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Italy And Greece Facing Surge In Migrant Arrivals; Regional Football Chiefs Urge Rubiales To Resign; Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 29, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just a head on CNN NEWSROOM. Migration chaos in Italy. A record- breaking number arriving on Italian shores. I'll speak to the Red Cross on the ground in Lampedusa.

The unwanted World Cup kiss that sparked a global outcry could lead to criminal charges.

And Tropical Storm Idalia lashes Western Cuba, expected to become a powerful hurricane soon and could pummel a vulnerable part of Florida.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin with a surge in migrants arriving in Greece and Italy daily. Many of them by boat. They undertake treacherous journeys fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. This weekend, more than 4000 migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa. A record for migrant arrivals by boat in a single weekend according to the Red Cross.

And on Monday, two boats carrying migrants capsized. And you can hear their cries for help as rescuers throw them life preservers. Many of those on the boat were rescued but four children and one woman died in separate incidents. According to the U.N.'s refugee agency, more than 15,000 migrants have arrived in Greece this year.

So, now let's go to CNN's Barbie Nadeau who has the latest developments on the migrant crisis in Italy.

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BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's the height of the Mediterranean summer, and this tiny island is overwhelmed with the arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees. More than 4000 people arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in hundreds of small boats over the weekend. Among them pregnant women, babies and unaccompanied minors. It's the highest number of arrivals in a weekend this island has ever seen.

More than 113,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat this year. That's more than the total number that arrived in all of 2022. There may be more migrant and refugee boats at sea, but there are fewer NGOs to rescue them. At the moment, the Italian government has sequestered three NGO ships for allegedly breaking a law set by Italy's right-wing government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that mandates how many rescues a charity ship can carry out.

Each of the sequestered ships will be docked for 20 days and fined up to 10,000 euro. 56 organizations have signed a petition against the government, accusing them of obstructing civilian search and rescue and warning that it will lead to more deaths. But the Italian government says without the rest of Europe helping they cannot manage the influx.

ADOLFO URSO, ITALIAN MINISTER OF ENTERPRISE (through translator): Italy can't be left alone facing this extraordinary phenomenon. Italy is the gateway to Europe. Europe must intervene with us.

NADEAU: Meloni will lead crisis talks this week after the government reconvenes on the agenda ways to help people migrate legally and ways to deport them faster. In the meantime, the boats keep coming and coming and coming. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Rome.

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CHURCH: Joining us now from Lampedusa is Francesca Basile. She is the head of the migration unit for the Italian Red Cross. Thank you so much for joining us.

FRANCESCA BASILE, HEAD OF THE MIGRATION UNIT, ITALIAN RED CROSS: Yes, welcome. It's a pleasure.

CHURCH: So, with this record number of migrants arriving on Italian shores every single day. What is your organization doing right now to help shelter and feed these desperate people and of course their children?

BASILE: Yes. Our role is to manage the reception center in Lampedusa, the so-called hotspot and from the beginning of our action here, we -- on the first of June, we assisted more than 48,000 people that arrived on the island on more than 1000 different lending and search and rescue event.

[02:05:06]

Our role is to assist -- is to assist them for the very beginning to offer them the possibility to receive food and clothes and non-food items to have the possibility to be treated in case of a health problems. We have psychologists to listen to them. Cultural mediator and also restoring family links service. These are -- these all are services that we offer from the very beginning to them.

CHURCH: And Francesca, the Italian government is now cracking down on charities and the help being offered by humanitarian organizations like yours. The Italian Red Cross calling for more international efforts against the migration chaos on Monday. Have you had any response to that call and what impact is all this having on Red Cross efforts in Italy?

BASILE: Well, regarding the role of Red Cross, our role now is concentrated to Lampedusa to give this first assistant in a very structured response because we are part of the emergency response system in Italy. And our action also continues in other places not only landing places in Italy but also reception and second assistant places in Italy.

CHURCH: And what other challenges face your organization as you tried to take care of his record number of migrants arriving in Italy and more specifically on the island of Lampedusa with thousands of being sheltered in a place that's only equipped to help hundreds of people, isn't it?

BASILE: Yes. The place could holster a number that is lower than the actual one. But obviously when people come, we need to give them first assistant no matter how many they should be. Because also during this complex, they -- we supported them as better as we -- as we can. Of course, the system should work, this mechanism should work. So, it is very important that they are transferred in a very short time in order to warn us to reprepare in case of other events but also to allow them to move to step further in terms of assistance and reception in other regions of Italy.

CHURCH: Right. And what will Italy likely decide to do with all these migrants if this decision has been made to cut help from charities? I mean, what might that signal if they're cutting that help?

BASILE: Well, it's very important that when people move to -- from here, they find reception in other places. This is a very first reception place. So. what we can offer here is first shelter and further information or what happens later. It's very important that also on the following step that this chain and mechanism works.

CHURCH: And how much do you worry what will happen to these migrants and the children?

BASILE: Well, I cannot say I am worried but for sure as a technician and as humanitarian actor, it's very important to play our role and to have the possibility to focus on vulnerabilities from the very beginning. You mentioned women, children, families, and it's very important that from the very beginning they are assisted and this follow up continues also later.

CHURCH: Francesca Basile, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.

BASILE: Thank you. Bye-bye.

CHURCH: Well, Spanish soccer is embroiled in an embarrassing scandal that's only getting messier. And the man at the center of it appears to be running low on our lights. A little more than a week after he kissed a player from the World Cup winning women's team on the mouth during victory celebrations. Luis Rubiales, the president of Spain's National Football Federation has insisted the kiss was spontaneous and mutual.

But Jenni Hermoso says at no point did she consent and calls the move sexist. Regional soccer chiefs held emergency talks on Monday and issued a statement calling on Rubiales to resign, saying his behavior has seriously damaged the image of Spanish football. He's already been suspended by FIFA. And Spanish prosecutors are looking at whether to pursue sexual aggression charges.

Atika Shubert is covering this story for us live from Madrid. She joins us now. So, Atika, the Fallout has been massive. What is the latest on this fast-developing story?

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ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Well, late into the night in the building behind me, the Spanish football federation was meeting desperately trying to find a way to steer out of the crisis. What they did was issue a statement urging Rubiales to resign. So, the pressure on him is building every day.

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SHUBERT (voiceover): On the streets of Madrid tonight demands for Spain soccer President Luis Rubiales to get a so-called red card and face criminal prosecution for the infamous unwanted kiss the head of Spanish football planters on striker Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the women's World Cup. A kiss she says that was not consensual. Drawing support from her colleagues and much of the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I think we are all very angry at these because all women have suffered some kind of abuse. We -- like the moment we saw the images, we automatically thought about our bosses, our professors, our teachers in the school.

SHUBERT: Both sides are digging in. But now days after FIFA provisionally suspended Rubiales from all football related activities at national and international levels, Spanish prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into a possible instance of "sexual aggression." As protesters rallied in the streets, the Royal Spanish football federation called on Rubiales to resign after an emergency meeting desperate to steer away out of the crisis and prevent it from affecting Spain's vaunted football teams from playing in international games.

In his hometown of Montreal, Rubiales' family rallied at church, his mother apparently on hunger strike to support her son.

I think this massive lynching of an honest and loyal person is shameful, his cousin said. I know him perfectly well. And what he is going through is unfair. The incident has become more than a national scandal. It is now a rallying cry both for supporters of women's rights and for those who feel threatened by their demands.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SHUBERT: I think what's interesting about the statement that was put out by the Federation yesterday was a line where it said they had requested that EUFA, that the letter sent after Rubiales has refused to resign saying that Spain should be removed from European Championships and tournaments because the government was trying to Rubiales which would be -- which would mean that Spanish players wouldn't be playing in any European Games, which is really quite would have serious international repercussions.

So, we're waiting to see how it will move forward, whether or not Rubiales would -- will resign. But I think one of the most important things here is that when he said he would not resign last week in that dramatic statement, there were a number of men who applauded him in that room. And it does seem based on the statement that came out from the Federation today that those men have now switched their support for him and are saying he should set stepped down as soon as possible, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Interesting. Atika Shubert joining us there with the latest developments. Appreciate it.

Ukraine says it has broken through the first line of Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia region on the critical Southern frontlines. They say they're fully liberated the village of Robotyne and that's bringing them and their artillery closer to a strategic transport hub where Russian forces lie and wait. Ukrainian military officials say it may not seem like a huge victory but recapturing the village took incredible work.

One soldier says Russian forces have set up elaborate fortifications, thick minefields and anti-tank obstacles and are using guided aerial bombs to destroy Ukrainian equipment. Despite the challenges, Ukraine's defense minister insists they're on the right track.

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OLEKSII REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We are moving forward in our counter offensive. There are certain changes which are not as quick as everyone wanted. It's not like in a movie, you go today and finish tomorrow. But we are moving without stopping in accordance with the plan.

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CHURCH: Ukraine's President says he hopes his country can secure security guarantees from the U.S. similar to the agreements between the U.S. and Israel. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says those guarantees could help defend against future Russian aggression. He says the U.S. can offer weapons, technology and training to Ukrainian forces. What Mr. Zelenskyy calls a shield and a sword.

Moldova's president is also calling for more Western help for Ukraine.

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She spoke exclusively with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Sunday. The 32nd anniversary of Moldova's independence from the Soviet Union.

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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Do you believe that the West is doing enough? Do you think it really gets it? I mean, do you think it's yet done enough for Ukraine and is it doing enough for you?

MALA SANDU, PRESIDENT OF MOLDOVA: We're grateful to all the countries and all the international organizations which support Ukraine. We believe that Ukraine needs to get more support. Ukraine is fighting the right cause. Ukraine is fighting for its independence, but also for democracy. And everybody should understand that if Ukraine is not held, then Russia will not stop in Ukraine or Moldova.

So, this is also about the security, first of all the security of the continent, and also about the international rules-based system.

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CHURCH: Inside Russia, we are seeing an outpouring of grief for Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Mercenary Group who was killed in a plane crash nearly a week ago. And this comes as the Kremlin tries to tamp down on Wagner's influence in the country and on foreign battlefields including Ukraine. Matthew Chance gives us the view from inside Russia.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Don't expect to see these scenes on Russian-state television. When it comes to the Wagner leader who challenged the Kremlin then died in a plane crash. There's a virtual media blackout on public grief. The Wagner supporters like Dimitri in Moscow are simply not being heard.

Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead, he says. Just confirms that there are fewer and fewer of us. We really think about our country, our history and our goals. Prigozhin really showed everyone how it should be done he adds.

Wagner did a great job, says Maria. And they are heroes of our country. But of course, everyone makes mistakes, she explains.

But in Russia some mistakes can be fatal. The Kremlin is slammed as absolute lies. Allegations Prigozhin was killed for leading this abortive military uprising in June.

But the fact his plane plunged to the ground two months after to the day has fueled suspicions.

Many dank the official investigation would ever reveal state involvement.

Already there were concerns at how quickly and carelessly. Evidence has been dragged from the crash scene. And when CNN visited Monday morning, it had already been flattened and cleared, just a small memorial to mark the spot. But the memory of the Wagner leader may not be so easily erased.

All of us are angry at what happened, says this former military officer now running for political office in the Russian far east.

We all considered Prigozhin our primary commander in the special military operation, he told crowds of mourners.

Kremlin may not like it. But even in death, Russia's mercenary leader continues to strike a chord.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We have new video showing Paul Whelan, an American who has been detained in Russia since 2018. In the video shot by Russian-state media, you can see wheel and in prison wearing a prison uniform. The video includes shots of him using a sewing machine and eating in a cafeteria. We learned that was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia on an espionage charge he vehemently denies.

In just a few hours, the European Court of Human Rights is expected to issue a judgment in a case involving the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot. This case involves five former band members who were attacked by a group of uniformed Cossacks during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. A warning this video is graphic. The group was performing a song when they were grabbed, beaten, kicked and whipped by Cossack soldiers.

The band members filed suit with the E.U.'s Human Rights Court. They argue that the Russian state failed to safeguard their free speech and that the state itself was responsible for the violent attack.

Coming up next. Parts of Cuba are hit by a tropical storm that's now forecast to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida.

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The latest on this weather threat coming up.

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CHURCH: More than 8000 people evacuated coastal areas in western Cuba according to state T.V. ahead of tropical storm Idalia. It has lashed that part of the island nation with heavy rain and strong winds. Floodwaters rushed into homes and at least one fishing village. Idalia is now moving north and is forecast to rapidly intensify before slamming into Florida as a category three hurricane.

Storm surge and hurricane warnings are in effect along the state's Gulf Coast and at least 10 counties have issued evacuation orders. Here's a look at where the storm is located right now. It's expected to gain strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall on Wednesday. And CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis is monitoring the storm. She joins us now. So, Karen, what are you seeing right now?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we just received another update from the National Hurricane Center. Very little has changed. The central pressure of this has gone down a little bit. But surprisingly, it's still sitting at 110 kilometers per hour, about 70 miles per hour moving towards the north. Now we do see a couple of things or I've noticed this over the last few hours.

This northern edge of the tropical storm looks pretty well organized, but further to the south. It's pretty disorganized, probably because of the interaction with land. That landmass being Cuba, where it's dumping heavy rainfall. But then what happens is we're going to watch it moved into the Gulf of Mexico. Now the water temperatures here are 30 plus degrees Celsius and a lot of areas is 33, 34 degrees.

So, it's very warm, exceptionally warm. And so, this is going to move into an environment that's going to be very favorable for continued development. In fact, National Hurricane Center says we could see some rapid intensification if it does that. We're looking at potentially a monster storm. Category three hurricane where winds start at just about 180 kilometers per hour. That's a major hurricane.

Computer models are pretty good agreement about where it's expected to go. Now I will mention this area. This Big Bend area is a lot of wildlife refuge. A lot of areas where there are nature things to take place and camps. It's not really heavily populated, like a lot of these areas along the west coast of Florida like Tampa. Now Tampa, you're not in the clear if I say the Big Bend area. Tampa is fine. No, it's not, still the potential for storm surge.

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Still looking at heavy rainfall. Still looking at the potential for some isolated tornado. So there a lot of things that could happen over the next 24 to 48 hours. But it does look like as we go into Tuesday morning, 8:00 a.m. category one. I think that's going to happen. But we were waiting for this particular announcement that maybe it had reached hurricane intensity, it has not. And then we move through Tuesday evening.

And now we're looking at some pretty significant events taking place here. We'll see some bands move on shore. So, we're going to see that storm surge kind of pick up especially at high tide and then right before landfall, very warm water temperatures and it looks like that could increase to category three. The models have been very consistent with that. Here's (INAUDIBLE) this is going through time.

You can see it looks like a fairly clearly defined eye if you go by kind of the rotation associated with the rainfall bands that are depicted here over the next several days. But I also want to point out another thing. Charleston, Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville, even up towards Wilmington could see significant rainfall as this weekend but still a tropical storm intensity. And it looks like we could see some pretty severe flooding continuing towards the end of the workweek. Back to you.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Karen MaGinnis. Appreciate it.

Well, to Northern Italy now where flash floods and landslides wreaked havoc on the region Monday. Roads overlooking Lake Como were blocked by the bad weather. The deluge included torrential rain that caused landslides. Officials say the cleanup is already underway. They say some areas including Piedmont and Lombardy remain at risk for more flooding.

Well, still to come. The U.S. and China agree to improve trade ties between the world's two biggest economies. The latest on the U.S. Commerce Secretary's visit to Beijing.

Plus, court dates collide with campaign events for Donald Trump as his former chief of staff looks to move his case to a new venue. We'll explain.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. As trade tensions rise between the U.S. and China, both sides have agreed to exchange information on how they enforce export controls. It comes on the second day of the U.S. commerce secretary's visit to Beijing.

She says it will help reduce misunderstandings of the U.S. national security policies. CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now live from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven. So what does this actually mean? And how are these talks progressing overall?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Rosemary, that basically is a confirmation of a new platform that would allow U.S. officials to explain to their Chinese counterpart their export control decisions and the first meeting on this topic is actually taking place today at the Chinese commerce ministry.

And it very much points to the contradictory nature of Raimondo's mission during her visit. Because on one hand, obviously, she is trying to stabilize this economic relationship, trying to promote U.S. business interests.

On the other hand, her agency, the commerce department, has been imposing a growing number of export controls, targeting China, especially in advanced computing and semiconductors.

All of that greatly angering the Beijing leadership, including President Xi Jinping himself. So that's why Raimondo has been trying to tell Chinese officials that the export controls out of national security concerns account for only 1 percent of America's exports to China. So there's still a lot of room for growth and cooperation.

But that kind of argument may not be very convincing to Chinese officials who simply don't believe there is much difference between derisking, as American officials have been emphasizing, and decoupling.

But, of course, she is trying to focus on the positive. On Tuesday morning, she met up with the Chinese culture and tourism minister, obviously trying to revive a once booming sector of Chinese outbound travel to the United States.

But, the one thing that is ironically helping her mission is the Chinese economy itself, facing its strongest headwinds in decades, with a myriad of problems. And that in the way has compelled Chinese officials to put on a more business friendly, investor friendly face.

At least outwardly, allowing them to give their officials more wiggle room to work with Raimondo to stabilize this very important economic relationship, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Alright, our thanks to Steven Jiang, joining us live from Beijing. Appreciate it. Well, Toyota will suspend operations in all its plants in Japan from today. The carmaker says it is unable to process orders for parts due to a glitch in its production system.

A spokesperson told CNN that the company is currently investigating and at this stage does not believe the failure was caused by a cyberattack. Toyota says it will decide this evening whether to resume operations from Wednesday morning.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is lashing out at naval drills by the U.S., Japan and South Korea. Kim accuses, what he calls, the gang bosses of creating unstable waters, with the danger of a nuclear war. He is vowing to radically modernize North Korea's navy.

The Allies Special Operations troops are practicing infiltrating an enemy's coastline from the sea. Pyongyang has denounced the drills as a rehearsal for war. Donald Trump has a date in federal court on March fourth of next year. Just one day before the Super Tuesday presidential primaries.

That is for his federal trial on election subversion charges. Meantime, his former White House chief of staff is trying to get his case moved to federal court. CNN's Jessica Schneider has details.

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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A lot unfolding in the legal drama surrounding the former president on multiple fronts. First, the Washington D.C. federal judge, Tanya Chutkan, she has set a trial start date in the special counsel's case of election interference against trump.

The start date will be in just about six months, March fourth, 2024. Now, Trump's team, they had warned that that won't be enough time to provide the illegal assistance they need to the former president. But the judge has said that Trump has more resources at his disposal than the average criminal defendant.

And she believes that the case is streamlined enough for the defense to be ready come mMarch fourth, 2024. So we will see at least one trial early next year. Now, meanwhile, the Fulton County Georgia DA is aiming to start her trial against Trump and his 18 co defendants as soon as October.

But Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, was on the witness stand, already in federal court on monday, trying to argue that his case should be moved out of state court, into federal court, since he, his argument is that he was acting under his official duties during all of the conduct surrounding January sixth that's been alleged by DA Fani Willis.

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So prosecutors actually asked Meadows about his involvement surrounding that date, including the call to the Georgia secretary of state in early January, 2021, when, of course, Trump asked to find those extra votes so that he could be declared the winner in Georgia.

And now it's up to the federal judge in Georgia to decide whether Mark Meadows was in fact acting within his capacity as a federal official. And this is all while Trump's legal calendar is getting increasingly tight and packed.

If all holds, he would see all four of his criminal trials starting sometime between this October and March of 2024. That federal case is set to start just one day before Super Tuesday. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, anger in Libya following a controversial meeting between the foreign ministers of Israel and libya. The details are just ahead.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Libya has suspended its foreign minister after she met with her Israeli counterpart last week. The Libyan foreign ministry says the meeting was unprepared, and rejected reports that it was officially sanctioned.

However, Israel is calling it historic and a first step, as both countries don't have official diplomatic relations. The meeting also set off protests in several cities across Libya, CNN's Hadas Gold has more on the fallout.

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HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The announcement of this meeting between these two foreign ministers has sparked a dramatic diplomatic crisis, and has led to the dismissal of Libya's foreign minister.

What happened on Sunday evening was that the Israeli foreign ministry sent out a statement to reporters, hailing what they called a historic first ever meeting between Libya's foreign minister, Najla Mangoush, and the Israeli foreign minister, Eli Cohen. They said that the two met in Rome and it was organized and hosted by

the foreign minister Antonio Tajani, and the two discussed how they could broaden the cooperation between the two countries, including on issues such as agriculture and water technology.

Now, such a meeting would be very historic and important, because Israel and Libya have no diplomatic relations to speak of. But the announcement of this meeting sparked protests in Libya. We have seen social media videos of protesters burning Israeli flags, burning tires and waving Palestinian flags.

Of course, the Palestinian cause is widely supported across Libya. And the Libyan internationally recognized government has pushed back against the Israeli characterization of this meeting, calling it informal and unprepared.

Saying that it did not include negotiations or consultations. And then they suspended the foreign minister, and the New York Times is now reporting that she has fled the country for safety in Turkey.

[02:40:09]

But according to an Israeli source that is familiar with the situation that CNN has spoken to, they have pushed back on that characterization, saying that the meeting was planned in advance.

Saying that actually there had been plans to make the news public, but Israeli media is reporting that the foreign ministry had been made aware that reporters were going to break the story out of a formal announcement, and that is why the Israeli foreign ministry sent out that press release to reporters on Sunday evening.

Now there has been some criticism from inside Israel towards the foreign ministry, like Cohen, the former prime minister, former foreign minister himself, Yair Lapid, criticizing the move to publicize this meeting, saying it risked an important future relationship. Also, calling it amateurish, irresponsible and a grave failure of judgment. Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: One of the best in-players in baseball is counting his blessings after an unwelcoming encounter with some fans. One spectator ran onto the field in Denver and hugged the Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna on Monday night.

Security guards managed to separate the fan and then another person ran onto the field and made contact with Acuna, knocking him over. The Braves outfielder was not hurt, but said that he was a little scared.

Acuna finished the game with four hits, including a home run. The U.S. Open is in full swing in New York. The night match featured a former winner of the tournament, Novak Djokovic. He will reclaim his world number one ranking after a decisive first round win over Frenchman Alexandre Muller. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is stepping

back from a rap battle with Eminem. Ramaswamy performed a rendition of the Eminem hit, Lose Yourself, at the Iowa state fair earlier this month. Now the real Slim Shady says he no longer wants Ramaswamy using his music.

The 38-year-old Republican has used the song at his campaign events and his spokesperson says he just got on the stage and cut loose in Iowa. But now, the Ramaswamy campaign says it plans to comply with Eminem's request.

That's probably a good idea. Thanks for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church, WORLD SPORT is coming up next. And then I will be back in about 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. Do stick around.

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