Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Iran Releases Princeton Student In Prisoner Swap; Impeachment Battle; Uber: Nearly 6,000 Reports Of Sexual Assault In 2017, 2018; Labor Rights Take Center Stage With Dem Candidates In Iowa; U.S. Economy Adds 266,000 Jobs In November. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired December 07, 2019 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:18]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It's 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. out West.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We're following breaking news at this hour.

A Princeton graduate student held prisoner in Iran for three years is finally heading home as part of a prisoner swap between Tehran and Washington. Xiyue Wang is an American PhD student and was doing research in Tehran in 2016 when he was arrested on charges of spying and sentenced to ten years in Iran's notorious Evin prison.

Right now Wang is at a U.S. Army hospital in Germany for medical evaluation. From there he will travel back to the U.S. And we'll get more on that story when we get more information and bring it to you.

Kylie Atwood will be joining us later on.

All right. The shooting now state side at the Pensacola Naval Air Base in Florida. We're learning more about the gunman, Mohammed al Shamrani, a Saudi national. His uncle telling CNN exclusively that al Shamrani showed quote, "nothing suspicious" before he moved to the U.S. in 2017 to begin training at the base.

The gunman opened fire at the base Friday, killing three people before being killed by police.

We've got full coverage of this story for you with Natasha Chen following developments out of Florida, Admiral John Kirby in Washington, and CNN's Nic Robertson in Saudi Arabia.

Let's go to Natasha first. Tell us more about what the uncle is saying.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, an uncle of the suspected shooter told CNN again that he did not see anything suspicious about his nephew that would indicate he might attack people like this. He described his nephew as 21 years old. He said he was likeable and exceptionally smart. He said he kept in touch with his nephew after he came to the United States to start training. And that if he is found to be guilty, he said his nephew would be accountable to God.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: Four people are dead, including the shooter, after an attack on a Pensacola naval base by a member of the Saudi military. Authorities are now working to determine the motive.

GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: There's obviously going to be a lot of questions about, you know, this individual being a foreign national, being a part of the Saudi Air Force, and then to be here training on our soil.

CHEN: Two law enforcement sources tell CNN the shooter has been identified as Mohammed al Shamrani. President Trump, who has stood by the Saudi government in the past, relayed a message from King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The king said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter and that this person in no way, shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people so much.

CHEN: Officials say al Shamrani was part of an aviation training program on base and that weapons are not allowed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't bring a weapon on base.

CHEN: Eight others were injured in the attack that began just before 8:00 a.m. Eastern time in a classroom building on base. Among the wounded, two deputies from the Escambia County sheriff's office who exchanged gunfire with the shooter.

CHIEF DEPUTY CHIP SIMMONS, ESCAMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: The two deputies that initially engaged the suspect, one was shot in the arm and one was shot in the knee.

CHEN: The FBI is now leading the investigation and authorities caution it is still in the very early stages.

SHERIFF DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: This doesn't happen in Escambia County. It doesn't happen in Pensacola. It doesn't happen to our friends and neighbors who are members of the United States Navy. But it did and it has. And so for now we're here to pick up the pieces.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: Neither the hospital nor the FBI is giving us more information at this time about the victims. We know that a lot of things are affected on the base. Right now it's only open to essential military personnel and the families who live here. There are counseling services being offered. A holiday tree lighting that was supposed to happen today at an officer's club on base has been cancelled. And we have been hearing from the community about how much they're just shaken by this and how they'll be dealing with this for a long time -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen -- thank you so much from Pensacola.

Admiral Kirby -- John Kirby is joining us soon. There he is. Ok.

President Trump, you know, seemed to be, you know, reading the response from the King of Saudi Arabia almost verbatim. So, John, how did that strike you that the President was almost essentially acting as a messenger for the Saudi king?

[11:04:47]

ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY & DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Almost his press agent, right? Yes, I mean it was very much in keeping with the closeness that the President wants to keep Saudi Arabia and the King, specifically in this extremely friendly relationship that he's trying to make sure he fosters.

I found it a little bit inappropriate, to be honest with you. I mean it's one thing to pass on, hey, I heard from the King and he expressed his condolences but to read that statement verbatim. It was in striking contrast, Fred -- to what Governor DeSantis said at that little clip that we just showed at the presser yesterday in terms of holding the Saudis accountable or making sure that they pay a debt to the victims.

It was also, I think, in striking contrast to Senator Rick Scott who put out a statement yesterday saying he wanted a review of the program by which these international students are able to train on American soil.

So it almost portends a little bit of tension between the President and this relationship he wants to keep with Saudi Arabia, perhaps too close and some of his supporters in legislative positions, you know, in Florida and their concerns that they are probably answering from their constituents about why Saudis are here on this soil, on American soil.

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in Nic Robertson. So Nic -- you know, talk to us about, you know, the sequence of events. I mean that the shooting would take place and that the President of the United States would say that the Saudi king called him and then the President would actually deliver the message of the Saudi king. Talk to us about why and how this is significant.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Sure. I mean look, Saudi Arabia was President Trump's first international overseas visit as president. One of the things he did was trumpet the amount of military arms sales, more than $100 billion I believe the figure was at the time, that his visit here had been able to sort of initiate.

So that relationship, that economic relationship is important. But it's also important for the Saudi king. And I think specifically when we see the political criticism that President Trump has over this issue with the Saudi king, but in past issues with the killing of the "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The CIA believed that there was reason to believe that Mohammed bin Salman may have had a role in that, the king's son, the crown prince in this country.

So those political tensions already exist. And the king recognizes that. So I think what he tried to do by calling out so early -- it's not often that, a, the Saudi king gets involved, that b, he does so with such speed, and it really recognizes the importance he places on that relationship with President Trump.

Remember the Saudis didn't particularly like President Obama. They do like the fact that Trump is tough on Iran so he really does seem to want to protect that relationship but of course it's causing political backlash against President Trump when he handles it this way.

WHITFIELD: And, John, the Defense Department might want to re- evaluate this program in Pensacola. That's what's being reported. To what extent?

I mean clearly, you know, this is very disconcerting, disturbing -- but what kind of leverage might the Defense Department have in re- evaluating whether Saudis will come stateside to train in this program?

KIRBY: The Defense Department has enormous leverage. I mean it's their program. Obviously the initial vetting is done by the State Department through the consular offices located at embassies around the world, but eventually the final approval for foreign students to be trained here in the United States is done by DOD.

And Secretary of Defense Mark Esper just yesterday told reporters he's willing to take a look at this program and I think they're also going to be looking at the vetting itself for the program. And I also would be not surprised at all to see DOD look at their military installation access and security protocols also as a result of this.

So I would suspect quite a bit of internal navel-gazing here by the Defense Department about this entire program and access to bases as a result. And I think that's appropriate. I don't know what they'll find or what changes they might make.

I will say this, though, Fred, the training program is important. We sell a lot of these weapons and platforms to these foreign governments. We need to be able to expect that they can operate them safely and effectively, not just for their own national security interests but for ours because they're going to be operating with our pilots in the air, our ships at sea. So it's important that this training program continue.

It is definitely in our national security interests to do that. WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Admiral John

Kirby in Washington, Nic Robertson in Riyadh Saudi Arabia -- thank you so much.

All right. Now to other breaking news at this hour. A Princeton graduate student held prisoner in Iran for three years is finally heading home as part of a prisoner swap between Tehran and Washington.

Kylie Atwood is a CNN national security reporter and joining me right now from Washington. So Kylie -- what are you hearing about this?

[11:10:00]

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. So we spoke with a senior administration official this morning who said that Xiyue Wang is in very good health. He's in good spirits and he is really looking forward to coming home.

We have a photo that was tweeted out this morning from the State Department of Wang with Brian Hook, who is a senior State Department official. And the senior White House official who spoke with reporters this morning said this is a very good outcome for the United States. This is an American who has been wrongfully detained in Iran for more than three years.

And they are hopeful that this will lead to positive momentum when it comes to the other Americans that are being wrongfully detained in Iran because we should note that there are other Americans who are still there and have not yet been released.

WHITFIELD: So what an incredible experience he has had. Do we have any kind of idea what kind of debriefing, you know, will be -- what kind of information will be extrapolated from any kind of debriefing that will likely happen?

ATWOOD: Yes, so we don't know exactly when he's going come back to the United States, but what we do know is that there are plans for him to potentially come to the White House.

Robert O'Brien, who is now the national security advisor to President Trump, was the hostage affairs negotiator at the State Department. He is someone who has been personally involved in this case.

And so the expectation is that he would -- Xiyue Wang would come to the White House and meet with Robert O'Brien and very likely meet with President Trump as well. We know that this is an administration that has worked very hard on securing the release of Americans who are wrongfully detained in Iran. That is a top priority for President Trump.

Now, on the flip side of this, however, we need to recognize the fact that this is being cast by the Iranians as a prisoner swap. And the United States is not pushing back on that characterization and saying it is wrong. They are saying that it can be deemed whatever folks want to call it essentially. But there was an Iranian scientist who was released. The charges were dropped by the Department of Justice. And he was released at the same time as the Iranians released Xiyue Wang.

So there was a trade-off here but a senior administration official said that they wanted to make it clear that the U.S. did not pay any ransom here. They didn't pay any money for this. And this is a very good outcome in the eyes of the Trump administration.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kylie Atwood in Washington -- thank you so much.

All Right. Up next, a busy day on Capitol Hill as Democrats gear up for Monday's impeachment hearing. We'll have a live report. Meanwhile, the White House says it will not take part in the House-led hearings. Why administration officials are calling it a charade.

[11:12:38]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Democrats on the House judiciary committee are meeting right now, preparing their strategy for a key impeachment proceeding. They are expected to have a mock hearing today to practice for the actual hearing set for Monday when lawyers for the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees will present evidence against President Donald J. Trump.

CNN Politics Reporter, Jeremy Herb is on Capitol Hill.

All right. So Jeremy -- what do we understand this rehearsal is going to be like?

JEREMY HERB, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, you know, members are going right behind me into this room. And the fact that they're here on a Saturday -- and they're coming in again on Sunday -- shows just how much that the committee is trying to get all of the details right.

They're practicing in the committee room where Monday's hearing is going to take place and they're going to learn more today, we think, about what Monday's hearing will look like. We're expecting the House Intelligence and House Judiciary Committees to present their evidence.

For the House Intelligence Committee, that would be the evidence of the Ukraine scandal and all of the witnesses that we saw that came in. The Judiciary Committee could be presenting on the Mueller report and obstruction of justice.

And what this hearing is going to do, it's going to lay the groundwork for potential articles of impeachment. After Monday's hearing, we could see a mark-up of those articles as soon as later next week with a committee vote potentially at the end of the week.

Now, the big debate right now that's going on is what is going to be in those articles of impeachment. And in particular will they include items related to the Mueller report and obstruction of justice?

Now, the judiciary committee has been investigating that, but there are moderates who resisted an impeachment inquiry until it was only focused on Ukraine and they have been expressing concerns that the articles could expand. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAX ROSE (D), NEW YORK: I was against going through with impeachment previous to this Ukraine matter. So with the understanding that I'm not going to entertain any hypotheticals I was very serious when I came out and said that, very serious.

REP. GIL CISNEROS (D), CALIFORNIA: I think we need to stay focused on Ukraine. That's what it's about. That's when me and my colleagues wrote the op-ed, it was about Ukraine and the President put our national security at risk. And that's what I'm ready to vote one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HERB: Now, the Judiciary Committee, there are many members here, who want to see Mueller's report included. They say that not putting it in the articles would effectively excuse the President from that conduct.

This is a decision we think will ultimately be made by a small group of people -- Chairman Nadler, the Intelligence community chairman Adam Schiff and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. So this is what we're going to be watching out for to see if we get any clues today on tomorrow -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Herb -- keep us posted. Thanks so much.

All right. Meanwhile, the White House is refusing to take part in Monday's hearing, issuing a letter in fact to the House Judiciary Committee attacking the inquiry as, I'm quoting now, "baseless", and quote, "a reckless abuse of power", end quote.

The chairman of the committee, Jerrold Nadler, responded with this statement, saying, quote, "If the President has no good response to the allegations, then he would not want to appear before the committee. Having declined this opportunity, he cannot claim that the process is unfair," end quote.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us. So Kristen, explain what is the strategy here? Because, you know, the White House has been saying this process is not fair. Their people haven't been a part of it. And now an invitation to do so but then turning down that invite.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right -- Fred.

Taking a look at this as a whole here, it appears that their strategy is not to engage, at least while these impeachment proceedings are still in the House of Representatives. And this really isn't that much of a surprise.

[11:19:55]

HOLMES: While, as you said, the President and his allies continually said that the process was unfair, that they didn't have representation, they also stonewalled the investigation at every turn. They did not allow White House aides to testify. They did not turn over White House documents. And now they are refusing to participate.

Now, they did send out a letter late last night to the judiciary committee and it was a scathing letter. And here's what it read in part.

It says House Democrats have wasted enough of America's time with this charade. You should end this inquiry now and not waste even more time with additional hearings. Adopting articles of impeachment would be a reckless abuse of power by House Democrats and would constitute the most unjust, highly partisan and unconstitutional attempt at impeachment in our nation's history."

So really slamming those House Democrats there.

Now the letter ended with a quote from a tweet of President Trump's which essentially said hurry up, get this vote done in the House and have this move on to the Senate. The point there being that President Trump, his allies, Republicans, believe that this is going to go in the President's favor once this gets to the Senate, once they do have a hearing there. That's because of course, Republicans control the senate right now. So we'll have to see if that is in fact how this works out.

WHITFIELD: Kristen Holmes, thank you so much. We'll keep checking.

All right. Minutes after the Speaker, the House Speaker announced the House would proceed with articles of impeachment, there was this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I don't hate anybody. I was raised in a Catholic house and don't hate anybody. Not anybody in the world. Don't you accuse me --

JAMES ROSEN: I did not accuse you.

PELOSI: You did. You did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That to a question asking if she hates the President.

Next, what Nancy Pelosi's "don't mess with me" moment says about her leadership style.

[11:21:44]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. For weeks now President Trump and critics of the impeachment inquiry have claimed the whole thing is nothing but a partisan exercise based on Democrats' dislike of the President. This week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back hard at criticism and a question about asking whether her hatred of the President was driving all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: I don't hate anybody.

(CROSSTALKING)

PELOSI: I was raised in a Catholic house and don't hate anybody. Not anybody in the world.

I think the President is a coward when it comes to helping our kids who are afraid of gun violence. I think he is cruel when he doesn't deal with helping our dreamers of which we're very proud. I think he's in denial about the climate crisis. However, that's about the election. This is about the -- take it up in the election.

This is about the constitution of the United States and the facts that lead to the President's violation of his oath of office.

And as a Catholic, I resent you're using the word "hate" in a sentence that addresses me. I don't hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is a heart full of love and always prayed 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)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about this and the tone that perhaps it may be setting or resetting. With me now Julian Zelizer, a historian and professor at Princeton University and a CNN political analyst. David Swerdlick is an assistant editor for the "Washington Post and a CNN political commentator. Good to see you both.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right.

So David -- you first. You know, that question provoked House Speaker Pelosi to set the record straight on the use of the word "hate" in association with her. Did it also reinforce her style of leading, especially on the eve of these articles of impeachment being drafted?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Good morning -- Fred.

Certainly the reporter had the right to ask that question but I don't blame Speaker Pelosi for going back to the podium and giving that sort of full-throated and rather kind of, you know, terse response to the reporter.

Look, number one, she was not pushing for impeachment until this Ukraine controversy came along. She was putting the brakes on her caucus during the period of the Mueller report saying we're not there yet with impeachment. She only moved forward with it when the Ukraine call came to light.

Number two, I think it's sexist. I just don't see a reporter in that situation asking a male Speaker of the House do you hate the President. It suggests that she can't do her job objectively and at arm's length and is sort of emotional about it.

WHITFIELD: That it's emotional.

SWERDLICK: Yes. Yes. And I just -- I think that's the connotation.

And then lastly, Fred -- just real quick, it reminded me of the hearings earlier this week when some of the Republicans in the Judiciary Committee asked some of the legal scholars testifying who they voted for or who they gave money to, as if you can't give an opinion or have a view on impeachment and on the fact presented for impeachment without letting your partisan feelings get in the way.

So yes -- there's this ongoing issue of whether or not Democrats have Trump derangement syndrome. It's not surprising that it was asked but I just think that it was the wrong direction to go to get answers on where we're headed with this.

WHITFIELD: So Julian -- even before that moment, you know, of Pelosi, there was this image you know, at the White House standing and pointing to the President when she said, you know, she told everyone later she said, you know, all roads lead to Putin.

You know, the House Speaker made it very clear how she was leading her caucus with serious caution, as David underscored on impeachment. But now she says full steam ahead. Draft articles of impeachment. Why is she so confident in this move now?

ZELIZER: Well, the first thing she did was to round up enough votes informally to make sure that she could do this. And when she focused on Ukraine, she understood that she had the support of almost the entire caucus, including the moderates who were very ambivalent about it.

Once she does that, her style is to move forward with full force and vigor.

[11:29:52]

ZELIZER: And she understands what this all means. She understands that the only way really to counteract the President is with great clarity and to push back against these kinds of talking points, that this is about hating the President rather than hating the way he has used his power.

And so I think she's going to bring this to its completion, which will be a vote on articles of impeachment, which is a historic moment in American history.

SWERDLICK: Yes.

WHITFIELD: David -- do you see, you know, Speaker Pelosi strengthening the party on Capitol Hill with a unified consensus or is she making Dems more vulnerable? Particularly there are a lot of, you know, moderates who have expressed real concern about how to proceed on articles of impeachment, whether to incorporate, you know, Ukraine singularly or to also invite the Mueller probe facts?

SWERDLICK: So any impeachment vote is probably going to leave a few House Democrats vulnerable in next year's elections, but the consensus and everything you hear when you talk to Democrats on the Hill is that they felt that at this point they had no choice to move forward.

As Julian said, Speaker Pelosi knows how to whip count. She knows she had mostly the votes going into this. She probably will lose a few and add Congressman Amash, who's an independent now, to her number when this comes to the floor. In terms of what articles of impeachment they vote on, you're going to have more Democrats drop off if you go to a wider set of articles of impeachment that include some of the allegations in the Mueller report and that is why I think many of the Democrats in her caucus are pushing to just focus on Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: So Julian -- your write on CNN.com is really fascinating because you say, you know Pelosi is doing what no one else seems to be able to accomplish, you know, seize back the public square from the Trump White House.

So you see Pelosi's, you know, posture as putting the President in check, you know. Or as you write with great clarity, you know, she has explained the President is dangerous. That's the word that you used. But to what degree, you know. I mean he does still have the bully pulpit.

ZELIZER: Yes. He does have the bully pulpit. I mean early in his presidency it was hard for Democrats to focus on any other issue other than whatever the President did. His latest tweet, his latest statement, his latest kind of controversial policy move.

But since she decided to move for the impeachment, this has been a national conversation about how he has abused his power and about how foreign policy has been corrupted. And that was ultimately what this impeachment inquiry revealed and now it will be a formal mark where Democrats will take a vote saying, yes, this is what the President did and this is the choice voters have in 2020.

And similarly Republicans will have to vote and say this is ok with us. And I think that's a very powerful thing for a Speaker to do. He has the bully pulpit, but so does Congress. And she's just shown how she can also frame what's going on in American politics in the same way he does.

WHITFIELD: So then, David- you know, the President is very rarely silent. So is there greater danger now, you know, or even risk for him to criticize the House Speaker as he has already? SWERDLICK: Well --

WHITFIELD: You know, previous to her taking that particular stand yesterday.

SWERDLICK: N, I get you. No, Fred -- I mean I think the President's style is always to, as he says, counterpunch. He doesn't really have another approach. It has worked for him throughout his private and public career. I don't expect him to stop.

I think what's harder for him to do in challenging Speaker Pelosi and part of this goes to what Julian wrote about is that she's a contemporary of his. She's not one of the sort of new back benchers in Congress. She's not someone who's scared.

She's someone who's on his level as the first woman Speaker of the House. She's a historical figure. And she -- you know, her father and I think brother were the mayor of Baltimore. She's understood hardball party politics all her life.

And so what she's demonstrating here is that even though she sometimes does it gently or teases the President, sometimes, tom sort of sticks a finger in his chest, she understands how to go toe to toe with him.

Democrats ultimately are not going to remove the President, but I think she is showing her caucus that they don't have to be afraid to move ahead with an impeachment vote.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And she actually made her statement a couple of days ago, I said yesterday. All these days are running together just one really big day.

All right. Julian Zelizer, David Swerdlick -- thank you so much to both of you. Appreciate it.

SWERDLICK: Thanks -- Fred.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, Uber releases stunning statistics about sexual assault raising new concerns now about passengers' security.

[11:34:37]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right.

This morning, Uber is confirming the extent of its safety problems for the first time. The ride-share company reporting nearly 6,000 alleged incidents of sexual assault in 2017 and 2018.

CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent, Drew Griffin's reporting first put the spotlight on Uber drivers accused of sex crimes. He has more now on these new revelations from Uber. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Buried on page 59 of a polished, long-anticipated report are the stunning numbers -- 5,981 sexual assaults reported over two years; 464 of them rapes.

Uber emphasizing with millions of rides daily, the odds of attack are minuscule, but Tony West, Uber's chief legal officer who for nearly two years now has refused to be interviewed by CNN admitted to NBC the number is alarming.

TONY WEST, UBER CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER: That's a hard number, but I'm not surprised. And I'm not surprised because sexual violence is just much more pervasive in society than I think most people realize.

[11:39:52]

GRIFFIN: CNN sounded the alarm in April of 2018 in an investigation that uncovered the serious problem of drivers assaulting passengers.

This woman was attacked by her Uber driver in Miami, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the crime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next morning, I woke up and both my pants and my underwear were on the floor.

GRIFFIN: In a series of reports on Uber assaults, CNN exposed a practice where the ride-share company sought to quietly settle sexual assault complaints with out of court settlements in exchange for nondisclosure agreements from victims. Uber changed the policy after our report, no longer requiring victims to sign NDAs.

CNN found dozens of cases of sexual assault and abuse by scouring public records, police reports, civil and criminal court cases, but sources told us then there were many, many more. Uber's report confirms that.

CNN also found that thousands of Uber drivers had criminal records. One was even an accused war criminal. All as Uber lobbied local governments against tougher rules for background checks. Since CNN's investigation, Uber added safety features to its app, says they have improved and tightened background checks, and with this report is vowing to be more transparent on the safety of riding in an Uber.

Early estimates for 2019 show sexual assaults in Ubers (ph) continue. Uber claims the rate is dropping, but based on its own recent statistics, every day someone is sexual assaulted taking an Uber ride.

WEST: Uber couldn't simply ignore what was happening on its platform. And most importantly we have to then address it.

GRIFFIN: Uber is not the only ride-share company with a problem. Lyft also admits it is dealing with sexual assaults and has vowed to release its own transparency report in the near future.

Drew Griffin, CNN -- Atlanta. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, as 2020 hopefuls crisscross the state of Iowa, Joe Biden trots out a heavyweight supporter. We'll tell you who's stumping with the former VP.

[11:42:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In just two months, voters in Iowa will head to the polls for the first in the nation Democratic caucus. And today, six presidential hopefuls are looking to gather some Iowa momentum at a presidential forum in Cedar Rapids. Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden will all answer questions from moderators and people in the audience at the afternoon event hosted by the Teamsters Union.

Jessica Dean is there and joining us right now. So, Jessica -- Iowa is a pretty big deal for all of these candidates. What can we expect from them today?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're exactly right -- Fred.

Listen, right now they want to talk to as many people as they possibly can, as Iowans get closer to making their final decisions. I mean our recent polling shows Pete Buttigieg is the clear front-runner here in Iowa, but it's still a very fluid race. People still making up their minds.

That's why events like this with the Teamsters today are very important so they can get that message out. And to that end many of these candidates have been all across Iowa in the last few days.

And Joe Biden particularly. He is wrapping up an eight-day bus tour today of Iowa. Here's a little bit of what they have been up to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How's it feel to have your friend with you?

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It feels great to have my friend with me. I can't think of anybody I'd rather have.

DEAN: Two old friends together again as former secretary of state John Kerry joins former vice president Joe Biden on the campaign trail.

JOHN KERRY, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I am endorsing Joe Biden not because I've known him so long but because I have known him so well.

DEAN: In addition to Kerry bolstering Biden's experience argument, the Biden campaign hopes to capture some of the former Democratic nominee's come-from-behind magic that led to his 2004 victory in the Iowa caucuses.

BIDEN: Winner of the Iowa caucus, which kind of helps. You all know him like I do. That sounds pretty good to me.

DEAN: Kerry's presence is just one piece of the Biden campaign's more aggressive approach to Iowa this week. In the last seven days, Biden has held 16 events, mostly in rural areas.

BIDEN: I need your help. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

DEAN: A confident Biden also taking emboldened swipes at his rivals, questioning voter enthusiasm for Senator Elizabeth Warren and telling reporters Mayor Pete Buttigieg stole his health care plan.

Biden also engaging in a heated back-and-forth with an Iowa voter who said the former vice president was too old and accused him of sending his son to go work for a Ukrainian gas company.

BIDEN: You're a damn liar, man. That's not true.

DEAN: Meantime his campaign launched a scathing video targeting President Trump saying the world is laughing at him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Several world leaders mocking President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're laughing at him.

DEAN: And even as Biden makes the case the Democratic Party isn't as far left as progressive New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, telling Axios --

BIDEN: She's a bright, wonderful person. But where's the party? Come on, man.

DEAN: A super PAC supporting Biden cut an add for Iowa airwaves painting him as a long-time progressive, highlighting his early support of issues like same-sex marriage.

BIDEN: The right to marry who you choose. The right to live free from the threat of violence and fear. These are basic fundamental, universal human rights.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And there's a group of voters here in Iowa who say that beating President Trump is their top priority, but they don't support Joe Biden. And those are voters the Biden campaign sees as persuadable in these final weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

That message that you just heard across that piece there, what they have been talking to Iowans about all week, was directly aimed at them, Fred -- at those voters who want to beat Donald Trump. The Biden campaign trying to get their message across that Biden is uniquely qualified to be that person and that he's ready to lead on day one. You can expect to hear more of that from Joe Biden here in Cedar Rapids today.

[11:49:56]

WHITFIELD: All right. Jessica Dean in Cedar Rapids -- thank you so much.

All right. Something the 2020 Dems will have to contend with -- another soaring job's report. Next details on the state of the U.S. economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Some pretty eye-catching numbers in the November jobs report. Unemployment at a 50-year low now.

CNN's Cristina Alesci has a deeper look at the employment data.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That is right, a gangbusters jobs report surpassing all expectations. Look, this data helps Donald Trump going into 2020, no doubt about it. He's going to continue to hammer how successful his economic policies have been but I'm also watching other data which shows a less rosy picture of employment in America.

Swing states like Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin all lost jobs in the first ten months of the year. That is according to the most recently available state by state jobs data which was analyzed by a think tank called Economic Innovation Group. The group focuses on the geography of economic growth.

And the fact that these states were shedding jobs is pretty stunning because most other states have obviously benefited under the President this year. Michigan which the President narrowly won in 2016 lost about 26,000 manufacturing jobs from January through October, Wisconsin shed 8,500 manufacturing jobs, and Ohio registered a loss of 7,300 all in the same period.

[11:54:51]

ALESCI: But there's one important caveat here, We may see these numbers bounce back in November. That is because striking GM workers resumed work after a six-week strike that began in mid September.

And Trump's economic policy also doesn't seem to be working for the deep red state of West Virginia. The Mountain State is on track to have the worst performing economy in the country over the next six months. That's according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimate. This is damning for a state that Trump promised to help in 2016.

Look at neighboring swing state Pennsylvania and that's also hurting. The Philadelphia Fed says the state will likely experience an economic retraction into the second quarter of 2020.

Now Trump might ignore the hardships facing these states which are deep-rooted and not easily felt by things like tax cuts and farm subsidies. Luckily for Trump this kind of information does not grab as much attention as the monthly jobs report.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you -- Cristina.

All right. Now to a story that's going to make everybody feel good. It comes out of Michigan. The boy bouncing right there that can't stay still in his seat, he is five-year-old Michael. And when he showed up at a court house in Grand Rapids Thursday for an adoption hearing with his foster parents, he had this rather unusual, boisterous and excited crowd of supporters -- his entire kindergarten class. His adoptive parents and the judge were simply thrilled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA, MICHAEL'S ADOPTIVE MOM: He brings us a lot of joy. He's so full of energy and so full of -- it's just been great for everybody.

JUDGE PATRICIA GARDNER, KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Never have I experienced it before. This was loads of fun. And the kids were into it and supporting their best friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: One big, happy family and community there. Congrats to Michael and his new family.

All right. Join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa, live, as they do name the 2019 CNN Hero of the year. "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" tomorrow night 8:00 p.m.

[11:56:50]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)