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Safety in Times Square; Trump Announced Trade Deal Signing; Chicago Police See Drop in Crime; Feel Good Moments of 2019. Aired 9:30-10a

Aired December 31, 2019 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:33:32]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: The biggest New Year's Eve bash in the United States is just hours from now. The iconic New Year's Eve crystal ball tested, ready to go. Soon those streets of Times Square will be packed with millions of partygoers. New York City Police say that Times Square will be the safest place on earth tonight because, in part, new security measures are being used, including for the first time surveillance drones.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us live now from Times Square with more.

Miguel, what are you seeing? Are people out there yet?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it is already on. This thing is kicking off.

You know, the people who will actually press the button that will drop the ball tonight will be science teachers and science students in sort of honor of science basically.

This is what Times Square looks like right now. They've not blocked off Times Square yet, but there will be thousands of police officers here tonight, some in uniform, some out of uniform. They will have helicopters in the air. They will have boats on the rivers., They will have entire areas around Times Square blocked off. And they will have drones up, weather permitting. They'll also have a special team that will keep in check rogue drones. So if people are flying their own drones over the crowd, which is not allowed, they will not be allowed to fly those drones. They have some way to mitigate them.

These are the infamous pens. Once you go in, you cannot go out. And you think people are already lined up? Of course they are.

These are the brave people at the head of the line and these brave Canadians here. What is your name?

[09:35:01]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Erica.

MARQUEZ: You guys are from Toronto? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MARQUEZ: You're here to see the K-pop band BTS.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MARQUEZ: They go on at 10:30.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MARQUEZ: How long have you been here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been out here taking shifts through everyone. Some people, 10:00 a.m., 8:00 p.m., like all throughout the day.

MARQUEZ: Are you insane?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a little bit.

MARQUEZ: And what is your bathroom strategy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the bathroom was open at Starbucks. It's been drinking little water -- a bit of water and diapers just in case.

MARQUEZ: Diapers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We're all doing it. We're all doing it.

MARQUEZ: Oh, my gosh. So once you go in those pens, you can't get out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You cannot get out, no.

MARQUEZ: You're ready for this, though.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

MARQUEZ: Ten -- it's from 10:00 a.m. yesterday you were here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, some of us, right.

MARQUEZ: You excited?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very, very excited.

MARQUEZ: All right. Happy 2020.

And let the puns begin. Let the 2020 puns begin. 2020 will be hindsight in a year. Clear as 2020 etymologists, optometrists, all that stuff. 2020, it's going to be good for puns.

Back to you.

MARQUARDT: Diapers. That is dedication.

All right, well, 14 and a half hours to go. Our thoughts remain with them and with you.

Miguel Marquez on Times Square, thanks so much.

Now, while we count down to 2020, the new decade has already arrived on the other side of the world. Those fireworks right there erupting over Auckland's Sky Tower as the clock struck midnight in New Zealand. Then, Australia welcomed the New Year despite pressure to cancel the New Year's display because of the ongoing incredibly destructive brushfires there. The stunning fireworks taking place there in Sydney Harbor.

And, of course, we're going to have our own celebration right here on CNN. Don't forget to ring in the New Year with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. CNN's New Year's Eve coverage begins at 8:00 Eastern Time tonight live from Times Square and all around the world.

We'll be right back.

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[09:41:09]

MARQUARDT: Now, just in, President Trump is saying that he's preparing to sign a phase one trade deal with China. The president tweeted the announcement just moments ago saying that a signing ceremony would be taking place at the White House on January 15th.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins me now.

Christine, phase one, what does that mean? What can we expect from it?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was elusive and it took a long time to get here. A year and a half of a trade war to get this phase one done. This is essentially China promising some soybean purchases and promising some changes to how it treats American financial companies inside China and this is the U.S. saying, we're not going to put more tariffs on for now and we'll roll back some of the current tariffs.

There still are tariffs on what are really strategic, high tech goods that come from China to the United States, but essentially this is a peace offering in what has been a very troublesome trade war between the United States and China over the past almost two years.

MARQUARDT: But, Christine, we are moments into the trading day and yet the markets are seemingly not reacting. Why do you think that is?

ROMANS: Yes. Well, they priced this in. I mean the president has said for some time that he wanted to get some kind of a win here. And then they've got to work on phase two, the rest of it. That's the real hard stuff. That's the tough stuff. And that will come at a later date.

And that's what's been really troublesome. I mean when the Chinese have gotten close to making some of these big concessions on how it does business that the United States finds unfair, then the Chinese back away and they don't actually keep up that end of the bargain. So that's going to be tough and the markets know that.

But I think what's really important here is where we've come in the past year. I mean the Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P, 20 percent-plus gains for the year. A year ago -- think about this, Alex, a year ago right now we were talking about how it was the worst December in the stock market since the Great Depression. And then 2019 you saw these big advances.

The economy is growing. Not gangbusters, but the economy is growing a little bit more than 2 percent. Companies are still making money. There was a big hope that this trade, at least some of the worst parts of it, would get resolved. And the consumer is strong. Manufacturing weak, but the consumer is strong.

I just think it's so important to look back over time and see how we've done here. Last year the S&P down just a little bit. This is the best year this year since 2013, really, here. So in the context of ten years, you've seen a nice advance in the economy, improvement in the job market, record highs in the stock market and, of course, now we look to next year and wonder, can that all -- can that all follow through? It depends on how much progress there is on the China trade war. It depends on how strong the American consumer stays. And, really, I think political noise of impeachment, not even really a factor here for the markets. They're looking into next year. A steady economy, low interest rates, and it's steady as she goes.

MARQUARDT: And, of course, the president will be trumping all that as he hits the campaign trail.

ROMANS: Yes, he will. Yes, he will.

MARQUARDT: Christine Romans in New York, thanks very much.

ROMANS: Bye, Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right, well, Chicago Police believe that they have turned the corner and are expecting a drop in violent crime for the third year in a row, but do Chicagoans feel the same? Do they feel safe? That's coming up.

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[09:48:42]

MARQUARDT: Around 500 murders this year. Five hundred in the city of Chicago. But Chicago Police are saying that the city is on track to see a double-digit drop in violent crime for 2019.

CNN's Omar Jimenez joins us now.

Omar, when you see the police talking about the city being on a better track and the numbers dropping, is that how the people of Chicago feel, that the city is on the right track?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, on one hand these numbers are encouraging. We're seeing double-digit declines in violent crime for a third year in a row and a more than 30 percent drop from the spike on the other side of that streak. On the other hand, like in conversations I've had with the mayor, who has told me the numbers are one thing, now it's about feeling the change.

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JIMENEZ (voice over): Within the numbers are stories that have become all too familiar in a place like Chicago.

KEITH FLOWERS, SON WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN CHICAGO: Thanksgiving was the hardest, because that was his favorite holiday. He loved eating his grandma's cooking, man.

JIMENEZ: Keith Flowers' son, Demetrius, was among the seven killed and more than 50 wounded over a single August weekend.

JIMENEZ (on camera): It's not just about the numbers going down, but it's about feeling safer. Do you feel safer?

FLOWERS: You can't let your kids out to play because you never know when a drive-by shooting or a shooting is going to take place.

[09:50:04]

So, no, we don't feel safer. I don't feel safer

JIMENEZ (voice over): But, citywide, the numbers also tell a story. In 2016, homicides spiked, topping 750 killings in this single American city. Since then, things have improved. Deaths still in the hundreds, but in 2019, finishing more than 30 percent lower than that spike with double-digit declines in homicides for a third year in a row.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot points to factors like job training and support services as making a difference.

MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D), CHICAGO: We abandoned the kind of law enforcement first and only strategy and really focused on not only aligning all city departments in the fight for public safety but also embracing our partners in the community.

JIMENEZ: They're strategies that even extend to emergency rooms.

DR. FARAN BOKHARI, CHAIRMAN OF TRAUMA AND BURN SURGERY, COOK COUNTY HEALTH: In those years that was -- that were really bad, 2016 and '17, it was as though it was summer all throughout the year and you never stopped. What we are trying to do is do outreach with a lot of these kids so that we can have an effect at the front end. I think we are also doing everything we can to improve our medical capacities.

JIMENEZ: And for Flowers, representative of the countless families permanently scarred by gun violence in Chicago, he's grateful the numbers are down. But for him and many others, there's still a long way to go before he can feel safe, before he can feel normal.

JIMENEZ (on camera): What should a normal day look like for you? FLORES: To see the police outside their cars walking the beats again.

A normal day would look like having your kids being able to play in the park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: And now as a full 2020 lies ahead, the goal is to continue this downward trend for the city, avoid getting back to the levels we saw in 2016 where there were more murders here in Chicago than in New York and Los Angeles combined and, more importantly, get to a place where families like Flowers can get, as he calls, that sense of normal.

Alex.

MARQUARDT: Within those numbers, so many stories, very well said.

Omar Jimenez in Chicago, thanks very much.

Now, we are continuing to follow breaking news out of Baghdad. That's where protesters have tried to storm the U.S. embassy. We will be bringing you a live update.

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[09:56:50]

MARQUARDT: In 2019, we saw a year filled with some pretty brutal headlines, but we also have to remember that there were plenty of endearing, surprising moments and stories as well.

CNN's Scott McLean takes a look at those stories that lifted people up this year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For a lot of people and a lot of places, 2019 was a tough year. There were protests and crackdowns, disinformation wars and conventional ones too.

Of all the words to describe the past year, uplifting probably isn't one of them, but there were a few reasons to smile.

In Lebanon, the biggest protests in more than a decade were a frightening scene for a 15-month-old baby, but not for long. A chorus of protesters near Beirut gave the child and the country a brief respite from the political crisis.

It was a different kind of crisis that inspired a Swedish teenager to stage a weekly protest demanding action on climate change. Greta Thunberg's message hasn't always been well-received, but plenty of people found inspiration in a teen uniting millions around the world this year.

GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVIST: So, today, we are millions around the world fighting and launching again, and we will keep on doing it until they listen.

MCLEAN: On the Galapagos Islands, a giant tortoise was spotted in 2019. Thought to be extinct for more than a century, the extremely rare member of the Fernandina Island species was spotted in February. And researchers think she's not the only one.

Researchers in the lab made breakthroughs that gave hope to millions. For the second time ever, an HIV patient went into sustained remission, showing no active signs of the virus for 18 months. Separately, scientists made progress in identifying the genetic variance associated with risk of Alzheimer's.

On the road, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge (ph) did what no human had ever done, finishing a marathon in less than two hours.

ELIUD KIPCHOGE: I'm happiest man to run under two hours, you know that to inspire many people, to tell people that no human is limited.

MCLEAN: Boundaries were also pushed in Botswana after a court struck down laws criminalizing homosexuality.

And it was the South African rugby team who taught us a lesson about teamwork. It was the third World Cup title for the former apartheid state, but the first one with a black captain. Siya Kolisi, a beacon of hope to young South Africans, became a global sensation, trading poverty in the townships for glory on the pitch.

SIYA KOLISI: We're grateful to see that we are able to achieve such a -- to touch a nation and touch the world with the power -- with doing what we love, playing sports.

MCLEAN: Their historic win took place in Japan, where one city had to fire its tourism mascot after videos of a rogue imposter spread quickly across social media, dancing on poles and making a mess.

[10:00:01]

The unsanctioned behavior prompted complaints in Japan, but gave the rest of the world a much needed laugh.

Scott McLean, CNN, London.

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