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Back From Iraq; President Donald Trump Has Returned After His First Trip To U.S. Troops In A War Zone But His Defense Policy Remains In A Spotlight, Remarkable Turnaround; Global Markets React To U.S. Stocks Surging After Earlier Drops But Volatility Remains, Weapons At New Heights; Global Powers Are Exploring the Technology Of The Future For Space. Aired: 8:00-9:00a ET
Aired December 27, 2018 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WILL RIPLEY, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: I'm Will Ripley live in Hong Kong. Welcome to "News Stream." Back from Iraq, President Donald
Trump has returned after his first trip to U.S. troops in a war zone, but his defense policy remains in the spotlight. Remarkable turnaround, global
markets react to U.S. stocks surging after earlier drops, but volatility remains. And weapons at new heights, global powers are exploring the
technology of the future for space. We'll hear from a former NASA astronaut.
U.S. President Donald Trump is back in Washington after bowing to months of public pressure and making his first visit to American troops in a combat
zone. During a very brief, just three-hour trip to Iraq on Wednesday, President Trump received an enthusiastic welcome from U.S. service members,
but the President's tone is also raising a few eyebrows. CNN's Boris Sanchez joins me now live from the White House.
Boris, President Trump, he defended his surprise pull out from Syria. He declared an end to America's role as a global policeman and he said a whole
lot of other things. How is it all being received?
BORIS SANCHEZ, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Hi there, Will. It certainly depends on who you ask, this morning, the President took to
Twitter almost immediately after he returned to the White House doing his familiar things, going after Democrats and thanking those veterans that he
saw overseas.
He did get an enthusiastic welcome, but as you noted, he raised a lot of eyebrows. He was in a bit of a joking mood at one point saying that the
reason Democrats wouldn't give him funding for the border wall is because he wanted one. Saying that if perhaps he bluffed and said that he didn't
want one, then they would provide him with that funding.
Not really a joking mood overall today across the country. There's a tremendous amount of uncertainty, not only in the stock market, but at the
Department of Defense and with the ongoing government shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SANCHEZ: President Trump returning to Washington after visiting U.S. troops in Iraq. The unannounced trip coming days after Mr. Trump's
controversial decision to withdraw forces from Afghanistan and Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States cannot continue to be the policemen of the world. We're in countries that most
people have never even heard about and frankly, it's ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The President defending the drawdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're no longer the suckers, folks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And boasting about defeating ISIS after declaring victory against the terror group last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've knocked them out. We've knocked them silly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: But the President's military commanders say ISIS is still a threat and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are raising concerns about
the abrupt withdrawal which came without consultation with some key U.S. allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY GRAHAM, U.S. SENATOR, SOUTH CAROLINA, REPUBLICAN: This is a stain on the honor of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned in protest of the President's decision to pull out of Syria last week. President Trump
telling reporters he is in no hurry to find a permanent replacement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm in no rush. Everybody wants that position. Everybody. Everybody - so many people want to be - who wouldn't want to be Secretary
of Defense?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The President telling the press, he does not intend to withdraw troops from Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No plans at all, no. In fact, we could use this as a base if we wanted to do something in Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Mr. Trump facing criticism after falsely claiming that he had given the troops a 10% pay raise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You haven't gotten one in more than 10 years - more than 10 years, and we got you a big one. I got you a big one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: In reality, military pay has increased annually for over three decades and is slated to go up 2.6% in 2019.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK HERTLING, MILITARY ANALYST, CNN: He is not fooling any of these military members who get that leave and earnings statement every month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The President's trip coming as the partial government shutdown enters a sixth day and while lawmakers typically avoid getting political
when talking to the troops, Mr. Trump's speech sounded a lot like one of his campaign rallies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Because I don't know if you folks are aware of what's happening. We want to have strong boarders in the United States. The Democrats don't
want to let us have strong boarders only for one reason, you know why? Because I want it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The President blaming the next likely House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi for the shutdown after she mocked his plan for the wall, telling "U.S.A
Today" it had been reduced from cement to a beaded curtain. President Trump insisting that he will not back down when he was asked how long the
shutdown could drag on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Whatever it takes, I mean, we're going to have a wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:05:10]
SANCHEZ: The President did not answer reporters' shouted questions when he got back to the White House earlier today, Will. Lawmakers are due back on
Capitol Hill soon and the big question is where will the discussion over the shutdown go from here. As you know, both sides are still very far
apart.
RIPLEY: Boris Sanchez live at the White House, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Thanks.
RIPLEY: Let's focus now on this dramatic rebound on Wall Street. Some have gone so far as to call it a Christmas miracle which came after the
worst Christmas Eve that U.S. markets have ever seen. The Dow soared more than a thousand points setting the record for the most points in a single
day.
But even after Wednesday's stunning rally, this December is still on pace to be the worst since 1931 during the Great Depression. Let's take a look
now at global markets.
In Tokyo, the NIKKEI also surging nearly 4%. Sydney was up almost 2%. Here in Hong Kong and also in Shanghai, markets finished lower. Trading is
still underway in Europe at this hour. Let's take a look at how things are going there. Red arrows across the board.
Back with me again, two of the biggest names and biggest brains in news, Christine Romans in New York and Richard Quest in London. Hello to you
both.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Hi, Will. Hi, Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Good morning.
RIPLEY: Richard, yesterday at this time I seem to remember you looking at tepid market gains thinking that the market might hold its water, stay
where it is, where did this come from?
QUEST: Oh, there are about 15 different reasons. None of them are terribly good as to why this market went on a tear. The one I like best is
that throughout the course of the afternoon, there were various pension funds that were rebalancing their funds in their accounts and that they
were doing it to the tune of $100 billion, by the way, and it's a normal process.
But in thin markets, these pension funds activities took on a disproportionate importance. And what happened was if you add in some
comments from the administration about the Chairman of the Fed being 100% safe, and you add in a bit of this and a bit of that, you have a very thin
market and you have a completely unreal. That's the reaction to yesterday and the clearest indication to that is what we're looking at for this
morning.
And I see that, and Christine could correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we're down about 1.5% on the Dow futures. So put yesterday as being one of
those weird and wonderful things that happen during a holiday week.
RIPLEY: And by the way Christine, President Trump's Twitter account was strangely silent because, of course, he was on Air Force One making a
surprise visit to Iraq. Do you see a correlation there?
ROMANS: I think that the administration finally got the tone right about the economy, about the market volatility with Kevin Hassett, the
President's Chief Economic Adviser, talking to reporters, very calmly saying as Richard said that the Fed Chief's job is 100% safe, Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin was safe, the economy is strong, the holiday season was strong, and the fact that the President is on a plane to Iraq and quiet on
Twitter, not attacking or talking about the stock market moves. I think that was important, I really do.
I also think that this is what the end of 10 years of easy money in a bull market with a few exceptions, really big gains every single year. This is
what the end of that looks like. It looks like oversold selloffs, and false rebounds, and it's going to be like this.
I think investors should get used to taking a very long-term view. If you need money immediately, you should not have all of your money in the stock
market. I mean, the past few years, if you didn't have all of your money in the stock market, you were missing out.
Now, it is going to be a more normal kind of environment, I think, for investors and they should be ready for that. I also think there's a lot of
trade risk here. We know that the U.S. is sending a delegation to China in early January to hammer out some of these trade issues with China. That is
still a big risk, both for the global economy and for sentiment and headlines on Wall Street.
RIPLEY: And you both have pointed out that one day does not make or break a market trends, so here's a question for both of you. Richard --
Christine, go ahead.
ROMANS: No, go ahead.
RIPLEY: Richard, I just was going to ask you where do you think the market is headed?
QUEST: Oh, for goodness sake, man. If I had any idea what was likely to happen to the market, I wouldn't be sitting here. I'll be doing something
about it to get a real job and I wouldn't have the shout on my back.
The reality is if Christine and I had a dollar for each day we'd been asked where the market was headed, we'd both be wealthier that we wouldn't need
to be doing this.
RIPLEY: Christine, do you have a prediction?
ROMANS: I would own a Caribbean island if I know the answer to that question and Richard would be my house guest.
RIPLEY: Okay. But, I mean, is it a bear market that like some analyst are saying? I mean, 10 years of a bull market, is it coming to an end?
ROMANS: I think this is what it looks like at the end of a bull market quite frankly. The question is how much longer is there to go? This was
already the longest bull market, right? The question is what is the trigger? Bull markets don't die of old age is this old adage on Wall
Street.
[08:10:06]
ROMANS: There's a reason. Right now you're seeing interest rates rise, you've got a trade war, you've got a slowing global economy, the U.S. is
still relatively strong. It's just not going to be an easy game to say, "You're going to have record profits next year and stock market is going to
be up another 10% to 12%." That's not going to be easy anymore.
RIPLEY: Richard, as you leaning back.
QUEST: And if you talk about a bull market just - from what Christine was saying, you only know a bull market is dead in ex post facto when it's
finally rolled over and it's kicked up its feet and it's over. And the reality is that unless the market was to recover now, it doesn't matter
whether we're down 18% or 21%.
ROMANS: I agree.
QUEST: If we continue at these lower levels, it's a de facto bear market. So we need to see a recovery in the next week or three if we're not going
to be able to declare the bull market finally tickled and dead.
RIPLEY: Are either one of you getting a whiplash, it's like one day the Great Depression, the next day historic eye.
ROMANS: It's actually exciting to watch, but then you try to find what the triggers are. There's a lot of talk about how 85% of the trading, the
daily trading volume is automatic, it's algorithms, it's rebalancing like Richard is talking about with pension funds. It's things that suddenly
when all of the factors line up and all of the signals say, "Sell," things move much more violently than maybe you're used to.
I want to say one more thing about a thousand points, people made a big deal about this thousand-point, the biggest, you know, number of points
added ever, the stock market, the Dow was at 22,000. It has quadrupled almost over the past 10 years. A thousand points is 5%, 5% is a big one
day move, but it's not remarkably historic, a 5% move on any one day.
RIPLEY: All right, I have to leave it there although I could talk with you both all night, but we have a limited amount of time this hour. So Richard
Quest, Christine Romans, it's great to have you on once again to help us navigate to all of this.
ROMANS: We'll see you from the island the next time.
RIPLEY: Okay, right.
QUEST: Come by with drinks.
RIPLEY: Let's talk about Indonesia now though. We need to shift gears to this situation, this alert level for the Indonesian volcano that triggered
Saturday's deadly tsunami. It's now been raised and scientists are warning that there could be more intense eruptions coming at any time.
Right now planes are being rerouted because of ash and lava billowing into the air and about 1,500 people have been evacuated from the islands in the
Sunda Strait as the level of volcanic activity has increased.
Many survivors have lost their homes. Others are desperate for news about their missing loved ones. Rain and ash from the volcano are also making it
harder for crews that are struggling to find survivors from this weekend's disaster. I want to go to CNN's Alexandra Field joining me live here in
Hong Kong with the latest. Alex, Indonesian geologists were saying that this volcanic activity has been escalating since Sunday?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes. Well, this was the concern ever since this tsunami hit back on Saturday. Don't forget
this is not the kind of tsunami that you typically see. This happened when a volcano erupted that created a landslide which then caused the tsunami,
that three-meter high wave.
We've all seen the horrifying video of it that cause that devastation. So since then, there's been a lot of concern that there could be another
eruption that would trigger yet another tsunami in the aftermath of this disaster. That fear now becoming more real because scientists are
observing what they call increased activity.
Now don't forget, this is a volcano that has been fairly continuously erupting since July. They believed that a new crater may have formed and
people in the area are reporting hearing rumblings a few times a minute. All of these leading scientists to believe that there could be another big
eruption that could trigger a tsunami.
They're also seeing heavy amount of ash spewing from the volcano. Will, you pointed out the fact that they've had to reroute planes because of
that. They're also advising people to wear those goggles and masks. But the bigger implications is that they have to take the precaution of getting
people out of the area.
So they've set up this five kilometer exclusion zone, that means no boats and no people can get any closer to the volcano, and they're also
evacuating people by the thousands. They're focusing their efforts on two islands in the Sunda Straits, putting thousands of people on boats, taking
them to other islands where they can go farther inland to wait out the possibility of another eruption, and the very dim and dire possibility of
another tsunami wave.
RIPLEY: Alex, does it look like the Indonesian government is starting to speed up its response, taking these proactive steps? They have a state of
emergency now in effect through January 4th.
FIELD: The state of emergency is in effect and that does help them to usher resources and money into the area. We know that they've been
struggling with the elements. We know that they've been struggling in terms of the devastation, there are physical challenges when it comes to
reaching the most hard-hit areas. That's why they're still a few days on continuing these search and rescue efforts. You've got some 430 people who
have been killed and still crews are out looking for more people who are missing.
[08:15:01]
FIELD: They fear that there could be bodies trapped under rubble in areas that they simply have not got to. So they are deploying these resources,
but a lot of the focus right now is not just on search and rescue, not just on long-term care for people who have been displaced from their homes by
the tens of thousands, but how do you prevent these disasters in the future.
Well, you can't stop a tsunami from happening, but so much of the concern is on the early warning and detection system in Indonesia. Look, this was
something that was triggered by a volcano, that's not necessarily the norm. A lot of the detection system happens to do with tsunamis that are
triggered by earthquakes.
But we know that Indonesia has come under serious fire from critics internally and internationally in recent months because of the failures of
that system, because of the fact that that system is in such great disrepair and it was largely blamed for the massive death toll that you saw
just a couple of months ago, back in October, another tsunami that killed some 2,000 people, Will. So in the months going forward, we'll be talking
a lot about that.
RIPLEY: Absolutely. Alexandra Field joining us live in Hong Kong. Thank you. Coming up, 20 times faster than the speed of sound, Russia is
boasting about its new hyper sonic missile system. It says this thing is invincible. We have a live report from Moscow. Plus, the U.S. and its
adversaries are gearing up for a different kind of arms race in space. We'll speak with a former NASA astronaut just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL)
RIPLEY: Eighteen minutes past 9:00 on a Thursday night here in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream." Russia says it will soon deploy a next
generation missile. A missile right here that apparently fly so fast and pretty much nothing can stop it.
The Hypersonic System, just one of several strategic nuclear weapons unveiled by the Kremlin in March. President Vladimir Putin, he watched the
pre-deployment test on Wednesday. He says this new missile system will ensure Russia's security for decades to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (Through a translator): The new Avangard system is invincible against today's and future air and missile
defense systems of the potential enemy. This is a big success and a great achievement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Reports on Russian state media claim the missile can fly 20 times faster than the speed of sound. So let's bring in CNN's senior
international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen, live in Moscow. Fred, first of all I wonder how much of this is bluster and how much of this is
actual scientific fact.
But the bigger issue, Russia, the U.S., and China are all racing to develop these missiles that can travel faster than the speed of sound. So tell us
what makes them so dangerous and if we're seeing the beginning of an arms race.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, it could well be the beginning of an arms race.
[08:20:04]
PLEITGEN: We've heard President Trump talk about that over the past couple of months. We've heard also the Russian President talk about that as well
- about there potentially being another, a new nuclear arms race between these three powers, now, between the Russians, the Chinese, and the U.S.
President Trump, of course, also talking about how maybe something like that could be prevented. But certainly if all of this is correct, with
some of the things that we're seeing from that Russian test are correct, then they say that this missile that they tested on Wednesday, that it
traveled around 6,000 kilometers. That's about 3,700 miles from the Ural Mountains all the way to the Kamchatka Peninsula way in the far east of
Russia and destroyed a target there, so they say that test was successful.
But it's not only, as the Russians put it, the speed of this new weapon that makes it so deadly. But they also say that it's capable of conducting
what they say are evasive maneuvers if it encounters, for instance, missile defense systems to try and get out of the way. That's one of the reasons
why the Russians say that this weapon is invincible.
And Vladimir Putin not only said it's a big achievement, he also called it a gift to the nation because, of course, we are just a couple of days away
from the New Year and so the Russians are saying this is something that they want to deploy in the New Year.
But certainly they say that this is something that they believe could be a game changer, but on the whole it certainly could obviously be very
dangerous as well. And I think one other question that you posed, Will, is also a very interesting one and that is how combat ready are these weapons
really, and how dangerous are there really? Is this, to a certain extent, bluster?
That's where experts say they're not really sure. They say some of it could be a little bit of bluster, they're not sure how combat ready these
weapons are. Certainly to a lot of experts, it seems as though a very short timeframe has only elapsed since Vladimir Putin first came out and
said Russia was only developing these new weapons back in March until now when they're saying, "Look, essentially, this thing has to - tested
successfully." And to us, it seems to be combat ready and will be deployed in 2019.
Nevertheless, of course, to the U.S., this will be quite a concerning development on the international stage if indeed these new weapons are as
capable as the Russians say they are, Will.
RIPLEY: I want to shift gears and talk about Syria, Fred, because you obviously know the country well. What is Russia's role now that the U.S.
is apparently on the verge of pulling out and what would you say President Putin's likely strategy will be moving forward?
PLEITGEN: I think the Russian strategy has been very clear for a very long time and it's one of the things that's probably put the Russians at an
advantage, vis-a-vis the United States in Syria. And that from the very beginning, they've had a clear strategy and that strategy is bolstering the
Assad government and fighting essentially everybody who is fighting against Assad, whether that's moderate rebels supported by the U.S. and others or
whether that's Islamist groups all the way up to ISIS. And that's something that the Russians are most probably going to continue.
There's no doubt that the Russians are going to be more powerful and more important on the Syria stage than they have been at any point in time since
entering into the conflict. Though the strategy of the Russians is pretty clearly going the be that they are going to try and get the forces that
they support which is the Assad government to move into that void that's being left by the United States. That means all those forces that fought
with the U.S. I think we're seeing some of that on our screen right now.
They will have a very important choice to make especially the Kurds in Syria, are they going to go back under government control, make a deal with
the Russians and the Assad government or are they potentially going to face an assault from the Turks? Of course, the Turks are saying they won't
tolerate the presence of groups that they say are averse to their own goals in that part of Syria.
So certainly it's a very difficult decision that those groups have to make and most definitely Russia is going to become more important than it has
been at any point in time in Syria, probably in the entire Middle East, Will.
RIPLEY: Senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen following two major stories there in Moscow for us. Thank you. You heard Fred just a
moment ago talk about those hypersonic missiles. Some experts are warning that these new super-fast missiles could actually trigger a global arms
race and already, in fact, world powers are preparing for yet another type of arms race in space.
For instance, this year, Donald Trump announced a new Space Force to fend off threats to U.S. assets high above the earth. America's adversaries led
by Russia and China, they have been testing a variety of weapons. Weapons that seem like they're straight out of a sci-fi movie. Directed energy
weapons that could disable or fry satellites. Kamikaze satellites that would ram into other satellites and break them up into little pieces.
Even so called kidnapper satellites that can actually grab onto other spacecraft. You can see the claw right there. And how about the X-37B,
America's mysterious space drone that's been deployed on highly classified missions.
For more perspective on what this all means, I want to go to David Wolf. We're lucky to have him on. He's a former NASA astronaut and Space Mission
Specialist.
[08:25:00]
RIPLEY: He's joining us live from Houston, Texas, which of course is the famous home of NASA Mission Control. David, thanks for being on. You
heard us just talking about this new arms race. In your view, are we also seeing a new space race?
DAVID WOLF, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT, SPACE MISSION SPECIATLIST: I would more accurately term it a defense race. What we're seeing is an emergence of a
global asset, a global economy where there's new availability of industrialization of space exploration and partnerships that are a global
space enterprise. That should be more inducing than carrying battle lines from the earth up into space.
We've been working with Russia since the Apollo-Soyuz in the early '70s, Shuttle-Mir which I flew on, became a cosmonaut. Now they build a large
part of our current ISS: International Space Station.
Space is a place where we get this overview effect where we are able even with wars sort of - and terrible problems on the ground. We seamlessly are
able to cooperate in space. This weapons escalation is nothing new. There's always a bigger anti and a bigger aggressive weapon and we don't
have a department of offense, we have a Department of Defense which entails the sufficient offensive capability to defend our assets that our whole way
of life is dependent on this at this point.
RIPLEY: What do you make of China launching this probe that could be just days away from reaching the far side of the moon? Why is this significant
and why are a lot of nations, including the U.S., and China, and U.S. allies as well focusing so much right now on the moon?
WOLF: So the moon is very important for developing skills and practicing for deeper space exploration. It's in human nature to do this kind of
exploration and this is an unprecedented opportunity for cooperation to the degree where possible with any particular partner.
I can tell you that our advisory group, my inputs, my personal inputs, are for inclusion wherever possible to make it more attractive to cooperate in
a global space enterprise than it is to tear things down while at the same time offering stability.
The most important thing to commercialization or crucial element is stability and predictability of the future. And as we are now settling
this new frontier, we have to carry that stability. You might say the town sheriff has to cooperate with other town sheriffs and we need to do this in
a predictable way.
RIPLEY: David, you're part of an elite group. You're one of the few people who've actually spent time in space. So I'm curious what you think
mankind's next great achievement will be there.
WOLF: I believe that the whole inspiration of exploration, understanding how life began, even understanding how the various earliest moments of the
universe will drive passion and scientific discovery. But then we have biotechnology and I led teams while I was in NASA that developed three
dimensional tissue engineering techniques that paced the world in stem cell and regenerative cell therapy. So it's really a limitless new asset this
laboratory and resource capability as we explore and settle this next frontier.
RIPLEY: Former NASA astronaut and Missions Specialist, David Wolf. Thanks so much for joining us there from Houston, Texas.
WOLF: It's an honor. Thank you.
RIPLEY: Will they or won't they? U.S. President Donald Trump says he is looking forward to a second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,
but Pyongyang doesn't seem so sure.
[08:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL)
RIPLEY: Will Ripley in Hong Kong, you're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines. A record breaking thousand-point rally on Wall
Street on Wednesday, not necessarily translating the European markets. You can see red arrows across the board.
In Tokyo, the NIKKEI did gain nearly 4%; Sydney was up almost 2%. Here in Hong Kong and also in Shanghai, markets finished lower and Futures on Wall
Street indicate a lower open later today.
In Indonesia, thousands of people are being evacuated and planes are being rerouted. Officials there have raised the alert level for the volcano that
triggered last weekend's deadly tsunami and that's rattling the nerves of already shaken victims. Dozens of people are still unaccounted for.
U.S. President Donald Trump and the First Lady are back home after making a surprise visit to a rack. It was the President's first trip to a war zone
since he was elected. He spent just over three hours on the ground. He thanked the troops for their service and he talked to plenty of politics,
including defending his controversial and surprising decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria.
That unilateral decision is still generating plenty of controversy. As President Trump landed back in Washington, China praised his outgoing
Defense Secretary James Mattis. Mattis' resignation was triggered in part because of the President's Syria decision and also his planned drawdown of
U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Beijing said it quote, "Highly appreciated Mattis' attitude despite heightened trade and military tensions between the
U.S. and China during his time in office."
As President Trump grapples with the fallout from plans to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, he also faces a big challenge here in Asia. No
date has been set for a second summit between the U.S. and North Korea. But President Trump apparently expects the summit will happen despite some
of the conflicting signals that we're seeing from Pyongyang.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
RIPLEY: In a matter of days, Kim Jong-un is expected to make his biggest speech of the year, a New Year address that could reveal new clues into the
North Korean leader's mindset as he prepares for what could be a game changing second round of diplomacy with President Donald Trump.
On Christmas Eve, Trump tweeted this photo from the Oval Office taken during a briefing with his North Korea team. "Looking forward to my next
summit with Chairman Kim," he said.
But more than six months after Trump and Kim's historic summit in Singapore, many observers fear U.S.-North Korea diplomacy is falling apart.
Satellite images show work continuing at North Korean missile sites, weapons factories and its main nuclear reactor.
On Monday, North Korean state media continued it's increasingly sharp criticism of the U.S. warning that America must stop provocative and
malicious acts. North Korea has expressed growing anger with the U.S. for keeping sanctions in place, sanctions over North Korea's nuclear program.
And U.N. allegations of widespread human rights abuse, an issue Pyongyang has repeatedly called nonexistent.
Within hours of Trumps tweet. A U.S. federal judge ordered North Korea to pay more than half a billion dollars to the family of Otto Warmbier, the
U.S. college student who died last year of severe brain damage just six days after North Korea released him. The family says he was tortured,
claims North Korea has denied.
[08:35:02]
RIPLEY: The Warmbiers unlikely to collect the full amount of damages. Pyongyang has few assets in the U.S. the parents could make a claim for.
In recent months, Pyongyang has not ruled out a possible return to the tensions of more than a year ago when North Korea last test fired an
intercontinental ballistic missile. Despite rising tensions with the U.S., a new sign of diplomatic progress this week between North and South Korea,
a groundbreaking ceremony to modernize roads and railways in the north and connect them with the south, and perhaps more diplomatic maneuvering by Kim
Jong-un's government.
North Korean media, while criticizing the U.S. has praised President Trump, blaming Trump's opponents for the breakdown in denuclearization talks. A
move experts say could be an attempt by Kim to play to the President's ego in hopes of getting a better deal, if that second summit ever happens.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
RIPLEY: You're watching "News Stream" live from Hong Kong. And when we come back, we shift gears. We're going to show you the so called golden
coins. They are a Hong Kong treasure, but a treasure you don't want to own.
(COMMERCIAL)
RIPLEY: The golden coin turtle is so tiny. Look, it can fit right in your hand, obviously blown up really big on the wall here, but this is a species
considered so valuable. Conservationists are having to keep them in hiding here in Hong Kong as CNN's Ivan Watson reports.
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IVAN WATSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: In the jungles above Hong Kong, there's a living treasure, an animal on the verge of extinction
in the wild which poachers risk jail time and big fines to capture.
Conservationists are battling to save this golden coin turtle.
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ANTHONY LAU, HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: The main reason that we're doing this is because we want to reduce the threat two turtles and one of
the main threats is illegal trapping.
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WATSON: By a stream bank, researchers find evidence left by what they suspect are turtle trappers who apparently ignore anti-poaching warnings
from city authorities.
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YIK HAI SUNG, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: So far we don't find this very effective because we don't see like real enforcement, follow this - like
putting up this sign, even worse. We thought about that putting up this sign may tell people that there are turtles in the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: This is a female golden coin turtle. So she's a critically endangered semi-aquatic turtle that used to thrive all across southern
China and parts of Southeast Asia. But now, this species only lives in the wild here in Hong Kong.
Some people, they want to own her as a pet, they want to eat her and some actually believe that this species might have medicinal properties that
could actually cure cancer, and it is her golden head and the three stripes on her shell that some people believe make her lucky, and as a result even
more valuable.
A conservation program set up by Kadoorie Farm and supported by the government aims to safely breed golden coin turtles.
[08:35:03]
WATSON: Conservationists had hoped to release them into the wild within five years, but 20 years later, that's still not considered safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL CROW, SENIOR CONSERVATION OFFICER: We're actually going to be running trials in the next couple of years to run small scale experiments in semi-
wild controlled environments to find out if the turtles really know how to survive in the wild. But still, we've got a couple of years of work, I
think before we're ready for that. And that's coincidentally not such a bad thing because I think the wild still needs a couple years before it's
going to be safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Activists want stricter law enforcement to prevent the sale of these turtles and other endangered species in Asian markets. If not, they
fear this ancient reptile may only survive in captivity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROW: One day, hopefully this animal will be in a stream in Hong Kong and continuing the species survival in Hong Kong.
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WATSON: Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
RIPLEY: From conservation to preservation of these ancient horses. Look at that, it's remarkable. They were found frozen in time. Archaeologists
have uncovered the petrified stallions in the remains of a stable in the Italian city of Pompei. One of them was even wearing a military saddle.
The Director of the site says the horse likely belonged to a high ranking officer and met a fierce and terrible end.
CNN series "Destination: Budapest" explores the very best, the Hungarian capital has to offer during the busiest time of the year. In this edition,
you'll go hunting for the most precious ingredient of Hungarian cuisine, truffles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL CURRY, SENIOR PRODUCER, CNN: We are on the hunt for truffles in a forest on the outskirts of Budapest. Hungarian truffles are in high demand
these days because they are more affordable than in most other European countries. Amory has been a professional truffle hunter for six years.
His assistant, Edit, tells us he found around 60 kilograms of truffles last year - rather, the dogs did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDIT FULESI, TRUFFLE HUNTING ASSISTANT: The dogs are doing the work. The dogs are trained with treats. Some dogs unfortunately, all over the word
are trained with starving, but this is a more human and better way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURRIE: Joining the group today is Chef Eszter Palagyi, who earned the coveted Michelin star at the tender age of 29, and has been crowned
Hungary's best chef in two of the past three years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESZTER PALAGYI, HEAD CHEF, COSTES: I hope we find a hundred or 200 grams truffle, what I can use in the kitchen, bigger as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURRIE: As one of Europe's rising kitchens stars, Eszter pursues a philosophy of using local ingredients whenever possible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALAGYI: If I have to buy it from outside of the country, it tastes different and is not our soil inside. The taste is so much stronger as
well.
I hope and I believe when somebody comes to Costes, they don't have just food and a dinner, they have a small part of our history that I hope they
fall in love with our country andd our food as well.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
RIPLEY: And now that we've made you hungry, that's "News Stream." I'm Will Ripley live in Hong Kong. You can connect with the anytime
@WillRipleyCNN. And don't go anywhere, "World Sport" is coming up next.
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