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Impeachment Trial of Donald J. Trump; WHO to Convene Emergency Meeting on Coronavirus Outbreak; Countries to Quarantine Citizens Evacuated From China; U.K. Gets Brexit Approval From European Union. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 30, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a long day, but it was one that actually had and served a very real purpose for senators on both sides of the aisle, for the House managers and for the president's lawyers, an opportunity, the first opportunity for the senators themselves to ask questions of both sides.

Now, the Chief Justice, John Roberts, was the one actually asking the questions, but senators from both sides rotating back and forth from Republican to Democrat throughout the course of Wednesday asked the questions that have been driving their thought process throughout this process.

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PATRICK PHILBIN, DEPUTY COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT: I think it's important at the outset to frame the answer by bearing in mind I'm limited to what's in the record and what's in the record is determined by what the House of Representatives sought. So, I can't point to something in the record that shows President Trump at an earlier time mentioning specifically something related to Joe or Hunter Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: That was one of a couple of questions that the White House counsel simply didn't have a firm answer to. Whether because they didn't believe it was in the trial record and therefore couldn't address it or they just didn't have an answer at all. And it's those answers that really underscored why Democrats during and after the proceedings made clear they believe that the question and answer piece, at least the first part of it on Wednesday, underscored the need for witnesses and for documents.

Now, that vote is coming up in the days ahead and it is still a nail- biter, those are the words of one Democrat who is keeping an eye on things. But the reality is this, I'm told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is right on the brink of having the votes to defeat that motion to move forward to consider witnesses and documents. Obviously, this is one day after McConnell said that he didn't have the votes yet, but he's been working hard behind the scenes, private meetings with Murkowski, working hard with all his Republican colleagues to try to get them to a point they will vote down on moving forward on witnesses and documents.

And I should note, if you listen very closely to the White House counsel's arguments throughout the course of Wednesday, they repeatedly made the point that moving forward on witnesses and documents would be problematic because it would make the trial significantly longer, it would set potential precedent issues that Republicans may come to regret later.

A lot of the same arguments McConnell has been holding behind closed doors, I'm said. That said, there is still another full day of questions and answers. Friday there will be a four-hour debate from both sides on whether or not to move to witnesses and documents. And then there will be a vote.

If that vote goes down, I'm told right now McConnell plans to work very quickly to try to have a final vote to acquit the president of all charges -- Phil Mattingly, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: At the very center of this question of witnesses testifying before the Senate trial is John Bolton. And it seems the president's former national security adviser has joined that long and distinguished list of those who were once the greatest, the smartest, the bestest ever.

Well, now, just part of life's major disappointments.

On Twitter, the president lamented.

"For a guy who couldn't get approved for the ambassador to the U.N. years ago, couldn't get approved for anything since, begged me for a non-Senate approved job, which I gave him, despite many saying, don't do it, sir. Takes the job, mistakenly says "Libyan model" on TV and many more mistakes of judgment, gets fired, because, frankly, if I listen to him, we would be in World War VI by now and goes out and immediately writes a nasty and untrue book. All classified national security. Who would do this?

We'll look now into the impeachment trial with Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, joining us from Charlottesville.

One thing I have noticed in this trial, since it began, the president's lawyers have been laying out multiple and at times competing arguments. This seems to be the old defense strategy of arguing in the alternative and in the process giving Republican senators a smorgasbord of options to justify whatever decision they may make. For example, here is Lindsey Graham on calling witnesses.

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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Here's where I am at on witnesses. I am ready to make my decision based on the record established in the House. The House chose not to pursue witnesses that were available to them. And I don't want to start a precedent of just doing it half- assed in the House and expect Senate to fix it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Larry, if you listen to Graham, calling witnesses would be a dangerous precedent because it would mean that the House could do an impeachment with little evidence and then leave the heavy lifting to the Senate. And that would be a dangerous precedent as opposed to a dangerous precedent of not conducting a proper trial, which 75 percent of Americans believe should have witnesses.

Is that close to the mark?

LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: I think that is exactly right. We're in several positions on witnesses just in the past few weeks. It has changed a lot. And it's all situational.

[02:05:00]

SABATO: We know what's going on.

The lawyers on both sides, particularly the Republican lawyers, are throwing every possible rationale out there, not to have witnesses and also in defending the president so Republican senators can pick and choose the explanations they like the best and that will convince their constituents they are right.

VAUSE: So this is just about politics and we've known that from the beginning.

Senator Mitt Romney on the other hand, is a Republican senator leaning towards the barter system for witnesses, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I think news reports of the individuals thinking about witnesses that may not have been thinking about it before, but I cannot begin to predict what the ultimate vote will be.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that's (INAUDIBLE)?

ROMNEY: I think that's a measure that has a fairness associated with it (ph).

RAJU: (INAUDIBLE) Hunter Biden?

ROMNEY: I wouldn't tell (INAUDIBLE) call. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So the Democrats are the holdouts on this. I guess there is a risk of legitimizing the spew (ph) on the Bidens.

Wouldn't it be a chance for Joe Biden to clear the air, which would be a small price to pay to hear from John Bolton?

SABATO: If he is willing to do it. I think it is a good bargain. At least it would give John Bolton and one or two other Republican witnesses up there to tell what they saw, in the room or on the call or they had particular information that could really help people understand what is really going on.

Will Biden be willing to do that?

I don't know.

Will Democrats push in that direction?

I don't know.

Again, Senator Romney has also had several positions on this. He suggested a couple days ago it was very likely that there were 51 votes to have witnesses. Now he has pulled back on that.

Every day we get a different story about whether there are 51 votes to have witnesses. It makes you wonder what is going on behind the scenes other than a lot of pressure.

VAUSE: To that point, Mitch McConnell, the leader in the Senate, did make it be known publicly just 24 hours ago that he did not have the numbers to block witnesses from being called.

Whatever it was, it seemed to be a rallying cry for the president's allies to start applying pressure to those senators who may be open to witnesses, like Mitt Romney. So that pressure came, for example, from Sean Hannity on Wednesday night -- Tuesday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: I liked Mitt Romney. He would've been a great president in 2012. He was the better person to be president. I thought I was friends with Mitt Romney. I don't recognize this guy anymore.

But this sanctimonious Trump hatred is getting old. I haven't heard you talk about quid pro quo Joe. I haven't heard you talk about zero experience Hunter either. I haven't heard you ask for them to be called as witnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I think Sean is breaking up with Mitt. But on top of that, (INAUDIBLE) which is this conservative economic group, released an attack ad on Romney. Here is part of it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): There is Mitt Romney, threatening to vote with Democrats again. Trot out spotlight seeking blowhards who will trash President Trump on the witness stand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It's interesting they even included images of John Bolton in that ad.

Is this solely, this pressure campaign, aimed at the senators like Romney, who may be on the fence or is it a warning as well to all others that this is what happens if you start thinking about going for witnesses?

SABATO: Of course it's a warning. None of the other Republican senators want to go through what Mitt Romney is going through. Obviously Romney just started a Senate term and does not have to worry about this for six years.

But some of the others on the ballot with Trump in November really don't want bad relations with the president. So I think it is a useful warning to them.

And what you suggested is absolutely true. This is all about sending a message to the handful of Republican senators, who might be willing to vote for witnesses and it was a good sell (ph) for the president because the president sometimes does not like to hear this kind of bad news in person.

McConnell, Senate via the media. So whatever upset the president had was not (INAUDIBLE) directed at McConnell. (INAUDIBLE).

VAUSE: Let's finish up with jumping the shark in terms of legal arguments. TV lawyer and the guy who got O.J. off, Alan Dershowitz, seems to (INAUDIBLE) multiple times on this question on what is and is not abuse of power. Here's part of it.

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ALAN DERSHOWITZ, TRUMP ATTORNEY: It would be a much harder case if a hypothetical president of the United States said to a hypothetical leader of a foreign country, unless you build a hotel with my name on it and unless you give me a $1 million kickback, I will withhold the funds. That's an easy case. That is purely corrupt and in the purely private interest.

But a complex middle case is I want to be elected. I think I'm a great president. I think I'm the greatest president there ever was and, if I'm not elected, the national interest will suffer greatly. That cannot be an impeachable offense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: If that argument was applied in any case, like Watergate, Richard Nixon, then that article of impeachment would not be applicable because clearly Nixon thought he was great. Every president thinks they're great. It's nuts.

SABATO: No, it's a crazy argument Dershowitz has made on other occasions but he's gone to a new extreme here. Essentially if we take the Dershowitz standard then no president will ever be guilty of abuse of power as long as they can cite benefit to themselves and claim that it's a benefit for the country.

So it was a very unimpressive argument. Even if you're balanced on this and you haven't taken a position on whether Trump should actually be ousted, whether he is guilty of what the Constitution specifies as high crimes and misdemeanors, I think the precedents being set are disturbing.

And it won't be long before another president is going to use these precedents and it could be a Democrat, to get off whatever charges are brought.

VAUSE: Larry, good to see you, thank you.

SABATO: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

The third signs of what is well known as the coronavirus appeared lid timber.

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VAUSE: While there are still many unanswered questions, we know it is spreading fast at this point, faster than the 2003 SARS outbreak and faster than anyone imagined. The White House has asked a presidential task force who will monitor the level of threat the U.S. is facing.

And in a few hours the Geneva-based World Health Organization will hold another emergency meeting to decide if the world is facing an impending global crisis.

China now reports almost 8,000 confirmed cases. Two new hospitals are under construction to treat a growing number of patients. The death toll stands at 170, all in China and there are more than 100 confirmed cases worldwide.

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MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WHO HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAMME: The whole world needs to be on alert now. The whole world needs to take action and be ready for any cases that come.

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VAUSE: Flying down to Beijing, Steven, we have almost 1,000 confirmed cases just in China alone. There is also an expected 9,000 other cases as well. What we seem to be seeing is that these number of cases just surges from day to day. I guess the question is, when will it peak?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: Some government advisers and medical experts are saying it may peak in 10to 14 days around Lantern Festival but that may be an optimistic guess because, so far, the trend is not really showing that.

A lot of these cases are being confirmed faster now because they have more testing kits available, more medical personnel available in Hubei province. They're also focusing on taking in and treating more patients there.

But still there is a lot of challenges there. Even the Hubei governor as recently as on Wednesday nights was telling an audience that they were experiencing severe shortages of medical supplies. That's why I think why the national leadership acknowledged the situation of this virus remains grave and complex.

This is now more than Hubei. It's spread across the country. Every one of the 31 provinces on the mainland has confirmed cases, including 14 provinces with more than 100 confirmed cases, which is why they're now casting a wide net when it comes to a screening and prevention tactics.

That, of course, is increasingly difficult as people are ready to come back to their workplaces from hometowns, when Lunar New Year holiday ends on this coming Sunday.

VAUSE: Steven, we appreciate the update. Live for us in Beijing.

(INAUDIBLE) live in Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of this outbreak and, on Wednesday, almost 200 left the virus zone and arrived on a charter flight at a military base in California. They'll be monitored for signs of the disease over the next few days.

So far they all seem fine. But not everyone who wanted to get out of China was allowed on that flight. CNN's David Culver has their story.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): American flag in hand, 8-year-old Hermione Dickey was so close to returning to the United States, ready to leave behind the locked down epicenter of the coronavirus, Wuhan, China. But she and her mom, Priscilla, never boarded.

HERMIONE DICKEY, U.S. CITIZEN: I didn't have my passport so I couldn't get on the plane.

CULVER: 201 other Americans did get on the plane, including U.S. diplomats and their families along with a select number of civilians. Hermione's passport was in another city with her dad and could not be mailed into the locked down zone. Normally they'd go to the consulate in Wuhan for help.

PRISCILLA DICKEY, U.S. CITIZEN: The consulate is gone. The consulate was on the plane.

JOHN MCGORY, U.S. CITIZEN: That's a little disconcerting that they have a plane and most of the people on it are from the consulate.

So, you know, we feel a little bit left behind.

CULVER: An American teacher, John McGory, had recently submitted his passport for visa processing.

MCGORY: Unfortunate for me I didn't have my passport. The school has it. I was getting a two-week extension on my visa.

CULVER: Others countries chartering flights to evacuate their citizens out of the epicenter. This image showing a pilot wrapped in protective gear.

Around 200 Japanese citizens were evacuated Wednesday telling reporters they feel relief to be home. Adding that the situation in Wuhan is deteriorating.

China has dispatched medical teams to the front lines of the outbreak, Hubei province. State media shows the first two of hospitals going up. They will hold a combined 2,600 patients. This as Chinese state media is airing video of coronavirus patients that they say have been successfully treated and discharged. As for those in Wuhan --

MCGORY: People are scared here. Scared people get angry. Scared people want answers and sometimes at the moment, they don't have an answer.

CULVER: Priscilla and her daughter hoping for a way out.

P. DICKEY: We would really appreciate a way to get her an emergency passport.

[02:15:00]

CULVER: In an automated email response, the U.S. State Department says that they are working on other ways to get Americans out of the lockdown zone and out of the city of Wuhan, in particular, including by car, but they have not yet finalized those details -- David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come, is it au revoir or goodbye and so long?

Proving breaking up is hard to do, even when it's Brexit. A tearful farewell from the E.U. to the U.K. The emotions are just beginning.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) VAUSE: This Friday, when Big Ben strikes 11:00 pm in London and it's midnight in Brussels, it'll be official. The U.K. no longer a member state of the European Union. The final approval from the European parliament came with the vote, 621 to 49. It was a moment for tears for some and cheers for others. CNN's Nina dos Santos joins me now live from Brussels.

[02:20:00]

VAUSE: So I heard about this in musical terms. It alludes to the wartime classic, "We'll Meet Again," or more like Green Day's "Good Riddance."

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: A bit of both. Probably divided; 52 percent to 48 percent, like the referendum results four years ago. It was a really supercharged day, I must say, at the European Parliament, from people from all persuasions.

We had Brexiteer MPs gloating, saying this was the moment they had waited for. The pinnacle of their careers and we had members of the Greens and Liberals, who were so committed to the European project, crying as they started to clear their desks.

All in all a day of heightened emotions, supercharged scenes and one for the history books.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And now I will sign the letter.

DOS SANTOS (voice-over): This is the moment Brexit became law. In an emotional session in the European Parliament, to the sound of song, the withdrawal bill cleared its final hurdle. Some expressed sadness.

URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love. We will always love you and we will never be far. Long live Europe.

DOS SANTOS: While others were somewhat smug.

NIGEL FARAGE, BREXIT PARTY LEADER: What do you want from Europe?

If you want trade, friendship, cooperation, reciprocity, we don't need a European Commission. We don't need a European court. We don't need these institutions and all of this power.

And I can promise you both UKIP and in the Brexit Party, we love Europe. We just hate the European Union. It's as simple as that.

DOS SANTOS: But all in all there was relief the bruising battle had come to an end.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

Please sit down. Resume your seats. Put your flags away. You're leaving and take them with you.

DOS SANTOS: But the U.K.'s union flag won't just be banished from the chamber after this week; all traces of Britain's presence will be discreetly removed after midnight on Friday and 73 elected members from the U.K. will lose their seats.

Lawmakers like Alexandra Phillips from the Greens, in the job less than the year with barely enough time to decorate her office.

ALEXANDRA PHILLIPS, GREEN PARTY MEP: I must say I'm profoundly sad and pretty devastated that this is ending. I last worked here 12 years ago. I was a Green MEP then and it's the dream job in U.K. politics, if you like. And I'm particularly worried about what might happen later this year, in terms of a no deal for people back in the U.K.

DOS SANTOS: For the Brexit Party, which has achieved its goal, it's time to go home to hold Westminster to its word. For June Mummery, that means fighting for U.K. sovereignty over its waters.

JUNE MUMMERY, BREXIT PARTY MEP: I feel absolutely wonderful. I just cannot wait to leave. I've been campaigning a long time for our U.K. fishing (ph) industry and once we leave the E.U., we can take back full control of our waters and start to rejuvenate coastal communities that have been abandoned in our country for a long time.

DOS SANTOS: After the vote a leaving (ph) reception, complete with a memento. For some, it is a chance to say au revoir and for others, adieu for good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Now John, I think this will make you smile. As ever, in the whole Brexit process, there is always one final administrative hurdle that this has to cross and that will be happening today.

It's likely to sail through what the European Council, which is the organization that convenes the heads of state and heads of government to try and get them to rubber stamp and agree on things.

It will send an email around to all of those heads of states' missions, saying now that this has passed through both parliaments and Westminster and here in the European parliament, do you agree to wave this through?

Are you OK with it?

It's expected that all the remaining 27 member state will probably say, yes, that is OK and then this chapter will be finished. A lot of those MEPs still here, clear their desks over the next couple of days. They're probably also going to converge with the crowds in Brussels when the clock strikes midnight here on Friday to mark this momentous moment in history. Some of them celebrating and some of them probably will have tears of sadness and not joy.

VAUSE: Also ending with a window (ph) really.

[02:25:00]

VAUSE: One interesting fact, they get 15 boxes each, I read, for all their stuff.

So how about that?

Thanks, Nina.

DOS SANTOS: Yes, except some have only been in the job nine months so some of them don't even have much to put in those boxes.

VAUSE: But they're on their way out. Anyway, Nina, thank you. We appreciate you taking over the shift.

The longest drug smuggling tunnel on record has been found stretching from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego County in California; 70 feet underground or more than 21 meters, more than 4,300 feet long. That's about three Empire State Buildings stacked end to end. The previous record was more than 1,000 feet shorter.

Officials say this tunnel has ventilation, electricity, a complex draining system, even elevators. But the discovery has not led to arrests or drug seizures, at least not yet.

Still to come, for days senators sat and listened but now U.S. senators are asking questions in Trump's impeachment trial.

But are they closer to calling witnesses?

Details next on CNN NEWSROOM

[02:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, the fight over witnesses in Donald Trump's impeachment trial will resume in the coming hours. Senators asked 93 questions of House Democrats and the President's legal team on Wednesday. It's all about their case for and against testimony for former National Security Advisor John Bolton and John -- Joe Biden's son Hunter, I should say. Details now from CNN's Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senators apparently haven't heard enough as day one of questions and answers slid into the late hours Wednesday. The three Republican senators who have publicly said they could support calling witnesses are setting the tone for the day, asking Trump's lawyers --

JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT: If President Trump had more than one motive for his alleged conduct such as the pursuit of personal political advantage, rooting out corruption, and the promotion of national interests, how should the Senate consider more than one motive in its assessment of Article One? JONES: Their response?

PATRICK PHILBIN, TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ATTORNEY: Once you're into mixed- motive land, it's clear that their case fails.

ALAN DERSHOWITZ, TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ATTORNEY: And if a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.

JONES: After days of strategizing, both parties use dozens of leading often loaded questions to push their side's case. Republicans honing in on Hunter Biden.

ROBERTS: What did Hunter Biden do for the money that Burisma Holdings paid him?

PAM BONDI, TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ATTORNEY: Hunter Biden did attend one board meeting in Monaco.

JONES: But one question Trump's lawyers couldn't answer, whether Trump ever mentioned concerns about the Biden's to Ukrainian or American officials, before the former vice president entered the 2020 race.

PHILBIN: I'm limited to what's in the record. And what's in the record is determined by what the House of Representatives sought. So, I can't point to something in the record that shows President Trump at an earlier time mentioning specifically something related to Joe or Hunter Biden.

JONES: Democrats trusting the need to hear from witnesses, like former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who has said he is willing to testify before the Senate if subpoenaed.

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): If you have any lingering questions about direct evidence, any thoughts about anything we just talked about, anything I just relayed, or that we've talked about the last week, there is a way to shed additional light on it. You can subpoena Ambassador Bolton and ask him that question directly.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): The Senate can get to the truth. You can get to the truth by calling witnesses who can testify.

JONES: The Trump team's response.

PHILBIN: The idea that the House can do an incomplete job in trying to find out what witnesses there are, having them come testified, trying to find out the facts, just rush something through and bring it here as an impeachment and then start trying to call all the witnesses, and it would forever change the relationship between the House of Representatives and the Senate in terms of the way impeachments operate.

JONES: While in a particularly fiery moment, listing the witnesses they would call. JAY SEKULOW, TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ATTORNEY: I want Adam Schiff. I want Hunter Biden. I want Joe Biden. I want -- I want the whistleblower. I wanted -- I want to also understand there may be additional people within the House Intelligence Committee that have had conversations with that whistleblower. I get anybody we want.

JONES: And delivering a stark warning to the senators.

SEKULOW: By the way, if we get anybody we want, we will be here for a very long time.

JONES: Trump's team also making the case for protecting executive privilege.

PHILBIN: To suggest that the National Security Advisor, well, we'll just subpoena him, he'll come in, and that'll be easy. There won't be problem. That's not the way it would work because there's a vital constitutional privilege at stake there.

JONES: Democrats arguing Trump waive that privilege with this tweet.

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): He kind of characterized the conversation, and then put it into the public domain, and then claim executive privilege against it.

JONES: Trump's team also urging senators to let the voters decide.

PHILBIN: The President is the one who gets to determine policy because he's been elected by the people to do that. And we're right now only a few months away from another election where the people can decide for themselves whether they like what the President has done with that authority or not.

[02:35:03]

JONES: Schiff spilling out the consequences of not removing Trump from office.

SCHIFF: Bear in mind that efforts to cheat an election are always going to be in proximity to an election. And if you say you can't hold a president accountable in the election year where they're trying to cheat in that election, then you are giving them carte blanche.

JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Portions of the U.S. border wall with Mexico were brought down by high winds. The panels were newly installed on Wednesday and had been placing concrete which according to one official hadn't said. A great big border wall with Mexico was a key campaign promise in 2016 by then-candidate Donald Trump.

Still to come, the death of basketball great Kobe Bryant has been felt from Los Angeles to places around the world. But why many in Italy may have taken this harder than most. That's next. [02:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Almost four days now since basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter died in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. And now we're hearing from his widow Vanessa. In an Instagram post, she thanked everyone for the support they've given her during what she calls that horrific time. She also sent this photo of the entire family, saying "this loss has left her and her surviving daughter devastating. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon, she posted. I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day trying to keep pushing because Kobe and our baby girl Gigi -- Gigi, sorry, are shining us onto a light -- shining on us to light the way," I should say.

VAUSE: The news of Kobe Bryant's death shocked fans around the world, especially in a small Italian town where Bryant spent part of his childhood. CNN's Christina Macfarlane tells us how people there are dealing with this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: He only lived here until he was 13 before global fame made Kobe Bryant the superstar we all know. But still news of his death hit Bryant's childhood friends hard in the Italian town of Reggio Emilia.

Alessia Pierattini can now only clutch a photo book she has kept in which Bryant is pictured at his First Holy Communion?

ALESSIA PIERATTINI, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF KOBE BRYANT (through translator): I knew about it from a dear friend who sent me a message. I immediately thought it was fake news. And I immediately sent him an e-mail asking, tell me it's not true. The biggest tragedy was knowing about the death of his daughter, because when he came here five years ago, he came with his two daughters, and the oldest was here in Italy with him.

MACFARLANE: Bryant moved to Italy at the age of six when his father came to play in the country's pro basketball league. Here began the hours of learning and training and first signs of the greatness that was to come.

PAOLO BOIARDI, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF KOBE BRYANT: I remember I came here at the playground in the afternoon, and I saw that little guy shooting on his knees. Well, he head to play in the NBA.

MICHELE ROTELLA, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF KOBE BRYANT (through translator): Kobe was that little guy who came here. He had a grits that champions have. Even when they are young, they showed that strength, the tenacity to have success, and this was visible.

MACFARLANE: But he learned more than just basketball. He learned Italian and what Italians loved, football. Kobe Bryant quickly became a Rossoneri.

TEXT: I have been an AC Milan supporter since I was a boy. Being here is a great honor for me. It always has a special place in my heart. Back in LA, I have a Milan scarf and shirt hanging up in my locker room, and I see them every day.

MACFARLANE: Tuesday night, it was clear how much AC Milan loved him back, paying tribute to Kobe and his daughter Gianna in the San Siro. Among players and friends here, there was always something special about how he played, his commitment, his focus that remained infectious long after he was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The meaning he gave to the world obsession is something that make me feel very close to him. And he lived his life, he live his job as an opportunity every day to become a better and better and better.

MACFARLANE: And that is how Kobe Bryant will be remembered here in a country where legends remain because legends never die. Christina Macfarlane, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A big part of Kobe Bryant's legacy is his years of charity work. And many are honoring his legacy by giving to foundations he supported. And you can find out more @cnn.com/impact. And Vanessa Bryant announced the creation of a new fund to help support the other families involved in the crash. Go to MambaOnThree.com.

The recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland gave charities and non-governmental organizations a big platform to pitch their causes to a global business elite and policymakers in today's Innovate Africa. CNN's Julia Chatterley introduces us to Malachi, a nonprofit helping girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

[02:45:10]

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JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Seven days before the start of this year's wealth meeting and the founder of the Malaika Foundation Noella Coursaris is in London making final preparations.

NOELLA COURSARIS, FOUNDER, MALAIKA FOUNDATION: It's very important to highlight to the world that Malaika has been doing over the last 13 years, how we created a model community-driven to enhance quality education and healthcare programs.

CHATTERLEY: For years, the model turned activist has been trying to get the world to take notice of the Democratic Republic of Congo and in particular, the challenges young people face. Her foundation aims to empower young girls to education.

Noella was born in the DRC but left aged five after her father died. In Europe, she had a successful career in modeling, but her true passion was trying to help young girls in Africa. COURSARIS: Africa is the future. Africa is now. So we need to have

absolutely more African women being on the global stage speaking about older issues, and I believe investing in the youth is going to be the transformation for Africa.

CHATTERLEY: Noella is of course not the only person trying to promote Africa. Name set up Africa 2.0 in 2010, his vision of the future.

MAMADOU TOURE, FOUNDER, AFRICA 2.0: The way I would summarize it is a connected Africa. It's an ambitious Africa, and it's an Africa that doesn't have any complex. You know, I think, you know, there's been the post-independence generation that still had a bit of that stigma. I think the younger generation, you know, they think they're as good as anyone else and they can do anything that anyone else can do. People have the feeling that they can do it. Therefore, impossible is not African.

COURSARIS: I never imagined that when I left Congo at five years old that I will be speaking to all these global audience. But it's not for me. It's really something deep down for my -- for my continent and I take that very seriously. I choose very carefully where I speak and which audience I'm speaking. And I really want to try to represent in a very diplomatic and authentic way. That's what Africa needs.

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VAUSE: CNN NEWSROOM continues after a short break. Stay with us.

[02:50:00]

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VAUSE: The Iowa caucuses are just days away. The first chance for Democratic presidential hopefuls to gain a big edge in securing their party's nomination. A new Monmouth University poll of likely voters shows Joe Biden in the lead, Bernie Sanders just two points behind. Pete Buttigieg is neck and neck with Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar is the last candidate there in double digits with 10 percent.

But the leading candidates are not the ones spending big on advertising. Here's the top four. Michael Bloomberg, way out in front of spending more than $270 million so far. With $156 million behind him, Tom Steyer in distant second. Donald Trump comes in at number three, $52 million, and there's Bernie rounding out the fourth spending $28 million so far, or a little more than 10 percent of the Bloomberg campaign.

And proving that you know, even though you're a billionaire and you spent $270 million, you still to have to do the campaign glad-handing thing even if it's a dog. Here's Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not that Mike Bloomberg doesn't know how to shake hands, it's what he shook when he glad-handed a dog. Instead of doing this, I regret to inform you that Mike Bloomberg attempted to shake a dog's mouth. Oh sure. He topped it off of the nice tickle, but still -- tweeted one wag, he thought it was Bernie.

And it wasn't the first time Bloomberg shook a dog snout, a second image emerged. Does this mean he's another billionaire lukewarm to pooches?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the guy joke like a dog.

MOOS: President Trump's first wife wrote about his cold war with her dog, Chappy. Donald was not a dog fan. Bloomberg his girlfriend once gave him two labs. The New York Times reported the then-mayor told her that dogs could stay but she would be looking after them. And now this to warm up his image, Bloomberg posted a video featuring the two dogs he currently owns captioned, "starting the day with my senior advisors Cody and Libby."

Bloomberg's social media team turned to the doggie demo whipping out this instant dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike Bloomberg is the man to lead us. He will create more jobs. Mike is not afraid of the NRA, not one bit.

MOOS: Contrasting their master with President Trump, Bloomberg's own dogs chimed in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He does not tweet.

MOOS: It could have been worse. At least Bloomberg didn't attempt the Trumpian grab and yank on the dog's mouth. Bloomberg snout grabbing inspired someone to paraphrase that famous Trump quote, "When you're a billionaire, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab him by the snout. #DogsFurMike to the rescue.

[02:55:11]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like Mike. I lick Mike.

MOOS: But don't bite Mike. Instead of this, stick with this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meet the president. Yes.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Mike Bloomberg's dog. I approve this message.

MOOS: New York.

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VAUSE: Thank you for joining us. I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Max Foster from London in just a moment. Stay with us.

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