Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Brett Kavanaugh's Sworn in as Supreme Court Justice; Strengthening Hurricane Michael Forecasted to Hit the Gulf Coast; Saudi Approves Search of Consulate in Istanbul; E.U. Wants Swift Investigation of Killed Journalist; No Explanation from Hong Kong Leaders on Visa Denial; Wife of China's Ex-Interpol Chief Cries Political Persecution; IMF Cutting Growth Forecast for China and the U.S.; Second Salisbury Attacker True Identity Known; Google shuts down Google+; New Law in Bangladesh Curbs Press Freedom. Aired at 8-9a ET

Aired October 09, 2018 - 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."

Taking to the bench, Brett Kavanaugh prepares for his first day on the U.S. Supreme Court as Donald Trump gives him an apology.

Gaining access, Turkey says Saudi officials have approved a search of the consulate where a Saudi journalist went missing.

And true identity revealed, a website says it has uncovered the background of the second suspect in the Skripal poisonings.

In just over an hour, Brett Kavanaugh will take his place at the pinnacle of the U.S. Judicial system as the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump hosted a ceremonial swearing in ceremony for Kavanaugh at the White House on Monday night. And during the event, the

president not only praised his pick, he also took a swipe at the women who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault calling it all a hoax. And then he said

this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible

pain and suffering you have been forced to endure. Those who step forward to serve our country deserve a fair and dignified evaluation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Mr. Trump made those declarations as a new CNN poll shows that a majority of Americans, some 52 percent say they believe Kavanaugh's

accusers. For his part, Kavanaugh says he starts his new job with, quote, "no bitterness and that he hopes to be a unifying force." One place he

could do that, well, four weeks from today, in the U.S. Midterms.

The president and his fellow Republicans hope to use Kavanaugh's bruising confirmation battle to rally the base. Now, CNN White House correspondent

Abby Phillip joins us now live, and Abby, again, the hearing of Brett Kavanaugh, it was not a criminal trial and yet the U.S. president has

passed judgment on Justice Kavanaugh. What did Trump say?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly right, Kristie. The president, as you pointed out, first started by apologizing to

the Kavanaugh's for the process. And then he talked about a basic principle of being innocent until proven guilty. But then he added another part,

implying that Kavanaugh had been through some kind of trial, had been exonerated clearly in the eyes of the law, which he has not been. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Our country, a man or a woman must always be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. And with that, I must state that you, sir,

under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP): I think most people would not disagree with the first part of that quote, but it's the second part which the president seemed to ad lib

on the end there, is what people would take issue with. There was, if you remember, a lot of controversy about the process here in the senate, there

were only two witnesses, it was Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

And then there was a very abbreviated FBI investigation that many said was limited in scope by the White House in an effort to prevent certain people

from being questioned by the FBI as part of this investigation. But the president clearly not concerned about much of that at all and trying to

focus on what he says is just a political unfairness directed toward his nominee.

LU STOUT: Kavanaugh, he begins his first day at the Supreme Court. This is a moment that Republicans have been dreaming of for decades and we are just

a month out until the midterms. So how does the GOP -- how does Donald Trump -- how do they believe they can capitalize on Kavanaugh and the anger

generated from the hearings?

PHILLIP: Well, this is something we're going to hear a lot about in the next couple of weeks. The president talking about Democrats as an angry

mob, saying that they demonstrated that in the Kavanaugh process. The president here is really speaking to his base. Republicans have been

worried that their own supporters would not come out in November, and now President Trump is predicting something totally different.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: A man that did nothing wrong, a man that was caught up in a hoax that was set up by the Democrats, using the Democrats' lawyers and now they

wan to impeach him. I have heard this from many people. I think it's an insult to the American public and I think you are going to see a lot of

things happen on November 6 that would not have happened before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:14] PHILLIP: And the president there implying that the prospect that Democrats could try to impeach Justice Kavanaugh now would be enough

to get his voters to maybe wake up before November and get to the polls. Already the Democratic enthusiasm is extremely high going into this

election. What Republicans are hoping to do is get their folks engaged and out to the polls especially in some of the Senate races that will decide

whether Democrats or Republicans take control of that important chamber.

LU STOUT: Yes, a number of Americans fired up ahead of these critical midterm elections. Abby Phillip reporting live from the White House. Abby,

thank you.

And for Hillary Clinton, President Trump's decision to honor Kavanaugh at the White House was troubling for both the country and the court. And she

spoke about her concerns in an exclusive interview with Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: What was done last night in the White House was a political rally. It further

undermined the image and integrity of the court and that troubles me greatly. It saddens me because our judicial system has been viewed as one

of the main pillars of our constitutional government.

So, I don't know how people are going to react to it. I think given our divides, it will pretty much fall predictably between those who are for and

those who are against. But the president has been true to form. He has insulted, attacked, demeaned women throughout the campaign, really for many

years leading up to the campaign. And he has continued to do that inside the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Tune in later for Christiane's full interview with Hillary Clinton. It airs 6:00 p.m. Tuesday in London, 1:00 a.m. Wednesday here in

Hong Kong, right here on CNN.

Hurricane Michael is threatening nearly 500 kilometers of the U.S. Gulf Coast and is expected to strengthen into a dangerous major hurricane before

making landfall in Florida on Wednesday. Millions of people now are under evacuation orders, some mandatory. And forecasters warn that the storm

could bring life-threatening storm surges as well as flash flooding.

Meteorologist Chad Myers joins me now from the CNN World Weather Center. And Chad, you are closely tracking this major storm as it moves into the

U.S. Gulf Coast. What are you seeing?

CHAD NYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The United States actually takes airplanes, C-130 airplanes that they specially modify and fly them into these things.

They fly them right through the eye to see how strong the wind is. And they just found 100 miles per hour or 160 kilometers per hour in the eye wall

itself. And it is forecast to go all the way to 200 kilometers per hour.

Now, that may not be a Haiyan or something in the west pacific, but this is a big storm that will affect the Gulf of Mexico and get stronger. A very

populated area here from Panama City westward. Not so much eastward. As we get toward the Apalachicola area. That's where things begin to take her

off. There's not as much land here.

It's more mangrove, more swampy area here but a very populated tourist section of the United States right here near Panama City Beach. That will

come onshore tomorrow afternoon, noon to 1:30 local time, somewhere there as a Category 3, a 200 kilometer per hour hurricane. There it is right

there. That's what it's going to look like.

This is all the way through midnight tonight, local time. Not single model in the world has this dying off. Every model has it going up from here. So

the hurricane warnings are posted here. If you are in this red zone, you are going to get a hurricane force wind and probably some power outages

because the winds are going to start to knock those trees down and power lines down.

The winds arrive tonight. The winds very much get into hurricane forecast strength somewhere around 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. And then all the way

through parts of Georgia and northern Florida, that's where the power lines are going to fall down. This is the widespread power outage forecast from

Panama City right on back all the way over here.

This is Apalachicola, Tallahassee, big capital city here, lots of trees pulling down to even as far north possibly as Macon, Georgia. Here are the

wind gusts and if you see the white, you follow it over here, every one, not just a pinpoint, but everyone here from 50 miles up 80 kilometers, one

way or the other, Panama City will see a 160 mile per hour or kilometer per hour wind gust as the storm comes onshore.

So, we are going to be having a rough couple days across the southeast. And then the storm runs right back over North Carolina where the last hurricane

came down.

[08:10:003] Roads are still flooded, trees are certainly in mud. They will come down as well when you get 100 kilometer per hour wind on a tree that's

already standing in mud, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Well, this storm will be life-threatening and very, very dangerous. Chad Myers, reporting live for us. Chad, thank you.

Turkey says that Saudi officials have agreed to a search of its consulate in Istanbul where a missing Saudi journalist, Jamala Khashoggi, was last

seen. And now, we are getting a look at Khashoggi entering the building before he vanished one week ago. The Saudis insist that he left the

consulate but his fiance says he never re-emerged.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Istanbul outside the Saudi consulate. He joins us now live. And Nic, Turkey says that Saudi officials, they have agreed to

the search on the consulate. What would that search involve?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, at the moment, Kristie, we do not know what the parameters are going to be. How many

people can be involved in the search? Are they police forensics? Are they just officials from the ministry of justice? How long will they get to

search? What kind of freedom of access they may get inside?

Will they have the opportunity to visit the consulate general's residence? What are the precise parameters of this investigation? What we know from

the ministry of foreign affairs here is that they are using the Vienna convention's governing sort of diplomatic properties in all the countries

to be allowed to have this kind of access.

But again, we don't know what it's going to lead to. And it's also important to point out, you know, of an investigation of this type, it

comes a week now after Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after that video was shot of him on a security camera going into the consulate, 1:14 p.m.

His fiance waiting outside later raises the alarm. We are also hearing from President Trump on this saying that he is concerned. He says that we don't

know anything. We don't have any of the details yet. Vice President Mike Pence is saying he is deeply troubled and that the world deserves answers.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is saying that the Saudis should support an investigation. So perhaps what we are seeing here, Saudi officials

listening to what they are hearing from the United States, the leading world power here and a keen supporter of Saudi Arabia. But again, we don't

know the limits of that investigation but the Saudis are accepting on the premises of the consulate here.

And we do know from the Turkish president that has left it on the Saudis to prove that Khashoggi left the building because, of course, that's what the

Saudis say as well as saying that the reports that Khashoggi may have been killed here are outrageous and untrue, Kristie.

LU STOUT: This is a case that will certainly affect ties between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. One week on, still no answers.

Nic Robertson joining us live from Istanbul. Thank you.

Now, police in Bulgaria, they are questioning a Romanian man in connection with the rape and murder of a journalist Viktoria Maranova, but they say he

is not a suspect. Hundreds of mourners held vigils in cities across the country demanding justice for Maranova. Prosecutors say that she had been

raped, beaten and suffocated. Her body was found on Saturday. The European Union is urging Bulgaria to waste no time trying to find whoever killed

her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARITIS SCHINAS, CHIEF SPOKESPERSON, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The Commission expects a swift and thorough investigation by the responsible

authorities that will bring those responsible to justice and clarify whether this attack was linked to her work. We must make sure that

journalists everywhere are safe and make their invaluable contributions to our Democratic societies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Just over a week ago, Maranova had journalists on her TV show who were investigating alleged corruption involving E.U. funds. She said

she would do similar investigations. However this one police say, it is not clear whether her death was connected to her work.

Hong Kong's leaders is refusing to explain why a prominent "Financial Times" journalist has been denied a visa. Chief executive Carrie Lam made

the comments in speech on Tuesday and is facing mounting pressure to justify this apparent challenge to press freedom. Victor Mallet, the FT's

Asian news editor and a British national angered authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong (inaudible) by hosting a speech by the leader of a tiny pro

independent political party in August.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARRIE LAM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF HONG KONG: I cannot tell you exactly what journalist should say or act or interview. But I can assure you as I did

intense (ph) news, freedom of expression, freedom of reporting are core values in Hong Kong.

[08:15:01] And as a chief executive, I and the Hong Kong (inaudible) government will safeguard all these rights as enshrined in the basic law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: On Sunday, Mallet was given seven days to leave Hong Kong.

The wife of the former chief of Interpol tells CNN that China is detaining her husband because of, quote, "political persecution." Meng Hongwei

vanished after he took a flight from France to Beijing. CNN'S Sam Kiley is here in Hong Kong. He has been reporting on this story extensively for us.

He joins us now, and Sam, Meng's wife says that he is a victim of political persecution. Could you tell us more about Meng Hongwei and what would make

him a target in China?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he comes from very much the inner elite of the nation, not only that, but he is

securocrat of the almost the highest level securocrat. He's vice minister, at least was until he was arrested and accused or investigated for alleged

corruption.

The vice minister for public security, not only that of course, but he was the president of Interpol, elected in 2016 as the head man of the world's

liaison system between national police organizations. So in that context, he would have been -- one would have hoped he would have been assumed to be

beyond reproach. But according to the Chinese government, he is now under investigation for corruption and a number of other issues.

His wife though unusually I think here has gone on to the front foot rather than retreat and hope that he would be leniently treated. She is now --

said to CNN, in a brief text exchange, that his arrest is a result of political persecution. She has also said over the last 24 hours that she

will continue to speak out to, quote, "protect other husbands and fathers from being disappeared" as she put it, in China.

So, this is becoming a very heated topic. Undermining China's efforts internationally to establish extradition treaties, but it is consistent

with China's efforts, and they have been going on for some years as you know, to round up officials that have been accused of corruption and indeed

prosecute them. And in the case of some more junior officials, actually execute them.

LU STOUT: Sam Kiley with the latest on the situation involving Meng Hongwei and his wife speaking out as well. Thank you very much for your

reporting Sam.

Now, the U.S. and China, they could soon pay the price for their ever escalating trade war. The world's two largest economies have been targeting

each other's products with tariffs on goods totalling some hundreds of billions of dollars. One consequence, the IMF is cutting the growth

forecast for both countries next year.

Now, for the United States, that means slipping from 2.5 percent next year down from nearly 2.9 percent this year. It predicts a similar slowdown for

China to 2.2, rather 6.2 percent from 6.6 percent. And it warns that growth could be hit further if the two countries don't settle their disputes.

We are going to have much more on this on this gloomy outlook amid the trade war, that's coming up on "First Move with Julia Chatterley" and that

starts in less than an hour from now. You are watching "News Stream."

And still ahead, a British website is claiming to know the true identity of one of two suspects wanted in the poisoning of a former Russian double

agent and his daughter.

Plus, Google is in damage control mode after news of a major security breach.

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now, a British investigative website is claiming to have uncovered the true identity of Russian agent wanted in connection with the Novichok poisonings

in Salisbury, England earlier this year. Now the website is called Bellingcat, it says the man on the left of your screen named by British

police as Alexander Petrov is in fact Alexander Mischkin.

The Russian embassy in London now says it is ready to discuss what it's calling the speculations through official channels with British

authorities. Now CNN's Nina Dos Santos has been covering this story, joins us from London outside the Houses of Parliament. And Nina, tell us more

about, you know, how Bellingcat was able to uncover the identity of this second suspect.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bellingcat does have four members (ph) you will remember a few weeks ago managed to uncover the

identity of the first GRU officer as part of that batch of suspects who were involved allegedly according to U.K. in the Salisbury poisonings. And

they have used similar techniques on this individual. Though they said that his digital footprint as far scarcer (ph) so it took quite a bit more time.

He also comes from originally a more remote part of Russia and his name is Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin. They believe 39-years-old and he is a

doctor which is quite interesting because obviously, these two individuals were allegedly handling a very toxic substance.

The idea there being that having a doctor on hand could be important in terms of administering the right dose of poison and also dealing with the

consequences potentially if one of the two officers were to have contaminated themselves, Kristie.

They say that they (inaudible) through open source databases. They found an individual as like a similar (inaudible) and a similar date of birth of

those particular individuals who have studied at a naval academy in the medical unit there.

And they essentially have just given a press conference in parliament behind me where they have given more information about how they uncovered

all of this. They said they blanket e-mailed people who were potentially classmates in the year above and the year below. They also sent a reporter

very recently to the village of this individual and that's when they manage to get conclusive -- what they believe was conclusive photographic evidence

that this is indeed the same person.

They managed to get hold of a passport issued in 2001 with what is said to be his real name and used facial recognition software to try and cross

check the features in the passport that came out, on of course, travelling under the alias, Alexander Petrov. He was intercepted as having coming to

the U.K. earlier on this year, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Nina Dos Santos, reporting live for us in London. Thank you.

Google's unpopular social network is finally finding itself in the spotlight but for all the wrong reasons. Google says it is shutting down

Google+ for consumers after a "Wall Street Journal" report revealed the firm chose not to publically disclose a security flaw when it was

discovered in the spring.

In a blog post seemingly in response to the Journal's report, Google said this, quote, "that it discovered and immediately patched a software glitch

in March of 2018, that had given outside developers access to users' private profile data. The bug reportedly exposed some 500,000 user

accounts." Google says it found no evidence of any data misuse.

Now, we are joined now by David edleman. He previously advised former U.S. President Barack Obama on technology and economic policy and now leads

MIT's research on technology governance, and joins us live from D.C. David, thank you so much for joining us here on the program.

DAVID EDELMAN, DIRECTOR, PROJECT ON TECHNOLOGY, THE ECONOMY, & NATIONAL SECURITY: Thanks Kristie for having me.

LU STOUT: Google is shutting down Google+. Let's face it, this was a social platform that wasn't that working. It was on the wane. Let's talk

about the real headline here that reports out there Google knew about this security flaw and covered it up. Is that going to be a big problem for

Google?

[08:24:59] EDELMAN: Well, it's another day, another potential data leak here in the U.S. Last week it was Facebook with 50 million potential

exposed users, and this time it's Google with a half a million. Certainly, the news here is not great for Google. You may remember that this news was

first uncovered, we understand from the memo, back in March.

The same time that Facebook, the giant social network, was being called here to Washington to have their executives grilled in front of Congress to

figure out exactly what happened in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. And it was apparently according to internal memos, that reason, Google's desire to

stay out of the spotlight. That was the reason they didn't come out with this immediately.

Now, Google took a pretty unusual step here of actually killing the entire service that was responsible for this potential data leak. They also

announced some new limitations on how third parties can get access to data.

But there's no question that this time of real regulatory scrutiny of Silicon Valley companies particularly social media firms, this is not going

to play well for Google which until now has more or less managed to skirt a lot of the attention that has been paid to Facebook and others in this

debate.

LU STOUT: Yes. And one about that the security flaw, Google is launching some hardware. It's not know for that but it is introducing some new

gadgets today including new Pixel phones, also Google home devices. We know privacy has been an issue on Google's virtual platform. Is it safe to say

it's going to be an issue to with their hardware?

EDELMAN: Well, I think it's fair to say that anytime you have an always on device in your house, we have to be concerned about the privacy of it.

That's not unique to Google. It's true of Amazon as well and even Facebook just announced it is going to have their own device, sort of the masters by

ironic timing, a video device in houses that can potentially track user's faces.

Now look, all of these companies are trying to reassure users, talking about how the data streams are encrypted, about how they won't use that

information for marketing. What we're seeing time and again is that what companies say in some instances today may not hold tomorrow or next year,

particularly really when that data can be valuable.

That's supposedly the reason why the Instagram co-founders just quit Facebook, their new parent company because of changes in how this data is

being used. And so, well on the one hand, there's a major commercial incentive for companies to get this right. Amazon, Google, they don't want

to see users feeling spied on because they will lose their traction.

At the same time, the timing is not fantastic to be announcing any new device that's going to be listening to individuals, particularly when nine

out of 10 Americans at least feel like they have lost control out of their data one way or another.

LU STOUT: Yes, and yet Google is going to be making a Google Home announcement today. Facebook just launched Portal, this A.I. powered camera

that's supposed to follow us in our homes. You know, as big tech pushes deeper into our living rooms, is the industry applying the lessons learned

from all these big data breaches and all those hearings in Washington, D.C. or is it still a case of let's move fast, let's break things at the expense

of consumer security?

EDELMAN: Well, it's probably a little bit of both. In the one hand, I don't think you would have seen the same attention being paid to security

for instance this latest Facebook hardware announcement or what Google was doing in shutting down Google+ and limiting the access to some other areas

of Google information for third parties.

That is clearly in a response to the potential waning of user trust that you are seeing. Facebook, Google, the others are trying to shut down others

access to the data and ultimately create an island of themselves. And so ultimately, the trust relationship with users is just with that company.

The down side, it's going to invite a lot more regulatory scrutiny particularly by competition regulators that are going to be in a position

to say, look, now these companies are not just in a broader ecosystem but are on their own.

An as they are on their own, more and more you are going to see issues like these, incidents like these which will not be the last, these sort of data

leaks, creating more and more attention and more and more scrutiny for individual companies. I do think we have seen a bit of a turning point here

in Washington and indeed around the world.

LU STOUT: Yes. Well, a turning point but yet, we can still anticipate more data breaches to come and us reporting and discussing right here in CNN.

David I have to leave it at that, but thank you so much for joining us. David Edelman of MIT., take care.

Now, a controversial digital security law has been approved in Bangladesh and journalists and human rights groups, they are not happy about it. It

combines the colonial era law, the official Secrets Act with new measures that Amnesty International says impose dangerous restrictions on freedom of

expression.

Here's why. Now, police can now make arrests without a warrant. Offenders can be sentenced up to three years for publishing information that is

aggressive or frightening and up to 10 years for posting information that ruins communal harmony. Critic calls this the darkest period in

Bangladesh's democracy.

But a government official says the law is necessary to, quote, "safeguard the digital space and democracy." You are watching "News Stream." Still to

come, Brett Kavanaugh is back on the bench this time as a Supreme Court justice. We will head to Washington for a preview of his first day on the

job.

[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." These are your world headlines.

The Turkish foreign ministry says Saudi Arabia has agreed to a search of the Istanbul consulate where a Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was last

seen a week ago. This newly released video shows him going into the consulate. The Saudis insist he left the building. Turkish President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan is calling on Riyadh to release any images that show Khashoggi left.

Rescuers in Southwestern China, they are still searching for a father and a son inside a massive sinkhole that opened up Sunday afternoon local time.

At least two people died, a young couple who were reportedly married only days before. The cause of the cave-in is unclear.

After a bitter battle, Brett Kavanaugh will hear his first argument as a Supreme Court justice today. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a

ceremonial swearing-in ceremony for Kavanaugh at the White House Monday night. Kavanaugh's confirmation ended a contentious process that saw him

accused of sexual assault by multiple women.

Let's bring in CNN's Ariane de Vogue. She is at the Supreme Court in Washington. Ariane, thank you for joining us this day. As now Justice

Kavanaugh puts on his robe for the first time today, protesters are expected to make their voices heard. Set the scene for us.

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right, Justice Brett Kavanaugh is going to take the bench for the first time. This comes after

those polarizing confirmation hearings, perhaps the most political in modern day history. He will take his seat on the far right side of the

bench. That's where the junior most justice sits, just next to Elena Kagan.

They are hearing a case on federal firearms. There are so far no huge blockbuster cases on the docket, but really big issues are percolating in

the courts below. They will make their way up here. Keep in mind, with Kavanaugh, this court has now taken a hard right turn.

As for the other justices, Chief Justice John Roberts will really focus on trying to repair the reputation of the court after those partisan hearings.

At that ceremony last night, all the sitting justices attended not only to show their support for their new colleague but also a show of force for the

court itself.

You can see behind me right now, there aren't a lot of protesters. That's in sharp contrast to what we saw Saturday, when the protesters really

stormed up those steps, something that they're not allowed to do, and they started banging on those 13-ton bronze doors.

As for Brett Kavanaugh, he said that his two daughters would be at court today. He has done something that no other justice has ever done.

[08:35:00] He has hired a full compliment of four female clerks. Nobody has ever done that. He has always said that he wants to advance women. But

it also comes as a push back to those allegations of sexual misconduct, those that he has so categorically denied from the beginning.

LU STOUT: Kavanaugh being flanked by female aides. Very interesting optics that we will see. With Kavanaugh on the bench, the Supreme Court, as you

put it, has made this hard turn to the right. This will bring change to the court, but how will it be manifested?

DE VOGUE: Well, remember, he is taking the seat of Justice Anthony Kennedy, and Justice Anthony Kennedy was the swing vote on so many of those

hot button issues, abortion, LGBT rights. And now, that seat that was with the centrist has gone to a conservative. You can expect there is no longer

a swing vote here. The five justices have a solid conservative majority.

LU STOUT: Ariane de Vogue reporting live from the Supreme Court there in D.C. Ariane, thank you for joining us.

DE VOGUE: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now, there is already bad blood between stars Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Of course, you remember when he grabbed the mike after she

won an MTV music award back in 2009. Well, now it appears that President Trump is right behind him.

He lashed out at the pop star one day after long-time Nashville resident endorsed two Tennessee Democrats on Instagram. She called on her fans to

vote for Phil Bredesen over Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Marsha Blackburn is doing a very good job in Tennessee. She is leading now substantially

which she should. She's a tremendous woman. I'm sure Taylor Swift has nothing or doesn't know anything about her. Let's say that I like Taylor's

music about 25 percent less now, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, Swift also endorsed Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper, who is running for re-election to the House. So far, Swift has not commented on

the president's remarks.

You're watching "News Stream." Still to come, we will take a look at what this neighborhood in Hong Kong has to offer. The story is coming up next on

"News Stream."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, broadcasting live from Hong Kong, welcome back. You are watching "News Stream."

For film producers and photographers, one bustling working class area in Hong Kong offers so more than just street market and sign boards. Its

character has attracted the attention of Hollywood director Michael Bay and others. Here is a slice of the iconic Hong Kong neighborhood Sham Shui Po.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT (voice over): Sham Shui Po is one of Hong Kong's oldest working class neighborhoods, well-known for its array of street markets. With its

iconic and somewhat rusted Hong Kong feel, this areas' old world charm is attracting creative souls from street artists to coffee artisans.

MICHAEL TAM, FOUNDER, CAFE SAUSALITO: I grew up here in Sham Shui Po. My parents used to run a garment button shop.

LU STOUT (voice over): Michael Tam is the founder of Cafe Sausalito Hong Kong.

[08:40:00] He set up shop in 2014 on Tai Nan Street, street famous on the silver screen.

TAM: When we first opened, there were "Transformers." I remember that being filmed in this neighborhood. And then afterwards, there were few

others. "Ghost in the Shell" was also another very memorable one.

And then "Geostorm" featuring Gerard Butler. The main reason that film directors want to come here to Sham Shui Po for film or movies is that they

get a lot of the previously -- what is recognized as Hong Kong in Sham Shui Po.

LU STOUT (voice over): It's not only film crews that flock to this area to indulge in its visual richness but Instagrammers as well. Tommy Fung is a

photographer and photo editor of Surreal HK.

TOMMY FUNG, PHOTOGRAPHER AND PHOTO EDITOR, SURREAL HK: What I'm trying to do is make people laugh and cheer people up.

LU STOUT (voice over): Fung was born in Hong Kong but raised in Venezuela. Upon his return, he was curious about the hometown he left behind and

started to explore it through his camera lens. This building was painted in 2016 as part of the government-approved HK walls street art and mural

festival.

FUNG: This is very interesting and very colorful and very eye catching, so I like it so much.

I always take a bus to my home in the street across. I always see the sign. It's very interesting and catch my attention.

LU STOUT (voice over): Over the past decade, many of Hong Kong's sign boards have been taken down due to new government safety regulations. For

Fung, these signs are a part of Hong Kong's identity.

Fung took this photo from a small garden hill. Its easy access has made it a favorite spot for filming Instagram worth (ph) sunsets.

FUNG: I think it's very relaxing and you can enjoy the view.

LU STOUT (voice over): From stunning city views and street art to iconic sign boards, Sham Shui Po is quintessential Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Surreal Hong Kong is a good follow on Instagram. I highly recommend it. And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go

anywhere, "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END