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Hala Gorani Tonight
Major Sell-Off As Volatile Week Continues; Worries About Bond Market Send Dow Into Deep Slide; Top Aide Resigns After Domestic Abuse Allegations; North Korean Athletes Welcomed At Games; Syria: Deadly U.S. Airstrikes Are A War Crime; U.K. Won't Intervene As Bermuda Repeals Same- Sex Marriage; Aired 3-4p ET
Aired February 08, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[15:00:20]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, the Dow shedding more points. We'll look at what sparked another wave of selling on Wall Street.
Also, ahead, on the eve of South Korea's Winter Olympics, North Korea held a massive military parade to show off its weapons.
And this hour, British lawmakers are in Washington trying to pressure big tech to crack down on fake news. Can it work?
Now let's talk about the Dow because just a few hours ago we were looking at the numbers and thinking this is going to have to be the story we lead
with once again. Investors clearly very much on edge. It's been very volatile.
We're looking at a Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 600 points, 24,280 and change. Stocks once again in a deep slide. We begin on Wall
Street. The Dow is taking a beating. It is down significantly.
We have Claire Sebastian is at the New York Stock Exchange and my colleague, Richard Quest, who is here with us in the studio in London.
Claire, quick check in with you first. What are traders telling you is going on today?
CLAIRE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's really all about the bond in the market today, Hala. The 10-year treasury were up and nearly a four-
year high earlier today, 2.88 is that magic number that is really the highest that we've seen in recent days.
And that is leading to fears that people could pull out of stocks and into bond in search of those yields. It's also leading to fears about inflation
and that could lead the feds to react by raising interest rates faster than expected.
And of course, interest rates can eat into corporate profits. So that's what you have as (inaudible) today. There was another bit of news that
could potentially impact it and that was that weekly jobless 45-year low today.
Another sign of strength in the U.S. economy again leading to those fears of inflation and interest rates are not quite at the lows of the session
today, Hala, that was about 680, but we are not far off. Of course, the last hour of trading is always the most volatile.
GORANI: Certainly. Claire Sebastian, thanks very much. Richard Quest here in the studio. We are in correction territory?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Just about. I mean, this is about 8 percent, 8.3 percent or so. This is a correction. Whether
it's 7 or 9 or 11 or 12. A correction is well underway. I am not surprised by today.
GORANI: No. Nor should you be.
QUEST: When you and I spoke earlier in the week, I said this is going to continue. So, the fact that we went up 500 points earlier in the week,
some called (inaudible) bounce. The market is looking for direction and reason. Having had this very sharp runoff, now it needs to know what comes
next. And until there's some direction, either based on economics, corporate earnings, then thing will just keep going seesawing backwards and
forwards.
GORANI: So, what kind of direction? We need know what's going to happen with interest rates, but we know they will go up.
QUEST: The bond went to 2.8 percent. Rates go up quite quickly once they start moving. Look for 3 percent, but this is not a catastrophe.
GORANI: No, on the contrary.
QUEST: Exactly.
GORANI: We agree.
QUEST: For a second.
GORANI: You need a healthy sort of letting the air out of a big, big balloon here.
QUEST: The best description I heard was this is a safe -- this is a safe reaction in an unsafe way. In other words, the market needed to come down,
but the fact it's come down with such brutality is very disconcerting.
GORANI: So, what should viewers and investors be looking out for now?
QUEST: Economic news. Thi is going to be -- first of all, the correction will blow itself out. Markets have --
GORANI: Is it a buying opportunity?
QUEST: Look, markets are like pendulums. They go up very, very sharply and then once they've gone up like that, they go right way down. A shorter
period of time it finds an equilibrium around there. Is this a buying opportunity? I would say not just yet, but no question about it. If you
believe that the U.S. economy is strong or steady then, yes, this is a buying opportunity. Once you are pretty certain that the worst is over.
GORANI: Especially if you don't need money quickly after you've put it in the market. You need to wait a while. Thank you very much. Richard, we
will see you at the top of the hour, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS." It's good to have you here in the studio with us.
Now the White House is on the defensive again today over some disturbing allegations of abuse about what the White House knew and when about a top
aide to President Donald Trump that has stepped down.
[15:05:09] After allegations surfaced that he had physically and emotionally abused both of his ex-wives. Staff Secretary Rob Porter is
denying the claims, calling them vile. He resigned anyway.
Sources tell CNN senior administration aides including Chief of Staff John Kelly knew for months about these allegations that he'd beaten his wives.
But instead of taking action, they helped his star rise at the White House.
Let's get an update from Washington. White House reporter, Stephen Collinson joins me now live. So, they have quite a bit of explaining to do
about this Rob Porter situation?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. We are hoping to get some answers when the White House gives its press briefing within
this hour. I mean, the big question that's being asked, Hala, is why if the chief of staff, John Kelly, knew about these allegations for months, he
didn't act to do something about it.
It doesn't seem compatible with either the job that the official concerned, Rob Porter, was being the president, or the idea that the White House is
supposed to be the epitome of morality in many ways. That's one aspect of the presidency.
So, it seems very curious that the White House believed that this wasn't going to come out sooner or later, given that Mr. Porter's ex-wives had
spoken about these allegations to the FBI when the FBI was working on his security clearance.
So, you know, Kelly was brought into the White House last July to try to restore some sense of calm after chaotic months at the beginning of the
Trump administration. He seems to have exacerbated that sense of mayhem in the White House by not acting more quickly to address these allegations.
GORANI: The fact is that Rob Porter, because of the allegations, did not have a security clearance?
COLLINSON: He had an interim security clearance, but he was still waiting about a year now for his permanent security clearance. That's important
because in his job as staff secretary he was responsible for the flow of paper across the president's desk, including some of the executive orders
that the president was signing, presumably classified information.
So, this was someone who is really in the inner, inner circle. His star is actually rising. He has becoming a right-hand man to John Kelly over the
last few months. And he was being promoted as an even more senior White House official than his title would suggest.
So, this is clearly a blow. His departure just organizationally to the White House, which is very short on experience and expertise, a path in the
massive political scandal that it erupted around his departure.
GORANI: So, if Rob Porter is saying these accusations are vile and he's denying the fact that he beat his two ex-wives, why is he resigning? And
what does the picture that came out of one of his ex-wives with a blackeye have played a role?
COLLINSON: Yes. I mean, it's just from a public relations standpoint, it's clearly not possible for him to carry on his job with these
allegations swirling around the White House and casting the White House and the president himself in a very bad light.
Notwithstanding the fact that he has denied these allegations. It was interesting in a first statement that was issued on Wednesday, John Kelly
was standing behind Rob Porter. That statement was actually written partly by Hope Hicks, who's the president's communications director, who has been
in a romantic relationship with Porter.
Later in the day when that emerged, Kelly came out with a much stronger statement, saying that the domestic abuse was not acceptable in any
context, but still standing behind his strong support of Porter's character. It's clear that Kelly didn't want Porter to leave the White
House notwithstanding the fact that he took matters into his own hands and left.
GORANI: All right. Stephen Collinson, thanks very much. We'll keep an eye on that story.
That was rather symphonic. Just ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics, we are seeing two very different scenes from the two sides of the
Korean border. The North on the one hand, flaunted its military hardware in a big parade, sending a message to the U.S. and the rest of the world
that its weapons are here to stay.
The South meantime is welcoming athletes from around the globe, including from North Korea. Of Friday, we'll see athletes from the North and the
South march together under the same flag.
[15:10:03] Kicking off what's nicknamed the peace games. On Saturday, South Korea's president plans to meet with the sister of North Korea's
leader, Kim Jong-un. Things could be more frosty between delegates from Pyongyang and the U.S., but -- are we likely to see some sort of the sports
diplomacy produce results?
CNN's Paula Newton is with us from Seoul. What are we hearing about potentially how this could lead to some sort of detente?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we are hearing, no, absolutely not. Starting first with the North Korean side saying we never
begged anyone for talks. We are here for the games. They will be sitting down with Moon Jay-in at the blue house. They should be having a meeting
on Saturday.
We are getting a confirmation on that location soon. But extraordinary when you think about it, Hala. I mean, these are two countries that
effectively are still at war. Yes, there is a little bit of sporting detente.
The problem is the United States is not so sure. It was so incredible today just to watch the -- actually it was yesterday. It's just after 5:00
a.m. here in the morning. Just to see Vice President Mike Pence landing here, going for his meeting with Moon Jay-in at the same time North Korean
state TV replaying its edited version of its military parade that had gone that morning.
A military parade that showed off four Wahsong (ph) intercontinental ballistic missiles, those missiles that are not capable apparently of
hitting the United States. Look, South Korea has wanted this to be the peace games considering how it could have gone, how it looks it was going
to go in December with all the tension, they are quite happy.
At the same time, the United States, you know, Mike Pence says that at every turn, he will remind everyone that North Korea is a prison state.
That will likely happen as well as the opening ceremonies. Mike Pence will be there along with that North Korean delegation and Kim Jong-un's younger
sister.
GORANI: All right. So, obviously no expected interaction there, but what other potential outcome could this have if -- I know there's tough talking
coming from North Korea and that we're hearing what we're hearing from Mike Pence, the U.S. vice president. Is there a possibility that we could see
something positive come out of this?
NEWTON: Well, I think already from the South Korean side, they're sitting down with the North Korean delegation. As symbolic as that is, they
already see that as an improvement. The problem here, Hala, is how you mend the gulf.
You know, Mike Pence didn't go to Japan before he came here by coincidence. He wants North Korea to know you cannot separate South Korea, Japan and the
United States. We are resolute. We not let you have your nuclear weapons.
And the problem is when we start to talk about progress, what is progress? Because right now the United States says we're not moving from that red
line. And North Korea saying, no, we're a nuclear state now and we will remain one.
The key thing is what it's going to look like after the Olympics and if they're just going to go back to the same tensions. Speaking to both
sides, North Korea and the United States, all indications are that the posture will remain the same.
GORANI: Paula Newton, thanks very much. It's very early in the morning for you. Thanks for joining us. It's 13 minutes past 5 a.m. in Seoul.
Still to come tonight, regime strikes are still relentless in parts of Syria. We'll have the latest violence including a report from inside the
country.
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GORANI: I want to turn to Syria now, where in many areas not only is the war not winding down, it's getting more horrific. For instance, in rebel
held Eastern Gutah, activists say more than 200 men, women, and children have been killed in bombardments by the regime this week alone.
This video is said to have been taken by the volunteer White Helmets. They're the volunteer force that rescues people following strikes. The
U.S. is joining calls for a month-long ceasefire to get aid to the region.
We've heard those calls before though. Meantime, the Syrian government says American air strikes in Eastern Syria are a war crime. U.S. officials
say those very airstrikes killed about 100 pro-regime fighters overnight.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Northern Syria and gives us this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A complex and at times troubling mission for U.S. special operations forces, whose base
we're standing on here in Northern Syria, particularly last night in the area of Eastern Syria.
According to a coalition statement about 500 pro-regime forces with a substantial amount of military armor and tanks moved toward an oil field
there that always had significant value for the regime.
They moved towards a base where there are American special forces and the Syrian Kurds, they've been assisting in the fight against ISIS. That base
was shelled. The forces moving towards it never got closer than about 3 kilometers as far as we understand.
Those forces, the Syrian pro-regime forces were attacked by a substantial amount of U.S. airpower. We understand a C-130 gunship was in fact
deployed. That's a lot of fire power, perhaps contributing to the American claim of 100 being killed in that particular instance.
Now there's been condemnation of this attack from the Syrian regime, called an act of aggression echoed by the Russian lawmakers. But a curious
statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense who say -- actually the group who moved into this area towards the U.S. and Syrian Kurdish base.
Remember, this was 8 kilometers inside, an area that had long been controlled by the Syrian Kurds assisted by the United States. Those pro
regime forces were in fact a militia. They weren't actually aligned to the government in some way.
The Russian Ministry of Defense says they were chasing down mortar fire being fired towards them in populated areas by ISIS. As a result of them
straying into this area, this American counterattack subsequently occurred.
That itself a confusing statement perhaps designed to distance the Russian state from this act. It clearly wasn't successful, and many are asking
exactly what it was that prompted 500 military elements close to the Syrian regime to head out into the desert that they must have known was being
controlled by the United States and its allies.
The issue too according to Syrian Kurds was that when this fighting began, when they saw these pro-regime forces moving towards them, they rang the
coordination center that gets messages to the Russians who are well known to be active in that particular area.
According to Syrian Kurdish commander here, the Russians denied that there was any fighting going on, wanted nothing to do it, but when that fighting
began to slow down only at dawn this morning, there was still small arms fire for that length of time.
They got a phone too emanating from the Russian side which, in fact, said can people go forward now and collect the bodies of those who have been
killed. A strange turn of events where at one moment the Russians appear, according to this Syrian Kurdish commander, to not know what happened but
then later on be involved in asking for the bodies of the killed to be collected.
No American soldiers killed or wounded. One Syrian Kurd wounded, as we understand, but a staggering death toll for those forces set to be aligned
to the Syrian regime and the troubling moment too where the United States, who say they're constantly trying to focus here on the mission against
ISIS.
Now found themselves at one-point repelling very brutally, very bloodedly (inaudible) that has potentially Russian advisors in its mix around
somewhere, but certainly in this instance was loyal to the Syrian regime and moving towards an oil field they've always wanted.
The scrabble for territory here in the post-ISIS game complex and messy and last night very bloody indeed, potentially a troubling new chapter here for
these U.S. special forces, who have been here a long time assisting Kurds to fight ISIS, but now finds the end game of that increasingly complex
every day. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, at a U.S. special forces base in Northern Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:20:07] GORANI: Nick Paton Walsh there. All right. Now let's make a very sharp right turn to a place we don't hear from very often, the Island
of Bermuda. A decision there has caused a great deal of controversy and has the government thousands of miles away defending itself. Here's why.
Bermuda has repealed same-sex marriage which was introduced and made legal there just last year. The island is a British overseas territory. The
legislation to repeal was signed into law by the island's governor, a British diplomat.
That has led to questions to the British government itself. They technically have the power to intervene, but say they won't as the
situation was, quote, "Not exceptional enough to intervene."
I want to go live to Bermuda. Dexter Smith is the editor of "The Royal Gazette." Thanks for being with us. Why was this law repealed? Why was
the ability for gay couples to marry repealed in Bermuda?
DEXTER SMITH, EDITOR, "ROYAL GAZETTE": Good afternoon. Essentially the parliament led by the Progressive Liberal Party, they brought a domestic
partnership act to parliament and that was passed. Those same sex couples who wanted to marry to be given every right that was available at present
to heterosexual couples save for the name of marriage.
GORANI: But why, why? I mean, it was signed into law, gay couple got married for eight months. Why repeal it?
SMITH: What they wanted to do -- and obviously I'm not a politician, and we have our different views here on island. I mean, it has caused a bit of
a stink. This was one of the things that was brought up. We had the election in July of last year. It was part of the platform of then the
opposition, the Progressive Labor Party, who said that they will look to repeal this and --
GORANI: So, it's public opinion driven?
SMITH: To some extent. I mean, we did have a referendum in June of 2016. It was a non-binding referendum. It was also a referendum that officially
did not have a result. But of those who did vote, they voted against same- sex marriage and also against civil unions.
Significantly more than half of the voting electorate did not vote. I mean, I think it can be generally said that the political parties in
Bermuda, they both made a right mess of this.
Because I have no doubt that had the Domestic Partnerships Act 2017 been brought say a year ago today at the (inaudible) royal ascent a year ago
today, then the minister who brought this bill to the House would have been seen as a bit of a hero in the gay community. But it's the timing thing.
You have a situation where as many as 11 same sex couples had been married either in Bermuda or on Bermuda registered cruise ships. Then as a result
of this act, that can no longer happen. You know, they can enter into a domestic partnerhip, but they can't marry.
GORANI: OK. Well, that's a huge disappointment for them. Gay rights activists think this is a big step backward. The British Foreign Office
actually had a reaction now. We know that the U.K. government will not intervene, but the foreign office had this to say.
The governor of Bermuda took extensive advice before making a decision on whether to grant assent to the domestic partnership bill, which was
democratically passed by the parliament of Bermuda. The U.K. regrets that Bermuda has chosen this course, but we also respect and believe in their
rights to self-government.
So, there you have it. the U.K. is saying we don't agree, but -- you know, these are your own affairs.
SMITH: I mean, I think what is essential to add is that, I mean, once the same-sex couple who wanted to have their marriage (inaudible) posted in the
local registrar general, they took this case to the Supreme Court.
[15:25:10] And they won that right to have their (inaudible) posted. That's what paved the way for the first same-sex marriage. But still in
Bermuda law, same-sex couples who were married in that way after that May 6th, 2017, ruling did not have the benefits that heterosexual couples have.
Domestic partnership brings in those benefits and also if I'm not mistaken, it fulfills one of the obligation that the Bermuda government (inaudible)
fulfilled in the eyes of the European Court of Human Rights (inaudible) and provisions made.
GORANI: Right. OK. Well, thanks so much for joining us on this story. Dexter Smith, the editor of "The Royal Gazette." Really appreciate your
time this evening. Thanks for being with us.
Still to come tonight, right now, British lawmakers are in America pushing big tech to crack down on fake news. We'll have that.
Plus, an Olympic size controversy over of all things, goody bags. We'll tell you some athletes were up in arms over cellphones.
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GORANI: Let's return to our top story. A quick check on the markets. We were talking with Richard Quest about the Dow Jones. It's down once again
very significantly, 2.30 percent lower losing almost 600 points.
It is a little bit off the session lows as you can see from the graphic above that set of numbers, but it is still a bad day for anyone who owns
stocks on Wall Street. We'll have much more at the hour on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" on what's happening with the markets.
Executives from some of the biggest media and tech companies on the planet are in Washington right now. I'm talking about Google, YouTube, Twitter
and Facebook. They're there to answer questions not from American lawmakers, but from MPs from the U.K.
British politicians in America want answers on the role that fake news may have played in the U.K.'s political system and also in that Brexit
referendum that had such a shocking result.
A YouTube executive said there was no evidence of Russian interference in that vote from YouTube's perspective. CNN International's executive vice
president and managing director was also at the hearing. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY MADDOX, EXECUTIVE VP AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Probably the greatest single concern I would have with all the big pluses
that have been identified with the increase in the availability of news and the sources of news and the variety of news is that it has enabled people
to create their own little media bubble in which they only read to get materials which is consistent with their beliefs. And that encourages fake
news, frankly, because within that sphere anything that's consistent with we don't like this guy, so I've read this thing or I've heard this terrible
thing or that terrible thing and it all gets thrown in there. My concern is that you don't get to read provocative things. You don't get to read
things you want to throw across the room because you disagree with them, but you need to be exposed to other things other than what you and all your
friends think.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So as I mentioned, to tell you this matter had CNN International now. This is something we've talked a lot
about with Facebook and Twitter. You end up seeing news that comforts you in your opinions that have already been set. And you're very, very rarely
exposed or certainly a lot less than you used to be to other points of view. And then there are the political leaders who talk about fake news
who have just passed the shadow of doubt on all sources of legitimate mainstream information as being fake.
Hadas Gold is live for us there at these hearings in Washington with more. So tech companies, Hadas, are saying what about their platforms being used,
potentially to spread misinformation?
HADAS GOLD, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICS, MEDIA AND GLOBAL BUSINESS REPORTER: Well, Hala, as you said, YouTube said that they did not see any evidence of
any sort of Russian-backed accounts buying ads around Brexit. But Twitter actually did say that they found evidence that kremlin-associated internet
research agency did actually have a few accounts about 49 accounts who they said were tweeting about the Brexit referendum in 2016. That doesn't sound
like a very big number, but you have to member that before, Twitter said that they didn't see any evidence of any sort of meddling.
We spoke with various members of parliament. They said that they just think that there is more out there and that they are unsatisfied really
with how these various companies are responding to their requests for information about possible Russian meddling and that they want more.
Facebook said that they are looking into more possibilities of Russian meddling and they're going to be submitting a report to the committee at
the end of February. But it was very clear so far from this hearing that's still ongoing behind me, that that's not enough for these members of
parliament and they're going to be keep pushing them.
GORANI: Hadas Gold, thanks very much there at those hearings at George Washington University in Washington. Well, one of the main players in
these hearings is a Conservative member of parliament in the U.K. Damian Collins. You saw him asking questions there, some of the executives a
little bit earlier in the day. He's also the chair of the U.K. digital, culture, media and sport committee for the British government. So he is
the one asking the questions. So I asked him what information he learned from the tech companies so far today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMIAN COLLINS, U.K. CONSERVATIVE PARTY POLITICIAN: I think we're still seeking information. YouTube have confirmed today that they will look for
evidence of Russian-backed channel and films on their platform. They've supplied similar to this at the U.S. Senate and they have agreed today they
would look for that and give that to us. Facebook have confirmed that the request we made to them that they conduct proper investigation of any
Russian activity on their platforms during the Brexit referendum, that they will complete that by the end of this month and give that to us. But we
have a small amount of information from Twitter that was new today identifying a rather small number of accounts that was directly linked to
the internet research agency. But I think looking at independent work that's already been done by academics, the extent of the activity, I think
is where to be shown to be far greater than Twitter than it was today.
GORANI: Right. And YouTube as well are saying they don't believe it to be significant. Why do you think that there's a disconnect between what we're
hearing sometimes from intelligence sources and then from these tech companies?
COLLINS: Well, the question is, are they really looking? So we made the request to YouTube today. We'll see what we get back. But I think what
was clear from the tech companies, they didn't really believe they have a responsibility to be seeking out this sort of content and information. It
has brought to their attention that they might look for it, but they've been reluctant to actually go out and look for themselves. And I think
there's a number of things throughout all hearings today which is all the tech companies really investing enough in identifying sources of bad
content and acting against it. They recognize as a social harm on what they're doing more and they reinvest relatively small something like tiny
percent to their revenues into thinking to deal with these problems.
GORANI: But do you believe there was interference in the general election and the Brexit referendum?
[15:35:48] COLLINS: Well, with the Brexit referendum, we've already seen smaller evidence of Russian-backed activity certainly on Twitter. We're
waiting to see what Facebook and YouTube come back to the committee with the results of their investigation. So we will have a clear review then.
The inquiry today is not just about Russian activity and the Brexit referendum. But clearly, I think people in the U.K. have a right to know
and we had a very interesting meeting yesterday with Senator Mark Warner and Senator Richard Burr in the Senate to discuss the work of their
committee and the work they've done to see this information. But I think we'd all agree that getting this information out of the tech companies is a
somewhat slow and frustrating process.
GORANI: And lastly, if you do find that there was interference that some of these platforms were used to propagate an spread "fake news" stories,
then what?
COLLINS: Well, firstly, we have to look at the extent of it and consider that what impact it might have on. Did it alter people's voting
intentions? But there's other questions as well which is to what extent should there now be a liability in law for not acting against this sort bad
content. And do we actually need to come up with a new definition for what social media companies are that is not a pure publisher? The platform has
no real responsibility for how you use that site. But I think we do know how to consider what the legal status of tech companies like these are and
the responsibility they have to act against bad content that their users block it up.
GORANI: I just wonder how possible it is to police this. It seems like an impossible task in today's internet world.
COLLINS: Well, that's why I think the tech companies are best place to police it themselves. But the question is, why aren't they investing more
on that one and they're doing more than they're doing already? What do they seem reluctant to investigate further? Maybe that's the lack of the
legal imperative to do so if it was illegal framework around it where there was a clear liability for failing to act when it was clear that was clear
evidence of bad content, then I think they will be investing a lot more themselves to sort these problems out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Damian Collins is a British MP there who is chairing these hearings looking into whether or not interference played a role on some of
the results of very important elections in this country over the last several years, including the Brexit referendum.
Let's turn back to the Olympics now. It's the last chance for some Russian athletes to get to compete in Pyeongchang. The court of arbitration for
sports is expected to decide on Friday if the International Olympic Committee must invite them to the game. In a ruling a few days ago, the
court lifted a lifetime ban from several Russian athletes, but the IOC declined to include them. The IOC ban was issued over allegations of
state-sponsored doping.
So the Olympics like a lot of big event hand out fancy swag bags, gifts just for being here. Except with these Olympics, not everyone got the same
gift. And that got one country, Iran, pretty angry. CNN's Erin McLaughlin tells us what it's all about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even before the Olympic opening ceremony, the first dual was well underway. South Korean officials
versus their Iranian counterparts. The dispute, strangely, over Samsung cell phones. According to Iranian state media, Iranian athletes arriving
in Pyeongchang were told that, due to international sanctions, they would not receive the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Part of the swag bag full of
goodies gifted to athletes around the world. Iranian officials were pretty upset. The foreign ministry labeled the decision unethical and summoned
South Korea's ambassador. Samsung does not apologize for its unwise action. This will greatly affect Samsung's trade relations with the
Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran's foreign minister reportedly threatened to ditch his Samsung 8 if the decision was not reversed. People were equally
upset in Tehran.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): In my opinion, sports and politics should not mix. They're unrelated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the moment when I heard about this decision made by a South Korea Olympic committee, I was shocked because I have a Samsung too
and I think it's kind of embarrassing and insulting to Iranian people.
MCLAUGHLIN: By Thursday, a change of heart. Four Iranian athletes were given the $1,100 smartphones. In a statement, an IOC spokesperson said the
IOC will provide mobile phones to all athletes of all countries participating at the Olympic Winter games Pyeongchang 2018. Regarding
Iran, we can confirm that all participants will be able to keep the phones, good news for Iranian athletes and perhaps for Samsung. According to Cafe
Bazaar, some 18 million Iranians use the South Korean phone. Erin McLaughlin, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: We've talked a lot in the last few days about Poland's new law that criminalizes some speech about the Holocaust. Well, today, we want to
put a human face on the story and show you why some people are so upset. These are Holocaust survivors protesting outside the Polish embassy in Tel-
Aviv. They're furious that Poland's law makes it illegal for anyone to suggest that Poland as a state was complicit with Nazi crimes. These
people lived through the Holocaust and they saw things with their very own eyes. Israeli media say the survivors shared stories today, some accusing
Poles of mistreating them, others saying some Poles just stood by and watched as horrific events unfolded.
[15:40:22] Among the signs these protesters carried, one read, poles, we, remember what you did. So you see that there are people that are upset by
this new legislation. But Poland's president says the law protects the historical truth and protects the country's reputation from slander.
Our Atika Shubert is in Poland tonight to look at all sides of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: About an hour and a half from Krakow, Poland stand Auschwitz, a grim reminder of the horrors of
the Holocaust. Nazi Germany built the death camp here, first from prisoning polish political prisoners then to carry out the extermination of
the Jewish people.
Now, Polish lawmakers want to enforce their view of history with a new law that makes it illegal to accuse polish complicity and Nazi crimes
describing Auschwitz inaccurately as a "Polish death camp could be punishable by up to three years in prison or hefty fines."
At one of the oldest remaining synagogues and Warsaw, Rabbi Michael Schudrich, the chief rabbi of Poland has worked for decades to bridge the
Jewish experience of persecution and survival here with the Polish view of history.
MICHAEL SCHUDRICH, CHEF RABBI OF POLAND: It is painful for Poles to hear Polish death camps because they didn't plan Auschwitz, they didn't build
Auschwitz, they didn't run Auschwitz. The first people sent to Auschwitz were Polish intellectuals. And so that's painful. But on the other side,
for Jews to think that we can't speak about, even difficult things where poles killed Jews or where 42 Jews were killed after the war, that we're
going to be limited in saying that, that's very painful to Jews.
SHUBERT: The proposed law has passed through parliament and been signed by the president. But, it is still waiting for approval by Poland's
constitutional court. Both Israel and the U.S. have criticized the legislation, but Poland's government insists the law is needed to set the
historical record straight.
BARTOSZ CICHOCKI, POLAND DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: The text of the law is critical itself. It clearly says academic research, artistic performance
is excluded from the law. And it clearly states that only if you blame Polish state and Polish nation of the crime of Holocaust, you risk to be
punished legally.
SHUBERT: On the streets of Warsaw, the law does have public support, but there are concerns on how it will be enforced.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think it's a good thing, this man told us, the truth needs to be exposed. I think that we are not what
some people think of us, so this law is a good thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We Poles know that there were German camps and they were responsible for the destruction of Jewish Poles
and other nationalities, this woman says. That point of view, I don't have any doubts. How the law is formulated, I don't know. But I think the
world should know what the history is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Well, it's clear to me that these were not polish camps, that's number one, this man says, but to make it a
crime, a punishable act, that seems a bit of an exaggeration.
What the rabbi should fear is that the law will not set the historical record straight at all.
SCHUDRICH: The goal of education has absolutely not been met. The opposite has happened. Although we're hearing many more distortions of
facts now than we heard two weeks ago. So the way the law was written, the way it was presented failed to meet its goal.
SHUBERT: How a country remembers its history is political. For Poland's current government making it the law is one way to enforce its view of
history. Atika Shubert, CNN, Warsaw.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come tonight, as Donald Trump makes big plans for a display of military might on the streets of Washington, others are already
raining on his parade. My take on the issue is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:00]
GORANI: Welcome back. Who doesn't love a parade? Millions flock to Disney World every year to see Mickey Mouse lead the marching band past
Cinderella castle. There's nothing wrong with that. Good luck to Mickey. But when it comes to parading a nation's military hardware to the world, a
case of mine is bigger than yours, it's a different matter. Take today's ominous display of nuclear weapons in North Korea or nuclear-capable
weapons. The images may be colorful, but the underlying threat is obvious and the message as well. So Donald Trump's decision to show off his
troops, tanks, and trucks in a march through Washington later this year raises potentially some serious questions about the global image of his
America. He got the idea when he was with French president Emmanuel Macron. He was his guest of honor on the Champs-Elysees during Bastille
Day last year. Well, perhaps like a rich man seeing his neighbor's nice car, he liked it so much, he wanted his own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen. It was two hours on the button and it was military
might. To a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4th in Washington down in Pennsylvania Avenue. I don't
know. We're going to have to try and top it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: After bragging about the size of his nuclear button on Twitter and calling himself a very stable genius, I guess it shouldn't come as much of
a surprise that the president wants a grandiose display of military might. But the U.S. say it's not France. And France's parade goes much deeper
than a gratuitous display. July 14th is deeply rooted in French tradition. It celebrates the storming of the Bastille and the start of a revolution.
The date by the way only became militarized as a parade in 1880. The parade isn't just military. It includes police, firefighters, cadets and
even foreign troops to send the message of international unity. With Donald Trump want to mirror that aspect as well one wonders.
America's last hardware parade, by the way, was in the grainy days of 1991 when troops return returned home from the Gulf War. But consider this
question. Is Donald Trump willing to spend millions of dollars simply to rattle the North Korean leader, he calls "Little Rocket Man? Or is he doing
it to be adored and saluted by all his boys and their toys as their commander in chief? The former commanders I've spoken to don't want it.
So why do it at all?
For one congresswoman, there is a direct link with France, but maybe one Trump wouldn't be so happy with. Jackie Spear told my colleague Anderson
Cooper, quote, "We have another Napoleon in the making here." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:00]
GORANI: CNN's new special series "Tomorrow's Hero" highlights young innovators and inventors all around the world. Today, we introduce you to
a teenager whose dream is to build something that can improve the lives of a billion people and he's using drones to try to reach that goal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the stuff of nightmares. Trapped in a burning house, emergency services not yet on the
scene. Well, in this kind of dangerous situation, just seconds can mean the difference between life and death. It's why Mihir Garimella is one of
our tomorrow's heroes.
MIHIR GARIMELLA, DRONE DESIGNER: I'm Mihir Garimella. I'm 18 years old and I'm a student at Stanford University in California. I'm building
autonomous drones that can navigate and carry out critical missions in indoor spaces. And I hope one day these drones can help save lives. I've
always been curious about how things work and then sort of using that curiosity actually to build things to solve problems. When I was 14, I won
the Google Science Fair for building a fruit flies fire drone that can help first responders carry out certain rescues.
It all started with bananas. Four years ago, my family went to India on vacation and when we got back, we realize that we left some bananas on the
kitchen counter and by that point, they're rotting so our house is filled with fruit flies. I kept trying to swat them, kept hitting really mad when
they kept escaping, but I also came curious how these tiny organisms, tiny brain, really bad eyesight, how could they possibly escape so effectively?
So, fruit flies can't see in very much detail, but that means that they can process what they can't see and respond to that really quickly. Fruit
flies actually have the fastest visual system on the planet. They can see 10 times faster than humans can.
On the same time drones were just starting to become popular, I also realize that they could have tremendous potential to actually save lives.
So, the problem is that they aren't really good at reacting to their environments. And so, I wanted to see whether we could draw this instinct
from the fruit fly that enables them to escape so effectively, to make drones good at responding to their environments. And this is something
called biomimicry, so looking to biology for models on how to design these solutions to really complex engineering problems.
Birds actually see using the images from each eye separately, and so, that's similar to how we want to do this with a single camera. Fruit fly
see in terms of edges. And so, I designed an algorithm that could sort of use both of those cues to process a stream from a single camera and make a
map of a 3D environment that it could then use to avoid obstacles.
So, what I'm trying to build now is this intelligence drone platform that can be used for a search and rescue construction, industrial inspection,
you know, inspecting power plants, all these applications, to sort of carry out these really critical lifesaving missions. So, the idea is that you
take this drone, plug in different sensors based on whatever tasks you're trying to accomplish. And the drone would use the sensors to carry out
certain missions.
They can tell first responders the locations of trapped victims after an earthquake. They can detect rusts in bridges or other infrastructures to
prevent collapse. They could go on to nuclear power plant, pinpoint hot spots of radiation and say, you know, these things are going to leak or
these things are leaking because of these reasons.
My dream is build something that can improve the lives of a billion people. Success for me is these drones, you know, are really saving lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: There you have it. Now, brotherly love was on display big time in Philly today. Thousands turned out to celebrate the Super Bowl win by the
Philadelphia Eagles. Take a look at the streets there. The Eagles beat the powerhouse New England Patriot's on Sunday for their first ever
National Football League championship. The confetti flew almost five miles through downtown with the parade ending up, where else at the Rocky steps.
[15:55:48] And finally tonight, back to the Olympics. And a food order that turned into a bit of a scramble for the Norwegian team. Now, here's
the thing, when you mean to order 1,500 eggs and there is a slight mix-up and you end up ordering, 15,000 eggs, that's maybe just a few too many
omelets for 121 people. The Norwegian chef (INAUDIBLE) didn't seem too ecstatic about the -- oh, no ecstatic. I didn't write that, at a press
conference. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TORE OVREBO, NORWEGIAN CHEF: The eggs was more like a misunderstanding that something that we needed. So there was an extra zero on the order.
So from 1,500 to 15,000 (BLEEP) happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: There was an eggs-tra zero.
All right. A quick check of the Dow for you, because Richard Quest is coming up in a matter of minutes to update you on what's going on. The
reasons behind this. But as you can see, losses are accelerating. We are almost -- I mean, we're flirting with a 900-point decline in one session.
Down 3.5 percent. We're right at the 24,000 mark for the Dow Jones. Lots of worries about interest rates potentially rising. In Europe as well, we
heard from the Bank of England today saying, well, we're keeping our rates where they are now, but if they do go up, they'll go up faster, certainly
sooner rather than and more than some people had expected.
Richard is tap dancing in anticipation behind the cameras, so I'm going to clear the way for him. I'm Hala Gorani. And "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up
next.
END
