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New Ceasefire Announced for Eid Al-Fitr; U.S. Military Making Plans to Evacuate Americans from Sudan; Emergency Air Munition Drop Caused Belgorod Blast; British Deputy Prime Minister Resigns After Bullying Report; Thirty Years After the Murder of Stephen Lawrence. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired April 21, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:49]
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Eleni Giokos live from Abu Dhabi. This is CONNECT THE WORLD coming up this hour.
Another ceasefire announced in Sudan over the Muslim holiday of Eid. A Russian jet bombs its own side leaving a huge crater. British Deputy PM
Dominic Raab resigns over bullying claims. And later this hour Manchester United crash out of Europe again.
While millions of Muslims around the world celebrates the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, there's word of yet another temporary ceasefire for Sudan, but
it's unclear what is actually happening on the ground. Video released by Sudan's armed forces shows fighters marching through an area near Khartoum.
Nearly a week of fighting has left millions there without food, without water or power. And 70 percent of hospitals in the capital remain closed.
Earlier Sudan's armed forces leader appeared on television to address the violence but made no mention of a new ceasefire. The military later said it
would comply with the 72-hour truce announced by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces if the RSF does the same.
Nima Elbagir is following developments for us from London.
Great to have you on, Nima. Here we are again. This is a situation where we've seen three failed ceasefires. Now I guess both sides attempting to
see another ceasefire through as Eid Al-Fitr holiday begins, but reports of the military making their way near Khartoum painting a very different
picture on the ground of whether this is actually plausible.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Sources in the Sudanese military are telling CNN that in fact
they have launched a ground offensive, which doesn't exactly sound compatible with the idea of Eid ceasefire. What we do know from residents
on the ground in Khartoum is that they woke on this the first day of the Eid Islamic holiday to the sound of intense fighting.
And those are the reports that we're receiving from around the capital, around the administrative capital which actually falls on either side of
the banks of the River Nile. Khartoum Omdurman and Khartoum North, so it doesn't really feel like what we're hearing on the air is actually being
implemented on the ground, and if anything, the fighting today is being described as the most intense.
After days of increasingly intense fighting it feels like now it is going down to that street-by-street level, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yes. I mean to say that people are stuck in the middle of this power struggle is something we've been hearing. The horrors that we're
hearing coming through from various parts of the country. But look, your reporting on the Russian Wagner group has raised so many questions on
external influence here. You've been doing some digging. What did you discover?
ELBAGIR: Well, the biggest concern in this has always been not only about the entrenchment of the two sides, but also the potential for the contagion
if outside or regional actors get involved, and we have now uncovered evidence that the Russian proxy militia group Wagner with the support of
Field Marshal Haftar in Libya is providing support, has provided support, to the RSF. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Sudanese and the Libyan armies celebrated a successful joint operation Wednesday, April 19th, near the remote desert
border between Libya and Sudan. Having captured the Chevrolet Garrison belonging to the rival Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the RSF.
But why is this garrison important, given how far it is from the existential fight in Sudan's capital, Khartoum?
Because CNN can reveal that the fight in Khartoum is being influenced by what was happening at that garrison, a Russian resupply campaign backed by
a key regional player aimed at turning the tide in Sudan's war in favor of the RSF, who have been a key recipient of Russian training and military
aid.
[10:05:10]
In collaboration with all eyes on Wagner, a research group focusing on Russian proxy Wagner, CNN investigated the group's current presence in
Libya. You can see here on April 16th, one day after the fighting began in Khartoum, a Russian Iluyshin-76 transport plane at the Al Jufra base in
Libya, previously identified by American intelligence as a Wagner base. Three days later, this same plane is spotted by flight tracker aviation
expert Gerjon coming back from the Russian airbase in Latakia, Syria before returning to the Libyan air base in Khadim.
Images of that same plane began circulating online April 17th, heading in the direction of Sudan. Sudanese and regional sources tell CNN that
weaponry was air-dropped to the RSF within that time frame, April 15th to April 18th, to the Chevrolet Garrison during a period of fierce fighting,
boosting the RSF.
ELBAGIR (on-camera): The Al-Khadim and Al Jufra bases where the Wagner planes departed from in Libya are under the control of Field Marshal
Khalifa Haftar, who commands territory in the east of Libya. Haftar and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, AKA Hemetti,
have in common strategic alliances, one with Wagner, who Haftar is hosting in his territory in Libya and whom a previous CNN investigation exposed as
working with Hemetti to extract Sudanese gold. A second with the United Arab Emirates, who tapped Hemetti to send forces to the conflict in Yemen
and backed Haftar in the fighting in Libya.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): What does it all mean for the ongoing misery and conflict in Sudan? It means that both a regional, Libyan General Haftar,
and a global player, Russia, are putting their thumbs on the scale, which raises the stakes for the region, for the global balance of power, and for
the people of Sudan caught in the crossfire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELBAGIR: Field Marshal Haftar and Wagner did not respond to our requests for comments. An RSF spokesperson said that they do not receive support
from Libya or Wagner, although they said that they did admit which they hadn't previously that they have received support in the past -- Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yes, Nima, really fascinating. Just to reiterate, even the African Union has said that they're concerned about external interferences report
very much speaks to those worries.
Nima Elbagir, great to have you on the story. Fantastic reporting. Thank you so much.
All right. And you can follow Nima's reporting on Sudan online. You can go to CNN.com for more analysis of her exclusive reports on the evidence of
Wagner supporting Sudan's paramilitary forces. We also have the latest news and analysis from Sudan as well as the region.
Well, since fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF, 413 people have been killed, another 3500 injured, according to the World
Health Organization. And the U.S. State Department has now confirmed a U.S. citizen has died. Even with the two sides again discussing a possible
ceasefire, the U.S. Military is making plans to get Americans out if need be.
CNN's Kylie Atwood joins us now live.
Kylie, look, the ceasefire is going to be important in terms of evacuation plans for the United States and other countries as well as for people to
get resupplied, to move around safely, to restock. The U.S. has attempted to call for a ceasefire. It has not worked. What is the way forward here?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that's really the key here. I mean, this ceasefire is significant if it holds
because, of course, we have seen over the course of the last few days, you know, ceasefires that have been put in place but haven't actually held and
the situation on the ground is really the determining factor when the State Department is trying to consider how it's going to get out its U.S.
diplomats who are in the country. Those people who work for the U.S. government.
There are preparations to get them out of the country. The U.S. Military has positioned resources in Africa, in places where they could quickly get
in and out. But as I said, if the situation on the ground continues to be volatile, they simply can't do that. And of course, you have to consider
the fact that there are, according to the State Department, about 16,000 Americans were in the country. We have to also consider that many of those
could be American Sudanese citizens, dual citizens, so not all of them are going to want to leave.
But they have been contacted. The U.S. embassy has been contacted. According to congressional sources, who have been briefed on this matter by
about 500 of those U.S. citizens since this violence has broke out. Now we're watching closely to see any movement any closer that the State
Department gets to getting out its diplomats.
[10:10:02]
Of course, we'll track that throughout the day, and it comes as overnight as you were saying there was an American citizen, we learned who was killed
in the country. We really don't know many specifics about how that person died. The conditions, the situation surrounding that death. But the State
Department deputy spokesperson said that the State Department is in touch with their family.
And I do think, you know, as we're continuing to track this, it is the people who are stuck there whose stories we need to bring, and we need to
bring to the fore. One of them spoke with our colleague. This is someone who is stuck in Khartoum and listen to what she had to say about how scary
it is to be on the ground right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DALLIA MOHAMED ABDELMONIEM, SUDANESE ACTIVIST: It's traumatic. It's surreal. It's scary. It's frightening, really frightening. Frightening in
the sense that we don't know what's going to happen next. We don't know what steps we need to take. And if we can even take those steps, do we
vacate? Do we move? Do we go somewhere else? Do we move to another city? Do we look to leave the country?
And at the same time if we leave the country, whether our chances of being allowed in. Can we come back home? Can we not? We don't know. We really
don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ATWOOD: And obviously, when she talks about leaving the country there, there are very limited ways to even leave the country, if you get through,
you know, what is the violence on the ground because you have the border between Sudan and Chad that has been closed. You have the main airport in
the country that is also closed, so there are very limited options for them to get out of the country.
And of course, that is making it challenging, not just for the U.S. government but for governments around the world who have nationals in the
country who are asking for their help to try and get out. So we're closely watching this as it continues develop, you know, really hour to hour.
GIOKOS: Yes, incredible sense of uncertainty that's playing out for people on the ground and for governments watching on around the world.
Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for that update.
Well, a huge blast in the Russian city of Belgorod left behind a 20-meter crater in the city center. That's according to the regional governor.
Moscow says the explosion in Belgorod, which is close to Ukraine, was caused by an accidental or emergency drop of munition from a Russian air
force jet. Two women were injured.
Meanwhile, we're getting reports of new attacks on Ukraine's capital. The Ukrainian Air Force says at least 12 drones were launched over Kyiv earlier
today breaking 25 days of calm, according to one city officials.
CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is live in Kyiv for us.
I want to talk about this accidental or emergency drop of munition from a Russian air force jet into Belgorod. I guess, I mean, the wider picture
here is just how mistakes can happen, and it just shows how fragile the situation can actually be.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This happened at 15 minutes past 10:00 p.m. yesterday. An SU-34 twin engine fighter bomber.
We believe accidentally dropped this bomb. It fell on a sidewalk next to a busy road in Belgorod, which is a city of about 400,000 people, just 40
kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Now in this CCTV video that has circulated, you see this bomb hit the sidewalk and it throws a car onto the roof of an adjacent building. Now we
don't know the details of what kind of ordnance it dropped, where it was going, but certainly this is -- for the Russians it's a bit of an own goal.
Belgorod is a town that has actually been struck by the Ukrainians over the last year, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, and it's
significant that all the Russian towns and cities around the Ukrainian border and within Russian occupied Ukraine are canceling mayday
celebrations because of the violence that is spilling over into Russia.
It really is a case of what goes around comes around, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Look, Ben, you're also in Kyiv, drone attacks coming through. This is breaking 25 days of calm. That's also the other headline.
Ben Wedeman, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate you giving us a breakdown.
We're going to a short break. Just ahead, turmoil returns to Number 10 over a shocking resignation. Why observers say the departure of a top ally could
be a serious blow to Britain's prime minister.
Thirty years after Stephen Lawrence was killed in a racist attack in London we hear from his heartbroken father as well as how institutional racism
remains a heated issue. That's all coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:17:25]
GIOKOS: After years of scandals, Downing Street is once again being rocked by political drama. Just hours ago Dominic Raab, a top ally of British
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak headed for the exits after a long-awaited report upheld by two bullying claims against him.
CNN's Bianca Nobilo has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dominic Raab has resigned as deputy prime minister and justice secretary following the outcome of an investigation
into bullying allegations, which found that he behaved in an intimidating fashion with unreasonably and persistently aggressive conduct while at
work.
Deputy prime minister is not a formal constitutional role, but Raab is a big beast in British politics and in the governing Conservative Party,
having held the roles of foreign secretary and Brexit secretary. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched this probe several months ago to address
complaints about Raab's bullying behavior. Raab had committed to resign if the inquiry made any finding of bullying whatsoever.
So Raab resigned Friday, but said the report was flawed and in setting the threshold for bullying so low this inquiry is a dangerous precedent. He
said that ministers must be able to give direct critical feedback on briefings and submissions to senior officials in order to set the standards
and drive the reform the public expect of us.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accepted the resignation and responded in a letter, writing, "As you say you had rightly undertaken to resign if the
report made any finding of bullying whatsoever. You have kept your word, but it is clear that there have been shortcomings in the historic process
that have negatively affected everyone involved. We should learn from this how to better handle such matters in the future."
Raab's resignation is the third from Sunak's Cabinet since he became prime minister in October, 2022. The others, Gavin Williamson and Nadhim Zahawi
had to resign because of allegations of bullying and a lack of transparency over tax affairs, respectively.
This is a difficult look for a prime minister behind in the polls who committed to a government of integrity in his very first speech as leader
of the country on the steps of Downing Street.
Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: It has been 30 years since Stephen Lawrence, a young black man, was stabbed to death on the streets of London by a group of white teenagers.
His death, prompting a moment of national reckoning about racism in the U.S. and in London's police force. But today, the issue remains as heated
as ever.
CNN's Katie Polglase reports.
[10:20:03]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty years after the killing of Stephen Lawrence, the pain still endures for his father.
NEVILLE LAWRENCE, FATHER OF STEPHEN LAWRENCE: Thirty years of my life gone. You know, my life been turned upside down by somebody I don't know.
POLGLASE: Lawrence was killed in a racist attack by a group of white teenagers at a London bus stop in 1993. But it took nearly two decades for
two of his attackers to be convicted and sentenced. The institutional racism blamed for the delayed justice remains unaddressed. First documented
in an official report commissioned after Lawrence's death in 1999, and then again this year in the Casey Review, saying the police have a culture of
denial.
MARK ROWLEY, LONDON POLICE COMMISSIONER: We fully accept the findings of the Case Review.
POLGLASE: The Met commissioner admitted there was still racism in the force, but stopped short of calling it institutional.
ROWLEY: Institutional, it's not a term I use myself.
POLGLASE: This racism takes on many forms, including the lack of police accountability for the deaths of black men and people of color.
MARCIA RIGG, SISTER OF SEAN RIGG: These are the four officers that are there.
POLGLASE: Fifteen years ago, Marcia Rigg lost her brother Sean after he was pinned down in a police arrest while experiencing a mental health crisis.
He died of cardiac arrest after he was restrained in a prone position for approximately eight minutes, according to the findings of an inquest jury.
RIGG: So that's the restraint. You see it's four officers. Facedown in grass with excessive force to his neck. He could not breathe.
POLGLASE: Five police officers were cleared of gross misconduct despite the findings of an inquest jury who said police had used an unnecessary level
of restraint, which more than minimally contributed to Rigg's death.
The statistics showing racism in British policing are alarming. A recent report by the Charity Inquest found that black people are seven times more
likely to die by police restraint than their white counterparts. Rigg was restrained in a similar way as George Floyd, whose death at the hands of
U.S. officers, sparked a global protest movement against police brutality in 2020.
RIGG: I was horrified. It was so traumatic because it was because it reminded me of Sean.
POLGLASE: Raju Bhatt is a leading criminal lawyer who has brought cases against the Met police for decades.
RAJU BHATT, FOUNDING PARTNER, BHATT MURPHY SOLICITORS: So whether we are talking about racism, whether we're talking about misogyny, whether we're
talking about homophobia or any other ills, we're talking about a lack of will and ability to address wrongdoing.
POLGLASE: The Casey Review found the Met does not represent the city it serves. Black, Asian and other ethnic minorities make up just a fraction of
the force compared to nearly half of Londoners. Over the years, the anger has spilled onto the streets, sparking riots over the police killing of
Mark Duggan in North London in 2011. A jury later ruled this killing lawful.
The lack of change has caused some families to despair.
(On-camera): Do you have hope they will change in the future?
LAWRENCE: I don't think I'll ever see that. I'm 81 years old now. All right? So it's 30 years ago since this happened.
POLGLASE (voice-over): Bereaved families have found one main source of comfort. Each other.
RIGG: Mr. Lawrence, you look exceptionally well.
LAWRENCE: Thank you.
RIGG: You really do. And smart and dapper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Careful now, careful.
LAWRENCE: Well, I know they have the kind of hell that they are going through.
POLGLASE: Lawrence's father says he can't live in the U.K. anymore. The memories are just too painful, but when he does return he meets with other
families going through the same ordeal.
LAWRENCE: But when I'm here, I think about it all the time. This is a place where I thought I'll be happy. I'm not happy here.
RIGG: Every time you, you know, you hear about another death, it's like you relive it again, so it just doesn't go away.
POLGLASE: Yet their only hope for justice is to keep the cases alive.
Katie Polglase, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: The Met has yet to respond to CNN regarding Sean Rigg and Stephen Lawrence's cases, and the accusation that the force is institutionally
racist. To mark the anniversary, the Met released a statement apologizing to the Lawrence family stating that significant progress has been made in
the last 30 years but admitting there are still cultural and systemic failings.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Web site BuzzFeed News is shutting down. The CEO says the move is part of a 15 percent cuts in the workforce. In a memo to
his employees, Jonah Peretti said he regretted not securing more profits to act as a buffer in tough times. Paretti says they will have a single news
brand in HuffPost, which BuzzFeed bought in 2020.
[10:25:03]
And so the Twitter purge begins of the little blue checkmark for verified accounts, including my own. The checkmarks are starting to vanish from some
of the most well-known accounts like Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates and former U.S. president Donald Trump.
So if you want to keep the blue check mark, you will have to pay up. It's eight bucks a month, U.S. dollars. Some celebrities, however, are keeping
their verified status but aren't paying a fee like author Stephen King. Elon Musk has confirmed that he will personally foot the bill for some
accounts. Quite interesting, right?
So we've got to bring in Clare Duffy in New York.
Look, we spoke about this as our blue check marks vanished last night. Actually we were talking on about this on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS." Look,
he's personally paying for some accounts. I know he's saying Twitter is a utility. I want to flip that on its head and say, what about the law of
diminishing marginal utility that people are losing satisfaction in using Twitter because they have to pay up? It's just it's so nuanced, so much
talk about what this verification process is going to mean.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN MONEY TECH WRITER: It's true, Eleni. You know, Musk is betting on the fact that this is going to help raise Twitter's revenue.
More people are going to shell out $8 a month and that's going to help make this a more healthy company. But I think it's a really big risk. You know,
as you say so many of the folks that are losing their blue check marks here are people that bring big audiences to Twitter, that people come to Twitter
to see what they have to say.
And now that the blue check marks are just available to anybody who's willing to pay $8 a month, that sort of undermines the fact that this was
created as a way to verify that somebody is who they say they are, and so it's sort of undermines trust in the platform. And that if you see an
account who claims to be a celebrity, is it really them who's saying that whatever it's saying? And already we started to see some of this kind of
coming to play last night.
Some government accounts lost their blue check marks and immediately started being impersonated. And then you see the company kind of trying to
scramble to replace their verification and make sense of what's happening. And I think the other thing this whole situation really underscores is just
the fact that there is no clear policies that Twitter is operating on. It sort of all happening on a whim and ultimately sort of risks undermining
the confidence of its users.
GIOKOS: Clare Duffy, great to have you on. Thank you so much.
Well, Western allies have already pledged $55 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and they're meeting right now in Germany, vowing to
build on their progress. We're awaiting an update from U.S. Defense leaders. That is all coming up right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:14]
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi and you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
We're learning new details about the political protests in Brazil that left the capital in shambles back in January. Newly released footage appears to
show security forces letting rioters into the presidential palace to ransack the building.
CNN's Isa Soares has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the darkest of days in Brazilian democratic history. Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro
taking the capital, Brasilia, by storm, breaking into the presidential palace and other government buildings.
Now new CCTV footage exclusively obtained by CNN affiliate CNN Brazil of what transpired inside the presidential palace appears to bolster the
claims of people who have accused the police of failing to act. Chief among them, current President Lula da Silva.
LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There were a lot of people colluding. It's important to say there were a lot of conniving
people from the military police and there were a lot of conniving people from the armed forces.
SOARES: The hours of CCTV footage showed police forces seemingly retreating as protesters marched on the palace and leaving their post as rioters
entered the building. Once inside, the ransacking begins. Priceless antiquities, tables, phones. Almost nothing is left untouched. At the time
former policeman Cassio Thyone told me some of the criticism was unwarranted.
CASSIO THYONE, FORMER POLICE OFFICER (through translator): Some policemen ended up not acting because they didn't think there was a risk of invasion.
I don't think it was incompetence.
SOARES: The Institutional Security Office or GSI, which handles security for the presidential palaces, has also defended its officers, saying they
evacuated some areas, concentrated demonstrators on the second floor, and waited for reinforcements to arrest them. Despite those assertions, the
bureau acknowledging its offices are being investigated and those proven to have collaborated with rioters will be held responsible.
But heads have started rolling. General Goncalves Dias, Lula's government minister in charge of security, has resigned. CCTV footage shows him
walking with some of the rioters just feet away from the presidential office. He says he was trying to lead them away so they could be arrested.
But critics say his demeanor was complacent and complicit.
Back in Brazil after three months in self-imposed exile in the United States, Bolsonaro is enjoying some respite. The video leak seen as a
momentary win as he continues to dodge blame for the January riots. Yet doubt remains. The new footage raising more questions than the answers it
provides.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: The U.S. defense secretary says America rejects Vladimir Putin's view of the world and we're expecting to hear more this hour from Lloyd
Austin, as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley. We'll monitor their news conference for any developments, and we'll keep
you posted from that.
The two men are in Ramstein, Germany to lead a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which is made up of international defense chief
supporting Kyiv. Earlier Austin announced that Western allies have now provided $55 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
All right. Ahead on sports a very forgettable night for Manchester United in the Europa League quarter finals. What their manager is saying about
their loss to Sevilla.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:36:21]
GIOKOS: A health checkup for the world ahead of Earth Day tomorrow. From drought to floods and record-low ice levels, the climate crisis took a
heavy toll as it intensified in 2022. That is according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization. And oceans reach record high
temperatures. Nearly 60 percent experienced at least one marine heatwave. Researchers note that extreme weather affected tens of millions that drove
food insecurity, boosted mass migration, and cost billions of dollars in loss and damage.
In addition, pollution from the methane and carbon dioxide hit records highs in 2021. Sciences say cutting back on fossil fuels is no longer
enough to reverse climate change. We must pull billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air the next 25 years. It is a mammoth task.
We've got CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir taking a look at some of those proposed solutions as part of CNN's new program, "THE WHOLE
STORY." He joins us now.
And it's titled "How to Unscrew a Planet." It's not enough to pull back on fossil fuels. We've done irrevocable, irreversible damage to the world.
It's where to go to from here. We're in code red. And we can see it playing out.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I totally agree and this latest report from the World Meteorological Organization certainly supports
that. But I just needed a break from that, Eleni. So I spent a year looking for hope and ideas. We went out. You know, the future looks screwed if you
look at science and evidence, so how many people does it take to unscrew a planet? What are the biggest, boldest ideas for fixing this or at least
lessening the pain over the generations to come.
And I got an amazing metaphor for our challenge from a scientist fishermen in Maine named Marty. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEIR (voice-over): While he was studying robotic engineering at Dartmouth and earth systems at Columbia, he realized a manmade monster was destroying
his beloved Gulf of Maine. Warming it up at a rate now faster than 95 percent of the rest of the world.
MARTY ODLIN, RUNNING TIDE FOUNDER AND CEO: It's a Godzilla. There's this thing out there, and it's like ruining everything that we love, right? All
the good stuff is getting ruined. All the stuff that's free and fun. It's burning forest down. It's stealing our fish. It's devastating our crops.
It's hurting our farmers. Get mad and go kill that thing, right?
WEIR (on-camera): And right there on a docking main, Marty's metaphor is a lightbulb moment for me. A whole new way to think about a giant problem
that began when people figured out how to move lots and lots of carbon, that stuff of ancient life. From the slow cycle locked and rock and under
oceans into the fast cycle, in the sea water and the sky, and we've moved so much carbon that monster now weighs a trillion tons, give or take, more
than every living thing on earth.
So not only do we have to stop making the monster bigger, we have to catch it, chop it up and bury the pieces back into these slow cycle. It was
something called carbon removal.
ODLIN: Removal is chopping Godzilla down. We got this 400-foot-tall lizard, and we're just chopping that thing down. That sort of removal is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEIR: Now Marty's company Running Tide uses kelp, seaweed buoys in the North Atlantic to gobble up carbon and then sink to the bottom and big
oyster beds and other natural system.
[10:40:02]
I met inventors who have machines that suck it out of seawater or pull it out of the air in Iceland and pump it down and turn it into rock. I met a
guy who scoops up field farm waste and turns it into biooil and injects it back into old oil wells. Really, it's building the oil industry in reverse
under a screaming deadline over our heads, but this could be the trillion- dollar industry nobody is really talking about.
GIOKOS: Yes, So I mean, it's --
WEIR: So it was really fascinating to get some hope.
GIOKOS: I'm sure. Look, carbon sequestration could be the next, you know, one of the biggest solutions. But, Bill, I want to ask you, as you say to -
- all right. Thank you so much. We actually have run out of time.
WEIR: OK.
GIOKOS: I wish -- you and I, we need to talk.
WEIR: We need to talk.
GIOKOS: Lots to discuss. Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
GIOKOS: Great to see you.
Look, tune in to Bill Weir's report, "How to Unscrew a Planet." It's airing on "THE WHOLE STORY" with Anderson Cooper. That is on Sunday night in the
U.S., Monday morning in Asia and here in the UAE. You do not want to miss it.
Right. Unacceptable. That is the line. That is the succinct description of Manchester United's performance directly from their manager after the
club's quarter final loss to Sevilla.
Amanda Davies is here with more on this very disappointing result for Man U.
Great to have you on, and let me tell you, your own manager throwing such shade something definitely went wrong.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Do you know what, Eleni? As a Manchester United fan who has invested so many hours and so much love in
this team, I would much rather have just had a whole lot more from Bill Weir, because I found that discussion absolutely fascinating. But, yes,
there are so many questions about what is going wrong at Manchester United, almost as many questions that we're asking about what's going wrong with
the planet.
We're going to be looking ahead to that in a couple of minutes in "WORLD SPORT," but we've also got some heartbreaking news of the England women's
captain Leah Williamson, who has been ruled out of the women's World Cup with less than three months to go. So we've got an update from her. She's
been speaking out for the first time and that's coming up in a couple of minutes.
GIOKOS: All right. Amanda Davies, great to have you on. You'll continue our sports update after the break, and I'll be back at the top of the hour.
I'll see you then.
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