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elosi: Proceed With Articles Of Impeachment; Iran Vows To Continue Ballistic Missiles Program; Countdown To Crucial National Vote; Rape Survivor Attacked and Set on Fire; Changing Climate Displaces Thousands in Somaliland; Pelosi: "Don't Mess with Me". Aired 1-2a ET

Aired December 06, 2019 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And hello everyone, I'm Paula Newton and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Studio Seven at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, Democrats insist it's all about the U.S. Constitution and not about hating Donald Trump, as they take one big step towards impeaching their president.

Trains are halted and planes grounded as massive protests bring much of France to a standstill. And Iran fires back after European powers claim the country is breaking the rules with its missile program.

After months of razor-sharp testimony and bombshell headlines, the U.S. House is now on the verge of putting its formal accusations against the U.S. President into writing. Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday set in motion a chain of events that will almost certainly result in Donald Trump becoming the third president in the U.S. history to be impeached.

Even if he's acquitted in the Senate trial of conventional wisdom suggest right now, Pelosi said the U.S. House would do its constitutional duty because the President's actions have demanded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): The President leaves us no choice but to act because he is trying to corrupt once again the election for his own benefit. Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our Founders and our hearts full of love for America, today, I'm asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, the White House has until later today to decide if it will participate in the next phase of impeachment but it's already signaled it will not. Over the next week or so, articles of impeachment will be drawn up and approved. It will then be put before the full House for a vote by Christmas Day. Pelosi was about to exit after talking to reporters, and then one of them shouted a question that made her stop in her tracks. What followed was an incredibly heated exchange. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you hate the president, Madame Speaker?

PELOSI: I don't -- I don't hate anybody.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative Collins -- the reason --

PELOSI: I was raised in a Catholic house. We don't hate anybody, not anybody in the world. So don't you accuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did not accuse you.

PELOSI: You did. You did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked a question. Representative Collins yesterday suggested that the Democrats are doing this simply because they don't like the guy.

PELOSI: I have nothing to do with it. Let me just say this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's an important point.

PELOSI: I think the President is a coward when it comes to helping kids who are afraid of gun violence. I think he is cool when he doesn't deal with helping our DREAMers of which were very proud. I think he's in denial about the concept about the climate crisis.

However, that's about the election. This is about the election. Take it up in the election. This is about the Constitution of the United States and the fact that leads to the President's violation of his oath of office. And as a Catholic, I recent you using the word hate in the sentence that addresses me. I don't hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is full -- a heart full of love and always pray for the President.

And I still pray for the President. I pray for the president all the time. So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Political Analyst Michael Genovese joins us from Los Angeles. He's the President of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University and the author of How Trump Governs. Michael, it seems the Democrats for one have already made up their mind about that, right?

Nancy Pelosi really set this up as an historic day. She wants this impeachment process to rise above the political fray. I mean, you saw how he did it got there? Has she really been able to make the case to the American people? Are the Dems getting anywhere with that? MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, for the most part, I think views have hardened. They haven't really changed very much. The Democrats have dug their heels and Republicans have dug their heels in, and it's almost as if both sides were immune from new information, new proposals, new ideas. But Nancy Pelosi his position is well, we've got to move and we've got to move now.

And the now is important because the question is, can you overturn a democratic election? Can you throw him out in midterm? And the answer is twofold, I think. One is the Constitution gives us a way to do this. It clearly gives us a legal means for taking a president down in the middle of his term if he abuses power. The second reason I think is because let's face it, if you let him go another year and wait till the next election, the President has more opportunities to do what he's been doing, which is trying to undermine the electoral process.

And so, you know, the real question then becomes it really is it going to be broad or narrow? Do you include a lot in the pot of impeachment or do you just make it really narrow? That's a strategic question. But clearly, the Democrats are going to move.

[01:05:45]

NEWTON: And moving they are. Certainly getting the President's back up here. He came back with quite a comeback on Twitter anyway, saying, "Nancy Pelosi just had a nervous fit. She hates that we will soon have 182 great new judges and so much more, Stock Market, employment records. She says she prays for the President. I don't believe her, not even close."

In terms of that comeback, that that tweet, do you think this is getting under the skin not just of the president but of Republicans?

GENOVESE: Well, I think you've got a position where the President has jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. The frying pan was NATO where he was openly mocked and laughed at. Now he comes back and out of the frying pan into the fire. The fire is impeachment. And it's unnerved him clearly. And it should. It's usually consequential move.

If you are impeached, even if you are not convicted, the first sentence in the history books will always read Donald J. Trump, comma, only the second president -- third president to be impeached. So it will stick -- it'll be an albatross around your neck forever. The President says we want to do it and we want to move fast. His advisor Kellyanne Conway says no, no you can't rush. You have to move.

The Democrats, I think their position is that we'd love to move slowly. We'd love to get more information. We'd love to get more testimony, but the President is preventing that. Because of that, we have to move now. And so I think the Democrats should take heed from something Napoleon said to his valet, he once said, dress me slowly, as I am in a hurry. And so the Democrats need to move slowly in a hurry. NEWTON: It does take a lot of depth strategy there. And Nancy Pelosi believes she's found the right formula. What's interesting here was something Phil Mattingly was saying in this piece, right? Do we bring in legally the other issues that have to do with the Russia inquiry and the Mueller report? I want you to listen to Nancy Pelosi. She was just on CNN at a town hall just moments ago, and what she had to say about including some of that prior evidence. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: We're operating collectively. It's not going to be if somebody put something on the table. We have our own, shall we say, communication with each other.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: OK.

PELOSI: So I'm not going to answer one -- with all due respect, I'm not going to answer one chart. We're not writing the Articles of Impeachment here tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: You know, everyone remembers that at the end of the day, the President and his allies said, look, Mueller said no collusion. And do you think that if they start to bring in pieces of the Russia investigation, that it really will not make this a very clean process that they will muddy the waters?

GENOVESE: Well, if they bring in collusion, it will mess things up. But if you bring an obstruction which is one of the things that Mueller had on his list, that could be very damning to the President. And so the question is, do you go beyond the bribery case in the Ukraine? Do you go to obstruction of justice? Do you go to contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas? Do you go towards some of the lesser-known issues like the Emoluments Clause violations or Campaign Law violations? They probably won't go to those two.

They've got to narrow it down enough so that it's manageable and that people understand it. Bribery, obstruction of justice, contempt of Congress, probably will be the three.

NEWTON: OK, we saw a very impassioned Nancy Pelosi there today in that press conference. I want you to hear Stephen Colbert's take from the Late Show. He has his own comeback on her saying she doesn't hate anyone being Catholic. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: I don't hate anybody. I don't -- I was raised in a Catholic house. We don't hate anybody, not anybody in the world.

STEVEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: Well said. We Catholics don't hate anyone, OK. We are not allowed to. We don't hate anyone. That's why we wage crusades to remind those people how much we love them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NEWTON: I can't miss the irony drooping there in Stephen Colbert's speech. The thing is here though, really to put a fine point on it. Look, Nancy Pelosi was a politician that people said about a year ago she shouldn't be speaker, she's too old, her time has passed. What do you think the Democrats are thinking now?

[01:10:07]

GENOVESE: I think they're glad to have her. She's established, very effective politician, smart as a whip, toughest nails. And I think, you know, the question that was asked was kind of snarky. And she was, I think, was righteous indignation. She does -- she is a very observant Catholic. She comes from that tradition as I come from altar boy, Catholic school, grade school, high school, college. And in that tradition, you hate the sin, but you love the sinner.

And so when she said, I pray for Donald Trump, it's absolutely believable. It's very much within that tradition, the Catholic tradition that says that everyone is capable of redemption and you pray that they will turn and turn -- and become better, that we are capable of becoming better. But again, don't mess with -- don't mess with Nancy Pelosi. She's tough.

NEWTON: She made that very clear, Michael. And I'm sure that the Republicans are still trying to figure out a way to get the better of her. Michael, thanks so much for your insights today. I appreciate it.

GENOVESE: Thank you, Paula.

NEWTON: Now, much of France is at a standstill, as tens of thousands of people protests and strike over government plans to reform the retirement system. Trains, planes, and even schools were canceled because of those demonstrations. As Melissa Bell reports, it's unclear how long protesters can keep up their momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Public sector unions opposed to the performed pension reform that is on the table here in France had threatened to bring France to a sensor this Thursday. And they got pretty close to achieving just that. 90 percent of trains in France were canceled today. Many people just choosing to stay at home rather than braving the transport difficulties to get to work.

There were, however, many people out on the street. Here in Paris, according to the interior ministry figures, 65,000 people took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction. And for the first time, the unions were joined in their march by yellow vest protesters.

There's -- that March at times turned violent. There were tear gas -- there with tear gas thrown by the police, exchanges of projectiles. At one point around the (INAUDIBLE) quite a bit of tension and anger out there in the crowd.

How much longer will it last? This is one of the big questions at this stage and in particular, for Emmanuel Macron, that reforming president who said that he is determined to put his pension reform through the rail unions, have announced that their strike will last at least until Monday.

On Friday, a number of flights will be canceled out. France has said that it will cancel 3o percent of its interior flights and ten percent of its medium whole international flights. So you can expect a lot more travel chaos to come.

Emmanuel Macron has vowed to push ahead. However, the last time that a universal pension reform system was reached for in France was 1995. It took the government just three weeks to fold and shelve its plans. The question is whether Emmanuel Macron will get past this opposition in order to get his reforms through. Melissa Bell, CNN Paris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now mass protests have also been raging in Iran where Tehran acknowledges there have been deaths but hasn't said how many. Now, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran says video evidence sent to the U.S. State Department indicates the death toll is enormous. He claims Iran may have killed more than 1,000 people during this latest unrest.

Now, the demonstrations were sparked in November by hikes and gas prices and have turned into a broader anti-government movement. Officials have crackdown on activists, clashing with protesters on the streets and restricting access to the internet.

Iran, meantime, is rejecting claims from European countries that it violated a U.N. resolution by developing nuclear-capable missiles. Now Iran's foreign minister dismissed the allegation from France, Germany, and the U.K., calling it a desperate falsehood. Iran is vowing to continue its ballistic missile program, saying in a letter to the U.N. that it is consistent with international law, unnecessary for security.

Paul Carroll is the co-founder of the organization N Square, which works to reduce nuclear threats. He joins me now live from San Francisco. You know, and where do we put that threat with Iran right now? These are very serious allegations being leveled at them right now coming from Europe, right, the countries that wanted to remain in the nuclear deal with Iran, even though the U.S. pulled out.

And I have to point out, look, the United States had said that that ballistic missile program, the Trump administration had said that that program was trouble, and that's why they believe that the nuclear plan -- nuclear deal with Iran just wouldn't work.

PAUL CARROLL, CO-FOUNDER, N SQUARE: Well, thanks for having me, Paula. You're absolutely right. I mean, there's a whole witch's brew of issues going on here. We've got an authoritarian regime, no one doubts that. They sponsor terrorist activities, they're -- you know, they're disturbers in the region. Their goals really in the region is to be a player on the regional stage.

[01:15:18]

They have for decades had a missile program. That's no surprise. That's no news. In fact, I'm a bit puzzled as to why the European nations France, the U.K., and Germany, who were part of the negotiations to achieve the nuclear agreement are the ones who now months after these tests that they point to are claiming this is a nuclear-capable missile.

I mean, frankly, SpaceX has nuclear-capable missiles. If you have a space launch capability, you have a nuclear missile capability. It's provocative. I don't think it really helps anything by using that provocative term. And let's keep in mind, it's only a nuclear-capable missile if you have a new weapon to put on top of it. It's sort of like having a rifle but no bullets.

The nuclear deal was ensuring that Iran had no nuclear weapons capability. That is now off the table. So we're, we're seeing a downward spiral, absolutely. This particular episode, this particular aspect with respect to a nuclear-capable missile, I'm not quite sure why now and what the European powers are after.

NEWTON: But just before I move on here, I just want to get your take on it. Do you believe that it would be nuclear-capable or that they're even close to that? Are you saying that Europe is wrong about that in terms of where Iran's technology is right now?

CARROLL: I wouldn't say they're wrong. I mean, again, depending on how specific or technical you want to get, you know, a UPS truck is a nuclear-capable truck. Whether the Iranians intend to develop missiles and then intend to put nuclear bombs on top of them, that is a completely different matter than saying they have a missile that could potentially if they wanted to make it nuclear-capable.

So the Europeans aren't technically wrong. I would say they're technically wrong that it violates the nuclear deal because they weren't obligated. Iran was not obligated to cease any and all missile activity. It would have been nice, and in fact, what the European powers are referring to is the resolution that formalize the nuclear agreement. They said we call on Iran to cease its missile activity. Well, that's not the same thing as an ironclad prohibition.

NEWTON: Yes. And in fact, that's exactly what the language says, so that's why Iran shooting back on that from that U.N. resolution. It's keeping a lot of people though in the region excuses to continually hype the rhetoric on Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel just said the other day, Iran's aggression is growing, but its empire is tottering. And I say, let's make it totter even further, he says.

You know, he's injected this very aggressive rhetoric here for a reason. And some people will say that reason is about domestic Israeli politics. But do you believe that Israel with the blessing of the United States is getting ready to escalate matters when it comes to Iran?

CARROLL: I wouldn't want to speculate on that. I wouldn't be surprised if that is something in their -- in their deck of cards. But I let me be clear, I don't want to diminish the importance of the significance of Iran's missile program. It is provocative, it is a problem. It's a security concern the U.S. and regional power share.

But I think this particular letter from the E.U. three is a bit of a distraction. The story you just had before this one was about the protests in Iran. Why are they protesting? They're protesting because once the United States left the nuclear deal, it doubled down on sanctions. All of the sanctions and then some were placed back on the Iran. Their economy is teetering because of those sanctions.

And so I would say to Prime Minister Netanyahu statement, be careful what you wish. When you have a wounded animal trapped in a corner, and then you start poking it with a stick. What's it going to do? It's not going to cave in. It's not going to say, oh, yes, you're right. And I think Iran is behaving exactly as we -- as that analogy alludes to.

I think we need to be very careful about the situation in Iran now. I don't think we should be clapping and cheering that their society seems to be on the brink. I mean, I was 13 years old when the revolution happened in 1979. And that was fraud. That was -- that was terrible.

I think the European leaders and in fact, all of the six parties that were part of the Iran nuclear deal, still have time to dial things back and to see what might be salvaged not just with respect to the nuclear aspects but with respect to some type of rapprochement with Iran.

NEWTON: Yes. And as you said, it will be interesting to see Iran's posture especially given the protests and the trouble that they're having domestically at this moment. Paul, thanks so much for this. I really appreciate it.

[01:20:05]

CARROLL: My pleasure.

NEWTON: With less than a week into the highly anticipated U.K. election, candidates are making their final push trying to get out that vote. Plus, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in the horn of Africa because of droughts and floods. We go to Somaliland to see how people are surviving with these climate shocks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: In less than a week, voters will be heading to the polls in the U.K. for a general election and candidates aren't wasting any time trying to get out that all important vote. Now, on Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with voters. He's standing by his promise to get Brexit done if his conservative party wins and a majority.

Despite the Tories leading in the polls, Jeremy Corbyn the Labour Party is pledging to renegotiate Brexit, overhaul the economy, and bring changes to health care and education. Now, as the U.K. election nears, other U.K. parties are pushing to cancel Brexit altogether. CNN's Scott McLean spoke with the leader of the Liberal Democrats to find out why she's pushing back against the decision made by a majority of her voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Joyce Winston may be a boxing novice, but she's taking a big swing at Brexit despite the unmistakable message voters sent to Westminster in 2016.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 52 percent to 48 percent nationwide in favor of Brexit.

MCLEAN: Swinson, the fresh-faced leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats is aiming to capitalize on the central issue of the election campaign, Brexit. She's courting the 48 percent who voted to remain by pledging to cancel Brexit altogether, revoking the article 50 process, no debate, no vote.

JO SWINSON, LEADER, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: This is democratic election now, and people can make a choice. And if they want to stop Brexit, as Liberal Democrats, we're standing up for what we believe is the right position.

MCLEAN: Do you not respect the 52 percent of people who voted to leave the E.U. or do you just think that you know better than them?

SWINSON: I respect them and I respectfully disagree.

MCLEAN: Swinson's party is polling a distant third nationally, but hopes to do better after making a pact with two smaller pro-remain parties have agreed not to stand against each other in 60 constituencies all to consolidate the remain vote.

The Green Party is part of that pact, but candidate Caroline Lucas is no fan of Swinson's plan to cancel Brexit without a vote.

[01:25:19]

IAIN DALE, RADIO HOST: I just want to you to put your headphones on a second. I want to play you a clip.

CAROLINE LUCAS, CANDIDATE, GREEN PARTY PARLIAMENTARY: You wanted to send a message to 17.4 million people, but you don't give a (BLEEP) about what they just said. Why don't you just say so?

DALE: Caroline Lucas, you potty mouth.

LUCAS: Well, in my defense, I didn't realize that was being recorded. So although I stand by the sentiment --

MCLEAN: On his call-in radio show, host Iain Dale regularly gets an earful from voters who feel like it's the political establishment and the country's elites calling the shots not them. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They reason to send to last party that hasn't betrayed the vote that the referendum campaign calls for.

DALE: The people who lost the referendum can't really bear it. They think the people who voted for Brexit was stupid, sick, racist, whatever. And they just haven't come to terms with that result. And I'm afraid I don't think they ever will.

MCLEAN: And it's not just Swinson. Dale thinks politicians of all stripes have spent the last three years only pretending to move ahead on Brexit.

DALE: What they're actually doing is subverting democracy and it's a very dangerous game that they're playing.

MCLEAN: But they're not very subtle anymore.

DALE: Some are more subtle than others.

MCLEAN: Subtlety, it seems, is no longer required. Only one major party, Conservative, has promised to follow through with Brexit. The Scottish National Party has vowed to remain and the opposition Labour Party wants a second referendum.

So while Swinson's odds of becoming Prime Minister are long, she doesn't need to win outright to derail Brexit.

I wonder what kind of precedent you think that sets for democracy.

DALE: There will be a lot of people that withdraw from the democratic process altogether. They will think what is the point of voting if the politicians and the elites in Westminster don't respect that vote?

MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: A young woman in India, a rape survivor on her way to court to testify against her attackers, except she never made it. The terrible details of what happened coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:39]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Paula Newton.

The headlines this hour.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has instructed Democratic lawmakers to begin drafting articles of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump. Now still unknown is whether the formal accusations will stick solely to the Ukraine scandal or include elements from the Mueller report. House Judiciary Committee could draft and approve the final document by the end of next week.

In France, mass protests erupted across the country and thousands of workers are on strike over the government's plan to overhaul the pension system. The walk out has already impacted public transportation and schools. It is unclear how long the protest will last. Some unions predict it could be weeks.

Now, we are following breaking news out of India this hour, where four suspects who confessed in a high profile gang rape case and murder apparently were killed in a shootout with police. Now, police say it is part of the investigation.

The four men had been taken to the scene of the attack where they raped, strangled and burned a 27-year-old woman. The police then say the suspects seized weapons from the officers and a shootout erupted. All four of the suspects were pronounced dead at the scene.

Now that case sparked large protests right across India in the epidemic of sexual violence against women. And Thursday provided one more horrifying example.

A young woman on her way to testify against alleged rapists was attacked and set on fire.

Vedika Sud has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, REPORTER: A 23-year-old rape survivor has been attacked and set on fire in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in India. A senior police official says the woman was on her to court for the trial against the men accused of raping her when that attack took place.

The woman told the police that two of the men who raped her back in September 2018 were involved in these attacks along with three of their relatives. The police had arrested one of the accused rapists in September. He was later released on bail. Another man, accused in the rape, was never caught.

Five men had been arrested in Thursdays attack. The woman was immediately taken to a local hospital in Unnao for treatment. Later, she was moved to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

The doctor treating her says she has burns over 90 percent of her body and is in a critical condition. According to the latest government data, Uttar Pradesh has the second number of rape cases in the country.

These attacks come amidst mass protests over the alleged gang rape and murder of a 27-year-old Hyderabad woman.

Vedika Sud in New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Climate activist Greta Thunberg is on her way to Madrid for the U.N. climate conference. The Swedish teenager is taking the train from Lisbon, Portugal. She is scheduled to speak at COP 25 later Friday before joining a planned march through the Spanish capital.

Now, as the climate changes, the Horn of Africa is experiencing climate extremes, including unusually heavy rains and flooding. But at the same time the region is drying up faster than it has in 2,000 years.

Jomana Karadsheh traveled to Somaliland where people are suffering from the changing climate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH: Imagine learning to farm at 50 -- that's what Fosima (ph) is doing after losing all her goats and sheep to years of drought. These women are the survivors of extremes, they bear the brunt of climate shocks. Like other women in the developing world they produce 80 percent of their food.

But this village of Somaliland has fared better with this year's rains than most. Everyone feels climate shock here, desperately searching for water the rains once brought.

Historical climate data in the self-declared state that broke away from Somalia three decades ago is scant.

[01:34:53]

KARADSHEH: The local officials measuring rainfalls here say it has dropped by more than half in the past 50 years. The Horn of Africa is drying up faster than it ever has in the past 2,000 years according to a study by American scientists.

Even in the best of times, this inhospitable land has made life difficult for its people. For many, the change in climate has now made it impossible.

More than two thirds of the livestock died in the most recent killer droughts, turning tens of thousands of pasture-less (ph) into climate refugees living in makeshift camps for years with no way out in sight.

Mother of seven, Yurop Suleiman (ph) lost her entire herd of 200 goats two years ago.

"I have never worried for the life of my children, how to feed them, how to look after them," she says. "This was the worst drought I have ever seen."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are touching it. It is there.

SHUKRI HAJI ISMAIL BANDARE, ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER: Climate change is real, in Somaliland it's real. When you have an empty stomach, you don't have anything to put into your stomach or to put into your child's stomach -- that's when you feel it.

KARADSHEH: One of the world's poorest and least developed economies is overwhelmed. You can see how harsh life can be in the streets of the capital, Hargeisa.

Charcoal sellers like this one, just about everybody depends on it for cooking at the cost of cutting down and burning trees, transforming vanishing forests into deserts.

Even solutions are defeated by the very problem they are meant to solve. This was supposed to be a star resilience project.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I left it so beautifully. When I came this morning, I almost died.

KARADSHEH: This green house is an ingenious yet simple pilot design using desalinated seawater to grow food along Somaliland's arid coast. But two years out of three they've been beaten back by the climate crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is watermelon (ph).

KARADSHEH: rebuilding after last year's first-ever cyclone, getting battered by unprecedented winds this year, there is no question who is responsible, says Muse.

SADIA MUSE, MANAGER, SEAWATER GREENHOUSE SOMALILAND: The West -- those industrial countries who are producing all these gases into the air. Are we producing anything? No. we are just getting the impact. They should help us and pay for this

KARADSHEH: But the help just isn't there says the environment minister.

BANDARE: Because we are not recognized by the international community, that means you are not visible. You are not there. Definitely you're not there. You are in another world.

KARADSHEH: Searching for an economic lifeline, their government is now looking towards the sea, courting investors for more projects like the Dubai funded development of Berbera Port on the strategic Gulf of Aden.

Officials tell us they're mulling over a bold idea too move much of the population to the coast -- a generational undertaking that will be outpaced by the rapidly worsening climate.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN -- Somaliland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And we're going to take a short break. We'll be right back with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:40:08]

NEWTON: Ok, people are going bananas for a piece of art in Miami. This is a pun alert. This is entitled "Comedian" and it's a banana but in Miami grocery store -- stick with me -- duct taped to a wall. If that appeals to you, you can buy it for $120,000 -- no joke. There are three editions of the peace by artist Mauricio Catalan, according to our market Web site ArtNet. Two have already sold.

There are warnings to potential buyers, there's no clear instruction on what to do if the banana starts to rot, although, I would have some instructions for you.

Nancy Pelosi says a question from a reporter asked her if she hates President Trump, that she feels that question was, quote, "really disgusting". The U.S. House Speaker responded earlier during a CNN town hall after issuing a stark warning to the reporter, "don't mess with me". That moment has gone viral.

Jeanne Moos gives us the play by play.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a seven word question that stopped Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her tracks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you hate the President -- Madam Speaker?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I don't hate anybody.

MOOS: Speaker Pelosi did so much angry-pointing that it made her previous famed point directed at President Trump seem like a minor wag.

She then marched back to the microphone --

PELOSI: And as a Catholic, I resent your using the word "hate" in a sentence that addresses me. I don't hate anyone.

MOOS: Buckle your seatbelt, reporter James Rosen, from the pro-Trump Sinclair Broadcast Group.

PELOSI: So, don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.

MOOS: She then turned and stalked out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: But wow.

MOOS: It was the tirade that launched a thousand #Don't mess with me. Oh snap.

Pelosi's own daughter tweeted, "Don't mess with mama."

But not all Catholics took the high road or even a high and mighty road. "Speaker Pelosi is a better Catholic than I am. I hate Trump with every bead of my rosary.

Fans said of Pelosi, "She is magnificent." Critics said, "This woman is a loon."

President Trump tweeted, "Nancy Pelosi just had a nervous fit."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's going to be going to be a historic Pelosi quote for decades.

MOOS: Her latest quote, resurrected quotes about her.

SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you think a woman can't beat Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi does it every single day.

MOOS: It brought forth the Speaker's most famous gifts (ph), donning her power sunglasses, wielding her giant gavel, clapping back at President Trump, owning her the SNL nickname --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nancy Madame "Clap Back" Pelosi.

MOOS: Conservative Laura Ingraham tweeted. imagine if a male GOP House Speaker told a female reporter, don't mess with me. Responded someone like, I don't know, Trump?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What a stupid question that is. But I watch you a lot, you ask a lot of stupid questions.

MOOS: And speaking of hate, wouldn't you hate to be him?

PELOSI: So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: I'm so glad we saw his face as he was getting told by Nancy Pelosi, "Don't mess with mom." That's a message for everyone.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Paula Newton.

"WORLD SPORT" starts after the break.

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