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Quest Means Business
Corporate America Stand Up Over NFL Protests; Far-Right Gets Foothold in German Elections; Puerto Rico Asks for Emergency Aid After Hurricane; Facebook Shares Fall Amid Russia Investigation;
Aired September 25, 2017 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00] PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: And that is the CEO of Interbrand ringing the closing Bell there. We will bring them to you live later on.
Talking about the top global brands. You don't want to miss that. On a day when the market's not going over so well. It's Monday, the 25th of
September.
Tonight, taking sides overtaking need. Corporate America stands up for athletes right to protest.
German voters show their anger at the ballot box. How economic inequality have the rise of the far right.
And Facebook gets poked by U.S. Congress. The shares just had their worst day of the year.
I'm Paula Newton and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Tonight, corporate America and the National Football League break ranks with President Trump during a week when the White House wanted to focus on
healthcare and tax reform. Players taking in need during the national anthem at American football games is the biggest story in this country bar
none. It's the latest example of business leaders publicly and dramatically defying the president of the United States.
Ford, a major NFL sponsor, says, we respect individuals rights to express their views, even if they are not ones we share. That's part of what makes
America great.
Nike, which makes most NFL merchandise, says, it supports athletes and their right to freedom of expression.
Meantime, several team owners join their players on the field in a rebuke to Mr. Trump this weekend, an incredible showing there. The league itself
used expensive ad time during its marquee Sunday night game for a one- minute message on unity. Now, more displays are expected during the popular Monday night football game. White House Press Secretary Sarah
Sanders insisted Donald Trump's criticisms of the NFL are not about race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President's not talking about race. The President's talking about pride in our country. What you
saw yesterday were players and fans of all races joining together as Americans to honor our service members. That's what the president's
talking about. That's what his focus is on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Ovie Mughelli played nine seasons in NFL. He's says the player taking a knee aren't disrespecting the flag or the country. It's about
inequality and injustice against black Americans. He joins us now from Atlanta. Thanks so much for being here. You heard the president. This is
not about race. You know a lot of NFL fans agree with him. Would you say?
OVIE MUGHELLI, PLAYED NINE SEASONS IN NFL: I say it is about race. Because unfortunately what he's was thinking about, isn't what it's about.
Colin Kaepernick starting kneeling because he knew that there were inequalities among people of color when it comes to just common decency.
Being able to have access to certain rights. And that's why he knew that he had to take a stand -- or actually take a knee. So, for Trump to say
that this is something that's not about race and is more about just the flag or patriotism or the national anthem, just isn't true.
NEWTON: The NFL has taken it on the chances that happen with Colin Kaepernick. They say that they did not actually stand up for his freedom
of speech. There seem to have been a sea change this weekend. What's going on? Let us into those locker rooms as you've been there so many
times. What is going on, on the field and off right now?
MUGHELLI: Well, fortunately, people are understanding that if we say were a family, we've got to be a family all the way through. So, for NFL
players to say that this guy's my brother. I'm going to battle with him. I'm going to fight with him. That we are together. They have to actually
act that way. So, when one guy is hurting, when one guy feels that the world or our country is not treating him fairly and he wants to shine a
light on that by taking a knee and making this an issue for everyone to not worry about, to deal with. Others are going to join in. So, President
Trump kind of just got everyone on the same page, because he called a bunch of grown men's mothers "B..s" and he tried to make it about something it's
not. But guys are understanding is that if we stand together, unity can start to happen. Because we do represent a lot of people's hopes and
dreams. They look to us as heroes, as role models. And we have to act as such.
NEWTON: And you have talked a lot about empathy and having to show empathy for what people are going through even if you don't agree with taking a
knee at the game.
[16:05:00] A lot of NFL owners didn't agree and yet there they were locking arms with a lot of the players. Some people have suggested that it's
expedient for the owners to be doing this right now. And that at the end of the day it is about money.
MUGHELLI: A lot of things are about money. But for these owners, they have to understand that the players make this league. I was blessed to
play for 10 years in the NFL, four years for the Ravens, six for the Falcons. Loved every minute of it. But even the coaches, the owners, they
all told us that this is our league. We have to protect it. We have to make sure that we stand up for what we believe in. Everyone absolutely
loved it. And I commend it as well. What J.J. Watt did when it came to raising money for hurricane funds, but that's because he didn't just stick
to sports. We can't just stick to sports. Athletes are not to be put in a box. We're not to be put in a small room and say we can only do this.
NEWTON: But Ovie, you know the fatigue that happens, not just the fans, but even military families, some gold star families are coming out and
saying, look, you're not mad at the flag. You're not mad at the national anthem. We just want you to show respect for what our family members
sacrificed.
MUGHELLI: It's not a disrespect to the flag. It's not a disrespect to those family members. I have people in the military, in my family. I have
people on the police forces well. I have friends who serve in that capacity. It's not a disrespect to them. They fought in order to give us
the right to protest when we see something going wrong, when we don't agree with something. Saying that we should just shut up and be quiet and just
play football. If we see things that we don't agree with it's just wrong. A lot of us grew up in situations where we couldn't make a change. We
couldn't do anything to change your situations. But now with this platform we've got to say something if it means something to us.
NEWTON: Yes, and it's a platform that I think, many people are intent on keeping in many games to come. We thank you so much. We really appreciate
your perspective on this.
MUGHELLI: Thanks for having me on.
NEWTON: Now, American football is culturally intertwined with patriotism in the United States and believe me, it's no accident. The Pentagon has
paid millions of dollars to the National Football League. Let me underscore that again. They have paid the NFL over the last decade in
exchange for heartwarming patriotic displays. Events like unfurling full- field American flags and staging emotional military family reunions. Were actually brought back and paid for by the U.S. government using -- you
guessed it -- taxpayer money without fans knowing.
Now, for the Defense Department paying the NFL was part of their marketing and recruitment budget. Until of course, a Senate report called "Tackling
Paid Patriotism" expose the practice. Today the controversy is over players kneeling during the national anthem. But get this, until 2009,
players typically stayed off the field and in the locker room during the Star-Spangled Banner. Until the league decided that having them on the
sidelines would look more patriotic.
Now, broadcaster Bob Costas has covered football. And if you don't know him, he is a voice like none other in American sports. Who's talked about
the intersection of sports and culture in America for decades. He spoke to our Alisyn Camerota and John Berman on CNN's "NEW DAY." We don't want to
miss this. That a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB COSTAS, SPORTSCASTER: Part of what's happened is that sports and patriotism and the flag have been inflated to such extent that people can't
separate out any nuance. If you go to see Hamilton, which is about the founding of the Republic, no one says, wait a minute, don't raise the
curtain until we hear the national anthem. When you went to see "Private Ryan" no one said, turn off the projector -- "Saving Private Ryan" -- no
one said turn off the projector until we've had the national anthem. It's in sports where the stuff happens.
Sometimes movingly, sometimes I'd submit cynically. Because wrapping yourself in the flag and honoring the military is something which no one is
going to object to. We all respect their sacrifice. We all honor their sacrifice. And yet, what it has mean is that the flag is primarily and
only about the military. This is no disrespect to the military. It's a huge part of the narrative. But Martin Luther King was a patriot. Susan B
Anthony was a patriot. Dissidents are patriots. Schoolteachers and social workers are patriots. And yet at Yankee Stadium, you can shift to sports,
not only do they play the national anthem before the game, but they play "God Bless America" at the seventh inning stretch 81 times a year at home
games.
And in every case, they say, please rise as the Yankees honor a military guest. I have no problem with that. I stand every time in the ballpark,
no matter what it is I stand. And I certainly respect the military person they bring out there. But there's never a schoolteacher. There's never a
social worker. Patriotism comes in many forms. And what has happened is that it's been inflated with kind of a bumper sticker kind of flag-waving
and with the military only. So that people cannot see that in his own way Colin Kaepernick, however imperfectly, is doing a patriotic thing. And so
too are some of these other players.
[16:10:01] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: What do you think this does this season for football? Do you think it will hurt ratings?
COSTAS: No, I think it increases interest. Yesterday every telecast, including Sunday night football on NBC, show the national anthem.
Generally speaking -- in this is interesting -- generally speaking, be it baseball, football, whatever, the networks try to cover the national
anthem. They try to be in commercial. I've heard it in my ear where the producer says, wait a minute, they may still be in the anthem when we come
out of this commercial. And sometimes they are and then you're just quiet for the last few notes and you know that the anthem has concluded.
Now, people want to see the anthem. There interested in it how long it lasts? We'll have to wait and see. By the way, this is not as important,
but in his comments in Alabama, Trump went on to say that they're ruining the NFL. There's not enough hitting. There I guess sissifying the game.
You wonder how many times people who believe that have themselves been hit in the head. The science is clear. In the more that science emerges the
more it will become clear that football and brain trauma are linked. It doesn't matter how much you like the game, they are linked. And to deny
that is to live in a fantasy world.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: When you hear people say sports is about entertainment, sports is about distractions. Sports is about something
other than politics. Politics shouldn't be in sports.
COSTA: Largely true, but sometimes they intersect inevitably. And to ignore it is to ignore the elephant in the room. When I commented about
various issues, only occasionally on NBC, be it on football, or during the Olympics, it was never during the action. It was never at the expense of
the action and the drama. It was always in a little niche that was carved out when nothing else was going on in terms of the game itself. But you
have to acknowledge these things and you have to address them. They're important. And very often because sports appeals across demographic lines
like nothing else. We live in a niche world. But the one thing that draws not only a large audience. But a varied audience. Outside of the Academy
Awards in the Emmys, I guess, the one thing that draws that kind of across- the-board interest is big sports events. And very often that's where these issues play themselves out.
CAMEROTA: I heard a little bit of relevant history yesterday that I think is important just reiterate. And that is before 2009 the players often
worked on the field for the national anthem. Something changed and patriotism became a larger component of all this. Sometimes paid
patriotism. And so, yesterday, what did you think of the teams that stayed in the locker room for the national anthem? They released statements
saying, we believe patriotism. We believe in our flag. We believe in our first responders. But they stayed in the locker room. What did you make
of it?
COSTA: I was okay with it. And I think what Mike Tomlin said, the coach of the Steelers, made a lot of sense. We don't want our players to have to
choose. They may feel one way. They may feel another. They may be apolitical. So, will stay off. Villanueva, one of the players for the
Steelers, who was an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, came out of the locker room and stood at the edge of the field, not on the field. But sort of at
the lip of the runway that would lead to the field with his hand over his heart. And that was his decision to make and I respect that too.
BERMAN: What crossed the lines specifically do you think? What broke the dam here?
COSTA: Well, when you call people sons of bitches across-the-board, that offends everybody. White and black they stood shoulder to shoulder on
those fields, in those locker rooms. What kind of a statement is that to make? And I don't think it's irrelevant that clearly, the president had
more passion and conviction for those remarks then he did when he finally got around after equivocating to distancing himself to some extent from
white nationalists and neo-Nazis. He clearly had more fervor for this than for that.
CAMEROTA: What about owners that were so poignant actually, just the visual itself. Just seeing the owners locking arms with the players, the
owners most of them white, locking arms there on the field. Do you think that this is a tipping point? Will Bob Kraft still support Donald Trump
after this? Will these owners say different things now?
COSTA: I can't read Bob Kraft's mind. But it's very clear that there is almost no one in the NFL who wants to support or rationalize the tone and
content of President Trump's remarks. So, where it goes from here, I'm not sure. Where I hope it goes though, is that is one thing to take a knee or
raise a fist, it's your right and there's a point here to be made. What I hope others follow Kaepernick's lead. Not in some of the naive political
statements he's occasionally made, but in getting involved in the community and actually doing things. Which many NFL players already do, but it's
just not spotlighted. It's not just the NFL, NBA, major league baseball, whatever it may be.
[16:15:06] And I think it would -- the reason why Kaepernick is an imperfect messenger is that -- you think about Mohamed Ali. A different
time and of course, he was a transcendent figure and he was so entertaining even when he was polarizing. People can take their eyes off of him he was
so charismatic and magnetic. But you need people out there articulating as a few did this weekend. Out there articulating, we love our country. We
support the military. We know that most policeman not only are not guilty of misbehavior, but many of them are heroic and dedicated. Many of them
are themselves, African-American or Hispanic and they're dedicated to protecting and serving people of all backgrounds. We get that.
But there is still a problem. And that problem of police brutality specifically is real, it's true, it's urgent. And because it's connected
historically to the mistreatment of African-Americans by government, by the justice system, and by the police. Because it's connected it resonates all
the more. If people can make those distinctions and voice those distinctions, rather than just kneeling or rather than just raising a fist,
then the conversation is really on. And I hope it goes there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: The conversation certainly is on in this country. It's impossible to overstate exactly how much everyone is speaking about this right now.
And that includes when there are major financial stories ongoing and things that affect the financial markets. Just to name two, tax reform and North
Korea. To that end, market closed lower to open this week's trading on Wall Street. The Dow fell .25 percent, about 50 points. The selloff
though in tech, let the way down.
Now Facebook shares fell sharply in Monday's trading after the company dropped plans to issue a new class of shares with no voting rights. Now
the stocks sank 4.5 percent. However, it is up, we have to keep this in perspective, up more than 40 percent since the beginning of the year. CEO
Mark Zuckerberg explained that the gains have allowed him to sell shares to fund his philanthropies, while keeping control of the company. We'll have
more though on Facebook's worst day of the year later in the program.
Meantime, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is vowing to win back disaffected right-wing voters, as the Chancellor struggles to put together a coalition.
The nationalist AFD party is throwing the whole thing into disarray.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Angela Merkel says she wants a coalition government by Christmas. OK. The Chancellor's position was severely weakened though as German
voters abandoned her party and coalition partners. Now, the most likely grouping is a so-called Jamaica Coalition, based on the party colors of,
yes, black, green and yellow, now the colors of the Jamaican flag. It would bring together Angela Merkel's CDU with the Green Party and pro-
business, FDP. You don't have to know a lot about German politics to know what a tall order that is.
[16:20:00] Ms. Merkel hadn't completely ruled out trying to convince the Social Democrats to stay in her coalition. The SDP announced they returned
to opposition after receiving their worst results since World War II. Now, voters flocked to the far-right party alternative for Germany. Is the
first far right party to win seats in the Bundestag in nearly 60 years. You see there the AFD celebrations on Sunday night. The revelry came to an
abrupt end though today. CNN's Atika Schubert has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SCHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was supposed to be a victory lap, a press conference to trumpet the arrival of a new far right
political force. The AFD alternative for Germany. Instead, it ended in disarray. Co-chair, Frauke Petry, citing an ark and descent in the party,
walked out.
FRAUKE PETRY, CO-CHAIR, AFD (through translator): I have decided not to be a part of the AFD parliamentary group anymore. But will be an independent
deputy in the parliament. Rest assured that I will still be involved in active politics. And that my political aim is that we will bring about a
conservative turn for the parliament 2021 in this country. For that I will do everything.
SCHUBERT (on camera): So, you might be wondering, who are these guys? What do they stand for? And who's in charge? Well, those are questions
German voters may also be wondering the day after they were elected into parliament.
(voice-over): The AFD was only founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party railing against Germany's debt bailout of Greece. They barely made a dent.
Missing the 5 percent threshold for parliament seats. But in 2015, this happen. Germany opened its doors to nearly a million refugees. And the
AFD jumped on the issue with the vociferously anti-immigration platform. The party wants to seal Germany's borders and ban mosques, minarets and
Muslim face fails, claiming that Islam, quote, contradicts Germany's constitution. The party tapped into the unease of many Germans wondering
how they would accommodate so many new arrivals. As well as the groundswell of anger from far-right extremist groups.
So, who's leading the AFD? Let's start with co-chair, Frauke Petry and former chemists. She's AFD's moderate. Although, she did suggest last
year that police should shoot at migrants crossing the border illegally, though she claimed it should be a last resort.
The other softer face is Alice Weidel. A former investment banker raising a family with her female partner in Switzerland. She represents a
paradoxically friendly face to a party that advocates traditional families and fights gay marriage. Both Petry and Weidel have found themselves
having to defend or qualify the fiery statements of their fellow party leaders, including a former member of Chancellor Merkel's Christian
Democrats, Alexander Gauland. Gauland says he believes in the need for a German dominant culture. In a change in how the country deals with its
wartime history. He famously said people would not want, quote, someone like Jerome Boateng, Germany celebrated black footballer, as their
neighbor. And within hours of the first election results, he threatened to quote, hunt down Angela Merkel while in parliament.
Fighting words, but if Monday's press conference is any indication, the AFD may be too busy battling itself. Atika Schubert, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, those voters Atika was just talking about, Angela Merkel has vowed to get AFD voters back. Now she's fighting against a wave of
economic and political discontent that as you know, has swept through Europe and the United States. Now, let's compare some of those disaffected
voters. In Germany, an influx of refugees and economic inequality helped fuel that far right surge. The AFD did particularly well among the men.
Does this sound familiar? Men without college degrees. And in East Germany where analysts say many citizens do not feel integrated into the
modern German economy.
Now, in the United States, President Trump bragged about his support among those without college degrees. His champion against globalization one him
support in manufacturing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Meantime, if you go to the U.K., Brexit supporters campaigned on issues of national sovereignty, rather than economics. But a majority of pro-Leave
voters say significant damage to the British economy, yes, they're willing to pay that price in order to leave the EU.
Joining me now is Fareed Zakaria. He's written extensively about those disaffected voters that we just highlighted. And of course, you're also
the host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" right here on this network. Fareed, what's that work there? Especially when you start to put together so many
different and complicated movements throughout Europe and the United States.
[16:25:00] FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, CNN'S "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": You pointed to the diversity very well. Because one of the things to note, is Germany
does not really have great economic anxiety. Germany has been doing superbly. Not just the economy on the whole, but the manufacturing sector
has done well. Inequality has not risen very much in Germany. The common theme that you're seeing are fueling the rise of these parties across the
Western world is immigration. Anna got a big boost in Germany because of Chancellor Merkel's decision to take in a million refugees from the Syrian
civil war. I think that more than anything else explains the rise of the AFD. And I think Merkel, being the kind of master politician, she is, has
already begun to adjust and try and some way when back some of those voters. By announcing that it was just a one-shot deal, and beginning to
get tougher on immigration herself.
NEWTON: This the interesting thing and I'm interested that you pointed that as opposed to pointing to the economics of it. Because some people
would rather point to the economics of it without pointing to the fact that that a lot of the ads that they used against Angela Merkel had her in a
headscarf. Which many people said zeroed right in on the alienation you're talking about.
ZAKARIA: Exactly. And Germany's doing well economically. And you see the same phenomenon in Sweden, which is doing well economically. Holland,
Denmark, and northern Europe in general has been one of the winners in this last decade, but they haven't had lots of immigration.
NEWTON: This is going to have an impact on all of us. How does this not only impact Angela Merkel on how she can bring that coalition together, but
what she then brings to the table in the EU or on the global stage?
ZAKARIA: That's the crucial question. Because Germany has been this extraordinary anchor for the EU for the last 10 or 15 years. And
especially in the last five years when there's been turmoil everywhere else. Germany has been the anchor and Merkel has been that anchor. My
worry is that Merkel is going to face what I call the ten-year itch. You know, after 10 years, leaders lose a certain amount of their political
will. Their ability to function. Opposition starts to develop. So, if you end up with a crippled Germany or a Germany that is less active, the
danger is that you're going to see more tensions in Europe. Not because of any particular policy issue, but it's Germany has been Germany that has
been holding it all together.
And Europe is actually poised for a bit of a rebound. As you know, European companies are doing well. The European Central Bank has provided
liquidity and kind of dealt with a lot of the issues. So, Europe is on a glide path where you can imagine it has a good five years, as long as you
don't have something that makes -- another Greek like crisis where everybody needs a leader and Germany is unable to function as leader.
NEWTON: And I'm interested Fareed, and you have gone through this whole issue of the disaffected voters. You have a special here on CNN, "Why
Trump Won" and you famously didn't see it coming and you explain why. And yet a lot of those strands are still at work in Europe and here today.
Where do you go with that? Where do you appeal to that in order -- whether your Angela Merkel or anybody else, to kind of appeal to those elements in
society and bring them back into the fold? Because that's what she's talking about.
ZAKARIA: It's a great question. I think the key challenge for center parties, center-right, center-left, is going to be to recognize that this
is a problem. Look, you have had a huge amount of immigration in the Western world. The number of foreign-born immigrants in the United States
in 1970 was 4.5 percent. Today it's 14.5 percent. It's about the same shift that's taking place in Europe. So, you have had a lot more people
come in. They do come from places that are more alien in various ways.
So, I think that center-right and left parties have to recognize that. Have to focus on assimilation. Have to not view any kind of discussion
about immigration as racism. Obviously, you want to be open. Obviously, you want to be generous and welcoming. But it's reasonable to talk about
limits. It's reasonable to talk about a greater degree of assimilation. If you do that I think you take the main oxygen out of these far right and
populist parties. Economics is actually not the issue.
NEWTON: OK, but then if we bring this back to the Oval Office. President Trump has to be a little bit smug about what happened to Angela Merkel
today. What you think?
ZAKARIA: Oh, absolutely. Look, Trump has been very clever about figuring out a way to capitalize on the resentment that an older, whiter population
feel about a changing country. And that involves immigrants, that involves Blacks. So, if you notice these symbolic issues he plays with, they all
have that feeling, including the football issue.
My question to all these Trump voters would simply be, you know, is this going to bring back any jobs? Is this going to bring back manufacturing?
Is this going to change the income inequality? What I'm struck by his Trump is still campaigning. This is all symbolic stuff.
[16:30:01] I think he had actually raise legitimate issues about trade with China, about loss of manufacturing, about apprenticeship programs. Where's
all that? I mean, why are we spending our time worrying about who's peacefully protesting in public in America, which I always thought was
protected by the First Amendment.
NEWTON: And there you go once again, we were talking about Germany and yet were coming back to that conversation about football. It's extraordinary
how that has seized everyone. Because it really dives into all of those. Pulls on all of those threads that so many of us have been speaking about.
ZAKARIA: But end with a salute to Angela Merkel. It's very hard to stay on after 10 years in politics. She will end up being the longest-serving
German Chancellor after Helmut Kohl. The second-longest in history. I mean, this is quite a feat for a physicist who came out of East Germany, no
political background.
NEWTON: There's a lot to point to there in terms of success. It may not feel that way to Angela Merkel the morning after. Fareed, thank so much,
really appreciate you being here.
Now, desperate conditions in Puerto Rico, millions without power since Wednesday. The governor warns of an impending humanitarian crisis. We'll
have a live report from San Juan, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Hello, I'm Paula Newton. Coming up in the next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, Puerto Rico is reeling because of hurricane Maria. And
asks Washington to help the Americans caught up in the disaster zone. Plus, Facebook shares are falling and U.S. regulators are still watching
very closely.
First though, these are the top news headlines we are following this hour.
Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel is working to form a coalition government after Sunday's bruising election that we can her authority. The far-right
Alternative for Germany party picked up seats in parliament for the first time dealing a blow to Merkel's party and its coalition partners. It faces
disarray in its own ranks but it's chairwoman walking out a news conference Monday.
The U.S. says it has not declared war on North Korea. North Korea's Foreign Minister accuse the U.S. president of doing so by tweeting that the
North Korean regime may not quote, be around much longer. Pyongyang says and now has the right to shoot down U.S. bombers flying over the Korean
Peninsula even if they don't enter North Korean air space
Iraqi Kurds are anxiously awaiting the results after casting their votes in a controversial independence referendum. Kurdish leaders say the
referendum will give them a mandate to achieve independence from Iraq. The vote is being met with backlash from the international community. Results
should be known within 72 hours.
[16:35:00] The death toll from last week's massive 7.1 earthquake near Mexico City to 324. Efforts to find victims will continue for at least two
more weeks. Right now, crews in Mexico City are digging through a collapsed six-story building, at least 40 people are still missing and
thought to be inside.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for snap elections next month. Mr. Abe says he will dissolve parliament's lower house on Thursday
as he seeks a fresh mandate for his hardline stance on North Korea. Analysts say that Mr. Abe has taken advantage of a quick uptick in his
approval ratings in an opposition that is now in disarray.
The governor of Puerto Rico tells CNN the U.S. territory needs an aid package urgently to prevent a humanitarian crisis. Five days after
hurricane Maria slammed into the island, millions are still cut off from the world. Images captured from CNN show a landscape forever changed.
Look at that, home submerged, debris everywhere, that is under devastation looking at. CNN's Rafael Romo is on the ground for us in San Juan. It is
difficult to overstate exactly the dire situation that people find themselves in. I have been reading about people have been holed up in
their homes for days, they've got 6 feet of water in the first floor there using ladders to get up and down. What does Puerto Rico need now, need
urgently?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Guarantees that food and water will get to those people who need it most right away, Paula. We have been visiting
communities around the island and it seems like because they had a fair came before, let's remember that Puerto Rico was hit by not one but two
hurricanes within two weeks. People had enough supplies for about a week, I am talking food, water, basic necessities but what is going to happen
next week? What is going to happen in the next couple weeks?
And the problem here is hurricane downed trees and many power lines, there is a loud debris on the road. So many of those roads are impassable and it
is very difficult for cargo trucks to reach these communities that need it. And now you described it perfectly when you say the landscape has changed
forever. One of the first things that catches your attention when you go to these communities is that this is a very green country, lush vegetation
everywhere. Now everything is brown.
And then you start talking to people and realize they have been without power and without water for several days, they still have food but maybe
for another three days or so. That their cars have no gasoline, they ran out already. That they have not been able to communicate to anybody here
on the island or elsewhere because phone towers and all kinds of telecommunication has collapsed. It's a very, very dire situation.
There is also the problem with the dam on the northwest side of the island, originally, the governor has said that it was imminent that it would
collapse flooding communities and about 70,000 people were in danger. And now local mayors say it is not as dangerous as first reported but in any
case, that tells you about the very complicated and dire situation that Puerto Ricans are living in right now. -- Paula.
NEWTON: As you said, so many of those remote communities as well, we don't even know what condition they are in yet, our Rafael Romo remains on the
scene there in Puerto Rico, appreciate it.
Now the White House is reacting to criticism over its response to Puerto Rico. CNN's Sara Murray joins me now from the White House. One day when
the president himself was by so many other issues, football to name one, what are they saying the president so far quite well in terms of his
response to these natural disasters.
SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: One of the things the White House is saying today, they are insisting to says not been a slow response
ever. They say they have taken an unprecedented push to get billions of dollars in aid to a number these places, including to Puerto Rico. They
also pointed out that Brock Long who is the FEMA director as well as Tom Bossert who is Trump's Homeland Security advisor are traveling to Puerto
Rico to assess the damage there. So, they are really shrugging off any notion of criticism but this is one thing that we focused on with this
administration. It is not just what you say and do in the hours after a storm hits, it's not just showing up for the first time, for the question
of Puerto Rico it is whether President Trump is going to show up there at all. When it's going to happen? And if they realize the severity of the
situation on the ground there, and the resources that it is going to take.
NEWTON: Yes, absolutely, Sara, that is cold comfort to people who are looking at their last gallon of freshwater in the house, and wondering as
U.S. citizens when the government is going to come to the rescue.
[16:40:00] We have been talking so much over football, we have heard CNN reporting at the Chief of Staff General Kelly is not happy with the
president did during that rally on Friday, and what he stirred up. And yet, what is the capacity of the White House right now to deal with what
are some really important issues? North Korea, tax reform, healthcare, this is all happening imminently. How you get a sense that they are
dealing with this?
MURRAY: I think that is why you see the frustration from people like Chief of Staff General Kelly. Sources tell my colleague Jeff Zeleny that he was
frustrated that Trump decided to wait into a battle with NFL players, that he decided to wait into what is effectively a culture war at a time when as
you point out, if he was talking about Puerto Rico, if he was talking about North Korea, if he was talking about tax reform, for healthcare which is
playing out on Capitol Hill here today, that would make a lot more sense to many of his colleagues.
I think this really gets to the heart of how much control staffers have over this president. They can try to manage the message here but when it
comes to putting him at a podium, at a rally, when it comes to his twitter feed that is Donald Trump unchanged. And he's going to say whatever he
wants.
NEWTON: And does not seem that that is going to change, Sara Murray at the White House for us, thank you.
Now coming up, what do these men have in common? A source tells CNN the two held a discussion last year that was never reported, details though, we
have them for you now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: A source confirms to CNN that former US Pres. Barack Obama Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke about fake news last year.
Now Congress is still pushing for answers after Facebook revealed it sold political adverts linked to a Russian troll farm during the U.S. election.
The accusation is that manipulated the election. The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee tells CNN it will take time to properly
regulate, underscore, regulate adverts on Facebook.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK WARNER, (D), VIRGINIA: Social media is transformative, over half of America looks at their Facebook account every day. They use it on a
regular basis. I would like to start with a light touch. I would like to start a make again this iteration, we will not get it on 100 percent right
at first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: To talk about all of this, Laurie Segall joins me know. He is saying the light touch. Oh, Yes. The tech community saying what touch?
Like don't put your hands on us. And yet are they in a lot of trouble here, detect community in terms of we heard Mark Zuckerberg say before the
election, during the election, no, you are overstating it. Facebook does not have that much influence.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: But how far we have come from there. Right? Months later his 3000-word manifesto, fast
forward to now we see that the Russians were able to manipulate, to weaponize Facebook's platform and influence an election.
[16:45:00] Now you have lawmakers paying attention, now you have people upset about this and calling for action. I will say the government has
taken a hands-off approach in many ways to these tech companies for a very long time. I think this was a turning point, this is a moment of
reckoning, and I was just out in Silicon Valley talking to leaders. And I think they're pretty concerned about the future. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEGALL: More than 3000 ads sold to a Russian troll farm aimed at targeting U.S. citizens to influence in the election. And an admission from Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: Our teams have found and shut down thousands of fake accounts that could be attempting to influence elections
in many other countries.
SEGALL: But as Facebook turns over the ads purchased by Russia to Congress there is a new sense of urgency here in Silicon Valley. Make changes or
face regulation. And the pressure is mounting.
ANDREW MCLAUGHLIN, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY CHIEF TECH OFFICER: I don't want the government making decisions about speech because Our core democratic
institutions are so unreliable. At the same time, these platforms play such a powerful role in making those decisions that we want him to be
somehow accountable.
SEGALL: As Zuckerberg promised to add more transparency to political ads on Facebook, he said the company will double the number of people working
on election integrity. But is it too little too late?
MCLAUGHLIN: We can't just simply write math that we can believe neutrally chooses the best content, we are making choices that are incredibly
consequential for what speech gets aired and seen by ordinary people, ordinary Americans.
SEGALL: While major tech CEOs are beginning to grapple with the unseen consequences of their increasingly powerful platforms, there are some calls
for Tech companies to be regulated as utilities. Many in Silicon Valley disagree. I recently spoke to twitter and Medium founder, Ev Williams
about it.
A congressman suggested that there should be an act passing legislation to put disclosure requirements on social media advertising, similar to the
ones that we see on TV commercials.
EV WILLIAMS, CO-FOUNDER, TWITTER: Oh, this ad paid for. I don't think people would pay attention to it. Not really.
SEGALL: When it comes to regulation, Williams is not opposed, he is just doubtful of the process producing good results.
WILLIAMS: I would prefer no regulation to bad regulation. There is no obvious thing that you would say to Facebook or Google or twitter, go fix
this now, and like, no, we are not doing that because we don't have to. They're all trying to make the best systems they can.
SEGALL: Questions about content are complicated.
WILLIAMS: The difference between a difference of opinion or a political belief in a difference in wrong facts, it's really hard to assess, and I
don't think anyone has figured out how to assess that out automatically.
SEGALL: The same gray area applies to Facebook. While the company says they will disclose political ads, who is to decide what constitutes a
political ad on the platform? And what divides propaganda and an idea?
WILLIAMS: And that is when some people are calling for it. There needs to be editorial guidelines and you get into an area where most tech companies,
would be like that is not something that really fits in our model, for that we would even be good at.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: it is interesting to watch him say, oh, these editorial guys, that is not something that we would be good at. But now we are at this moment
were a lot of these tech companies, someone said this to me, a big CEO in Silicon Valley said, we are almost like democratic institutions. The
decisions we make internally can impact culture, can impact free speech, and what goes, and what is not. And I think this is the tip of the iceberg
watching what happened and watching Russia able to influence Facebook to influence the United States through this platform. A lot of lawmakers are
saying you need to change, and it is not, oh, I'm sorry it happened, we will change it.
You need to change it ahead of time and they have not been able to do that.
NEWTON: And it is an industry that has to grow up, to use a term, because many other industries have had to do the same thing as you mature. We
understand know what you are dealing with before, hello, now you know what you're dealing with. The thing that bothers me, you let me know, we talk
about the nexus between whether or not they are regulating free speech which clearly, they are uncomfortable with. OK, good and well.
But the revenue is so tied to what goes on the social media platforms. They are trying to convince us that they don't have a lot of influence, and
they should not have a lot of influence. And yet, the algorithms that they pedal to the advertisers are all manipulated in a certain way.
SEGALL: Ev Williams explained it to me to, he is talking about the attention economy, they want your eyeballs on the platform, this is come
with a lot of negative impact. The idea by the way that these ads went out, these political ads went out. And for so long on television there has
to be a disclaimer, this is regulated, people need to know where these ads are coming from. For so long, companies like Facebook and no one knew who
paid for them. Now we are looking at who paid for them. We don't know what else happened. This is Facebook. Let's go look at twitter. Twitter
was weaponized by bots that were putting out propaganda and we are just looking at that. They are just now building teams to deal with that.
They had taken this hands-off approach, there taken we are the pipes approach, we are not responsible for the content coming in and out, but I
think now they are forced to look at that in a different way because of the pressure. And because I think looking at this and saying that this has
already been done.
[16:50:00] NEWTON: Reality check, right, one in five digital ad dollars goes directly to Facebook in this country. So, it has got a responsibility
they have the bandwidth for. Laurie, thank you so much.
Debate is not going anywhere, neither is Laurie, thank goodness. You will be back talking with us again, coming up next.
Hand on the gavel there, the CEO of Interbrand started the show by closing today's session, see that, he was quite aggressive. He is at the world's
biggest stock exchange, after the break he joins us to discuss the world's most valuable brands.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: OK, tech companies dominate Interbrand's list of the top ten global brands, Apple, Google and Microsoft sit in the top three positions.
Jess Frampton is the CEO of Interbrand, he opened the show by ringing the closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange. And he is with us here now
live. Thanks for joining us, is it a no-brainer that these other companies, these are the brands that are in the top 10 list now? Including
we might add Facebook which is now and with the top 10 for the first time.
JESS FRAMPTON, CEO, INTERBRAND: Absolutely, all of those for gaffer Brandon says they were called for five years ago, our now really the
dominant players in the top of our list. Is it surprising? No. We are all completely in love with their products or most of us are anyway most of
the time.
It's not surprising, they generate incredible amounts of revenue and have very, very, very strong brands.
NEWTON: But more than being in love with their products, let's say, they for better or for worse touch so many of our lives now, what is let's say
the secret sauce in that kind of branding to make them in the top 10?
FRAMPTON: I think, you know, obviously they have a unique mouse trap as they say, so each of them has built a very dominant position in their own
particular area of the internet and what has become our virtual lives. But they don't get away with it. They have to have the great things that all
other great brands have. You have to have a very clear sense of where you are going, a clear idea of who your target audiences. What they want from
you?
And to make sure that the experience you provide them actually matches their expectations. It is no small feat to build a brand on a global
scale, and to be at the top of this list is really quite remarkable.
NEWTON: And if you can depend there on your wisdom when it comes to brands, we had a huge controversy here with the NFL, and the NFL has been a
player in terms of trying to keep its brand and to expand that brand globally.
Was for them that they really had no choice, that if they wanted to look at their fan base, and if they wanted to look at being that kind of a global
leader, that they had to do damage control on what the president said.
FRAMPTON: And many different companies have to deal with damage control at times, obviously, Uber is going through some difficult times right now.
[16:55:00] Historically brands like BP end of course Toyota as well had their own issues to deal with. Samsung not that long ago around about this
time last year. It is something that most big organizations will have to deal with. If you are a car company, recalls are part of your life so to
speak.
And I think now we are seeing some of the pressures put on different brands, I am probably the worst person to talk to about the NFL, because I
really don't understand the sport that will being English.
NEWTON: But even if you are not super impose any kind of soccer league or I should say football league from Europe, having said that, you know about
brand management, in about crisis management. And what is the most important thing? Because Facebook has not had a great time of it today
either when it comes to brand reputation.
FRAMPTON: You say that but Mr. Zuckerberg went out there straight away, which is one of the biggest lessons you can teach somebody which is don't
try and avoid it, engage it. And that is exactly what he did. And he made it very clear that they are going to do everything in their hands to try
and resolve the issues. Which is exactly what any leader of any organization which is facing any kind of crisis should do. Leadership is
about taking the lead. And I think that would be my primary advice for them. Be very, very clear about what would the issues are. And be very
straightforward and honest with people about what you are going to do about it.
NEWTON: It is certainly not an easy job these days. We will continue to try and keep up with all the brands that are on the tips of all of our
tongues. Appreciate it.
OK, European markets closed mixed ahead of that tough coalition talks that were going on in Germany. Angela Merkel won a fourth term as Chancellor
despite her parties worst showing in decades. The DAX closed a mere two points higher, while the FTSE and CAC both edged slightly lower.
And if you missed parts of tonight's program, or just want to take us on the road with you, you can now download our show as podcasts, it's
available from all the main providers you can listen at cnn.com/podcast. And that's quest means business for today, I am Paula Newton, and I was see
you right back here at the desk tomorrow.
END
