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Landslide Victory For Pro-Democracy Parties; Navy Secretary Forced Out Over Gallagher Case; Boris Johnson Presents Conservative Manifesto; Landslide Victories for Pro-Democracy Parties in Hong Kong; Bloomberg Unveils Campaign Aimed at Defeating Trump. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 25, 2019 - 00:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM: I'm Natalie Allen.

Coming up next here on CNN Newsroom, in Hong Kong, huge turnout at the polls and major gains for pro-democracy parties in local elections, we'll go there live.

HOLMES: A U.S. Navy's top official pushed out after getting caught in the middle of White House politics and military protocol.

ALLEN: Also ahead here, what the U.K. election means for Scotland, how Brexit is splitting the vote between unionists and those who support Scottish independence.

Thank you again for joining us. Our top story this hour, a landslide victory for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement in the city's local elections.

HOLMES: It was a big one, it was important. And according to local media, they have won almost 90 percent of the district council seats, after grabs routing candidates who support Mainland China.

ALLEN: Their victories were fueled by record to turnout, as nearly 3 million voters showed up Sunday. The results appear to reflect growing support for anti-government protests that have gripped the city.

Let's bring in CNN's Will Ripley. He's live this hour from Hong Kong. So many Sundays you're wearing a mask there, Will, Much different flavor there this weekend, a stunning win for the pro-democracy movement. What is the reaction?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was remarkable, Natalie, to have a weekend, the first in months where there was no tear gas, there were no petrol bombs, there was no pepper spray or water cannons, or any of the weapons that we have seen week after week on the streets of Hong Kong. Instead, what we saw was an extraordinary moment, the largest voter turnout in Hong Kong history.

I remember walking my dog in my neighborhood and seeing a line that stretched not only down the street but then around the following block. I've never seen anything like that in terms of crowds other than the huge crowds that have turned out for protests in the city.

And it was really up in the air as to how this thing was going to play out. You had the pro-democracy movement confident that they would have a win, although I don't anybody expected a landslide like this with at least 17 or 18 districts in Hong Kong going towards -- going for the pro-democracy camp. They were reporting a victory more than 90 percent of the votes.

But you had others on the establishment side thinking Hong Kongers might be tired of the violence, angry about the fact that this is the only entrance in and out of PolyU here in Hong Kong. This was the scene of some of the most pitch fighting just over a week ago. They were the kind of scenes that could have motivated voters either way. But in the end, they motivated voters towards the democracy side.

But as big as this win is, it's largely symbolic because the district councilors aren't actually the people who make laws here in Hong Kong. Those people are elected by a system that overwhelmingly favors pro- Beijing voices. So even though you might have a district council full of voices of the opposition, the chief executive, the legislative councilors, the people who has still run this city, they listened to Beijing. And that's not changing, at least not anytime soon.

ALLEN: Well, Will, has there been any reaction from Carrie Lam and also will the outcome of this vote quell protests? I mean, the people who voted want change. And if it doesn't come, what then?

RIPLEY: I think that's the question we don't know the answer to, Natalie. This does seem to be a turning point and that the city can no longer claim that they have this huge kind of silent majority that supports the establishment. The voters have made it pretty clear that Hong Kongers who are motivated enough to go out and cast their ballots are overwhelmingly voting against the establishment and in favor of parties that favor democracy.

But will that actually lead to systematic substantive change? Will the city start to respond to the five core demands of protesters, the biggest of which is universal suffrage, giving Hong Kongers the right to choose all their leaders, like the chief executive, who is tremendously unpopular, like the legislative councilors of whom their chambers were vandalized in the early weeks of this protest movement.

And as of now, Carrie Lam, we're waiting to see if she's going to hold a press conference today. There are some reports out there that she has said she will respect the results of the votes. But respecting that result basically just means that the people in charge work with the district council but it doesn't mean that the district council somehow is going to shift Hong Kong policy the way that the democracy movement would like. And, certainly, universal suffrage for the city is not even on this table at this stage if you talk to those who are on the establishment side of things. [00:05:04]

ALLEN: All right. Will, the streets remain quiet. We'll wait and see. Will Ripley for us there live. Thank you so much, Will.

HOLMES: All right. Moving on to the impeachment inquiry, the U.S. president, Donald Trump, has long insisted, of course, he did nothing wrong, blocking nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine.

ALLEN: But a new report by The Washington Post shows there was debate in the White House on whether it was legal after the fact.

The Post cites a confidential White House review and three people familiar with the records.

HOLMES: Yes. And they revealed August emails from acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.

Now, The Post says, he wanted legal reasoning to withhold the aid and asked how much longer it could be paused. Staffers with the Office of Management and Budget reportedly argued the move was legal but officials with the National Security Council and State Department objected.

ALLEN: We're turning from a scandal at the White House now to a scandal at the Pentagon. A U.S. Navy secretary has been forced out and convicted Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher gets to keep his rank and job for now.

HOLMES: We get the latest from CNN's Ryan Browne in Washington.

RYAN BROWNE, CNN REPORTER: One of the senior most Pentagon official is fired Sunday night due to the fallout from a high profile war crimes case involving Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.

Now, Gallagher had been acquitted of several more serious crimes, like murder, but had been convicted of posing with the body of a dead corpse.

Now, the Navy's efforts to punish him and become the subject of a high-profile debate with President Trump weighing in saying that the Navy should not strip Gallagher of his status as a Navy SEAL several times, something that defense officials felt was undermining the Navy's discipline process.

Now, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer had said publicly that that process should go ahead. But the Pentagon is saying Sunday night that despite Spencer's public comments, he had actually arranged secret talks with the White House to strike a deal where Gallagher would be allowed to retain his membership in the Navy SEALs.

Now, the Pentagon is saying this is why Spencer was fired and that Gallagher will, in fact, retain his SEAL status upon leaving the Navy.

Now, President Trump tweeting that he had been with how the Navy had handle the Gallagher case and he had been disappointed with the Navy's inability to reduce cost overruns, something that he said that led to Spencer's ouster.

Now, Spencer himself writing a letter upon being fired, saying that he was a strong believer in good order and discipline in the military, saying that's what sets America apart from its adversaries and that he and President Trump just had a fundamental difference of opinion about the importance of the rule law and the importance of good order and discipline, something that he says led to his ouster.

Ryan Browne, CNN, Washington.

HOLMES: And joining us now is Michael Shear, CNN Political Analyst and White House Correspondent for The New York Times. Good to see, sir, lots to get through. Let's get your take on The Washington Post report that these emails show efforts by acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to after-the-fact justify the hold on Ukrainian aid. What do you make of that and the impact it might have on the impeachment investigations, all Mick Mulvaney and his candor for that matter?

MICHAEL SHEAR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: So, look, I think there are sort of two aspects to this that are most important. One is the one that you just mentioned, which is that to the extent that he was inquiring about the legal justification for the hold on aid to Ukraine after-the-fact, well after-the-fact that the aid was held up, it does suggest that they didn't look for that justification at the beginning of the process, and so it underscores and reinforces the idea that any holdup was done for some other purpose that would be a normal process where you would have a legal justification to start with.

The other thing that I think it does is it just ties Mick Mulvaney even more directly into this whole question of holding up the aide. I mean, it's not that he had been implicated before. There have been obviously links to his participation and involvement. But I think that having the sort of cold hard facts of an email suggesting that he was inquiring about the legal justification means that he can't wiggle out of people who accused him of being part of this effort.

And I think that that leads to a third point, which is does this mean Congress will now insist on him coming to testify. I mean, I think the answer to that question is while the Democrats of the House and the Senate would like him to come, they're not going to sit around and engage in a lengthy legal battle for that to happen. They have made that very clear. So, I mean, it puts more pressure on Mulvaney.

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But I wouldn't hold your breath for him showing up and testifying in the impeachment inquiry.

HOLMES: Yes. And let's remember, this is some of the White House prevented from testifying and probably could have cleared a lot of thisup.

I want to talk to you about the resignation or firing of the Navy secretary, Richard Spencer. I mean there just seems to be multiple versions now of why. I mean, the president put out a series of tweets a little earlier on Sunday evening suggesting it was because the Navy treated that disgraced Navy SEAL, Eddie Gallagher, badly, also something about cost overruns.

Then you got the defense secretary, Esper, saying Spencer sidestepped the chain of command in dealing with the White House. And then you've got Spencer in his resignation letter giving a pretty extraordinary reason writing in part. He says, quote, I no longer share the same understanding as the commander-in-chief who appointed me in regards to the key principle good order and discipline.

That is pretty pointed, not to mention the Esper/Trump reason so it contradict each other.

SHEAR: Well, it's just -- honestly, one of the craziest developments, craziest stories that I can remember in a long time, and that's saying something for this administration. I mean, at the beginning of the day, what you thought -- what we thought we had was a pretty clear clash between the top military officials on the one hand disagreeing with the commander-in-chief on the other hand. That's extraordinary enough.

But by the end of the day, we have this sort three-way strange explanation, as you suggest, where everybody's explanation for what happened here is different.

And, look, I think you can't help but read Spencer's resignation letter in the same light that we all read Jim Mattis' resignation letter as defense secretary a while back.

In both cases, you have a top military official basically saying that they no longer believe that the president of the United States had the interest of the national security, of the nation's security kind of foremost in his mind. He had to leave as a result of it.

And so the president came into office. He talked about how he loved his generals. He talked about keeping the country safe. And yet, I mean, we've had one example after another of this president clashing repeatedly with the people that are supposed to run the military and (INAUDIBLE) military issues. I think it's really remarkable.

HOLMES: It really is. I mean, that language by Spencer really is extraordinary.

Speaking of extraordinary, on Sunday, we saw the prominent congressman and Trump supporter, Devin Nunes. Give -- I mean, it was really a convoluted response on Fox when asked if he met with the disgraced Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, to ask for dirt on the Bidens, which has been alleged in the last couple of days. Let's just listen to part of that.

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MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS HOST: Bottom line, were you in Vienna with Shokin?

REP. DEVIN NUNES (R-CA): Yes. So, look, Maria, I really want to answer all of these questions and I promise, absolutely, we'll come back on the show and answer these questions. But because there is criminal activity here, we are working with the appropriate law enforcement agencies, we're going to file all this. Everyone is going to know the truth, everybody is going to know all the facts.

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HOLMES: And it was a real word salad, and that's just part of it, by the way. I mean, it was a simple question. You think yes or no might have cleared things up. How is Nunes' position, in your view, regarding the allegation given his key role in the impeachment hearing?

SHEAR: Well, first of all, I'm 27 years as a journalist. My general sense is when people start off by saying, I really want to answer that question, that generally means they really don't want to answer the question, which is what he went on to do.

Look, I think that, on the one hand, from a legal perspective, if he participated in something he shouldn't have participated in. In theory, there is potential legal exposure there. I think, in fact, this is a highly political process. He is obviously at the center of the Republican defense effort against the president's impeachment.

And I think what is very clear is that the Democrats have absolutely no interest in being taken down this sideshow rabbit hole. They would like nothing better, I think, than for this to go away, so they can keep the focus where they wanted to be, which is on what they think is the president's culpability and the broader impeachment inquiry.

And so I'm not sure. We'll see where this goes. And maybe there will be other developments. But I suspect there's not a lot of people in Washington who have a real interest in pursuing all of this against Devin Nunes. I think the Democrats just want it to go away.

HOLMES: And keep it as simple, as they say.

We continue to live in interesting times. Michael Schear with The New York Times, we always appreciate it. Thank you.

SHEAR: Yes. Love talking to you. Thanks so much.

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ALLEN: The U.K. general election is just over two weeks away and Brexit and independents figure prominently in the political debate and Scotland.

NICOLA STURGEON, FIRST MINISTER OF SCOTLAND: At the heart of the election, there's a question who decides Scotland's future. Is it people like Boris Johnson who will take us to a path we don't want to go down or do we take our future into our own hands?

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IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: CNN Weather Watch. I'm Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.

As we check in on conditions for the U.S. into the next few days, problems. We're going to have big problems here. Not just because we have two winter systems that are moving through very populated areas, but because of the timing here. In Thanksgiving week, there will be a lot of folks traveling across the U.S., and this is what you can expect.

We have a couple of systems, one will begin to sweep in. It will be mostly rain across the Midwest. On the back side of it, portions of the upper Midwest will be seeing some snow, and then system number two moves as we head in through Wednesday and into Thanksgiving Day Itself.

And with cold air that will be in place behind the first system now, we're talking about snow a little bit further to the south. So now that we involve places like Iowa and into portions of Wisconsin as well. And we may get a little bit further south into -- closer to Chicago, but this will be a big storm for Denver as well. Of course, the ski resorts there will not be complaining across the Rockies, likewise into portions of New Mexico as well.

(INAUDIBLE) for Winnipeg on Monday here with temperatures around four degrees for Montreal, well out ahead of the storm system, so we're looking pretty good. But then we'll begin to see that slug of moisture move and so rain will commence in Denver. And then, eventually, as the temperatures drop, we will change that over to snow and then a big weather storm for Wednesday and Thursday.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, promising to, quote, get Brexit done if his conservative party does win the general election next month.

ALLEN: He launched the party's manifesto Sunday. It includes promises to hire 50,000 nurses, freeze income tax and established immigration controls.

The prime minister wants Britain to leave the European Union by the current deadline, January 31st.

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BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I don't want to waste 2020 into more referendums. I want it to be an exciting and productive year, a year of prosperity and growth.

Do you want to wake up on Friday the 13th of December find a nightmare on Downing Street, a Corbyn sturgeon coalition of chaos?

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I say let's go carbon-neutral by 2050 and Corbyn-neutral by Christmas.

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HOLMES: Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn calls the proposal a billionaires' manifesto, adding, quote, they bought it, you will pay for it.

ALLEN: Well, Scotland is a key battleground in the general election in 2016. The country voted 62 percent to remain in the E.U.

HOLMES: Yes. The Scottish National Party is dominant but it did lose seats in 2017, and it's looking to take them back this election.

Nic Robertson followed the candidates as they traveled the length and breadth of the country.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: On the charm offensive, cameras catching every moment. Scotland's First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, SNP, making jam, winning friends, meeting children and wanting votes.

Nicola Sturgeon is at the vanguard of the SNP's election campaign. If Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to be defeated, then Scotland and Sturgeon's party are going to be key in achieving it.

Her second visit to Stirling in two weeks, Scottish independence her big issue.

STURGEON: At the heart of the election, there's a question, who decides Scotland's future. Is it people like Boris Johnson, who will take us on a path we don't want to go down or do we take our future into our own hands?

ROBERTSON: 115 chilly miles north, Elgin is one of 13 conservative held seats in Scotland. They won it at the last election in 2017. The question now, are voters here turning their back on Boris Johnson?

A few weeks back, Johnson flew 600 miles from London to campaign for his candidate, Douglas Ross. Now, Ross challenging Sturgeon to come visit too.

DOUGLAS ROSS, CONSERVATIVE PARTY CANDIDATE FOR MORAY: Pleas, Nicola, come to Moray because that reminds people that this is a two-horse race between myself and the SNP. If you want to stop we separation for Scotland, you've got to back Scottish conservatives here and across Scotland.

STURGEON: My message to him would be, be careful what you wish for. I'll be in all parts of Scotland over the next few weeks (ph).

ROBERTSON: This election, harder fought than previous, and voters who are volatile.

Do you think you might be drifting towards the SNP?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct, yes. ROBERTSON: Did you vote for them the last election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn't.

ROBERTSON: So you'll be drifting away from the conservatives and maybe --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Possibly, yes, yes, yes, yes.

ROBERTSON: Why would that be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's really obvious. I think Brexit has been a disaster.

ROBERTSON: Early morning in Fife, Eastern Scotland, pro-remain liberal democrat candidate Wendy Chamberlain is chasing votes hard. Many voters at work. She has good reason to keep trying.

They lost by two votes to the SNP, the tightest margin across the whole U.K. Her pro-remain pitch, Brexit is simpler without Scottish independence.

WENDY CHAMBERLAIN, LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PARTY CANDIDATE IN THE NORTH EAST FIFE: Nicola Sturgeon suggested that their priority isn't remains (ph) independence. So I think that, for me, dilutes the stop Brexit message of SNP to some extent.

ROBERTSON: The SNP's incumbent also talks up Brexit, independence, not so popular in this constituency.

STEPHEN GETHINS, SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY CANDIDATE IN NORTH EAST FIFE: The SNP is the biggest and most united remain party in the U.K. We've worked cross-party and we're going to stop Brexit and stop the Torys.

ROBERTSON: Volatility, here too, and, again, Brexit at the root of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was SNP but I'm (INAUDIBLE).

ROBERTSON: Oh, you're moving away from Mr. Gethins then?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could be. Yes.

ROBERTSON: And what would be a reason for that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That I want to leave Europe.

ROBERTSON: Across Scotland, the message is clear. Many people are confused, frustrated, even angry, predicting the outcome of the elections is a huge challenge. Perhaps nowhere more so than here in the country's post-industrial heartland, where the last elections, labor support surged.

In traditional strongholds, like Glasgow, Northeast, Incumbent Paul Sweeney believes the SNP has had its day. PAUL SWEENEY, LABOR PARTY CANDIDATE IN NORTH EAST GLASGOW: The big story at the last election was the SNP were collapsing because the anger and frustration of the wake of the 2014 independence referendum. It kind of just dissipated.

ROBERTSON: At the doors, elderly voters backing Sweeney.

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But on the nearby streets, younger voters backing his analysis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're voting SNP.

ROBERTSON: Why SNP?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day in the (INAUDIBLE) has been SNP. I would like to go (INAUDIBLE). So, yes, SNP, definitely, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the same here.

ROBERTSON: In this winter election, young and motivated might trump old and loyal.

Back in Stirling where Sturgeon's SNP lost to Johnson's conservative the last election, heavy campaigning is paying off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've had nothing but Scottish Nationals through the door, at the door and they want it bad. Scotland should be able to do what is good for them.

ROBERTSON: Whatever the outcome of this election, what is clear herein Scotland is that the political battle for independence is getting closer.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Scotland.

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ALLEN: Well, next here, we're back to Hong Kong, a sweeping victory there for the pro-democracy party. Election results show major gains for their camps. So what does this mean for the mass protests that have gripped the city?

HOLMES: We will discuss that.

And also a K-pop star loses her life, another one. The life of Goo Hara remembered when we come back.

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HOLMES: And welcome back to CNN Newsroom, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. Here are our headlines this hour. A confidential White House review has turned up emails showing extensive efforts to justify Donald Trump's decision to block aid to Ukraine, after the fact. That according to The Washington Post.

The delay in aid, along with the whistleblower complaint is at the center of the ongoing impeachment inquiry. "The Post" says acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, sent emails in August to the Office of Management and Budget, asking what the legal reasoning could be for withholding the aid.

HOLMES: Iraqi security officials say at least six more protesters have been killed, more than 180 wounded just this past weekend, as police in Basra in the south of the country and several other Shiite cities fired tear gas and live bullets to disperse protesters who were blocking roads and setting fires. At least 340 people have been killed since the start of the anti-government demonstrations almost two months ago.

ALLEN: Hong Kong's pro-democracy candidates have made major gains over those who support mainland China in local elections. Local media report they won almost 90 percent of the city's districts.

The races are seen as a test of support for the anti-government movement. Nearly 3 million people turned out to vote. That is a record for the city.

Antony Dapiran joins us now from Hong Kong to talk about this. He's a lawyer and author of "City of Protest: A Recent History of Dissent in Hong Kong."

Antony, thank you for being with us.

First up, what do you make of the outcome with this vote? Young people came out in droves. Voter turnout a whopping 71 percent. It's typically around 40. And the overwhelming conclusion: the people want democracy.

ANTONY DAPIRAN, LAWYER/AUTHOR: Going into these elections, people were saying it would be a referendum on the protest movement and the government's performance over the last six months, and gosh, the people have delivered that. Overwhelming support for the pan-Democrat parties, who are seen as aligned with the protestors and the pro- Beijing parties aligned with the government have almost entirely disappeared from the electoral map here in Hong Kong.

ALLEN: Yes, and also significant from the day that the vote happened was the city remained, for the most part, calm. What kind of sign was that about the importance of this vote for people and carrying it out?

DAPIRAN: It was a very encouraging sign. I think all sides going into this wanted to have a peaceful election day. The government said they would have riot police stationed at the polling stations, and they had a very low-key presence. In fact, many polling stations had no visible police presence at all, which I think had a calming effect.

I think everyone just really wanted the chance to finally have their say, and which they did, with a very uncompromising outcome.

ALLEN: Yes. And the big question, of course, Antony, is what will -- what will this vote mean? It's a vote for local councils.

Carrie Lam, the chief executive, announced a short time ago that the government would listen with an open mind, but will it? Is the pro- democracy movement futile, or does it have teeth?

DAPIRAN: Look, this does seem to be a big victory for the protesters in the sense it may offer an opportunity to pause and reflect on their focus next steps, given that all their months of efforts on the street have converted into a very tangible political victory, a political outcome.

That said, protesters do seem to be emboldened by this victory and are talking about gathering again to approach Poly U.

On the government's side, the pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance, are definitely deeply reflecting, bowing in apology today to voters. And I think they're going to have some harsh words for Carrie Lam, who I think they would view as having have thrown them into this. So it is hope that the government will listen and reflect and perhaps change its approach going forward.

ALLEN: Yes. That's a big if, isn't it?

Also, if people who voted in favor of democracy don't see change, if they don't see Carrie Lam, and China and something happening, you expect these protests will continue and violent protests escalate again?

DAPIRAN: Yes. I think the protests will continue if people don't feel that they're seeing any positive change from the government.

And this election is really just a curtain raiser for the more important legislative council elections around the same time next year. So, if the protests continue, public sentiment continues to be in this direction against the government, than that will see, likely, another similar outcome for the government, for their legislature next year.

So that really suggests that the government is going to want to do something to try to settle down the protests and turn around public sentiment, but in the absence of any concrete actions from the government, I do think these protests are just going to continue.

ALLEN: And what about the fact that so many young people came out to vote this year?

[00:35:02]

DAPIRAN: Yes. There was a big voter registration drive going into this election. People such as the pop star and activist Denise Ho were running a voter registration campaign, targeting the young people. This election had the highest turnout ever for an election in Hong

Kong, which shows that many of these new young voters came out to vote, really motivated by the concerns for the future of Hong Kong.

They're the same people that we've seen on the streets week after week over these last six months. They're the people who are going to be looking at what kind of a future Hong Kong has as it approaches 2047, the deadline when the guarantees and rights and freedoms under the basic law expire.

And it's really -- it's their future. And they're the ones who are caring about it and stepping forward with their voices to be heard. So it really is very encouraging, really, from the point of view of the future of Hong Kong.

ALLEN: And the other things that people were saying after they voted was, they cast a vote because of the violence on the part of police. That's a big part of this and how they have been treated or they're going to be treated by the police. So it will be interesting to see.

Also, will this vote have in effect on how police officers respond to protests when and if, as you say, they likely will resume?

DAPIRAN: That's right. And one of the protesters' big demands has been an independent inquiry into the police behavior. It will be interesting to see if Carrie Lam and her government take this election result as a cue to, in fact, go ahead with that inquiry into the police, something that she has resisted so far. But this may finally push her in that direction.

ALLEN: Antony Dapiran, we really appreciate your insights. Thanks for joining us.

DAPIRAN: Thank you.

HOLMES: Bolivians could be heading to the polls again soon. Interim president Jeanine Anez called -- signed a law, calling for new elections, saying the country is, quote, "restoring democracy through democracy."

ALLEN: Her administration took power after former President Evo Morales resigned in November, November 10. He accepted political asylum in Mexico, following mass protests over alleged electoral fraud.

HOLMES: And K-pop fans around the world are mourning the loss of the singer and actress Goo Hara. She was found dead on Sunday, although police in Seoul have not yet released the cause of death.

ALLEN: Goo became a star of both the Korean and Japanese music scenes after joining the girl band Kara. She also performed as a solo artist, and her most recent single came out less than two weeks ago. Also, she just did a concert in Tokyo last week.

HOLMES: A real tragedy. She was hospitalized earlier this year after being found unconscious in her home. And actually later apologized to fans for causing concern and promised to show them that she was in good health.

ALLEN: Well, next here, a world without nuclear weapons is possible and necessary. Those are the words of Pope Francis, calling the world to action during his tour of Japan. We'll have more as NEWSROOM continues.

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[00:40:13]

HOLMES: Well, the already crowded U.S. Democratic presidential field just got a little bigger. Former New York mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg officially announcing that he's joining the race. It was -- it was a badly kept a secret.

ALLEN: Yes. We knew it was coming.

HOLMES: Yes.

ALLEN: He joins a lengthy list -- there they are -- of Democrats already vying for the party's nomination and who have been on the campaign trail for months.

HOLMES: That is a football team, isn't it? It's just huge. Bloomberg unveiled a campaign he says is aimed squarely at defeating President Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A three-term mayor will bring it back from the ashes, bringing jobs and thousands of affordable housing units with it. After witnessing the terrible toll of gun violence, he helped create a movement to protect families across America and stood up to the coal lobby and this administration to protect this planet from climate change. And now, he's taking on him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Him. Yes, Bloomberg's late bid and plans for millions of dollars of TV ads are already booked, actually. That brings new uncertainty into the race, less than three months before the primary season begins.

ALLEN: We'll see if he shakes things up.

HOLMES: Yes.

ALLEN: All right. Pope Francis continues his four-day tour of Japan and Tokyo. Earlier, he met with victims of the 2011 earthquake tsunami and nuclear plant disaster.

HOLMES: And later, he sat down with the Japanese emperor, Naruhito, and will meet with the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in a few hours from now. ALLEN: This is only the second time a pope has visited Japan. He has

used this trip to condemn the use of nuclear weapons, delivering his remarks in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only two cities ever hit by atomic bombs.

HOLMES: And thanks for spending your time with us. That is CNN NEWSROOM for now. I'm Michael Holmes.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. We'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. Next here is WORLD SPORT. See you soon.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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