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Government Shutdown Looming Again; White House Failure on Khashoggi Update; Senator Amy Klobuchar Joins 2020 Presidential Race; Trump Kicks Off 2020 Rally in El Paso, Texas; Fifteen Years of Facebook; Gender Equality and Equal Pay in Surfing; Grammy Awards Turned Down by Top Hip Hop Performers. Aired 5-6 pm ET

Aired February 10, 2019 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Its 5:00 eastern, 2:00 out west. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York and you are live in the "CNN Newsroom." Thank you for being with me this Sunday. As time is dwindling, so is the optimism, that the government will avoid a partial government shutdown in five days. That's when the money runs out.

And this deadlock, unlike the first one, the president has no intention of owning, tweeting today, "he believes the Democrats want a shutdown." Now, three sources tell CNN border security negotiations were on track toward an agreement this weekend, but now they are questioning if a deal can happen and whether back-up plans should be in place.

Some of the sources say that talks have not completely fallen apart, but two sticking points right now continue to get in the way, funding for a border barrier and the lesser known cap on detention beds for undocumented immigrants detained within the U.S. A Republican aide says the number offered is just too low. It's a nonstarter.

But a Democratic aide says the lower number will force the administration to prioritize serious criminals in determining which immigrants to detain. Let's get to the White House and CNN's Boris Sanchez. Boris, any word from the White House on how they plan to handle these stalled negotiations with the money running out this Friday?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ana. Yes, it appears the president is ready to move forward with one of his favorite negotiating tactics. And that is bashing Democrats on twitter. He tweeted out just moments ago about the negotiations writing that, "Border Committee Democrats are behaving all of a sudden irrationally."

I'm not going to read it but the president later goes on to make an inaccurate claim about where Democrats stand on the issue of Border Patrol, specifically that cap that they suggested on funding for ICE detention centers. We can expect more of this from the president tomorrow as he prepares for an event in El Paso, Texas.

Obviously, the president's rhetoric rises when he is around his supporters. And it's often less than kind to Democrats. As far as what might actually happen beyond the messaging, the acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, was on one of the Sunday morning talk shows and he says that the possibilities are still very broad.

We could see another government shutdown. We may potentially see a deal or executive action to get the president the funding he wants on his long-promised border wall. Listen now to Mick Mulvaney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: We cannot definitively rule out a government shutdown at the end of this week?

MICK MULVANEY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: You absolutely cannot and here's why.

TODD: OK.

MULVANEY: Let's say for the sake of this discussion that the Democrats prevail, the hard core left wing Democrats prevail. It was a Democrat congresswoman who put out a tweet yesterday that zero dollars for DHS. So let's say that the hard core left wing the Democrat Party prevails in this negotiation and they put a bill on the president's desk what say zero money for the wall at $800 million. Some absurdly low number. How does he sign that? He cannot in good faith sign that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now Ana, if talks ultimately go nowhere, a Democratic aide has told CNN that House Democrats are prepared to present a bill that would fund DHS through September and keep other government agencies open beyond Friday. It's unclear though, there's no indication that Senate Republicans would actually take that up and potentially put it on the president's desk, Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Boris Sanchez at the White House for us. Thank you. Joining us now is Democratic Congressman John Garamendi from the border state of California. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, thanks for being with us. Just how confident are you the two sides will actually reach an agreement in time to avoid another shutdown at the end of the week?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D), CALIFORNIA: I spent a good portion of the weekend with some colleagues on the Republican side as we toured one of the key American bases here within the United States. They have absolutely no appetite for a shutdown, and neither do the Democrats. We don't want a shutdown. We want to work this out, and we will. There's a lot of huffing and puffing going on now, but there's a very, very clear path to get this done.

CABRERA: Republicans say Democrats keep moving the goalpost.

GARAMENDI: Well, everybody's moving the goalpost here as they go through all the, what I call huffing and puffing and pushing each other around, but the reality is that we already last year agreed to $1.6 billion for border security. Now, exactly what that border security is, is obviously under contention.

But I do know this, that we should never give any administration any money until it tells us precisely where it intends to use that money, for what purpose, why it's effective, why it's efficient at that particular place, and how are they going to build it. What's it going to cost? Those are key elements, ought to be in any bill, whatever the money might be.

So there are issues out there, but we'll get past those. We really should. We must. This nation does not need and there's not a politician here in Washington that can withstand another 35-day shutdown or even a one-day shutdown.

[17:05:04] CABRERA: When it comes to the wall specifically, President Trump's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, says if there's a deal but it doesn't have the full $5.7 billion that Trump is asking for, he'll get it without Congress. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MULVANEY: You cannot take a shutdown off the table, and you cannot take 5.7 off the table. But if you end up some place in the middle, yes, then what you probably see as the president say, yes, OK, and then I'll go find the money some place else.

TODD: You've been looking for the money in the budget.

MULVANEY: I have been. There's this national emergency. Are the two the same or different? Do you find money without declaring a national emergency, or do you need to declare the national emergency to use this other money?

MULVANEY: The answer to the question is both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Congressman, it sounds like the Trump administration has a plan B, maybe even a plan C. Do Democrats?

GARAMENDI: Well, absolutely. I'm introducing a bill so that plan B doesn't happen. There's no way we're going to allow the president to take over the power of Congress to appropriate money. There will be a lawsuit immediately, particularly if the legislation does not provide or there is no legislation providing money for a border wall.

No president, this or any other president, has the power to appropriate money on their own. Now, under an emergency declaration, there are things that the president can do. What Mulvaney is talking about is going after the disaster recovery money that has been already appropriated by Congress for places like Florida, Texas, California, where the hurricanes were, for fires, as well as for the other places in the United States.

Now, if the president thinks he's going to go rip off money that is there to help recover American communities and states from multiple disasters, he's in for a big political headache. We will introduce a bill tomorrow to prohibit that. It's a 1986 provision, never been used, and it does under an emergency. Now, what is the emergency? A bunch of mothers and children trying to cross the border legally, seeking asylum? Is that an emergency? I don't think so.

CABRERA: I know Republicans don't agree either with this idea of going forward with a national emergency declaration. Let me pivot because you're on the House Armed Services Committee, as we mentioned. And on Friday, the White House missed the deadline to report to Congress whether they hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the murder of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi. What does Congress do about this?

GARAMENDI: Well, there are several things that we will be doing. There's legislation introduced that would set up a different relationship with Saudi Arabia. Certainly the arms sales to Saudi Arabia require Congressional approval and authority then approval. So, all of those things are in play.

We will take action. There clearly has to be a punishment for what hass happened here. There's more and more evidence that the crown prince himself was directly involved. Sanctions are possible. We could move sanctions through the Congress that probably would require the president to sign on to that.

But there are must-pass pieces of legislation that would deal with that. Bottom line of this is that we should not, as a nation, countenance or even cozy up to anyone that has done such a horrible, terrible thing that's happened to this journalist.

CABRERA: Let me ask you quickly before I let you go about the expanding Democratic field for 2020. This weekend it got bigger. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar both making it official, and Warren even picked up a couple endorsements from Congressman Joe Kennedy as well as Senator Ed Markey. Are you ready to endorse anyone?

GARAMENDI: No, I'm not. We have some terrific candidates running. There are actually three women from the U.S. Senate that are running. One happens to be a Californian who I know very well. There will be a time. This thing will sort itself out and obviously there are going to be a whole lot more players on the field before this gets down to the elimination rounds.

CABRERA: We do a lot of polling with Democratic voters to find out what's important to them. But let me ask you, what is the number one thing that'll determine who you ultimately decide to get behind?

GARAMENDI: Well, there are about a half a dozen things. I'll go through them quickly. Are they really prepared to deal with climate change? Are they prepared to get beyond the rhetoric and down into the weeds about what we can do? Are they prepared to be strong internationally and really back away from the terrible troubles that the current president has caused with our international relationship particularly with our allies?

I want to make sure they're full in on education at every level. And I want to make sure that they care about the middle class, that they have programs that will help the middle class. If they're in for those things and they're capable -- all of them are capable, at least from what I've seen thus far -- and they're able to articulate and show the leadership necessary, they'll have my endorsement.

[17:10:04] CABRERA: Congressman John Garamendi, thank you so much for being with us.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

CABRERA: The 2020 race heating up in a chilly Minneapolis today. Look at that snow. Here you have Senator Amy Klobuchar saying she is the one to beat Trump. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Race for the White House 2020. You can now add one more Democrat to the field of declared candidates who want to face President Trump next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D), MINNESOTA: Hello, everyone!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, she just made her entry into the presidential race official, proclaiming herself a candidate for the White House and as you can see, a very snowy, subfreezing day in the twin cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KLOBUCHAR: I am running for every American. I am running for you.

[17:15:03] And I promise you this. As your president, I will look you in the eye. I will tell you what I think. I will focus on getting things done. That's what I've done my whole life. And no matter what, I'll lead from the heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us live in Minneapolis. Suzanne, it looks freezing there. You guys are all troopers standing out there in that snow. I kept watching it pile up on Klobuchar's head. Good turnout there despite the very Minnesota conditions. What does Klobuchar say she will bring to this race?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's quite amazing when you think about that. You see like that kind of snow cap on her head there. Yes, she stood out there, no gloves, no hat to deliver this address. It's, Ana, now a balmy 17 degrees, but despite that, hundreds of people came out this afternoon.

It was an incredible display of strength and grit as the senator delivered her message there, officially kicking off the race. I had a chance to ask her, actually, what makes her so unique, what does she bring to the table here when she's got such formidable opponents. And she said, look, she is the one who has delivered for Minnesota many, many times.

She's never lost a race here. The people here in her home state love her. They know she gets a lot done. On Capitol Hill, she has a reputation for working across the aisle with Republicans to pass lots and lots of legislation. So that is what she's emphasizing. That was her pitch today. And it really is her introduction to the rest of the country as to who she is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Senator Amy Klobuchar today jumping into the 2020 waters, making the announcement along the Mississippi River in her home state of Minnesota.

KLOBUCHAR: Let us cross the river of our divides and walk across our sturdy bridge to higher ground.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The 58-year-old third-term senator talked up her heartland heritage and her ability to get things done.

KLOBUCHAR: I will look you in the eye. I will tell you what I think. And no matter what, I'll lead from the heart.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Klobuchar joins an increasingly crowded Democratic field, including fellow senate judiciary committee members Cory Booker and Kamala Harris. It is from that committee perch last fall that Klobuchar captured the national spotlight with her questioning of then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

KLOBUCHAR: You're saying there's never been a case where you drank so much that you didn't remember what happened the night before or part of what happened?

BRETT KAVANAUGH, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT: You're asking about -- yes, blackout, I don't know. Have you?

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The exchange for which Kavanaugh later apologized went viral.

KLOBUCHAR: Could you answer the question, judge? To you, that's not happened? Is that your answer?

KAVANAUGH: Yes, and I'm curious if you have.

KLOBUCHAR: I have no drinking problem, judge.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Klobuchar later said she was stunned by the moment, which also let her discuss her own experience growing up with an alcoholic father.

KLOBUCHAR: My dad, who is 90 now, struggled with it throughout his life, and finally got treatment and is sober. MALVEAUX (voice-over): With her national profile elevated, Klobuchar

coasted to re-election in 2018 with 60 percent of the vote, winning 42 counties carried by Donald Trump in 2016.

KLOBUCHAR: You go where it is uncomfortable, not just where it's comfortable. And that's how we're going to win the Midwest.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): A graduate of Yale University, Klobuchar interned for fellow Minnesotan Walter Mondale in his Senate office.

KLOBUCHAR: I thank Vice President Mondale, who's here with us, who has been a mentor to me.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Klobuchar says Mondale's choice of running mate in 1984, Geraldine Ferraro the first woman on a major party ticket, opened her eyes to the future of women in politics.

KLOBUCHAR: For me, it was a moment when I knew that anything and everything was possible for women in the United States of America.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): In 1998, Klobuchar was elected attorney of Minnesota's most populous county. Eight years later, she became the first woman elected to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

KLOBUCHAR: I left Minnesota with my husband and our daughter and loaded up our Saturn with our college dishes and a shower curtain from 1985.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): On Capitol Hill, Klobuchar has partnered with Republicans on issues such as online privacy, workplace harassment and prescription drug costs earning respect across the aisle, bipartisan credentials Klobuchar hopes will give her an advantage in the campaign to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And Ana, she said that she would tackle things like climate change, cyber security, as well as immigration reform, those being critical issues, but not to the far left. She does not believe in abolishing ICE or Medicare for all.

[17:20:03] So, it really is going to be a test to see if she is the kind of Democrat that the primary voters are looking for, Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Suzanne Malveaux in Minneapolis for us, thank you. Go get warm. So then now Klobuchar is joining an already jam- packed field, kicking off their bids officially or unofficially. And more than double the numbers of declared candidates are still thinking about running. But today, some of Klobuchar's new rivals answered their critics, including the one in the White House.

Let's bring in CNN political analyst, senior White House correspondent for Bloomberg News, Margaret Talev and White House correspondent for "The Atlantic" Elaina Plott. Ladies, we'll come back to Klobuchar in just a second, but Elizabeth Warren hit back hard at President Trump today and I want to show that to our viewers. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: You know, here's what bothers me. By the time we get to 2020, Donald Trump may not even be president.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

In fact, he may not even be a free person.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

CABRERA: Margaret, that comes after the president lashed out at Warren again this weekend about her mentions of Native American ancestry. Did she rattle Trump or is this exactly the kind of fight he wants?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG NEWS: You know, Ana, it's a great question. I mean, he does enjoy having sort of people to shadow box with and Elizabeth Warren so far has been probably his favorite target, if not, certainly one of his favorite targets.

From her perspective though, she's probably in the stronger position when she's boxing Trump than when she's in a defensive crouch trying to defend her own sort of past in terms of her, you know, Native American status on applications and that sort of thing. So for her, this is -- these first couple days of the official campaign are again, yet, another reset effort to get off of the defensive unto to the offensive.

And I think for the president, this ever-growing number of Democratic candidates, he's trying to test each and every one of them. He took a sort of less enthusiastic jab at Klobuchar only a couple of minutes ago in sort of a climate change construct that I'm sure we'll talk about.

CABRERA: So, if Elizabeth Warren is of the fight fire with fire mindset, Senator Cory Booker is taking a decidedly different approach than her. Let's listen to what he told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D), NEW JERSEY: I'm not here to try to emulate the tactics of a president. I'm not trying to match him ugly comment for ugly comment, bashing for bashing. I'm focusing on the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Elaina, can we expect this high-road approach to last when Booker could end up facing more than a dozen challengers?

ELAINA PLOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE ATLANTIC: You know, what Booker is doing well, I think, Ana, and same with Senator Klobuchar, is trying to emulate the kind of person who they think may be disenchanted white suburban voters would be willing to vote for in a general election.

You know, as we saw in many senate races this past November, there is a healthy number of Republicans who are willing to look outside of a Donald Trump endorsed candidate or Trump himself when it comes to who they want to lead this country in 2020.

So while Elizabeth Warren's fight fire with fire tactics as you aptly put it, could play well to a very progressive base that is agitating for quite left-wing proposals such as, for instance, the green new deal, it remains hard to believe that that's the sort of message that would resonate with a wide variety of voters in states like Michigan, in states like Wisconsin and Minnesota come 2020.

So, even if Booker and Klobuchar and others like them seem like the quieter voices as this primary kicks off, they could be the ones who are more able to prevail in the end because of that disposition.

CABRERA: Klobuchar being from the Midwest, jumping in from Minnesota that is one of the few Midwestern states Donald Trump did not win, but it was close. She may be best known nationally for her clash with Brett Kavanaugh at his Supreme Court nomination, which Suzanne highlighted. Margaret, how do you think she stacks up?

TALEV: I think it's really too soon to know how any of these folks are going to stack up against one another. We're approaching sort of that dozen, but there are probably still many more announcements to come after that. So, as Donald Trump showed us only a few years ago, if you have a 17-way primary -- you remember when back in 2015, everybody was like, oh, it's going to be Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush is going to be the nominee.

You throw 17 people into a contest and the sort of base of voters, the instincts, the way they, you know, play against one another becomes a different calculus than if it's three or four candidates. So, I think you're starting to see the battle lines shape up, kind of the fire brand campaign against the -- I'm going to take the high road campaign.

There's a pack of female candidates. There are a pack of African- American candidates. There are potentially a widening pack of white male candidates, people with a lot of experience, people with a little.

[17:25:06] If the field gets large enough, the way that kind of political insiders in D.C. anticipate these candidates will act could really change dramatically.

CABRERA: Let's turn to Bernie Sanders because he's not in the race just yet and a poll out this past week, the Monmouth shows that Democrats say he tops the list of who they don't want seeking the Democratic nomination. Elaina, does he have enough support to make another go of it or is his lane already taken?

PLOTT: The thing about Bernie Sanders is he still has quite a number of small-dollar donors that really boosted his candidacy in 2016 that I do think would still be willing to get behind him. But what Elizabeth Warren did well in her, you know, announcement speech was without using his name, staked claim to that progressive lane, you know.

Of course, she opened her announcement rally with "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, putting forth sort of that signal that she can be the candidate to navigate the class warfare that has really dominated, you know, political rhetoric in the past few years. So I do think somebody like Senator Sanders has a lot to worry about as he's still mulling his decision.

It's quite possible that by the time he gets in, voters who are looking for a candidate that way might just feel like it's deja vu listening to him speak when Senator Warren has been on the trail for several days or even weeks by that point, touting that message herself.

CABRERA: All right. Elaina Plott, Margaret talev, good to have both of you with us. Thank you so much.

PLOTT: Thank you.

CABRERA: As the standoff on Capitol Hill continues, President Trump heads to the border city of El Paso tomorrow. Up next, what people there tell us about his calls for a wall? You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

[17:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Tomorrow, President Trump heads to El Paso, Texas. That's where he's kicking off his 2020 campaign, 1,000 feet from the U.S.- Mexico border, bringing the fight for a border wall front and center. He actually mentioned the city of El Paso during his state of the union address this week, watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime, one of the highest in the entire country and considered one of our nation's most dangerous cities. Now, immediately upon its building with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of the safest cities in our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Now, the El Paso mayor, a Republican by the way, says what you just heard from the president is simply not true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR DEE MARGO (R), EL PASO, TEXAS: I think the president is echoing or repeating what the Texas attorney general said a few weeks ago that was wrong, and I think that's probably where he got his statistics. But, you know, the end of his comments about us being the safest city in the United States is correct by based on the uniform crime statistics that are reported to the FBI on a city with a population greater than 500,000. But no, we have not had crime issues when the fence went up -- before the fence went up and after.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: We're also hearing from former Texas congressman and potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke. O'Rourke who is from El Paso, slamming the president telling "The Washington Post" this, "Some people have used code words. Some have come at it obliquely. He just full on, in the most racist terms, completely divorced from the truth or fact or our reality or our experience here in El Paso, uses this so incite fear and paranoia and turn that to political gain."

We've been to the border. We've been in El Paso. About a year ago I sat down with a group of El Paso residents who have different perspectives on immigration. I want to remind you of our conversation because a year later, not much has changed in Washington. The fate of the wall, dreamers all still in limbo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONNIE VASQUEZ, EL PASO RESIDENT: We don't want the drug lords of Mexico to come here, do you?

HANS SASSENFELD, EL PASO RANCH OWNER: No, of course not.

VASQUEZ: No. So we -- of course, we want the fence to protect us. You know, but the wall is something -- you know, it's so ridiculous. What are you going to do? In the middle of the river, are you going to put a huge wall like the China wall?

SASSENFELD: We, as a sovereign nation, have a right to put up a wall and say who can and cannot come into this country.

VASQUEZ: We understand that. We don't dispute that whatsoever.

SASSENFELD: So, I'm not against Mexicans. My wife is Mexican, OK. Don't come off with -- that we don't want people from Mexico, that I'm afraid of Mexicans. No, Mexicans are going to stay in their houses. They're going to live their lives. But there are criminal elements that are going to come over.

LAURA ERIVES, EL PASO RESIDENT: Trump says we need to build the wall. It will block, you know, people from Mexico coming in. What he fails to understand is even with us having fences, having high security, people are still managing to get through that.

SASSENFELD: True.

ERIVES: So, with the wall, you don't think there's a way to get through that wall? You don't think -- and I just think it's just -- he's just picturing the wall just to separate us.

SASSENFELD: You may say the wall is not going to work and other people will come in. But politically, if they passed a bill that had increased border security with DACA, what is wrong with that? [17:35:04] Because then Trump can say, hey, I put up the wall, I met

my promise, right? And we get DACA. We get something we want. Why not compromise?

ERIVES: But what is the purpose of the wall?

(CROSSTALK)

VICTOR ERIVES, EL PASO RESIDENT: We're not bargaining chips. Us Dreamers, we're a separate issue.

SASSENFELD: Actually, you are.

V. ERIVES: But we should not be. And I don't feel like we should be in that position. If he feels that he wants to use us as bargaining chips, then what he's doing is scapegoating. And he's doing that to the utmost extent

SASSENFELD: But he's using you as a bargaining chip. I think that's pretty obvious. But Congress, you know, if Congress doesn't want that, they can pass a clean Dream Act, but they're not going to do that. I don't think there's the political will right now to do that.

CABRERA: Would you support it if they were to do that?

SASSENFELD: Yes, I would support it if they were to have a clean Dream Act. But I think in reality, they're going to have to compromise. They're going to have to give Trump something he wants to get DACA.

VASQUEZ: I think he's playing the devil's advocate.

L. ERIVES: Of course he is.

VASQUEZ: I mean really do, that Trump is playing the devil's advocate to propel us to do something.

SASSENFELD: Yes.

VASQUEZ: And that's what I'm hoping.

SASSENFELD: Yes, I think that's what he's doing.

VASQUEZ: He knows that he does it. I mean, the more outrageous he gets with the comments, the more anger and maybe the Democrats will agree and the hard core Republicans will do something about it.

SASSENFELD: I agree with you. It's -- I don't want to even blame the Democrats or the Republicans. I think they're all failing us because they have not passed any law in 20 years to clear up the situation to help the people that need it.

VASQUEZ: We as conservatives, as DACA members, as Americans, we have to demand Congress to do something about it.

SASSENFELD: Exactly. VASQUEZ: You know.

L. ERIVES: Bottom line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: How many times have you checked your Facebook page today? I'll bet for most of you, at least once. But here we are 15 years after the social media giant started. What has changed, and where do they go from here? A CNN special report just ahead, live in the "CNN Newsroom."

[17:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: It started as a college experiment, and now 15 years later, Facebook is a tech giant with more than 2 billion users worldwide. But as with all 15-year-olds, the company has had its share of growing pains and missteps from massive data breaches to concerns about user privacy. It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. A new CNN special report "Facebook at 15: It's Complicated" gives us a rare inside look at the tech giant. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's October 19th, 2018, and we are heading to Facebook. This is a really big deal. We're going to sit down with Mark Zuckerberg, who rarely sits down for interviews.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Facebook years are like dog years. A lot happens in a little time. In the months since I first walked through these doors --

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Nearly 50 million Facebook users have been targeted by hackers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The largest security breach in Facebook history.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Facebook on the defensive today, said that this damning "New York Times" report about how Facebook has handled its bad P.R.

CASARES (voice-over): And we'll get to all that later, but for now, back to Facebook and what you need to know about an interview with Mark Zuckerberg. First, he likes a room cold, very cold. Turn the cameras around, and you'll see his people on the other side.

They're taking notes, scribbling furiously, keeping time. They know that the stakes are high these days. The whole world seems to be watching. And that's Facebook in this current moment. Massively influential --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg under fire.

CASARES (voice-over): Influx.

CABRERA: The biggest security breach in the history of Facebook. CASARES (voice-over): And controversial. But to fully understand

Facebook of today, you have to go back to the beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: There you go. There's your teaser. CNN business senior tech correspondent, Laurie Segall, is joining us now. This is your baby, Laurie. I know you've been working on this a long time and you have had incredible, incredible access and insight into Facebook's world. When you pulled back that curtain -- I mean, you were there during the height of the most recent scandal. What was that like?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR TECH CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I mean, I remember walking in during the Cambridge Analytica scandal in March 2018. This was such a pivotal moment for the company. And Mark Zuckerberg doesn't like doing on-camera interviews. He hadn't been out there that much. And I would just remember it was this moment that so many people wanted to hear from Mark Zuckerberg.

And for me having covered tech for many, many years, it was this moment that tech almost had become mainstream because everyone wanted to know. Everyone was upset about Facebook and this data scandal and everybody wanted to hear from Mark Zuckerberg.

And so, you know, you weave in and out of this company throughout the years and you begin to understand why they're in the position they're in, what the challenging questions are going forward, and that's what we try to do in this documentary, is kind of go back to the beginning and look at that.

CABRERA: What do you hope people take away from the documentary tonight?

SEGALL: Well, you know, look, I think it's really easy to look at Facebook right now, but I also think you almost, to understand where it is right now, you have to go back to that beginning. And I hope people look at the complications that the privacy scandals throughout, you know, Facebook history, they'll get a better idea of Mark Zuckerberg.

We speak to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg and I don't think a lot of people know who Mark Zuckerberg is and more people want to know who he is. And I think, you know, this next phase of technology, which is very complicated, deserves our participation.

You know, deserves us being able to weigh in and understand the nuance and the debate around issues like free speech and data and privacy. And I think educating ourselves and, you know, how we got to where we're at is very important. I hope people get that from taking a look at this tonight.

CABRERA: Look forward to seeing it. Thank you so much, Laurie Segall for joining us. Don't forget to tune in tonight at 9:00 eastern for the CNN special report "Facebook at 15: It's Complicated."

[17:45:09] My next guest is fearless. As a surfer, she charges into 50-foot waves and is one of the best in the world. And as a woman, she's making waves, fighting for the same pay as the men who compete in her sport. Keala Kennelly joins me live just ahead here in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Monster waves are a surfer's dream, right? But the waves pounding Hawaii right now are so extreme and dangerous, people are being told to stay out of the water.

[17:50:01] Some waves are expected to reach 60 feet high. I'm telling you this because my next guest is considered to be the best female big wave surfer in the world. She is one of a handful of women profiled in a new "New York Times" magazine article this weekend, the fight for gender equality in one of the most dangerous sports on Earth.

And she's also seen shredding the waves here in a new documentary called "She is the Ocean" which captures her prowess on the waves and her love of the sport. Keala Kennelly is joining us now from Oahu, Hawaii. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm fascinated by what you do. I know just because a wave is big doesn't mean the conditions are right for surfing, but does this swell this weekend have you chomping at the bit?

KEALA KENNELLY, PROFESSIONAL SURFER: Unfortunately this swell this weekend is coming with a really nasty storm front, so it's a kind of victory at sea, so not really anything that anybody should be riding this weekend.

CABRERA: It's a no go. We're looking at some of the amazing scenes from the documentary "She is the Ocean." As we look at you are riding these big waves, I mean, that is the definition of an extreme sport. Why do you do it?

KENNELLY: Well, I heard you on the break say that I'm fearless and that's absolutely not true, Ana. To be fearless is to be completely ignorant of what the consequences are. I'm fully well aware that the consequences are, like, extremely bodily injury and possibly death. But the rush that you get when you actually ride one of these waves is so incredible that it just makes it all worth it.

CABRERA: As we mentioned, you and some other women are highlighted in a really interesting piece in the "New York Times" magazine this week and that I encourage everyone to read it. And this article highlights a speech you gave after winning Barrel of the Year, in a category that includes men and it was the first time a female surfer had ever won.

And you said in part this, "When I was a little girl, I kept getting told you can't do that because you are a girl. Women can't surf. OK, women can surf, but women can't get barreled. Women can't surf big waves. So, who I really want to thank is everybody in my life that told me you can't do that because you're a woman, because that drove me to dedicate my life to proving you wrong. And it's been so damn fun."

So let me ask you, have women achieved gender equality in the world of big wave surfing and how does that translate, do you think, to society at large?

KENNELLY: Well, I think that, you know, yes, like I said in that speech, I had so many people telling me I couldn't do things. And I think, you know, I was lucky enough that my father was there encouraging me when there was so much discouragement. It was just so important for me to just at least have one person that was encouraging me and making me feel like I could do it.

And I think that's kind of what we need -- the narrative needs to change and young females need to be encouraged to do things because they need to believe that they can because they can. And I hate to think of all the little girls that were told they couldn't do something and they just took that at face value and didn't try.

CABRERA: And you obviously are a role model for other girls who or are surfers, who may be interested in exploring big wave surfing. I know you've been fighting for not just yourself but all of them and trying to achieve this equality when it comes to pay and even just being respected at the same level as men. Do you feel like you've done it? Have we gotten there yet?

KENNELLY: I mean, getting pay equality, the WSL announcing that they will pay women the equal prize money, is just like a huge step in the right direction. I think as far as like the endorsement deals, we're not there yet for women. But I think that that's going to be coming soon. So I'm stoked.

CABRERA: We spent a lot of time in the past year here on my show and just in general talking about the "MeToo" movement, the record number of women running for office, taking on other roles that have traditionally been male-dominated position. Why do you think women are having such an awakening right now?

KENNELLY: Well, I think, you know, you go back a couple of generations and women couldn't even vote, you know. And then for the longest time, a women's place was like, you know, get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich, you know.

And it took women kind of moving into these positions of power, becoming doctors, becoming lawyers, become CEOs, to kind of show other women and uplift other women and encourage other women and just showing them with like yes, you can do this.

CABRERA: And you're doing it. Keala Kennelly, thanks so much for joining us.

KENNELLY: Thank you so much. Aloha!

CABRERA: Aloha. We're back in a moment.

[17:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Its music's biggest night. But the 61st Grammy Awards will be missing some of the industry's biggest stars. Three of the hip- hop's top artists, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, and Drake were all offered a chance to perform but they all said no according to a "New York Times" interview with Ken Ehrlich, the show's long time producer.

Now, CNN has reached out to those artists for comments on their decision, but we haven't heard back yet. Ehrlich did tell the paper, "The fact of the matter is, we continue to have a problem in the hip- hop world when they don't take home the big prize, the regard of the academy and what the Grammys represent, continues to be less meaningful to the hip-hop community, which is sad. "

Now, in the past few years, the award show has been hit with complaints of a lack of recognition for minority and female artists.

Top of the hour, you're in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thank you for being here.

[18:00:00] We begin this hour with the near breakdown of border security talks as the deadline for lawmakers not just to cut a deal, but to get it passed in the both the House and the Senate --