Return to Transcripts main page
Hala Gorani Tonight
Trading in Tesla Has Halted; Study Predicts Parts of The Earth Could Become Uninhabitable Due to Global Warming; Mendocino Fire in California Has Burned Close to 330,000 Acres; Trump Warns Countries Not to Do Business with Iran; If Iranian Oil Production Drops, There May Be Shortages Globally by November; Facebook Says It Is Not Actively Seeking Banking Data on Users; Trump Jr. Downplays "Bait And Switch" Trump Tower Meeting; Defense Attorneys Now Cross-Examining Rick Gates; Crews Still Finding Survivors Of Indonesian Quake; U.S.-Led Coalition Admits Airstrikes Killed Civilians In Raqqa; Reports Of Arrests, Beating After Election; Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman" Releases This Week. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 07, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00] CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone, live from CNN London. I'm Clarissa Ward in for Hala Gorani. Tonight, fires
raging across Europe and the United States. Parts of the world in drought and now a dire warning that this could be the new normal. Also, tonight
Donald Trump has a pointed warning for the world. If you do business with Iran, you can't do business with the United States.
And breaking news in the business world this hour. Trading in Tesla halts after Elon Musk tweets he has secured funding to take the company private.
From California to Kyoto, each end of the earth itself is being gripped by temperatures that are breaking records and taking lives. What's worse,
scientists say this could be the new normal and that parts of the planet will become uninhabitable if temperatures rise more than 2 degrees Celsius
compared to pre-industrial times. If you don't think two degrees is a big deal, bear in mind there's five degrees difference between now and the last
ice age. Ian Lee reports.
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dangerous fires, deadly throughout, and melting glaciers. Symptoms of extreme weather and possibly a glimpse into
our future, scientists warn, as scenes like this could become the norm according to a report from the National Academy of Sciences. It starts
with what is called a positive feedback, manmade emissions freeing the earth's natural greenhouse gases locked away like a set of dominos that can
drive global warming. For instance, releasing methane trapped in arctic permafrost or the destruction of coral reefs creating what is described as
a hot house where temperatures stabilize 4 to 5 degrees centigrade higher than preindustrial levels. Right now, the earth is at about one degree
higher. The hot house scenario leads to severe heat, sea levels up to 60 meters, about 200 feet, making some areas on the earth uninhabitable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHAN ROCKSTROM, CO-AUTHOR, "TRAJECTORIES OF THE EARTH SYSTEM IN THE ANTHROPOCENE": If we pass two degrees Celsius, most indications are we can
still adapt but if we reach three to four degrees Celsius warming from the evidence we have today looking back it would mean a planet that could not
basically serve the modern world as we recognize it.
LEE: This apocalyptic scenario can be prevented with collective human action scientists say. In 2015 nearly 200 countries signed the Paris
Climate Accord pledging to work to keep temperatures rising more than two degrees. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. pulled out dealing the
agreement a blow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCKSTROM: And the good news is we have more and more evidence transforming the world to 100 percent fossil fuel free world economy is not
only necessary it's both possible but also social, economic, health wise and security benefits. So, the path to success is there and the window is
still open to succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: But if action isn't taken soon, then brace yourself. The report says we could be approaching the point of no return. Ian Lee, CNN, Paris.
WARD: In California nearly 300,000 acres of land burned to the ground more than 3,000 homes destroyed or at risk and seven people dead. Emergency
services are now battling the biggest fire in the state's history. The Mendocino complex fire, which is actually two fires that combined into one.
It's one of 16 wildfires across California this hour. Authorities are making progress in containing the worst of them, but dry and windy
conditions are proving a constant threat. Dan Simon is on the ground in Lakeport, California. He joins me now. Dan, what's the latest?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are here on a boat landing and you can see the smoke behind me. That gives you a sense where the fire is burning.
You can see all of the smoke in the sky. Right now, the fire is burning in a very rugged area, very difficult for firefighters to access, so they're
using the helicopters to try to beat those flames back. You're talking about a fire that at this point is 34 percent contained so they are making
some progress. It's not burning towards populated communities so that's a bonus. If we pan the camera you can see some of these evacuees have set up
shop basically at a public park.
[15:05:00] You can see the tents there. As far as where we go from here, Clarissa, it is really up to the weather. Obviously, we are talking about
very hot conditions, at night it gets windy, and lots of dry fuel. So, no clear idea when this fire will ultimately be contained.
WARD: And what sort of scale are we looking at in terms of the rescue operation? This is the biggest fire in California's history. This must be
a pretty epic rescue mission.
SIMON: It is the biggest fire in California history but it is not the most destructive. That said, you do have at least 10,000 homes that are under a
mandatory evacuation and that many homes threatened. Obviously, you have emergency crews going through neighborhoods doing what they can to get
people to leave. Not everybody will heed the evacuation order but a number of people have. Whenever you have a fire of this magnitude in many ways it
just paralyzes a community. You have the power out in places. People can't go and get a hamburger. Until firefighters get a grip on this thing,
it's going to be madness for some time.
WARD: All right, Dan Simon. California is not the only part of the world dealing with lethal conditions in Japan a record number of people have been
sent to the hospital for heat stroke. More than 71,000 since the end of April. 180 of those have died. Sweden's emergency services have been
struggling to cope with unusually hot and dry conditions that have fueled forest fires. More than 80 people were killed in Greece by wildfires last
month. Conditions became so unimaginably hot cars began literally began melting.
And then you have Australia where it's actually winter. Some are asking if they are now facing a drought of historical proportions. Let's get more on
all of this and try to parse through the bigger picture what is causing these weather patterns, what do they mean for the future of the planet.
Our supervising meteorologist Brandon Miller is in Atlanta for us and we're joined by the author of the report we led the show with. He joins us from
Stockholm.
Johan, I want to start out with you. Explain to us this concept of hot house earth. What exactly does this mean?
JOHAN ROCKSTROM, DIRECTOR, STOCKHOLM RESILIENCE CENTRE: Yes. Hello there. We are at the warmest temperature since the last ice age 12,000 years ago.
We know now, we have scientific evidence to prove what keeps the planet in a stable state as it has been since the last ice age is feedbacks in the
biosphere in nature forests, grasslands, oceans, ice sheet, that keeps the planet cool.
The dampers and reducers, stress and different pressures and the largest pressure of all is our mission of greenhouse gases burning off fossil
fuels. Up until very recently we know that the resilience and capacity of the planet to keep and dampen these pressures have been intact. We're now
starting to see cracks in this ability and scientific evidence we have gathered in this paper we see that when we reach 2 degrees Celsius warming,
we are at 1 degree now, we are at risk of tipping over from dampening and cooling to becoming self-enforcing and warming meaning that we would
suddenly end up in a situation where the planet would be taking over the global warming process. We would not be the sole emitter as humans. The
planet would also be an emitter.
WARD: If I understand you correctly, you're essentially saying we're edging ever closer to the point of no return?
ROCKSTROM: That is the assessment that we have made in this paper. We've looked 1 million years back. The planet has been swinging in and out of
ice age and the into glacials. We know in the six and eight inter-glacials we've had in the past have maximum temperature levels which we are edging
towards, so we can see we are to stay in a stable state, we are approaching the point of no return.
Now we have so far the evidence we're not yet there today but we're approaching it. Not at 1 degrees but 2 degrees Celsius. This is a
challenge to the scientific community by the way because we need more precision in these numbers. If we pass planetary threshold, meaning that
we would shift the feedbacks and move into unavoidable warming.
[15:10:00] That would mean pushing a on-button that is irreversible but it wouldn't mean that we would immediately get a jump up to four degrees
Celsius that would take a long time. But it would be reversible.
WARD: So, Brandon, there are people who will be watching this and they would say, come on, we have seen freakish weather before. Whenever it gets
really cold people say I don't remember the last time there was a winter this cold. Whenever he gets really hot people say I don't remember the
last time it was this hot. What do you say to people who dismiss reports like the one Johan has been a part of?
BRANDON MILLER, CNN SUPERVISING METEOROLOGIST: It's a good point because if you go far enough back in our history, we have been warmer and colder.
The difference is the rate of change, what Johan was talking about. It may take years to get to four or five degrees Celsius. If this was the earth's
natural cycles it would take thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years really to go up that 1 degree. We have influenced as humans through
carbon dioxide emissions influenced the climate to a point we've raised 1 degree very quickly and don't know what could go beyond that. We could
model it. But we've never done this before. We're already in uncharted waters.
WARD: What are scientists in the U.S. saying in terms of the steps that can be taken to avert this? Are any of them realistic when we're living in
a politically divisive and fragmented age?
MILLER: It's a good question and that's where science has to meet policy. They're saying the same thing scientists around the globe are saying. It's
the policymakers and the politics of what's going on that make it, what can we do? Is this really happening? Things like the Paris Climate Accord.
All of these countries, even though the U.S. is a major emitter and really one of the ones that needs to lead this initiative, it takes all the
countries around the world especially some of the larger emitters to commit to something like the Paris climate accord and keep that in the near
future. Some of this warming will happen. We're going to see things, more droughts, more fires. These things will happen even if we stop all
emissions now. But we can keep these -- this hot house from happening. The dominoes from tipping over and starting a train we just can't stop.
WARD: And, Johan, I had read another report recently that talked about warming that would render parts of the middle east uninhabitable. Does
that sound based on your research and this report sound realistic? The migration of those that will no longer be livable?
ROCKSTROM: The risk is there. We can adapt to 1 degree Celsius warming. It is strengthening. From what we've seen in the forest fires to the heat
waves in Scandinavia and Europe. We might be able to adapt even to that. If we move into the uncharted 3 degrees, 4 degrees warming which could be a
result of self-enforcing feedbacks and domino, changes due to the biosphere shifting from a cooling to warming agent, then we don't know yet whether we
can agree. Areas would be uninhabitable, movement of people north wards and southward to the Arctic and the Antarctic latitudes. But, again, this
is something that, as was mentioned, probably centuries away. The key point of this paper is we might push the on button that would put us on an
irreversible directory and commit to future generations irrespective of what we do. That would play out over a very long period.
[15:15:00] WARD: Right. A terrifying thought. Thank you so much. We are going to continue exploring this issue on CNN. Join us for "CNN Talk"
where we are asking the question, is this just a blip or something much more serious long-term consequences for the planet and humanity? Join
Hannah Vaughn Jones and the panel at noon London time and have your say live at Facebook.com/CNNi and you can also tweet Hannah at Hvaughjones.
Now to Iran as U.S. sanctions start to kick back in today, President Trump has tough words aimed beyond Tehran. He tweets business with Iran will not
be doing business with the U.S. sanctions the most biting ever and said he's asking for world peace. There will be even tougher sanctions
targeting Iranian oil. Those are to come in November. World peace aside Mr. Trump's tweets, a tweet, rather, puts the U.S. at odds with Europe, a
relationship where there is already a lot of daylight. The E.U. is promising to do what it can shielding European businesses that trade with
Iran.
I'm joined now by John Defterios, who is of course the emerging markets editor for CNNMoney. We discussed this had a little bit yesterday. We're
continuing to hear the E.U. say, no, we are going to respect the Iran deal. We are going to abide by it. You saw that tweet from President Trump.
What affect does that have on the Europeans who are doing business in Iran?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNNMONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Let's start with that call for world peace. Based in the Middle East and Abu Dhabi and having
traveled in the region, It's an unusual way to pursue world peace by cranking up the heat on Iran with tensions we have both in Yemen and Syria.
When it comes to the economic sanctions here I think it will boil down to the financial heft as you will to punish European countries one way
another. Is it Washington or Brussels? I would put my chips in the Washington camp right now because they have the weight of the U.S.
Treasury and Federal Reserve. And these European companies, the big, global players have exposure to the United States. That's the reality.
This is kind of classic President Trump, by the way. He goes to the extreme to try bring the Iranians back to the bargaining table here and
hoping if he puts enough pressure on they'll come around. We heard from two other senior officials, the minister of intelligence, Alavi, has said
Washington has discredited itself by pulling out of the international agreement. Then Ali Larijani who is the speaker of parliament says we have
other friends that work with Iran in a different way but he didn't clarify what that means.
The European companies, we had another big one decide to kind of exodus that market.
WARD: So, they are pulling out already? It's happening.
DEFTERIOS: This is Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz. This is the key point here. They get a quarter of the revenue from the United States.
They cannot afford to challenge the Trump administration, was planning to sell 10,000 cars in Iran and it's not possible. We've had ten major
European companies and these are all listed from the major energy giant, Total, you see Siemens there. Daimler announced today, Allianz.
The White House has suggested, 100 European companies have made their intention, they will pull out. We have a list of 160, we're looking at ten
times that amount. This hasn't surfaced. This will play out over the next six months to that November deadline.
WARD: So, you bring up the November deadline. Then we look at the energy sector. President Trump really presents himself as business friendly. But
I'm just wondering what effect is this going to have, if any, on oil prices? If you take Iran out of the market, so to speak.
DEFTERIOS: I am almost defining it as a sleeper story for the midterm elections. You have that snap back on oil and gas in November. Iran has
worked like dogs to try to boost up their exports under sanctions they were limited to a million barrels a day at the end of 2015. They boosted their
exports to a record last month, 2.7 million a day.
The Trump administration is promising to knock out 2.7 million barrels a day. I went to the fields in late 2015 as the sanctions were lifted here.
That's a tall order to knock out 2.7 million barrels a day. To put it into context it's like knocking out a Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates. It
would knock out a major player. We see shortages in Venezuela, Angola, Libya and Nigeria. There's not a lot of spare capacity.
President Trump leaned on OPEC saying you need to produce more. Leaning on his gulf allies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia they don't have that much spare
capacity. We're hovering around $75 a barrel for the international benchmark. Don't be surprised if you get $90 a barrel by the midterm
elections which would mean 4, 4 1/2, maybe $5 a gallon going into the midterm elections.
[15:20:00] WARD: Wow.
DEFTERIOS: A snap back on him if you think about it.
WARD: We will be watching carefully and talking it over with you as always. Thank you for being with us.
Coming up, Facebook tries to shake off yet more concerns about privacy, denying that it's trying to find out about its users' bank information.
We'll have the latest on that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WARD: It's been a dramatic day for holders of Tesla's stock. Trading has been suspended after CEO Elon Musk tweeted out he's considering taking the
electric carmaker private. CNNMoney's Clare Sebastian joins us now from New York with the latest. Clare, explain this to us. What's going on
here?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we have more questions than we do answers about this. This has been an afternoon of
turmoil. It was about noon in New York when we first got the tweet where he said, I'm considering taking Tesla private at $420 funding secured.
About an hour and 20 minutes later, the stock price was halted after it went up about 7 percent. We still haven't heard from the company. People
are questioning the way he's done this. Should you be making market disclosures in tweets? We have spoken to experts who have looked at FCC
rules. On the face of it, that's not a violation.
But there are many asking, given the adverse relationship that Elon Musk has had with short sellers a lot of people who are still shorting Tesla's
stock. Whether he did this to pump up the stock price and this could be considered market manipulation. Of course, none of that is proven yet. We
haven't heard from the company and the stock price as far as we know is still halted at this hour.
WARD: One has a sense, Clare, it's been a rocky few weeks for Elon Musk, he seems to be earning himself a reputation as something of a maverick with
some of this behavior on Twitter.
SEBASTIAN: Absolutely. I'd say more than just a few weeks in terms of his erratic behavior on Twitter and beyond and that's where you see the real
motivation that he could have to take the company private. He spoke about it saying it would give them more flexibility and would ease the pressure
on a company which is so much synonymous with this man and his long-term vision for the world and for society.
He has struggled with the short-term targets of Wall Street analysts. Remember there was a conference call back in May where he called some of
the questions boring and bone-headed. He recently apologized to those analysts on the latest earnings call.
[15:25:00] His behavior on Twitter has remained unpredictable and that has moved the stock price. People say there is a rationale to this to give the
company more room to innovate and invest in its future.
WARD: Clare, thank you. It's a question that would make many uncomfortable. Would you like Facebook to know how much money you have in
your bank account or where and when you last used your credit card? The "Wall Street Journal" reported yesterday Facebook has asked several major
banks to provide that information. Something the social network has tried to clarify saying they are working with banks to offer various services on
its messenger app. Samuel Burke is now here with us to explain this to us. What exactly does this mean? Why does Facebook want to know how much money? I don't even want to know how much money I have in the bank.
SAMUEL BURKE, CNNMONEY BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: This is much ado about nothing. The set of facts in the "Wall Street Journal" report
appeared to be correct. They're implying Facebook is trying to get their hands on this data when in reality what it sounds like Facebook is just
trying to make banking go mobile. You spend a lot of time in the United States and know Venmo is a popular application. Once you're done with
dinner you can also pay the check that way.
The money goes boom, boom, boom. Facebook is trying to get a piece of the pie. So maybe connecting with your bank so you can move money through your
mobile app through Facebook Messenger. Talk to the bank if you don't want to talk to a human being on the phone since humans can be rather annoying
at times. They are trying to get all of this done through Messenger.
So, I just want to put up a statement from Facebook which shows, they say "Wall Street Journal," they're implying something that's not going on here.
A spokesperson telling us the following, quote, "Like many online financial companies with commerce business we partner with banks and credit card
companies to offer services like customer chat or account management. Much ado about nothing.
WARD: I guess why has there been much ado about nothing? Is it all touching on this raw nerve which is Facebook and privacy and data? Can
Facebook ever overcome the obstacles that is trying desperately to surmount.
BURKE: This is everything you just mentioned. The fact that Facebook stock prices are down, analysts are telling me if you're an investor in
Facebook you should be very happy. We're looking at the past six months. It went way down after the latest issues that they've had, slower growth,
but down a little bit today. But analysts are saying it should be up. This is them trying to make more money trying to do banking. Because of
the incredible microscope Facebook is under, after fake news, after terrorists on the platform, after Cambridge Analytica, every last move they
make can be seen in a negative light. And that is how a lot of people are seeing this move even though lots of other mobile companies are doing the
exact same thing.
WARD: And we see it done in lots of different countries as well. I lived and worked in China. You don't use hard currency in China. Everything is
done with your mobile device whether you are buying watermelon on the street, a taxi driver. Presumably this is actually something that could be
convenient and helpful for people to have that.
BURKE: Exactly. We're trying to catch up in a lot of Western countries in the United States. Payments have revolutionized many places and smaller
communities that have been cut off. This has helped them. Because people are so suspicious of Facebook at this point, anything they do can be seen
in a negative light. This is why they spent a billion dollars on Instagram for the day when people wouldn't trust Facebook anymore, they could depend
on other products.
WARD: Thank you for helping us break it all down.
Still ahead tonight, hidden bank accounts, tax fraud, and personal betrayal all part of the dramatic testimony we're hearing in the trial of Paul
Manafort as the government's star witness is back on the stand.
Plus, homeless and afraid. Tens of thousands in Indonesia have lost their homes to a powerful earthquake as aftershocks still rattle the region.
We'll have the latest on rescue efforts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:43 WARD: Donald Trump, Jr. is speaking out about that controversial 2016 meeting with Russians at Trump Tower after his father's tweet about it
caused an uproar. The U.S. president's son says the highly scrutinized meeting he arranged was basically much ado about nothing.
Mr. Trump tweeted that the goal was to get dirt on Hillary Clinton which contradicted a misleading statement he dictated in his son's name a year
ago which made no mention of seeking damaging material on his opponent at all. Here's what Donald Trump, Jr. said on a conservative radio program.
DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's a 20-minute meeting, it ended up being, you know, about essentially nothing that was relevant to
any of these things and that's all it is. And that's all that they've got. That's not the premise that got them in the room. And essentially, a bait
and switch to talk about that and everyone has basically said that in testimony already. So this is nothing new.
WARD: Trump Jr. has also denied under oath that his father knew about the meeting in advance. But the president's former longtime attorney, Michael
Cohen, says otherwise according to sources who spoke to CNN.
Let's bring in Kaitlan Collins for more. Kaitlan, does this latest thing help or hurt Donald Jr.? I mean, why is he making this statement now? Why
is he saying this on the radio?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a great question, certainly something the president's legal team is likely wondering. But Donald Trump
Jr. downplaying the effects of that meeting saying that he didn't get what he walk in there to get, so it doesn't seem as much of a -- as big of a
deal as is being portrayed in the media.
But a lot of the reason for that speculation about that meeting is that there have been so many misleading statements coming out of the White House
and from Donald Trump, Jr. himself about that meeting. Of course, there is that original statement that was put out and said that the meeting was
primarily about Russian adoptions, something we later learned wasn't true and a statement that we have also learned, according to the president's
legal team, was dictated by President Trump. That's why there are so many questions about it.
And this also comes, that interview from Donald Trump, Jr. after some CNN reporting that the president is becoming increasingly concerned that his
son could be exposed in the special counsel's investigation.
The president has always been worried about his family in regards to this investigation. But before his concern was about Jared Kushner, his son-in-
law, who was also present for that meeting in Trump Tower. But sources tell CNN that in recent weeks, that concern has shifted from Jared Kushner
to Donald Trump, Jr., his namesake in all of this.
Now, the president downplayed that, that he wasn't concerned about it. Donald Trump, Jr. has also said through sources close to him that he is not
concerned either. But it does seem to be something that's on the president's mind. It is why he has been increasingly agitated publicly
about the special counsel. As you've seen him ramp up his attacks on him.
But that is also all going on while the president is here in New Jersey on his vacation from the White House while they're doing some renovations
there. And that is while his legal team is in the middle of negotiations over an interview with the special counsel's team, something that Rudy
Giuliani, the president's lead lawyer, so they expect to respond to in the coming days.
WARD: I mean, you talk about him being concerned about his son. Is he not concerned about himself? Because surely his legal team are sort of at
their wits end with this endless stream of tweets about really potentially sensitive topics that could have repercussions.
COLLINS: Well, his concern for his son could stem out of his concern for himself, of course. The president has largely been concerned about that
all along. That is why he is so consumed by it and why he tweets about it so much.
But another reason that the president tweets about the special counsel's investigation so much is that him -- both the president and his legal team
believe that if they could sway the public opinion to believe that this truly is a witch-hunt and that they are truly being motivated by their
political bias that then they can win that in the court of public opinion because that is likely what this could come down to after the special
counsel does publish his report, if he does do so, laying out what exactly has happed with the president's legal team, with the president, and with
that meeting in Trump Tower.
That is what the president is trying to do, win over the public's opinion with his tweets about the special counsel.
WARD: All right. Kaitlan Collins, thank you very much.
[15:35:04] Now to another day of high drama in the trial of Mr. Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. Just minutes ago, his attorneys
began cross-examining Rick Gates, the prosecution's star witness. Manafort's former business associate told jurors earlier that he helped
Manafort commit tax fraud.
Gates says e-mails proved Manafort directed him to ship money through offshore accounts. He also acknowledged stealing hundreds of thousands of
dollars from Manafort. Defense attorneys are looking to undercut Gates' credibility, but he has a big incentive to tell the truth on the stand. If
he doesn't tell, his plea deal could fall apart.
Let's get an update now from CNN's Joe Johns. He is outside the courthouse in Virginia. Joe, it's been a colorful trial so far, certainly. What more
have we learned today?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of interesting facts, Clarissa. One of the things that popped up toward the end of the direct examination of
Rick Gates is taking us all back to the campaign of Donald Trump.
Now, it's been well reported that Mr. Manafort was the campaign manager and later the chairman of the campaign for Donald Trump, but only for a brief
period and was sort of drummed out. His deputy, Rick Gates, remained with the campaign and stayed there and then went over to the inaugural committee
for Donald Trump. So he was still involved in the mix.
And what we learned today that is very interesting is that even when Manafort was on the outside, he was still working it, trying to figure out
how he could use it to his advantage. For example, he did recommend after he was out of the campaign that a banker who had helped him get a loan
apparently with fraudulent information, that that banker ought to be nominated as secretary of the army, that banker's name is Stephen Calk,
apparently didn't happen also.
We do know as well that Manafort tried to get inaugural tickets for the same Stephen Calk. So clearly trying to work it even after he left the
Trump campaign.
We are told that cross-examination has now started. It is expected to be fairly intense. The judge recommended a break just a little while ago that
defense attorneys keep their questions sharp and focused and that clearly is the object here as they try to tear down this rather elaborate picture,
quite frankly, that the government has created of these two men, Paul Manafort, and the person who is now cooperating with the government, Rick
Gates, painting this picture of these two men working together and creating -- attempting to go get big money from banks in offshore accounts over to
the United States without alerting the internal revenue service and they're having to be taxes paid on that, so.
We're told the prosecution is hoping to wrap up its case by the end of the week. Back to you, Clarissa.
WARD: All right, Joe Johns, thank you very much.
We're also keeping a close eye on an election hundreds of kilometers from Washington. Voters in Ohio are casting ballots today in a special election
for the state House. The district has been Republican for decades but Democrats believe they have a chance to flip it blue.
President Trump is supporting the Republican, Troy Balderson and whether the Republicans hang on or if they lose the seat could give us an idea of
how they will fare in the midterm congressional races which are just three months away.
The election is also seen as being a test of Mr. Trump's ability to mobilize his base.
CNN's Ryan Nobles joins us now from the city of Westerville in Ohio.
Ryan it looks like potentially this could be quite a close race. Does that come as a surprise?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sure does, Clarissa. And I think that's one of the reason this race is getting so much attention. This has
been a slam dunk for Republicans for the last 30 years. That's how John Kasich was the governor of Ohio, who was a Republican, and of course, a
Donald Trump critic but someone who actually held this seat in Congress undescribed it this weekend.
So he's very surprised that Republicans are in a competitive race with the Democrats. The Democrat here Danny O'Connor has drawn this race to
basically a statistical tie. And he views it as it not being the case. It should be like this. And he blames President Trump. He thinks that
there's been a drag on Donald Trump and his presidency, especially in a district like this which is just on the outskirts of an urban center,
Columbus, the capital of Ohio, which is pre-dominantly moderate to liberal leaning city.
[15:40:14] This is the suburbs of Columbus. And then the further you get away from the city, the more Republican it becomes and this district kind
of bridges both of those areas. So that's why everyone is keeping such a close eye on this race. Because there are many districts like this all
over the country. Districts that supported Donald Trump back in 2016, where there may be some fatigue, particularly with suburban college
educated white voters.
And there is this concern among Republicans that Donald Trump is losing support in those areas. So if the Republican ends up losing tonight or
even only wins by a couple of votes that could mean that you could see some strategies change and many of these across the country in November and
perhaps not see President Trump out on the stump as much up, as he's been up until this point.
Of course, in this race today, Clarissa, the president is all in. He was here over the weekend. He tweeted his support for Troy Balderson, the
republican earlier today. And if it turns out that the president's support doesn't help, you could see some strategies change in November.
WARD: So in a sense is this really seen as a bellwether for the midterms like as goes -- this race goes the midterms?
NOBLES: It absolutely could be. And I think that's where we do need to caution ourselves a little bit, especially when we're talking about House
races. The House of Representatives, there's more than 400 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the lower House of the American legislative
branch. And each one of these districts has their own unique local issues that often drive these races.
But in terms of the national impact of these congressional races, the results here could absolutely be a bellwether to what we see across the
country and at the very least, it could change strategies across the country. But both candidates, Republican and Democrat impressed upon me
over the past couple of days. That at the end of the day, it's really about how they connect with their local voters. It doesn't really matter
of what they think about Donald Trump or what they think about Nancy Pelosi, the democratic leader in the House.
So we sometimes tend to overanalyze these individual races but there's no doubt that it'll have some impact. I guess the degree of that impact is
yet to be seen.
WARD: Sure. Well, we will be watching closely. Ryan Nobles, thank you.
WARD: Still to come tonight, in the fight to reclaim Raqqa from ISIS, the U.S.-led coalition now admits innocent civilians were killed in the
process.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WARD: Now to a horrifying story out of Germany, where a woman and her partner have been sentenced to prison for selling her son to pedophiles on
the dark web.
A German court found that the pair had reputedly raped and abused the young boy before selling him online to other men for sex. The mother was
sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison. Her partner was given 12 years. Several men who had paid the couple to abuse the boy have also been
convicted.
[15:45:07] Now, rescue crews in Indonesia are sifting through the mangled buildings in search of survivors from Sunday's powerful earthquake. The
death toll now stands at 105 but that is expected to rise as emergency workers reach more remote parts of Lombok Island.
More than 20,000 are now homeless and frightened as aftershocks continue to rattle the region. Kristie Lu Stout has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A cause for celebration after rescue workers find a woman alive in the rubble. She was quickly
whisked away by ambulance, fortunately with only minor injuries.
SISWANTO, SEARCH AND RESCUE OFFICER (through translator): We tried to open up an access point a few times but a refrigerator was in the way and that
made it difficult. When we did manage to open up the access point, we heard a voice. The victim wasn't pinned down by anything. There was a
crawl space.
STOUT: This man was rescued as well. He had been at the mosque praying when the quake struck. He was overwhelmed with emotion, as soldiers helped
him walk away from the scene. It is believed that dozens of other people may still be trapped under the rubble.
Elsewhere on Lombok, people are returning to their villages and finding scenes of complete destruction. This man's home is now unlivable like
thousands of other survivors, he is now homeless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We might still be in trauma after three to six months. I don't think it'll be easy to return to the normal
life. We need to do it slowly, because the trauma was extraordinarily bad. But we dare not sleep indoors. What is our plan for the future? We don't
know.
STOUT: After two back-to-back major earthquakes and strong aftershocks, aid workers are warning that many people, especially children, are likely
to be suffering from the psychological impact of the disaster.
THOMAS HOWELLS, SAVE THE CHILDREN: So for adults, obviously, it's incredibly traumatic in terms of seeing your house damaged or potentially
even destroyed and feeling the earth shaking under you. The first earthquake would have been quite scary. The second earth quake would have
been terrifying and then following that having to leave your home for the fear of a tsunami.
So if it would have been quite disturbing for adults, then you can imagine the impact on children.
STOUT: It was terrifying for tourists as well, some 3,000 visitors were evacuated from the Gili Islands and are stranded at Lombok international
airport waiting for flights out. But while the tourists have other countries to return to, the people of Lombok are picking up the pieces of
their homes while rescuers keep digging for survivors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: A shocking admission from the U.S.-led military coalition about its actions in the campaign against ISIS in Syria. The U.S. military is now
acknowledging it did kill at least 77 civilians in the offensive to retake Raqqa from ISIS last summer. This comes just weeks after it rejected an
Amnesty International report on civilian deaths resulting from coalition airstrikes. Arwa Damon has more.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Clarissa, this is not entirely surprising, sadly, and this Amnesty International says probably
just the tip of the iceberg.
Look, we still don't even know what the total civilian death toll was for, the battle for Raqqa or for Mosul for that matter. What we do know from
civilians who we spoke to in both of those cities over the course of our reporting is that there were several instances where entire families were
wiped out. Amnesty International now digging deeper. And here's what 12- year-old Muhammad (ph) told them over the summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Can you show me where was the place exactly?
MUHAMMAD (through translator): Here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): And who was killed here from your family?
MUHAMMAD (through translator): My family? My father, my uncle, two of my cousins, little ones, and my uncle's relative. My uncle's relative and his
daughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: Amnesty International is urging the U.S.-led coalition to launch an in-depth investigation and not just wait to be made aware of allegations of
deaths caused by its airstrikes.
Now, the U.S.-led coalition has acknowledged just over 1,000 deaths that it says were caused inadvertently, but it's not just about the acknowledgment.
It's about as we hear from civilians on the ground as we hear from Amnesty International, a sense of justice for the family members of the victims.
It's about giving them reparations. It's about, at the very least in the very perhaps slightest of ways, allow them to heal, to be able to move
forward, Clarissa.
[15:50:00] WARD: A week after the results of Zimbabwe's first election since Robert Mugabe's leadership, the main opposition party is still
refusing to accept the results saying that the vote was fraud.
Now, the MDC party says its members are being rounded up and beaten by government forces. Our David McKenzie reports from Harare.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Harare, the headlines depend on what paper you pick up, which side you want to believe.
Just days after the army was deployed to the streets accused of killing six, wounding more, life has returned to normal for many. There have been
no more street protests over election results that the opposition still refuses to accept. How can they mobilize, the MDC asks, when they're
running for their lives?
HAPPYMORE CHIDZIVA, MDC YOUTH LEADER: Six armed men with facemasks raided my family house.
MCKENZIE: MDC youth leader, Happymore Chidziva's name is on this search warrant. A list of people he says that are being hunted by the military.
He will only agree to Skype with us for a few brief moments.
So, why is the military doing this?
CHIDZIVA: People like me want to know that there will be more people to the streets.
MCKENZIE: Happymore was too afraid to meet with us in person but he's connected us with his family. And they want to show us what the gunmen did
when they came in the middle of the night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They came through this entrance?
MCKENZIE: In the neighborhood west of Harare, his family's tenants say masked men arrived in an unmarked pickup.
JONGWE MATANGA, TENANT: They saw a man holding a gun, moved two steps, I was beaten.
MCKENZIE: How did he beat you?
MATANGA: Beat me with his arms looking for it (INAUDIBLE) where is Happymore? I said, I don't know. They hit me in the buttocks.
MCKENZIE: They beat him on the arms and the buttocks and dumped him in a field, he says. He's filed a police report but doesn't think the men will
ever be found, ever brought to justice.
But in local and state media, the foreign minister says there are no ongoing sanctions. The military actions had an army spokesman denied the
allegations of attempted abductions.
With the inauguration just days away, Zanu-PF supporters celebrate their man's victory.
But 28 of the opposition supporters are now facing charges of inciting public violence. Its leaders are on the run and running out of options.
CHIDZIVA: So the only option is for you to fight on. There's nothing we can do. They can kill us, they can touch us. But what we want is
(INAUDIBLE)
MCKENZIE: The vote was cast. Still, Zimbabwe remains divided.
David McKenzie, CNN, Harare.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Still to come, just days ahead of his latest release, legendary movie director, Spike Lee talks to CNN about Trump and the state of U.S. race
relations right now. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WARD: Weather it's a surging U.S. economy or threats of a trade war, there's one company at the heart of it all. Boeing, America's biggest
exporter. Richard Quest will have an exclusive interview with the Boeing CEO. That will be live on Thursday's "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" 9:00 p.m.
London time, 10:00 p.m. Central Europe.
Now, one year after the violent protests in Charlottesville. A new film by Spike Lee is due to hit American cinemas. BlacKkKlansman is the comedic
look at a very real issue, race in the United States.
[15:55:09] The film is set in the 1970s and it's based on the true story of a black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID DUKE: Hello?
RON STALLWORTH: This is Ron Stallworth calling. Who am I speaking with?
DUKE: This is David Duke.
STALLWORTH: Grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. That David Duke?
DUKE: Last time I checked. What I can do for you?
STALLWORTH: Well, since you asked I hate blacks, I hate Jews, Mexicans and Irish, Italians and Chinese. But my mouth to God's ears, I really hate
those black rats. And anyone else really that doesn't have pure white Aryan blood running through their veins.
DUKE: No doubt we'll be talking about true white American.
STALLWORTH: God bless White America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: Spike Lee told CNN that exploring the issue of race in America is as relevant as ever, especially under the Trump administration which he says
is a reaction to eight years of President Obama. Chloe Melas sat down with the director earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPIKE LEE, AMERICAN FILM DIRECTOR: We've never really honestly dealt with slavery. Once we start to have a honest discussion on slavery then we can
move forward. We've never really had honest discussion about the foundation of this country. I know people might not like this but this is
the truth.
United States of America, the foundation of this country was built upon genocide of native people and slavery. That's a fact. They found the fogs
on slaves. Unless we deal with those truths, it's not going to matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: The film opens in the U.S. this Friday.
And finally, a story that you have to see to believe. Have you ever heard of the drink Gatorade? Well, if you have, that's actually nothing to do
with this story which is remarkable because this is actually a story about a gator who aided someone. See what we did there?
A very helpful and loving alligator. Meet Big Tex who has struck up a friendship with an intern at a rescue center in Texas and gave her a hand,
or maybe that should be a claw, by posing for her graduation photos. And we imagine that crossing a hungry alligator is not something you would
usually want to do.
So that's all from us tonight. We should leave it by saying, see you later, alligator. All together now, in a while, crocodile.
"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CLOSING BELL RINGING)
[16:00:06] RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. The Dow is up sharply. Time for -- oh, yes. Look at that.
END
