Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump Appointing Son-in-Law Jared Kushner; "La La Land" Leading the Pack; Trump: Meryl Streep Overrated; Russian Town to Name After Donald Trump; President Obama Saying Goodbye; Jack Ma and Trump have in Common; A Bitter Cold Gripping Parts of Europe. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired January 10, 2017 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump will move to appoint his son-in-law as an adviser, but there are concerns this could violate anti-nepotism laws.
Plus, in just a matter of hours, Barack Obama will be giving his farewell speech in Chicago. We will hear from a former supporter who is now his critic.
And later, the British academy of film and television arts announces this year's nominees for its awards with "La La Land" leading the pack.
Hello and welcome to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
In just a matter of hours from now, Senate confirmation hearings get underway for two of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees, General John Kelly and Senator Jeff Sessions.
In an apparently unprecedented move, fellow sitting Senator Democrat Corey Booker will testify against Sessions' nomination for attorney general. Booker says he is troubled by what he says is Sessions, quote, "failure to defend the civil rights of women, minorities and LGBT Americans."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COREY BOOKER, UNITED STATES SENATOR: Please understand, I think these are extraordinary times and they call for extraordinary measures. There's a whole spectrum of things that Jeff Sessions' own words represent a real threat to vulnerable populations in this country and is something that I feel necessary to do everything I can to speak out against.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: President-elect Trump, meanwhile, continues to face questions about Russia. More now from Jim Acosta.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With inauguration day closing in, Donald Trump is trying to change the conversation away from the cloud of questions hanging over his looming presidency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll talk about that on Wednesday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Asked about by reporters about Russia's attempt to meddle in the elections, Trump hunted to his news conference Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you trust more than Julian Assange of the NSA?
TRUMP: We'll be talking to you very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: A key question for Trump is whether he believes the U.S. intelligence community's report that concludes Russia directed hackers to try to tilt the election his way. Top transition advisers aren't offering much clarity indicating Trump believes some of the findings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: He's not denying that entities in Russia were behind this particular hacking campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But suggesting it doesn't really matter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: There's no smoking gun when it come to the nexus between these hacking activities and the election results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Over the weekend, Trump tweeted, "Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only stupid people are fools would think that as bad." Part of a softer tone toward Moscow that worries democrats and republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY GRAHAM, UNITED STATES SENATOR: If after having been briefed by our intelligence leaders Donald Trump is still unsure as to what the Russians did, that would be incredibly unnerving to me because the evidence is overwhelming.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Trump is creating even more questions with transition sources
confirming to CNN that his son-in-law Jared Kushner will serve as a senior advisor to the president. Critics wonder how Trump will hand his businesses off to his sons while other relatives like Kushner are working in the White House. "Not to worry," says Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We'll talk about it on Wednesday. It's very simple. All I can say is it's very simple. Very easy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Adding to the pre-inaugural drama, hearings for a slew of Trump's cabinet picks are getting underway and democrats are howling over delays and background material coming into the committees.
Senate Minority Leader Schumer is making his case by reprising by a 2009 letter from then-Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to the Majority Leader at that time, Harry Reid, outlining a series of standards that should be met before Obama nominees were advanced by the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK SCHUMER, UNITED STATES SENATOR: They are almost exactly what democrats requested. Mr. President, I don't bring this up to play got you. I'm doing it to show that our requests are imminently reasonable and, in fact, have been shared by leaders of both parties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now Senate Majority Leader McConnell insists there will be no hold up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH MCCONNELL, UNITED STATES SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Everybody will be properly vetted as they have been in the past and I'm hopeful that we'll get up to six or seven of the national security team in place day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: One name already generating heat is Trump's selection for attorney general, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. Gold Star parent Khizr Khan sent a letter to the Senate reminding lawmakers of Sessions past battles with civil rights groups.
Thirty years ago, a bipartisan group of senators rejected Mr. Sessions' nomination to be a federal judge. His record since then does not give us any reason to believe that those senators were in error. Trump is standing by Sessions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No, I think he's going to do good. High-quality man. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And Trump transition officials are laying out their case as to why the selection of Jared Kushner does not violate anti-nepotism laws.
[03:05:02] Their argument, that the president-elect has the broad discretion to choose the advisors he wants. But democrats up on Capitol Hill are already beginning to challenge that claim.
Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
CHURCH: Joining me now from Washington is Alex Rogers, he is a congressional correspondent for the National Journal. Good to have you with us.
ALEX ROGERS, NATIONAL JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So, let's start with Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. What potential problems with anti-nepotism laws are critics pointing to here?
ROGERS: So, he's trying to already allay some of those concerns by divesting some of his real estate holdings, relinquishing some of his control from the New York Observer, one of his media properties, and he's trying to proactively talk to federal government ethics officials as well to make sure that there won't be problems, there won't be those anti-nepotism concerns that will be eventually raised.
He's the son-in-law. He's probably one of Donald Trump's most trusted advisors, if not the most trusted adviser on a number of issues. And Donald Trump is really hoping to use him not only for his counsel, but also for advice on some foreign affairs topics, Israel, for example, and some others as well.
But he was clearly an extremely important person in the campaign and now he's rewarding -- Donald Trump is rewarding that confidence, that loyalty with the position in the White House from the earliest reports it looks like and from the statement that the president-elect has released today, Mr. Kushner is also not going to be taking a salary, it looks like.
So, they're trying to, for a position that I don't believe is -- you know, there's no Senate confirmation process here for this position, so, they're trying to make sure that there won't be a public outcry or you know, any large amount of discourse in the public about any of those anti-nepotism concerns.
CHURCH: Right. Although people still have -- are still struggling with some of the issues there. But in just a few hours from now, confirmation hearings will begin for republican Senator Jeff Sessions to become Trump's attorney general.
We are learning that two prominent democrats, Senator Corey Booker and Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights icon, will appear as witnesses against Senator Sessions. How likely is it that they and other democrats will succeed in blocking Senator Sessions' confirmation here?
ROGERS: So, you're going to need only 51 votes now to confirm Senator Sessions. Republicans have 52. So, it's pretty likely that republicans are going to stay united and push this -- push this process forward. It looks like there could even be some democrats who support Senator Jeff Sessions as well.
The confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. There is also going to be witnesses from the ACLU and the NAACP organizations that Senator Jeff Sessions called un-American about 30 years ago when he was in another confirmation process where a (AUDIO GAP).
But it looks like the democrats who are going to be focused on (AUDIO GAP) statements and his record from the past 20 years as senator, there aren't going to be enough democrats, it looks like, that are to deny him the confirmation.
It looks like for both Senator Jeff Sessions and the number of other republicans who have been nominated for a number of other positions, it doesn't look like really any of them are going to be voted down at this point.
CHURCH: All right.
ROGERS: The are still -- there are still a number of things that a number of hurdles that nominees have to jump through. FBI background checks, ethics reviews and the like. But at this moment it doesn't appear that democrats will be successful in denying Donald Trump any of these positions.
CHURCH: So, your sense, even though some of these positions are very controversial and some of them were going to slip through very easily, others people have suggested might actually have some problems. But your sense is that they will all be confirmed?
ROGERS: Unless something comes up in one of these ethics reviews or financial disclosures, it doesn't appear that democrats are going to be successful in downing any of the nominees. The democrats changed a few years back the rules so you don't need to have 60 votes. It doesn't have to be a bipartisan vote right now for any of these cabinet officials.
Senator Jeff Sessions is one of the most controversial. There are others. Some senators were looking at potential secretary of state Rex Tillerson. He's had some views on the effectiveness of sanctions that causes concerns on both sides of the aisle.
We'll see what that confirmation looks like in the coming days. He'll have, I believe a two-part hearing this week, but it doesn't look like democrat will be successful in downing that one either.
[03:10:06] Rex Tillerson has allayed many of the concerns in private meeting with senators.
CHURCH: Because that was -- Rex Tillerson was definitely seen as the one that had the most potential not to go through. So, you're feeling that his will be confirmed in the end as well?
ROGERS: Yes. The potential is, you know, is still there, but, you know, some democrats like Senator Joe Mansion of West Virginia, he's a conservative, he is inclined to vote for all of the nominees from my conversations with him unless something comes out in one of these reviews.
CHURCH: Many thanks for joining us, Alex Rogers. We appreciate your perspective on this.
ROGERS: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: Well, Meryl Streep gave an impassioned speech about bullying at the Golden Globes Sunday night directed at Donald Trump. Trump's response? He went on a Twitter tirade, calling the film legend overrated.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more on that.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump is no stranger to the red carpet. His name emblazoned on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But as he prepares for his biggest role yet as the 45th President of the United States, he's under fire from celebrities, and as usual he's firing back.
At the Golden Globe Awards, Meryl Streep tore into Trump without saying his name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter, someone he outranked in privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it. And I still can't get it out of my head because it wasn't in a movie, it was real life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Before sunrise Trump responded on Twitter, calling Streep one of the most over rated actresses in Hollywood, a Hillary flunky who lost big. For Trump, it may be good politics to spar with Hollywood liberals. Streep did support Clinton as seen last summer at the democratic convention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STREEP: Hillary Clinton will be our first woman president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: It's the latest front in America's culture wars, playing out in elections and spilling over into the theater.
On Sunday, Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton receiving several standing ovations as they attended the final Broadway performance of the Color Purple. A stark contrast from the reception Vice President- elect received at Hamilton where he was lectured by cast members from stage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we truly hope that this show has inspired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: A deeply divided country awaits Trump as he prepares to succeed President Obama. Streep was among the celebrities invited to the White House on Friday night to say farewell. Back in Los Angeles she used her Golden Globe platform to make a political plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STREEP: This instinct to humiliate when it's modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.
Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: What's different about this chapter of the country's long running culture wars is that Trump would not have won the White House without his celebrity. From reality television.
TRUMP: You're fired.
ZELENY: To his own cameos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me, where's the lobby?
TRUMP: Down the hall and to the left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks.
ZELENY: Trump's fame preceded him in politics. Yet, he drew few celebrities to his side while Clinton surrounded herself with a-list stars like Sally Field. She bristled at the mere mention of Trump when we caught up with her on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: She's running against a celebrity in Donald Trump. Do you think that...
(CROSSTALK)
SALLY FIELD, ACTRESS: You're giving celebrities a bad name by saying that.
ZELENY: But he was a TV star. Did you think that... FIELD: He was not a TV star. Come on, no.
ZELENY: Trump wore the disdain as a badge of honor.
TRUMP: And by the way, I didn't have to bring J-lo or Jay Z, the only way she gets anybody. I'm here all by myself.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: In just 11 days, Trump will have the last word, a script Hollywood cannot rewrite.
CHURCH: And former democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders now seems to be a leading voice against the incoming Trump administration.
Our Chris Cuomo moderated a CNN town hall with the Vermont senator. And this is how Sanders responded to a question about his political future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You motivated a generation of voters by talking about issues like health care, criminal justice and income inequality.
[03:15:00] And I'm afraid with Trump in the White House with republicans occupying a majority all around the country, that this is on the line and progressives need someone to rally behind. Liberals need somebody to rally behind if we want to accomplish these policy objectives.
My question to you is whether you'll take up the mantle of your presidential campaign, our political revolution and run for president in 2020.
(APPLAUSE)
BERNIE SANDERS, (D) FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Chris has heard me respond to that question before in the sense that it is much too early to be talking about that.
What is important for us to be doing today is not worry about who is going to be a candidate for president four years ago. CNN likes that. What we have got to worry about is how we deal with the issues that impact us today.
The main goal is not to worry about who is going to run for president. Worry about all of you getting involved in the political process, honoring those people who fought and died for democracy. Respect people who disagree with you, but this is your country and not just a handful of billionaires.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: And if you missed it, we will replay the entire Bernie
Sanders town hall just a little later. That starts at 10 a.m. in London, 6 p.m. in Hong Kong. Only here on CNN.
WikiLeaks founder launches a sharp attack on the U.S. report on Russian hacking. Coming up, accusations from Julian Assange.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Turkish parliament protesting proposed changes to the Constitution which would give President Erdogan more powers. Riot police push back many of the protesters. Parliament has voted to continue debating the constitutional reform package.
Iran's supreme leader is leading a large crowd gathered for the state funeral of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. And you can see Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in front of his casket.
Rafsanjani was a crucial player in the Islamic resolution and served two terms as president. He was seen as a key figure in Iran's motor movement, losing a presidential bid against hard liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. Rafsanjani died Sunday. He was 82 years old.
Well, Russia is calling U.S. allegations of hacking unfounded and a full-scale witch hunt. That comes as President-elect Donald Trump indicated his desire to improve relations with Russia.
[03:19:59] And the Kremlin says a summit between Trump and President Vladimir Putin is being planned. Last week, U.S. intelligence reports say Mr. Putin ordered an influenced campaign to hunt -- to hurt, rather, Hillary Clinton's chances in the election.
It said hackers targeted democratic groups and released information to third-party web sites like WikiLeaks. It called the campaign a significant escalation in long-time efforts by Moscow to disrupt U.S. democracy.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange slammed the report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: It is frankly quite embarrassing, I think, to the reputation of the U.S. intelligence services to be putting out something that claims to be a report like that.
This is a press release. It is clearly designed for political effect and U.S. intelligence services have been politicized by the Obama administration in the production of this report and a number of other statements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And CNN contributor and former Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty joins us now from Moscow. Thanks for being with us. So, Jill, not surprisingly Russia rejects allegations of hacking during the U.S. presidential election, but this isn't going to go away any time soon, is it?
With the U.S. intelligence report published last week calling this a significant escalation in Russia's efforts to undermine the U.S.? And now, Julian Assange now calling the intelligence report embarrassing for the U.S. So, where is this all going?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, let's look at Donald Trump. I mean, his dilemma is it's really a balancing act. He has to look as if, for domestic purposes obviously, as if he's protecting American interests.
So, he has to look as if he is taking that report seriously. On the other hand, he wants to have a good relationship with Vladimir Putin and that means that he can't damage relations with Putin because ultimately he wants to get rid of the sanctions that President Obama imposed because of the hacking.
So, what does he do? Mr. Trump is saying, yes, there was hacking, but he's not paying attention so much to Russia. He's saying others do it. China does it and other countries do it, too.
Now, Russia, before they really thought that Donald Trump would win, was in kind of a high dodge in about anti-Americanism. And then when Donald Trump won they tempered that with the idea that, you know, Donald Trump will win and things will improve. And that's about where you are now.
But they are -- the one thing that they are doing that is very strong is intense criticism of President Obama. It's no longer bad America. It is Mr. Obama who ruined the relationship between Russia and the United States.
Now, that sets him up to say, OK, if Mr. Trump improves things as we want, that will be wonderful. If he doesn't deliver, then they can revert to that anti-Americanism that they had before and say, look, that system, that American system brought him down.
CHURCH: Yes, I mean, there is so much more to talk about, isn't there? But I do want to ask you about this meeting that is -- well, we don't know. We don't have a time frame, but we do know that at some point Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet and discuss some of these issues. What were you learning about that?
DOUGHERTY: Well, we were on the call yesterday with the spokesperson for President Putin, and I think the best way to put it is they're saying, yes, we do expect that there will be a meeting. Let's wait till Donald Trump becomes the president.
But they're not saying when it would be, where it would be because that is a big deal. I think it's a very big deal for both sides. And certainly Donald Trump, you would expect, would want to make sure that he is prepared for a meeting like that.
You know, usually you don't for the first meeting just kind of bump into each other at a meeting. It usually would be planned in advance with ideas of what you want to accomplish. So, yes, in principle there will be a meeting but not a lot of details, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes, and it's difficult, too, because we know that Trump is under pressure from republicans to soften his pro-Russian stance. So, it will be interesting to see how that perhaps impacts their relationship.
We will just have to wait and see, won't we? Jill Dougherty, many thanks always to chat with you and gets your perspective on this.
Well, the incoming U.S. president is popular in Russia in part for his praise of Vladimir Putin and one town is looking for a way to honor Trump.
[03:25:00] CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: While families brave the cold in a winter that's harsh even by Russian standards, many in the town of Ryazan around 150 miles outside Moscow are hoping for a thaw in U.S.-Russian relations and pinning those hopes on Donald Trump.
So much so that Sergey Bizyukin has started a petition to rename this little street after Donald Trump. He says almost 300 have signed so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEY BIZYUKIN, RYAZAN RESIDENT (through translator): Some saw it as a joke because it was fun. Some stood for normalization of Russia-U.S. ties and some signed because they don't like the current name of the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Right now the street is called godless, a holdover from communism which rejected religion. The name change campaign slogan is make Ryazan great again, despite the recent U.S. intelligence report saying there is no doubt Vladimir Putin and Russian spy agencies are behind the hack into Democratic national Committee computers.
The president-elect says he wants to improve ties with the Kremlin, something folks at Ryazan like to hear. Like in so many towns in Russia people here in Ryazan generally have a positive view of President-elect Donald Trump. Many believe a Trump presidency could lead to better relations between
Moscow and Washington.
We didn't find a single person unhappy about Trump's ascension to the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Vladimir Putin respects Donald Trump exactly the same way that Donald Trump respects Vladimir Putin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I like family. His ties with children, wife, all of that. His ideas, he does wants to go to war. He wants to make friends. What's bad about it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He has a good program for the people and if his people live in friendship and peace, then our Russia will live in friendship and peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: As for the Donald Trump Street, there are roadblocks for a name change. Ryazan city council says streets can't be named after people who are still alive. But Sergey Bizyukin says that doesn't bother him. He believes simply launching the petition may have already led some to take a more positive view of America.
Fred Pleitgen, Ryazan, Russia.
CHURCH: We'll take a short break here. But still to come, Asia's richest man and the U.S. president-elect have something in common, both are promising to create jobs. The details from Donald Trump's and Jack Ma's meeting at Trump Tower. That is still to come. Stay with us.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to bring you up to date on the main stories we've been following this hour.
Pakistan says it has successfully test fired its first submarine launched cruise missile. It was fired from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean. The missile has a range of 450 kilometers and apparently hit its target with precise accuracy.
The four Israeli soldiers killed in a terror attack have been laid to rest. The Palestinian driver of the truck that rammed into the soldiers was shot and killed at the scene. Police have arrested nine suspects including five members of the driver's family.
And Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will step down from the company's board of directors if its sale to Verizon goes through. It's part of a broader restructuring that will convert what's left of Yahoo into an investment company for its Alibaba holdings. The company will change its name to Altaba.
Well, Asia's richest man is standing with the U.S. president-elect on a promise to create 1 million American jobs. Jack Ma, the billionaire chairman of Alibaba met Donald Trump Monday at Trump Tower. Ma later spoke to reporters about his plans to help small businesses sell American goods to Chinese and Asian consumers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK MA, ALIBABA CEO: We are specifically talking about we will create, you know, supporting 1 million small business, especially in the Midwest of America, small business on the platform selling products, agriculture products, and American services to China and Asia because we are pretty big in Asia, Southeast Asia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Jack Ma there. So, let's bring in CNN Money's Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens live from Hong Kong. So, Andrew, Jack Ma of China's Alibaba company promises 1 million new jobs in the U.S. He made that announcement as we saw with Donald Trump Monday. What more do we know about this and how exactly is this going to work?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, we don't know much more about it to be honest, Rosemary. It was quite a big statement. I don't know if we can call him promising to create 1 million jobs. Donald Trump was talking about creating a million jobs and the plan behind it, if you like, is actually quite well known.
In fact, Jack Ma spoke about it in an opinion piece in one of the major American newspapers back in June of last year. When he talked about linking American-made products with the rising middle class consumers of China, and basically, empowering U.S. companies to sell their product there to this rising demand.
And the simple philosophy behind it is the more demand there is, the more product that is needed, the more jobs it created to build that product. What Jack Ma said this time around was he was focusing more on agricultural product, food basically, particularly in the Midwest of America and getting food from American farm land to Chinese dinner tables.
So, that's what he was looking at there. In fact, Alibaba followed up a little bit later talking about organizing a big conference with thousands of small companies, small businesses to actually try to move this forward.
He has said this before, as I said, but he's also talked about it on a bigger picture, Rosemary. Talking about, you know, supplying the world, I mean, providing a platform and what his stake in the game here is that Alibaba has very successful online trading platforms. Ones called Taobao and ones called TMall.
So, he wants to see those platforms used to trade these sort of products. It's not just America. It's all around the world as well.
CHURCH: So, how does Donald Trump reconcile this with his promise to apply more tariffs and taxes on Chinese goods and then, of course, there is the concern about fake goods sold on Alibaba?
[03:35:00] STEVENS: Absolutely. In fact, the U.S. trade representatives have slap this title called a notorious market on Taobao which is one of those Alibaba sites. A notorious market means that it is notorious for selling counterfeit products.
It's difficult to say exactly how many or how much of all the products sold because we are talking about tens of millions of products. But some say it could be sort of more than half of those products being sold on Taobao, for example, could actually be fake.
So, Jack Ma meeting with Donald Trump and having that photo opportunity is good P.R. for Jack Ma for this Chinese company.
Now, as far as Donald Trump and slapping tariffs on China, that's an interesting one because it doesn't reconcile what we're seeing Donald Trump doing as sort of slapping Jack Ma, a very successful Chinese entrepreneur on the back, while on the other side talking about slapping these tariffs on.
How this works out is difficult to say. But what is clear is that Donald Trump likes these headlines with creating jobs in America, and he's all about that with cars as we've seen going after the U.S. car makers and Toyota on Friday, and now we're seeing it with these jobs in the Midwest and other parts of the U.S. So, for Trump it's about that headline, jobs, jobs, jobs.
CHURCH: Yes, we'll see how it all pans out after January 20th. Andrew Stevens, many thanks, joining us there live from Hong Kong.
Well, U.S. President Barack Obama will give his farewell speech on Tuesday. Aides say he will talk about confronting future challenges and highlight his accomplishments over the past eight years.
But that might not resonate with everyone in his hometown of Chicago. When Mr. Obama will deliver the speech.
Our Rosa Flores has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: but tonight, because of what we did in this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eight years after his victory speech from Chicago's Grant Park, President Obama is returning to his hometown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we don't need no justice.
FLORES: But some are giving him a cold welcome, saying his promise of hope and change never came.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JA'NAL GREEN, ACTIVIST: We're not going to be saying thank you for the eight years of work that he didn't do in the black communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Activist and former Obama supporter Ja'Mal Green referring to the surge in violence in Chicago. Last year, marked its deadliest year in nearly two decades, with 762 people murdered, nearly 4,000 people killed on the streets of Chicago during Obama's eight years in the White House.
One flash point, the 2014 deadly shooting of black teenager, Laquan McDonald by police which launched the largest investigation of a police department by the U.S. Department of Justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREEN: I would be embarrassed as the president to know that I've done really not much for the people that put me there.
OBAMA: I said in Grant Park when I was declared the winner of the presidency that this wasn't a task for one year or one term or even one president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Some of his faithful supporters don't believe it's fair to blame the president for the city's violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama tried his best. He's only the president. He's not a dictator. He can't do what he want to do.
SAVANNAH DEAN, OBAMA SUPPORTER: The people who criticize him really don't know no better. We had a black president who served two terms, and everything that he did for us, it's just a blessing. It is a blessing.
OBAMA: I can't send the marines to Chicago, but it is heartbreaking. Chicago is the one big city where you've seen a big spike in the murder rate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Which is why Ja'Mal Green wishes the president would have done more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREEN: He's neglected to talk about the starving communities. He neglected to talk about the violence. He's neglected to talk about the lack of investment into urban communities. He's neglected to talk about police brutality.
Issues that are plaguing the black communities all over the country, and so, we do feel neglected and we felt like he could do more and he could have possibly saved some lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Rosa Flores, CNN, Chicago. CHURCH: And don't forget to watch Mr. Obama's farewell speech right
here at CNN that starts at p p.m. in New York, 2 a.m. Wednesday in London, and 10 a.m. Wednesday in Hong Kong.
A bitter cold snap is gripping parts of Europe and refugees are struggling just to survive. How long the freezing temperatures will last, we'll take a look. That's next.
[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: A deadly cold snap is gripping much of Europe and it's hitting thousands of refugees especially hard.
CNN's Amara Walker has the story.
AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the frozen streets of Warsaw all the way south to the islands of Greece, heavy snow and freezing temperatures are wreaking havoc across much of Europe.
With temperatures dropping below minus 30 degrees Celsius in some spots, the extreme cold has claimed the lives of more than 30 people over the weekend. Just in Poland, 17 people died of hypothermia and according to government officials, 65 have died of cold-related causes since November.
In Romania, heavy snow and high winds forced roads and rail ways to close. Dozens of villages are reported to be without power. At least four people have died there according to local media.
Snowstorms paralyzed Turkey's largest city of Istanbul where heavy snow forced hundreds of flights to be canceled, leaving thousands of travelers stranded over the weekend.
In Greece, even the beaches are blanketed with snow. The Arctic blast has hit refugees especially hard. Thousands are living in limbo stranded in makeshift camps like this one in Lesvos while they seek asylum or await relocation.
In Serbia, hundreds of migrants wrapped in blankets lined up for a hot meal. Many are living in an abandoned warehouse with nighttime temperatures well below freezing. They have only a campfire to try to keep warm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, the cold is too much and last night we didn't sleep. We, all the people sitting around the fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Dozens more refugees are camped out on Serbia's border waiting for a chance to try to enter neighboring Hungary. But aid workers warn these migrants are not equipped to deal with the extreme cold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [03:44:58] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since it was minus 20 these few days it's really cold. People are suffering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's look like freezing, completely freezing especially during the night. Nobody can stay here. But we have to.
WALKER: For many there is nowhere else to go and only more cold expected in the coming days.
Amara Walker, CNN.
And meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me now in the studio. I mean, those images are just horrifying, aren't they? And more of that same weather to come.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Take Budapest, for example, the high temperatures will actually finally get above freezing say Thursday of this week, but it only lasts for a day or two. And then we're right back down to below freezing once we get to the weekend.
So, we've got another cold snap coming which kind of adds insult to injury for a lot of those folks. So let's look at what we're going to be dealing with here.
We got several systems that will be entering this region and again, a lot of the snow is going to be on top of the same areas that have already had it. We're talking Italy. We're talking Turkey. We're talking Greece, Bulgaria, a lot of these areas that have already seen snow are now going to get even more snow on top of that.
Here's a look at the system. Again, this one especially around Turkey and Greece, notice it doesn't move very fast. That means as that snow is falling it's allowed to accumulate quite substantially because the system itself is not moving very fast.
So, again, widespread we're talking maybe about 10 centimeters, but there will be several pockets that pickup in excess of 20 centimeters of snow. And, again, this is on top of what they've already had.
Now, in the western region of the United States we're also watching a very big system here. This one, it's come in two waves. We have the first wave that came Saturday night into early Sunday and wrapped up on Monday.
Now the next one, Tuesday into Wednesday. And the key thing here is what we call an atmospheric river. We just have a funnel of intense moisture that's moving in. Some of it from as far away as Hawaii.
So, again, it's coming quite a bit of a distance. But that goes to show you how powerful it can be if it can make that distance and still produce some of the intense rainfall amounts and snow fall amounts that we've seen.
For example, take a look, this is Truckee, California, interstate i-80 was shut down. That's a major east west thoroughfare shut down because of mud slides and unfortunately, that threat is going to continue.
Look at some of this snow man. At first you think that gentleman is standing in the street. Do you realize now that's the snow that's just accumulated on top of the roof. And you have to get on there and shovel it off because more is expected.
You run the risk of having some of those structures be compromised and perhaps some of those roofs caving in.
Here is a look at the forecast snow and rainfall announced. Again, you can see we've already had some areas pickup 100 millimeters of rain, some areas will expect to pick up an additional 100 millimeters of rain on top of what they've already had.
Now the good news is some areas of California have been in a drought. They need to see the rain. They're excited about it. The problem is the areas that will get the most rain is northern California.
And unfortunately when you have drought that means the trees have been stressed for years. And so when you add heavy rain, when you add wind you get things like this.
Take a look at some of these photos. This is a very famous tree, Rosemary, in California. It's in a park. You can actually drive your car underneath it. I've actually been there. But this is what it looks like now.
Unfortunately, the storm took its toll. The entire tree has collapsed. They carved that hole in there, Rosemary, in the 1880s. It's been around a very long time. It's a huge tourist spot for people to get their picture taken there. And unfortunately, no more future generations will be able to be allowed to go in there.
CHURCH: It's very sad, isn't it? It looks so vulnerable at the bottom bay, anyway, didn't it? It was an accident waiting to happen.
CHINCHAR: Years of drought have really stressed a lot of the trees there in general.
CHURCH: Yes. All right. Yes, unfortunate there. Allison, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
We'll take a quick break here, but still to come, the nominations for Britain's biggest night in film have just been announced. The leading back to contenders coming your way in just a moment.
[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Looking very happy. What a celebration in South Carolina for Clemson University fans. The Tigers beat the undefeated University of Alabama for college football's national championship just a few hours ago, in fact.
The game-winning touchdown came with just one second left. The final score 35 to 31. Alabama had won four of the last seven national titles, including a winner over Clemson just last year. This is Clemson's first championship since 1981, and just their second ever. How about that?
Well, the 2017 Bafta nominations were just announced over an hour ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The nominations for best film are "Arrival" by Daniel Blake, "La La Land," "Manchester by the Sea, "Moonlight."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The movie musical "La La Land" leads the pack with 11 nominations. The film broke a Golden Globe's record winning seven awards Sunday night. The other leading best of films include "Nocturnal Animals" and "Arrival" with nine nominations each.
"Manchester by the Sea" received six nominations. The Baftas will be handed out in London February 12.
And I am joined now by film critic Richard Fitzwilliams in London. Always great to have you and chat with you. So, Richard, you were at the announcement of the 2017 Bafta nominations. What did you think, any big surprises?
RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, FILM CRITIC: Well, no surprise, of course "La La Land," as you mentioned, 11 nominations out in front. And I think pretty well certainly the winner.
But has it got a challenger? The answer is probably not "Moonlight" which conceivably could still challenge at the Oscars. A British film directed by Ken Loach, a very powerful "I, Daniel Blake" about an aging carpenter who is locked out through to no fault of his own, Britain's monstrous social service system of benefits.
This is just a possibility because it is nominated for best film for outstanding British film, and also Ken Loach nominated for best director. So, the spotlight put on a movie that's made great impact here and didn't feature at the Globes also "Arrival" very popular "Nocturnal Animals," my favorite film of last year has done very well.
But it does also illustrate one thing very interesting. Last year wasn't actually a particularly good year for British films strangely enough.
CHURCH: Yes, that's interesting. Who do you think will likely be the big winners on the night? Just a month from now on February 12th as we mentioned?
FITZWILLIAMS: I think that we'll have Casey Affleck as best actor, pretty well no doubt about that, I would have thought. And that's Ryan Gosling for "La La Land" springs a surprise.
What's interesting in the best actress category is Isabelle Huppert and "Elle" get no mention at all. In fact, "Elle" is completely ignored in the nomination. So we will have Natalie Portman having a chance with Jackie, a mesmerizing performance, I thought. And very, very possibly winning, but Emma Stone for "La La Land" is so
magnetic. If I had to take a bet, I wish they'd share it. I would also be very surprised if Mahershala Ali didn't receive best supporting actor for "Moonlight."
But I would mention that "Moonlight" is unlikely to win best picture simply because there is the key that Barry Jenkins is directed doesn't get a mention.
[03:55:03] Best supporting actress, it's too close to call. It could be Viola Davis for "Fences." But Hayley Squires for "I, Daniel Blake" as a single mother who is cast out of the system as well, tremendously powerful.
I wouldn't be surprised if she won. An outstanding British film, they've got several movies. One is a -- the "I, Daniel Blake" then the "American Beauty," Andrea Arnold a story of a girl's coming of age.
And also there is denial about holocaust denial, powerful movie. There are also a couple movies that practically nobody will have heard of. So, the Globe's emphasis on American films actually continues here.
Interesting also to see Hugh Grant nominated for Florence Foster Jenkins, but in the supporting category there is just the possibility that he might win, although I suspect not.
Interesting also that they feel they've got to put in the likes of fantastic beasts and where to find them which is very popular. It's not just the Globes did with "Deadpool." That's a nod to where the fact it made so much money. Overall, the standards is very high.
CHURCH: Very interesting. And just very quickly, we've just got time, do you think the Bafta will have very much influence on the Oscars coming up later in February?
FITZWILLIAMS: I think they'll reflect each other, unless of course, Isabelle Huppert is nominated at the Oscars for "Elle." But certainly "La La Land" unquestionably the one to beat. Casey Affleck, obviously the best actor that one to beat.
I was surprised Denzel Washington didn't get a nomination for "Fences." This hasn't been quite as diverse as the Globes was.
CHURCH: OK.
FITZWILLIAMS: But we will wait and see. I think with a lot of interest. It will be exciting.
CHURCH: Yes, a lot of waiting and seeing these days. Richard Fitzwilliams, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate.
FITZWILLIAMS: Thanks.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: And thanks for your company, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church. Do join me on Twitter @rosemarycnn, we'd love to hear from you. The news continues with Max Foster in London.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
