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Hala Gorani Tonight
Sudanese Troops Target Female Protesters; "Wall Street Journal" Suggests That United States and Iran Misread Each Other's Actions; Uncertainty Deepens as Cross-Party Talks Collapse in UK; Neo-Nazis Sentenced to Life for Plotting Murder Of MP; Australian Rugby Player Sacked After Anti-Gay Post; Gay Olympian Reacts to Rugby Players Homophobic Post; Taiwan Legalizes same-Sex Marriage; U.S. Lifts Steel And Aluminum Tariffs On Canada And Mexico; Missouri Passes Restrictive Abortion Bill; Life & Legacy Of Architect I.M. Pei; Israel Hosts Contest At A Tense Time. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired May 17, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00] HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, happy Friday. I'm Hala Gorani. Tonight, in an exclusive report, we reveal
how Sudan has been systematically targeting women protesters by means of rape and beatings. We'll have Nima Elbagir on the set with us.
Also this hour it is revealed Michael Flynn told Robert Mueller that people connected to the Trump administration tried to influence his testimony.
Also Australia's star rugby player, Israel Folau is fired after a homophobic post on social media. We'll get reaction from a top British
athlete.
They tried to use rape to silence us. Those are the staggering words of a female prodemocracy demonstrator in Sudan. Women have been taking to the
streets for months now to have their voices heard putting themselves at the heart of the biggest antigovernment in decades.
Now, those demonstrations led to the ouster of the country's long-term dictator Omar al-Bashir last month. But now with the military in power
demonstrations and clashes with soldiers have continued. Women are said to make up the majority of the protesters and CNN has been told that
government forces have tried to use rape as a means to silence these women. But they're refusing to stand down. Our Nima Elabagir has spoken to some
of these women. Here is the report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This the moment Sudanese forces opened fire on protesters. You see the man behind the
camera is a woman. She is chanting, bullets won't kill us. Staying silent does. They begin to chase. Her camera cuts out as a soldier stands over
here. The woman was brutally beaten by government forces and she's not alone.
CNN has spoken to hundreds of women throughout the months of the uprising in Sudan. They say they were targeted by government forces for the worst
violence because they were women. We put the question to former Sudanese intelligence officers. They refused to be filmed but agreed to be quoted
telling CNN they were commanded by their superiors, break the girls, because if you break the girls, you break the men. But it didn't work.
The next day, this woman is back at the site, limping, but defiant.
NIDAL AHMED, PROTESTER [translated to text]: I fell and six or seven men in uniform started to beat me. When I stood up, they hit me on my back
side and said, run. This happened to all women.
WIFAQ QURAISHI, ACTIVIST [translated to text]: I was subjected to many detentions and each was different. Sometimes they force you to strip and
take nude photos and sometimes they threaten you with rape.
ELBAGIR: And yet still she like others persevered.
QURAISHI: We are suppressed at home, oppressed on the street, at university, at work, on public transport, all of these things motivated the
girls to take to the street.
ELBAGIR: In a conservative society taking to the streets was brave enough. Publicly speaking out about the price and others say they were forced to
pay, braver still. Women's rights activists say women were targeted because they were so integral to the uprising saying that 60 to 70 percent
of the protesters were female.
NAHED JABRALLAH, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST [translated to text]: Even the slogans were centered around women. "Rise up, this revolution is woman."
ELBAGIR: Rape was being used as a weapon of oppression?
JABRALLAH: These sexual assaults accomplish two things -- the oppression of the victim and it used to terrify others.
ELBAGIR: Whatever they did, whatever they tried to do, I didn't work.
AHMED: I'm staying out of the streets so that tomorrow can be better for all of us. For us, for those before us, and the next generation.
ELBAGIR: A new generation that's already making its voices heard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:05:00] GORANI: Nima Elbagir is here in the studio with us. This is still ongoing?
ELBAGIR: Yes. That video that we showed right at the beginning, that was from Tuesday. So they were attacking female protesters singling out female
protesters as recently as the beginning of this week. The infrastructure of rule in Sudan is very much intact.
GORANI: That means essentially that what the protesters wanted to see the end of which was autocratic, police state rule, is still very much present
in their everyday life despite the months that they've spent out on the streets, especially the women.
ELBAGIR: Absolutely. And I think that's why you hear throughout that piece again and again it has to be civilian rule. And this is exactly why.
Because it's the only way for them to safeguard their rights.
GORANI: So what is the future like for these women? Are they -- they're still going out, they're still bravely demonstrating despite the fact
there's the threat to their physical integrity but you have an issue with specifically targeting women?
ELBAGIR: Also when they speak out, it's bravery against the cultural context that they're in. Even doing that is pushing a way for a better
tomorrow for women. We're speaking out saying you can speak out and survive this.
GORANI: Are they right to be optimistic?
ELBAGIR: They say they hope so. I think if they hope so, we have to hope for them, right?
GORANI: Any women, have they been discouraged enough that they've stopped demonstrating?
ELBAGIR: No we were cases of women who were divorced by their husbands because of the stigma of being assaulted by security forces and yet they're
still there. You saw the woman, the second day, with the scarring on her face, she was speaking to us. I think it's very difficult, no matter how
oppressive the regime's forces are to persevere against that kind of bravery.
GORANI: Thanks very much. We'll continue following this story. And thanks for your reporting on that.
We're expecting the U.S. President Donald Trump to speak at an event in Washington, D.C. in which we expect him to talk about the tariffs with
Canada and Mexico. There's a look at the podium. Once he starts speaking, we'll go to that. We're expecting him to make some sort of news with
regard to tariffs with Canada and Mexico.
I want to talk about the dangerous rise in tensions between the United States and Iran. A senior Trump administration says that we are still
sitting by the phone hoping to hear from Tehran.
As Joe Johns explains, the heated atmosphere may be the result of miscommunication.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Were the U.S. and Iran on the brink of a conflict because of a misunderstanding?
SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): I think the intel may be accurate. But the unanswered question is, are they reacting to our assertions of action in
the Middle East or are we reacting to them.?
JOHNS: Sources now tell "The Wall Street Journal," it could be both. One interpretation of U.S. intelligence suggests the U.S. and Iran may have
misread each other's actions. Iran's leaders believed the United States was planning to attack them, prompting Tehran to prepare for counter
strikes. We're learning new details about the intelligence that escalated tensions.
The United States claims to have images of Iranian commercial vessels it believes are carrying missiles. CNN has not reviewed the intelligence and
the government has provided no proof the ships are carrying hidden missiles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we going to war with Iran?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope not.
JOHNS: After days of heated debate inside the White House, President Trump is trying to cool tensions with Iran. The "New York Times" reports Trump
told Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, he does not want to go to war. Trump is growing increasingly frustrated over the public perception
his national security team is leading him into an armed conflict. The President denying infighting and insisting he's in charge.
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There's only one person that was elected to make those decisions and that was the President. He'll be
the one that decides.
JOHNS: Sources tell CNN President Trump is grumbling to outside advisors about his National Security Advisor, John Bolton. Bolton's hawkish
reputation are concerning U.S. allies. Congressional leaders getting their first classified briefing on Thursday.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): The responsibility in the Constitution is for Congress to declare war. I hope that the President's advisors recognize
that they have no authorization to go forward in any way.
JOHNS: Lawmakers are demanding answers.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): There are a lot of senators feel like they're in the dark and they dropped the ball on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:10:00] GORANI: And that was Joe Johns reporting. Former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn says people connected to the President's
administration or Congress tried to influence his help with the Mueller investigation according to newly unsealed court documents that a federal
judge ordered to be made public. Joining us now live from Washington is Abby Phillip. The revelations are the talk of the town. Have we heard any
reaction from the White House with regard to this news?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There's no official reaction from the White House to these revelations which came in the form of
unsealed court documents. That factored into the Mueller investigation or the Mueller report that we've now all read. But President Trump has been
reacting on Twitter. Michael Flynn has been on his mind. He frames it in a very different way.
He said this, this morning. "It now seems that General Flynn was under investigation long before it was common knowledge. It would have been
impossible for me to know this. If that was the case, and with me being one of two people who would become President, why was I not told so that I
would make a change."
There's a lot in that tweet that does not align with what actually happened in this case. President Trump is suggesting that he should have been told
that Flynn was under investigation, but he was warned by President Obama and by elements of the Obama administration that he should not hire Michael
Flynn as his National Security Advisor and when officials at the Justice Department raised concerns with Michael Flynn about how he misled the vice
President about a call that he had with the Russian ambassador, the President and his team seemed to defend Flynn.
The President has repeatedly called Flynn a good guy. In some ways, this is the President rewriting history a little bit about what happened with
his national security advisor. And now he seems to be in some ways turning on him. The President had said Michael Flynn did nothing wrong. He had
accused the investigators as persecuting him and the President seems to be implying that maybe Michael Flynn did do something wrong and that what
Michael Flynn told the special counsel investigators contributed to this whole part of the tone that was about obstruction of justice.
And that, by the way, is what Congress wants to pick up and that's what the President is the most concerned about as we go forward into these
Congressional investigations into whether he obstructed justice, picking up where Mueller left off.
GORANI: Startling revelation there. Thank you very much. Just a reminder, we're expecting the U.S. President to make an appearance. He's
at an event in Washington, D.C. where he's expected to bring up the issue of tariffs that were imposed last year against Canada and Mexico. The
U.S.'s neighbors to the north and south. The expectation perhaps that he's lifting them. Know we cannot be sure of that. We'll wait for him to make
that announcement and bring it to you live when it happens.
Some Brexit news for you. Weeks of cross-party talks have ended in collapse. Both the Prime Minister, Theresa May and opposition leader
Jeremy Corbyn blame each other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY CORBYN, LEADER OF LABOUR PARTY: I have just written a letter to the Prime Minister, just sent it to say these talks have reached what I believe
to be a conclusion. The Prime Minister has announced the date she's leaving. There's been noises off stage by Conservative cabinet members who
don't agree with much of the talks or any of the discussion we are holding. We are concluding the talks.
THERESA MAY, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: We haven't been able to overcome the fact there isn't a common position in Labour about whether
they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum which could reverse it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: I'm so surprised these talks have collapsed, said no one, really, right.
[14:15:00] PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes indeed that is right the expectation was so low from the outset. They lasted about six weeks, which
was longer than anyone thought. But in the end, you saw there, they both blamed divisions within the opposing parties. There's truth to both of
those, criticisms, I think, but ultimately it seems they weren't able to get close together on some of the big issues which we could have predicted
about six weeks ago, the future customs region and the possibility of a second referendum on whatever compromise they were able to come with.
GORANI: That week is when Theresa May is putting her deal to Parliament. What does this tell us about what might happen at that point?
BLACK: As it stands, the agreement hadn't changed. There's no reason to believe that suddenly those who voted it down three times already are going
to change their view. But I guess Theresa May, it would seem, is about to exercise her final play. She's talking about finalizing her departure from
office. What she's going to do is peel away some of the soft opposition, if you like, to try and change the deal sufficiently, so that some people
are drawn towards supporting it while emphasizing -- and she did this again today, if you don't vote for this, then there's a chance that you will not
deliver on the mandate of the referendum and what you're allowing to build up is more chaos and more uncertainty.
GORANI: She's tried that strategy already and it hasn't worked. There's the leadership contest and the conservative party to replace Theresa May
who's seen as being in the last few weeks of her Prime Minister-ship. What are Boris Johnson's chances?
BLACK: The man who resigned from cabinet over Theresa May's handling of the Brexit process, he is seen as the candidate to beat. Certainly has the
highest name recognition. They seem to suggest that he's a long way ahead of what is expected to be a fairly crowded field. I say expected to be
because there's lots of ambitious figures inside the cabinet. We've seen lots of others positioning themselves, being a little bit more visible in
certain ways. Trying to put themselves into a position where they're getting ready to run for this.
GORANI: He's got a haircut and lost some weight.
BLACK: Make of that what you will. I don't know if his presentation has changed that much. But it is that Boris Johnson character, if you like,
that does seem to resonate with people and particularly with grassroots Conservative members and they're the ones that will ultimately vote on the
final two candidates for the leadership after they've been whittled down.
GORANI: Still to come, an unrepentant neo-Nazi is handed down a prison term for attempting to murder a member of Parliament. The latest on his
sentence and the foiled murder plot next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A British neo-Nazi who plotted to kill his local member of Parliament has been sentenced to life in prison. The 23-year-old Jack
Renshaw defiantly gave a Nazi salute as he was taken from the courtroom. He planned to kill the Labour MP Rosie Cooper with a knife back in 2017.
[14:20:00] Isa Soares joins me with the very latest. Talk to us more about this shocking case.
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A really disturbed individual. He pled guilty on two charges, one you outlined there, planning to kill a Labour MP
who was an MP for his constituency. He believed that being -- as a Labour MP she was facilitating the arrival of immigrants coming into the U.K. and
that the white -- that white people were being overthrown by Jews.
I don't see the correlation. There is not much point in trying to make sense of his thinking. But he went to -- he planned, he spoke, he bragged
to his friends about the plot to kill her. The knife was a 19-inch roman knife and he wanted to decapitate her. His friends acted as a
whistleblower and told the police what he wanted. He wanted to copy very disturbing of Joe Fox. The MP was murder back in June 2016.
And in fact when Joe Fox was murdered back then he actually tweeted and he praised the attacker who killed Joe Fox, very much a disturbed individual.
And this is what the judge said today. "To kill an MP because of their political views is an attempt to damage entire system of our democracy."
And I got a further, a couple of other points. "Your perverted view of history and current politics has caused you to believe that the right to
demonize groups simply because they are different from you."
And today he didn't say anything other than say his name. He then raised his arm in a salute, like a Nazi salute and there were people that were
supporting him saying we're with you, Jack.
GORANI: Who was supporting him?
SOARES: We don't know if it was family or members of far-right groups.
GORANI: Is a life sentence a very severe sentence for an attempted murder?
SOARES: Yes. There were some gasps when he was charged on both of these cases because he was also charged of attempting to murder a police officer
who put him in prison for pedophilia. So he's got two charges here but it was -- he's got a minimum --
GORANI: He's also a convicted pedophile?
SOARES: A convicted pedophile. So there's a history there. And the judge made it very clear, look, we know that you're young, we know that you have
had a very difficult upbringing, but I also know very clearly, that you knew exactly what you were doing. And if we go back in his history, he
doesn't belief the holocaust existed, he's very much anti-Jews and putting the pressure on the Labour Party saying they're helping with the rise of
immigration in the UK.
GORANI: Next week's European elections won't just shape the future of the European Union, it will reverberate through each member nation with
populism on the rise, Euro-skeptics could gain ground in the European Parliament, the European Parliament they are not fans of. As CNN's Atika
Schubert reports there's pushback now from a grassroots movement that is actually growing in Germany.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Friday's For Future Climate Strikes has been happening in cities across Germany. Especially in Berlin.
Luisa Neubauer is here every week mobilizing tens of thousands of student protesters across the country. Now she wants to translate that into votes.
LUISA NEUBAUER. CLIMATE ACTIVIST, GERMANY: We are saying, the EU election is a climate election. Come to the streets with us and vote. And what has
happened, this has turned into a global strike. It's not just the EU, but it's the EU about a world community.
SHUBERT: Immigration used to dominate the headlines, but this election, climate change is the number one issue. That's according to national
broadcaster ARD and after years of low voter turnout, a whopping 63 percent of respondents are saying they're closely following the election. That is
a big shift.
[14:25:00] It is not just climate change that is mobilizing grassroots movements. Volt Europa is the first pan European party to contest
elections, pushing back on the resurgence of nationalist populism.
MARIE-ISABELLE HEISS, VOLT EUROPA: It was a direct reaction to Brexit that was kind of a straw that broke the camel's back. We realized that politics
are turning backwards, nationalists are becoming stronger and stronger all across Europe. And in Brexit there was a decision by the British people to
leave the European Union. To most of my generation, it came as a shock.
SHUBERT: Protests are one thing, getting out the vote is another. The real test will be at the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Still to come, he lost his multimillion-dollar contract for what he said on social media. We'll tell you what made officials kick this
rugby star off of an Australian team. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A rugby player has been kicked off the Australian team after a homophobic post on social media. A big, big Australian star, one of the
best rugby players in the world. He lost his multimillion-dollar contract with Rugby Australia and it all stems from this Instagram post in which he
says, hell awaits homosexuals and others such as atheists, drunks, liars and thieves. Rugby Australia's CEO says Folau left them with no choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAELENE CASTLE, CEO, RUGBY AUSTRALIA: A clear message to all rugby fans today. We need to stand by our values and the qualities of inclusion,
passion, integrity, discipline, respect and teamwork. Over the last hour, I've communicated with the players, all professional players, to make it
clear that Rugby Australia fully sports the right to their own beliefs and nothing that has happened changes this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's bring in Tom Bosworth, a British Olympian in the world record holding race walker. He was the first British track and field
athlete to come out as gay. Here he is on the BB sees Victoria Derbyshire show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE, BBC HOST: Thanks for talking to us. Tell us why you are talking to us today.
TOM BOSWORTH, GAY BRITISH OLYMPIAN: I'm here to speak publicly for the first time about my sexuality and to the public, I'm going to come out. To
my family and friends, this is no surprise. But I felt now was the right time to speak publicly about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:30:00] GORANI: Tom joins me now by phone. He's in Lithuania where he is training for the European championship. Thank you so much for being
with us. You came out a few years. And as a top-level athlete who did so, how do you react to a big rugby star Like Israel Folau posting what he did
on Instagram and his dismissal from Rugby Australia. What was your initial reaction when you heard?
BOSWORTH (via telephone): I was disappointed to see something like that from a fellow sportsman. And it's gotten lost in this case, we're focusing
very much on how it -- everyone touts freedom of speech, which I agree with. Players in a place where they can influence people, they need to
realize how they can empower people and encourage people to speak out positively rather than negatively.
[14:30:00]
This encourages people to attack and they have no idea the impact they are having. It's like a snowball effect, especially with social media.
And I think right now, we really need to focus on training athletes and other sports people how to use social media correctly and go voice their
kind of opinions and have a freedom of speech.
GORANI: Well, Israel Folau issued a statement. He said, "Look, these are my religious beliefs and I thought we had something called freedom of
speech in Australia." What would you tell him?
BOSWORTH: I would absolutely agree with him that they are his beliefs and he's entitled to them. What he's not entitled to do is use those beliefs
and use the religion to attack other people. You know, I don't believe that the LGBT community are putting their beliefs on him, you know.
He's absolutely entitled to disagree with equal marriage, but he doesn't have to go to any gay weddings. You know, he doesn't need to turn up. If
somebody wants to love another human being, it doesn't impact his life whatsoever. What his words are doing are saying, this is how I -- what I
believe, this is how I think people should live. And if you don't match that, then you're going to go to hell.
And as I say, it can really empower people to then go further and discriminate --
GORANI: And Tom --
BOSWORTH: -- further and it's terrifying.
GORANI: Tom, what do you think needs to -- I mean -- just in the last few years, we're seeing more and more top athletes come out, sometimes, after
they finish their career, to be fair, because maybe they felt like while they were actively playing or competing that it could have hurt them.
But what needs to change now for more tolerance to become mainstream in top-level sports around the world?
BOSWORTH: Yes. If I had the answer to that, you know, I'd be probably a very wealthy man. But it's -- we need to look at why sports is so far
behind the rest of kind of our western society, I guess.
You know, you wouldn't tolerate that in the workplace. And I guess this is why, unfortunately Israel has lost his job. You know, nobody wants to see
that.
But ultimately, if you sit that in the place of work, then, you know, you wouldn't -- you wouldn't expect to go into work the following day. And I
do believe that there's a clear difference between having an opinion and your values and voicing them on other people and perhaps it's that, that
kind of the intimidation, of people what they feel that is still existing in sports. Where it's actually I don't think it really needs to be. But
there's a stigma about it.
GORANI: What was it like for you when you came out?
BOSWORTH: Well, you know, as I said, thankfully I was in a position where I was in a happy relationship, supportive family, friends, and a great team
around me. And not everyone in that place are fortune enough to be in that place. And so it's very supportive, you know. Social media, again, it
comes up. The most abuse on there -- but it's also --
GORANI: You got abuse on social media?
BOSWORTH: Yes, absolutely. And unfortunately, people used religion as an excuse for that again there. But I know plenty of religious people,
members of my family are very religious and they say, well, this just -- we do not agree with this and it doesn't reflect our views whatsoever.
It's really, really difficult when people are sat behind the screen and they've got no idea of the impact that that can happen. It's really
important for cases like this, unfortunately, to end how it had because people need to learn. It's not acceptable in real life at all or on social
media.
GORANI: Do you think someone like this rugby player who -- and I'm not a huge rugby fan. I'm told he's one of the biggest rugby stars, certainly
one of the most valuable players in Australia. So he's lost his job now.
Is there any room forgiveness here, or is there anything he can do in your eyes that would make it OK for him to take his position back?
BOSWORTH: Yes. I actually sympathize with him a lot. And it's a very difficult position because, clearly, he felt very hurt and his values are
kind of under threat. And I feel like -- first of all, an apology. And kind of maybe a bit more education for him and a bit of kind of -- he needs
to explain himself a little better and show that he doesn't -- hopefully doesn't feel as strongly as he did then or as opposed to explain.
But unfortunately, he was a repeat offender. You know, he had tweeted things out about his beliefs in the past. But this time, he actually went
a step further. And I think he needs to really realize that and admit that.
[14:35:00] GORANI: Thank you very much, Tom Bosworth. Good luck with your competition in Lithuania. Thanks for joining us and for giving us your
reaction to this story.
A big victory for gay rights in Asia. Taiwan is now the first place in the region to legalize same-sex marriage. The island has a large gay
community. Its annual gay pride parade is one of the largest in Asia.
But issue was still pretty controversial. CNN's Matt Rivers explains why the new legislation is so historic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A triumph Friday for those who say they're fighting for equality. A landmark bill
was passed by lawmakers in Taiwan, making it the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is an important day in history.
RIVERS: The bill passed by 66 votes to 27 in parliament in Taipei. It will allow what it calls, quote, "exclusive permanent unions" with a formal
marriage registration.
Thousands of supporters gathered outside parliament Friday, despite pouring rain, celebrating the landmark victory for campaigners who have been
fighting for this for years.
The vote comes nearly two years after Taiwan's constitutional court ruled that the existing law was unconstitutional, giving lawmakers a two-year
deadline to legalize gay marriage. The laws though do not give full equality with straight couples. The measure only applies to people from
Taiwan or to foreigners whose home countries also recognize gay marriage. Adoption rights will also be limited, but it's still seen as a huge step
forward.
CINDY SU, CEO, LOBBY ALLIANCE FOR LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS: We can finally pass a law that will protect my family. We've been fighting for this change for
five years, for me personally, before I even had children. And now that I do, it means even more.
RIVERS: The president of Taiwan, Tsai Wen, tweeted that Taiwan had taken a big step toward equality to, quote, "Show the world that progressive values
can take root in an East Asian society."
The issue faced fierce opposition from conservative groups and divided the country with a referendum in November showing 67 percent rejected same-sex
marriage. The result is also a challenge to China, which has taken an increasingly hardline stance on LGBT rights, even banning the portrayal of
same-sex relationships on television and online.
The laws will go into effect at the end of next week. Meaning Taiwan will join the roughly two dozen countries around the world that now allow gay
marriage and confirming Taiwan's reputation as one of Asia's most progressive societies.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: The U.S. has reached a deal with Canada to lift tariffs on aluminum imports in a move that could lead to approval for a new North
American trade deal. President Trump spoke about it a few moments ago in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But before I begin, I'm pleased to announce that we've just reached an agreement with Canada and
Mexico and we'll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs. Big difference.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
As you know, Canada has been for years -- and we have a great relationship with Canada and the prime minister, we have a great relationship, but
they've been charging extremely high tariffs, as much as 285 percent or more for our agriculture products, which is an absolute barrier. It's
essentially a barrier. In other words, when you pay 285, guess what, you know what they're saying? We don't want your business.
So it was a barrier to our farmers being able to do business with them. To our farmers being able to sell product in there, so that deal is going to
be a fantastic deal for our country. And hopefully Congress will approve the USMCA quickly and then the great farmers and manufacturers and steel
plants will make our economy even more successful than it already is, if that's possible, which it is possible.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
We could have the greatest economy in the history of our economy. We could have -- you look at the unemployment numbers, the best since 1969. And --
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And in a very short period, it will be -- assuming we'll just go a little bit further, it'll be the best in history. The unemployment numbers are
great, but the employment numbers are even better. We have the most people working today than at any time in the history of our country. We have
almost 160 million people working.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And many of those people are going to go out and buy a house, right, Tracy? They're going to use you as the broker, they're going to call Tracy, I want
to buy a house. And I won't pay --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And that was Donald Trump at an event in Washington, D.C. just a few minutes ago announcing the lifting of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican
steel and aluminum imports to the United States. These tariffs were imposed last year.
[14:40:12] The Canadian foreign minister, Freeland met this week, in fact, with her U.S. counterpart in the Trade Department, the trade
representative, Robert Lighthizer, and it led to this agreement that was announced by the president just minutes ago.
Now, that is a resolution to an issue that started last year. But there's no end in sight to the trade war between the U.S. and China. And Americans
in many states are feeling the impact of policies they can't control.
Our Miguel Marquez went to Kentucky where many, back and forth, tariffs are hurting business.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe I could sell you a car.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steve Gates sells cars, nine dealerships, three states, nearly 700 employees, his family
closing deals for three generations.
STEVE GATES, KENTUCKY AUTO DEALER: I would love to grow. I would love to add rooftops and people. I'm too scared right now.
MARQUEZ: Scared because the president's trade fight with China and the world taking a bite out of the automotive industry, slowing sales,
crippling growth, creating uncertainty.
GATES: It just seems so unfair. I mean, I work so hard every day and -- for the -- for politicians to dictate to me the -- what my future is it
just seems -- it just seems wrong.
MARQUEZ: Nationwide affirm that tracks job losses found that this year, nearly 20,000 jobs in the automotive sector gone with a threat let of an
additional 25 percent tariff on finished products hanging out there, many more jobs on the line.
The U.S. auto industry hit by tariffs and price increases for over a year now, first, due to steel and aluminum tariffs in March 2018, then tariffs
on Chinese-made car parts in July and again in September last year. Then last week, even higher tariffs imposed again on Chinese auto parts among
other materials.
Here in Kentucky, it's not just car production and sales feeling the tariff pinch.
ERIC GREGORY, PRESIDENT, KENTUCKY DISTILLERS' ASSOCIATION: Nobody wins in a trade war. There's only consequences and casualties. And right now,
we're collateral damage.
MARQUEZ: Since 1999, Kentucky has seen exponential growth in global exports of its most famous beverage, bourbon, not anymore. The EU and
countries like China fighting back aiming their own tariffs directly at the home state of Trump loyalist and Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I am not a fan of tariffs.
GREGORY: We just got numbers today for the first quarter this year, and they're down 10 percent, American whisky, and 20 percent to the E.U. Just
in the first quarter.
MARQUEZ (on-camera): Twenty percent?
GREGORY: Uh-hmm.
MARQUEZ: That hurts?
GREGORY: That hurts.
MARQUEZ: Miguel Marquez, CNN, Frankfort, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Staying in the United States, after Alabama, Missouri has become the latest U.S. state to pass a very restrictive abortion law. On Friday,
its lawmakers passed a bill banning the procedure as soon as the baby's heartbeat can be detected. That is eight weeks into pregnancy when many
women don't even know that they expecting.
The ban includes some exceptions for medical emergencies, but -- and this is important -- no exception just like in Alabama, no exception for rape,
and no exception for incest. The state's governor has promised to sign the bill.
CNN's Natasha Chen joins me live from Jefferson City. The Missouri capital.
So as I mentioned there, the governor expected to sign the bill. What is behind this initiative in Missouri in particular to pass this type of very
restrictive abortion legislation, Natasha?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, Missouri is just the latest of several states trying to do a similar things to restrict
abortion. Some lawmakers in southern states and Kentucky, Ohio, they've been talking about, purposely, doing so to challenge Roe versus Wade, the
1973 landmark case giving women a choice here in the United States to seek an abortion.
And what's different about this Missouri ban is that they have listed eight weeks, as you said, but they also have anticipated legal challenges here.
So in case that eight weeks is struck down, they have a provision for the ban to be at 14 weeks or 18 weeks or 20 weeks. All dependent on the
outcome of these legal challenges, Hala.
GORANI: And is this popular in Missouri among ordinary residents of the state?
CHEN: Well, I think it depends on which part of the state you are in. Here at the state capitol today, during the very heated debate on the House
floor, there were protestors in the upper gallery, and at one point, they were asked to leave the room because they were making noise and chanting.
There were very strong emotional arguments from both sides of this issue on the floor.
[14:45:11] There were some representatives from the St. Louis area talking about how this would be detrimental to women's rights while at the same
time representatives from other parts of the state, some of them talking about how important it was for them to preserve pro-life principles.
Now, of course, opponents of this bill raised the issue that they do not believe one can be pro-life if they are forcing women to have babies and
not providing the resources to have those families properly raise those children if there are not a enough resources for Medicaid or for school
lunches or for mental health when this person is actually growing.
GORANI: But also, I think what's shocked many people around the world and we're seeing all over the world, Natasha, here on CNN International, is the
fact that no exceptions are made for rape or incest. I think a lot of people find that part quite shocking.
CHEN: It is because that was really the most emotional part of the debate today that took about two hours on the House floor. There were women
talking about the possibility of a young lady in her teens, perhaps, being assaulted sexually and what happens to that 11, 12, 13-year-old girl.
Would that person be forced to have the child because of this rape? So a very emotional discussion that we heard multiple sides of from both men and
women, male, and female representatives.
GORANI: All right. Natasha Chen, thanks very much, live in Missouri.
Still to come tonight, he designed pyramids in Paris and changed skylines around the world. We remember I.M. Pei. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: You may not know his name, but you do know many of the buildings he designed including the iconic pyramids at the Louvre. Chinese-American
architect, I.M. Pei has died at the age of 102, leaving behind a global legacy. Will Ripley takes a closer look at his work and his life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I.M. Pei was a Chinese-American architect whose legacy is some of the world's most
recognized building. Perhaps, his most famous, the redevelopment of the Louvre in Paris.
I.M. PEI, AMERICAN-CHINESE ARCHITECT: Well, for me, coming from years, is coming home.
RIPLEY: In the 1980s, he gave us this masterpiece of glass and metal. A pyramid outside the main museum entrance and the underground galleries
below.
His modernist vision was fiercely opposed by many at the time.
PEI: I remember people -- an old lady spitting on the sidewalk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?
PEI: They were so unhappy with what I did.
[14:50:59] RIPLEY: That Paris icon eventually won over even the most fickle French critics. And now, is just as timeless as the treasures
inside the world's most visited museum.
In 1935, Pei, got on a boat to San Francisco, and despite not speaking English, he went on to study at both MIT and Harvard.
As America change rapidly in the 1960s, Pei's ground-breaking work changed the skylines of his new home. In the dark days, after the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy, Pei was chosen for a commission that propelled him into the limelight, the design of the JFK presidential library in
Boston.
His work continued to shape of modernizing America designing icons like the rock and roll hall of fame in Cleveland and the east building of the
National Gallery of Art in Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To some degree, geometry is not used in a random arbitrary way, it's used as a universal language, because it does speak
very viscerally across cultures.
RIPLEY (on-camera): Pei made his mark in the United States and gain global fame in Paris, but he won't be forgotten here in the city where he lived as
a boy. Pei's Bank of China building feel as if it could not be anywhere else but in the heart of Hong Kong.
RIPLEY (voice-over): A jewel in the city's glimmering skyline, a testament to the legend behind it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: That was Will Ripley reporting. What a legacy. I.M. Pei dead at the age of 102.
Check out our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
More to come including the party of the year continues in Israel. The country hosts the world's biggest singing contest, but not without
controversy. We'll have that story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Do you watch your vision? I mean, every once in a while, I watch it. Actually, I'm lying. I watch it every year, because it's fun. It's a
spectacle of music that pits country against country. It goes into the final round this weekend in Tel Aviv. And it's just fun entertainment, 20
countries will compete for the title as fans around the world tune in to the extravagant, colorful, sometimes a little cheesy broadcast on Saturday.
But Israel is also competing with itself as it uses the contest to rebrand.
CNN Hadas Gold has more from Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The party is on for the 2019 Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This song makes you scream body.
GOLD: Israel has invested millions into hosting the competition, part of an effort to rebrand the country as a top destination for a fun, sunny
holiday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of Israel are happy and we wish good luck to our candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're feeling hopeful. Yes, winning in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's great to be here in Israel, in Tel Aviv.
GOLD: But Eurovision comes at a tense time for the country after a flair up of violence between militants in Gaza and the Israeli army last week. A
shaky cease-fire was restored just as rehearsal started. And some activists are calling for a boycott --
(CHANTING)
GOLD: -- over Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
MATTAN HELMAN, HADASH POLITICAL PARTY: We want them to start the party to work together and to see there is another thing that happen 100 kilometers
from them.
[14:55:06] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop, don't say a word, I know just what you heard that it's a land of war and occupation.
GOLD: The conflict got a mention in a satirical promo about Israel made by the state broadcaster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there's a lot here to be seen.
GOLD: Praised by some as self-deprecating --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- you'll see the prizes, you'll say --
GOLD: -- slammed by others for making light of stereotypes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And most of us are Jews but only some of us are agreeing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
GOLD: Everywhere you look, Israelis are thinking about their country's image, breaking the silence, an NGO representing former soldiers, calling
on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank bought a billboard along the road from the airport into the city, playing on the Eurovision theme Dare to
Dream.
ACHIYA SCHATZ, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BREAKING THE SILENCE: For us, if we want to build bridges through music, we need to take apart walls that
are being built by occupation.
GOLD: At Eurovision, though, the message is one of unity and leaving politics off the stage.
Reigning champion, Netta Barzilai, brought the competition to her home country with the song "Toy." About inclusivity and positivity, a feeling
she hopes permeates this year's contest.
NETTA BARZILAI, ISRAELI SINGER: From all these countries, all these cultures combined together, this is a festival of light. For people to
boycott light is spreading darkness.
GOLD (on-camera): Nearly 200 million people are expected to tune in to the final on Saturday, which will culminate in a public vote and a new
champion.
Politics or not, the show will go on as Eurovision chooses next year's sound and vision.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And fans are saying goodbye to what could be the world's grouchiest feline, Grumpy Cat, who became a celebrity because of her crabby
looking face has sadly died, RIP, Grumpy Cat. Her owners say she passed away at the age of seven on Thursday.
The cat whose real name is Tardar Sauce, became a sensation in 2012. The original meme, you might remember, that's when her owners posted her
pictures and videos online and her cranky looks, arguably, made her the most popular cat on the internet.
Her grouchy face even became one of the first viral memes. Rest in peace, Grumpy.
Thanks to all of you for watching tonight. At the top of the house, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" takes it away with a lot more on our top stories. All the
business headlines as well as the latest news.
I'm Hala Gorani. If it's your weekend, have a great one. And I'll see you next time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
