what most people will
agree with me extremely low number is all the proof I need.
SIDNER: But in 2018, Clifford signed two letters unequivocally denying the affair. One was sent by Cohen. The other by Daniels' former manager, Gina
Rodriguez, saying, I am not denying this affair because of hush money.
I am denying it because it never happened. Clifford telling Cooper she was pressured by her manager and attorney at the time, a claim her former
lawyer denies.
COOPER: So you signed a released statement that said, I'm not denying this affair because I was paid in hush money. I'm denying it because it never
happened. That's a lie?
DANIELS: Yes.
COOPER: If it was untruthful, why did you sign it?
DANIELS: Because they made it sound like I had no choice.
COOPER: No one was putting a gun to your head?
DANIELS: Not physical violence, no.
COOPER: You thought that there would be some sort of legal repercussions if you didn't sign it?
DANIELS: Correct. As a matter of fact, the exact sentence used was, they can make your life hell in many different ways.
COOPER: They being?
DANIELS: I'm not exactly sure who they were. I believed it to be Michael Cohen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Sara Sidner reporting. Now here are more testing times ahead for the U.S. and its relationship with Russia. The
Kremlin is now accusing the U.S. on developing Novichok.
That is the name of the nerve agent used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K. And Britain has already blamed
Russia for the attack, and expelled 23 of his diplomats.
And now the U.S. President is deciding whether to go ahead with a similar expulsion. And Russia is urging Donald Trump to show restraint. Earlier,
its Washington embassy said this, quote, Russia-U.S. relations are so multilayered, strategic stability of the entire world depends on it.
They should not be taken hostage by such clearly staged stories. Our Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance spoke to us earlier about
how this is all playing out in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Publicly they are playing it down. But behind the scenes, there is bound to be some concern,
not least because this isn't just the United States.
That's potentially about to announce expulsions of Russian diplomats, but other countries as well in the European Union are also considering the
option of expelling Russian diplomats from their countries, or possibly recalling their own diplomats from Moscow.
And so what we're seeing is a concerted international rebuke on Russia by the United States, the European Union, and of course -- and of course
Britain.
This follows the expulsion just last week of 23 British diplomats, which was in itself a response to the expulsion from Britain of 23 Russian
diplomats.
And so, I suppose the danger is from the Russian point of view that this whole situation could spiral into a never-ending tit-for-tat. And I expect
that's what the concern is in Moscow right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Matthew Chance there. When asked about the potential expulsion of its diplomats by the U.S., a Kremlin spokesman said the principle of
reciprocity will be enforced. It certainly suggests that there will be retaliation if Donald Trump sends any Russian diplomats packing.
The chemical attack in England has prompted a former senior KGB agent to come forward. He claims he received an ominous phone call just weeks
before Sergei Skripal and his daughter were attacked. Nic Robertson has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Three weeks before Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a nerve agent,
this man, Boris Karpichkov, a former senior KGB spy, got a warning his life and Skripal's were in danger.
BORIS KARPICHKOV, FORMER KGB AGENT: First time, when I was communicated, I took it as a joke.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): One week after the poisoning, he told the U.K.'s premier breakfast show he didn't bother telling the police because his live
had been threatened before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're watching this interview.
[08:10:00] I would imagine they would want to talk to you as a matter of urgency.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Now three weeks after the poisoning, he says police have yet to contact him. He's telling us more details about the
warning.
KARPICHKOV: I received a phone call from only one person who could call using encrypt (ph) phone.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTSON: Somebody you know and trust.
KARPICHKOV: Yes. Yes. He's still deep undercover, Senior field officer of Russian secret service called FSB.
ROBERTSON: What's his job?
KARPICHKOV: Sorry, not even a hint because, you know, just because man would be killed about it, because if I give slight indications -- I can't
do that. You can put me on electric chair, I will not reveal his name even there.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): However, he says he was uniquely placed to get the call.
KARPICHKOV: What is their reason?
ROBERTSON: Because he's your friend.
KARPICHKOV: No, no. It's much more simple. Once, such (Inaudible), I saved his life. (Inaudible).
ROBERTSON: You saved his life?
KARPICHKOV: Yes. That's it. That's it. It's understandable. Is it not?
ROBERTSON: Karpichkov says he spied for and against the CIA before Russia's intelligence service, the FSB, turned against him, planned to kill
him. He fled to the U.K. 20 years ago.
Twelve years ago, on a trip to New Zealand, he says, he was poisoned by Russian agents. Since then, he says, he's investigated hundreds of others
killed by the Soviet and Russian state over the past hundred years, including the murder of Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in London by
Russian agents in 2006.
KARPICHKOV: We've written an inquiry. I ran my own investigation, and the result of this investigation clearly states that Putin didn't give an
order, but Putin was aware that Litvinenko is going to be taken out.
Some senior figure within FSB came up, and they put it with this much attention. He doesn't care. He just expressed, you know, OK, if he
deserves, it should be done.
ROBERTSON: So do you believe Sergei Skripal's poisoning would have been something that Putin was aware of in advance?
KARPICHKOV: Yes. It could be the case.
ROBERTSON: So he could have stopped it?
KARPICHKOV: Yes.
ROBERTSON: And he didn't?
KARPICHKOV: I know Putin.
ROBERTSON: What you're saying is that the state has a system of disposing of its enemies...
KARPICHKOV: Yes.
ROBERTSON: ... by murder overseas.
KARPICHKOV: Yes. It's...
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTSON: And can that possibly be without Putin, do you believe?
KARPICHKOV: It's not Putin. It's about system.
ROBERTSON: But then they seem not responsibility for the system.
KARPICHKOV: He is responsible. He's creator of system.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Karpichkov says he is ready to help U.K. investigators. He has knowledge of how Russian spies use nerve agents.
ROBERTSON: You were trained in these...
KARPICHKOV: I was instructed, not trained -- instructed because you know, just to carry out some precautionary measures. That's it.
ROBERTSON: British officials tell us, we are unable to discuss who we may or may not have spoken to in the course of any ongoing investigation. And
they've given no hint whether Karpichkov can expect a call from them in the near future. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And we're getting more details about that devastating shopping center fire in Siberia. The death toll has risen to 64. Authorities
saying many of those killed were children.
Now investigators say that the fire exits were blocked during the blaze, and that an employee disabled a fire alarm. They say four people have been
detained and interrogated. A complex included a bowling alley and a petting zoo.
Authorities initially said 40 children were unaccounted for. They now say that they are searching for about 10 people. Local authorities say
victims' families will be paid 1 million rubles, that's about $17,000 in compensation.
Well, thousands of protesters take to the streets in Barcelona after a former separatist leader Carles Puigdemont is detained in Germany. We'll
get a live look at that in just a moment.
And talks of the U.S. and China coming to the negotiating table have calmed the global market. Let's speak with the senior China economist to find out
whether fears of a global trade war are even justified.
[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live in Hong Kong, welcome back, this is News Stream. Now, Egypt has kicked off its presidential election. Critics are
already calling it a sham vote. The incoming President Abdel Fattah el- Sisi is widely expected to win.
He only has one challenger after most of his rivals quit the race. The opposition accuses Mr. Sisi of effectively shutting down serious rivals to
the use of intimidation. The President says he is not to blame for the lack of choices, the voting process last three days.
In the coming hours, former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont is due to appear in a German court, following his arrest on Sunday. Spain is trying
to extradite the former Separatist
Leader, accusing him of rebellion, sedition, and misuse of funds. The arrest was with anger in Spain, and these are the scenes of Barcelona where
thousands of people took to the streets in protest. And let's get more now in the case in Germany.
CNN's Atika Shubert is live in Berlin for us. Atika, thank you so much for joining us. Carles Puigdemont, he is set to appear in court today. What
will be determined by a judge there in Germany?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are basically two legal questions. And the first one that the District Court is really deciding is
whether or not he is going to remain in detention. He was arrested yesterday.
He spent the night in police custody, and now what a judge is going to decide is whether or not he has to remain in police custody, or if he can
be released. While, the state level court takes a look at this extradition request.
And of course, that is the bigger legal question. Will the State Court actually reject or accept this request from Spain to have him extradited?
And is really a big test of the E.U. Judicial System. He was arrested on the basis of the European arrest warrant.
Now this is supposed to speed up the extradition process, and in most cases, that does happen. But in this case, his lawyers could for example
argue that sedition is seen by Spain is not the same -- is not seen as criminal in Germany.
There are number of different legal avenues that his lawyers could take to try and challenge this arrest warrant. What we know at this point is that
according to E.U. law, the German court has now 60 days to determine whether or not to accept or reject this arrest request.
So it's not like they were going to get an immediate answer today, but what we are likely to find out is whether or not he is free to go, or at least
to remain in Germany while this is being considered, or whether or not he remains in police custody.
LU STOUT: Got it. And, Atika, tell us more about what led to the arrest of Carles Puigdemont, because it was almost like an escape keeper. You
know, he tried to cross a number of borders there in Europe.
SHUBERT: Yes, the timing of this is really interesting. I mean he arrived -- Kristie, he was in Brussels, and then he went to Finland to meet with
lawmakers. They are arriving there on Thursday.
Now, on Friday, Spain issued this fresh arrest warrant. What's interesting here is that he was not arrested on Saturday as he traveled by car through
Denmark. He was only arrested on Sunday morning at around 11 a.m. as he crossed from Denmark into Germany.
[08:20:01] And he was actually arrested off the A7 highway at a rest stop there. So it appears that Germany quite proactively went out to arrest
him.
So as you can imagine, a lot of politically sensitive questions here for both the Chancellor Spokesperson and the Foreign Ministry spokesperson here
in Germany earlier this morning.
They refuse to answer in any political way saying simply, this is a judicial process that needs a judicial decision, and this is best left to
the courts.
LU STOUT: And Puigdemont's arrest has prompted his supporters to take to the streets again back in Catalonia, but just how serious is this latest
round of protests?
SHUBERT: Well, this is a serious protest. What we've seen is that I believe the numbers coming in overnight where that about 50 were lightly
injured, four people were arrested, it was a massive protest.
But, you know, Barcelona and other parts of Catalonia are no stranger to these kinds of mass protests. And you know, I was there just after the
referendum. I can't tell you just how passionately Catalonians feel about this issue of independence.
There is of course a sizable chunk of society there that does not want independence, but when ever the issue of independence comes out, you see
this tremendous outpouring on the street, tens of thousands.
And what many Catalonians told me there is that this is not an issue of just independence from Spain, but they believe this is an E.U. issue, and
that's why this arrest in Germany will, without a doubt, put extra pressure on the E.U. to make some very politically sensitive decisions on the issue
of Catalonia and independence.
LU STOUT: Atika Shubert reporting live for us. Thank you, Atika. Analysts say that global markets are seeing the calming effects of a Wall
Street Journal report that the U.S. Treasury Secretary is considering heading to Beijing for negotiations.
Steven Mnuchin told Fox News that he is consciously hopeful that the U.S. and China can reach a deal that would avert tariffs on Thursday.
Donald Trump accused China of stealing intellectual property, and told that he would impose tariffs on some $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. That's
on top of tariffs on steel and aluminum that went into effect on Friday.
Beijing hit back with duties on $3 billion worth of U.S. imports. Business and governments around the world are speaking out against the protectionist
maneuvers, including the CEOs of Apple and BlackRock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: What I have seen over my lifetime is that country's that embrace openness, that embrace trade, that embrace diversity are the
countries that do exceptional, and the countries that don't, don't.
LARRY FINK, CEO, BLACKROCK: I have been in this business now 42 years, and I have seen the wonders of how humanity is grown through globalization.
Globalization is one of the greatest human achievements.
It discredit more equalization in the world, in the last 10 years, we have seen more wise in the middle class world wide than ever before.
As I have said earlier though, through globalization, it does create segments to society that have been left behind. I do not believe a trade
war is an answer. I believe a dialogue and maybe some adjustments in trade, and trade policy can be in order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Larry Fink and Tim Cook both speaking in Beijing over the weekend. Now I dug into the possible impact of those tariffs with Donna
Kwok, Senior Economist with UBS here in Hong Kong. And I start by asking her, did Beijing seeing Donald Trump's latest on run on tariffs coming?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONNA KWOK, SENIOR CHINA ECONOMIST, UBS: Nothing believes we're expecting for a while. I mean they were talking about this way before President
Trump went into office, and I think after the two -- (Inaudible) washing machine from the solar panels, and then later on the steel and aluminum
tariffs.
China knew that it was in that, that U.S. White House fight. Plus, we also have the U.S. P.R., and your report on International Property Right coming
up on April.
And China is usually the primary suspect that is also singled out with a number of reports. They are expecting results to come through for the
investigation that the U.S. often doing on Chinese IP practices since last summer.
LU STOUT: So they were expecting this then, comes the trade war question, has the prospect of a trade war isn't getting that much closer because of
this?
KWOK: I think if we talked about what trade war -- trade war is essentially something that's quite serious, right? And it's not just an
isolated tariff on one or two products there.
We're talking about a broad range of products being hit, or maybe all exports from China to the U.S. is being hit. Now, that will be a very
messy process, and the moment, that's not our base case.
[08:25:02] We still think it is unlikely because it will be very hard for the U.S. to avoid untangling U.S. companies. A lot of Chinese exports in
the U.S. actually include value added or production value added with the content that is actually produced by other countries, including not just
the likes of Korea or Japan, but also the U.S.
LU STOUT: And as trade actions being taken on both sides, and the tree tension grows, what impact does it going to have on China's economy and its
rapid economic growth?
KWOK: On the economy actually on where we're comfortable is more the impact on companies and sectors. Specifically companies that are more
exposed to form (ph) wherever used in the sectors that are hit.
And I might say I am more comfortable about the micro impact on growth or exports, so now speaking of the value of the exports of the U.S. are
actually proposing to put tariffs on those any $50 billion to $60 billion.
China's exports are really $2.2 trillion worth of goods. So, this is a drop in the ocean, we think that if there was 25 percent tariff on that $50
billion to $60 billion wide over exports, and if all that 25 percent increase in prices is past through by both Chinese exporters, I think they
didn't swallow any of it, and also by our U.S. retailers or U.S. companies.
And it's all pass into the consumers, and U.S. seem (Inaudible), then China's GDP might be affected and pulled out my 7.1 percent. That's it.
But the thing is, this is just the first round.
It's the second, and the third round, and the fourth round, because you have to follow the effects to all the countries, U.S. consumers might
actually be sensitive.
And then therefore in the future, they might actually think about buying from somewhere else, or you might actually get business investors who are
planning to build a factory or to send investments to China, reconsidering because of high business uncertainty and risks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Donna Kwok of UBS speaking to me earlier. Now, hundreds of thousands of people turned out to more than 800 events around the world for
that protest known as March for Our Lives.
The impassioned rally was organized for survivors of the school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead. They are demanding lawmakers to take
action against gun violence.
And protesters echo those sentiments here in Hong Kong. In fact on Sunday, a crowd of supporters march. They carried signs and held a minute of
silence.
In Washington, survivors of the massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School gave powerful speeches, pushing for stricter gun laws.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID HOGG, STUDENT AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: When politicians say your voice doesn't matter because the NRA owns them, we say
no more. When politicians send us thoughts and prayers with no action, we say no more. And to those politicians supported by the NRA that allow the
continued slaughter of our children and our future, I say, get your resumes ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Thousands of people took part of rock legend Paul McCartney. He marched in New York, and he said it was for one of his best friends, fellow
Beatle John Lennon who was killed by gun violence in 1980.
The U.S. and South Korea are intending to have those planned historic talks with North Korea. And at the same time, they are still building up a solid
military defense. They will take out the latest fighter jets, next.
[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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.
An adult film star says she was threatened to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Donald Trump before he became president. In an interview with
CBS's "60 Minutes," Stormy Daniels said a man approached her and her infant daughter in a parking lot in 2011 and suggested something could happen to
Daniels if she told her story.
The White House denies the affair and the law firm representing Trump, Attorney Michael Cohen, said that Cohen had nothing to do with that alleged
threat and does not believe it ever happened.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump could decide as early as today whether to accept the U.S. National Security Council's recommendation and expel a group of
Russian diplomats. It is in response to the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K. The Kremlin says
it will retaliate if its diplomats are sent home.
Saudi Arabia says its military intercepted seven missiles fired from Yemen on Sunday. The Kingdom says one person on the ground was killed however by
falling debris. Saudi Arabia blames Houthi rebels in Yemen for the missile attacks.
The U.S. and South Korea are starting to end world war games next week and brand new F-35B fighter jets (INAUDIBLE) Asian preparation for that show of
military might. Ivan Watson was invited on board for a special look at the world's most expensive weaponry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Projecting power into the Asia Pacific. The U.S. military deploying its
newest war machines in this vast and prosperous region. The Navy and the Marines invited journalists to see the new F-35B Lightning II on board the
USS Wasp. Commanders say they are making history with this warplane's first maritime deployment.
ROBERT REDDY, CAPTAIN, F-35B PILOT: This is the first time we have a fifth generation stealth fire capability deploy as part of the Marine Air-Ground
Task Force on ship and really that kind (INAUDIBLE) rapid deployment.
WATSON (voice over): But with the projected price tag of nearly a $3 trillion over the lifetime of this stealth fighter program, the F-35 is the
world's most expensive weapon system. A recent Pentagon report listed that as of October 2017, there were 263 unresolved high priority performance
deficiencies, but the top commander here insists the warplane is now combat-ready.
BRAD COOPER, COMMANDER, EXPEDITIONARY STRIKE GROUP 7: These deficiencies for this aircraft that we have deployed at here (INAUDIBLE), they are full
up (ph) and ready to execute combat missions if called upon.
WATSON (voice over): The F-35 is just part of the enormous arsenal the U.S. has deployed here.
(on camera): We're landing the USS Huey (ph). It's a U.S. Navy destroyer (INAUDIBLE) first line of defense of the U.S. and its allies here in
Pacific region.
(voice over): This guided missile destroyer bristles with offensive and defensive weapons.
(GUNSHOTS)
WATSON (on camera): This 50-caliber machine gun is the last line of defense for this warship, but the destroyer is also equipped with the Aegis
weapon system. It can detect ballistic missiles launched from countries like North Korea and then rapidly share that information with other
warships.
(voice over): In 2017, North Korea launched 23 missiles with two flying over Japan. But even though Pyongyang also threatened to target the U.S.
island of Guam, the Navy never used its Aegis missile defense system to shoot down any of North Korea's missiles.
COOPER: There was no determination that there was a specific threat on a specific population. But more importantly, I think the capability if it
does exist was the platform to defend against ballistic missile attack.
[08:35:00] WATSON (voice over): The USS Wasp and its F-35s are headed to South Korea soon to participate in joint military drills. This year,
Washington is downplaying these annual war games now that President Trump plans a historic face-to-face meeting with North Korea's leader. If this
experiment in diplomacy fails, however, the U.S. military is making clear it's prepared to use force to protect the U.S. and its allies in the
Pacific.
Ivan Watson, CNN, with the U.S. Navy in the Philippine Sea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: North Korea is already expressing dissatisfaction with South Korea's military moves. The South has just ordered 40 F-35B stealth
fighters and North Korean state media published an article on Sunday calling it a perilous move against the rare atmosphere of reconciliation.
Now to a CNN exclusive, we go inside the underground bunker where the U.S. strategic command is on alert for nuclear missiles around the world and
around the clock. Its mission isn't just to track the threats but to respond to a nuclear attack. Barbara Starr has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If a nuclear- tipped missile is launched anywhere in the world, the U.S. military instantly responds. Four-star General John Hyten is alerted as soon as any
missile threat is detected. He comes out of his office, heads down these stairs to this bunker deep underground in Omaha, Nebraska.
JOHN HYTEN, COMMANDER, UNITED STATES STRATEGIC COMMAND: This is the battle deck at U.S. Strategic Command.
STARR (voice over): General Hyten in charge of the U.S. nuclear arsenal watches along with his highly disciplined staff 24/7 for all incoming
ballistic missiles.
HYTEN: I have six computer screens in my office. They all go off. There is verbal alarm that goes off. Those people are telling me, executives tell me
there's about 10 different ways to make sure that the commander knows that it's time to move.
STARR (voice over): Ready to advise President Trump on how to deter enemy, and if needed launch a U.S. attack. CNN was given exclusive access to the
general. We were there when an actual missile alert sounded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry, we have to ask you to leave for a moment.
STARR (voice over): The op center had just picked up signals of likely Russian missiles fired in Syria. Every time the alarm sounds, highly
classified data detailing the threat is sent instantly to General Hyten. In this case, the launch was quickly assessed as not a threat to the U.S.
HYTEN: Our strategic forces are always ready to respond, and everybody should know that, that they're ready this minute under the ground, under
the sea, in the air, we are ready to respond to any threat. And the adversaries of the world, including Kim Jong-un, have to know that.
STARR (voice over): Hyten watches diplomatic action carefully but worries about missiles and bombs North Korea's Kim Jong-un still may have hidden
away.
Your gut tells you he has kept building?
HYTEN: Well, I'm confident that he didn't stop building things when he stopped launching things. Now I can't go into the intelligence, but I've
worked with rockets a long time. I know how long they take to build.
STARR (voice over): Strategic Command is also keeping a close eye on Vladimir Putin's claim of new high-speed Russian intercontinental attack
weapons.
HYTEN: We have very good intelligence capabilities, and we watch very closely. So, nothing he said surprised me.
STARR (voice over): In a real world emergency, there is an urgent scramble.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to get the president of the United States on the phone.
STARR (on camera): Secretary of defense?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary of defense, yes, ma'am.
STARR (on camera): Secretary of state?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am.
STARR (on camera): CIA director?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: CIA director.
STARR (on camera): There is nobody you can't --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, ma'am, there is nobody we can't get on the phone.
STARR (voice over): General Hyten can rapidly brief the president.
HYTEN: The pictures that we see on the screen will tell me exactly where the missile is, how high it is, how fast it is going, where the impact
point is. All those kind of issues happen in a matter of a small number of minutes.
STARR (voice over): And if a missile is headed for the U.S., that's when this safe, which sits under a desk, gets opened. Inside, an exact copy of
President Trump's nuclear launch checklists.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In this room, there are only two people that can have an access to that safe. That is me as the battle watch commander and my
strike adviser. Nobody else can touch it. One of us has to be in this room at all times.
STARR (voice over): General Hyten would be one of the first to know if President Trump orders a nuclear launch.
HYTEN: He asked me very hard questions. He wants to know exactly how it would work.
STARR (voice over): But for the general and his team, success is never taking the nuclear code out of the safe because that means deterrent has
worked.
HYTEN: If somebody launches nuclear weapon against us, we launch one back. They launch another. We launch another. They launch too, we launch. You're
on this escalation ladder that ends up nowhere. They key is to stop that behavior before it gets bad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: That was CNN's Barbara Starr, reporting. In a multibillion- dollar deal, Uber is giving up on business in Southeast Asia, earning a huge stake in its rival Grab.
[08:40:02] We got the details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right. Coming to you live from Hong Kong. It's a new week here. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream."
Uber is giving up on its Southeast Asian markets, selling out to Singapore- based rival Grab. Uber and Uber Eats will be available for the next two weeks. After that, you better get Grab instead. Sherisse Pham has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHERISSE PHAM, CNN TECH AND BUSINESS REPORTER: It's a remarkable shift in strategy. Uber announcing it's throwing in the towel in Southeast Asia,
selling it's business in the region to local rival Grab. The multibillion- dollar deal will leave Uber with a massive stake in Grab.
It is just the latest international retreat for Uber. They sold off operations in China in 2016 and in Russia in 2017. Uber CEO says this
latest deal will help Uber focus. Writing an e-mail to staffers, we take on too many battles across too many friends and with too many competitors.
Selling to Grab put this in a position to compete with real focus in core markets. But less than a year ago, Southeast Asia was a core market. An
Uber executive telling me the company was expanding in Southeast Asia and had momentum there. But that was before SoftBank bought a big stake in
Uber.
The Japanese company pushing Uber to focus on the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Australia ahead of an expected IPO in 2019. Uber says it has
no plans to quit any other major markets, but analysts are watching India, another country where Uber is spending a lot of money fighting off off
local competition.
Sherisse Pham, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Sherisse, thank you for that. And that is it for "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Amanda
Davies is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
END
