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6.3 Magnitude Aftershock Hits Turkey; Blinken Announces New Earthquake Relief Funding; DeSantis' Use Of Government Power To Impose Agenda Worries Conservatives; Meta Launching New Pay-For-Verification Subscription Service; Non-Profit Training New Mechanics With Virtual Reality; Brittney Griner Signs One-Year Deal With Phoenix Mercury. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired February 20, 2023 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:22]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Well just two weeks after a catastrophic earthquake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria and claimed more than 46,000 lives -- get this -- a magnitude 6.3 aftershock was just felt in the southern part of Turkey.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: CNN's Nada Bashir is there.
What are you hearing about the impact?
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, Victor and Bianna, we are still waiting for more news from the authorities. This is currently classified as a 6.3 magnitude aftershock.
But I have to say, we're about 120 miles away from the reported epicenter in Antakya. We all felt the tremor.
I have to say, there's a real feeling of shock and fear here. You can imagine that those already who have been through that earthquake two weeks ago are feeling absolute trauma having to relive this.
We have seen families gathering their belongings, moving into the lobby of this hotel for fear of another aftershock.
We have heard from the authorities on the ground in Antakya Province. They are warning people not to go into any buildings that appear damaged.
There has been some reports of buildings that were already damaged in the earthquake two weeks ago have now since collapsed.
There are concerns, of course, over the extent of the damage, of the destruction this latest aftershock may have caused.
Of course, this happened at around 8:00 P.M. local time, noon Eastern time. So we're still trying to gather the extent of that damage.
There is a real sense of fear, of urgency here in southeast Turkey. But of course, there is the risk of aftershocks. And that could still pose a risk for weeks to come.
The authorities are currently investigating. And our own colleague, Jomana Karadsheh, in Antakya, is on the ground, heading towards that affected province, that affected district.
They have seen emergency services gathering on the ground as well as search-and-rescue teams gearing up just in case there could be need for further rescue efforts.
This is, of course, two weeks after that devastating earthquake. We have seen the search-and-rescue efforts winding up. The search for survivors largely closing.
And you can imagine the distress that this is going to cause.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, experts had warned of aftershocks and, sadly, here we have a big one.
Of course, it comes as Secretary of State Blinken had just visited the region. What more is he saying about recovery efforts from the United States?
BASHIR: Well, Secretary Blinken had a tour of that affected province, Antakya, over the weekend. One of the hardest-hit provinces out of 11 affected provinces here in southeast Turkey.
He met with the search-and-rescue teams. He flew in from the United States as well as USAID personnel.
He recognized and acknowledged this would be a long process. He was clear in his messaging that the Biden administration would stand behind Turkey for as long as it takes.
Not only through the search-and-rescue process, not only through the humanitarian response effort, but also through the rebuilding process.
The U.S. government, thus far, has pledged about $185 million in support with Turkey and Syria. That further $100 million being announced by Secretary Blinken during his visit.
This is going to be a long process for Turkey. And the need for international support is only growing -- Victor, Bianna?
GOLODRYGA: All right, Nada Bashir, thank you.
[14:34:43]
BLACKWELL: Meta is launching a subscription service, which will allow Instagram and Facebook users to pay to be verified. How much? We'll tell you.
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GOLODRYGA: Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis continues to fuel speculation about a potential 2024 presidential bid. Today, he visited New York where he spoke at a rally for law enforcement. All of this amid growing concern among some conservatives about how
DeSantis uses government power in his fight against so-called "wokeness."
BLACKWELL: CNN's Steve Contorno is with us now. He has new reporting for us.
What exactly are they worried about?
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN MUNTEAN: Victor, there's a couple things at play here. First, you have free market conservatives who are philosophically opposed to big government involving themselves in business.
And they're concerned with how DeSantis has used the power of the state to not only force his ideology on state institutions but also on businesses. And even has gone so far as to punish some businesses for running afoul of his views.
We saw that with Disney, when they opposed the Stop Woke -- excuse me -- the Don't Say Gay bill.
We have seen him go after the cruise line industry for having vaccine mandates. He has been very strict on his covid policies with businesses.
And he has now introduced ideas that would put restrictions on how banks lend to people if he doesn't like how they're operating. So there's that side of it.
But there's also people within his sort of circle and his donors who are concerned that he is going too far in this push for wokeness.
This is something he talks about all the time. It came up today, even when he was in New York talking to police officers.
Here's what he said about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We support strong policies to keep our communities safe. And we back the blue, and we support their mission. And we back it up with money and all kinds of stuff to be able to do it.
[14:40:05]
The reason why you have what you have in some of these other jurisdictions is because they're putting woke ideology ahead of your safety, as New Yorkers or as people from Illinois or wherever you have this type of policy taking place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: So there's that word again, "woke." And the governor has been very heavy handed in his approach to
fighting, quote, "wokeness." And it's concerning some people because he might be turning off some 2024 voters.
Look at this latest fight with the college board over this A.P. African-American studies class. Not only is he opposing this class but he wants to pull all A.P. classes out of Florida or, at least, he's threatened to do that.
He's threatened to find competitors to the SAT. These are tools parents all across the country use to help get their kids into a good college.
And we're starting to see some potential Republican contenders for 2024 seize on these actions to draw strong differences with the governor.
We saw it from Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, Chris Sununu, in New Hampshire, among others.
They said, look, we're against wokeness, too, but we don't think we should be so heavy handed in our approach in forcing a conservative ideology on businesses or public institutions and fighting in this way that looks very similar to some of the ways Trump battled in the past.
So this is the concern, and something that DeSantis is going to have to battle with as he marches toward a potential presidential campaign next year.
BLACKWELL: All right, Steve Contorno, thank you.
GOLODRYGA: The federal government is deploying medical experts to East Palestine, Ohio, to assess conditions after that train derailment disaster.
Residents there are still worried that toxins could be putting their lives at risk. We'll speak one of them straight ahead.
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[14:46:26]
GOLODRYGA: Well, Meta is testing a subscription service that will allow Instagram and Facebook users to pay to get verified. Meta Verified will cost about $12 a month on the web and $15 a month for IOS.
Once signed up, users will have extra protection from impersonation account and direct access to customer support.
BLACKWELL: Meta says it will start the program in Australia and New Zealand this week. More countries to come.
With us now, CNN media analyst, Sara Fischer.
So Meta has chosen not to charge Facebook, Instagram users. Why this shift now?
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: For one, Victor, I think Meta's opportunity for a long time has been advertising. And we have seen quarter after quarter that growth in the digital ad market is slowing. So it makes sense they want to pursue other revenue models.
But then the other side of it is that creators have been coming to Meta and saying, look, we have a problem. A lot of times, we're trying to build up an audience. But our accounts are being spoofed. It's really hard to track our I.P.
What the idea is behind this subscription is, if you're a creator and you want to really launch a meaningful platform on either Facebook or Instagram, this will allow you to have special perks that insure that your account isn't going to be impersonated.
To insure you're staying verified, you have that blue check, so people know who you actually are. You have a few exclusive opportunities for access to things like stickers, et cetera.
It's both a money-making opportunity for Meta and also an opportunity for Meta to get in with the creators in a more specialized way.
GOLODRYGA: Now Meta is joining other platforms like Twitter and Reddit and YouTube that have their own subscription-based model.
I'm curious, especially with Twitter, I got a notification over the weekend that I would have to subscribe for further authentication. This after the verified check mark debacle there.
Why are companies like this doing that?
FISCHER: I think, broadly, it's because of this ad market slowdown. They need to make money frame other places.
Also, you have these massive user bases that these social media companies have accrued over the past 10 years and now they need to get them engaged.
How many people do you know, Bianna, who have an Facebook or Instagram account but they don't use it as much as they used to?
The idea is, if you get people to pay for the product, they're going to use it more.
That matters, especially when it comes to creators. Right now, there's an arms race for creativity on the social media platforms. The ones you had mention. Snapchat, which is also including a new subscription product.
The thinking is, if we can offer creators specialized services, they're more likely to put their content on our service versus their competitors.
GOLODRYGA: I understand paying for bells and whistles. That's part of the business model. What I don't understand is paying for your own protection, which is what Twitter seems to be doing. I'm not sure if that's what Facebook is doing as well.
Sara Fischer thank you.
BLACKWELL: Getting an oil change, tire fixed, is taking longer than normal because there's a nationwide mechanic shortage. There are thousands of mechanic jobs open across the country.
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Pete Muntean has more on how one program is taking training new mechanics to a new level.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the newest fix for a vocation in short supply -- virtual reality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is replacing the tire.
MUNEAN: Here at Maryland nonprofit, Vehicles for Change, the first tool training mechanics use is a pair of oculus V.R. goggles. The simulated shop floor has it all, from the lift to the quintessential impact wrench.
GEOFF CRAWFORD, VICE PRESIDENT OF VIRTUAL REALITY, VEHICLES FOR CHANGE: It's going to expedite the process of getting folks entry level ready to come into the garages.
[14:50:05]
MUNEAN: The latest industry forecast says retirements from dealerships and repair shops will rise nationwide. There are 76,000 new openings for trained auto technicians each year. But 37,000 of those jobs go unfilled.
CRAWFORD: We did a search we did a search the other day, indeed, just in the state of Maryland for auto technicians, locally, and there was over 2,600 technician.
MUNTEAN (VO): That's a lot?
CRAWFORD: A lot.
MUNTEAN: After a little bit of instruction, I was ready to give it a try.
Lesson one, changing the oil.
(on camera): The cool thing about this is you can move around the shop but also interact with the world around you. I'm taking the controller and grabbing the lift handle here and moving it up and up goes the car.
MARTIN SCHWARTZ, PRESIDENT, VEHICLES FOR CHANGE: The V.R., as you saw, is almost as real you can get without having your hands on a car.
MUNTEAN (VO): Martin Schwartz came up with this idea to supplement his charity. It's given out $7,500 donated cars to low-income families. (voice-over): But it's also his mechanics getting a second chance. The shop here is an internship for prisoners re-entering society.
SCHWARTZ: It's a field that's a little bit more lenient and willing to hire people with a criminal background and you can make quite a living.
Terence Grandy says his life was the streets of Baltimore's drug trade. Now he's putting cars back on the street.
TERENCE GRANDY, MECHANIC, VEHICLES FOR CHANGE: For someone that's incarcerated that comes home to a stable financial situation that enables not to go back and do the same thing that led them to prison.
MUNTEAN: The goal here is to spread this technology across the country, even teaching prisoners still behind bars.
Marcus Butler started his virtual reality training as part of a work- release program. He's days away from the end of his prison sentence and the start of a new career.
MARCUS BUTLER, MECHANIC, VEHICLES FOR CHANGE: I have a trade, a skill, that's with me, I learned it, I know it. No matter where I go, there are cars everywhere. I always have a job.
MUNTEAN: Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Fantastic program. That's the way you fight recidivism.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
BLACKWELL: You give someone a skill so they can provide for themselves and for their families without going back to drugs.
GOLODRYGA: It helps the community as well --
BLACKWELL: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- working as a mechanic.
BLACKWELL: Certainly.
Thank you, Pete, for that story.
Investigators just made an arrest in the shooting death of a Catholic bishop in Los Angeles. We have an update for you ahead.
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[14:56:52]
BLACKWELL: WNBA Star Brittney Griner is officially heading back to court.
GOLODRYGA: She just signed a one-year deal with her team, the Phoenix Mercury.
CNN's sports anchor, Coy Wire, is here.
Coy, first of all, this is just incredible after being behind bars in Russia for so many months to have her re-signed with the team.
Tell us more.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, back to basketball court, right Victor and Bianna? Such great news.
It can't come soon enough. The Mercury's first game is 27 days, on May 19th in Los Angeles against the Sparks. The first home game is two days later against the Sky.
Griner missed the entire 2022 season, detained in a Russian prison for nearly 10 months. Authorities said she had cannabis oil in her possession. The U.S. State Department said she was wrongfully detained.
Griner last played in the 2021 season. She led the Mercury on this surprise run all the way to the WNBA finals. They did lose to the Chicago Sky in the end though.
The 32-year-old, eight-time all-star, she was seen enjoying the Super Bowl in Glendale, about 20 minutes from where she'll be playing her home games this season.
A couple of months ago, she posted a photo of her deboarding a plane from Russia.
And she wrote this, in part, "I also want to make one thing clear, I intend to play basketball for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this season. And in doing so, I look forward being able to say thank you to those of you who advocated, wrote and posted for me in person soon."
And here we are. She stuck to her word and she'll be in front of those fans again, not soon enough.
BLACKWELL: Good to see her playing again soon.
Team LeBron took a "L" for the all-star game. What happened?
WIRE: Yes, that doesn't happen, ever, for LeBron, right? Huge surprise because Team Giannis took him down.
Team LeBron was a perfect five-zero since this new format where the players, the captains get to choose their own team. They drafted right before the game started and Team Giannis knew how to pick them.
Check out LeBron with the dunk. Not bad for a 38-year-old.
LeBron, though, he would then sit out the second half after he injured his finger on the rim later in the first half. He said after the game it wasn't that big of a deal.
The final period, they played to this target score of 182. Team Giannis was up 17 heading into the final period thanks to Jason Tatum.
Donovan, Mitchell, they were red-hot shooting. Tatum scored an all- star record 55 points in the game. Team Giannis would win by nine, with Tatum taking the game's MVP.
GOLODRYGA: I got a lot of heat on Twitter yesterday when I said, where's the defense? I know these games don't have that much. They didn't even pretend. I grew up where there was a big more defense.
(CROSSTALK)
GOLODRYGA: Also, Coy Wire, while we have you, a big announce from the Chicago White Sox Minor League baseball player, Anderson Comas. Tell us about that.
[14:59:49]
WIRE: Yes. The 23-year-old Chicago White Sox prospect, Anderson Comas, called it the most personal thing he ever shared.
He posted on Instagram, in part, quote, "I'm proudly and happily part of the LGBTQ-Plus community. I'm also a human with a great soul. I'm respectful. I'm a lover. I love my family and friends and that's what really matters.
