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Doctors Question Medical Care Given to Migrant Boy; DHS Secretary to Visit El Paso After Immigrant Childrens Deaths; Wild Ride Continues on Wall Street; Impacts on Economy in 2019; Top-8 Trending Stories that Captured Attention in 2018. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired December 28, 2018 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:32:30] DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is visiting El Paso today. Here visit comes after two children died in the custody of Customs and Border Protection in less than a month. Two top Democrats are calling for hearings into how this happened. And the secretary is there to see the medical screenings and conditions at the facilities.
CNN correspondent, Nick Valencia, is in El Paso.
And, Nick, before you tell us about the secretary's trip, what have you learned about the death of the 8-year-old, Felipe Gomez Alonzo?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dana, this new information was released to us the New Mexico office of the medical examiner. They conducted nasal and lung swabs and the 8-year-old tested positive for influenza. He was given antibiotics. But officially, from CBP, the statement we got, he was diagnosed with a common cold. The medical examiner's office did say they will have to conduct further evaluations to determine an official cause of death. But as we have been reporting, his death highlights renewed scrutiny against the Customs and Border Protection and the medical screenings and the health care they provide migrants once they are detained and in U.S. custody. It's something we expect Kirstjen Nielsen, the DHS secretary, to highlight here, to look at the secondary screenings, part of the series of protective measures she announced earlier this week in hopes that something like this won't happen again. This is also something that Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke about earlier this morning.
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SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECERETARY: We are doing everything in our capacity to make sure that when people do come, that they are taken care of so that we don't have these types of instances. In many cases, they show up extremely dehydrated, without food. And they're seeing a doctor for the very first time in their lives, both adults and children.
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VALENCIA: We mentioned Kirstjen Nielsen will be here to view those health care screenings. She'll meet with health care professionals and seeing the conditions in these Customs and Border Protection stations, these Border Patrol stations.
We don't have many more details beyond that. She will be here in El Paso and move on to Yuma, Arizona, tomorrow. We don't expect her to make comments, but all of that can change -- Dana?
BASH: Nick Valencia, thank you so much for that report.
And on Wall Street, stocks have been on a wild ride this week, posting record days of gains and losses as investors wonder, is the volatility here to stay?
But first, the new CNN film, "Love Gilda," looks at the incredible life of the comedy legend, Gilda Radner. It airs Tuesday night at 9:00 Eastern on CNN. Here's a sneak peek.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[13:35:05] GILDA RADNER, COMEDIAN: Hi, I'm Gilda Radner. And -- OK, now.
(CHEERING)
RADNER: People want to know what made you funny. From the time I was a kid, I loved to pretend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was the very first performer chosen for the cast of "Saturday Night Live."
RADNER: Rosanne Roseannadanna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They loved her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I basically stole all my characters from Gilda.
RADNER: I can do almost anything if people are laughing.
Boom-ba-ba-boom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gilda was just not quite herself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One morning, she just said, I don't know what's wrong with me.
RADNER: For a comedian, it's the most unfunny thing in the world.
Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She felt that she could be of help. And that's exactly what she did.
RADNER: How often do we get to know exactly how brave we are?
I always felt that my comedy was just to make things be all right.
ANNOUNCER: "Love, Gilda," New Year's Day at 9:00 p.m.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[13:40:38] BASH: So, is it safe to check your 401(K) yet? The Dow is down 51 points following a week and also a day of dramatic volatility.
Business correspondent is manning her post as she has been doing all week long. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.
How are things looking, Alison?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're a little bit more than halfway through the trading day. Stocks have really been struggling to find direction all day, moving between gains and losses. The Dow is up as much as 160 points and down 130 points. The good news, I'm not seeing those exaggerated swings that have defined the week. But they're skittish because of that uncertainty on a number of issues that continue to weigh on sentiment. Global economies around the world are slowing down. Interest rates are rising. There are questions about uneasiness about the Federal Reserve's policy decisions. The trade dispute between China and the U.S., that one, investors say, you will not see a sustained move to the up side until that is resolve. And then the uncertainty about Washington policy and what's happening in the White House, from the government shutdown to uncertainty about whether the Fed chief, Jay Powell, can keep his job. Stocks often finish December with rallies, but not this time. Even with the gains we've seen happen this week, the major indices are down 10 percent for the month and this December will go down in history as the worst for stocks since 1931.
You mentioned if it's safe to check your portfolio. Only if you have a strong stomach. All the major indices have wiped out their gains the year. The Dow is down 6 percent and S&P down 7 percent and the NASDAQ down 5 percent. It has been a really ugly year, unfortunately -- Dana?
BASH: Very, very important advice.
Alison, appreciate that.
KOSIK: Thanks.
BASH: Thanks for everything this week.
What do these wild swings mean for next year, for 2019?
CNN chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, has a look.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Dana, no matter what happens today and Monday, the stock market in perspective, investors are facing the worst stock market returns in a decade. Investors have become accustomed to making money in stocks ever since that horrible crash in 2008 and subsequent recovery. Last year, the Standards and Poor's 500 returned 22 percent dividend. And 2018 a different story. The pain came late. December on track for the worst month since the Great Depression. The first real big down year since 2008, a year when stocks crater and the economy tanked and millions lost their jobs. Today is a different economy from 2008. The unemployment rate is the lowest in a generation. Companies are making money and shoppers are spending it. The holiday shopping season was the best in six years. The economy is strong. That's why the Fed is raising interest rates, which has the effect of cooling red-hot growth. At the same time, growth is already slowing, though, around the world. Higher official interest rates, trade uncertainty with China, now political risk in Washington, Dana, those will be the drivers for 2019.
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BASH: Thank you very much, Christine.
We'll be right back. Stay with us.
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[13:48:13] BASH: The New York City skyline briefly turned a brilliant shade of blue last night. ConEdison said an electrical fault at a substation in Queens caused an arc flash, visible across Manhattan and parts of New Jersey. The incident shook buildings and rattled window. Some people ran out into the streets. Luckily, no injuries were reported.
And 2018 has been a very busy news cycle in so many categories, including politics, sports, business and entertainment.
CNN's Brooke Baldwin has the top-eight trending stories that captured our attention this year.
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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The year 2018 was the year of the social media activists. People across the country speaking out against sexual assault, gun violence and racism. #activism proved it is a force to be reckoned with.
Here are our top-eight trending stories of the year.
(SHOUTING)
BALDWIN: Time's Up in 2018. On January 1st, a group of women in the film industry unveiled "Time's Up," as an anti-harassment action plan, a sequel to last year's "Me Too" reckoning.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: We are just pushing the movement along and doing what we can with our voices and our solidarity.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: We are here standing in solidarity with women everywhere, saying Time's Up, enough is enough on sexual harassment, assault, abuse of power.
BALDWIN (on camera): The group started a legal defense fund to support women, who encounter sexual assault, harassment or inequality in the workplace, especially those outside the entertainment industry who lack financial or legal resources.
OPRAH WINFREY, FORMER TALK SHOW HOST: Now that we've all joined as one voice, it feels like empowerment to those women who never had it.
[13:50:03] BALDWIN (voice-over): Number seven
COMPUTER VOICE: Laurel, Yanni.
BALDWIN: Do you hear Yanni? Do you hear Laurel? Similar to 2015's great dress debate, a computerized recording of two unrelated words divided the Internet again in 2018.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says Laurel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It literally says - hold on. OK, I'll play it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yanni. Yanni.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
BALDWIN: It seemed everyone had an opinion, from law enforcement --
UNIDENTIFIED TUSCON POLICE OFFICER: What we've determined right now is that the audio sound you've been hearing is actually the name Laurel.
BALDWIN: -- to Capitol Hill.
REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE H OSUE: It is Laurel and not Yanni, all right? Come on. How many Laurel fans here, right? OK, thank you.
BALDWIN: In the end, science called a winner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you heard Laurel, you are correct.
BALDWIN: And, like the dress, Yanni or Laurel served as further proof it doesn't take much to break the Internet.
Number six --
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: This amazing case of Spiderman, as he's been dubbed.
BALDWIN: He was a young migrant from Mali, living in the shadows, but in the span of 30 seconds, the mans' selfless act of bravery captivated the world. He scaled a four-story building in Paris with his bare hands to save the child's life. For his heroism, French President Emmanuel Macron granted him citizenship. He now works with the Paris fire brigade. Number five, a deeps sigh of relief after 38 agonizing minutes. With
nuclear tensions between North Korea and the United States running high, people in Hawaii got this text, "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii, seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill." An emergency alert that sent panicked families to seek families anywhere they could. Some even put their children in storm drains. Within 12 minutes, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard tweeted this was a false alarm, but there was no word from the governor who admitted he had forgotten his Twitter password.
KE KIAAINA, (D), HAWAII GOVERNOR: What happened today was totally unacceptable.
BALDWIN: It took 38 minutes for the emergency alert system to declare a false alarm.
Number four, a different kind of activism rocked the internet when dozens of viral videos exposed everyday racism aimed at African- Americans. Barbecue Becky, Permit Patty, Pool Patrol Paula, these women got the mean treatment after they called police on black people doing everyday things in public places. Even Starbucks got a share of social media scorn after two black men were arrested for waiting at a store in Philadelphia. Starbucks apologized for the incident and launched employee anti-bias training.
Number three, Professor Christine Blasey Ford publicly recounting her alleged sexual assault.
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CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD, ACUSED BRETT KAVANAUGH WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT: It was hard for me to breathe. And I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me.
BALDWIN: Ford accused then-Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of assaulting her when they were just teenagers, an accusation he repeatedly denied.
President Trump mocked Ford's testimony during a campaign rally.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How did you get there? I don't remember. How did you get there? I don't remember. Where is the place? I don't remember. How many years ago was it? I don't know. I don't know.
(CHEERING)
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BALDWIN: In a series of tweets, Trump claimed that if the attack alleged, quote, "was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local law enforcement authorities."
The #webelieveDr.Ford, #believesurvivors and #dearProfessorFord started trending as hundreds of thousands of women took to social media to express their solidarity. And using the hash tag, #whyIdidn'treport, countless more spoke of feeling ashamed and powerless after their own sexual assault experiences of no one believing them.
Number two, in Parkland, Florida, the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School turned the worst day of their lives into a political movement.
DAVID HOGG, STUDENT: We can say, yes, we're going to do all these things, thoughts and prays. What we need more than that is action.
BALDWIN: Students created the Never Again movement to prevent gun violence and helped organize the March for Our Lives march in Washington, D.C., which became the most-tweeted about movement of all of 2018. More than $2.5 million was raised for March for Our Lives via Facebook fundraisers. Even President Barack Obama's inspirational tweet about the march became the second most-liked tweet of the year.
(on camera): And number one, never before has a president used social media quite like this. Communicating directly with more than his 57 million followers.
From antagonistic tweets about world leaders and political foes to trafficking in half-truths, @realdonaldtrump helped set the tone for the day's news coverage and political discourse. Whether he's blasting what he called the rigged witch hunt of the Mueller investigation, calling the media fake news, or heaping praise on allies and supporters, the president tweeted and retweeted more than 3,000 times in 2018 and is the most-tweeted about political figure of the year.
[14:55:30] TRUMP: Make America Great Again.
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BASH: That's it for me this hour. I'll be back at 4:00 p.m. Eastern on "THE LEAD."
"NEWSROOM" with Ryan Nobles is next.
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