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Connect the World
Coming Hours: Biden Introduces First Round Of Cabinet Picks; How "Dark Money" Helped Phantom Candidates In Florida Senate; China Braces For Biden Presidency; CNN Obtains New Evidence In Deadly Lagos Protest; Rapper Professor Green Speaks To CNN About Mental Health; DOW Crosses 30,000 Mark As Biden Transition Formally Begins. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired November 24, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: GSA Administrator Emily Murphy has sent a letter to Joe Biden ascertaining that he is the winner of the 2020 election.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is about time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As one adviser put it, it's the end of the road for the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some history-making choices.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of these nominees think they can get confirmed in the Senate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're seeing a team develop that I have great confidence in.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this hour we are connecting a world that is on the tipping point of history on three fronts,
on the markets, on the vaccine front and on the handover of the White House, and we're going to get to all of that.
Let me start off with these markets because the DOW within striking distance of 30,000 points, and that would be a record high, up some 0.25
percent, some 360 odd points higher, 29,961 as we speak.
Some of the good cheer on the stock market coming from this, the political process in the United States finally moving forward, although we might
never actually see Donald Trump say that Joe Biden won the White House. A very formal let her sent by the Trump Administration several hours ago is
an admission that Biden will be the next President of the United States.
The letter, you see here from the head of what's known as the General Services Administration freeze up millions in resources for Biden's
transition team, and it opens the door for government agencies to start cooperating in that transition.
President Trump still vowing to fight on and says he will never concede, but a senior Republican close to the White House tells CNN this is as close
to a concession as you may get from Trump. Just a couple of hours from now Biden will unveil the first members of his cabinet, including the first
female treasury secretary, first female intelligence chief and the first Latino to head homeland security.
Biden's picks are D.C. insiders who previously held senior positions in the Obama Administration, and many say this marks a return to a more
predictable U.S. government. Barack Obama says the fact that Biden has picked an experienced cabinet will make the delayed transition easier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There has been some damage done that is going to take some time to - to dig ourselves
out of, but there's no doubt that Joe's got the right people to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that's Barack Obama. Let's talk about Biden's first cabinet picks with one of the people who ran against him during the primaries,
Former Presidential Candidate and now CNN Political Commentator Andrew Yang. Welcome back, sir. Let's talk about Biden's cabinet. What do you make
of these picks?
ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm thrilled with the picks thus far. Janet Yellen is obviously someone the markets have a great deal of
confidence in given that she used to run the fed. I think she's a phenomenal pick for Secretary of Treasury.
I think Alejandro Mallorca is an equally great pick for the Department of Homeland Security reversing many of the policies of the Trump
Administration that we know to be inhumane hand dehumanizing. So it's great to see Joe already put his stamp on the incoming administration, and it's
equally great to see that the General Services Administration is authorizing the funds to actually make this transition happen. So I'm very
happy on multiple levels.
ANDERSON: Well, a happy week, happy Thanksgiving, happy transition as far as Andrew Yang is concerned. Let's talk about Janet Yellen because her
first big fight will be shepherding the U.S. economy out of this pandemic. As you point out Wall Street knows her. They like her.
She's seen a dove in favor of keeping policies supportive of the U.S. economy. Question is what can she do for Americans?
[11:05:00]
ANDERSON: 12 million of who will be likely broke by the time she takes over if congress can't get its act together before then on stimulus. Andrew?
YANG: I think that she's going to need help from congress to help the over 10 million Americans who are still jobless as a result of the pandemic.
There are limits to the tools that you have out of treasury. There's a lot you can do, but to your point, Becky, you're looking at an economy that's
going to be on a very, very long road to recovery.
And I'm one of the people you probably know that's been championing cash relief for the American people. That should have arrived months ago given
that the Cares Act was passed back in March and April and it's now November. So as happy as people are about Janet Yellen as the pick, she's
going to need some help from congress.
ANDERSON: This is a cabinet that is diverse. It is a cabinet as described by one of our colleagues Stephen Collinson as far from flashy, and that was
a compliment coming from Stephen Collinson. What it has is a series of names that many of our viewers will actually recognize.
What this cabinet isn't packed with is let's call them celebrities, at least in American political terms. No one, for example, in the lineup that
you stood in, those who ran against Joe Biden, I'm talking about Bernie Sanders. I'm talking about Elizabeth Warren, for example. Are these people
disappointed they didn't make the final lineups, as if it were?
YANG: Well, the lineup is definitely not final. There are many, many people that are still going to be appointed, and I'm optimistic that a lot of
folks who ran against Joe are going to wind up in the administration in some capacity.
I think the fact that Joe is hiring experienced hands should surprise very few people given that Joe's got a wealth of experience, a wealth of
relationships, and I think that after the Trump era people are eager for a return to some degree of predictability, stability and expertise.
ANDERSON: You talk about some of these characters may be taking positions that will be in support of the Biden Administration. Does that include
yourself?
YANG: I've been in touch with various folks, and I'm on the record saying that, you know, I would love to help dig us out of the hole that we're in
because it's a deep, dark hole here in the U.S. The Coronavirus is getting stronger in many, many communities in terms of the infection rate,
unfortunately, and so we have a lot of work to do, and I'm here to help.
ANDERSON: CNN punting you as the next Secretary of Commerce. I will move on but I just want your response to that. Would you take that job if it were
offered to you?
YANG: I would serve in the administration in a variety of roles, and that would be one of them.
ANDERSON: All right. I know you'll accept an invitation back if indeed that is offered to you and you accept it. I certainly do hope that you will
look. What do you think was the tipping point that pushed President Donald Trump to finally accept defeat, even if he - he didn't or won't or will
never officially concede?
YANG: I think there are three things. Number one, his legal challenges have not been working in more and more states including Michigan have been
certifying results. Number two, calendar even he knows that come late January he'll be evicted.
But number three was that someone explained to him that he could certify the - this transition funding without formally conceding, and when he
thought he could do that, then he decided, well, that he can have his cake and eat it too.
So I think it's a combination of those three things but I'm very, very happy about it because when I talk to folks who are planning the
transition, they said, look, it's hard to do it if you can't talk to someone currently in these agencies because a lot of things have changed
over these last four years.
ANDERSON: The State of Michigan, as you point out, was perhaps the last straw in what has about Trump's relentless effort to challenge Joe Biden's
win. I just want our viewers to have a listen to what some leading Republicans had to say about it all. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): The idea that a sitting president would try to, I don't know, pressure, cajole, persuade state legislators to dismiss the
will of their voters and select their own group of electors and send them to the Electoral College is completely inconsistent with any kind of truly
democratic society, so that shouldn't be going on in my view.
[11:10:00]
TOOMEY: I don't like to characterize how my colleagues feel about these things, but I can assure you I am not alone in this view among Republican
Senators.
REP. FRED UPTON (R-MI): The voters spoke, and here again in Michigan it's not a razor thin margin its 154,000 votes. You've got to let those votes
stand.
GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): Now we're beginning to look like we're a banana republic. It's time for them to stop the nonsense. It just gets more
bizarre every single day, and frankly I'm embarrassed more people in the party aren't speaking up.
CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: What's happened here is quite frankly the content of the president's of the legal team has been an
embarrassment. Listen, I've been a supporter of the president and I voted for him twice. Elections have consequences, and we cannot continue to act
as if something happened here that didn't happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Andrew, how would you describe the impacts of all of this on the Republican Party? This is, of course, a Republican Party that still
controls the Senate. I know that you are working very hard to - to help the Democrats try to ensure that that's not the state of play post January the
5th but, you know, what's the state of play when it comes to Republicans in the U.S. at this point?
YANG: The Republicans are having a period of soul-searching. They are trying to figure out what the post-Trump era looks like and whether this
truly is a post-Trump era because we can all see that there are millions of Americans that still believe that Trump somehow should be president, and
there are millions of Americans who expect to support Trump if he decides to run again.
So many Republicans have to ask themselves is this the time for me to stand up for principle, democracy and potentially incur the wrath of pro-Trump
Republican voters? And I obviously hope that there is a return to principle.
I think that the decomposition of the Republican Party has been a massive crisis for the country that's played out over the last number of years and
that crisis is ongoing so if there are Republican leaders that happen to watch this, look, we know you know what happened with this election.
We know you know right from wrong, and it's OK if you've been silent for the last number - it's not really OK, but, like, it's certainly
understandable if you've been silent for political reason, but it's never too late to stand up and say, look, the party has to move on from Trump.
ANDERSON: Very briefly and finally. If you had one message for the international viewer who is watching this today, what is it? What's your
message from America to the rest of the world today?
YANG: That there are tens of millions of Americans who are just like you thrilled that the Trump era is ending and that normalcy is returning in the
form of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the new team, so give us a chance, world. I know you think America has lost its marbles, but they are back.
We're back. America is back. Let's put it that way.
ANDERSON: Andrew Yang in the house, Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for joining us and however you're celebrating this year, it's an odd one this year, but
I do hope that you have a good one, sir.
YANG: I'm knocking on some doors in Georgia tomorrow, yes all right, bye, Becky.
ANDERSON: There you go a big consummate politician and hard-working Andrew Yang. Thank you, sir. While President-Elect Joe Biden finally officially
begins his formal transition to the White House, questions are circulating over three senate races in the State of Florida.
In each matchup there was one candidate who did no campaigning and held no fund-raisers. Evidence suggests they were spoiler candidates planted by so-
called dark money. CNN's Drew Griffin has our investigation.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was the closest of races. Incumbent Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez lost his Florida state
Senate seat by just 32 votes. The Republican challenger who won--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ILEANA GARCIA (R-FL): I'm Ileana Garcia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Ileana Garcia, a founder of Latinos for Trump, but there was a third candidate in this race playing the role of spoiler his name, Alex
Rodriguez, sharing the same last name as the Democrat in the race and promoted as a liberal. Alex Rodriguez got more than 6,000 votes. Jose
Rodriguez says the straw candidate coast him his seat by pulling away Democrat votes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Have you ever met him, seep him, talked to him? Has he been involved in any debates?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't even know what he looked like until after the race and investigative reporters tracked him down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to fight back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:15:00]
GRIFFIN: In State Senate District 9 Democrat Patricia Sigman lost to a Republican by just 2 percent of the vote. Here once again no one ever saw
the supposedly liberal third candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICIA SIGMAN, FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: She had no website. She never participated in any of the debates or forums, never showed up
anywhere. She wasn't even registered to vote until she filed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: In these races and one other, ghost candidates in Florida were supported by mysterious Pacs which send out hundreds of thousands of
dollars in mostly identical advertising mailers making those candidates seem liberal. Yet CNN has learned that the people behind the mailers were
all Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WILCOX, RESEARCH DIRECTOR: This was a new one for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Ben Wilcox, Research Director of the non-partisan watchdog group Integrity Florida says no doubt someone running a dark money campaign
impacted at least one state Senate seat possibly two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILCOX: Florida - usually regulated when it comes to financing of campaigns, but it's probably legal, but, you know, it really shouldn't be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Here are what we now. Two brand new political action committees registered on the same date at the same minute and one day later received a
combined $550,000 in donations from the same company. The paperwork, says the Pacs were started by two young women whose social media is filled with
pictures of beaches and boats, but CNN could find no evidence that either of them or their Pacs had ever been involved in politics.
Then, on very same day both Pacs paid the same printing company all of that $550,000 for the flyers. It's their only expenditure. The printing company
and one of the Pacs are linked to this man; Alex Alvarado a Tallahassee based Republican Consultant and Former Republican Congressional Intern.
The printing company is run out of his house owned by his mom and step dad, the Pac started by a friend of his girlfriend's and despite being involved
in ghost candidate advertising with very liberal and progressive ideas, every one of them a registered Republican. That even includes the ghost
candidate Alex Rodriguez who was registered Republican until this election, and none of them are talking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been looking for Alex. Is he around?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he'll be back tomorrow though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: That's actually Alex Rodriguez who lied here to a local Miami TV reporter about his own identity. The money flowed into the Pacs from one
company Proclivity it's registered in Delaware as a Corporation under the name Richard Alexander.
What or who is Proclivity the trail ends here at a strip mall in Atlanta, Georgia this is where Proclivity has a mailbox drop but nothing else.
Democrats like Patricia Sigman are calling for an investigation into who paid for all of this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIGMAN: They don't run in order to win. They run in order to just try to sign of off votes, you know, they don't a website or they don't campaign.
They don't show up. They're ghosts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Florida's Republicans Senatorial Campaign Committee denies any knowledge whatsoever of the mysterious money that helped in three of their
races. CNN has repeatedly reached out to the ghost candidates, the Political Action Committees, the Republican Strategist and even the company
that supplied more than half million dollars and none of them are talking. Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
ANDERSON: Well, ahead on the show, China sends a probe to the moon while the U.S. sends a delegation to the Taiwan. We'll speak with the Head of the
U.S./China working group Rick Larsen about U.S./China relations going into what is a Joe Biden Presidency. And--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A video is obtained by CNN it appears to show the army shooting into the crowd appears and again at the top of your screen hit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Evidence that corroborates CNN's exclusive investigation of the shooting of the protesters in Nigeria and an admission by that country's
military. Plus--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Critical fear that Article 24 would make covering protests like this on as well as documenting police brutality much more
difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, later this hour we head to France where a - you from seeing certain images of police. You're watching "Connect the World." I'm Becky
Anderson back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: Take a look at that. Destination, the moon, departure point China this unmanned probe blasting off to collect rock and soil samples from the
moon and then bring them back to earth. While Beijing looks to gain more country and power in space as many countries want to, it must be said it's
also asserting itself right here on earth, especially with the United States.
That begs the question how will the incoming Joe Biden Administration deal with the ever growing rift with China? Well, their strategy may differ
widely from Donald Trump's. He just sent a top military intelligence official on an unannounced visit to Taiwan.
Remember, China considers the island part of its territory, yet there may be room for Washington and Beijing to come together. Chinese analysts are
quoted as saying Biden's pick for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is someone Beijing could potentially work with.
The Co-Chair of the bipartisan U.S./China working group Rick Larsen tweeted this about Blinken. If you think the U.S. should commit to alliances and
rebuild diplomacy then this is a good pick. I support him.
Let's bring him in. Representative Rick Larsen joining us now from Washington, you are sir and thank you joining is the Co-Chair of the
bipartisan U.S.-China working group. Anthony Blinken has said earlier that Biden would engage China from a, "Position of strength".
It will focus its efforts, this being a Biden Administration, on restoring U.S. democracy and its relations with allies. What then or explain how you
think that that approach might be a better approach when Washington takes on its China policy moving forward.
RICK LARSEN, CO-CHAIR, U.S.-CHINA WORKING GROUP: Yes, I think - thanks for having me on Becky I appreciate it. I think the current Trump
Administration is seeing the U.S.-China relationship both from an adversarial perspective and from strictly a bilateral perspective when in
fact the United States has friends and allies and partners in that region that we can turn to, to help us deal with the issues that the U.S. does
have with China.
That could be on technology and that could be on trade. Certainly could be on communicating about democracy and human rights and other issues as well.
ANDERSON: What is your sense and what are your sources telling you about how Beijing is responding to what are now an official transition period and
a new Biden Administration? And we now - it's now been revealed at least the sort of top characters in that cabinet.
LARSEN: Well, my experience in talking with the Chinese leader. They don't like the roller coaster ride if you will. The U.S.-China relationship I
think right now in that roller coaster ride it's an lower point and the roller coaster there are opportunities that nowhere to go but --.
But I do think the U.S. and incoming Biden Administration needs to open eyes about this relationship. There are areas of competition. There are
areas like on technology where the U.S. and China have different views on how to use technology?
[11:25:00]
LARSEN: And how to invest in technology? But areas of cooperation could include on climate change when you have the largest economies in the world
and largest emitters of co2 in the world. Transnational agreements with North Korea there are areas where cooperation will be necessary but we also
need to recognize there are areas where we're going to differ and just be realistic about those areas of difference.
ANDERSON: And this is likely to be an administration which puts human rights back, you know, at the center of its values-based foreign policy.
For the first time Pope Francis has publicly named China's largely Muslim Uighur minority among worlds persecuted peoples.
What do you make of that, for example, and how might this new human rights- based values policy that we expect from the Biden Administration play into its relationship with China going forward?
LARSEN: There are a couple of realities to that question. First reality is that congress probably won't give the Biden Administration a lot of wiggle
room on the human rights issue. The U.S. congress has been very proactive in passing legislation in response to what we see as basically labor camps
in western China in Xinjiang and the treatment of democracy - prodemocracy activists in Hong Kong.
So the U.S. congress has been very strong in its views so I don't think we give the Biden Administration, actually as a Democrat, I don't think would
give the Biden Administration a lot of wiggle room. On the other hand, the other side of that as I do think it's realistic to expect that the Biden
Administration will be much more active on promoting human rights because it's in a tradition of U.S. foreign policy to do that.
I also would note that the Chinese leadership makes it real easy for the United States to stand up for human rights when had you see what is
happening in Xinjiang and Hong Kong as an example.
ANDERSON: While you and I've been talking I just want our viewers to know that the DOW Jones Industrial average has actually touched an historic high
of 30,000 and there it goes again. It's flicking back and forth 29,999.74. It's flicked on to 30,000 and below.
This is a stock market that certainly likes this sort of return as some people are describing it to a sense of normalcy in Washington. This is a
market that didn't like the disruption that was the spat with China as the Trump Administration, you know, looked to reduce its dependency, the U.S.
dependency as it described it on China can.
And that - that's been echoed once again by Rubio, Marco Rubio today. He says I support America's greatness. I have no interest, Marco Rubio, in
returning to the normal that left us dependant on China, your sense, your response to a remark like that?
LARSEN: Well, first, I would say that the stock market doesn't reflect the broader economy in the United States, and the broader economy is still
hurting and which is why we really would press the Biden Administration and I think they are going to do this is to make the pandemic relief the number
one priority for the administration.
The second is to - as the Biden folks to build back better. That's to invest in the U.S. economy. Investing in our economy here at home is
actually a very strong message to the rest of the world that we do want to take care of ourselves, that it would help lessen the dependency on China.
So a domestic investment policy is an important part of our broader - has to be an important part of our broader policy with regards to China. I
think looking specifically at Senator Rubio's comments, and I think he's probably trying to hearken back to that Clinton/Bush/Obama era when there
was a criticism that the United States was too accommodating to China.
I think probably between that book end and the other book end where we should totally decouple is where the truth lies that there are areas of
cooperation, that there are areas of our economy that aren't going to decouple and that trade is going to continue.
But that we need to recognize especially in the technology sector where we're probably going to continue to run into problems with the Chinese
investment and how the U.S. approaches technology here at home.
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: Sir, you're right to point out that the DOW Jones Industrial average doesn't reflect the kind of wider U.S. economy but it is - it is an
indicator of sentiment and how investors certainly feel about what is going on oftentimes in the corridors of power around the world?
LARSEN: Yes.
ANDERSON: This market is on a bit of a rip today. We're now past 30,000. We've been as high as I think 30,000 and 11 is knocking around that point
but this is an historic high, folks, I mean, this is quite remarkable stuff given the year that we've had given the pandemic that has fueled fears
around the world about what global economies and what the global economy will look like in the year of 2021?
So many of us working from home these days so much of the service sector decimated by this pandemic but it's certainly on the markets in the U.S.
today, those investors who are investing in the DOW Jones Industrial average and its stocks taking this market above an historic high.
It's a pleasure speaking to you, it's been a real pressure and we'll do more on this as we go on. We're taking a short break. I'll leave you with
that back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN has obtained more evidence in the killing of peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria last month. CNN has
exclusively acquired the same surveillance footage now being examined by a tribunal setup to investigate the deadly events of October 20th.
Much of what you're about to see corroborates with CNN's findings which Nigerian authorities have challenged. CNN's Nima Elbagir and her team have
investigated this incident in extraordinary detail much to the anger of Nigerian authorities and she joins us now from London Nima?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, this footage is incredibly important, not just for what it shows us but almost as much
for what it doesn't show us. Take a look at this.
Becky, what we show here as you can see the camera panning away, that was one of the key moments and then right here. This is a shot that we show you
from two angles, so you see here people - the police are there.
[11:35:00]
ELBAGIR: People will begin to panic. They start running through the tollgates. I can't see anything.
ANDERSON: I think we've got a technical problem with that report that you've just put together. I'm going to move on and we're going to come back
to this because it's important, the Nigerian government continues to dispute our reporting and threatened sanctioned against CNN. We'll get back
to this. I'm going to get the producers to tee it up. Here we go, let me show you this.
ELBAGIR: This is government CC-TV footage from surveillance cameras overlooking Lekki Toll Gate. Recorded without sound it was shown as
evidence in the judicial panel. You see soldiers approaching firing shots here and here.
We lined up the footage, and it corroborates our previous reporting to show the first time we see and hear gunshots. Notice the building to the right
of your screen. Here is the same moment from that building.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are using fire. They are using fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: CNN geo-located and verified the footage you see to mark the exact time and place. Moments later more CC-TV footage people alarmed. Here is
the exact same moment from the other side of the gate. Shots can be heard. But the CC-TV doesn't capture everything.
This is what it shows at the time we believe shots are fired towards the protesters. The surveillance camera pans away but this is what you see on
ground. In videos obtained by CNN it appears to show the army shooting into the crowd, here and at top of your screen, here.
At the judicial panel the CC-TV footage stops around 8:00 and the Lekki Construction Company says this is because it was tampered with and what it
doesn't show is this crucial moment where DJ Switch lives streams on Instagram after 8:00 pm.
CNN has verified that these bullet casings are from live ammunition they are of mixed origin some are Serbian this one from 2005. Former and current
Nigerian military sources verified to us that these munitions are currently in use by the Nigerian Army.
At a hearing for the judicial panel's inquiry the army made an admission. But eyewitnesses and families we spoke to say the ammunitions used that
night by Nigerian authorities was very real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This - was shot and it went through my back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: Up until this point the army had denied they had live bullets at all on that night. It confirms a key finding in our investigation, that
there was live ammunition at the scene. This admission is the latest in a series of constantly shifting narratives as to what happened on October
20th at Lekki Toll Great?
The Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said that the army fired blank ammunition into the air. He also dismissed CNN's investigation
as fake news and misinformation. Now in the aftermath of our reporting both the United States and United Kingdom are calling on Nigeria to ensure that
its investigation is free and fair.
The Nigerian government continues to dispute our report and threaten sanctions against CNN but as you just saw there, Becky, the army has only
just admitted that live ammunition was carried by soldiers at Lekki Toll Gate on the night of October 20th.
CNN reached out multiple times to the army with requests for comment ahead of broadcast which were unanswered and police and state authorities decline
to respond until after the conclusion of the inquiry. We continue to stand by our reporting, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nima Elbagir on that story, Nima, thank you for that.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, human rights watchdog in Ethiopia estimates that hundreds of people were murdered during a massacre in Tigray region earlier this
month. Conflict between the federal and local government in the region has been intensifying for weeks. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission reports
at least 600 people died during the ethnically charged violence.
CNN has not been able to verify the death toll or who was responsible but eyewitnesses said there were many bodies on the street. Well, you're not
alone. International Rap Artist Professor Green says it's time to speak up about what gets you down. Up next he talks to me about mental health in the
age of lockdowns and isolation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, it's described as the silent epidemic. Health experts say more people are taking their own lives during the pandemic with nearly 1.5
million people dead and many others facing food lines. The global fallout from Coronavirus is complicating mental health issues. That's according to
the World Health Organization.
We know people are hurting COVID has turned coping into a super power and more people are literally dying for someone to talk to. For months we've
been reporting on hospital ICU units and how they're struggling across the world. But Japan is also seeing overwhelmed hotlines trying to prevent the
COVID related killer, suicide. Connecting all of this for us is CNN's Selena Wang in Tokyo.
SELENA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eriko Kobayashi tried to kill herself four times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIKO KOBAYASHI, DEPRESSION SUFFERER: I was really poor, I'm ashamed to say it but I short lifted then. I worked full-time and even overtime but did
not have enough money to live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: She was working for a publishing company but couldn't make ends meet. Now she works at an NGO, but since the pandemic the stress she felt then is
now back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBAYASHI: My salary was cuts, and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I constantly feel a sense of crisis that I might fall back into
poverty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: Japanese women are bearing the brunt of job losses from the pandemic often working in industries like hotel, food service and retail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBAYASHI: Japan has been ignoring women it is a society where the weakest people are cut off first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: In October more Japanese died of suicide than from 10 months of COVID-19 partly driven by suicide among women which had increased 80
percent from the previous year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBAYASHI: They are suffering so much. They just feel it's better to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: Tokyo's Koki Ozura started a mental health hotline in March. 70 percent of the people asking for people are women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOKI OZURA, FOUNDER, "A PALACE FOR YOU": They lost their jobs, and they need to raise their kids, but they don't have any money. They attempt
suicide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:45:00]
WANG: His nonprofit receives about 200 messages a day. Koki says his 600 volunteers are not enough to keep up with the volume.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OZURA: I've seen messaging - accept messages like - by father or my husband tried to kill me.
WANG: Why, because of the pandemic?
OZURA: Because of the pandemic, yes. And before the pandemic they had like a place that they can escape like schools or that - or the office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: Japan has long struggled with one of the highest suicide rates in the world but the number had been decreasing up until the pandemic. The
government has invested in suicide prevention but Eriko says it also requires changing society.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBAYASHI: It's shameful for others to know your weakness and misery so you hide everything and in - we need to create a culture where it's OK to show
your weakness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: Several Japanese celebrities have taken their lives in the recent month which often causes an increase in suicide in the general public - a
22-year-old professional wrestler and reality TV star died of suicide after a barrage of hate on social media. His mother says the pandemic has
compounded the challenges for women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYOKO KIMURA, MOTHER OF DESEASED WRESTLER: The women used to take care of children and the household. Now they have to work as well, so all the
social strain piles up on the women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: Now in her 40s Eriko is much better at dealing with her anxiety and hopes that by speaking publicly about her fears more people will do so and
realize they're not alone before it's not too late. Selena Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
ANDERSON: Well, the issue of our mental health and welfare resonates strongly with my next guest, Rapper Professor Green who started life as a
London-born. Stephen Anderson lost his own father to suicide that propelled him to campaign for more understanding of mental health conditions. If you
don't know who I'm talking about, have a listen to this.
Professor Green now and he are here now to talk to you now and tell us, if you will, about your journey. Why are you so involved in promoting issues
of people's mental health and welfare?
PROFESSOR GREEN, RAPPER: Hi Becky. I think because it is something that still has a significant amount of --. There still a stigma that comes with
admitting to not just problem of mental health or any vulnerabilities are seeing from a really young age and continue on from the person who was
speaking in Japan.
I think it is a societal problem. You know we will learn from a really young age that vulnerabilities will be taken as weaknesses and I think it
gets to a point where we don't just hide our vulnerabilities from other people. We ignore them ourselves and anything you try to stifle tends to
come at you sways at a point in your life and that's what happens to a lot people.
ANDERSON: When your dad - yes. Go on.
GREEN: I was going to say for me my journey with mental health began before I even knew what it was? When I was too young to even understand what I was
feeling when I was telling my nana I had a belly ache. What I had was a knot in my stomach from anxiety largely because my dad was in and out of my
life as a kid.
I was brought up by my grandmother and then at the age of 24 my dad took his own life which was a - and I had to take a real hard look at things and
obviously I became aware of mental health prior to that it wasn't even a phrase that I had really heard.
ANDERSON: And what have you done yourself to ensure that you feel more stable in your life?
GREEN: I just remained aware to be honest. And I've had varying degrees of problems and lows and highs and all sorts. For me I continue to talk to the
therapists, I have no shame in saying that. I think we have a culture where people associate therapists with crisis is nearly always a reactive measure
and not preventative one but prevention is always better than cure.
And I just try and make better decisions, you know. I know there are certain things that I do that will make me feel worse and there are things
that I do that will make me feel better.
[11:50:00]
GREEN: I also feel no shame in telling those closest to me when I'm not feeling great. It makes things hell of a lot easier. I think when we
internalize things they tend to manifest. That's when things grow, you know, they become a lot bigger whereas when you say things out loud
sometimes yes, they sound ridiculous in your mind.
It's difficult to say things sometimes but sometimes when you do say things out loud you realize that they don't need to have as much bearing on you as
they have had.
ANDERSON: Sure, my colleague Isa Suarez has been covering this topic from London. She spoke to a young woman who is recovering from an attempted
suicide as a result of the isolation of COVID-19 restrictions. I just want our viewers and you to have a listen what she told Isa about what would
happen if a lockdown was reinforced? Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does make me anxious that ultimately I would end up back in hospital or I would be really, really, really struggling with my
mental health. All I can do is look after myself and take it day by day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And you've said and I quote, COVID-19 has just exposed how protected some people are and how vulnerable others are? I just wonder how
we should all reckon with that, especially given that we really have no clue at this point. I mean, good news now on these vaccines, but we really
have no clue about when we'll be returning, to "A normal life"? What's your take on this?
GREEN: I think it's incredibly difficult, you know, challenges that we're all facing are the first of its kind in our lifetime, even that of our
parents. This isn't something that we've all endured collectively as a whole world and people are suffering varying degrees of it.
I think it's really difficult. I think there's people who probably had issues that maybe weren't aware of them or were able to distract themselves
from them in day-to-day life, and now not having things highlighted, and I think there's also people who have never before struggled who are finding
themselves in situations that they're finding difficult.
And how would you reach people when you're in the situation that we're in? How would people who would normally ask for help finding in their selves to
- to reach out in the situation that we're in when where we're all suffering from, you know, sort of the isolation.
It's really, really difficult and you know some industries have been hit harder and others you know the hospitality industry has taken a terrible
hit. My industry as a musician has taken terrible hit you know - I think he - the advice he offered was completely useless.
You know the idea to retrain all the years that we've spent working towards what we've become, not just us, but the people that facilitate what we do?
The people that are behind the cameras, you know, the people that run venues to just suggest that they would quite simply drop what they have
been doing for their entire lives and careers and retrain is unhelpful. And it's hard to know what to do?
ANDERSON: I'm going to leave it there. Yes. And your words will resonate with so many people listening to this interview. It's been an absolute
pleasure to have it on. Your music is great, by the way, a real inspiration.
GREEN: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Thank you. Thank you for joining us. And if you or someone you know is experiencing mental health difficulties a worldwide directory of
resources and international hotlines is provided by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. You can also turn to
befrendisworldwide.com do seek help much more ahead. I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:55:00]
ANDERSON: Well, breaking news from New York's stock markets the DOW cracking 30,000 points for the first time ever and beyond at this point.
U.S. stocks getting a big boost on news that President-Elect Joe Biden will nominate Former Fed Chair and Market Friend Janet Yellen for Treasury
Secretary.
That is helping make investors feel upbeat along with the formal transition to the Biden Administration, plus, plus, plus. Let's get straight to
Richard Quest on this. He is connecting us to the very latest from New York. I'm sure this Yellen appointment has helped certainly. I mean, she's
seen as a dove. She's seen as somebody who will look to, you know, support the U.S. economy with whatever it takes from her point of view.
I mean, she's got a tough job on her hands coming in with this pandemic- ravaged economy but you wouldn't know that today when you look at these markets?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Absolutely, you've summed it up. I mean, first of all, you've got the vaccines. All of them coming down the
road so the market is in much better cheer to begin with and then you add on the transition that's now under way as Donald Trump has authorized that
to start last night and Janet Yellen who is the ultimate safe pair of hands from the Head of the Council of Economic Advisers at the White House to
Head of the Fed in San Francisco to Chair of the Fed and now will be Treasury Secretary, if approved.
So, yes, Becky, all the necessary pieces of the jigsaw are in place, and coupled with that, don't forgot the Federal Reserve is still printing
money. It's still pumping it into the economy and the interest rates are remaining low. So wherever the market looks at the moment, there is either
help and support or there's a favorable environment.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. This does not as - we'll continue to remind our viewers and I was reminded by a guest just earlier on. Reflect the kind of
wider American economy, these are markets and they're peculiar to those investors who buy and sell these markets. Going forward, the U.S. needs a
stimulus package though, doesn't it Richard?
QUEST: It does and it will get one. It's just a question of how much pain or more pain the politicians want to put people through. But Janet Yellen
having been at the Fed is the - the one difficulty I'm reading this morning about Yellen is that she is in an official policy-maker from the Fed
military side.
She is not yet down in the dirt politician deal-making, you do this and I'll do that. And being the Treasury Secretary you do have to have a large
element of how to get nasty with it? But that's where the president-elect himself comes in. He is so well versed in doing deals within the Senate
that together they make this formidable team.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Richard Quest in the house, thank you, sir, it's a very warm good night from us. The DOW Jones has torn through 30,000. That
is an historic point. Good night from us. Take care of yourself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
