Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump Dines With Secretary Of State Candidate Romney; Carrier Strikes Deal To Keep 1,000 Jobs In U.S; Investigators Think Ohio University Attacker Was Inspired By ISIS; Flight Recorders Recovered In "Perfect Condition"; Former Football Coach Charged With Sexual Assault. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 30, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, from a phony and a fraud to interesting and engaging, Mitt Romney's new opinion of Donald Trump after their New York dinner date.
Plus, new clues of what may have caused a charter plane to crash with a Brazilian football team on board. And the English Football Association in crisis following allegations more than 20 players were sexually abused when they were children.
Hello, everybody. Thank you for staying with us. I'm John Vause. We're now into the second hour of NEWSROOM L.A.
The 2012 U.S. Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has changed his opinion on Donald Trump, and nothing but praise for the president- elect after a dinner meeting in New York on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Trump and Romney received this smattering of applause as they arrived at the restaurant. Romney is on a short list of candidates for Secretary of State.
MITT ROMNEY, 2012 UNITED STATES REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The last few weeks he has spent carrying out a transition effort. And I have to tell you, I've been impressed by what I've seen in the transition effort. The people he selected as members of his cabinet are solid, effective, capable people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Trump has settled on two other cabinet nominees. An official says former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin is Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary. And sources told CNN, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross will be tapped as Commerce Secretary. Joining me once again, CNN Senior Reporter for Media and Politics, Dylan Byers. Dylan, thanks for staying with us. This must have been some dinner there in New York. Let's listen to a little more from Mitt Romney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I had a wonderful evening with President-elect Trump. We have another discussion about affairs throughout the world. And these discussions I've had with him have been enlightening and interesting and engaging. I've enjoyed them very, very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How does he go from the phony and the fraud line to being the number one Never Trump guy, to this?
DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR REPORTER FOR MEDIA AND POLITICS: Well, it's a great question, because it's certainly not something I think he ever thought he would have to do. I think in protesting Donald Trump as sort of vehemently as he did during the latter stages of the primaries, he was expecting to become the sort of standard bearer for the republican establishment that was going to be ascendant after Trump's disastrous loss to Hillary Clinton. Of course, that's not the way things panned out. The way you get to being the sort of respectful and diplomatic the way Mitt Romney was tonight is you recognize that Donald Trump is the President of the United States. You -- when the President of the United States picks up the phone and invites you to dinner, you go. And you have to listen to him and you have to work with him. And then you also have to hope that maybe the Donald Trump of the -- of the election who said all of those sort of terrible things about so many different Americans is not the Donald Trump you're working with.
VAUSE: But as Secretary of State, you have to do -- you know, eventually, you have to give way to what the president wants, and you have to sell it to believe it, even if you don't, even if you have a set of opinions. I mention these two will have a lot of differences of opinion.
BYERS: That's true. That's true. Although, what we know -- what we know about Donald Trump is that he is -- well, he's someone who goes with his own gut. And only -- and values his opinion above all others. He's also someone who recognizes that he is now in a position where he is in way over his head.
VAUSE: Right.
BYERS: And he is going to need to appoint people who can handle the issues that he's not willing to handle. Because Donald Trump can handle his Twitter account, and he can -- you know, he can handle sort of, you know, the media, and telling the media where to go.
VAUSE: Right.
BYERS: He is not someone who has proven his ability to handle the office of the presidency of the United States. He is going to need smart people in those positions. And I think that's why he is talking to Mitt Romney.
VAUSE: I thought that we'll move on, but I thought one of the interesting comments that came from Trump is that Romney was camera- ready to be Secretary of State, which seemed like an odd qualification.
BYERS: Like not the qualification you want.
VAUSE: OK. There's a big story also tonight. And this is about the Carrier air condition -- air conditioning company. They tweeted this out, "We are pleased to have reached a deal with President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence to keep close to one thousand jobs in Indy, that would be Indiana. More details soon." Just a reminder to everyone, this year Carrier announced that it was actually shutting down that plant in Indiana. It was recorded on some video, amateur video. It went viral. This was that moment when the announcement was made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:04:54] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It became clear that the best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Trump was -- you know, he was smart enough in some ways, he jumped on this, the whole Carrier air conditioning plant became sort of a symbol for his campaign, bringing those jobs back. He talked about it wherever he went. This is one of those moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're going to call me, and they're going to say Mr. President, Carrier has decided to stay in Indiana. Thank you, sir. And by the way, 100 percent, OK? 100. It's not like we have an 80 percent chance of keeping them or a 95 percent, 100 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, we still don't know the details of the deal. We don't know what was promised, but clearly a win for President-elect Trump.
BYERS: It is -- it is a win. Now, given that back in April, he's making a 100 percent promise that this will be the case, not to sound conspiratorial, it does sort of feel like he sort of knew he could move the needle on this one, and good that he did. Look, every single job you bring back to the United States, that's good for American workers.
That said, it's a thousand jobs. It's symbolically a big victory. It will matter for those one thousand people and for that company. The question is can he bring wholesale change to the American workforce as President of the United States. Because sort of throwing up one achievement as president-elect is one thing. Actually, bringing about change consistently as president is another.
VAUSE: Is it still like a -- you know, a message or signal to other businesses out there? Is this something only Donald Trump the businessman could do. If, you know, President Barack Obama did it or President Bernie Sanders, that would be accused of interfering in free markets.
BYERS: Right. Well, that's absolutely right. I mean, I think Donald Trump is very comfortable with his role as sort of a businessman and being a businessman president. He's demonstrated that he doesn't have any qualms about the fact that there might be conflicts of interest between his business interests and his role as President of the United States. Look, I think that he believes the one thing that he needs to do in order to appeal to the people who got him elected is not so much the social issues. It's not a question of whether or not you can burn a flag in this country. It's a question of will they get jobs.
VAUSE: Yeah.
BYERS: If they get jobs, they'll support him. If they don't get jobs, they might not vote him back in the office in four years.
VAUSE: Funny you should mention the flag burning. Because the interesting thing is that, you know, this deal would have had to have been negotiated over a period of time. And clearly, it was going to be a big headline. It's a big win for the incoming administration. But all day long, the news cycle was focused on a tweet which Donald Trump put out. Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag. If they do, there must be consequences, perhaps loss of citizenship or maybe a year in jail. A lot of people jumped on this because, you know, burning the flag as much as people don't like it, it's protected by free speech. John McCain, one of the senior republican senators that was asked about it very uncomfortable in his reply.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MCCAIN, UNITED STATES SENATOR: A very close decision on the United -- by the United States Supreme Court. I do not approve of burning the flag. I think it should -- there should be some punishment, but I -- right now, the Supreme Court decision is that people are free to express themselves that way. No comment on Mr. Trump's comments. I have not and will not.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Why not? He is the president-elect and you're very senior member up here.
MCCAIN: Because that's my choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I mean, it is such a ridiculous story, we'll forget about it, you know, 12 hours from now, right?
BYERS: Yeah, we absolutely will. And -- but again, the question post to Senator John McCain from our own Manu Raju there, he is the president-elect. It's very hard to not to pay attention to what he says. So, you know, this -- how much do -- how seriously do we have to take everything that Donald Trump tweets, especially if he's just tweeting something because he saw something on cable news. He saw a story on cable news and decided that he had an opinion about it. You know, this is a question for the news media at large. We need to remember to focus on the issues that matter, on the conflicts of interest between his business and the presidency, on bringing jobs back to America, on his track record, on who he is actually going to appoint and what his presidency is actually going to look like. But unfortunately, we also have to pay attention to what he says from the bully pulpit that now is the Twitter pulpit.
VAUSE: Yeah. You know, even some of Trump's most loyal supporters it seemed the tweeting is becoming a bit of a problem. We've heard from Speaker Newt Gingrich earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER UNITED STATES HOUSE SPEAKER: I think the worst thing he did was the tweet the other night about illegal votes. I mean, you know, the President of the United States can't randomly tweet without having somebody check it
out. I mean, it's just -- it makes you wonder about whatever else he is doing. It undermines much more than just a single tweet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:04] VAUSE: We seem to be on uncharted territory when Newt Gingrich is the voice of reason and moderation.
BYERS: Well (INAUDIBLE) there's so -- I mean, look, there is a limit to how much even Donald Trump's most staunched supporters will defend him. And this was sort of the thing that his republican opponents tried to attack him on in the primaries and that Hillary Clinton tried to attack him on during the general election, which is he is erratic. And you can't trust him to make that decision at 3:00 a.m. in the morning when it comes to the nuclear codes or when it comes to, you know, question about North Korea or ISIS, if you can't trust him not to tweet something that is an absolute falsehood, baseless, no evidence that it's true. If you can't trust him not to go off against CNN or The New York Times simply because he doesn't like the coverage he is getting.
VAUSE: Yeah. But he does when people --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: And he continues to do it. I guess we'll see if he does it after January 20th.
BYERS: Yes.
VAUSE: Dylan, thanks for coming in.
BYERS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Moving on here now, ISIS claims the Ohio University student who attacked people with a car and a butcher's knife was their soldier. Sources tell us that investigators believe Abdul Razak Ali Artan was inspired by the terror group and a formal Al Qaeda leader. But there's no evidence of direct contact. 11 people were wounded when he rammed his car into a crowd, and slashed others with that knife. He was shot dead by a campus police officer. Flight recorders from the plane that crashed in Colombia Monday have
now been recovered, allowing investigators to reconstruct the flight's final moments. Only six people were pulled alive from the wreckage. CNN's Aviation Correspondent Rene Marsh has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: This is what's left of the plane, carrying Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense and more than 20 journalists after it crashed into the mountainside in Colombia. At least 71 of the 77 people on board are dead. The charter flight left Santa Cruz, Bolivia Monday night, bound for Medellin, Columbia.
It declared an emergency just minutes before the crash. The pilot reported electrical problems. Investigators found both of the plane's black boxes in perfect condition. It will tell them if the plane had any mechanical problems.
MICHEL TEMER, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Sadly, all we can do beyond crying for those who have left us was to arrange federal government support for the families who are in mourning.
MARSH: Just days ago, the team celebrated a semi-final win in the South American Cup. They were on their way to Columbia to compete in the finals. Here they were at the airport. One of the players taking this video and snapping these photos while on board. Fans mourned outside the soccer stadium where the team was scheduled to play.
Brazilian football great, Pele tweeted, "Brazilian Football is in mourning." A team that experienced a meteoric rise making it to the elite level of the Brazilian soccer championship. Investigators are now trying to figure out what brought this Cinderella story to such a deadly end.
The aircraft the team was on was manufactured in 1999. It's usually used for short flights. Now, investigators are going to look at the operation of the charter company and the crew. Did they make the right decisions? Was there something going on in the cockpit? And of course, the black boxes will tell the tale. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining me now live in Denver, CNN's Safety Analyst and former FAA Safety Inspector David Soucie. David, thank you for being with us. If you look at some of the pictures of the wreckage and the fact the plane was about to land, does that indicate that maybe this was a controlled descent as opposed to the plane just simply falling out of the sky?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Yeah, it's very rare to have an airplane just fall out of the sky. In this case, it does look like it's making an attempt to land. Although, the information I gained recently said that there was not any fuel on board the aircraft when it did make that impact in most that -- in that crash, there's no flames, there's no fire or very little signs of explosion. VAUSE: So, the fact that there are these reports out there that there was actually a possibility that the plane ran out of fuel. If it did run out of fuel, could that have actually caused the electrical failure that was reported by the pilot?
SOUCIE: It's very possible, actually. This aircraft can lose an engine, the pilot cannot recognize it as a loss of engine. It looks like electric failure, because the bus, the electrical busses change where the power is going and where it's coming from. So, if it looked like an electrical failure if it just ran out of fuel, one engine runs out of fuel before the others do. So, it could look that way. It could be the initial report, but what's most concerning about this, as Rene had mentioned is that this aircraft normally used for very short flights. This flight was 1605 nautical miles, which is five miles beyond its certified range for this airplane. The range of this airplane is only 1600 miles. So, the fact that the aircraft took off on a flight like this with no plans to fuel stop is very extraordinary. It really shouldn't have been flight planned the way that it was.
[01:15:09] VAUSE: We're being told the cockpit voice recorder, the flight data recorder, have been recovered. They're in perfect condition. I guess that will pretty much reveal everything which may have gone wrong?
SOUCIE: Yeah, it really will. You know, the flight data recorder will tell you everything about the aircraft, if the engine failed, possibly some electrical failure or if the electrical failure was the first thing to happen. So that's -- that will tell you. The cockpit voice recorder will give you the indication of what was going on in the cockpit as to why and how the pilots reacted to the failures of (INAUDIBLE). So, yeah, it will paint a very clear story. I'm glad that they've taken the time to find those as quickly as they have.
VAUSE: We have 79 people were killed, they lost their lives in this crash, and six actually managed to survive. Given the impact where it crashed, are you surprised anyone actually got out alive?
SOUCIE: Well, I am. And partly again, because of the fact there was very little explosion on-site. And the fires, you can see there's not a lot of evidence of fire there. And that's typically what -- when there are survivors from the impacts, those survivors are usually succumbed by smoke and fire. In this case, they didn't have that. The other thing that is extraordinary is the fact that they were out there for four to five hours waiting for the rescuers to come get them. So they did survive not only the accident, but the elements as well.
VAUSE: Wow. David, thanks for being with us. David Soucie with some insight into what may have caused this crash.
Next here on NEWSROOM L.A., the head of the English Football Association is speaking out after allegations of sexual abuse have rocked the sport in the U.K. And we'll take you inside war games above the Arctic Circle.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Patrick Snell with your "CNN WORLD SPORT" headlines. We start with unspeakable tragedy as the world mourns the loss of Brazil's Chapecoense football team, a club that rose from relative obscurity to spark an incredible journey that took it all the way to the final at one of South America's premier tournaments. Only for that fairy-tale run to be cut short truly by a devastating plane crash in Colombia that claimed the lives of most of the traveling squad. Brazil, the country has announced three days of official mourning, and all football matches in South America's biggest country have been suspended for a week. Around the world, football teams paying their respects to the victims of the crash. Liverpool holding a moment of silence before their match with Leeds United as did Hull City and Newcastle United before playing their cup matches in England on Tuesday night.
As the scale of the sexual abuse scandal in English football continues to grow, the nation's Crown Prosecution Service announcing on Tuesday that former English Football Coach Barry Bennell has been charged with eight offenses of sexual assault against the boy under the age of 14. The Football Association has launched a review and said it will uncover the truth after more than 20 ex-football players made allegations of sex abuse dating back decades during their time as youth players. We're following every development with that story every step of the way. That's a look at your "WORLD SPORT" headlines. Thanks for joining us. I'm Patrick Snell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:00] VAUSE: The head of the English Football Association says allegations of child sexual abuse are one of the biggest crises in the history of the F.A. At least four U.K. police departments are investigating separate allegations. On Monday, the former English Football Coach Barry Bennell was charged of eight counts of sexual assault against a boy under the age of 14. And as Erin McLaughlin reports from London, the Football Association is now reviewing what individual clubs knew at the time of the alleged abuses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's clear the U.K. Football Association realizes its credibility is at stake. More than 20 former football players have come forward alleging abuse as children. For the first time, F.A. Chairman Greg Clarke took questions about the growing scandal. He acknowledged the moral consequences of failing to deal with these issues in the past. He was asked if the F.A. had evidence of a cover-up. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG CLARKE, F.A. CHAIRMAN: I don't know if there's a cover-up or not. I really don't know. I suspect that like many big problems, people aren't drawn towards them. My methodology is if there's a problem, run towards it. Embrace it, fix it, disclose everything that happened. I think institutionally, all organizations in the old days used to -- used to protect themselves by keeping quiet and closing ranks. That's completely inappropriate and unacceptable today, which is why we've had an independent led inquiry. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: The F.A. chairman emphasized that he did not want to speculate. He said the F.A. is working to be as transparent as possible. He said an independent investigator is working to create a timeline that dates back to 1990 to establish the facts then release the findings to the public and accept the consequences. No timeline has been established for the investigation. He made clear that it would not interfere with ongoing police investigations. Now, when asked, Clarke said they are in contact with FIFA, which says it's monitoring the situation. The F.A. is trying to encourage victims to come forward. The hope is to fully understand the extent of the abuse in order to help the victims and make sure it never happens again. Erin Mclaughlin, CNN, London.
VAUSE: I'm joined once again by Criminal Defense Attorney and former Prosecutor Ambrosio Rodriguez as well as therapist Dr. Paul Hokemeyer, a Specialist in Child Trauma. Thank you both for being with us. Ambrosio, first to you, we've had more than 20 former footballers who have come forward over the past couple of days making very similar allegations. This seems to be just at the very beginning of this scandal. Would you expect more people to be coming forward?
AMBROSIO RODRIGUEZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND FORMER PROSECUTOR: Oh, absolutely. In cases like this, what happens over time, as people have been courageous enough to come forward, it gives other victims the courage to tell their story as well. We've seen that over and over in very well-publicized cases like Penn State or Bill Cosby, then you that happening here again.
VAUSE: And Paul, these are grown men. Still, how difficult is it for someone to come forward, make this kind of allegations? I guess especially in the early stages of something like this, what are they going through right now?
PAUL HOKEMEYER, LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST: What they're going through is a retraumatization. So what they're doing is extraordinarily difficult. When you think about the initially what happened to them, they put their trust and their faith into someone who was supposed to protect them, who was supposed to lead them, who was supposed to be guide in (INAUDIBLE) their lives. This person betrayed them in a very severe way. So, now going back and bringing all of this up is retraumatizing for them, and it's extraordinarily difficult and painful.
VAUSE: Are they reliving everything they sort of tried to forget in their youth right now?
HOKEMEYER: Well, this certainly brings that up and so what happens when somebody experiences sexual abuse, they're traumatized and they experience PTSD. So, any time something similar happens, any time that comes into their awareness or consciousness, their body has a physical reaction to it, and it puts them into a stress mode. So, it's very difficult for them socially, it's very difficult for them emotionally, and it's very painful for them physically.
VAUSE: Ambrosio, as a prosecutor trying to gather evidence, dealing with a victim of this kind of crime, first of all, how difficult is it actually to build a case and how conscious do you have to be of what the victim has already been through?
[01:24:55] RODRIGUEZ: Well, let me just talk about what evidence is and isn't in cases like this. A lot of people think of evidence as what they see on T.V., DNA, fingerprints, kind of biological evidence. You are not going to have that type of evidence in cases like this. What you'll have are victims coming forward and telling their story. And that pattern of one victim after the other telling similar stories, that's what the evidence is. And the jury relies on the words that come out of these men's mouth in order to make the determinations as to whether or not there's enough evidence to convict him.
These types of cases are difficult to put together simply because what men -- these men have to kind of go through in order to prepare them for trial. But there are almost always successful just because of the volume of victims that come forward -- look, I've seen -- I've had cases like this as a prosecutor, where you have someone in their 30s or 40s, talking about something that happened to them as children, as little girls, and they are stoic in their voices but their face changes. You know, I've seen the tears. It's heartbreaking. And you don't need DNA evidence or anything like that. You have their words and it's very powerful.
VAUSE: And you see how real it all is. Right now, you know, the head of the F.A. in England is saying he doesn't know if there was a cover- up. But there was a cover-up in cases like Penn State, there was a cover-up for Jimmy Savile with the BBC, there was a cover-up in the Catholic Church. How do people in positions of authority actually rationalize covering up these kinds of crimes?
HOKEMEYER: You have to look at the way they were built psychologically and so when we have a piece of information that threatens us, that makes us feel unsafe, that challenges our world, we get what's called defendant. So, we deny it. We rationalize it. We pretend that it doesn't exist. And so, there's an extraordinary amount of that going on in these particular cases. And there's particularly men-on-men sex, there's still an extraordinary amount of shame and stigma attached to it. So, not only do you have the abuse, but now you have the extra cultural layer of the being men-on-men sex which is still quite shameful.
VAUSE: Ambrosio, for those who do cover up these crimes are -- just in general sense, I guess, in the United States from your point of view, are the penalties stiff enough? Are they enough for (INAUDIBLE)?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, in California, they're very stiff. I mean, where most sex crimes in California involving children, either involve multiple years in prison, in state prison or life sentences. So, the California, and most of the United States, have very, very stiff sentences. With the idea that, you know, this have started happening back in the 80s and through the 90s, the idea is once you commit this, you are taken out of the general population. And even if you eventually do get out of prison, you have to register as a sex offender for the rest of your life. So -- and these are what's -- they're called "strike offenses". If you get enough of them, it's again, life in prison.
VAUSE: So, is there rehabilitation for the offenders, and is there rehabilitation for those who have been abused?
HOKEMEYER: Absolutely, there is rehabilitation. Let's first start with the ones who have been abused. These are the people who have the extraordinary courage first to come forward and say that this happened to them, and then they need to put themselves into the care of someone who they trust and who can handle their extraordinary vulnerability. It takes time. It takes a lot of hard work. But there is extraordinary recovery that does happen. In terms of the perpetrators, there is recovery that does happen there too. It's different in the sense of that it needs to be monitored very closely. It needs to be very rigid, and it needs to have a very long tail on it, a long-term to it.
VAUSE: OK, and of course we're just at the beginning of another scandal involving children and sexual abuse. This one, of course, happening in the U.K., Ambrosio and Doctor, thank you very much for being with us.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.
HOKEMEYER: Thank you.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, next here on NEWSROOM L.A., U.S. and Norwegian troops conduct war games near the border with Russia, as they prepare for a very real threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're moving forward now towards the fake enemy positions but these kind of exercises since Russia's moves in Ukraine have taken on a new kind of realism and urgency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:32:41] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.
Mitt Romney says he had a wonderful dinner with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The one-time Trump critic is among the leading candidates as Secretary of State. He says his discussion with Mr. Trump about world affairs was enlightening, interesting, even engaging.
Brazil has announced three days of mourning after a plane crash in Colombia involving members of a Brazilian football team. At least 71 people died, only six survived. The flight recorders have been recovered. Investigators say they are in perfect condition. In the coming hours, the United Nations will vote on possible new sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear activities. China, North Korea's biggest ally is among the countries supporting the move. The sanctions were reported slashing Pyongyang's export earnings by about $800 million.
To South Korea now, where tens of thousands of union members are taking part in a strike demanding President Park Geun-hye resign. The embattled leader who is accused of leaking state information has offered to step down if parliament decides she should be. These are live pictures there right now. It just gone 3:30 in the afternoon. CNN's Paula Hancocks has more.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Resign or face impeachment. Two clear options for South Korea's President Park Geun-hye from opposition leaders. But, Park chose option number three, let parliament decide if I should go.
PARK GEUN-HYE, PRESIDENT, SOUTH KOREA: (Through Translator) If the national assembly sets a path for the stable transition of power, I will resign from the presidency and lessen the confusion as much as possible.
HANCOCKS: Hundreds of thousands of protesters have braved the freezing streets of Seoul for weeks, demanding Park step down for her alleged role in a massive corruption scandal. Basically to say they want to investigate her as a suspect in that case. Park's attorney said Monday she's too busy to be questioned.
A few hours after Park's speech Tuesday, protesters went back on the streets in downtown Seoul. Protest organizers say they want a clear resignation. In a statement, they said, "Park can't even decide on her own to resign from the presidency, she's letting the national assembly decide."
This man told me people demanded she resign. She clearly hasn't understood the will of the people. This man says she should admit to her guilt and resign.
[01:35:04] That is the correct way.
Park's close confidant Choi Soon-sil has been indicted on charges of fraud, abuse of power, and coercion. Prosecutors allege she extorted millions of dollars from big business. We could not reach her lawyer for comments. Prosecutors say they have evidence, Park was complicit. So, what does Park passing her fate to parliament actually achieve?
JOHN DELURY, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: Maybe she's hoping that this will buy her some time. Maybe she was hoping it would stop the impeachment process. It's very possible it's going to backfire.
HANCOCKS: Park insisted in her speech that she never actually sought personal gain. Instead, she blamed those around her. And what she may be hoping for by at least signaling she's willing to resign is that she can scoop a building momentum to impeach her. Not just among opposition lawmakers but also among many of those within her own party.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
VAUSE: Tens of thousands of Cubans crowded into Havana's Revolution Square to honor Fidel Castro on Tuesday night. They chanted "Viva Fidel" as they mourn their former leader who died Friday, age 90.
Many of Latin America's leftist leaders attended the ceremony along with some African leaders. Revolution Square is where Castro often addressed his people, sometimes hours on end. Wednesday, his ashes will be taken to Santiago in a reversal of the journey Castro took when he came to power in 1959.
As a candidate, Donald Trump was very critical of NATO even questioned his relevance. His comments worried some member nations, fearful about the threat from Russia after its actions at Ukraine. CNN went to Norway to see how U.S. marines are helping reassure some nervous allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just got very cold again for these U.S. Marines training with tanks in Norway, from the eastern borders of a NATO that's suddenly nervous once more.
They're moving forward now, towards the fake enemy positions. But, these kinds of exercises since Russia's moves in Ukraine have taken on a new kind of realism and urgency.
In January, 300 marines were moved to Norway permanently. That's how worried about Moscow's intentions they are. For now, a unit from North Carolina arranging these Abrams tanks normally stored deep in caves. But now, the furthest north of the Arctic Circle they've ever been.
After Iraq and Afghanistan, these are old new war games about protecting Europe. And they know that when the enemy isn't role- playing, it will probably be the newly emboldened Russian military.
OLE JOHAN SKOGMA, SPOKEMAN, NORWEGIAN ARMY: In 2014, that was a clear sign that Russia has stepped in an area where they are willing and able to use military power. You know, suddenly we have changed focus from what was going on, particularly in Afghanistan and to collective defense, national defense.
WALSH: A change in focus somebody is watching. Norwegian police investigating 10 sightings of medium-sized unidentified drones over these exercises. At a furthest point north of the border you can go, it's an open game of watching. A Russian helicopter lands, rare here.
And when Donald Trump questioned America's commitment to NATO, he seems to wants now taunts (ph) with Russia that bit of land just there, it gets noticed here.
So all of you here, did you hear about Donald Trump becoming U.S president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I did.
WALSH: What do you think about it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not allowed to talk about that actually.
WALSH: It's not really a Russian invasion they worry about here. But rather the sort of separatist uprising Russia fermented in Ukraine. Little green men with guns creating trouble.
We're heading out with a Norwegian border patrol towards a frontier with Russia. Our presence on the ground being vital for them at ensuring nothing untoward happens with their large, at times unfriendly neighbor.
That's really the reason for the Norwegian and American tanks you saw earlier. To be sure, that even out here in the empty pines and crisp snow, no matter what the Trump presidency brings, there's enough muscle already here to enforce NATO's promises of collective security. Have you seen Russians at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happens. You just salute them.
WALSH: Would you like to talk to them if you could?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably, but it's illegal.
WALSH: It is strange to hear Norwegians NATO members talk so vividly again about the Russian threat. The constant and real backdrop to this survival training happening tonight under a staggering display of the northern lights.
Not until now as being sure you're ready happened with such a sense of insecurity about Europe's fiery borders that mounts slowly as the Trump presidency nears.
[01:40:04] Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kirkenes, Northern Norway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, next on Newsroom L.A., young refugees paying for survival with their bodies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really quite disconcerting to be here even during the day and stepping back into one of these areas behind the bushes off the main path. You just get a bit of a sense of what happens here after dark. There's condom wrappers all over the place. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The European dream is becoming a nightmare for some young refugees who fled their war-torn countries. Many teenagers are selling themselves on the streets just to survive. Arwa Damon has this exclusive report from Athens as part of CNN's "Freedom Project" to end modern day slavery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: This is where the deals are made. Our camera is filming from a distance with a mic on Tassos Smetopoulos.
Push the audio on the microphone.
TASSOS SMETOPOULOS, SOCIAL WORKER: OK.
DAMON: He's a social worker showing us Athens is prime shopping ground for illicit sex. Older men troll the square scoping their options, waiting for the right moment to approach.
[01:45:05] SMETOPOULOS: Look behind you. There is an old guy that make massage to a younger boy. You see?
DAMON: Yes.
SMETOPOULOS: It's a game.
DAMON: The boys who play to survive are often unaccompanied minors, many from Afghanistan.
SMETOPOULOS: It's shocking. Really it's shocking. You know, they are desperate. There is no way out unless they find money.
DAMON: Most we approached were too afraid, too ashamed to speak to us. But Ali, not his real name, agreed, in hopes it would somehow make a difference. He's 17 and he's been here for nine months. The little money he had ran out a long time ago.
ALI (Translated): I said to myself, look what a mess you're in. Such bad luck just so that you can make some money. I think to myself where have you ended up. You have come to Europe but what is this that you're doing?
DAMON: The act itself happens in a sprawling park, a five-minute walk away from the square. It is long been a haven for drug users and the sex trade. Now exacerbated by the refugee crisis.
ALI (Translated): You've seen the park, at the end of the day, some come to you. They pull their pants down so you see their ass. Others talk to you and show you their money. It works like this.
DAMON: Tassos takes us into the park during the day so we can see the sheer scale of the situation.
It's really quite disconcerting to be here even during the day and stepping back into one of these areas behind the bushes off the main path. You just get a bit of a sense of what happens here after dark. There's condom rappers all over the place.
The cost varies.
ALI (Translated): Some offer 5 euros, some 100, some 80. But I didn't go with anyone for less than 60 euros.
DAMON: Some he says take the boys home, a chance to shower, sleep in a bed, eat a proper meal.
ALI (Translated): I am not doing this because I like it. If I wanted to do something nice, I would date a girl. I was forced to do it because I had no money. Otherwise, I would stay with a girl instead of going with an old man.
DAMON: This sickening trade is a result of a flawed European refugee policy and lack of preparedness. The Greek government latest figures show that about 1,200 unaccompanied minors are on a waiting list for shelter. In a statement to CNN, Greek police said that they have not had any cases reported of the sexual exploitation of unaccompanied minors from the parks we went to. But acknowledge the problem and say they are working to address it.
One day hopefully you'll be able to bring your mother, and you'll see your mother and your sister again. Do you think you'll ever tell them about what you had to do to survive?
ALI (Translated): I won't say that everything is good. But I won't reveal too much to upset her, my mum is sick. I am afraid if I tell her, God forbid something would happen to her.
DAMON: Then, his eyes fill with tears. Arwa Damon, CNN, Athens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Tomorrow, the CNN "Freedom Project" reports on a new initiative to expose sexual predators who hide behind computers screens and cell phones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys get involved in this bad behavior, they start somewhere, right? So the hope is if the first time you go exploring, buying a young person for sex, if the first time you do that, you realize, whoa, someone's watching and I'm going to be held accountable for this. And law enforcement are paying attention. Then that's the kind of message that we think will educate men to change their track real fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More on how the system works and how it's being used by law enforcement. That's tomorrow on CNN special series "Tackling Demand." Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:53:19] VAUSE: The already wildly successful Broadway show "Hamilton" is even more wildly successful, having its best week ever. The musical made $3 million last weekdays after President-elect Donald Trump called it highly overrated.
The show faced controversy when the cast gave Vice President-elect Mike Pence a message about diversity after one performance. But that incident did not affect sales because you can't buy tickets, they're sold months ago. Thanksgiving week is one of the best for Broadway ticket sales every year.
If you're looking for that perfect gift for that special Donald Trump supporter in your life this Christmas, you may be in luck. The latest thing in presidential head wear could be coming to a web site near you. Here is Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Donald has donned a new hat. The hat used to say "Make America Great Again", but lately the president- elect has elected to showcase this.
CROWD: USA. USA.
MOOS: USA on the front and on the side 45, as in Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States. It's not for sale yet on Trump's web site though fans are clamoring for it for Christmas, must have that hat.
But there is no need to feel sorry for the old "Make America Great Again" hat. It's still getting the royal treatment.
On election night in addition to the sea of hats in the audience, there were two "Make America Great Again" hats enshrined in glass cases, displayed on stage like holy relics, provoking one critic to tweet, "In case of America not being great, break glass." But the sun is not yet set on the hat that even has its own acronym, M-A-G-A, "Make America Great Again."
[01:55:05] And if you're looking to hang your hat somewhere, how about the tree? The $149 red cap tree ornament is made out of brass and finished in gold over on Amazon. It attracts mocking reviews from Trump opponents. "All I said was that it wasn't as bright as the other ornaments and the darn thing exploded. Sad."
Wrote another, "Every time I try to hang it on a branch it yells, wrong."
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Negotiate down the national debt.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Wrong.
MOOS: "No matter which branch try, it's wrong."
CLINTON: He's either not that rich.
TRUMP: Wrong.
MOOS: One joker gave the ornament one star saying, "It called Mary a nasty woman, told Joseph to go back where he came from, built a wall around the manger, and then when you press it, it sings "I'm dreaming of a totally white Christmas." But whether Trump decides to support the M-A-G-A hat or the USA hat, even a president-elect can't veto hat hair.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You're watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause and I'll be back with another hour of news after a very short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:11] VAUSE: This is "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles. The head this hour, crash investigators uncover new clues ...
