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Putin Meets with Italian Prime Minister, to Meet Pope Francis; Latest on FIFA Investigation; Saving a South African Rhino; MERS Cases in South Korea

Aired June 10, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:04]

ROBYN CURNOW: Hello there, and welcome to the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center. Now, there's a lot happening this hour,

but we're going to begin in Italy where Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with the prime minister and is due to meet with Pope Francis within

the hour. Now, it's the second time President Putin and the Pope have met, but the first time since Russia annexed Crimea. Well, let's get straight

to the Vatican where Nic Robertson is in St. Peter's Square. It looks like a lovely day, and he joins us now live. Nic, what will they talk about?

What does the Pope need to say to the President Putin, and what does Mr. Putin need to say to the Pope?

NIC ROBERTSON: Yeah. The Pope is really likely to raise the issue of Ukraine, and, of course, close to his heart is the plight of Christians in

the Middle East, so these are issues that are likely to come up, but it's - - there's a delicate line for the Pope to walk here. First and foremost, the Pope is a peacemaker, wants to be a peacemaker, wants to be in a

position to build bridges. He recently described the situation in Ukraine as fratricide, which really, for the four to five million Catholics in the

Ukraine, they felt let down by the Pope on this issue. They really felt that he should be giving them more support, and that he should be, you

know, criticizing Russia for annexing Ukraine. That does seem to be unlikely, as the Pope wants to maintain that middle-ground position. For

the -- for President Putin right now, look, he's been ostracized from the international community. He was shut out of the G7 earlier in the week.

This is a chance for him to be on the international stage to show Russians back home that he is still getting big invites, that he is still a world

leader and a player on the international stage. There's benefit for him there, but the Pope also wants to unite Christians around the world, and

that means the Catholics with their Eastern Orthodox, and they're about 225 million of those. Two-thirds of them are Russian Orthodox, and right now,

President Putin has influence within the Russian Orthodox Church, so as a sort of rapprochement that the Pope wants to build there over a schism

which is almost a millennia old, there's much for them to talk about, so you can see here that while on the one hand people might expect the Pope to

take a tough line on Ukraine. He's going to want to find a way to build peace and not, you know, not sort of push President Putin further away,

Robyn.

CURNOW: Indeed, and this, of course, is a Pope that is known to speak his mind much to some of the Vatican's horror at times, but let's also talk

with what -- talk about what else President Putin might be doing. I understand he's also meeting with his old friend, Silvio Berlusconi. I

mean, historically, Italy has been sympathetic to Russian concerns.

ROBERTSON: It has and there were strong economic ties and reasons for that as well. There are cultural similarities and, perhaps that's why President

Putin and Silvio Berlusconi have such strong ties already. Berlusconi is sort of on the way out in politics. His party does still have some sway.

He lost his seat at the recent elections here, but, certainly, behind the scenes, Berlusconi can try to wield some influence in favor of President

Putin and the Russian position. Russia is looking for any friends. Italy is an important trading partner in Europe for Russia, and that was

something that President Putin was making very clear when he met with the prime minister earlier today, but Matteo Renzi, the prime minister here was

also very clear that if Russia wants to break and get rid of those economic sanctions that have been put in place by Europe, by the United States, by

others, they need to fulfill and help the Ukrainians to fulfill the Minsk Agreement. That came up many times in that meeting, so how

can -- or can President Putin circumvent that kind of tough line that's being spoken by the prime minister by meeting with a politician who's on

the outs or be an important businessman? That's probably perhaps where he would try to seek influence tonight, Robyn.

CURNOW: Okay. As always, Nic Robertson there coming to us from the Vatican. Thanks for that update, Nic. Well, President Putin's visit to

Italy comes at a volatile time in his country's relations with the West. To better understand what he might be trying to accomplish on this visit to

Italy and the Vatican, returning now to Jill Dougherty. She's going to join us via Skype from Seattle in Washington State. She is a public policy

scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and, of course, a former Moscow Bureau Chief for us here at CNN. Great to have you on the International

Desk, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY: (Inaudible).

CURNOW: Thank you very much for coming. Tell us, how does this meeting with the Pope play into Putin's domestic agenda?

DOUGHERTY: You know, it's a very interesting move diplomatically, internationally, and domestically because, after all, as Nic was

mentioning, he's excluded from the G7 with all of those influential international leaders, and now he gets into a meeting and a lot of press,

meeting with one of the most influential people in the world, the Pope, so score one for Vladimir Putin; however, domestically, there's, I would say,

a rapprochement. There's more interface dialog between the Russian Orthodox Church, who's -- which is a very influential part of Russian

society right now, and the Catholic Church. There's been a lot of animosity, but this is a way for President Putin on a kind of soft-power

level to express and work for the interest of Russia internationally. It's very interesting and it could be quite influential long term. After all,

you know, just look at how the United States is reacting to this. The US Ambassador to the Holy City is saying, well, the Pope might be able to

express more concern about territorial integrity, and, that, of course, is a reference to Ukraine and what's going on. The West wants the Pope to

speak out more strongly. The Pope has not spoken out more strongly, or at least as much as the West wants him to on the issue of Ukraine, so Putin

gets something so far on Ukraine from the Pope, but will the Pope be stronger? And that's what the drama is about this meeting.

CURNOW: And we're going to keep an eye on it. Jill Dougherty, as always, coming to us from the Woodrow Wilson Center, but this time you're in

Seattle, but thank you so much for your analysis. Always great to have you.

DOUGHERTY: Okay.

CURNOW: Well, the FIFA corruption scandal is delaying the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup. FIFA's Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, made the

announcement today at a news conference in Russia which is hosting the tournament in 2018. Now, Russian officials deny their winning bid was

bought by bribes. Valcke also said he had nothing to do with a $10 million payment to the Caribbean Football Union connected to South Africa's winning

2010 bid.

JEROME VALCKE: The fine was given to the (inaudible) committee of FIFA as it was given to the (inaudible) compliance committee of FIFA. None of the

chairman of both of these committees have found any wrongdoings and anything that would justify to blame FIFA's administration or to blame the

secretary general of FIFA, to blame me, nothing. So, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say more than that. I have no more answer [sic] about this

case. I have no more thing [sic] to say. I mean, it was decided that after Blatter, I have to be the (inaudible). Fine.

CURNOW: Okay. Well, World Sport's Amanda Davies now joins me from CNN in London. Amanda, he seemed quite flustered, fed up, by all the questions,

trying to deflect all these suspicions over that 2010 World Cup awarding.

AMANDA DAVIES: Yeah. Obviously, agitated, obviously, a frustrated Jerome Valcke. The man, as he said, that many people had been expecting to resign

after Sepp Blatter. He was Sepp Blatter's number two. He's been the general secretary at FIFA since 2007. The right-hand man whose implication

as part of this alleged bribery from South Africa to the CONCACAF region around the 2010 World Cup. What -- the allegations that were surrounding

what Jerome Valcke did or did not know, when that came out, people thought his time was very much limited, but Jerome Valcke has absolutely come out

fighting. He had issued a few interviews through Swiss and French media in the last couple of days, but this is the first time he fronted up in terms

of a press conference. Both FIFA and Russia 2018 were hoping that this would be a run-of-the-mill press conference as part of their preparations

for the 20 World [sic] -- 2018 World Cup. They wanted to be talking about stadium readiness, about infrastructure, about hotels, but

that was never ever going to be the case, and Valcke really used his opportunity to, once again, reiterate that he feels he has done absolutely

nothing wrong that, yes, he's the general secretary. Yes, he signs letters for everything in terms of payments that go backwards and forwards through

FIFA, but he was very keen to point out that this was not FIFA money. He said it was South African money paid to CONCACAF, and said that all the

investigations that have gone on, they have opened FIFA's doors. He has opened his emails and files to the investigations. He did say, though, a

few questions need to be asked. One is why South Africa paid the money to CONCACAF. Two, why it was that the CONCACAF President, Jack Warner at the

time, was the person who was in charge of the bank accounts for which that money was paid.

CURNOW: Indeed, there are a lot of questions on a lot of issues around this developing scandal. Meanwhile, just bring us also up-to-date on a key

meeting and a game. The World Cup's bidding processes for World Cups way down the line.

DAVIES: Yeah. It shows you how wide-reaching this story is. There are so many different elements coming out day by day. The two big news lines

today, the first, is that FIFA have said that by the end of the week, we will have a firm date in July for the extraordinary executive committee

meeting that will take place to determine the date of the next extraordinary congress which is when the new FIFA President will be

elected. The executive committee, of course, the 27 most important individuals in world football, and they will determine the date at which

the 209-member associations will vote to percept Blatter's successor. The other big news line is that the bidding process, as you said, for the 2026

World Cup has been put on hold for now. We know, as things stand, 2018 will be in Russia, 2022 in Qatar. The next World Cup to be voted on is

2026. It was due to be voted on in Kuala Lumpur in May 2017, but, Jerome Valcke himself said that it would be nonsense in the current climate to go

ahead with that as things stand.

CURNOW: Okay. Amanda Davies there, CNN, London. Thank you so much for that update. Well, still to come here at the International Desk. Gunfire

and an explosion near a tourist destination in Egypt after three attackers tried to break through security at an ancient temple, and the US military

considers a more direct role in the battle against ISIS in Iraq. We have correspondents covering the story at the Pentagon and from the region.

Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome become to the International Desk. Egyptian authorities say they've prevented an attack from happening inside a popular tourist

site in Luxor. Two armed men were killed, another wounded, after trying to get through security at the ancient Karnak Temple. Well, our Ian Lee joins

us now from Cairo. Hi there, Ian. What happened?

IAN LEE: Really could have been a catastrophic attack. It really was up to one vigilant police officer who was able to recognize the attackers and

the vehicle, that something was suspicious, stopped them, confronted them. That's when the incident took place. Two of the militants were killed.

One was injured. They had guns. They had explosives on them, really planning a devastating attack. This is a site that hundreds, and, at

times, thousands of tourists go to on a daily basis, and this has a lot of Egyptians remembering the attack back in 1997 when dozens of tourists were

killed in an attack at a Luxor Temple. Fortunately, none of it -- no tourists were killed in this incident. None were hurt. We haven't heard

anyone claiming responsibility. The tourist minister released a statement saying the government places the highest priority on the safety of tourists

in our country. We have enhanced security measures in place at all our sites, and we'll continue to take every possible measure to ensure th

at no harm comes to anyone visiting Egypt, but, really, what this incident today does, it shows an escalation by Islamist militants here in Egypt.

Previously, they attacked the government and security forces. Well, this is the first time we've seen them go after a tourist site.

CURNOW: Indeed, but I think there is concern across the region, even after Tunisia, that tourists are a soft target.

LEE: That's right. They are very much a soft target here in Egypt. Millions of tourists a year come and visit, and we have seen -- and,

surprisingly, we haven't seen an attack on tourists yet. It is a very political move by the militants here in Egypt. For a while, they do have -

- not a lot -- but some support from the local population, and it was seen as, if they were to attack tourist sites, that is -- that affects Egypt's

economy, something that would be deeply unpopular by all Egyptians, so that's why we haven't seen this sort of escalation until today or it seems

like it, so that's how significant, really serious, this attack and this incident was.

CURNOW: Indeed. Thanks so much. Ian Lee there in Cairo. Thank you. Well, this just into the iDesk, a suicide car bombing has killed at least

three people and wounded ten others in Baghdad. Police officials say the bomb exploded at a security check point in a majority Shia neighborhood in

the Iraqi capitol. We'll bring you new details on that when we have them. Now, Iraq has been struggling to gain the upper hand against ISIS, and the

fall of Ramadi last month was a major blow. Now the US Government is debating sending hundreds more America troops into the country. Well,

we're tracking this story from all angles. Our Barbara Starr is reporting from the Pentagon. Jomana Karadsheh joins us from Amman. Jomana hold on

two minutes. We're going to go to Barbara first. Barbara, this seems to be a pretty significant shift in strategy.

BARBARA STARR: Well, if not a shift in strategy, certainly, an adjustment. About four or five hundred troops expected to go, expected to go to Anbar

Province in the West and work to train additional Iraqi troops, even, they say, they hope to be able to train some Sunni tribal personnel. That may

be more problematic, obviously, but the idea is to really ramp up the training in Anbar Province so the Iraqis, Shia, Sunnis can get back into

the fight, can retake Ramadi. That's a bit of a shift because of what's been going on in Anbar. The focus has been north towards Mosul. Any

effort towards Mosul could be months off at this point, but four to five hundred US troops. A big chunk of them are going to have to be security

personnel to look after their own security, so some number of trainers. Is it going to fix Iraq? Not likely. Even Pentagon officials will tell you

that, but it's an effort to try and make an adjustment, an effort to get more Iraqi troops into that training pipeline.

CURNOW: Barbara, indeed. Now, let's just go to Jomana and get a sense of whether it will fix Iraq. I mean, how will this be felt on the ground? I

mean is it enough?

JOMANA KARADSHEH: Well, Robyn, if you listen to Iraqi officials, they do want more. They want more of the training. They want more of the

advising, and also they have a long list of other things they want. Topping that list is they want more weapons from the United States and from

the other countries. We've heard Haider Al-Abadi in recent weeks saying that he feels Iraq has been failed by the international community in this

fight against ISIS. Now, will these 500 troops really make a huge difference as Barbara is saying? Is it going to change the situation? Not

really likely, but it depends on who they're going to be training, too. Are we going to be seeing the start of this training, direct training, of

these Sunni tribes? Of course, the United States and also we've heard this from Iraqi Government officials. They're hoping to bring the Sunnis

onboard, really depending on them in places like Anbar Province, to try and replicate what we saw back in 2006 and 7 by recruiting the Sunni tribes in

the fight against Al-qaeda. That really changed the tied in that war, but is it going to happen again? Talking to Sunni tribes in recent months,

they are very weary of the Iraqi government, and also from the United States. They feel that they were abandoned back in 2011 when the US left,

and the Shia-dominated government really neglected them. Some said that they were persecuted, so it's going to be very difficult to try and regain

the trust of the Sunni tribes, try and bring them onboard in this fight, so a lot, Robyn, needs to happen on the ground for us to really see any sort

of change in the situation. Ten months into the military campaign and ISIS does seem like it's strong and capable of carrying our new offenses and

gaining more ground in Iraq.

CURNOW: Indeed, still able to gain territory and hold it. Real worries. Thanks so much, Jomana Karadsheh, there in Amman. Well, police fan out

across New York looking for two escaped inmates, and now they believe a prison worker may have helped these men break free. We'll have a live

report when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back to the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow. Now, police in Upstate New York are focusing on a prison worker who may have

been involved in the rather daring escape of two convicted killers who are still on the loose. A source tells CNN, investigators believe a woman

planned to pick up the men after they had broke [sic] out of jail, but changed her mind at the last moment. Well, let's bring in CNN's Polo

Sandoval. He joins us now from Upstate New York, coming to you outside that prison. What are you hearing?

POLO SANDOVAL: Robyn, we know that investigators spoke to really just dozens of employees at this prison, and much of the attention is being

focused on that woman, Joyce Mitchell, who worked as a tailor here at the prison, had contact with inmates. A CNN source now coming forward saying

that she reportedly had agreed to pick up these two individuals, Richard Sweat and -- or rather -- David Sweat and Richard Matt. We know that she,

apparently, according to these reports, then pulled back from the plan and was essentially a no-show, but we're also getting from another source that

her phone was used to make several phone calls for individuals connected to Matt, one of the fugitives here; however, investigators not sure if she

actually made the calls, and when calls were made, so that's still part of a very fluid investigation. The family coming forward saying (inaudible)

and we do also need to keep in mind that no charges have been filed against her at this time, so still a very fluid situation there.

Also still changing is the manhunt itself. New York State Police saying that they're going back to square one here, and then more in New York,

really just outside of the prison facility where this escape happened. Investigators saying that they have not received any new leads that would

really prompt them to do such a thing, but what they want to do is pretty much retrace the steps of these two individuals as they try to find out

exactly where they went. The people in this very small town, just not far from the Canadian border can expect an increased police presence, and I can

tell you that the last couple of days, weather was not on the side of law enforcement, drenching rain, heavy fog. Today, though, major signs of

improvement, which means that investigation is set to move forward, and, of course, that manhunt is resuming, Robyn.

CURNOW: Yeah. That manhunt resuming, I mean, these guys really seemed to have done a pretty good job of escaping. I mean, they're really vicious

killers, but you got to give it to them that their escape was daring. Just remind our viewers what they did, how they did it, and that cheeky little

note they left.

SANDOVAL: So the authorities here are not really seeing a whole lot of detailed information except for a very little -- just a quick wrap-up of

what that process was like, but we did get to speak to somebody who basically operated some of the maintenance systems at this facility for

years, and their take here is that they basically cut out of their cell, their steel cell, and then cut into a very intricate network of pipes that

run really within the walls of the facility. From there, they shimmied through those pipes to make it all the way to a network of tunnels

underneath this community here, eventually reaching that manhole, so, as you mentioned there, Robyn, a very difficult task here. That individual

that we spoke with, that retired worker, his theory, it seems to show that they likely cut into that wall weeks, possibly even well over a month ago,

so that leads to several questions, if the right inspections were done. How often were their cells checked out? Of course, how could nobody -- how

did

really -- why didn't anybody know that these two individuals had their hands on these power tools?

CURNOW: Indeed, and as you were talking, we were showing a sort of closeup of that note, which was sort of a cheeky little face, and they had wrote

[sic] the word [sic] have a nice day on it, so either way, I hope authorities manage to catch up with both of these men. Thanks a lot, Polo

Sandoval, there. Well, a Texas Police Officer caught on video throwing a teenage girl to the ground at a pool party has resigned, Eric Casebolt has

not been charged, but his case remains under investigation. Police were responding to calls about a fight when the incident occurred on Friday.

Now, the police chief says his city's policies and training do not support the officer's actions.

GREG CONLEY: Eric Casebolt has resigned from the McKinney Police Department. As the chief of police, I want to say to our community that

the actions of Casebolt, as seen on the video of the disturbance at the community pool, are indefensible.

CURNOW: Okay. Well, there has been some debate whether the incident was racially motivated. A white witness said the officer was targeting the

black teens; however, a black witness said it was not a racial incident, and that the officer was just trying to establish order. Much more here at

the International Desk after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back to the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here are the headlines. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Italy where

he met earlier today with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Now, the two leaders emphasized their common interest in trade, cultural ties, and

fighting terrorism, but acknowledge they have differences over Russian sanctions. Well, Mr. Putin is set to meet with the Pope at the Vatican in

about half an hour. FIFA is postponing the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup in the wake of the corruption scandal. FIFA's Secretary General

Jerome Valcke made the announcement at a news conference in Russia. Officials there defended Russia's winning 2018 bid, and Valcke said

preparations for that tournament are on track. Police in Egypt have killed two men who attempted to attack a popular tourist destination in Luxor.

They were trying to get past security at the ancient Karnak Temple. Now, one of them was wearing explosives which ended up detonating. A third

attacker was wounded along with some civilians and security officers. And South Korea's president has postponed a weekend trip to the United States

because of the MERS outbreak. Park Geun-hye's office says her first priority is the safety of her nation. Now, the outbreak has killed nine

people in South Korea, and there are 108 confirmed cases. And a mandatory quarantine period at hospitals treats MERS patients will soon end. CNN's

Kathy Novak visited one of those hospitals to see the precautions being taken to keep the virus from spreading.

KATHY NOVAK: I'm at a hospital in Seoul. It's one of the medical facilities treating people who have contracted MERS. They're being kept in

isolation so that other patients aren't exposed to the virus. We're going ahead inside and see how medical staff are handling the situation. Of

course, we have to take the proper precautions, so everyone is going to have to wear one of these. Everyone who enters the hospital has their

temperature taken. If they have a fever, they're separated for checks before they can come in. The hospital has set up these triage tents

outside for anyone who may be showing suspicious symptoms. If they're suspected of having MERS, they're brought here to these isolation booths

for further testing. For the safety of the other patients in the hospital, anyone with a confirmed case of MERS is kept at a completely separate

building right here in negative pressure rooms. There are three panels of glass separating us from the people beyond those doors who have been

infected with

MERS, and they're being monitored using these screens here. Right now, isolation is the key. Of course, we know there's no vaccine, so everything

is being done to make sure that these people are kept quarantined, and that other patients and the medical staff are being protected. The hospital is

keeping a tight control over everyone that comes in and out, so we have to sign our names and leave our phone number as a record of the fact that

we've been here, and, of course, use hand sanitizer when we leave. The head of the hospital, Kim Mihn-Ke (ph) says as far as we know, the disease

is not airborne, so I think we can control it soon enough. This hospital is just one out of dozens across the country that have been or may have

been exposed to MERS. It spread among people who had close personal contact with patients who often had no idea they were infected. The extra

measures we see here today are part of a desperate effort to prevent the virus from spreading any further than it already has. Kathy Novak,

CNN, Seoul.

CURNOW: Well, Hong Kong health officials say they've tested 33 people for MERS, and there's no confirmed cases so far there. Now, the patients range

in age from 3 to 71, and all had recently traveled to South Korea. So far, 17 have tested negative for the virus. Results for 16 others are still

pending. An outpouring of hope for a rhino named Hope. She was found in South Africa barely clinging to live after being savagely attacked by

poachers for her horn. In a report, you might find distressing, CNN's Diana Magnay witnesses the remarkable efforts to save Hope's life.

MAGNAY: The first time this rhino faced a gun like this, she suffered unimaginable trauma.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Briefly, it will take four or five minutes.

MAGNAY: Now a team of vets dart her to save her, to clean and dress the gaping wound where her horns once were to salvage what the poachers left of

her face. From where I'm standing, you can actually see directly through her nose. She's so badly injured. The poachers darted her because it's a

silent procedure, but then they hacked away at her horn with machetes, so now the air flow is compromised and she's breathing mostly through her

sinuses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to start with that, see if it works.

MAGNAY: The team has named her Hope. When they found her four days after the poachers had, she was in a terrible state, weak from massive blood loss

and from the aftereffects of the anesthetic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Infection had set in. The flies had laid eggs, which had then become maggots, and were beginning to eat her alive, so she's been

through all of that.

MAGNAY: The team are feeling their way here. They've been just a handful of operations to save rhinos this badly injured. There's no template for

success. The anesthetic must be closely monitored.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible). You got it?

MAGNAY: The animal hauled to her feet periodically to keep the blood flow going. Plus, there's very little facial bone left to work with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will use that bone actually to fasten this dressing into the skull.

MAGNAY: That is a gruesome process. The wound must heal moist, so a protective mold is drilled to the remaining bone on her face and sewn into

the skin of her nose. Hope ripped the last cover off. The itch underneath must have been unbearable. This one must hold for longer. It will take a

while, two years perhaps, till she's healed, and harrowing process not just for Hope, but for the vets battling to help her and others like her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being next to animals that have been subjected to this amount of brutality, is -- it's an incredibly emotional experience,

partially because we are just so completely dumbstruck as to the reasons behind it, but I think the importance is that there's this disassociation

between what is taking place on the ground and what animals are being subjected to through poaching and illegal trade in wildlife, and the

consumers on the other end of the world that are buying products without realizing just they go through.

MAGNAY: Hope's horns may already be in Asia, where, especially in Vietnam, rhino horn is wrongly considered to be some sort health elixir. This is

reality, animals brutalized, a species endangered and in trauma to feed the greed of consumers who do not see the harm they're doing. Diana Magnay,

CNN, Shamwari Nature Reserve, South Africa.

CURNOW: The terrible trade in rhino horn and the terrible costs there. Thanks to Diana and her team for that report. We'll be right back after

that break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Well, welcome back. And I'm very excited to bring you a show- stopping performance that is taking social media by storm. You got to see this. A six-year-old girl brought down the house at her dance recital with

her fierce and fabulous rendition of Aretha Franklin's Respect. Now the video has over 33 million views on Facebook. Jeanne Moos has more on this

sassy, tiny dancer.

MOOS: If diva moves don't move you, you probably can't even especially, R- e-s-p-e-c-t. She's been getting more than a little bit. Six-year-old Johanna Colon from Raleigh, North Carolina, has audiences cheering, blogs

bowing and hosts paying homage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's got good feet, but the magic is up top.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Laughter).

MOOS: Finally, we get to meet the magic seated next to her dance teacher, Johanna speaks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Johanna, you stopped the show at your dance recital. That was amazing.

MOOS: Okay. She didn't speak much, but what she said was memorable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What were you thinking when you were doing that routine?

JOHANNA COLON: I thought I was really spicy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woo.

MOOS: That's Johanna's dad saluting her spiciness, but she seems unfazed by sudden fame. Her mom says Johanna was more excited about the end of the

school year and the ice cream she got as a reward for her excellent report card. Johanna started dancing when she was two. Definitely one of a kind

says her dance teacher.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's some humble and always so caring.

MOOS: Taking special care of her three-year old brother, C.J.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.

MOOS: Who was born with an intestinal disorder that's required for than 30 hospitalizations and surgeries. At times, Johanna out-Arethas, Aretha.

Even when it was time to take a bow, what Johanna wants, Johanna gets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Laughter).

MOOS: Though she means it with all due respect. Encore.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Woo.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

CURNOW: Oh, I just can't stop watching that. Just a short time ago, we got Aretha Franklin's reaction to that video. She told CNN. I saw the

video. I'm scared of her. I thought I had those moves covered, but this little girl is fierce. I mean, serious, absolutely. Well, it was good to

end the show with a spicy six-year-old and a bit of Aretha. I'm Robyn Curnow. Don't go anywhere. World Sport with our own very sassy Amanda

Davies is also up next.

END