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Hala Gorani Tonight
Civilians At Risk if Assad's Forces Lay Siege on Aleppo; Julian Assange Says U.N. Report Vindicates Him; Sanders, Clinton Meet in NH Debate; Super Bowl Ads; Carnival Begins Amid Virus Fears; Democrats And Republicans Campaign In New Hampshire; Some Refugees Return Home After Arriving In Europe; The Harrowing Effects Of An NFL-Linked Brain Disease; Coldplay Controversy In India
Aired February 05, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00]
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST For Aleppo, thousands flee intense bombing. But where does this latest burst of violence leave the diplomatic effort.
Also, this hour, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says a new U.N. report vindicates him. But some countries directly involved are not so convinced.
Also this hour, on the campaign trail, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton almost neck and neck in a new national poll, we break it down for you. And
we will give you a sneak peek at this year's best and most expensive Super Bowl ads. It's also about that.
Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani live from CNN London. This is The World Right Now.
We begin this evening in Northern Syria, regime forces say they have cut off rebels in Aleppo. A step they could only take with support from
Russian airpower. Take a look at some of this video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That's a little bit of what some of the battle raging over the past week, looks and sounds like rebels are digging in. They are behind
severed supply lines. It's getting tougher and tougher for them. And innocent people are either trapped in between or being rain down on by
Russian bombs.
This is what they are fighting over, a strategic city that was once survivor in commercial hub close to Turkey and now about Iran between the
two side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: People, of course, are fleeing all of this. They're flooding across that stretch of desert between Aleppo and the Turkish border.
Arwa Damon has that part of the story from the increasingly strained Kilis border crossing.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.N. is warning that upwards of 300,000 civilians are potentially at risk if Assad forces
are able to lay siege to the city of Aleppo. These are people who live in the Eastern portion of the city and that is not counting the tens of
thousands who are already claimed Aleppo country tied as the regime forces exempt (ph) undercover of Russian air strikes.
And those who have made it to the border in Turkey have been forced to wait because the border continues to remain close. One non-profit (ph) able to
go through and provide those who are on the other side with some tense that they are still in desperate need of food, water and additional medical
supplies.
People describing the bombardment by what they say is mostly Russian fighter jets as being the most intense they have seen since the fighting
broke out in Syria some five years ago.
One man who we spoke to on this site saying that he was waiting for his relatives to eventually hopefully come through describing their village,
where he said they were facing Russian bombardment, an advance by Assad's forces but also the ongoing threat of ISIS.
And those families who are now fleeing, they are families and people who waited this long because they truly hoped that there would be some sort of
resolution, some sort of end to the violence and now they themselves find themselves forced to make that impossible decision of leaving everything
and their homeland behind.
Arwa Damon, CNN, at the Kilis border in Turkey.
GORANI: Well, the new wave of fighting and the mass exit is standing contrast of the diplomacy that should have been developing but is not.
Peace talks in Geneva, well, they barely even got started and they've already been delayed for three weeks with no progress and little apparent
hope.
Many of the parties are blaming that on Russia's obvious role in the battle for Aleppo, its increased bombardment of rebel positions.
Let's look at that with CNN Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott. She is at the State Department.
What is the word from the U.S. government as, of course, we see Russian involvement increased in Aleppo, for instance, where the peace talks
essentially have broken down because the opposition is saying, "Until the regime stops pounding us, we're not talking."
What is the strategy now?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, we just heard just moments ago from Secretary of State John Kerry meeting with the
Colombian Foreign Minister upstairs said, "Listen, what Russia is doing is totally in disregard in violation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution
they sign onto in December which called for ceasefire, which called for access to humanitarian groups to these besieged areas." And was really
just slammed the Russian government and these air strikes, which he said are just basic want in disregard for any civilian casualties and then re-
bombing the area.
Again, when the aid workers and first responders are trying to get there, he says, "This has to stop." Basically, all eyes next week of this meeting
in Munich on the sidelines of the security forum is international Syria support group and you know, that includes Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, all
the major parties involved.
[15:05:12] The goal is to get a ceasefire on top for that meeting. His -- Secretary Kerry said he has gotten by-end from the Russians, by-end from
the Iranians, but now, what he really needs is to work out those modalities, the specifics. He knows that those talks cannot begin, a
ceasefire cannot begin, until those Russian bombs are stopped. Hala.
GORANI: Would -- did Secretary Kerry get a by-end from the Russians on exactly? I mean, their bombardment is at its most intense right now, these
positions in Aleppo. And they're registering strong gains, they don't really have a lot of motivation to stop what they're doing. It's working
for them.
LABOTT: That's right. I mean, listen, it's pretty clear that Russia is trying to bomb its way into the top, create a new situation on the ground
to give them further leverage if and when they're ready to negotiate. And it's clear they're not ready to do that talking to diplomats, talking to
U.S. officials, and members of Congress. They know what Russia's strategy is.
Secretary Kerry says he has by-end in theory for the idea of the ceasefire from the Russians, from the Iranians -- no, from other groups now that what
they're trying to do is work out what he calls the modalities, the specific of that. But as you know, the devil is in those details. Russia and Iran,
for instance, have in theory signed on before to the idea of a ceasefire but there's obviously no way you can have a ceasefire when one of the
parties of the table is bombing the other one.
So, this meeting in Munich really is seen right now as a kind of last ditch effort to get everybody back away from the brink and try and get its
ceasefire so that talks begin. But I'm very solid under (ph), Hala.
GORANI: Yeah, and the U.N. envoy said, "Wait until the Munich conference, talk to me after that, you know, hopefully I'll have some more encouraging
news."
What is the U.S. making of the announcement by Saudi Arabia that it's ready defending ground troops, it says, to fight ISIS?
LABOTT: Well, it's a little murky because they said that they would be willing to send in ground troops if other members of the coalition are
onboard, the Saudi and that the Washington kind of went further than not and said that there are other countries that are willing to send troops.
So it's unclear what particularly the Saudis are saying that they're willing to do.
Are they going to wait for other countries to do that, if they're waiting for the United States to send in some ground troops in large number?
That's certainly not going to happen. You know, the U.S. has called for a largely Muslim and Arab force to go in. Perhaps, the Saudis would be
willing to do something like that. But if the Saudis are just saying they'd be willing to do that or waiting for the United States to send their
own troops, that's certainly not going to happen. You also have to look at the Turkish buildup on their border with Syria. There's a lot of concern
that perhaps they would start as, you know, more refugees are coming across their border, that they would make an effort.
I think if you don't see really, Hala, any progress in Munich, I think you may see the administration reconsider an idea they abandoned in December,
which is the idea of a safe haven, not just to protect some of the civilians but to change the leverage on the ground with Russia.
Secretary Kerry notes ...
GORANI: Yeah.
LABOTT: ... that until he changes the battlefield situation that he's not going to get any progress.
GORANI: All right, we know the Turks want that safe haven. They wanted it for a while.
Thanks very much, Elise Labott, at the State Department.
A lot of words are being thrown back and forth but more than three years after it started, a diplomatic spill made over Julian Assange continues in
London. He is still effectively trapped inside the Ecuadorian embassy despite a new U.N. ruling that says his confinement there amounts to
illegal detention.
Assange calls it a victory, but the British government isn't having any of it.
Nima Elbagir has that story.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN LONDON-BASED INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A moment of triumph, Julian Assange and his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you.
JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: How sweet it is. This is a victory that cannot be denied. And it's a victory of historical importance not
just to me, for my family, for my children, but for the independence of the U.N. system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: The British authorities say it changes nothing.
PHILIP HAMMOND, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: I reject the funding of this working group. It's a group made up of laid people, mock (ph) lawyers, and
they are - their confusion is flawed in law.
Julian Assange is a fugitive from justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: The U.N. Panel of Experts reserve specific eye for an incidence of solitary confinement when Julian Assange was held on his own in
Wentworth Prison.
[15:10:06] They also criticized the Swedish prosecutors office saying that they didn't exercise due diligence and allowed the case, the investigation,
to drag on for too long.
While this finding by the U.N. may add moral weight to Julian Assange's case, but he and his lawyer acknowledges today that the ball is and remains
in the court.
The British and the Swedish authorities (inaudible) says that for their part, they are still legally bound if Julian Assange does walk on those
steps behind me to arrest him.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
GORANI: More to come tonight, new information about the block (ph) that whipped that hole in a Somali jet and the man who may be behind it, scary
moments aboard that plane. We've got details from a source familiar with the investigation.
Also coming up, New York is shaken by the sudden collapse of a giant screen. All that and much more when The World Right Now continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Investigators are now saying that the man who died in an in-flight explosion on a Somali plane was likely the bomber and fell from the source
posted in the investigation.
We also learned from that source that the bomb was carried onboard a laptop computer. Robyn Kriel is in Nairobi, Kenya working her sources and she
joins us now by phone.
Tell us more about this, about what we know about the suspect in this case.
ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, at the moment, we know that the person who investigators are looking at as the main suspect of this is
a man who was blown or stuck out of that aircraft once the explosion went over around 12,000 to 14,000 feet shortly after the Daallo Airlines flight
to go from Mogadishu International Airport.
His name is Abdullah Hiborla (ph). He was -- he is a Somali national. He was ejected out of the plane and his body was discovered in a farm near
Mogadishu, the Somali authorities picking up his body and obviously looking at that poor investigation.
We can tell you that the laptop bomb, we're not exactly sure how it was assembled or anything like that, but it was, we understand, made by a
military grade TNT.
GORANI: All right. And so, military grade TNT in a laptop, it only created a relatively small hole. I mean, all the people onboard really, it
was a close shay (ph) for them.
Why are investigators saying that clearly the goal was to bring the plane down? Why are they saying that it didn't transpire in that way?
KRIEL: Well, from what we understand, Hala, is that this plane left about an hour later scheduled than it was due to.
[15:15:03] So it was an hour delayed on the ground.
Now, if it had been -- if it had taken off on time, then it is likely that it does have some kind of a time device that that explosion would have
happened at a far higher altitude. And around 30,000 feet, that cruising altitude and that, we understand, according to experts, would have -- the
explosion would have been big enough, large enough and with that altitude, created a larger explosion of the fuel tanks that would have brought a
plane down likely. It would have been a catastrophic accident.
So, have it been any less delayed, that very likely could have been the case. So, pure luck that it didn't -- that that did not happen and it was
only a 12,000 to 14,000 feet. The pilot, of course, then being able to turn the plane around and land the plane.
GORANI: Wow, that is really lucky for the passengers.
Did they believe that the suspect was aware that he was carrying a bomb inside a laptop or that it was planted on him? I mean, do we have anymore
information with regards to the individual's intentions in this attack, in this attempted bringing down of the plane?
KRIEL: That's the real question. We're not sure if the subject knew that he was taking on a laptop bomb, perhaps he was just ignorant to that fact,
perhaps he was a mule, perhaps he was paid.
From what we can understand, this individual did not have any exact ties that he's not that investigators have been able to come up with yet to any
militant groups. You know that al-Qaeda link to militant group, Al-Shabaab is likely, but United States forces say the most likely suspect to be
behind this sort of attack and where they have not paying responsibility.
This man, we understand, at least in the outfit that he did not have any ties to them. So that's a question, exactly how involved was he with
knowing what damage that could do.
GORANI: Robyn Kriel in Nairobi, thanks very much for that update.
Now, in New York City, it felt and sounded like an earthquake, that is what witnesses are saying about this deadly crane collapse in New York.
This is taken from a building, of course, with a view of the crane. And this is the crane ad that is coming down at one point. You actually hear
the massive thud on the street.
The crane is still large that it really took up an entire city black when it went laid horizontally.
A 38-year-old man who was sitting in a parked car was killed, unfortunately. Three people were injured. New York's mayor says the crane
was being moved into a secure position because of high winds but unfortunately, that's when it fell.
These images show the aftermath of the impact on the ground, really, a terrible scene there in New York.
All right, down to two in the race for the Democratic bid for the presidency and the contenders did not hold back at their latest sparring
match.
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton met on stage for a debate in New Hampshire just five days ahead of the vote.
Here's CNN John Berman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three days after barely winning Iowa, five days before facing daunting odds in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton clearly
decided she could not wait another day to fight back.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really don't think these kinds of attacks by insinuation are worthy of you.
BERMAN: The battle, who was the real progressive and who was beholding to the establishment?
CLINTON: I am a progressive who gets things done. And the root of that word progressive is progress.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Secretary Clinton does represent the establishment. I represent, I hope, ordinary
Americans. And by the way, who are not all that in avid with the establishment.
BERMAN: Clinton, who has been careful not to offend the young passionate support behind Bernie Sanders, now seems to think it is worth the risk.
CLINTON: Senator Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me a woman running to be the first woman president as exemplifying the
establishment. And I've got to tell you, it's really quite amusing to me.
SANDERS: What being part of the establishment is, is in the last quarter having a super PAC that raised $15 million from Wall Street.
CLINTON: Enough is enough. If you've got something to say, say it directly. You will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because
of any donations that I ever received.
I think it's time to end a very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks and let's talk about the issues that
divide us.
BERMAN: Sanders was only too happy to talk about those divisions not just on Wall Street donations, but also then Senator Clinton's vote to authorize
the Iraq war.
SANDERS: Experience is not the only point. Judgment is. And once again, back in 2002 when we both looked at the same evidence about the wisdom of
the war in Iraq, one of us voted the right way and one of us didn't.
[15:20:01] CLINTON: A vote in 2002 is not a plan to defeat ISIS. We have to look at the threats that we face right now. And we have to be prepared
to take them on and defeat them.
BERMAN: Clinton also tried to use new information to diffuse the controversy over her use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state.
The fact that now e-mail sent to both Colin Powell and top aides to Condoleezza Rice when they held the job have been deemed classified.
CLINTON: You have these people in the government who are doing the same thing to Secretary Powell and Secretary Rice's aides, they've been doing to
me, which is that, I never sent or received any classified material. They are retroactively classifying it.
I agree completely with Secretary Powell, who said today, this is an absurdity.
BERMAN: Once again, Sanders refused to pounce on the e-mail questions, though he noted the opportunity is out there.
SANDERS: I will not politicize it. There's not a day that goes by why I am -- when I am not asked to attack her on that issue, and I have refrained
from doing that. And I will continue to refrain from doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: John Berman reporting there. We're going to have a lot more in the race -- for the race for the White House later in this show.
Our Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein joins me to recap the Democratic debate, the latest poll numbers and how the Republicans are
campaigning in New Hampshire as well.
Some very interesting new poll numbers coming up from Quinnipiac, by the way, join Trump -- join Clinton and Sanders a lot closer nationally than
they were just a few weeks. What does that mean? How should we interpret that? We'll talk about that a little bit later.
Now, to the Vatican, around 10:30 a.m. this morning, British time, we were told, "Standby, there's going to be a very important unscheduled
announcement from the Vatican today." We all wondered what could it possibly be, is it bad news, perhaps, what is this big important
announcement?
Well, the Vatican essentially said this, there will be an unprecedented meeting of church leaders that will take place next Friday in Cuba. Pope
Francis will meet the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch Kirill. The heads of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches have never
met, so this is a big deal since they split into eastern and western Christianity almost a thousand years ago.
The leaders will sit down together at Havana's airport. And they will sign a joint declaration. That was the big announcement made at the Vatican
today.
Coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Baton (ph), I got two Super Bowl surprises for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sounds great, pop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, I'm getting away a free pizza after the Super Bowl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, just for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, for everyone.
GORANI: And the second surprise might just be the price tag for commercials like this one during the Super Bowl, how much companies are
spending next and also what the first surprise is.
We'll be right back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back. It's another down day on Wall Street. Gosh, this index is just not catching a break.
The dollars is down 228 right now at 16,188. There's a look at the NASDAQ and the S&P also lower and the NASDAQ, in particular, it hard (ph) down 3
percent.
And European markets also lower.
It's big, it's loud and it's very expensive for advertisers trying to capitalize on its enormous audience, it's the Super Bowl, of course, of
American football this Sunday.
As with every year, the commercials are getting as much attention of the game itself, looking to build some extra buzz. Companies have been teasing
their ads online ahead of the big game.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you give me a warning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. Warning, here comes your ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's the genius? Who puts a girl in heels on a subway break (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Monroe, these sneakers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get a little cranky when you're hungry. Better?
[15:25:06] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to resist, great taste.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It died, the (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch this. Holly (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, getting one of those commercials in front of American audiences for just 30 seconds this year ask a lot of money, it's a new
record.
Paul La Monica joins me now from New York with more. How much is a 30- second commercial, half time Super Bowl?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: $5 million for the Super Bowl ad, for 30 seconds. So, Anheuser-Busch who's spending a lot of money because
they have about three and a half minutes worth of commercials during the game.
GORANI: But did they get their money back on that?
LA MONICA: I think for a company like Anheuser-Busch, clearly they do, they have been the only beer advertiser on the Super Bowl for many, many
years now.
Their ads often wind up near the top of the post-Super Bowl polls in terms of people liking the ads, paired with the ones with the iconic Clyde spouse
(ph). So I think a company like Anheuser-Busch, they are getting their money's worth like, we have to worry about some of the companies whose
stock rises are struggling that are going to be advertising this year, if it comes to mind. They're going to have a 30-second ad, the wearable
fitness tracker stock has really ...
GORANI: Yeah.
LA MONICA: ... flanged since they were in public. So I don't know if they're really making the right decision. We'll have to wait and see.
GORANI: All right, and let's talk a little bit about sort of how things have changed because now, people see this, I mean, I'm not going to be
watching the Super Bowl in the middle of the night, for me, here in London. But I'm going to see all these commercials. I see them on my Facebook
page, I've already seen some of them, in fact.
They -- these companies are relying on us that give them a platform. Now, this has changed entirely from just a few years ago.
LA MONICA: Yeah, definitely. There used to be a lot more mystery and intrigue surrounding Super Bowl ads. Now, with the kids, almost like you
wake up on the morning of December 28th and you get your Christmas presents already, or at least you get to look at them. That seems to be what the
marketers are doing these days. They're putting the ads up on Facebook. They're putting them up on YouTube.
So you don't have as much of a shock, I mean, that Audi one, for example, that was in the montage. Think of how much more powerful it would be when
you see that they're using a David Bowie's on spaceman if you hadn't already known that watching the game, like, "Wow, that's really powerful
and the timing is eerie", because he just passed away. But, I've already seen the whole commercial ...
GORANI: Yes.
LA MONICA: ... on YouTube.
GORANI: Exactly, I was a little confused by that. I thought, "What's the point?" I mean, it's not a teaser, it's the entire commercial. And it's a
good commercial and, of course, the music is absolutely glorious because it's a beautiful days of Boyzone (ph). But, there you have the whole
thing, so doesn't it take this thing out?
LA MONICA: I think it does to a certain extent. I mean, the one thing that I think is important to probably point out, there are a lot of people,
particularly those of us in the media that are looking at these commercials in advance and in spill (ph) to what we're doing for a living.
But, you know, the Super Bowl is probably going to get upwards of 100 million people watching on Sunday, not every single one of those viewers
have already seen these ads on Facebook, or Twitter or YouTube.
So, I think that there still is some element of surprise for a certain amount of people watching the game, particularly ...
GORANI: But we haven't ...
LA MONICA: ... probably the casual fans.
GORANI: But you haven't -- they haven't all been released, right? There will be some ...
LA MONICA: Yeah.
GORANI: ... some debut, some ...
LA MONICA: No, they haven't all been released but, you know, some of them -- you know, again, that Willem Dafoe's Marilyn Monroe for sneakers was
quite, honestly, looked a little horrifying. I wish that was a surprise as well. I'd laugh a lot harder if I saw it on Sunday.
GORANI: Yeah, that's just not going to be funny anymore, exactly.
LA MONICA: Yeah.
GORANI: So interesting strategies. Certainly, they want to get their money's worth by having us see them over and over again as many times as
possible.
Paul La Monica, thanks very much. And have a great ...
LA MONICA: Thank you.
GORANI: ... weekend. Have a good Super Bowl if you plan on watching it.
Well, news just coming in to CNN. There are reports of a strong earthquake in Taiwan. It struck the south of the country of what I understand. It's
a magnitude 6.7. You see the epicenter there on the map.
Word is just reporting that it was relatively shallow, which usually means that that potentially can cause more damage on the surface, but this is not
something that we know for sure. It's just the way we estimate early on whether or not it's something that has the potential to cause damage. It's
well away from Taiwan though.
So, we're going to keep our eye on this developing story and bring you the latest if there's anything newsworthy coming out of Taiwan.
And a little later in our hour, we're going to look at a darker side of American football.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just talking that I can tell that it's a little bit difficult for you, I mean ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You remember my name?
GORANI: The sport took more from some former players than they ever could have imagined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:30:03] GORANI: That's just ahead. Great report, you don't want to miss it.
And, things get a little testy at the Democratic debate in New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: So I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in the recent weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Real sparring between the candidates and we'll talk about that and more with my guest, Ron Brownstein. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A look at our top stories this hour, the Syrian regime has apparently cut off supply routes to rebel held areas of Aleppo. The
Russian air bombardment that made the events possible has also caused tens of thousands to flee. They're headed to an already strained Turkish
border.
Investigators are now saying that the man who died at an in-flight explosion on a Somali plane is likely the bomber himself. That's from a
source close to the investigation. We also learned from that same source that the bomb was carried on board in a laptop computer.
Also among the top stories, officials in New York are investigating the collapse of a massive crane this morning. One person was killed, three
others were hurt when this giant crane fell. Officials are checking gas and water mains for damage.
The World Health Organization wants $25 million for six months' worth of funding to fight the Zika virus. Brazilian health officials on
Friday announced they found the virus to active in saliva. Now that worries them. Urine samples as well, apparently. Despite the crisis,
hotels in Rio say it is not affecting bookings for the upcoming Carnival.
Now this latest news on Zika comes as we just mention adds Carnival festivities kick off in Brazil. Shasta Darlington is in Rio de Janeiro
with more.
Yesterday, Shasta, you were saying the expectation was that the numbers would not be down. People don't seem extremely concerned about
Zika. Have the actual numbers reflected that? The actual numbers of people showing up to Rio to enjoy the Carnival?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Hala. I mean, we've sort of seen a building throughout the week, the block parties start
earlier on and you get people going to the trial runs down the area, but the beaches were packed today. Still a workday.
Carnival kicks off this evening. The beaches were packed. The hotels are booked and you know, as we were talking about yesterday, they've
got more tourists now than they did last year. We ran into a bunch of them coming in from abroad. Take a listen to what they told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We bought our tickets ahead of time. We're not going to not come because of this thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels worse when you're at home listening to it. Then when you're here, it doesn't seem as much of an issue like people are
just getting on their daily lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARLINGTON: And what people told us over and over again is that they've heard the warnings, but the warnings are for pregnant women or women who
are thinking about getting pregnant. So if they don't fall into that category, they didn't see why they should cancel their trips. They're
here.
The two young women from London that we spoke to said they'd brought tons of repellant and they are putting it on liberally every time they go
out, but that's the only measure they're taking.
I can't say the same for authorities who really have stepped up really stepped up the precautionary measures. Not only fumigating to kill
the adult mosquitos, but I think just going on the air waves, day after day, the radio, the TV, reminding people that the best way to tackle this
virus is to kill the mosquito that spreads it.
And so they want people to just get rid of that standing water in their homes, whether it's in the shower drain or under the pot of plants so
that they can't breed.
[15:35:00]And of course, we keep hearing maybe it's sexually transmitted. Now they found it in the saliva. Now they found it in urine, but what
Brazilians know is that the massive forum of transmission is still that mosquito -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, Shasta Darlington in Rio, thanks very much from Rio.
There's a new national poll out. It shows the Democratic race has tightened following Hillary Clinton's narrow victory over Bernie Sanders in
Iowa. Clinton with 44 percent of the vote to Sanders 42 percent.
It's the new Quinnipiac University poll, but local survey shows Sanders with a strong lead in New Hampshire, which is right next door to
his home state of Vermont. It's not as surprising there.
The New Hampshire primary is in just four days and both the Democrats and the Republicans are hitting are the stump hard, well, except
for Donald Trump, that is. The billionaire Republican cancelled an event today. He said it was due to a snowstorm.
He's in South Carolina today. Apparently he's been traveling home to New York, though, between campaign stops and he says the weather kept
him grounded.
CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, joins me now live from Manchester, New Hampshire, with more. Let's talk, Ron, first of all about
yesterday's debate.
I want to run a bit of sound, Sanders pushing Clinton hard on the establishment label, let's listen for a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Secretary Clinton does represent the establishment. I represent, I hope, ordinary
Americans, and by the way, who are not all that enamored with the establishment.
CLINTON: Senator Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me, a woman running to be the first woman president as exemplifying the
establishment. And I've got to tell you that it is -- it is really quite, it's really quite amusing to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So Ron, the word establishment, you want to get away from that word like a house on fire. Everybody wants to be seen as the maverick.
Who won that conversation, that debate?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think Sanders has a better argument. Good to talk to you again, Hala. Look, you know, Hillary
Clinton, obviously, is a historical figure, potentially the first woman nominee and the first woman president.
But if you look at the alignment of forces in the race, there's no question who the Democratic establishment is lined up behind. Democrats
really didn't expect this to be a serious race.
What we've gotten is a much more intense race and certainly Hillary Clinton expected, and certainly any of the pundits expected, and probably
even more than Bernie Sanders expected.
He still has some big hurdles to go, but he has made this much more competitive than I think anyone could imagine a few months ago.
GORANI: But I was quoting this Quinnipiac poll showing that nationally, Sanders and Clinton are only two points apart, but also interestingly that
11 percent say they are undecided.
And you know, just a few weeks ago, experts said, you know, of course, he's going to win New Hampshire, but beyond that Clinton has such
an advantage, there's absolutely no way he can get close. Is anybody changing their mind on this now?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think, first of all, that's just one poll. I think we're going to have to see confirmation of that trend because that is much,
much closer than anything we've seen. But look, the basic challenge for Bernie Sanders is expanding beyond the coalition that has gotten him this
far.
Iowa and New Hampshire are both all-white states, virtually all- white states where you have a large presence of independents. And Hala, even in his strong showing in Iowa, lost minority voters by about 25
percent. And he also lost self-identified Democrats by almost 20 percent.
He relied heavily on votes from independents. That formula will work in New Hampshire and it will work in some other states on the board,
like Washington, Connecticut, Vermont, Minnesota, maybe Colorado.
But it's not going to work in Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, California, all the big states with a large cash of
delegates.
So the big hurtle that we have to see whether Bernie Sanders can get over we're not going to learn about in New Hampshire. We are going to see
it in South Carolina and Nevada and then on to Super Tuesday.
Whether he can break in the minority voters who are such a big part of that Democratic coalition.
GORANI: Why is he weak with minority voters because he's doing very well with young voters? What's his problem there?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. And by the way, and that really, you know, it's good you highlight both things. Look, for minority voters, he simply has no
presence and he is not an easy cultural fit.
I mean, he is kind of a rumple, professorial, 74-year-old Brooklyn Democratic socialist, who, you know, historically candidates like that have
appealed most to young people and white liberals.
I have found in my 30 years (inaudible) American politics, minority voters tend to be very pragmatic. They have very immediate needs often in
their communities and in their lives, and a candidate like Bernie Sanders can seem kind of abstract.
Now having said that, I think the biggest single remaining question in this race is does his generational gap advantage, his advantage with
young people, does that extend minority communities? If it does, we could have a much more competitive race than anybody expects.
GORANI: And let's talk a little bit about Republicans now. Rubio is polling second in New Hampshire. Rubio did better in Iowa than we thought.
[15:40:07]He's second in New Hampshire. Clearly, he's supported by the Republican that word again, establishment there over the two others.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
GORANI: So, I mean, what's the expectation here for Marco Rubio?
BROWNSTEIN: So, you know, Marco Rubio's kind of on a trajectory like Gary Hart in 1984, parlaying a strong Iowa finish into a big New Hampshire
showing.
We don't know if Rubio is going to get quite as much propulsion (inaudible) to overtake Trump, but what's being set up here is the
possibility of something that Republicans have never seen in the modern primary era.
And that is a sustained three-way race between three viable candidates. Almost always down to two, very quickly, but right now, you
have Ted Cruz consolidating Evangelical Christians, and then the voters who are not Evangelical Christians dividing.
The blue collar side going towards Donald Trump and Marco Rubio making big gains on the white collar side. You can see those three power
bases, those three demographic foundations taking all of those candidates potentially quite away through the primary schedule.
GORANI: And Donald Trump promised more of a ground game in New Hampshire, he's now saying, there's bad weather, I can't make my planned event in New
Hampshire. He's in South Carolina now. I mean, that's going to -- I mean, you know -- I would think that that's not going to help him.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. You know, after Iowa, there are people on the American political system humming like Bogart in Casablanca, the fundamental things
apply.
I mean, Donald Trump looked like a candidate immune to all of the normal rules of politics, in a caucus state, you have to organize, and it
wasn't a great idea to kind of diss the state by walking away from the last debate.
They are now frantically trying to catch up here in New Hampshire where it's less important to the organization because more people vote it's
a primary and again going down the line, his appeal could survive a lack of organization, some of the bigger states.
But they are struggling to build an infrastructure below the celebrity, which is something they really haven't done enough up to this
point.
GORANI: All right, Ron Brownstein, great talking to you. Thanks very much for your analysis here on CNN. We appreciate it very much. Have a great
weekend.
Refugees fleeing violence, migrants seeking opportunity, they are flooding Europe in unprecedented numbers, but not everyone who makes it
here is happy.
Atika Shubert introduces us to people from Iraq who want to go back home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Starting at about 9:00 a.m. every morning, a cue forms in front of Berlin's
Iraq embassy. A line of refugees who have given up on their dreams of Germany and now want to go home.
It cost $6,000 for this man to get on a crowded smugglers boat from Turkey to Greece and through the Balkans. Most of the Iraqis here want go
back, 90 percent, he told us. Here, there is only bread and cheese.
We can't live like this. I would tell people, don't come. You'll regret it. Rain or shine, there is always a much longer wait at Berlin's
social services.
Some are here to register their asylum applications, others have medical claims or unemployment benefits to process. Some refugee
applications take just a month to clear, but many can take a year or more.
A wait so long that some refugees are now suing the German government. And now, Germany has ruled that refugees may have to wait two
years before their families can join them.
Mind numbing bureaucracy, cold winter, strange food, a language and customs that many here find hard to understand. For an increasing number
of Iraqis, heading back to their war-torn home is the better option.
(on camera): Every week, there is now a direct flight from Berlin Airport on to Erbil and Baghdad. According to Iraqi Airways, they say some
flights as many as 30 percent of the passengers are refugees who to want go home.
(voice-over): The mood is good at Iraqi Airways check-in, many of those in line are Kurdish, showing off their temporary passports currently
issued by the Iraqi embassy.
I'm going back to my family this man tells us, it's a surprise, I didn't tell them. I'm just going to knock on the door, and then they will
know I'm home.
Since September, Iraqi Airways had at least 100 refugees flying home every week and that number is rising. A ticket costs about $250, that's a
bargain compared to the $9,000 this man spent to be smuggled into Germany.
Today, he leaves bitterly disappointed. Honestly, it's a joke, he tells us. We heard it would be wonderful here, but it wasn't. It's very
crowded and it gets worse as more people come.
The bureaucracy is slow, many applications are not even accepted in the end because too many people are coming in. And that's the reason I'm
leaving, he said.
For some Iraqis, it seems their dream is a one-way ticket back home. Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Really interesting perspective there. Something we're not used to seeing.
[15:45:03]This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Coming up, suffering from a disease he didn't even know he had likely given to him by a job he loved.
CNN meets the family of a former NFL player, who died with a serious brain disease that's causing so much controversy. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: It's Super Bowl weekend in the United States. It's known for record TV viewership, lots of money involved with ads and the rest of it.
But away from the big numbers, there's a very grim statistic hanging over this sport, the dozens of former players who've been found to have a
degenerative brain disease. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has one family's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The night before he passed, he was watching Monday night football, and he had his UCLA slippers under his bed. He loved the
game and he was proud of what he did.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even to the very end of his life, former Minnesota Vikings linebacker, Fred McNeill
loved football.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a monster. He was a monster indeed, all over the field, first one to the ball.
GUPTA: Despite how much of his life football later took from him.
TIA MCNEILL, FRED MCNEILL'S WIFE: Fred did everything, he played ball, went to law school, prepared for life after football. We had the kids.
You know, it was a good life.
GUPTA: McNeill played in two Super Bowls, it was really no ordinary player. His sons say no ordinary man.
FRED JR. MCNEILL, FRED MCNEILL'S SON: He was the best friend of ours. Our first best friend. He was Superman.
TIA MCNEILL: And then it changed.
GUPTA: It changed. CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy entered their lives. Of course, at the time, they had no idea what was happening.
GAVIN MCNEIL, FRED MCNEIL'S SON: I remember we were playing basketball, me and him. We kind of got into an argument while playing and he started
getting aggressive with me.
FRED JR. MCNEIL: There was maybe two moments where he lost it and punched holes in the walls. It was like, wow.
GUPTA: CTE can hit hard and fast. McNeill, just in his 40s, lost his job as a lawyer, filed for bankruptcy, lost the home.
GAVIN MCNEILL: I had a conversation with my mom and I was like, I think something is going on. He needs to go see a doctor or therapist,
something, to figure out what it is.
GUPTA: "It" is something I noticed myself when I first met Fred back in 2010.
(on camera): Just talking I can tell that it's a little bit difficult for him. Do you remember my name?
FRED MCNEILL, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Sanjay.
GUPTA: You got it.
FRED MCNEILL: Right. Good.
GUPTA: Rage, memory loss, depression. Did your father have all three of those?
FRED JR. MCNEILL: Definitely, definitely, yes. That was another point of worry for us because there was times when he would talk about ending it and
we were like no way. This is not -- this is not our dad.
[15:50:06]GUPTA (voice-over): But it was their dad. A different dad and it was easy to be angry with him. After all, they didn't know he had CTE.
It couldn't be diagnosed until after his death.
(on camera): You also made the decision to have Fred's brain donated after he passed away.
TIA MCNEILL: Well, I had made the decision early on but yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing I want to show you is this.
GUPTA (voice-over): And now for the first time she is seeing her husband's brain and exactly what football did to it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The blotches you are seeing is a protein we see in CTE.
GUPTA: Dr. Bennett Omalu recently made famous when Will Smith portrayed him in the movie "Concussion." You can see how CTE ravaged McNeill's
brain. But perhaps even more remarkable, Dr. Omalu tells us he already knew Fred McNeill had CTE before he died. How? Using a PET scan
technology that he helped develop and partly owns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see the red areas is identifying the (inaudible) in his brain.
GUPTA: If it is true, Fred McNeill would be the first person in the world to have his CTE diagnosed while still alive and then confirmed with an
autopsy after his death.
TIA MCNEILL: It explains a lot because I am seeing a lot of that -- the tau protein.
GUPTA: But it is early, too early. Just 14 NFL players, including Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, have been examined using this technology. Only
McNeill's diagnosis has been confirmed. The question is will the tests be able to distinguish CTE from other dementias, like Alzheimer's.
TIA MCNEILL: Fred played in the first ten years of the league, so this is what Super Bowl 50 is coming, OK. So I know there's a huge number of
players and families between, you know, that point and now when Fred first started playing that are going to be experiencing this. And it's important
to have information for them to get help and support.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back with more on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Coldplay are going to be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, but on another continent they've caused controversy. Mallika Kapur
explains why people in India, some at least, are up in arms.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the video that's taking the internet by storm, 21 million hits on YouTube within the first
four days and number one on iTunes India.
Thank you to the people of India for making us feel so welcome, tweeted British band, Coldplay, but in India, where the video was filmed,
some people are showing it less love.
MIHIR JOSHI, MUSICIAN: Gardening, kids dressed as guards, check, colors bright, bright colors, check. Slums, check.
KAPUR: Like the Mumbai-based musician, Mihir Joshi, many people in India say the video reinforces age-old stereotypes and doesn't show India as it
is today. Tried to count the India cliches after the first 30 seconds says this tweet.
JOSHI: When you're as big as Coldplay, you will have a little responsibility towards showing something, which is relatively accurate.
KAPUR: I asked popular Bollywood star Sonami Kapoor, who appears in the video, what she thinks of the controversy.
SONAMI KAPOOR, ACTOR: Some people are loving it, and some people aren't, and when it comes to art, any discussion is good discussion.
[15:55:03]We use westernization in our films and our music videos, and everything, and you know, we don't -- nobody speaks about us offending
other people's sensibilities. But the ushering -- showing a part of India which exists.
KAPUR (on camera): This is a village by Coldplay shot most of its music video. And while there's a raging debate and discussion about it in other
parts of India, over here, nobody seems to care. Nobody even seems to know what Coldplay is. No, never heard of it says this street vendor.
(voice-over): The Coldplay, a little bit of controversy is translating into a lot of clicks in one of the world's fastest growing
online markets. Mallika Kapur, CNN, Mumbai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: It was a shining star, and the late Maurice White saying the same to all the fans was his band Earth, Wind, and Fire.
(VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: You cannot, not dance. It's impossible. He also lent his voice to the love song "September." White has passed away at the age of 74.
I'm Hala Gorani. Have a great weekend. I'll see you Monday. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
