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MH370 Search Expanded; Greek Markets Reopen; Puerto Rico on Brink of Default; Monsoon Season Wreaks Havoc; California Wildfires; Zimbabwe Bans Hunting on National Park Borders; Possible Bid for Biden; Jon Stewart's Final Week. Aired 10-11 ET
Aired August 03, 2015 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Hello there and welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center.
We start with the investigation into MH370 and what could be a big week for unlocking one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.
International investigators are meeting in Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (voice-over): They're deciding on how to proceed in analyzing this piece of debris, now confirmed to be a wing component of a Boeing 777,
currently sitting in a laboratory near Toulouse. Our Jim Bittermann is standing by for us in Paris. But first, CNN's Erin McLaughlin reports on
the hunt for the debris, which is now expanded to several more islands in the West Indian Ocean.
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ERIC MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The search is on, not just here at Reunion Island but other islands as well nearby Mauritius as well as
Seychelles, which is over 1,200 miles away. The coast guard there combing the water for clues.
Now this morning we heard from Malaysia's transportation minister, tweeting out, saying that this area is consistent with drift pattern
analysis conducted by experts. So they're appealing to authorities for help in identifying any potential debris.
Over the weekend here on Reunion Island, volunteers working the beaches, trying to find any clues of MH370. But it's difficult,
painstaking work, especially when you consider that the ocean is vast and there's plenty of garbage, plenty of room for false alarm.
In the nearby town of Saint-Andre, when they located that original flaperon, locals brought forward some 10-12 items. City officials there,
though, discounting them as having nothing to do with the plane.
But people here aren't discouraged, they're dedicated to helping to solve this mystery -- Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Reunion Island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, thanks to Erin for that report. Let's now go to Jim Bittermann.
You're there in Paris; investigators are going to be analyzing this wing component.
What can it tell them?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think one of the things is, Robyn, that they'll be looking at the way this flaperon, as it's
called, impacted the ocean. They'll be able to tell, perhaps -- perhaps -- why it sheared away from the wing, how it sheared away, what the forces
were, what direction the plane was traveling, that sort of thing.
Also they may be able to tell if there was any kind of explosion involved that was near the flaperon. There's debris from the explosion.
So there are -- there's all sorts of things that may be told from this flaperon. One of the things, Robyn, is that I think if you remember Flight
447 back in 2009, the Air France flight that crashed over the Atlantic on its way from Rio, basically one of the very first things that was plucked
out of the ocean was a food service cart. And one of the things that the investigator discovered was that the shelves inside the cart had collapsed,
indicating that the plane had gone down in a very direct fashion.
Later on, of course, when they got the flight data recorder, they realized that in fact the plane had stalled and had pancaked into the
ocean. But it indicated -- it was the first indication that something very strange had taken place on that flight.
So they may get something like that off of this flaperon; maybe not. It may just be that they confirmed that it's from the flight and nothing
more -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Why are investigators waiting until Wednesday to start looking at it?
BITTERMANN: Well, I think they want to get everybody in place. It should be said, it's August in France and I think a lot of people are off
on vacation, that sort of thing. There really is no rush. There's no reason to hurry into this. You might as well take your time and see what
you can get out of this piece of metal to see if it indicates anything.
It really seems very unlikely. And one of the accident investigators here, one of the French accident investigators here, said that in fact
unless this piece of plane was at the very center of the cause of the plane going down, it really is not going to give very much of an indication of
why the plane crashed -- Robyn.
CURNOW: So, still, so many answers needed, particularly for the families and also why this plane went down like that, mysteriously
disappeared.
What is the danger of a lot of trash, just sort of ending up in Paris and there's going to be sort of a lot of turns and twists, a lot of red
herrings along the way?
BITTERMANN: I think that's a great danger. I think already we've seen a number of things spotted on the beaches, Reunion and other places,
that indicate that they might have -- the people are indicating might have come from the plane. In fact, they probably haven't.
There's the suitcase. There's what was said to be a suitcase. We still haven't had any confirmation if there's any chance that that was part
of the flight. So I think there's going to be a lot of that going on, especially now that everybody's out there hunting around in the ocean --
[10:05:00]
BITTERMANN: -- as Erin indicated in her report -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Jim Bittermann in Paris, thanks so much for that update. Appreciate it.
The Greek stock market reopened today after a five-week hiatus and its main index immediately plunged 23 percent. But it's recovered somewhat,
across the day. The government closed the exchange and imposed capital controls in June as it tried to negotiate better bailout terms from
European lenders.
Our Nina dos Santos is in London with the latest.
Hi, there, Nina. This kind of volatility wasn't unexpected. But what's driving the losses?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly wasn't expected as you said because well, we had been expecting this market to tank when it
opened, but perhaps not to the tune of 23 percent, which is the opening trading picture that we woke up to earlier today, Robyn.
And so those shares regaining some of their ground. But one of the main drivers of the falls on the Athens composite has been the banking
sector, which makes up 20 percent of the total value of this market. So it's a really, really hefty and weighty sector.
And I might point out that most of the biggest Greek listed banks are currently down by in excess of 30 percent, which means that their limit
down. So they're actually down by the most that they can possibly be down, according to the regulators' terms.
And one of the reasons why everybody's so worried about these Greek banks is because they urgently need cash. They need recapitalizing as part
of this bailout plan, but we still haven't seen fully nailed down. Remember that we do have a bridge loan that has been awarded to Greece to
allow it to repay the ECB and the IMF and so on and so forth. But Greece needs to repay the ECB another chunk of money in around about less than 20
days from now.
So there is another deadline looming and people are very worried about that. If it doesn't repay the ECB, it went back to the same situation
again.
Now forget the markets for a moment's time because we also had a key reading of manufacturing activity that just goes to show how badly the
Greek economy is being buffeted by the current capital controls that are in place for these Greek banks.
The purchasing managers' index measures how the factory activity is doing across this country. It fell to a record low. We're talking about a
16-point fall in this particular gauge. That is totally unprecedented. And many people are saying it just goes to show that the Greek factories --
forget the consumer for a moment -- don't have enough money to actually put the orders on the table that they need.
So many factories plunging there to record low. Unemployment also a huge issue for this country. We've got unemployment figures coming out on
Thursday. So we have had the manufacturing figures there, as I was saying, down to 30.2 but unemployment staying above 26 percent. It's likely to
have gotten worse, some say, and we'll have more indications of that later on in the week -- Robyn.
CURNOW: So those key indicators for the real economy, but what do investors need to really see some sort of turnaround for Greek markets?
DOS SANTOS: Yes, I've been asking a number of investors this throughout the course of today's session. First of all, one thing they
want to see is some kind of political clarity for Greece. That's going to be very difficult to try and secure in the short-term because of course
remember that Alexis Tsipras of the current government, the prime minister, who leads that Syriza Party, very left-leaning party, is facing an open
revolt from some of his own government members.
And he's lost his majority inside parliament and is said to rely on some of the opposition parties to actually get this bailout agreement
through, this third bailout agreement that he himself said he doesn't really believe in.
So that may prompt snap elections coming in the fall. People don't know where the politics of Greece is heading for now. They also want to
see those banks urgently refinanced, recapitalized, why? Well, because obviously if the banks' stock is losing 30 percent from one day to the
next, that again puts its finances out of line.
So part of it is politics; part of it is finance. And I've also got to point out that we still, as I said before, that we have an agreement in
principle; we haven't had that third chunk of bailout money officially awarded to Greece. And so those kinds of ongoing horse-trading -- as you
can imagine -- between other countries and the E.U. and the rest of the Eurozone and Greece -- that will continue to continue apace as we head ever
closer towards August the 20th, which is another deadline I mentioned before in Greece, has to repay the ECB.
So Greece certainly not out of the woods yet and investors want to see clarity before they buy back into this market.
CURNOW: Nina dos Santos, thank you so much for your in-depth analysis, appreciate your coming on the IDESK.
Well, now we want to take a check of the European markets. They have about an hour left in the trading day. There you can see if investors
elsewhere on the continent have any concerns about the Athens exchange. They're not showing it. In fact, the worst performer among the major
markets is outside the Eurozone. And that's London, which is largely flat for the day.
Let's also move on now to Wall Street, where the Dow Jones is following a similar path to the FTSE in early trading. Here's a live look
at the big board. The Dow is down still about 600 points from those record highs --
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CURNOW: -- that have hit in mid-May.
Now to Puerto Rico, which missed a $58 million debt payment Saturday and now appears to be on the brink of default. The U.S. territory is
struggling under a mountain of debt, some $70 billion.
For the latest on that, Samuel Burke joins us now from New York.
Hi, there, Samuel. People have said that this is similar to the situation in Greece. But that's not really true, is it?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Robyn. On the surface, it can look like Greece because it's classic overspending and
overlending. But just beneath the surface, if you look at the core factors which contributed to this debt situation, it's really quite different,
starting with a real estate crash in 2004, long before we had that real estate crash here in the mainland United States, falling then in 2006.
That's when Puerto Rico lost a tax break on goods that they make in Puerto Rico, that are shipping to the United States and a lot of people believe
that it was losing this tax break that caused this situation. It had a really devastating effect on commerce there.
Flash forward, they also have to work under restrictions of a act path to the United States in 1920 that requires U.S. ships for any goods that
are sent from Puerto Rico to the mainland here. So that puts them at a major disadvantage next to its neighbors, like Mexico, which can import
goods here to the United States without having to use -- putting them over a body of water, having to use American ships.
On top of all that, all along Puerto Rico has enjoyed what are called triple tax-free bonds. You can avoid three different types of taxes by
investing in Puerto Rico, all legally. But that's made it very attractive for investors. So they've been pouring money in, which has caused Puerto
Rico to keep on spending and spending.
At the end of the day, what Puerto Rico wants is Chapter 9 bankruptcy rights and that's what every other state in the United States enjoys except
for, of course, Puerto Rico is a commonwealth. So they don't have that right. And that's what they're pushing for now.
CURNOW: OK. With all that in mind, does the situation in Puerto Rico pose a greater threat to the U.S. than the problems, say, in Greece? I
mean, there's more exposure, isn't there?
BURKE: Absolutely. All along throughout the Greek debt crisis, as we talked to experts about what was happening in Europe, they said listen, the
bigger problem here is Puerto Rico: 20 percent of bond mutual funds in this country, in the United States, has some type of exposure to Puerto
Rico's debt. In fact, they own about $11 billion of Puerto Rico's $70 billion debt. So that's major exposure.
And we're talking about just regular Americans as well as regular Puerto Ricans in that island. So there's real exposure here and at the end
of the day, what they need is that bankruptcy support, many argue, so that they can go back to the negotiating table and really get some new terms
here.
In the meantime, they are going to make the rest of their debt payments this week. This was really a sign to investors that they're
serious about the fact that they do not have enough money to continue to pay all their debt.
CURNOW: Samuel Burke, we're going to leave it at that. As always, thanks so much.
Well, tinder dry portions of the Western U.S. are dealing with dozens of out of control wildfires. And today's forecast could make it worse.
Plus this is bad, even for monsoon season. Hundreds of lives and thousands of homes are lost in South Asia. We'll have all that and much more here at
the INTERNATIONAL DESK.
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CURNOW: Monsoon rains compounded by a cyclone are causing misery across parts of Asia. Hundreds have been killed over the past few weeks.
Floodwaters have inundated homes and businesses in Eastern India's West Bengal State, forcing hundreds of thousands of people into shelters or
makeshift camps.
The army has been called in but many accuse the government of being too slow to respond.
A similar scene is playing out in Myanmar. Flooding has killed at least 47 people there. CNN's Anna Coren tells us that number could go much
higher as rescuers reach remote areas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Myanmar is no stranger to severe flooding during the monsoon season. But this year, the waters are
extraordinary. Dozens have been killed with more than 200,000 families displaced. And U.N. teams on the ground see this as just the beginning of
a humanitarian disaster.
The full extent is unknown with many of the worst-hit areas cut off and inaccessible.
EAMONN MURPHY, U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR MYANMAR: It's affected by landslides. It's affected by rivers, choked with debris and
that makes it all that much more difficult in areas that are difficult to access in the best of conditions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
COREN (voice-over): To demonstrate just how much water there is, a local news reporter filed his report in the middle of what should have been
a busy street.
Four areas in Central and Western Myanmar have been declared natural disaster zones by the government, which has mobilized the army to lead
rescue efforts. But torrential rain and flooding as a result of the Asian monsoon has also affected neighboring India and Bangladesh, claiming dozens
of lives.
Vietnam, also hit by the worst flooding in 40 years.
While international aid is starting to arrive to South Myanmar's desperate communities, humanitarian organizations are pleading for more
help. The government has been criticized for a slow and inadequate response, failing to learn from the natural disaster in 2008, caused by
Cyclone Nargis, that left at least 140,000 people dead.
MURPHY: We've got to prevent more loss of life. We've got to get supplies to the people now that are immediately affected and then help them
in rebuilding, not just stop immediately after the first part of the crisis, but we have to help them rebuild their own lives.
COREN (voice-over): An enormous challenge for an impoverished country that knows the worst isn't over -- Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Meanwhile, in the U.S., nearly 2 dozen large wildfires burning in the drought-ridden state of California could intensify today as
gusty winds enter the forecast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (voice-over): Now the largest fire has already burned more than 242 square kilometers of land and is only 12 percent contained. More
than 12,000 people have been evacuated and one firefighter has died battling the fires.
Stephanie Elam joins me now from Colusa County in California.
Hi, there, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Robyn, yes. We are standing here in the evacuation zone for this Rocky fire. The good news is
that the containment is up to 12 percent but that's also the bad news. They really wanted control of this fire. And it's a fire that has been
hard to fight because it's been acting differently than others.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM (voice-over): Flames crackling, spreading into the night. Overnight, lightning, winds and low humidity further fueling the flames at
a time when firefighters normally gain some ground.
At least 21 wildfires are burning across California, exacerbated by the state's drought.
More than 9,000 firefighters battling those flames.
The state's largest wildfire, the Rocky fire, ravaging counties north of San Francisco. This inferno already incinerating more than 50,000
acres.
CAPT. STEVE KAUFMANN, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PREVENTION: There are firefighters that have 20, 25, 30 years on the job
that have never seen fire behavior --
[10:20:00]
KAUFMANN: -- like we've seen the last couple days here on the Rocky fire.
ELAM (voice-over): Firefighters using many resources to try to tame the fire.
Some crews actually using tools to set fires, this to prevent the progress of a fire by taking away its fuel.
We're standing along Highway 16, California 16, and what they want to do is contain this fire so it doesn't jump across this road. So a lot of
fires, backfires being built on the opposite side. But as you take a look at this active fire here, you can see the wind is really pushing it.
Thousands of people and structures under evacuation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got out of the meeting and it looked like a bomb had went off over here.
ELAM (voice-over): As dozens of residences and buildings are now left smoldering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our whole block was so fast. Everyone we know is houses are ashes right now.
ELAM: And also what is hard about this fire is the fact that you're dealing with really hot temperatures, around 100 degrees here during the
daytime. You've also got very low humidity, which makes it easy for these fires to spread and the other issue is there's a lot of dry brush out here
because of the drought that has been wrangling California for the last five years or so.
So because of that, that is the perfect storm for a fire to spread in a place that hasn't seen a wildfire come through here in many, many, many
years -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Indeed. And also I understand that a lot of lightning which is igniting a lot of that dry brush -- Stephanie Elam, thanks so much.
Staying with extreme weather, powerful storms have swept across other parts of the Central U.S. Here's a closeup of one of several tornadoes
reported on Sunday. This was in a rural area near Des Moines, Iowa. There was some damage but no injuries reported.
So with all this wacky weather in mind, U.S. President Barack Obama is set to unveil what he calls the biggest step yet in fighting climate
change. We'll have details in our next edition of the INTERNATIONAL DESK. That's in just over 90 minutes from now.
And still to come, will U.S. Vice President Joe Biden decide to run for president? We'll look at what it could mean for Hillary Clinton if he
does.
And Zimbabwe links a second American doctor to the investigation over illegal lion hunting. Stay with us.
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CURNOW: New Yorkers were treated to a rare sight over the weekend as images of endangered animals were projected onto the south face of the
iconic Empire State Building.
The $1 million project is a promotion for the documentary, "Racing Extinction" by the Oceanic Preservation Society. An image of Cecil the
lion was included after he was illegally poached in Zimbabwe in a case that has sparked international outrage.
Staying with that story, Zimbabwe has named a second American doctor they say was part of an illegal lion hunt back in April as the country
attempts to crack down on the practice following Cecil's death.
Our David McKenzie is following developments and joins me now from JoBurg.
Hi, there, David. This other happened back in April.
Why have the Zimbabweans released this man's name now?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, frankly, it's unclear to me why they've waited this time. It might be because of the intense
spotlight --
[10:25:00]
MCKENZIE: -- on this issue of hunting in Zimbabwe because of the killing of Cecil the lion by an American dentist. Now they are saying that
this hunt happened in April; they have arrested the safari owner, they say, and he's cooperating. They do name a doctor from the U.S., who they say
was involved in the hunt, though not directly accusing him of anything.
But it does seem they're wanting to show that they're trying to stamp out this issue of hunting both illegal or unethical hunting in their
country -- Robyn.
CURNOW: And, David, the hysteria over the death of Cecil the lion has many Zimbabweans perplexed. They're asking why isn't there the same uproar
over the dire state of affairs in Zimbabwe, which has actually contributed to the rampant poaching? And we've seen for years now. And of course has
left many, many Zimbabweans in utter poverty.
MCKENZIE: Well, Robyn, conservationists are saying that this is a good thing, that there's been this focus on Cecil the lion's killing. From
their perspective, so that people can see the broader picture of poaching throughout Africa.
Now hunting and the hunters who come in and pay as clients to hunt aren't having a massive impact, one would say, on the issue of numbers of
animals, particularly those animals like elephants and rhino that have been decimated by poachers.
Now poachers aren't the same thing as a client paying to shoot an animal, whatever you think of the ethics of that or, in this case, the
legal nature of it. So there is a sense that people want the broader picture of the decimation of Africa's herds to be looked at from a poaching
perspective and the situation, the political situation in Zimbabwe has contributed to the issue of poaching, where some people today telling me
that, well, because people are desperate, they turn to poaching. They don't necessarily want to do this. But they feel compelled to do it.
So it's a complicated issue. But this kind of intense spotlight on this one lion, yes. I mean, locally and regionally, people, on some level,
are scratching their heads but they can understand that this is a very emotive issue. They just want people to look at the bigger picture as well
-- Robyn.
CURNOW: Good point there. David McKenzie in Johannesburg, thank you for joining us.
Now could Hillary Clinton be facing a new challenger? Coming up, friends and advisers urge the U.S. vice president to go for the top spot in
the White House.
And as Jon Stewart says goodbye to "The Daily Show," Jake Tapper takes a look at 15 years of political satire and influence.
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[10:30:00]
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CURNOW: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (voice-over): The Nigerian army says it has rescued 178 captives from Boko Haram militants. More than half of those freed are said
to be children. The operation took place in Borno State, Boko Haram's birthplace and main stronghold. Nigeria says it also captured a Boko Haram
commander.
In the U.S. another close call between a commercial jet and an unmanned drone at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. A Shuttle America
crew reported an incident late Sunday after two similar incidents were reported Friday. A drone could cause an airliner to crash. The Federal
Aviation Administration is investigating.
And U.S. President Barack Obama is tackling climate change. In the coming hours, he's set to announce an ambitious plan to cut carbon
emissions from power plants by nearly one-third. Critics already say the plan's overreaching and will hurt the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Now while Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Party's front- runner to succeed, Mr. Obama (sic) is possible a very high profile challenger could throw -- be thrown into the mix. A group called Draft
Biden is pushing Vice President Joe Biden to run for the nomination.
He has yet to announce any decision but a close friend and political adviser to Biden's late son, Beau, has joined the group, giving it some
serious credibility.
U.S. correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now from Washington with more on this.
How likely is it that he will run and what could that mean for the contest ahead?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. That's a great question. Everybody is wondering this. I had an opportunity to talk with the late
Beau Biden at Obama's inaugural celebration. This was just a couple of years ago. And it was at the time when Joe Biden was getting some flak for
a gaffe that he made publicly, referring to himself accidentally as president instead of vice president.
Beau and I had a little laugh over that. But Joe Biden clearly has wanted this for years. I covered his previous attempts and this would be
historic in a third attempt. And his sons, both Beau and Hunter, they've always wanted this for their father. And a Biden source told me that Biden
has not yet made up his mind. He is not there yet. But this would be a family decision that he makes with his wife, Jill, and his son, Hunter, and
other relatives.
It was his sister that was his campaign manager the last go-around and his niece, his political director. And one of Beau Biden's former aides
has now been recruited for that Draft Biden movement. So Biden likely will made a decision in the next month or so.
CURNOW: Let's talk about this wider context. As you say, you've covered the White House extensively, including the Clinton administration.
Hillary Clinton has her first TV advert out. And they're focused on her family, particularly her mom. Let's take a listen and I want you to tell
me on the back end what your analysis of all of this is. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: When she needed a champion, someone was there. I think about all the Dorothys all over
America, who fight for their families, who never give up. That's why I'm doing this. That's why I've always done this for all the Dorothys.
I'm Hillary Clinton and I approved this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: So what do you make of that ad? And Clinton's campaign so far?
MALVEAUX: Well, Robyn, honestly, Hillary Clinton has not changed that much since I first covered her as first lady. It is just the package, the
emphasis that's changed. So we actually saw her mother, Dorothy -- she's a very important figure to her on the campaign trail back in 2008. But the
emphasis back then was really Hillary Clinton as the can-do leader, as the diplomatic ambassador, able to address a crisis on the other end of a 2
o'clock phone call in the morning.
This approach, as we see, much softer, playing up the role of mother, of mom, you know, grandmother, which is seen as appealing to women,
moderates, independents, those that she really needs and could actually help.
CURNOW: With that in mind, talking about what could help Hillary Clinton, could a Biden bid help the Clinton campaign? Particularly to
shape that perception of inevitability that really hurt her before?
MALVEAUX: It could, although it could also hurt her, because what Biden does is that he does appeal to those who are looking for a viable
alternative to Clinton, one who's not mired by Benghazi or emails or issues over trustworthiness. People see Bernie Sanders as not necessarily one
that could win. And Biden could actually play that role.
But we do know that Biden has his own issues to contend with as well, the public gaffes and some of the things that make him not as serious a
candidate. But I think there is a feeling here that if he were to jump in that there would be a problem that Hillary Clinton would face.
CURNOW: OK. Suzanne Malveaux --
[10:35:00]
CURNOW: -- thank you so much for coming to us from Washington on the possible entrance of Joe Biden into the race. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
CURNOW: And just as the 2016 presidential race is heating up, one of America's top political satirists ends his run on "The Daily Show." A look
back on Jon Stewart's influence -- that's next.
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CURNOW: One famous man who's going to be enjoying the U.S. presidential race will be doing it from the comfort of his sofa. American
comedian Jon Stewart is heading into his final week as host of "The Daily Show." Jake Tapper takes a look at the highlights of the past 16 years of
controversy and political satire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": Craig Kilborn is on assignment in Kuala Lumpur. I'm Jon Stewart.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Sixteen years ago, when Jon Stewart took the helm of "The Daily Show," it would have been difficult to
predict the stature he and this show would achieve -- the location where candidates would come during a tough primary season.
STEWART: Tomorrow is perhaps one of the most important days of your life. And yet you have chosen to spend the night before talking to me.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Senator, as a host, I'm delighted; as a citizen, frightened.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Your response?
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: It is pretty pathetic.
(LAUGHTER)
TAPPER (voice-over): Or to declare a candidacy.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS: I am on your show to announce that I am a candidate for President of the United States.
TAPPER (voice-over): That he would hold a well-attended rally on the National Mall.
STEWART: Are you ready to restore sanity?
TAPPER (voice-over): Or that he would be perceived as so influential, especially among young voters, that the President of the United States,
whom he obviously greatly admired, would privately chide him to not feed cynicism.
Stewart's influence grew quickly with the election of President George W. Bush, when Stewart's politics found ripe targets.
STEWART: "I spread democracy. I'm a pusher, not a user."
TAPPER (voice-over): And Democrats, hungry for anyone to challenge the Bush administration, turned to him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jon, when the waters from Katrina began to rise, it would have been easy to rush back to Washington. This president stuck
it out for two more vacation days.
What do you call that?
STEWART: What do I call that? An abdication of --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, I agree, dedication.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): He's the one "Daily Show" reporter that makes the others look like a bunch of (INAUDIBLE).
TAPPER (voice-over): Long-time correspondent Samantha Bee tells us that Stewart was an even-keeled captain of their ship, with a clear eye on
where they were headed.
SAMANTHA BEE, "THE DAILY SHOW": His editorial point of view was always so sharp and so -- we always went out into the field with a really
clear point of view and we would just hit that point of view again and again and again and again.
TAPPER (voice-over): The media, especially CNN, we were frequent targets.
STEWART: The truth of what a reporter's saying is all in the direction they're face is turned. News story, war story. Trust me on
this, (INAUDIBLE).
TAPPER (voice-over): But his influence was great and his researchers quick and able to find clips exposing politicians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have said in the past that it was, quote, "pretty well confirmed."
DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I never said that.
[10:40:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I think that is.
CHENEY: That's absolutely not.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: He absolutely never said that. Hmm.
CHENEY: It's been pretty well confirmed --
(LAUGHTER)
TAPPER (voice-over): Also with a genuine eye for talent.
STEVE CARELL, "THE DAILY SHOW": How do you reconcile the fact that you were one of the most vocal critics of pork barrel politics and yet
while you were chairman of the Commerce Committee, that committee set a record for unauthorized appropriations?
I'm just kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
CARELL: Well, I don't even know what that means.
TAPPER (voice-over): Some critics thought the show lost its edge with the election of President Obama, who appeared on the show seven times, for
usually friendly chats.
STEWART: How many times a week does Biden show up in a wet bathing suit to a meeting?
TAPPER (voice-over): Though other times the Stewart knife could cut.
STEWART: It wouldn't be, "Yes, we can," given certain conditions.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.
TAPPER (voice-over): And his skewering of the botched healthcare.gov website was something of a tipping point.
STEWART: We're going to do a challenge. I'm going to try and download every movie ever made and you're going to try and sign up for
ObamaCare and we'll see which happens first.
TAPPER (voice-over): Perhaps the most powerful moments were when Stewart realized his influence and used it, such as when he shamed Congress
for stalling the passage of health care legislation for 9/11 first responders.
STEWART: But before I rush in, you got to promise me, McCluskey, you got to promise me and my family that this will not affect the Swiss
pharmaceutical companies' offshore tax status. You got to promise me that.
(APPLAUSE)
STEWART: Or I'm not going in there.
You're an (INAUDIBLE).
TAPPER (voice-over): He's now credited with its eventual passage.
BEE: We don't claim that victory for ourselves. People have been in the trenches working on that for years and years and years and they've been
laying all this really heavy-duty groundwork. And sometimes it just takes that little tiny extra push to get it over the hump.
TAPPER (voice-over): Stewart's fans will miss him and so will the public square.
STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: You're making no sense.
STEWART: Zero sense.
(LAUGHTER)
COLBERT: We're done.
TAPPER (voice-over): Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: And of course, my fellow South African, Trevor Noah, will be taking over from Jon Stewart in the next few weeks. So we're all looking
forward to that one.
Now one last word though, the Greek stock market closed down 16.23 percent, the biggest ever one-day fall in its history. We're going to
leave you with that information. But that does it for us here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow.
Don't go anywhere. "WORLD SPORT" with Christina Macfarlane is up next.
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END
