Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Protests Grow Bigger and Louder in China; Iranians Cheer with U.S.'s Victory; Suicide Bomb Killed Three in Pakistan; Ukraine Wants Faster Action Than Words; NATO Sending More Aid to Ukraine. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 30, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, despite promises from the Chinese government to ease some COVID restrictions, protesters are not keeping off the streets.
Plus, they were celebrating in Iran, even though their team lost to team USA at the World Cup, while some Iranians were cheering on their rivals.
And Ukraine's foreign minister pleads for weapons faster, faster, faster at a NATO summit in Romania. We'll have a live report.
UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Well, China's pledge to ease up on some COVID restrictions has not been enough to keep protesters off the streets in a number of cities across the country. This was the scene in Jinan in northeast China, as crowds pushed back COVID police in Hazmat suits with big white barricades.
(CROWD CHANTING)
CHURCH: While protesters in Dongguan, in the southeast, march through the streets chanting, lift the lockdowns. Police are also stopping people on the streets and on public transit, checking mobile phones, and even calling people to find out if they're protesting.
All this comes as China's top health officials are pledging to ease some COVID restrictions to reduce the impact on people's daily lives. For one thing, they say, lockdowns should be lifted as quickly as possible after outbreaks.
Live now to Hong Kong, where CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is tracking these latest developments. She joins us now. Good to see you, Kristie. So even as Chinese officials address some complaints about these colic restrictions, more protests are being seen across China. So, bring us up to date on the situation.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, videos circulating online, Rosemary, are revealing fresh protests at the southern metropolis of Guangzhou and two additional cities. I want you to take a closer look. These videos have been verified by CNN. In this video of protests that took place Tuesday night in Guangzhou, you see security forces in Hazmat suits wielding shields, and they are clashing with protesters.
The protesters appear to be throwing empty bottles, water bottles, at the security forces and then the security forces, they later respond with tear gas to repel them and to disperse the crowds. In an additional video taken in Dongguan, which is a nearby manufacturing hub, also in the south of China, you see similar scenes, protests on the streets.
This protest taking place, if we bring it up to you in just a moment in Dongwon at a COVID-19 testing center. And in this protest video, what you hear are the protesters saying over and over again, lift the lockdown. Lift the lockdown.
And one more video I just want to share with you takes place in Jinan, which is the capital of Shandong province. It's in the eastern part of China. And in this one, quite dramatically, you see the clashes on the street, and you see the protesters taking and wielding those white barriers and using it to repel, using them to force back the Hazmat cloud security forces.
I want you to see a map right now that CNN has been compiling this week. It is our latest tally. We have verified 23 COVID related protests taking place across 17 cities in China. This is the picture of the popular pressure that is on China and its central authorities right now to do something to end the zero COVID policy.
Health officials have addressed that. They addressed it at a conference on Tuesday. They pledged to ease restrictions. We have a statement that was made from an official of China CDC who said this, quote, "long term closed off management will not only impact the general public's normal life, but also trigger anxiety and create difficulties in daily life. Such wrongful practices must be addressed and avoided."
[03:04:53]
Now, in the central Chinese city of Jiangzhou, Rosemary, we have learned that that city has lifted its five-day COVID lockdown. You will recall those angry scenes of protests that took place last week when you have those Foxconn workers that were clashing with security forces there. They were angry about lockdown conditions. They were angry about COVID terms of the sanitary conditions inside their factory where they were working with closed loop system.
So, the lifting of the lockdown there very welcome news for people there. Also, welcome news for Foxconn and Apple. Back to you.
CHURCH: All right, Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks. And I spoke last hour with Scott Kennedy, an expert on China at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. And I asked him why China is sticking so closely to its zero COVID policy and what the country can do to bring new cases under control.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT KENNEDY, DIRECTOR, PROJECT ON CHINESE BUSINESS AND POLITICAL ECONOMY, CSIS: Three years of this hasn't been enough for Chinese that I've met in Beijing and Shanghai. People really traumatized. And at the beginning of November, the Chinese government issued a 20-point guideline plan to adjust their policies that looked like a de facto pathway out of zero COVID. But they really messed things up horribly, bungled that cases rose rapidly, and they cracked back down.
And it is that loss of expectations amongst folks that have brought them to the streets in China, all over the country and outside China, around the world. Really incredible types of protests that we haven't seen in a really long time. And so, the Chinese government has got to deal with these rising expectations and demands, and people want change. It's not easy to deliver.
And so we're going to see a very volatile situation in China, if not on the surface, because of the clampdown behind the scenes. You're going to see a lot of grumbling, and China's economy is not going to grow, and it's going to be a drag on global growth until they do get beyond the pandemic.
CHURCH: And with some protesters bravely calling for President Xi to step down, how precarious do you think his leadership is at this juncture?
KENNEDY: I don't think Xi Jinping really has much to worry about in terms of his own hold on power or the Communist Party. They will use whatever means necessary to get people off of the streets, to censor the internet and keep control, whatever they need to do.
But will this hurt support for them? Will it hurt their reputation? Will it slow growth? Most definitely. They will have a lot of work to do to recover their reputation and to improve the economy. And when they say, you know, that China's system is better than the rest of the worlds in this competition with the west, they've got a lot to do to make up to prove that they're right, because right now, it doesn't look that way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Scott Kennedy from the Center for Strategic and International Studies talking to me earlier.
The U.S. men's soccer team have gotten their first win of the Qatar World Cup, beating Iran in a politically charged match on Tuesday.
(CROWD CHANTING)
CHURCH: American fans cheered in Doha after the one-nil win. The U.S. will face off against the Netherlands on Saturday in the round of 16. While the match was overshadowed by antigovernment protests in Iran and the ruling theocracies deadly cracked down on them, in Qatar Stadium, security tackled at least two Iranian supporters after the game.
One man was pinned to the ground by security as he shouted women, life, freedom. A rallying cry used by anti-government protesters. A second man was tackled shortly afterwards.
Well, meanwhile, inside Iran, some people were actually celebrating the U.S. victory.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh explains.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really extraordinary scenes in Iran people celebrating their own national team losing. We've seen video trickling out from different cities, including the capital Tehran, with people there chanting and cheering.
Video from the city of Mashhad, a power base of the clerical establishment, also showing people celebrating. And video from across the Kurdish region, one of the areas of the country that aboard the brunt of the regime's brutal crackdown.
There re people pouring into the streets, dancing, honking their horns and even fireworks in the city of Saqqez the hometown of Mahsa Jina Amini.
[03:10:02]
One young Kurdish man I spoke to, says that he is happy because this is the government losing to the people, he says. A team against a nation isn't a national team he said. While there are Iranians who feel that that is unfair to their country's team, the players who have been under immense pressure and according to a source telling CNN, they have also faced threats of their families being tortured if they tried to protest during the World Cup.
There are a lot of Iranians who feel that the team should have done more for the people while they're in the spotlight, while they're on the global stage. They -- people feel that they should have shown more support for the protesters back home. They say other athletes have done that, they have faced the risks, some have been jailed, but they have come out in solidarity with the protesters.
So some people are really feeling disappointed by their team Melli or the national, the nation's team as it's known. Some feeling that it was there representing the regime now, especially after that victory against Wales last week, where we saw members of the security forces out on the streets celebrating in these real surreal scenes at a time when these forces are cracking down in dissent in the country so violently.
They're accused of horrific human rights abuses and accused of killing hundreds of people during this crackdown. Those scenes really angered so many people who found it really painful as Iranians are burying their dead and dealing with the consequences of this very violent crackdown, that the regime was claiming this is a victory and its forces were celebrating.
And that really explains the kind of scenes that we have been seeing out of Iran tonight. This is a team that in the past has united Iranians. No matter how they felt about the regime, football, soccer, always united Iranians. And now it does appear like it may be dividing them.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And for more on the World Cup, I'm joined from Doha by Kyle Bonagura. He is a staff writer for ESPN.com. Good to have you with us.
KYLE BONAGURA, STAFF WRITER, ESPN: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So, it has to be said in this World Cup seems to have had more action or drama off the field than on. But let's start with team USA's one-nil victory over Iran Tuesday in that politically charged match that allowed the U.S. to advance to round 16. What stood out to you on the pitch specifically?
BONAGURA: Well, it was an interesting dynamic going in because all Iran needed to get through to the knockout rounds was to draw with the United States, to draw a win and they would be through with England to the next round. The U.S., they needed a win. And so, it really impacted the way both teams were going to approach the game from the very beginning.
The U.S. knew that it had to push early, had to try to find a goal and they did that. They controlled the possession for most of the first half, got the goal through Christian Pulisic, the U.S. star from Pennsylvania, but then he injured himself while scoring that goal. Has to be taken to the hospital at halftime for some scans. He's been diagnosed with a pelvic confusion, which would be a big loss for the United States if he's unavailable.
And then in the second half, Iran had to apply some pressure and I thought did a very good job making life difficult for the United States. But in the end, the U.S. was able to stand their ground in advance to the next round for the first time since 2014.
CHURCH: And Iran's team has, of course, been under immense pressure, hasn't it, from its own government, with threats to family members if the team shows any support for protesters back home. And Iran's Kurdistan province celebrating their World Cup loss to the U.S. How tough has it been for Iran's team members? And do you worry about possible consequences? We're already hearing from Jomana Karadsheh a lot of people back in Iran feel that they didn't do enough, and yet they were feeling this pressure of threats to family members.
BONAGURA: Yes. And it's obviously a difficult spot for them to be in. Right? Because you have these guys who have played soccer their entire lives. It's always been the ultimate goal to reach the World Cup. So you can imagine if you get to this, the peak of your professional life and the opportunity to compete on this stage, those guys want it to be about that.
But of course, that's not how -- that's not how the World Cup works. The World Cup is so intertwined with politics almost by nature. It's always -- it's always been that way. The U.S. played Iran in 1998 and that was a politically charged match, even more so than this one, according to people who experienced, who I talked to, who were at both games.
[03:14:54]
Yes. I mean, I spent a little bit of time around the Iranian team early in the World Cup, just kind of checking on those, on their team to just kind of see how tense it was. And they did everything they could to really shift focus back on the sport and kind of the task they had at hand on the pitch, on the field.
But of course, in the first game, the Iranian players did not sing the national anthem. And I think that more than anything that they've done or said, send a message back home about where they stood with the issues that the country is dealing with.
And beyond that, I think a lot of the times you'll see these athletes who, you know, a lot of pressure is put on them, right, because they are representing their nation, they're wearing the flag and all these things, but at the same time, it's -- they really do want to make it about the soccer whenever possible.
CHURCH: Yes, and let's get back to the picture. Let's talk about the other World Cup news from yesterday, starting with England's big victory over Wales.
BONAGURA: Yes, the English team came into the tournament knowing it was probably going to be the best team in this group with Wales, Iran, and the United States. And sure enough, it advances. As the number one team through the group, they'll have a chance to play Senegal, which is the African champion in the next round. The U.S. advances, and we'll have Netherlands. So, two interesting matchups for the teams that advanced.
CHURCH: All right. And looking quickly ahead to Wednesday's matches, which teams do you expect to come out on top? We've got French versus Tunisia, Australia facing Denmark just to start off.
BONAGURA: Yes, I think Denmark and France will certainly be the big favorites in those ones. I expect to see both of those teams get through fairly easily.
CHURCH: All right, Kyle Bonagura joining us live from Doha. Many thanks. I appreciate it.
BONAGURA: Thanks.
CHURCH: Well, coming up, the frigid winter weather is adding new urgency to NATO talks with Ukraine. We will look at how the bloc is pledging to help. Back with that in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Just in to CNN, at least three people are dead and almost two dozen wounded after a suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan. Authorities say the tar -- the attack targeted a police over providing security for a polio vaccination team. We are told a woman and child are among those killed.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility just two days after announcing an end to the ceasefire agreed upon with the government in June. And the group warned their, quote, "revenge operations will continue."
Ukraine's prime minister says the government has enough energy resources for the cold months ahead despite the Russian attacks. But even so, this winter will be very challenging. The prime minister told a government meeting the current electricity production covers about 70 percent of Ukraine's energy needs.
[03:19:56]
The government says all regions of Ukraine are supplied with power, with the exception of the recently liberated Kherson region. More people evacuated that area on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, fighting has intensified along the front lines. Regional authorities in Donetsk say Russian strikes killed at least five civilians and injured 15 in the past 24 hours. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces have launched fresh attacks in several regions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): The situation on the front line is difficult, despite extremely large losses the Occupiers are still trying to advance on the Donetsk region, gain a foothold in Luhansk region, move into Kharkiv region. They are planning something in the south.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meantime, Ukraine's first lady is highlighting horrifying allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of Russian forces. Olena Zelenska spoke to the British Parliament Tuesday, saying the abuse is part of the systemic violence Russia is using across Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLENA ZELENSKA, FIRST LADY OF UKRAINE (through translator): We have documented thousands of crimes, including sexual violence. The youngest girl who was raped by the Russian occupiers was four years old, the oldest survivor was 85. These are the victims we know. How many victims, we still don't know about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: On Monday, Zelenska called for the abuse to be recognized as a war crime, saying Russian soldiers have been very open about using sex as a weapon. So far, CNN has been unable to verify the first lady's claims.
Well, there is new urgency to the NATO talks in Bucharest as the winter weather grows colder in Ukraine.
CNN's Sam Kiley has a report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With the Ukrainian capacity to generate electricity down by 30 percent as a result of wave upon wave, seven indeed of these cruise missile attacks and drone missile attacks conducted by Russia against its critical national infrastructure, in Bucharest, the NATO foreign ministers in their now frequent meetings over how to help Ukraine, have agreed that they will be providing more aid in terms of energy generating capability and other support in the civilian sense to help Ukraine sustain itself during a difficult winter, which is anticipated.
But on top of that, they're also saying they're going to continue to give Ukraine the aid that it is asking for, or some of the aid it's asking for in terms of the ability to defend its airspace. Mr. Kuleba, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, said that they needed last time they met weapons, weapons, weapons. This time, he says, we need weapons, weapons, weapons. Faster, faster, faster were his words this time around.
Now those three words really indicate how important it is from Ukraine's perspective. Not just because winter is deepening and it's going to get tougher and tougher to maintain the ability of the civilian population to endure the winter, but also because Russia is putting more pressure on the eastern front.
They need, the Ukrainians need to be able to defend their airspace in order to take the pressure off their ground troops to defend that eastern front just as the Russians are trying to reach well beyond the front lines into the arteries of this country in order to try to strangle its ability to sustain a war.
Sam Kiley, CNN, in Zaporizhzhia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And for more on this, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us live from London. Good morning to you, Salma. So, what all can we expect to come out of day two of NATO meetings?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think what really emerged yesterday was just how important the nonlethal aid is, how important the fight is away from the battlefield for Ukraine. For weeks and months now, Russia has sustained this campaign against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. And it's left millions of people without running water, without running electricity. Serious fears about the humanitarian situation in the country as they head into the winter months. And the NATO secretary general quickly accused Russia of failing on
the battlefield and instead resorting to this strategy. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Russia is using brutal missile and drone attacks to leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter. President Putin is trying to weaponize winter to force Ukrainians to freeze or flee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: So today, in the second day of meetings, Rosemary, you can expect that Ukraine's allies are going to sit down and really try to find the details of what they can provide. As you heard from Ukraine's foreign minister yesterday, what he said is, weapons faster, faster, faster.
[03:24:55]
So it's going to be a matter of what NATO's allies can give Ukraine and how quickly they can get it on the ground. And again, it's going to be, according to Ukraine's foreign minister, what they really need is transformers, equipment to fix electrical grids, generators, fuel, but also, of course, air defense systems to create a ring of protection around Ukraine.
The other issue that might come up sitting today is the expansion of NATO. Finland and Sweden are in the process of trying to join NATO. Ukraine, as well, has requested that. It's very significant that this is taking place in Bucharest. In 2008, there was a major declaration sign that opened the door to Ukraine.
Of course, no movement on that yet. Don't expect anything major, of course, to happen, but that is absolutely something that you can expect the Ukrainian delegation will at least bring up. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Salma Abdelaziz joining us live from London. Many thanks.
I want to bring in Orysia Lutsevich now. She is the managing director of the Ukraine forum at Chatham House and joins us now from London. Thank you so much for being with us.
ORYSIA LUTSEVICH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CHATHAM HOUSE UKRAINE FORUM: Good to be with you.
CHURCH: So, Ukraine has been hit very hard by Russian strikes on its infrastructure particularly, but NATO foreign ministers have agreed to help. How far will that go in ensuring Ukrainians are able to cope with the brutal winter ahead as power services get knocked out on a regular basis by these Russian missiles?
LUTSEVICH: Well, absolutely. As Putin is failing to achieve any objectives on the battlefield, as we see, they are not taking any new territory. Putin is into this campaign of civilian terror, of freezing Ukraine into submission.
But I would like to remind the viewers that we knew it all the way from September, as President Zelenskyy was warning, this is what's going to happen. And we are, again in this reaction mode, whereas we are not able to deny Putin the capabilities to destroy Ukraine. So, for many in Ukraine, they feel like the west is this kind of a watcher of a drama instead of being an actor, and in a way, preventing Putin to achieve his objectives.
So, it is quite a strong feeling of anger and desire for more of that exact lethal assistance to prevent destruction, so we don't have to rebuild Ukraine that it's so expensive.
CHURCH: So, given that, how likely is it that Russia's President Putin will succeed in weaponizing winter against the Ukrainians, despite this outside help, which you say isn't sufficient?
LUTSEVICH: Well, I think what we see now from public opinion polling, even after these horrific strikes that really started early October, Ukrainians are still very much united and determined to repel aggression. They are not interested in any territorial concessions to end war at any cost. They're actually pushing for just peace. And justice means justice for war crimes. Russia pays for rebuilding, and Ukraine restore its territorial integrity.
So, so far, this is failing, but this is why Putin will be even more wishes. And I think we have to understand that even now, as discussion in the United States is, for example, about delivery of Patriot surface to air missile defense. This is to happen faster, because in the end, U.S. will supply it, but it will supply it later on, whereas there is a possibility and the need for these weapons to be on the Ukrainian battlefields today.
CHURCH: So, you're frustrated that you're getting these weapons but not fast enough and that's why your foreign ministers saying faster, faster, faster with these weapons. Talk to us more about what more is needed in terms of weapons and what you think will be -- will come out of this NATO meeting on day two in terms of weapons supply.
LUTSEVICH: Well, it's hard for me to tell what specifically will come out of NATO on day two. But I do know that Ukrainian military and security experts and western ones are actually urging to deny Russian capability to destroy Ukraine. And that means, of course, air defense, but also fighter jets, prepared pilots.
And there is a team in Ukraine already that is ready to go into training so that they can also challenge Russians in air, not just from the surface because Russian pilots are self-deterring even with Ukrainian capabilities, they are very cautious. So, if Ukraine gets proper aviation, what is needed is training for them, that will actually protect Ukrainian Sky so much better.
And there are -- there are Ukrainians who are talented, who know English language, who would be prepared to go into this kind of training. We need a political decision on it. CHURCH: And you know, the world has watched the incredible resilience
of the Ukrainian people. Are you confident they can sustain this resilience through the winter months and do you think they'll win this war?
[03:30:00]
LUTSEVICH: Well, from my conversations with businesses, civil society, mayors, I do not see any desire to live under Putin's yolk. People understand the cost of suffering and what is striking and what gives Ukraine resilience is hope in better future. We have almost, 88 percent of Ukrainians believing that it'll be a prosperous nation member of the European Union, and this fight is worth it. That is why they're prepared to put up with so much suffering. So, I'm rather confident about it.
CHURCH: Orysia Lutsevich, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.
LUTSEVICH: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, France's Emmanuel Macron is in the United States, the first foreign leader to make a state visit since President Biden took office. What this means for U.S.- French ties. That's ahead.
Plus, the U.S. Senate takes a major step to protect same-sex marriage. We'll have the details for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: A 21-gun salute and a black-tie state dinner at the White House await France's Emmanuel Macron. The French president and his wife Bridget arrived Tuesday on the first state visit to the U.S. by a foreign leader since President Joe Biden took office. Mr. Macron's schedule is jam packed with visits to NASA headquarters, the State Department, and Arlington National Cemetery. Topping the agenda, Russia's war in Ukraine, trade issues and climate change.
And CNN's senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann joins me now. Good to see you, Jim. So, as we just reported, President Macron has a packed agenda, but what all is expected to come out of this state visit?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they're basically both leaders, and we heard this from the briefers in both countries that are looking forward to some kind of an alignment of their opinions. They're basically, are pretty much in line right now, but their approaches on things on subjects like Ukraine, on climate change, other sorts of issues are going to be right at the forefront.
And both of the briefers of both Washington and Paris have emphasized that point that they're going to try to realign their positions, and I think it's also a chance for them with all the ceremonial aspects of this visit to, once again emphasize the role that France has played in the United States history. They call France the oldest ally for the United States dating back to the Revolutionary War.
[03:34:58]
So that's going to be on the agenda as well with the kind of pomp and circumstance we're going to see tomorrow at the White House. Today, it's going to be, the issues are going to be something involving space cooperation, for example. Kamala Harris, the vice president is going to accompany President Macron out to NASA headquarters.
They're going to have a working lunch, and there's going to be another other working sessions later on this afternoon, including a private dinner tonight with the two heads of states and their wives tonight. And then the, the big formal state dinner will take place tomorrow at the White House. Rosemary?
CHURCH: And after -- after all of that, Jim, President Macron plans to visit New Orleans, what's the purpose of that visit?
BITTERMANN: Well, I think that's one of the ways that the French can emphasize their longstanding ties to the United States. You know, the Louisiana purchase, when the United States for about $15 million, one of the best bargains ever struck, bought from Napoleon, the Louisiana territory back around the turn of the 19th century.
And that is something that New Orleans symbolizes as well as, New Orleans presents the opportunity, emphasize French language use in the United States, and Macron will be doing a little of that as well on his tour. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Jim Bittermann joining us live from Paris.
Well, in a landmark vote, the U.S. Senate has said yes to codify same- sex marriage as federal law. The Respectful Marriage Act will ensure protections for gay and interracial couples by requiring states to recognize the marriages across state lines.
CNN's Manu Raju has more.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now by 61 to 36 votes, the Senate gave bipartisan approval to a bill protecting same- sex marriages, really marking a sea change on this issue over the past two decades. Now, this bill does not set a national law on same-sex marriages, but what it does do is that it requires states to recognize another states legally valid marriage.
Now, Democrats had to make some concessions, however, to get some Republican support. They allowed religious organizations the provisions to ensure that those organizations would not lose their tax-exempt status if they did not recognize the same sex marriage. They also made clear that they did not want to set this national standard, that a lot of them was supported, but Republicans did not.
But it does protect same-sex marriage, which is still a significant breakthrough that proponents were talking about through the course of the day on Tuesday. Now, the support came from some moderates like Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, also some conservatives, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming being one of them, Mitt Romney of Utah also backing this measure.
Republican leaders did not support it, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader also voting against this. Now, it still needs to go to the House for final approval. It's expected to get approved by the House early next -- early next week at the latest, and then onto Joe Biden's desk to sign this into law.
Really part of a year-end push in Congress with the Democrats are expected they're going to be out of power next year in the House, be in the minority. In the Senate they'll still be in the majority, but the end of this Congress means that bills that are not approved essentially to start over from the start in the next Congress, which is why a lot of these measures are now going to get approved in the final weeks including this landmark bill to protect same-sex marriages.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden says high prices on gas, clothing, and food are finally easing a bit, but he warns it will take time for inflation to return to normal levels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Inflation at the grocery stores, thank God beginning to slow prices for things like clothes, television, and appliances are going down. That's good news for the holiday season.
It's going to take time to get inflation back to normal levels as we keep the job market resilient and we could see setbacks along the way, but we're laser-focused on this there. I promise you, we're laser- focused on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Mr. Biden was visiting a semiconductor facility in Michigan Tuesday. A looming freight rail strike could throw wrench in his efforts to tame inflation. He's called on Congress to pass legislation to prevent thousands of rail workers from walking off the job.
Businesses are also scrambling to try to limit damage if the strike does happen. Some companies are already moving goods from trains to trucks for transportation and weighing shifting delivery times if necessary.
But as CNN's Phil Mattingly reports, a rail shutdown could spike prices and trigger fuel shortages.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIDEN: It's not an easy call, but I think we have to do it.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Behind President Biden's call for Congress to impose a labor agreement on rail unions, a singular fear.
[03:40:01]
BIDEN: The economy is at risk.
MATTINGLY: Avoiding economic calamity a central focus as Biden huddled with the top four congressional leaders for the first time since the midterm elections. With the clock ticking toward the December 9th deadline and the potential for crippling rail workers strike looming, Biden and congressional Democrats moving to undercut some of their closest political allies.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I don't like going against the ability of unions to strike, but weighing the equities, we must avoid a strike.
MATTINGLY: Set to short circuit the push by rank-and-file union members to secure a long sought after benefit, paid sick leave.
MICHAEL BALDWIN, PRESIDENT, BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD SIGNALMEN: This became a glaring issue during the pandemic when we had members who were forced by their employer or the railroads to stay home in quarantine without pay. But really, it comes down to simple things like the flu for a day or two, or a sick child, and the ability to take a day or two paid when you have to deal with these issues that life brings that you have no control over.
BIDEN: This agreement is a big win for America.
MATTINGLY: A provision left on the cutting room floor of a sweeping agreement celebrated by Biden in the Rose Garden just three months ago. That deal driven by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh secured pay raises and bonuses for workers, and was signed off on by union leadership subject to rank-and-file approval. Four of the 12 unions rejected that plan.
JEREMY FERGUSON, PRESIDENT, SMART TRANSPORTATION DIVISION: Members aren't necessarily voting on the money issues. It's the quality of life and how they're treated, with dignity and respect while they're at work.
MATTINGLY: Leaving Biden who has repeatedly said this.
BIDEN: I intend to be the most pro-union president leading the most pro-union administration in American history.
MATTINGLY: And just a few hours after his meeting with congressional leaders touted his commitment to union workers during a trip to Michigan.
BIDEN: The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class.
MATTINGLY: To press for and secure immediate action to save the broader economy, in spite of that very pledge.
PELOSI: We will act tomorrow morning, Wednesday, send the bill over to the Senate.
Hopefully the biggest, strongest bipartisan vote. It is a compromise and its what we must do.
MATTINGLY: Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The CEO of one of the largest banks in the U.S. says a potential rail strike adds to uncertainty over the global economy. But Bank of America's Brian Moynihan tells CNN he is hopeful a possible recession next year will be brief and mild. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN MOYNIHAN, CEO, BANK OF AMERICA: Things like the rail strike or the war in Ukraine, and you know, what happens in China with shutdowns. Those are all sort of things that can really derail the economy, and everybody knows that, and we've been dealing with them for quite a period of time.
But if you look at the core economy, our team has a mild recession predicted in the middle of 2023 and then coming back out of it later in 2023. Now that was predicted to happen this year. Earlier this year, the -- there was going to be a real slowdown.
UNKNOWN: Yes.
MOYNIHAN: The Fed was going to raise rates and it's all pushed out largely because of one thing, which is a U.S. consumer who is spending money, and we just got our spending from Thanksgiving to last Saturday, and it was up 3 percent over last year, which was up 23 percent over the year before, 20 percent over where it was in '19.
You see booking travel and things like that, you see the consumers employed. You see them spending money, you see them having money in accounts. Now that means inflation has to be tackled by the Fed, but the consumer actually is both a buffer against that and also makes it difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, meantime, investors are eager to hear what the U.S. Federal Reserve chief has to say in just a few hours from now. Jerome Powell will headline a forum Wednesday and his comments could give insight into whether the Fed plans more rate hikes to tap down inflation.
Inflation takes center stage again Thursday. We will get brand new numbers on how much Americans are paying for goods and services. And Friday the focus is on jobs when unemployment figures for November are due.
Well, coming up here on CNN Newsroom, we will take you inside a crypto mine and show you one company that says it's managed to turn a profit in the midst of a crypto winter. And more big changes for Twitter. How Elon Musk's latest move could affect the types of COVID information you see on that platform.
[03:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A high-tech squabble is heating up. No word yet from Apple after Elon Musk tweeted that the iPhone maker is threatening to withhold Twitter from its Appstore, that would be devastating for Twitter, which Musk recently bought for $44 billion. Musk also claims Apple has mostly stopped advertising on his social networking site.
In another sign of Elon Musk's trans -- transformation of Twitter, the platform says it will no longer enforce its COVID-19 misinformation policy. That means Twitter will not apply labels or ban profiles posting incorrect information about the disease.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Twitter's former head of site integrity, the person whose job it was to make sure that the company implemented its rules on things like hate speech and viral COVID misinformation speaking out here today at a Night Foundation conference here in Florida, expressing a lot of concerns about the future of the platform, about the future of speech on the platform.
What we have seen since Musk took over just a few weeks ago, is the return of some banned accounts including that of course, of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Musk has promised that more accounts that were banned in the past will be coming back.
And over the past 24 hours or so, we've also learned that a long- standing policy that Twitter had about COVID misinformation that banned what they viewed as dangerous misinformation about the virus and the vaccine, that that policy is, no longer in place.
Now, Yoel Roth, the former head of Site Integrity who spoke here today, he quit the company a few weeks ago. And he essentially said that he was unable to work any longer in Musk's Twitter. Asked by the technology journalist Kara Swisher, who interviewed him here at what piece of advice he might have for the world's richest man. He said, humility goes a really long way.
Donie O'Sullivan, Carl Gables. Florida.
CHURCH: In what's been called the crypto winter, digital currency companies are falling like dominoes following the FTX implosion. The latest casualty is Bitfront, a crypto exchange backed by the Japanese social media app Line. Bitfront says it's shutting down after failing to overcome turmoil in the industry, though it claims the decision was not driven by the collapse of FTX. Meanwhile, crypto lender BlockFi filed for bankruptcy Monday, citing significant exposure to the FTX exchange as well as its sister hedge fund. So let's take a look at where some of the major cryptocurrency stand, and you can see that they are slightly up. Well, despite the turmoil, crypto mining is still a hot prospect. As Anna Stewart shows us in this report from Sweden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, this is what a cryptocurrency mind looks like, just rows and rows of computers. In fact, there are 116,000 here. As you can hear, it sounds pretty noisy and I can tell you that it feels really hot to these machines.
[03:50:01]
There's about a 30-degree Centigrade difference though between here and here under one of the big vents where you're getting the cold air from outside, you can feel the energy that is coming out of this. Lots of power a small city.
One of the reasons crypto mining controversial, but that is why high blocking technology is set up top here in the north of Sweden. Come take a look why.
Outside, some 500 meters along the River Lule is a hydrogen power plant, a source of abundant cheap, and renewable energy.
JOHANNA THORNBLAD, COUNTRY PRESIDENT SWEDEN HIVE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES: This is the energy that is powering the Boden community and, and our data center that is located just nearby. So, this is also one of the main reasons that HIVE has decided to, to bet on the Boden community.
STEWART: Given Europe is in an energy crisis, there will be people that think this is renewable energy. Should it be used for crypto mining? Shouldn't it be used to power people's homes and industry?
THORNBLAD: Yes.
STEWART: Keep lights on in hospitals? What do you say to that?
THORNBLAD: There are not enough inhabitants or companies to use all the energy that is available. So, the community of Boden was inviting, data centers to come to use this renewable stranded energy really.
STEWART: One crypto mining company, not just turning a profit in the midst of a crypto winter, but also trying to forge a greener future. There are nearer term plans to turn the excess heat from the crypto
mining into something more fruitful.
THORNBLAD: In the spring we're going to support a Swedish company called Agtira. So, they're building a huge big, greenhouse just at the back of our data center. And so, we will tomatoes and cucumbers grown all year round in the very north of Sweden.
STEWART: Wow. That's incredible.
THORNBLAD: It's really incredible.
STEWART: If you look at coin grown food.
THORNBLAD: It's like crypto cucumbers.
STEWART: Crypto cucumber.
THORNBLAD: Yes.
STEWART: Capture and use it.
THORNBLAD: Absolutely.
STEWART: No wasted energy.
THORNBLAD: No wasted energy. This is.
STEWART: Anna Stewart, CNN, Boden, Northern Sweden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Still to come, lava from Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano creeps closer to major roadways. How the state's biggest island is dealing with the eruption when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: China is taking its next shot in the space race as three new astronauts reach its nearly completed space station. They launched on Tuesday aboard the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft. It took off from a launch center in the Gobi Desert. The arrival of the astronauts marks the first crew rotation on the space station. An earlier group which arrived at the station in June will be returning to Earth in early December.
Hawaii's governor has signed an emergency proclamation due to the eruption of Mau Loa's on Hawaii's Big Island. In the past few hours, lava has come within miles of the island's main highway, and while there's no immediate threat to any communities, officials warn conditions could change at any time.
Amy Kiley has more on the eruption.
[03:55:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMANTHA HANSEN, PILOT, MAULA LOA HELICOPTERS: This whole thing right here that we're flying over right now, this is Mauna Loa.
AMY KILEY, CNN REPORTER: The world's largest active volcano is erupting in Hawaii for the first time in almost 40 years, it's happening on what's called the Big Island, which shares its real name with the state. The Census Bureau says just over 200,000 people live here.
Scientists say the lava is flowing into the northeast rift zone. They say it should slow down in that flat terrain. And likely stop before reaching the large town below.
LT. GOV. JOSH GREEN (D), HAWAII GOVERNOR-ELECT: We just are getting a little nervous from time to time, but it's at least a week away and we're hopeful that it won't make it all the way to the town.
KILEY: But many Hawaiians know the dangers that the volcanoes that shape their land. This video is from when nearby Kilauea erupted in 2018. It began a less dangerous recurrence last year, so this is a rare dual eruption on the island. To keep people safe Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency says it has activated its operation center.
A state official says the National Guard is on standby, and the state health department is monitoring air quality.
GREEN: I know a lot of this freaks people on the mainland out, but look, these are very rare instances. We follow them carefully with our geology folks and we're, OK.
KILEY: I'm Amy Kiley reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And this just in to CNN, Chinese state media reporting that former President Jiang Zemin has died at the age of 96. Shinwa reports he died due to leukemia and multiple organ failure in Shanghai on Wednesday afternoon.
Well, the U.S. capital is ready to ring in the holidays after its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Tuesday. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Five, four, three, two, one. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Very pretty. And this year's tree is a 78-foot-tall red Spruce named Ruby from North Carolina. A fourth grader from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians served as the official tree lighter. The nearly 60-year-old tradition goes back to 1964 when the then speaker of the house first placed a Christmas tree on the capital lawn.
And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. CNN Newsroom continues with Bianca Nobilo, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:00:00]
