Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Actor Jussie Smollett Under Arrest, Faces Felony Charge; Pope Demands Action to End Clergy Sex Abuse; Interview with Peter Isely, Priest Abuse Survivor; Judge Banned Roger Stone from Speaking About the Case; Day Two Of U.S.-China Trade Talks; Trump-Kim Meeting; Thousands of Volunteers Offer to Deliver Aid to Venezuela; Swarovski's Waterschool Addresses Global Water Issues; Arsenal Breeze Past BATE in 2nd Leg; Top NBA Draft Prospect Suffers Injury. Aired 12m-1a ET
Aired February 22, 2019 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Pope Francis urged church leaders to hear the cries of the little one at an unprecedented gathering at the Vatican. Francis put forward his plan to deal with the sex abuse crisis that never seems to end and he warns the faithful are demanding justice.
The pope has also promised justice for survivors and concrete measures to deal with the abusers.
Self-confessed dirty trickster Roger Stone and one of the most outspoken defenders of the U.S. president has been muzzled. A federal court ruled his social media post, which appeared to threaten a judge, went too far.
Plus the damning case against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett accused of staging a hate crime but still insisting he's a victim and should not be a suspect.
Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: Well, American actor Jussie Smollett insists he is innocent after being charged with making a bogus complaint to police by orchestrating what was first investigated as a hate crime in which he himself was the target. Chicago police are offering a stunning motive for the TV star's alleged hoax. CNN's Nick Watt begins our coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jussie Smollett, known for his starring role on the hit TV show, "Empire," tonight trying to avoid the spotlight, captured by cameras walking out of a Chicago jailhouse.
He posted bond, given up his passport, now officially charged with a felony for filing a false police report after allegedly staging an attack designed to look like a hate crime, all police now say in an attempt to make more money.
EDDIE JOHNSON, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Why?
The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary. He concocted a story about being attacked.
WATT: Prosecutors say he knew his attacker, Abel Osundairo. He hired him.
RISA LANIER, ATTORNEY, COOK COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: During the course of this friendship, defendant Smollett and Abel socialized together, exercised together, as well as worked on the FOX television series "Empire."
WATT: Smollett allegedly asked Abel to recruit his brother, Ola.
LANIER: Smollett asked Ola if he could trust him. When Ola said he could, Smollett detailed his plans of the attack to the brothers.
WATT: He allegedly told them to shout, "This is MAGA country." Prosecutors say initially the plan was for them to throw gasoline on Smollett. Later, that changed to bleach.
LANIER: Defendant Smollett further detailed that he wanted Abel to attack him but not hurt him too badly and to give him a chance to appear to fight back.
WATT: There were also allegedly numerous phone contacts before Smollett and the brothers before and after the attack. Smollett's lawyer told the court he was supposed to be on the "Empire" set earlier this afternoon. Instead, he was in a real life courtroom hearing prosecutors meticulously lay out how he wasn't attacked. This wasn't a hate crime.
Police say they tracked the two alleged attackers using surveillance footage from around the city, identified the men, one of whom had appeared on "Empire" with Smollett, found out they flown to Nigeria after the attack on return tickets, arrested them on arrival back in Chicago last week. Eventually, they confessed and were not charged.
JOHNSON: It wasn't until the 47th hour of their 48-hour hold time that we could legally hold them in custody that it took a change. When we discovered the actual motive, quite frankly, it pissed everybody off.
LANIER: The staged attack lasted 45 seconds and it was just outside the view of the desired hereby camera that Smollett had pointed out to the brothers approximately 15 hours earlier.
WATT: Smollett allegedly wanted this attack caught on camera, apparently even telling police to look at the tapes. On Wednesday evening, Jussie Smollett's legal team put out a statement in which they called the court proceedings a law enforcement spectacle. They say that Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and
integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.
Jussie Smollett is due back in court sometime in March -- Nick Watt, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Pope Francis says the people of God are watching and they want the Catholic Church to finally end the scourge of predator priests and bishops.
The pope's unprecedented gathering of church leaders in Rome will begin its second day about three hours from now. And the main theme is accountability. Pope Francis opened this four-day meeting on Thursday with a 21-reflection points plan. A road map of sorts for some of the discussions.
[00:05:00]
VAUSE: But many abuse victims and their advocates have had enough of talk as well as decades of coverups. But Francis has acknowledged that, it seems, by telling the gathering there it is time for the church to take action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS, PONTIFF, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Upon our meeting weighs a burden of pastoral and ecclesial responsibility that compels us to discuss together in a synodal, frank and indepth way how to tackle this evil that inflicts the church and human kind at large.
The holy people of God are look at us. And expect of us not simple condemnation, but concrete and effective measures to put in place. We need to be concrete.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Peter Isely survived sexual abuse at the hands of a priest in the USA at Wisconsin. He's a founding member of the group, Ending Clergy Abuse. He joins us now from Rome.
So, Peter, thank you for taking the time. I know it's very early there. So, it's very much appreciated.
PETER ISELY, FOUNDER MEMBER, ENDING CLERGY ABUSE: Good morning.
VAUSE: Well, for the most part, survivors of clergy abuse like yourself, they pretty much seem to be on the same page. They want the church to reform, but that process could only move forward if there is accountability as well for past crimes for the abusers and for those who covered up for them.
From what you have already seen on day one and from what you are hearing moving forward, is that where you think this summit is heading or -- you know, are you fearful that you know the outcome will fall way short of that?
ISELY: Well, the 21 reflection points that Pope Francis gave the bishops to reflect upon, there is not one talking point or a reflection point or other in there that has to do with accountability for bishops that have covered up sex crimes. There's not one point in there about that.
So, that that's of deep concern. That's unacceptable. If they're going to get together and talk for 3-4 days and there's nothing that comes out of this that does not hold bishops and cardinals accountable. Accountable for covering up child sex crimes, that's simply completely unacceptable and there's nothing in there right now.
This is really simple and we met with the Vatican planning team two days ago. We thought Pope Francis was going to be there. We assumed he was going to be there. And for some reason, he wasn't there.
But here is what has to happen, it's zero tolerance. Zero tolerance, zero tolerance. And that has two elements.
One, zero tolerance means that any priest that has sexually assaulted or abused a child, anywhere in the world -- and they know about thousands of them that have done it -- that they're going to be permanently and completely removed from the priesthood and turned over to civil authorities. And that needs to be made into universal church law.
And only Pope Francis can do that. He has the authority and power to do that. He could do that with the stroke of a pen --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Let me just --
ISELY: Sure, I'm sorry.
VAUSE: So, it just on that point, because that's what the Vatican officials say. You survivors like yourself are expecting too much. Pope Francis, he can't wave a papal wand, you know, he can't fix everything at once it's complicated. It takes times and it's different near this 450,000 bishop says -- you know, there is 1.2 billion Catholics all around the world.
You know, you and the other survivors, I guess you know they're saying you just have to -- you know, wait a little longer because this is a slow complicated process. What do you say to that?
ISELY: That's what I'm talking about, that's nonsense. This is making it takes it's one sentence, zero tolerance, put it into church law. He can do it, it is one sentence. Let's take abortion. That's a universal church law. Everywhere around the world, it's illegal and the church under church law within the church, abortion is illegal. And everyone understands that and it's universal Church law all around the world. It's the same thing we're asking for here. On zero tolerance under their law, that's one sentence.
Now, implementing it making it happen? Yes, that's going to take time, that's might be difficult. But making it, you got to start by making it a law that you cannot sexually assault and abuse a child if you're a priest within the Catholic Church.
VAUSE: One of the criticisms which is they made of Francis, is that this of -- to pope, says the Francis who is kind, he's understanding -- you know, he goes and says things which popes have never said before. The other is sort of detached, he's uncaring. We can actually be part of the problem at times.
Do you know which pope is turning up to lead this conference?
ISELY: Well, the one that you just heard in the sound, he was very kind. But yesterday, Wednesday rather as we were in the meeting and he wasn't there, unfortunately, he was out in St. Peter's talking to pilgrims. And what he said to them was anyone who criticizes the church, basically what he said, you know, it's OK to criticize the church. But anyone who criticizes it in a certain way or without love, whatever that means --
[00:10:00]
ISELY: -- that they are related to Satan, literally.
And we were there and we've been critical of the church and the media, some of it took that that's what -- you know, he's talking about us. And he needs to -- he needs to clear this up. So, I totally agree, you know, it's like which Pope Francis is going to show up.
You know that's very clear that he has an understanding, he's articulated understanding about how horrible and terrible these crimes are. And we -- you know, he understands that. He doesn't need to hear any more stories about this. What he needs to do is change it. Start by changing church law.
Nobody can stop him from doing that. He changed a Catholic catechism, he just went and changed the several lines in it, people didn't like it, factions didn't like it, he just went it did it because he has the power to do that.
He went to the Arab Emirates, something like that.
VAUSE: Yes,
ISELY: He just went and did that. And that's exactly what he needs to do. And I don't know how to say this more directly than this. The ones who are comforted that there's going to be no accountability for bishops and there has to be zero tolerance for cover-up of sex crimes, we have documents and evidence around the world, the various places already that they've done it, they need to be removed from the priesthood.
VAUSE: Yes.
ISELY: And the ones that are comforted how complicated and complicated, you know, this is going to take, I have to tell you about this are predators --
VAUSE: Yes.
ISELY: Predator priests. Bishops that have covered it up. They like hearing this kind of talk that this is going to take a long time.
VAUSE: I said today that argument made many times and you need one which does carry -- you know, a big degree -- you know, credibility. Not always and on every instance, but certainly, you know, that is an argument which carries a lot of weight.
Peter, we're out of time but thank you so much. We appreciate you being with us. We appreciate your thoughts as well. Thank you and take care.
ISELY: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We have a number of developments to report in the Russia investigation. A judge has ruled longtime Trump associate Roger Stone can no longer speak publicly about his case.
Stone was called back on Thursday after posting a picture of the judge with crosshairs behind her. He called it a student lack of judgment. The judge says any further violations could land him in jail.
Mr. Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, spent his day on Capitol Hill. He's scheduled to testify before three congressional committees next week. But no one was saying much about Thursday's visit. Cohen even used a freight elevator to try to avoid the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your attorney told us that you were now meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee today, is that true?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Senate investigators want to question an American business man based in Moscow about Donald Trump's commercial and personal activities in Russia dating back to the 1990s. He helped organize a trip to Moscow by Donald Trump back in 1996.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: David Katz is a criminal defense attorney, also a former assistant U.S. attorney and he is with us from Los Angeles. David, it's been a while. So thanks for coming in.
DAVID KATZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Great to be with you.
VAUSE: OK. Judge Amy Jackson, she was having none of it. She eviscerated Roger Stone pointedly telling him this. "I want to be clear. Today I gave you a second chance but this is not baseball, there will not be a third chance. I have serious doubts whether you've learned any lesson at all."
If Stone has not learned the lesson and defies that gag order which you know, it does seem so likely, what happens to him then?
KATZ: Well, this was very self-destructive conduct even by someone who seems to perhaps want to be a martyr in some ways or seems to suffer from a lot of hubris. But if he violates this order, the judge could lock him up.
And this same judge is the one who locked up Manafort. The reason Manafort got locked up without bail or had his bail revoked was because he tampered with witnesses and obstructed justice. Manafort while he was in front of this very judge.
Here's Stone in front of the same judge and he puts her on his Twitter feed in the cross hairs. That was a terribly stupid thing to do. He admitted it was stupid today and really his attorney should have made sure he didn't do something like that. I'm sure he's a very difficult client to control.
(CROSSTALKING)
VAUSE: Yes.
KATZ: This is a terrible situation. He used to be able to talk about the case and now he can't even talk about his own case. He had a limited gag order, now he has a full gag order.
VAUSE: And he was one of the most outspoken defenders of the President and now he has been muzzled.
You know, what was interesting though, the same day he posted the offending image on Instagram, Stone and his lawyers filed what they called notice of apology on his docket. It read, "Please inform the court that the photographs and the comments today were inappropriate should not have been posted. I had no intention of disrespecting the court and humbly apologize for the transgression."
Have you ever seen a notice of apology before?
KATZ: No, I've never seen anything like that but, of course, with all the --
[00:15:00]
KATZ: -- clients that I've had and some of them have fought the government. But there's a proper way to do it. And some clients even decide to talk about their case. But usually, John, that's a very foolish strategy.
However, you know, there was the famous case of O.J. Simpson, the civil trial out here where you remember that after the circus of the criminal trial where everybody was holding press conference over on the courthouse steps, the civil judge imposed a gag order. That gag order was limited.
And you know, I'm a big believer in the First Amendment. It is very important. Someone is presumed innocent, they ought to be able to talk about their trial and what is going on if they want to.
And Stone had that right which he gave up with that self-destructive tweet. So all he can do now is try to solicit money. He can solicit donations. He's allowed to do that.
And of course, other people like Rush Limbaugh can still his story of what a victim he supposedly is. But he cannot even -- if he's caught, to use the word "colluding" with anybody to put out a story, he's going right back to jail with his bail revoked -- John.
VAUSE: You know, what is interesting is that during the hearing, the judge told Stone thanks for the apology but it rings quite hollow. I suggest that you know, Stone's reputation as a liar and a day trickster, you know, may have finally caught up with him and doing him no favors. Well, the good news --
KATZ: The good news for him is that this judge will not try the facts. You know, he will have a jury trial. I'm sure the judge will ensure he has a fair jury trial. So the people who say that the judge thinks he's a liar, even if that's what she thinks if he's good boy from now on and obeys the full gag order, she won't be the one trying the facts.
VAUSE: We'll see.
KATZ: This is a guy who should have taken the Fifth Amendment way back when he testified before the Congress. Why didn't he take the Fifth Amendment?
VAUSE: Because he can't help himself. This is a guy who just can't -- I think has no self-discipline.
Very quickly, CNN's Chris Cillizza had a very interesting take on Stone's rather bizarre behavior. This is what he writes.
"What Stone doesn't get is that he isn't running a political campaign anymore. He's in the legal fight of his life and the rules of the law are a lot different than the rules of politics. The rules of politics is that, generally speaking, that there are no rules. It's a bit like fight club."
That could also apply to a lot of those, you know, who are close to Donald Trump who have been caught up in the Russia investigation that he'd be planning a PR battle and not a legal strategy. KATZ: Well, you've got to think that like Manafort, Stone hopes that his deliverance will be a presidential pardon and Stone may not have state problems. You know, If Manafort got a pardon he would still have major problems with the state.
Stone may not have problems with any state attorneys general. But you know what, at the end of the day, I think it's a big a fake-out by President Trump. I don't think he's going to give Stone a pardon.
He is going to say, why do I want to be near this trickster. At the end of the day he will throw Stone under the bus and won't give him a pardon.
KATZ: We're out of time, David. Just a very quick reminder before we let this go. Stone joins Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos, all Trump associates who have been indicted. Some have pleaded guilty, some have been found guilty, others are waiting for their day in court.
David, as always, thanks so much.
KATZ: Great to be with you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, round two is coming up. The U.S. president will meet the leader of North Carolina next week and Donald Trump declared the first summit a success.
So what is expected this time?
Plus as water scarcity becomes a crisis for communities around the world, one organization is teaching kids how to preserve fresh water and why it's so critical.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: The second and final day of high-level trade talks between China and the U.S. set to resume in just a matter of hours. According to the White House, the latest talks are expected to yield a memorandum of understanding on a host of critical trade issues.
The big question is whether that will be enough to end the trade war, which is on hold. CNN's Will Ripley joins us from Hong Kong.
It's a week now before the tariffs jump from 10 percent to 25 percent on Chinese goods that are sent to the U.S.
So where are we at?
Are they moving forward?
Are we expecting a positive outcome now?
Has all of that talk about being so far away from each other and things doom and gloom was that just window dressing?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't know.
(CROSSTALK)
RIPLEY: There's no information coming out. The photo op yesterday, you had Mnuchin and China's vice premier sitting at the table silently staring at each other. Clearly, you know, we don't know what's happening behind the scenes.
But, OK. So the fact that President Trump is meeting in the Oval Office 2:30 pm Eastern time, that is maybe an optimistic sign that there's sufficient progress, enough that President Trump feels another meeting is worthwhile.
We have been told now confirming the Reuters reporting that memorandums of understanding are likely to be drafted. They call them MOUs.
What are they going to talk about?
Forced technology transfer, intellectual property, services, agriculture, non-tariff barriers, which is basically anything other than tariffs that could block trade and China is known for plenty of that.
Does this memo come out at the end of the meeting in Washington?
Do we finally learn what they've reached in terms of a deal and how it's going to be enforced?
Because that's a big question. And is the deadline still March 1st, one week from today where tariffs are supposed to more than double, as you said, from 10 to 25 percent on $200 billion of imports?
The other issue is the trade deficit. That's not going to be easy, considering it hit record highs last year. More than $380 billion trade deficit and counting. Even if China does buy $30 billion or more in soybeans and wheat and corn that's not going to be a drop in the bucket in terms of dealing with that issue.
We'll see if President Trump can work his magic at that meeting in the Oval Office.
VAUSE: Yes. The art of the deal. That's worked so well so far. Will, thank you. Good to see you.
U.S. president Donald Trump set for another meeting, another high level meeting. This time though, North Korea meeting Kim Jong-un in Vietnam next week.
The question is will Trump be able to convince Kim Jong-un to finally denuclearize?
CNN's Alex Marquardt has more now on what can be expected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the sequel to a movie we've seen before and as with all sequels, will it live up to the hype?
Following President Trump's historic the historic summit with Kim Jong-un last year in Singapore, round two is designed to actually follow through on the commitments made the first time around but have not quite gone anywhere.
BRUCE KLINGNER, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: What has been cited as success really has not been either unique or meaningful. We have had no denuclearization since Singapore.
MARQUARDT: The White House announcing today that the president will meet one-on-one with the North Korean dictator to kick off their meetings in Vietnam's capital.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've made a lot of progress. We've made a tremendous amount. That doesn't mean this is going to be the last meeting because I don't believe it will. But we have subjects to discuss which will be very fruitful, I believe.
MARQUARDT: The president's message, the White House says, is to talk about what North Korea could gain should it commit to fully denuclearize. One first problem, the two sides haven't agreed what that even means.
KLINGNER: We see it as North Korea abandoning its weapons as it is required to do under the U.N. resolution and North Korea sees it as negotiating what they want to remove what they say is the U.S. hostile policy.
MARQUARDT: American negotiators say they also hope to focus on three other broad priorities.: transforming the relationship between the two countries, establishing a peaceful regime on the peninsula and getting the remains of American troops missing and killed in the Korean War.
Preparation is fully under way. National security adviser John Bolton is due in South Korea this week for meetings while the State Department takes the lead.
[00:25:00]
MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a long and difficult task. We've been negotiating hard.
MARQUARDT: As with all international summits, the president will arrive on a gleaming Air Force One. North Korea's fleet of Soviet- Arab planes, however, is a little out of date. At the last summit, Kim Jong-un had to borrow a jet from China. This time, it is believed he will instead choose to take a multiday trip on one of his famous but slow bullet-proof trains all the way from Pyongyang through China to the Vietnamese border, almost 2,400 miles.
From there, he will drive the remaining 100 miles to Hanoi, where he will find a city trimmed up for his arrival. One barber offering Kim's famous cut for free, as well as President Trump's signature swept-back blond do.
The White House says it is looking for what they called major steps from North Korea at the summit, but the president is already warning that there may be more meetings to come. The North, of course, wants those harsh U.S. sanctions lifted.
And if you listen closely to what the president and Pompeo are now saying, it sounds like they may be willing to start lifting those sanctions if they start to see what the president is calling meaningful progress.
But we are still a very long way from the president's announcement last summer that North Korea is no longer is nuclear threat -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, a show down in Venezuela is fast approaching. The Maduro government blocked aid from entering the country. The opposition is planning to distribute it across the country this weekend. We'll tell you how they plan to do that in just a moment.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause with an update now on our top news.
(HEADLINES)
VAUSE: On Saturday, supporters of the self-declared president Juan Guaido of Venezuela plan to distribute humanitarian aid that's been sitting at the border on the orders of the sitting president Maduro.
Chile and the U.S. say they're sending more food and medicine to Colombia ahead of distribution days. Colombia restricted the hours of Saturday's crossings into Venezuela, making more time available for aid distribution. And Brazil is sending supplies of its own to one of its border towns.
[00:30:00]
But Nicolas Maduro says he's closed the border with Brazil to prevent that assistance from coming in, and he's considering the same with Colombia, a full shutdown of the border there.
Now despite that, Venezuela's self-declared president has promised to distribute the relief supplies from three different locations. Thousands of Venezuelans have signed up to help with the delivery.
CNN's Lisa Suarez had their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SUAREZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the center of Caracas, a group of close neighbors are preparing for their biggest test yet. They're marching to Juan Guaido's orders, volunteering to help bring humanitarian aid into Venezuela.
(on camera): She just said she's a big nervous, come Saturday.
(voice-over): They may be unconventional, but their looks deceive you. They are organized and determined. As we sit down, I ask them how confident they are the aid will be allowed in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: We're going to succeed. The humanitarian aid will come in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: We're going to free ourselves from Maduro.
SUAREZ: The success of the aid delivery means only one thing for this group. President Nicolas Maduro's imminent loss of power. But mention his name too often and temperatures quickly begin to flair.
(on camera): You've all told me the aid is coming through one way or another. Are you prepared, each one of you, to put your life on the line for that aid?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I'm ready to give up my life for my son, for my grandchildren, in order to leave a better country to our youth.
SUAREZ (voice-over): Years of separation and struggle fuel their fire. With most family having already fled the country, 25 between them, they tell me they've got nothing left to lose. Even going so far as to call for U.S. intervention.
(on camera): President Trump says all options are on the table. Do you want to see military intervention, U.S. boots here on the ground?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: If the armed forces here don't give in, the only way for the aid to come in is with military force. And who has that? The United States.
SUAREZ: But talk of boots on the ground leaves them wanting some fresh air. So I try my best to ease their nerves.
(on camera): Juan Guaido. When you think of Juan Guaido, what does he inspire in you?
"Hope. Strength, optimism, courage. Get your family -- union, to get your family together. Trust. Love for Venezuela."
(voice-over): Emotions they, too, will need to tap into if they're to face off this coming Saturday.
Lisa Suarez, CNN, Caracas, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, there's no more precious resource than water ,and one woman dedicated her money, her time and her famous name to help ensure children have access to safe, clean drinking water and also to learn how to preserve it. More on that in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:21] VAUSE: More than 20 years ago, the World Bank described Gaza's water problems as an emergency state of affairs. And in the time that has passed, the outlook has only grown more dire, with the U.N. warning Gaza's supply of fresh water will run dry sometime next year.
China's polluted rivers and lakes are potentially a bigger health hazard than its grey, smoke-filled skies. One Beijing-based environmental group says, according to data from the 12,000 sites where surface water is tested, 35 percent have water of good quality. Another 32 percent are suitable for water supply. Twenty percent can be used for industrial or agricultural purposes but not for human consumption; and 13 percent are useless. In other words, at least a third of China's waterways are undrinkable.
Similar problems, too, for India, which has followed the China model for rapid economic growth with an online magazine produced by Yale, reporting, "According to India's Central Pollution Control Board, 63 percent of urban sewage flowing into rivers (some 62 billion liters a day) is untreated. In addition, river banks, wetlands and floodplains have been claimed over time by infrastructure, slums, offices and housing developments -- all of which has narrowed natural river channels and distorted flow, greatly reducing the ability of India's rivers to buffer flooding. It has also taken a toll on biodiversity."
World Vision says around the world, 1 in 10 do not have access to safe, clean drinking water, and to be sure, there seems no end to these depressing and disturbing facts, which read like an indictment on our collective neglect and abuse of a crucial and scarce resource.
And think about this one just for a moment. Again, the people at World Vision say every day more than 800 children under the age of 5 die from diarrhea attributed to unsafe water.
Ultimately, it's a story of the haves versus the have not. The ones without the clean water are the ones who suffer. All those who have it tend to think in terms of an almost endless resource.
And that's where Nadia Swarovski comes in. She joins us now from Los Angeles.
OK. So I guess for many people, you have that unmistakable last name. You're the great-great-granddaughter of Daniel Swarovski, founder of the famous company for crystals and jewelry. But beyond your role in the family business, you've also dedicated a big part of your life to raising awareness to the scarcity of water and ways to preserve it. So why take on that issue? Is there a specific event or personal reason for all of this?
NADIA SWAROVSKI, HEAD OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AND DESIGN SERVICES, SWAROVSKI: Absolutely. It is a family reason, really. The family has been founded because of the water source that comes out of the mountain just above the factory. My great-great-grandfather in 1895 actually used the water power to power his machines. So water is a huge element in our manufacturing and production.
However, we recycle the water. We take care of our environment. We also recycle the fumes that come out of the factory.
But we really initially started to work with the local Austrian National Park on the issues there involving water; and this was how the first Waterschool was born 20 years ago, which we have subsequently rolled out into various different countries, such as India, China, Africa, South America, North America.
And we're addressing the various different issues of water, whether it's scarcity, whether it's pollution, sanitation. And it's really important for us to raise the awareness and to educate young people about the various issues but also, we are teaching them how to handle and counteract the various different issues.
VAUSE: I just wondered, as a business person, because you have a very senior position within the company, so what we're seeing in India and China, in particular, and other countries, as well, is, you know, we'll pollute first, and then we'll clean up after we're rich. You know, they'll do whatever they've got to do to get the economy going, and then they'll take care of it later on. I mean, essentially what the United States did, but 100 years ago.
That doesn't seem to be working. They're spending billions of dollars to try and improve these waterways and other ecosystems, and it's just not having the impact they hoped it would.
SWAROVSKI: That's right. And we're just -- what we're really trying to do is we're trying to raise the awareness within the young generation of what's actually really going on.
And what we're seeing in this Waterschool film is that the increased awareness of the young person towards the topic is just moving them so much to actually try to come up with solutions and, certainly, try to counteract what's happening.
We're seeing a tremendous amount of passion within the Chinese girls. We're seeing a huge commitment and dedication within India. But what's been so fascinating about this documentary is, as we're teaching the children about the environment, we also see a tremendous self-awareness increasing within themselves and their self-confidence grows.
So I think by teaching them about these issues, we're really also making them realize that they, as individuals, can truly have a big impact. An impact that is absolutely detached from any materialism.
So as you mentioned earlier, the have and have notes, yes, there is a huge difference there in the way water is treated worldwide, but the message here is, it's actually it doesn't -- you do not have to have a solid financial base in order to have a positive impact in dealing with the issues.
VAUSE: Last year Waterschool was the subject of a Netflix documentary, which you produced. And here's a clip. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you remember what this represented?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the water in the world. One hundredth of 1 percent is something that we can use. That one drop is what we need to take care of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, I thought that was the moment. That -- you know, this whole issue of water scarcity is really put into context.
SWAROVSKI: Absolutely.
VAUSE: And a context which is rarely seen. Is that, you know, for these kids, is that, like, the aha moment?
SWAROVSKI: It is such an aha moment. And the clip that we just see here is actually done from the Mississippi River; and it's been really amazing to actually realize that a lot of these children haven't even touched the Mississippi River. It's just 15 miles away.
So again, we are really giving them the facts and figures, but we're putting everything into their local context, as well. And it's really -- it's been amazing to see the reception of the young children and the willingness to make a positive change.
VAUSE: From Mississippi to Los Angeles, where you have spent most of Thursday with, what, 500 students --
SWAROVSKI: That's right.
VAUSE: -- at Notre Dame Girl's Academy. You know, this is a fairly privileged group of kids. You know, upper middle class. They come from a certain socioeconomic group. But have you noticed, you know, within that group, when you go around talking to those sort of kids, a real change in their tone and the questions which they're asking from when this all began?
SWAROVSKI: Absolutely. And I have to say for me personally, it was so inspirational and uplifting to see their reaction towards the film.
We have had the chance to speak to 25 of the girls after the screening, and they all have expressed tremendous appreciation of living where they're living. Absolute gratitude.
They are now looking forward to going to university, and a lot of them did mention that they really look forward to their extended knowledge and education to then put themselves in a position, in a leadership position to yet further that positive change.
So I have to say it's been wonderful to see those girls also identify with the children from the Waterschool film from different environments, you know? It's wonderful to see that they're all identifying with each other on a human basis.
VAUSE: Well, Nadia, there's a lot of good, there's a lot of positive things coming out of this on many, many levels.
SWAROVSKI: Yes.
VAUSE: Well done, thank you. And great to speak with you. Thank you.
SWAROVSKI: Thank you so much for your time.
VAUSE: And we'll finish up with an Israeli team aiming for the first privately-funded spacecraft to land on the moon. On Thursday, their dream got a little closer. Their robotic moon lander, called Spaceil, launched from Cape Canaveral on board a SpaceX rocket. The trip cost roughly $100 million, and the spacecraft should land sometime in April.
Japan also celebrating a celestial victory. It's spacecraft Hayabusa 2 successfully touching down on an asteroid. The probe then fired a projectile into the asteroid to loosen some debris, which Hayabusa will eventually bring home.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT is up next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KATE RILEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to WORLD SPORT. I' Kate Riley at CNN Center. We're going to start with Thursday night action in the Europa League now.
And going into this one, Chelsea really needed something on the night to help ease that pressure on their Italian head coach, Maurizio Sarri, after three recent away defeats in the Premier League.
The Blues were then eliminated from the FA Cup on Monday by arch rivals Manchester United. And then came the visit of Sweden's Malmo, who were beaten 2-1 in the first leg at home in this round of 32.
An early night for the hosts until Olivier Giroud opened the scoring and Ross Barkley's stunning second was superbly struck, and it got even better for Chelsea.
The teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi, he's reportedly seeking a move away from the club, adding one more. The 5-1 win over two legs very welcome for Sarri, for whom, for now at least, the pressure has lifted.
Meantime, it was plain sailing, as well, for another London club, Arsenal this time, who booked their spot in the last 16 with a routine victory over BATE Borisov in Belarus. The Gunners trailed 1-0 from the first leg, but it took them just four minutes to draw a level. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyan's cross turned into his own net by BATE's Zakhar Volkov.
Arsenal would double their lead. The German international Shkodran Mustafi with a header off the corner. His manager, Unai Emery, just loving this one.
And then the substitute, Papastathopoulos with the icing on the cake, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory for the North Londoners in London.
All right. Check out this video ahead of Zenit St. Petersburg, home leg against Fenerbahce on Thursday. Flares lined up down the streets, which the team bus drove down, creating a firewall spectacle. You have to see it to believe it. Clearly, it worked in firing up the team, who overturned a first leg, too, winning the second 3-1, meaning they advance to the round of 16, 3-2 on aggregate in the end.
And Liverpool's week in the Champions League saw them held to a goalless draw home by the Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich. And the frustrations continue for the Reds' head coach, Jurgen Klopp. On Thursday, he turned -- in fact, he's learned that he's been fined about $60,000 by England's FA for suggesting a referee had appeared to favor West Ham in the recent 1-1 draw between the two teams; because he was trying to atone for an error earlier in the match that had gone Liverpool's way.
All right. Well, he's the teenage basketball sensation they all want to see play, even former U.S. presidents. Though wait til you hear how a faulty piece of footwear threw a really disappointing spanner in the works. More on that soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:50:50] RILEY: Like no other country in the world, there's nothing quite like the truly unique college sports scene right here in the United States and the unbridled passion that goes with it.
Now of course that does come with huge scrutiny on the brightest young talent and the potential for blockbuster stars of the future. Point in case, yes, 18-year-old Zion Williamson, someone who's already considered the best NBA prospect since global super star LeBron James, no less. Well, Zion, who plays on the Duke University team, is also fully
expected to be the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft. Well, the kid really has been a walking highlight reel so far this season, averaging more than 21 points and about 9 rebounds per game. He's tall, as well: 6'7" in fact, and weighs 285 pounds. Zion even telling "G.Q." magazine that he even gained 100 pounds in the final two years of high school.
Well, even the former president, Barack Obama, wanted to catch a glimpse of him on Wednesday night. One of the main big names who wanted to check out Zion in person. He was courtside while shaking hands as he entered the game. And the movie director Spike Lee, and former baseball great, Ken Griffey Jr. also on hand, too.
Well, Duke-North Carolina is the biggest rivalry in college basketball. Tickets for this game, would you believe, were going for more than a Super Bowl ticket.
But just some 30 seconds in, one of the Nike shoes Zion was wearing comes apart, causing him to slip. Well, the teen immediately grabs his knee and will be forced to leave the game. North Carolina would go on to win.
And after the game, Duke's head coach said the teenager had a mild knee sprain and, at this point, doesn't know how long he'll be out for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the back of his right knee.
MIKE KRZYZEWSKI, DUKE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL COACH: We have to come up with a game plan based on Zion not playing, and hopefully, he'll be back playing at some time in the near future. But, so that's where we're at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RILEY: Well, Obama tweeting after the game, "Zion Williamson seems like an outstanding young man, as well as an outstanding basketball player. Wishing him a speedy recovery."
Well, LeBron also tweeting, "Hope young fella is OK. Literally blew thru his shoe."
So as stated, Zion was wearing Nikes, one of which just literally ripped in half. People were letting the U.S. sports giant have it on social media, as well. By the way, Nike stock also dropping in early trading on Thursday, too.
And the company actually put out a statement, saying, "We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue." And earlier, our Patrick Snell spoke with a sports business reporter
and senior executive producer at the Action Network, Darren Rovell, to get his reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARREN ROVELL, SPORTS BUSINESS REPORTER: It was so outrageous the way that it happened, and obviously, very unfortunate. What are the odds?
In 2017, to start the NBA season, Nike had a problem with their jerseys ripping, and one of the jerseys that ripped was their highest paid spokesman, LeBron James. So they've been in this position before.
From a business standpoint, it's very hard to figure out exactly how much brand loss they have here. I'm not sure people will say, "I won't go to Nike again," but there's certainly a negative.
And their stock was down about 1 percent today, kind of reflecting the market. So I don't think their reaction from the dollars and cents side from the stock market reflected that this was going to be a major event, beyond embarrassing.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Just want to ask you. Just imagine for one second, Darren, you're a Nike executive. What is likely going on behind closed doors right now at that company?
ROVELL: Well, I think they probably were thinking that Zion Williamson is a lot more expensive for his shoe deal when he -- when he turns pro, which will be at -- at the end of, you know, the season. Because they now have to make sure he doesn't go to another brand.
Because the only way this story can continue is if he goes to another brand. If they lock him up and pay him, we might never hear the side of the story from him.
SNELL: Right.
ROVELL: And it might be in his best -- it might be in his best interest now not to say much, so that he has just immense leverage against Nike and can kind of hold that against them when it comes to his shoe negotiations, which could be in the 20, $30 million range, maybe even more.
SNELL: That said, this isn't the first P.R. setback, is it, for Nike over the years. Far from it. Just remind our viewers what leaps out for you in terms of the biggest headlines that have happened. The biggest falls from -- fall from graces, if you like, when you think of famous athletes out there and how the company has actually handled those problems.
ROVELL: Yes, listen, they've -- until the late '90s, they didn't really sever any endorsement deals. And then they severed the deal with Marion Jones, the runner. They severed their deal with Lance Armstrong. The big one, the very big one, is the labor practices from the early to late '90s and, you know, when it was found that they had underage children working sweat shops, factories that frankly, they still get accused of today, even though they've very much cleaned up that situation.
So they know crisis. They've -- they've dealt with it before. And they've persevered. And in that sense, when you compare that to this, it's very small.
When you compare Kobe Bryant, signing Kobe Bryant and three months later him getting accused of sexual assault, you know, I think those are obviously much bigger than this.
But this, I would not dismiss this. This is an equipment glitch. This is something they take great pride in. In this particular case performance failed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RILEY: Yes. Thanks to Darren and Patrick there.
And that's it from us. Many thanks for watching, as always. Stay with CNN. The news is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
