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Obama Eyes Putin for Campaign Hacking; Aleppo Rebels Claim New Evacuation Agreement; Venezuela's Cash Crisis; Another Deadly Explosion Hits Turkey; New "Star Wars" Movie Opening has The Force; Philippines Vows to Keep Up War On Drugs; The Tempest Gets A 21st- Century Treatment. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired December 17, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:00:11] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Laying the blame on Vladimir Putin. Barack Obama points to the highest level of the Russian government for interfering with the U.S. election campaign.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: New hopes for people in East Aleppo, rebels say they've reached another evacuation agreement this after the previous one fell apart.
ALLEN: Plus, Venezuela's economic gross (ph) grow deeper as people run low unusable cash.
HOWELL: Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States at around the world. I'm George Howell.
ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen, CNN "Newsroom" starts right now.
HOWELL: It is 4:00 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast. The U.S. President Barack Obama says that Russian cyber attacks stopped during the U.S. presidential campaign this only after he saw the Russian leader at the G20 Summit and told him to cut it out.
ALLEN: That's a quote, "cut it out." On Friday at his final news conference of the year, Mr. Obama said there is no doubt the Kremlin was behind last summer's breach of the Democratic National Committee's e-mail server. He also said he warned Putin of serious consequences if the hacking continued.
(BEGIN VIDEO-CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Based on uniform intelligence assessments, the Russians were responsible for hacking the DNC. And that as a consequence it is important for us to review all elements of that and make sure that we are preventing that kind of interference through cyber attacks in the future.
(END VIDEO-CLIP)
HOWELL: So with these Russian hacking attacks it raises two questions, really.
ALLEN: A lot of questions, but the first is what was Moscow trying to gain? The second, what can Washington do about it?
Here is CNN's Jim Sciutto with a closer look at both.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I told Russia to stop it.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: President Obama for the first time publicly blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for hacking the 2016 U.S. election.
OBAMA: The intelligence that I've seen gives me great confidence in their assessment that the Russians carried out this hacked, the hack of the DNC and the hack of John Podesta. Not much happens to Russia without Vladimir Putin.
SCIUTTO: And the CIA and FBI agree as to what, Director John Brennan telling the CIA workforce in an internal message that, "There is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election."
U.S. intelligence and law enforcement assessed that Moscow had multiple possible motives, undermine confidence in the vote, weaken Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump. The president said he delivered a stern warning to Putin at the G20 Summit in China in September.
OBAMA: When I saw President Putin in China I felt that the most effective way to ensure that that didn't happen was to talk to him directly and tell him to cut it out. There are going to be some serious consequences if he didn't.
SCIUTTO: Still, U.S. officials say that Russia's hacking of U.S. political organizations continues unabated. Since the election one attempted breach targeted the Clinton campaign though unsuccessfully.
President-elect Trump, however, continues to dismiss the U.S. assessment that Russia is responsible despite the fact that he is being provided the intelligence behind that assessment, it is classified briefings.
And he saw to divert attention back to one of the revelations glean from the e-mails stolen by Russia tweeting, "Are we talking about the same cyber attack where it was revealed that the head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?'
I'm told that the CIA director's message come as many CIA staffers are frustrated even angry to be accused of partisanship in their response to the Russian hacking. The GOP chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee also comes into the defense of intelligence staff saying that they leave their politics at the door.
Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Jim Sciutto, thank you. So these accusations of Russian hacking are new headlines here in the United States, but other -- in other parts of the world this is old news.
ALLEN: Officials and the former Soviet Republic alleged they've been targeted by Russian hackers for years. CNN's Ivan Watson said they even tried to warn the west, but were ignored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Kremlin is vigorously denying accusations that Russia hacked and targeted the U.S. presidential election of November, but a number of former Soviet Republics, leaders, and former leaders from those countries are adding their own criticism and accusations saying that they've been warning the U.S. government for years about similar tactics coming from Russia targeting their own democracies. Take a listen.
[04:05:11] MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, FORMER GEORGIAN PRESIDENT: I almost was like vindicate when the same administration in Washington suddenly started to speak about Russian involvement in the elections because we -- it's for me -- to tell you (ph), they were the same people telling us, "No, no, we cannot possibly to be true." And now it came to their doorsteps.
And so -- and of course he does all those things. Of course, he's mess -- he is in glue great master. He controls the greatest amount of black catch (ph) anybody had ever controlled in history.
JANIS GARISONS, LATVIA DEFENSE SECRETARY: We've been facing that I think already for at least inform -- when it comes to information of warfare for least for, I think 10 years probably some scenes put to you discovered now as new in, you know, of the election campaign they've been seeing it already, yes.
WATSON: Here in Kiev, the Ukrainian government says it has recently come under at least 10 major cyber attacks targeting government agencies like the Ministry of Finance, the State Treasury, the State Railway Company, and on Friday the Ministry of Infrastructure said that its website was taken down by a cyber attack
Now, the Ukrainian government has not yet pointed fingers. It's very difficult to try to figure out who is behind some of this cyber attacks. But last December, a series cyber attack targeted computers from -- an electricity company here causing blockout in more than 100 Ukrainian cities and partial blackouts in more than 150 other Ukrainian cities.
In that case, Ukrainian and U.S. government investigators came to the conclusion that this did have Russian fingerprints on it that there was a virus introduced by a corrupted Microsoft Word file that targeted those computers. And, of course, Ukraine from more than two years has been fighting against separatist that have been strongly supported by Ukraine's neighbored to the east, that is Russia. Ivan Watson CNN, Kiev.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: It looks like Donald Trump is getting closer to making another nomination announcement. His senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, tells CNN that Trump is set to nominate South Carolina Congressman Mick Mulvaney to head the White House Office of Management and Budget.
HOWELL: In that role, he would manage the White House's budget programs as policies and oversee purchases by the federal government. The Republican law maker met with Trump in New York last week. He co- founded the Conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has clashed with Republican Party leaders.
ALLEN: Trump's nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel is drawing both criticisms and praise. The president-elect has tap campaign advisor, David Friedman, for the job. Friedman is in favor of moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
HOWELL: And that would affine decades of U.S. policy. Friedman is also book (ph) at the two state solutions for Israel and Palestinians. We have more analysis from CNN Global Affairs Correspondents, Elise Labott.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELISE LABBOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In tapping his long time friend and bankruptcy lawyer, David Friedman, as his ambassador to Israel, Donald Trump move to make good on a campaign promise.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: We will send a clear signal that there is no daylight between America and our most reliable ally, the state of Israel.
LABBOT: Israel's right-wing Education Minister Naftali Bennett praised Friedman calling him a "great friend of Israel". By appointing the hard line, Friedman as ambassador, Trump could be signaling plans to reverse decades of U.S. policy towards Israel.
Friedman, an orthodox Jew has no experience in diplomacy. He strongly supports legalizing settlements and Israel annexing the West Bank and his question that need for a Palestinian state writing that a two state solution appears, "impossible as long as the Palestinians are unwilling to renounce violence against Israel or recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state."
AARON MILLER, DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR, WILSON CENTER: I'm reminded an alliance from "Wizard of Oz" when Dorothy lands and sister of little dog Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. The issue is the positions that have been attributed to him on issues like two state solution settlement activity that clearly contradict decades of U.S. foreign policy.
TRUMP: We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem. LABBOT: In his statement, Friedman said he look forward to doing his job, "from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," echoing his promise to Israelis in Jerusalem in October.
DAVID FRIEDMAN, U. S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL NOMINEE: The law provides that the obligations to move the embassy to Jerusalem can be waived at the desire of the state department. The reaction from Donald Trump is going to be, "You know what guys, you're all fired."
LABBOT: For decades, U.S. presidents have argued the status of Jerusalem which both Israelis and Palestinians see as their rightful capital can only be settled as part of a peace deal.
[04:10:08] Friedman has criticized the left leading Jewish lobby, J Street, which has criticized some Israeli policies calling them, "far worse than kapos-Jews who turned in their fellow Jews in the Nazi death camps". As a response to those comments, Friedman said, "They're not Jewish and they're not pro-Israeli."
In a statement to the group that supports the two state solution for Israelis and Palestinians said it was "vehemently opposed" to Friedman's nomination calling it "reckless and putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk."
Current and former diplomat say that by picking Friedman as ambassador and promising to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, Donald Trump is running counter to his professed desire, which is making what he call the ultimate deal between Israelis and Palestinians, because there was a serious doubt about whether the U.S. can continue to be an honest broker in future mid-east peace talks.
Elise Labbot, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Elise Labott, thank you. We will talk about that and much, much more with CNN Politics Reporter Eugene Scott live this hour from Washington via Skype. Eugene, good to have you.
So, look, at the beginning of the show we talked about this, the president taking a firm stands on who is to blame for the hacking, the Russian president he believes. But making sure it's downplay and it rift between his administration and the Trump transition team, let's listen to what the president of the United States had to say. We can talk about it here in a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: For the respect to the transition, I think they would the first to acknowledge that we have done everything we can to make sure that they are successful as I promised and that will continue. My hope is that the president-elect is going to similarly be concerned with making sure that we don't have potential foreign influence in our election process.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOWELL: The president there downplaying a rift, Eugene, but, again, using the word hope, hoping that they will be on the same page as Donald Trump takes over, takes the Oval Office.
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: They certainly need some concern that they will not be. We saw earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest suggest that Donald Trump is more aware of Russian involvement into hacking that he has left on.
Ernest was expressing his frustration that Trump does not seem to be as proactive as he will like in working with the Obama administration in finding a solution to this problem that the Obama administration has been calling out for some months now.
HOWELL: What to talk about the President-elect Donald Trump in Orlando, Florida on the "Thank You Tour" on stage, this is his natural element in front of the crowd. People who adore him, many people who voted for him, but I do want to play a sound-bite from that gathering without commentary here, Donald Trump describing his own crowd. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You people were vicious, violent, screaming, where's the wall, we want the wall. Screaming, prison, prison, lock her up. I mean, you are gone crazy. I mean, you are nasty and mean and vicious and you wanted to win, right? But now you're mellow and you're cool and you're not nearly as vicious or violent, right, because we won.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: The words vicious, violent, screaming, nasty, mean, vicious, but now mellow, Eugene?
SCOTT: It was a surprising characterization from the president-elect considering his candidate -- I am sorry, his surrogates spent months denying those characterizations from people on the left and even people on the right.
We have seen firsthand activists and journalist and be physically and verbally assaulted at these rallies and out on the trail from supporters of Donald Trump. But he says that they have change and everybody is interesting to see how things move going forward from this point.
HOWELL: There was some reporting that one reporter who had an empty water bottle, I believed, thrown. So, you know, obviously we'll have to continue to monitor how these events come together, especially when it comes to the press.
You know this -- in many times just young men and women who are just getting out of college, getting into their first jobs, covering the president of the United States and finding themselves in very dangerous, dangerous situations.
Also, I want to talk about David Friedman, Trump's pick for Ambassador to Russia and I want to also show if we could just many people who have come together in this cabinet. So far we are starting to get a sense of the Trump cabinet.
Eugene, as you look at this list, David Friedman included, what do you take from the statement that Donald Trump is making by the picks that he is choosing?
SCOTT: Well, it certainly seems like in many situations he values loyalty as has been reported before.
[04:15:04] Friedman does not have much domestic policy or foreign policy experience. But, we do know that he was an attorney for Donald Trump during a very difficult time in his career when his casinos were facing bankruptcy.
I think we will be surprised to see what happens from this community of future leaders given what they've done in the past. We really don't have much of an idea of where they will go in the future.
HOWELL: Let's talk specifically about David Friedman. Eugene, this would be a major shift from what we've seen in past administrations with relations with Israel, specifically with how the United States views Jerusalem.
SCOTT: Very much so. Friedman strongly believes that Jerusalem should be the undivided capital of Israel, something that U.S. Domestic Policy does not argued or supported in decades. But quite frankly, this is not that big of a shock considering how Trump has campaigned. He has been very vocal about the fact that he would be take Israel policy or the U.S. policy, and Israel further to the right than we have stood in past years.
HOWELL: Donald Trump come January 20th will take the oath of office and become president of the United States. There are some, though, many Democrats, I believe who are looking at electors now. They are looking at, you know, your electors coming together hoping that that would make a difference to possibly stop Donald Trump. But, Eugene, tell us, you know, what is the feeling about electors? Will this just be a rubber stamp?
SCOTT: Yeah. The chances that electors will not elect Donald Trump this Monday when they are expect to vote is pretty much close to zero. Donald Trump as of now -- everyone should expect him to become the next president of the United States.
I think, well, it's very interesting is quite a few Democrats were hoping to get an intelligence briefing before they were able to vote this Monday regarding Russia's involvement in the election, but that is not going to happen.
HOWELL: And, Eugene, just to give our viewers some background on that. So in the United States we have the popular vote, the voters then choose a slate of electors to come together and those electors, they cast the final vote to decide the president of the United States.
There are some faithless electors. People, who can change their minds, can go a different direction. But, again, as it has been seen and, you know, presidential elections before, this does tend to be a rubber stamp. So, we will obviously monitor that and follow that news.
Eugene Scott, live in Washington. Thanks for your time.
SCOTT: Thank you.
ALLEN: A head here another deadly explosion hits Turkey, this time targeting off duty soldiers. We'll have that coming up.
HOWELL: Plus, evacuations have halted in Aleppo, Syria, but there is word that there are maybe a new agreement on getting more civilians out. We'll have that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:20:14] RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Richard Quest and this is this the top business headlines.
U.S. President Barack Obama has threatened Russia with retaliation the cyber attacks during the election campaign. The president's message to Vladimir Putin is the United States can do stuff to you. I'm not sure this is top of the agenda during the president's final news conference before the holidays.
And he hopes that "Wall Street" would finish that we get a new record with dashed (ph). My report from U.S. Department of Defense, markets in New York gave up their Friday gains after a story broke about China seizing an American underwater drone to the South China Sea. Still, the Dow managed to finish positive territory for the six consecutive years.
The new Star Wars movie "Rogue One" in $29 million from Thursday night's opening while it eclipse this other blockbuster, Thursdays this year. Still came short and compare it to last year "Star Wars, The Force Awakens." It could be box office take this, again, we will signal faith in Disney's direction with the Star Wars franchise.
Germany's biggest airline Lufthansa is to team up with Etihad Airways. They sell tickets jointly on several routes. A surprise turn around, Lufthansa has been the biggest critic of the Gulf carriers Etihad has also owns a 29 percent stake in Air Berlin, Lufthansa's domestic rival.
Those are the latest headlines, I'm Richard Quest, in New York.
HOWELL: The stories we're following in Turkey, Turkish Armed Forces say that 13 of it soldiers are dead after an explosion in Kayseri. Reports say that a car bomb detonated near a public bus that was transporting off-duty soldiers and civilians.
ALLEN: 48 more soldiers are wounded, but we haven't heard any details about civilians. It was just a week ago they were two blocks in Istanbul that left dozens of people dead. A splinter group of the PKK claimed those attacks. We turn to Syria now, in East Aleppo rebel group says they have reached a new agreement to resume evacuations from the city. Convoys carrying people to safety, tangles stopped on Friday because of a breach in the cease fire.
HOWELL: Still not exactly clear, though, who broke that cease-fire, but innocent people are paying the price for it. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, SENIOR CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They were supposed to be brought to safety instead they are running for their lives once again. A convoy them to take this East Aleppo residents out of the besiege areas under fired.
This eye witness says he was part of the convoy stop he claims by an Iranian militia fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar al- Assad.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PLEITGEN: The Syrian government has a very different account. It says rebel fighters in a convoy were carrying concealed weapons and that they are to blame for the violence that reportedly left a number of people dead.
Evacuations that had already succeeded in getting thousands out of Eastern Aleppo ground to an immediate halt as the blame game begin. Russia making a puzzling announcement saying it believed the evacuation of East Aleppo was complete and that only hard-line rebel fighter remains in the enclave.
Turkey which helps negotiate the agreement shooting down those blames. The Red Cross and UNICEF for their part say tens of thousands of people including more than 1,000 children are still trapped inside the war-torn city. For those that made it out, the anguish was almost too much to bear.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PLEITGEN: But for those still trapped inside, the tiny rebel enclave in Eastern Aleppo, the situation is even worst. Stock in the bitter of cold with no food and no medical supplies left to pray that the violence won't begin again.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Well, President Obama spoke about the worsening situation in Aleppo in his final news conference on Friday.
ALLEN: And he defended his administration's policy there and criticized the Syrian government and its allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO-CLIP)
OBAMA: Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone with the Assad regime and its allies, Russia and Iran. And this blood and these atrocities are on their hands. I understand the impulse to want to do something, but ultimately what I have to do is to think about what can we sustain, what is realistic? But I continue to believe that it was the right approach. Given what realistically we could get done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:25:09] HOWELL: Sliding (ph) Russia was a central true line in Obama's remarks. Mr. Obama says that the country has repeatedly blocked United Nations from taking more action in Syria.
ALLEN: And we'll have Fred Pleitgen live from Aleppo in our next hour.
Well, the U.S. is accusing China of unlawfully seizing one of its underwater drones. The U.S. military says the incident took place in a contested South China Sea, that's about 160 kilometer from the Philippine port of Subic Bay.
HOWELL: U.S. research vessel was in the area Thursday to retrieve the drone similar to the one that you see here. That's when the Pentagon says that a Chinese warship swooped in and snatched it with the small boat. The U.S. says the drone was measuring ocean conditions and was not there spying.
ALLEN: Interesting little story.
HOWELL: Yeah.
ALLEN: That's the drone, right, out from under (inaudible). Coming up here, the two men who should be on the same page when it comes to Russian interference when U.S. political process said, they seem to be getting farther apart.
HOWELL: Plus, Venezuelans caught up in yet another economic crisis. They're stuck with bank notes that are now worthless.
We are live from Atlanta broadcasting across the U.S. and around the world this hour. You're watching CNN Newsroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, you're watching CNN Newsroom. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.
ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. Here, check it our top stories we'll following this hour. Turkish armed forces and 13 soldiers were killed in an explosion in -- (inaudible)?
HOWELL: Kayseri. [04:30:04] ALLEN: Kayseri, thank you George. Source say a bus carrying off-duty soldiers was hit by an apparent car bomb near a university campus, 48 more are wounded but those numbers don't include possible civilian casualties.
HOWELL: We're obviously continues to follow the story there in Kayseri. Rebel group in Aleppo says that it's reached a new evacuation agreement with Russian and Iranian forces. The evacuation process, as you should know, stopped in the city on Friday. Rights groups say that militant rebels broke the cease fire.
ALLEN: The U.S. military is demanding China return an underwater drone seized by one of its warships. The Pentagon said this unmanned underwater vehicles similar to the ones seen here was snatch in the South China Sea near the Philippines. It claims the drone wasn't fine just measuring ocean conditions when China swooped in and took it.
HOLLEW: And the U.S. president, who's leaving very little doubt on who held responsible for cyber hackings during the U.S. election the man you see here, the president of Russia Vladimir Putin. Barack Obama says that he told Vladimir Putin, "Cut it out" when the two men were at the G20 Summit in China. Mr. Obama says the hacking men stop but the damage had already been done with hacked e-mails posted on WikiLeaks.
ALLEN: The fact that president-elect Trump is openly skeptical about the Russian hacking has put him at serious odds with the Obama administration.
HOWELL: Trump and President Obama had been outwardly civil to each other since the election, but as CNN's Jim Acosta explains the hacking controversy is putting a strain on their relations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSECORRESPONDENT: After a tense 48 hours of attacks and counterattacks, President Obama tried to turn down the temperature, urging Donald Trump to get on board with the probe into Russia's hacking into the American political system.
OBAMA: That should be a bipartisan issue. That shouldn't be partisan issue. And my hope is that the president-elect is going to similarly be concerned with making sure that we don't have potential foreign force in our election process.
ACOSTA: But earlier in the day, the president-elect was stirring the pot, suggesting on Twitter that Moscow's cyber theft of democratic e- mail serve the greater good, tweeting "Are we talking about the same cyber attack where it was revealed that the head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?" Trump is also punching back at White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF UNITED STATES: Although this foolish guy Josh Earnest, I don't know if he's talking to President Obama. I mean, maybe he's getting these orders from somebody else.
ACOSTA: After Earnest accused the president-elect of egging on a cyber operation...
TRUMP: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you are able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.
ACOSTA: That intelligence officials have now traced back to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
JOHN EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Republican nominee for president was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent, because he believed that that would help his campaign.
ACOSTA: The war or word shattered a political cease fire that began when Trump visited the White House.
OBAMA: I just had the opportunity to have an excellent conversation with present-elect Trump.
TRUMP: Mr. President, it was a great honor being with you.
ACOSTA: And extended all the way to just last Tuesday in Wisconsin.
TRUMP: President Obama, who by way, has been very nice and his wife has been very, very nice.
ACOSTA: Now, top Trump surrogates are demanding the president in the battle show his love of country.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, SENIOR TRUMP ADVISER: If you want to shut this down and you actually love the country enough to have this piece of transition in our great democracy between the Obama administration and the Trump administration. There are couple people and pretty prominent positions, one is named Obama, one is named Hillary Clinton.
ACOSTA: But Democrats argue a grave menace is being sweep under the rod from Hillary Clinton who told donors at the cyber attack tip the election to Trump.
HIILLARY CLINTON: Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyber attacks against our electoral system, against our democracy apparently because he has a personal beat against' me.
ACOSTA: To her former campaign chair John Podesta who blasted the FBI for focusing more on Clinton's e-mails that on the Russians threat, writing in the Washington Post, "What's broken in the FBI must be fixed and quickly." The Trump supporters insist it's time to move on.
CHRIS COLLINS, NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE: At worst it was the truth that came out that had an impact on the election.
ACOSTA: And a political truce appears to be back in place between the Trump transition team and the White House. After President Obama declined to attack Trump at a new conference earlier in the day, the president-elect return the favor at a rally here in Orlando.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Jim, thank you. The government said that it was an attempt to stop criminals but it turned into chaos at a Venezuelan bank, you see here, and many things. More on the country's currency crisis ahead
[04:35:02] ALLEN: Plus, from a baseball most coverage stars fall victim's to smugglers. CNN Freedom Project looked at the flight of Cuban baseball hopefuls. That's also ahead here. And with us, you're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom, I'm George Howell. In the nation of Venezuela, their cash problems have gotten even worse.
ALLEN: The country's government announced, that 100-bolivar note would be discontinued but protest broke out after the currency set to replace it didn't arrive at many banks, imagine that.
Our Rafael Romo has more on Venezuela's latest economic prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an extraordinary sight. Long lines of desperate Venezuelans trying to get rid of their 100-bolivar bills. The bolivar is the Venezuelan currency. Some people carrying travel bags stuffed with packs of bills.
This is chaos, this mand said. If you go to banks, you'll see people bringing in bills in cardboard boxes to exchange them because they're worthless. They are doing it because last Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro ordered the 100-bolivar bill discontinued. State-run media said it would be replaced with coins of the same value, but the government has yet to distribute them.
Now consumers are stuck. Banks no longer accept the bills, but ATMs are still dispensing them because the replacements haven't arrived.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: This woman says many businesses also no longer accept the 100- bolivar bill, so consumers like her have to use their credit cards to make purchases. According to the international monetary fund.
It's just one more blow to the Venezuelan economy, which has been sputtering over the last few years. Inflation is expected to rise an estimated 470 percent this year.
[04:40:03] Next year, the IMF says, it may rise to more than 1600 percent. The Venezuelan currency lost 55 percent of its value just in November.
Venezuelan authorities had announced they would roll out 500-bolivar bills this week. At the highest official exchange rate, 500 bolivars are worth 75 U.S. cents. (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO: All you can buy with the 500-bolivar bill, this man says, is a piece of bread and you will still be short by 50-bolivars.
The communist say the bottom line is that the Venezuelan economy is in tatters. And the government has failed so far to find a solution.
ASDRUBAL OLIVEROS, VENEZUELAN ECONOMIST (Through Translation): This accumulated inflation is very, very aggressive, and reflects the monetary policy failure and steps taken to reduce inflation by the Chavez government and also the current president, Maduro.
ROMO: The government says it will make available bills of much higher denominations up to 20,000 bolivar soon. In the meantime, people are left without answers and wondering if their cash is now worthless.
Rafael Romo, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The Philippine president is bound to keep up his controversial war on drugs.
HOWELL: In Singapore on Friday, Rodrigo Duterte also insinuated he would not stop until every drug dealer is dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: My campaign against drug will not stop until the end of my term, until the last pusher and the last drug lord are (inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The Philippine National Police say almost 6,000 people have died in the war on drugs since Duterte took office in July.
HOWELL: And many people there, you know, they say that they believe it is brought peace, you know, and more peaceful situation to many communities that have dealt with drug dealers, things of that nature, but again, of the president of the Philippines admitting that he has killed people, he's admitted killing suspects when he was the mayor of Davao City, and even admitted it to our own Will Ripley in a report that we'll have for you later.
The lure of big money and fame drives many baseball players to the U.S. Major League. But when it comes to Cuban athletes, that desire can come with a sense of twist.
ALLEN: There are inference into the majors is sometime facilitated by criminals who demand a cut of their lucrative contracts. The latest CNN Freedom Project report looks into a troubling practice smuggling Cuban baseball players into the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cuban players are some of the best players Major League Baseball. But there's a dark side of the MLB that most people don't know about. How these Cuban players actually got here?
Over the past few years, federal investigators have uncovered a vast and vicious human trafficking network. One that supplies the MLB with this given talent. Federal prosecutor say lots of these Cuban players came in this way, including some big names, Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig and they're lucky to be alive.
At least six smugglers have pleaded guilty or being convicted so far and this is how they describe it. It starts in Cuba, where players sneak onto smugglers boat. These criminals could take them straight to the U.S., but then the players would be eligible for the baseball draft and land smaller contracts.
Instead, smugglers ferry players into Cancun, Mexico. There, investigators say the smugglers hold players and their families against their will until they sign contracts with specific agents and promise a huge chunk of their future salaries.
PAUL MINOFF, ATTORNEY FOR SMUGGLED BASEBALL PLAYERS: They were kidnap victims essentially than they weren't thankfully beaten their name or tortured but they had no free will. They were told where to go, when you go. They were given minimal necessities and held until they could provide some financial benefits of the people who took them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when outfielder Leonys Martin landed at $15.5 million contract with the Texas Rangers back in 2011, here's are the public didn't see. $5.5 million were supposed to go back to his smugglers. Martin exposed that when sued a smugglers back in 2014.
These Cubans appeared to be free agents in the sense that can be further from the truth. This underworld involved so many smuggling rings that people are starting to ask how much the MLB actually knows about these. The MLB declined to comment
BEN DANIEL, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You add on the layers of the fraudulent applications for passports, the fraudulent paperwork. Everything now becomes a fraud and if baseball is involved in seeing that paperwork, what other conclusion can you draw that, wow, they certainly don't have 2020 vision on this, willful blindness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After all, convicted smugglers say professional American baseball scouts are actually visiting these Cuban players when they're stuck in Mexico and held against their will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:45:12] ALLEN: That is an unwell story there from our Freedom Project. Folks if you want see more about it. You can to go to our website cnn.com/freedomproject. All right. It is cold, cold, cold.
HOWELL: And getting colder.
ALLEN: That's all in that to the Northern U.S. and it may get more dangerous if ice accumulates. First, Karen Maginnis is here or with us and tell us more about it. Karen it's quite really vicious.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: It is vicious because it composes such a wide swath of the United States, 38 states in the lower 48 states are seeing such bitterly cold temperature, windchill factors that are deadly. Road conditions that are deadly and people are headed out trying to get some place for this week that precedes Christmas.
All right, where you see that pink shaded area through Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and to Virginia as well as into the and areas across coastal regions of New Jersey, that's what we're seeing that icy mix (ph) but not to be outdone, we've got whiteout conditions, icy roads and bitterly cold windchill factors down to as low as 50 degrees below zero windchill.
Just to give you an idea nothing else take away from this that the number that you see just to the left. That indicates a windchill factor for Chicago. They're saying this could be the coldest start to the NFL game on Sunday. We'll that's the NFL. OK. They'll suit up to that, they'll warm up, they're going to play but this is beyond that.
This is deadly, potentially deadly weather. When you look at windchill factors minus 27, minus 50 Bismarck or Duluth, Minnesota possibly and that dives all the way down towards areas into Oklahoma. I took a look at the Department of Transportation cameras on the roadways in Iowa is so treacherous. Lots of people have just -- they're just forgoing the idea of even getting out on the highways because it is so icy and so miserable.
Now, you're not going to see just pile and piles of snow, you're looking at dangerous driving road conditions. There you see the plunge in Chicago maybe above zero. Then kind of rebounds just a little bit as we go into the next few days preceding Christmas. And New York City, well it's going to be icy there as well.
Coming up in the next hour, George and Natalie, our own Derek Van Dam that's stuck in the snow in the Rockies and he's pretty hardy, we're going to show that.
ALLEN: Yeah, you are here and thank you so Derek can go play but exactly run a little bit of trouble so, yeah, we'll have that. Thanks Karen.
HOWELL: Karen, thank you.
ALLEN: All right. Shakespeare's 16th century birthplace is now home to some 21st century theater magic.
HOWELL: The Tempest meets technology. That's story ahead. Stay with us.
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[04:50:26] DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I am Don Riddell with your CNN World Sport headlines. Let's start in the start in the Bundesliga where Hoffenheim, one of only two teams in the top five European leagues was unbeaten this season, the other one had beaten side Real Madrid and after a tough match against Borussia Dortmund, Hoffenheim was still unbeaten settling for two draw when the visitors tied it early in the second half. It was Hoffenheim ninth draw of the season and they put them third in the league.
In other news, Finnish Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas has emerge as the latest candidate to join Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes following the surprise return of Nico Rosberg, it is a bit like a game of musical chairs but apparently Finnish driver Bottas could be the newest man at the Silver Arrows according to the BBC. The Williams Team Principal, Claire Williams says she'd be prepared to let him go just as long as a credible and experienced driver can be found to replace him.
Maria Sharapova was taken her first tentative steps back towards competitive tennis. The Russian superstar is serving a doping ban and so she can't play on the WTA Tour until April but she was able to compete in the inaugural Monica Puig Invitational in Puerto Rico. Puig become the national hero when she won gold at the Rio Olympics this year and she beat Sharapova in three sets. Sharapova described the experience as "Very special."
That is a quick look at your Sport Headlines. I'm Don Riddell.
HOWELL: So if you are a fan of Shakespeare, you'll recognize the line "We are such stuff as dreams are made on" on display, The Tempest.
ALLEN: Pretty good George. Now some 21st century theater magic, it something to drive that point home. Here's Nick Glass' story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Made to come at customs, high production values at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Frankly, we expected it.
But this time the RSC's seem to have surpassed itself almost psychedelically.
GREGORY DORAN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: In Shakespeare's 400th anniversary, we wanted to have a kind of finale to the year. And The Tempest to Shakespeare's last plays, it's the last (inaudible) play. It requires an extraordinary magical effect and we wanted to make it very special in this particular year.
GLASS: Gregory Doran was alerted to something on YouTube, the presentation by the technology giant Intel.
DORAN: This big whale swam onto this huge screen behind the CEOs head, and then he said we know we can do this but also if we could do that. The whale swam through the screen and swam out to the audience in his heads and I said, "That is what I wanted for The Tempest."
GLASS: And so the RSC embraced digital magic capturing and act as movement with special cameras and computers, so-called motion capture and they consulted an expert.
ANDY SERKIS, ACTOR/FOUNDER, IMAGINARIUM STUDIOS: Something like a combination of theater, video game and film making skills all coming together really and it's what we call at the imaginary, the birth of next generation story telling.
GLASS: Many of the special effects were designed for one character. The spirit, Ariel he gets a skintight body suit, the kind used by actors and movies like X-Men and he's wired up with 17 senses from head to toe.
MARK QUARTLEY ACTOR "ARIEL", THE TEMPEST: And no it's not. It's not. I suppose there's an awareness of the physical gestures but you'd be doing it anyway if you're playing Ariel I think. So no, it's quite exciting. It gives some a bit more power I think. Ariel can create different version of himself at well.
GLASS: So beyond the bank of computers that goes the avatar of Arial took shape. You would given rare access to the final few days of rehearsal to marble a little to eavesdrop.
First glimpse then of The Tempest visually re-imagines. Ariel, his avatar and his master, the magician Prospero.
SIMON RUSSELL BEALE, ACTOR "PROSPERO" THE TEMPEST: The evolution, there's always been very Catholic in his taste, you know, I think it will make anything that's an interest, there's another tool in the box in the very impressive one. Then yes, I'm sure he'll be around, I'm sure he'll develop.
[04:55:08] GLASS: This has been a two year collaboration between the RSC Intel and imaginary Ariel can shapeshifts in real time before our very eyes. And his avatar projected from the computer anywhere on stage. Upon moment a Harpy, half bird, half woman.
DORAN: This is always is a explored, the new and innovative and the novel, we've always wanted to exploit whatever was -- whatever possibilities were out there so this is just the exception of that.
GLASS: The human Ariel is always there (inaudible) in out of the shadows and acting a way. But it his avatar who seems to tell the story of the shipwreck that bring Prospero enemies to him. He's a Ariel (ph) almost vaporous.
That said the special-effects were made in service of Shakespeare's words and the acting their key emotional moments was always between flesh and blood players and them alone.
Nick Glass, CNN with Ariel and his avatar at Stratford-upon-Avon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: It seems cool.
ALLEN: Yeah a real cool for Shakespeare. And it's kind of Stratford- upon-Avon. HOWELL: Yeah.
ALLEN: And that wraps of our hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Natalie Allen,
HOWELL: And I'm George Howell but stay with us, the second hour of CNN Newsroom right after the break.
ALLEN: I'm not going anywhere.
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