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Hala Gorani Tonight

Live Coverage Of Bernie Sanders' Press Conference; Number of Coronavirus Cases in Italy Surpasses 12,000; United States Moves to Boost Economy; Critics: Late Start In U.S. Testing Has Hampered Response; Virus Concerns Lead To School Closings, Changes; The Social Impact Of Coronavirus In A Complex World; Turkey Threatens Retaliation If Russia Breaks Ceasefire; Join The Fight Against Modern-Day Slavery. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired March 11, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:22]

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. On a very busy news day, live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani.

Tonight, it is officially a pandemic. the World Health Organization has started using the term to describe the coronavirus outbreak. What can be

done now?

Then, Super Tuesday part two is complete, and Joe Biden is gaining a commanding lead. Let us listen right away to Bernie Sanders and his

reaction to the results.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- and that is that Donald Trump is the most dangerous president in the modern history of our

country, and he must be defeated. Tragically, we have a president today who is a pathological liar and who is running a corrupt administration --

[13:01:10]

SANDERS: -- The American people will have the opportunity to see which candidate is best positioned to accomplish that goal. Thank you all very

much.

(CROSSTALK)

[13:10:33]

GORANI: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, speaking in Vermont right now after a bad night of primary losses to Joe Biden, not

pulling out, saying that he's looking -- very much looking forward to the debate with Joe Biden.

But acknowledging that it was a bad night for his campaign, saying that, "Though they are losing the debate on electability, that according to

Bernie Sanders, his campaign is winning the ideological debate on things like education, the anti-inequality platform that they've been embracing

and health care system inadequacies.

Michael Smerconish, our political commentator, the host of "SMERCONISH" here on CNN, joins me now, live.

I didn't know where he was going for a little bit. I thought, what is he going to say? Is he going to announce he's pulling out? Is he going to stay

in the race? But he's very much focused on debating Joe Biden, Sunday.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH: So I fired off a tweet, Hala, in the midst of what he was saying. Here's the question he may have well as

posed to Joe Biden. "Hey, Joe, how can I pull you further to the left so as to make it that much more difficult for you to beat Donald Trump?"

This is not good news for Joe Biden. In Joe Biden's mind, it's time for Bernie Sanders to be applauded for the effort that he made, but it's time

for him now to relinquish his role as being a presidential candidate. Because all that can seek to do, you know the model here in the States, you

run to the left to be nominated in the Democratic Party, you run to the right to be nominated as a Republican. But then it's important to come

somewhere close, back to the center so as to be elected in a general election. That's not what Joe Biden wants to hear from Bernie right now.

GORANI: But does Bernie Sanders have a point? He says he's winning the generational debate. That is true, he does have a hold on the younger

voters, a hold Joe Biden doesn't have. Does he not need Bernie Sanders to support him in some way, even if he stays in the race a little longer than

the establishment would want him to?

SMERCONISH: Well, OK, yes. In that demographic, he does well. But is that justification, in and of itself, for staying in the race? That is the least

reliable demographic among all the American voting blocs.

You know, it's been pointed out that where Bernie Sanders has sort of predicated his campaign on the ability to motivate the young, because they

are so unreliable a voting bloc in comparison, he would need to do better motivating young voters in this cycle, than Barack Obama did, motivating

people of color in 2008. That's just not in the cards.

What he didn't tell us in that presser was his path. OK --

GORANI: Yes.

SMERCONISH: -- you've earned the right to stay in, but where's the explanation? Where's the state or combination of states that you think you

can win? That was absent.

GORANI: Yes. He's saying he believes that he is doing everything that needs to be done, everything in his power to beat Donald Trump, who he called a

racist, a sexist a religious bigot, a menace to American democracy.

And standby, I want to bring CNN's Arlette Saenz into the conversation. She's live in Joe Biden's state, Delaware. She's in Wilmington. What is

this -- Michael is saying this is not great news for Joe Biden, the fact that Bernie Sanders is hanging on? What is likely to be the reaction of his

campaign -- Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're still waiting to get some official reaction from them, but certainly they are feeling good

after last night's contest, and now they will have to navigate Bernie Sanders remaining in the race.

I mean, that press conference was pretty remarkable, the fact that Bernie Sanders essentially conceded that he is losing the electability race right

now in this Democratic primary. And he put forth a number of issues that he is planning on challenging Joe Biden on whether it's health care,

immigration, criminal justice, climate change.

So this is something that the Biden campaign is going to need to adapt to in the coming days, as they are preparing to face off against Bernie

Sanders, one-on-one for the first time.

But certainly, I think the Biden campaign is eager to have this nomination wrapped up as things have been really a wave of momentum, heading Joe

Biden's way over the course of the past 10 days. And so they are looking forward, I believe, to debating Bernie Sanders, but we're still waiting to

get that official reaction to see how they feel about the fact that he's remaining in the race right now.

[13:15:06]

GORANI: And Michael, do you think that Joe Biden's chances against Donald Trump hinge on how long Bernie Sanders stays in this race?

SMERCONISH: I don't. And let me just say, in response to what we just heard from Arlette, I expect Joe Biden or his representatives to be unbelievably

gracious and accommodating, at least publicly, regarding Bernie Sanders because they don't want to alienate Senator Sanders nor his base.

Does it all hinge on this? No, I don't think so. There's so much time left on the clock, and so many intangibles that I wouldn't say it all comes down

to this.

GORANI: All right, Michael Smerconish, thanks so much for being with us as we cover this breaking news, Bernie Sanders staying in the race,

acknowledging he had a bad night but also saying he's looking forward to debating Joe Biden on Sunday.

And Arlette Saenz in Wilmington as well, thanks to both of you.

The World Health Organization is finally calling the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, and they say they are deeply concerned because some

countries are responding with alarming levels of, quote, "inaction." That is from the head of the WHO.

This hour, we're bringing you the very latest on what countries are doing or not doing to fight the virus. First a warning, a very dire warning out

of Germany, it has to be said, from a European leader normally known for calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): It has to be understood that if the virus is here and there is not yet immunity of the

population against this virus, no vaccine and no therapy, that then a high percentage of the population -- experts say 60 to 70 percent -- will be

infected as long as this is the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Up to 70 percent of the population potentially, according to Merkel. We'll talk about the U.K., which is trying to mitigate the economic

fallout. Earlier, the Bank of England slashed interest rates to 0.25 percent, which is a record low, only matched in 2008 after the economic

crisis then.

Next, we'll look at the United States. The Trump administration is coming under fire for a lack of federal leadership, and for sending a series of

mixed messages. In Italy, the opposite, the entire country is now under an unprecedented lockdown to try to stop this virus from spreading.

And that is where we start. Ben Wedeman is in Bologna. So we've had a full 24 hours now, Ben, of very ,very strict measures in place. What's it been

like?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let me first give you the latest figures we've gotten from the Italian civil protection agency,

and they're not good. Italy has now 12,462 reported cases of coronavirus, 827 deaths. The number of deaths in the last 24 hours, 196.

Now, this is a large increase, the largest increase in the number of cases that we've seen so far. There is a slight qualifier, Hala, that the

Lombardy region yesterday only partially reported its numbers. But these numbers underscore the urgency of the situation, the urgency that the

medical services here in Italy are facing with this unprecedented health crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Inside the Intensive Care Unit in a hospital in northern Italy, doctors and nurses struggle with what they say is a tsunami

of new patients. Every day brings ever more new cases, ever more deaths.

Despite it all, the few tourists left in the northern city of Bologna pursue "La Dolce Vita," though many sights are now closed.

CAROLINA VERSAU, BRAZILIAN TOURIST: Italy is so beautiful outside, but I think inside it's better. But I have next trip I think.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): This country of 60 million souls is now in theory under lockdown. Movement is restricted, schools and universities closed,

public gatherings prohibited and all sporting events cancelled.

FILIPPO BASSI, EACHER: Every day, this main square is full of people that's talking with each other, very close, kissing, hand-shakings. You don't see

that now, so. Of course, it's like a plague.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The Bubonic plague killed thousands here in the 17th century. Bologna survived and went on to prosper.

The cafes in the city's normally bustling central Piazza Maggiore are emptier than usual, yet the few patrons are hardly panicking. Life must go

on. The dogs still need to get out.

[13:20:00]

WEDEMAN: Two dark clouds hover over Italy at the moment. Of course there's coronavirus, but many people here are in fact more worried over the long-

term impact the virus will have on the economy.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Business has all but evaporated. And if draconian measures are what it takes to bring it back, some say, so be it.

We have to face the emergency with the strictest measures like they did in China, Says Alessanda (ph) Camillero (ph). It's a dictatorship, but they

did the right thing.

Across the street, Manuela (ph) Pignati (ph) says more should be done. I would be fine with a total 20-day shutdown, she tells me, because people

are afraid and work is going badly.

It's bad, but this city has seen worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: Now, the Carabinieri, the one -- Italian gendarme, reported today that they had charged 161 people with violating the new decrees that are

aimed at reducing social gatherings, public movements and -- but even these measures at this point don't appear to be enough. Some politicians are

calling for essentially a shutdown of all normal activities and businesses except for pharmacies and food stores, to try to bring this outbreak under

control -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Ben Wedeman, live in Bologna there with some not great news about the new number of cases announced, over 12,000 in Italy.

Well, here in the U.K., the government has announced a $39 billion plan to boost the economy and limit -- try to limit the fallout from the

coronavirus. Tax breaks, additional spending and rules-changes to let workers claim sick pay and benefits, they're all part of a very dramatic

and expensive plan from the British finance minister, who says he will do whatever it takes to protect the economy.

CNN's Anna Stewart joins me now. So now the Bank of England has reduced rates to a quarter percentage point. I mean, will this have an impact?

Rates are already so low.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: And this is the big debate. Because we had the Fed cutting rates already, now the Bank of England, and tomorrow, the ECB

may also follow suit. How effective can this be, given rates are already so low?

And also, making money cheaper to borrow for banks, what does that do in terms of -- does it contain the virus? No. Does it help fix supply chains?

No.

GORANI: Yes.

STEWART: Does it get people traveling? No. But it may boost business household confidence. It may also combine with some other sort of measures

that the Bank of England announced today -- a funding scheme for businesses, changing capital buffers for banks -- combined with that,

combined with a fiscal policies. And that's why the chancellor, we saw, coordinated action. Maybe it'll help.

GORANI: All right, maybe. But, you know, with taxes -- and also you have a debt issue, which is going to get worse so longer term, this isn't great

economically from a sort of a bird's eye countrywide perspective.

And the ECB, the European Central Bank, is meeting tomorrow. What's the expectation there?

STEWART: They meet tomorrow. Market expectation is for a rate cut. This is a central bank that never raised rates following the financial crisis,

ever. It's now in negative territory. So again, how useful would that be? But if they don't cut rates and the market expectation is that they will --

GORANI: Yes.

STEWART: -- then you'll see further fallout on the stock markets.

(INAUDIBLE), the FTSE 100 today, this morning was high on the news from the Bank of England, but it didn't hold on to any of the gains. So quite

clearly, it's going to take a lot to get investors confident about anything at all right now.

GORANI: All right. Well, in the United Kingdom, there are a little bit under 400 cases reported, but not a lot of testing going on. So we'll see

if that becomes more widespread, what the figures end up being. Thanks very much, Anna Stewart.

In the United States, President Donald Trump is working to alleviate the economic effects of this outbreak. But critics say he's still not taking

the impact on people's health seriously enough.

The U.S. Treasury secretary says Mr. Trump's number one priority is enacting a massive stimulus package. But you'll remember early on, the

president minimizing the coronavirus outbreak.

Let's bring in Kevin Liptak in Washington, Omar Jimenez is in the state of Washington, one of the hardest his areas of the country. And let us start

with Kevin or Omar? We are going to Omar first in Washington State, the epicenter.

So many cases there. Talk to us a little bit about what on the state level is being done by officials to try to contain this.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hey, Hala. We are in the middle of a press conference right now with the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee.

Now, he was giving an update on some new measures that were now being -- that he's now implementing in response to the coronavirus outbreak that has

been particularly significant here for the state of Washington.

And I was just taking notes on it right now, he is now banning events that involve more than 250 people in at least three major jurisdictions in the

Seattle area, which of course includes Seattle. That means sporting events, that means concerts. Anything that he says falls into music, cultural --

again, athletics. Anything that would be over 250 people.

[13:25:16]

And so that press conference is still ongoing. But in his words, he says they need a response that is as vigorous as the threat that they are

facing. The medical -- the advice he has -- he says he's gotten from the medical community is that this is not your ordinary flu, and he wants the

measures taken by not just the city of Seattle but by the state of Washington, to again match up to what they are saying.

We have already seen more than 20 deaths in just this state alone due to the coronavirus, and at least 19 stemming from one single facility just

north of the city here in Seattle -- Hala.

GORANI: Omar Jimenez, thanks very much.

Kevin Liptak, a different approach from the federal government?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Certainly the focus this week in Washington has been how to mitigate the economic fallout of the

coronavirus. And that has been President Trump's focus as well, of course. He is intently focused on the economy in the runup to the election in

November.

Some of the ideas being batted around include assistance to airlines in the hospitality industry, travel, cruise lines, that sort of thing, ensuring

that all workers have access to paid sick leave, a payroll tax cut of some kind. A new idea that came up today, which is delaying the April 15th tax

filing deadline.

Of course, all of those things are addressing a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak, and not actually the outbreak itself. The

administration is still working, scrambling really, to get on the same page on how you address the health effects of the outbreak.

Of -- the big issue now and the big issue over the past couple weeks has been getting these testing kits out to states. The health secretary, Alex

Azar, said yesterday that they had shipped over a million test kits. He said that the testing capacity had been increased to 10,000 people a day.

But there are still some logistical and regulatory hurdles in some of these states that are preventing people from being tested. Azar said on CNN

yesterday that they don't actually have a way to keep count of how many people have been tested.

So there's still a lot of mixed messages coming out of the administration, and you saw that very intently this morning in a hearing on Capitol Hill.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist, said a number of things that seemed directly contradictory to what the president

himself has said.

He said that it was -- the problem was going to get a lot worse before it gets a lot better, the president has been far more optimistic in his

outlook of things. He said it's not like the flu. Of course, the president has been comparing it favorably to the flu all along. And he said not to

hold large gatherings. And of course, yesterday, the president's re- election campaign announced that they would hold a campaign rally in Milwaukee in the next couple of weeks.

So, clearly, some mixed messages still coming out of the administration on this outbreak.

GORANI: Right, and with some top Republicans self-quarantining after it appears they came in contact with someone who was infected with the virus.

Kevin Liptak in Washington, D.C. and Omar Jimenez in Washington State, thanks very much.

Still to come tonight, Harvey Weinstein, sentenced to prison for decades. It's a landmark moment for the #MeToo movement and it is not over yet. We

are live outside the courthouse in New York, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:50]

GORANI: Back to the coronavirus. Public health officials in the U.S. have come under criticism from both medical experts and lawmakers for their late

start in testing for the coronavirus. Hard hit countries like China, Italy, and Iran have had far different responses to testing treatment and even

communication about the spread, or the infection.

So for all of our viewers watching around the world, CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, has more on which countries have gotten things right,

versus which countries maybe are taking an approach that is likely to prolong the outbreak.

So where has it -- what country has had the most effective response so far, Jacqueline?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, we have heard from the World Health Organization that in China, there has been somewhat of a decline in

the new number of cases that they're seeing. And so the World Health Organization has really pointed out how, you know, the approaches and

measures being used there could help if other countries follow those same steps.

Now in the United States, there have been many questions around how quickly we can do testing here in the U.S., and there have been questions from

public health officials and from medical experts as well on how can we best track cases, and really the tracking can help get a sense of how widespread

the outbreak is. And then that can also help inform response efforts.

So, really, that -- those are the conversations that are happening at this time.

GORANI: And regarding the United States, that criticism, that testing isn't widespread enough? What impact does that have?

HOWARD: Well, that criticism from some experts has really hit three points. Number one, testing kind of started out slowly in the United States. And

when tests were sent out, there were some issues there. And then number two, when testing began, there were some regulatory barriers that officials

really had to address to get tests sent to hospitals and sent to commercial lab. So that was number two.

And then number three, now that there is testing being done, the question is now, how can we best track cases? There might be a lag in tracking

cases. But health officials from our federal agencies here in the United States have said that we -- they do plan on more testing. And once those

tests are done, don't be surprised if there is a rise in cases because there could be a rise in identifying cases. So that's kind of the status

here in the United States.

GORANI: All right. We'll see what happens when there is more testing.

Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

Increasing threat from the virus is forcing many schools to make tough decisions, some are closing campuses all together. More on that from Athena

Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Harvard's campus empties out at the end of this week for spring break, students living on

campus are being asked by the university to pack up their things and leave until further notice.

JUAN CRESTANELLO, HARVARD STUDENT: They're making us move out by Sunday morning -- Sunday morning at 5:00 p.m. from all the dorms. But I think we

have to stay calm, and that's what we're doing.

JONES: Harvard's decision to move all in person classes online was not taken lightly. The university president says in a letter to the Harvard

community, President Lawrence Bacow tell students, "We are doing this not just to protect you, but also to protect other members of our community who

may be more vulnerable to this disease than you are."

KARINA COWPERTHWAITE, HARVARD STUDENT: I definitely understand the precaution. It's definitely coming from like a young person who maybe the

corona threat isn't as pressing for me. Upsetting that I maybe won't be able to finish my freshman year the way I wanted to, but I also, like,

sympathize and understand, like, where the university is coming from.

JONES: Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced similar measures Tuesday afternoon. From coast to coast, schools are having in-person

classes taught remotely, including schools like Stanford, Ohio State University, and Syracuse. Schools are heeding the advice of top infectious

disease experts to take caution with high population areas where the disease can move quickly.

[13:35:00]

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: To start seriously looking at this kind of mitigation. They call

it social distancing, but it's common sense stuff. You don't want to go to a massive gathering, particularly if you're a vulnerable...

JONES: K through 12 schools are also temporarily closing in some districts across the country, including some Chicago Public Schools, Fulton County

Schools in the Atlanta area, and the Northshore school district in Western Washington.

In New Rochelle, New York, the governor has deployed the National Guard to help contain the viruses spread. Authorities are closing areas where large

crowds gather, including houses of worship and multiple schools for cleaning.

One of the places where people gather together particularly is the school systems in schools and other areas, events, and daily or weekly activities.

And we believe that the most important thing from a public health standpoint is to minimize that.

Athena Jones, CNN, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: With me in the studio is Julia Hobsbawm. She's the author of "The Simplicity Principles: Six Steps Towards Clarity in a Complex World."

JULIA HOBSBAWM, ACCLAIMED AUTHOR: Hello.

GORANI: It's changing everything about how we interact, isn't it, Julia? Because we didn't shake hands, for instance, just now.

HOBSBAWM: We didn't shake hands and the pandemic has officially been declared. So when I wrote a book about simplicity in a complex age, I

didn't imagine that it could be applied very directly to this join between leaving arguably a very complex world of constant travel and conferences

and work, and we might be plunged into simplicity very quickly, which is quarantine, which is absolute basic living for a while, which in itself is

a very complicated thing.

GORANI: But so what happens-- what's the mental health effect of that? What is the impact on all of our -- and the fact that we're not shaking hands,

that we're hesitating about hugging even people we are intimate with, you know, who have come back from, say an area where there -- there's a high

infection rate, what does that do?

HOBSBAWM: So I talk about social health. I'm a professor of workplace social health around the corner from your studio. What interests me is that

we have a physical health, we know it's an enormous physical health problem, the coronavirus. Mental health is that we're deeply anxious about

it, who wouldn't be?

GORANI: Yes.

HOBSBAWM: Social health is that it's plunged us into a crisis about the very way we connect, whether that's the handshake, whether that's the hug

and the kiss, whether that's the social distancing that we are now being asked. However, our level of anxiety is to enforce. So the norms of

behavior around the way we connect are being upended by this crisis.

GORANI: Modern technology was already contributing to this social distancing.

HOBSBAWM: It was and it's a very good point in a funny way, this is technology's moment for those people who have the luxury of being able to

work from home or be on a Skype call or a Zoom call. My concern is there will be a lot of people through the workforce, who still have to, you know,

be in social contact, they have to make deliveries, there are front line health workers.

But technology, for the lucky ones, will help us not feel so isolated. But of course, all the neuroscience, all the research shows that even without

our handshake, what we're doing face to face, about half a meter away from each other is the best form of human interaction and we're going to sense

it.

GORANI: And it's essential for physical health as well. I mean, mental and physical health thrive on human interaction, don't they?

HOBSBAWM: Absolutely.

GORANI: Imagine being in Milan or in Bologna, where you've spent some of the people we spoke with on air, haven't left their small studio apartments

in two or three weeks. You know, you develop cabin fever, you start becoming anxious, you start losing maybe even the sense of what time of day

it is.

HOBSBAWM: You do. I mean, just to say there might be a little sliver of optimism in a very bleak worrying landscape, which is, I'm all for reset.

We are living lives that many people are unhappy with. There's a crisis in productivity, all the technology always on.

It's not been such a great way to live. And whilst we'll miss it temporarily, and I think it is temporary, there might also be some side

effect benefits for some people of hunkering down just with very, very close family and calming down the chaos. It doesn't feel like that.

GORANI: Some people were saying, are we going to have a baby boom in nine months? With people just cooped up at home and working from home. I mean,

this is something that you sometimes see when there's a big blackout or something like that. But this is weeks and weeks of containment.

HOBSBAWM: I mean, I hope that, soon, we will be able to see the end in sight, that we'll be able to see that it's temporary. I think this is a

social health crisis. But I think the answer lies in simplicity, out of this very complex landscape, which is keep it simple.

Maya Angelou used to say to me, keep it simple, sweetie. Keep it simple. Focus on what's important. Do you absolutely have to go out? Do you

absolutely -- who do you have to look after? So, actually embracing a simpler time in this very complicated landscape could rescue us.

[13:40:06]

GORANI: Well, thank you very much Julia Hobsbawm. The new book is "The Simplicity of Principle: Six Steps Towards Clarity in a Complex World."

Really appreciate having you on the show.

HOBSBAWM: Thank you.

GORANI: This just in, just in the last few hours. Disgraced Hollywood movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for

convictions of criminal sexual act and rape. The allegations against Weinstein sparked the Me Too movement.

CNN's Jean Casarez is outside the courthouse in New York.

How did the judge explain this quite long sentence, Jean?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very interesting because he was almost sentenced to the maximum that he could get, and normally that is

reserved for people that have multiple felonies on their record prior, circumstances that are much like this that have led a life of crime, and

the defense brought in all these mitigating factors.

What the judge said was, I was given a letter by prosecutors and we were actually able to see that, it came out in a filing, where the prosecutors

allege 16 alleged instances of other types of sexual assault and abuse through the years in New York, along with workplace harassment.

Now, none of that is proven, could be true, could be not true, we don't know. But the judge can actually use that as part of sentencing. And he

said that he did use that.

Now, the defense had gone in to all of the mitigating factors that his health is very poor. He had back surgery last -- I mean, he had heart

surgery, he had back surgery during the summer, heart surgery because of a blockage last week. His age is 67 years old.

Also that he has no prior felonies. He has done a lot of volunteer, were giving millions of dollars to charities that is something that the court is

supposed to be able to consider. And Harvey Weinstein himself made an allocution before the court saying that he was very remorseful, that he

wanted to be a better person, he was going to go to prison and reflect on himself and learn from this and be the best person he could be.

And the minute Harvey Weinstein stopped talking, boom, the judge gave the sentence. So it appeared as though to those in our producers in the

courtroom that the judge had known what he was going to do, and really didn't reflect on the arguments that were presented by the defense.

GORANI: All right. Jean Casarez, thanks very much. With that news coming out of New York City. Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Still to come tonight, Turkey is threatening major retaliation in the Idlib Province of Syria. We'll look at the human cost of nine years of serious

civil war with a doctor who went inside Idlib and came back out. He's here in the studio with me after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:07]

GORANI: Sunday marks the ninth anniversary of the Syrian war. Earlier today, Turkey threatened major retaliation in the Idlib Province if Russia

breaks last week ceasefire pointing out small violations by Syria already. But people on the ground are suffering the real cost of any failed

ceasefire, certainly, not the people making the decisions.

Just a warning that some viewers may find what you are about to watch disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MUFADDAL HAMADEH, PRESIDENT, SYRIAN AMERICAN MEDICAL SOCIETY: 9 years old, he's got several shrapnel wounds going on in his head that's down to

this brain, that's here. He's got another shrapnel wound in his face and one of his forearm.

Earlier today, he was targeted with an airstrike along with his family. His brother, his mother, and his cousin had died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, Dr. Mufaddal Hamadeh is the President of the Syrian American Medical Society. And that was his voice that we were hearing in that video.

And how is that boy doing now?

HAMADEH: He's doing well. As a matter of fact, he was doing well when I was there. I wasn't too much worried about him. But I was taken aback of how

numb he was, as I was talking to him. I was also surprised to see how numb everyone else around him was.

GORANI: Yes.

HAMADEH: I talked to his brother who's two or three years older than him, he explained to me that they lost five of their siblings that day. And the

way he talked to me, the -- his body language and I can see the numbness and the loss of pain. And then it occurred to me that this is a normal way

of life in Idlib now. His loss and suffering and death is an everyday event.

GORANI: How -- you're from Idlib, how long had it been since you'd been able to visit?

HAMADEH: It's been about 10 years since I visited Idlib. I was happy to see my cousins as I also was able to see my cousin who had breast cancer and

then she needed my help. She developed her metastasis, and she had a cord compression and eventually she was able to transfer to the Damascus. It

took her two days to get to Damascus so she can reach some radiation therapy, which is the only -- the only -- the only place in Syria that had

radiations therapy right now is in Damascus.

GORANI: You're a doctor and you see tragedy and death much more than ordinary people do. You're used to seeing sick people and people who need

medical attention, but this is very personal.

HAMADEH: It is and, you know, I'm an oncologist. So I do deal with these tough situations every day. But usually when I deal with this situation on

a -- on a daily basis, there is a sense of hope. And there is a sense of options that you can provide those patients and we spend a lot of -- a

whole lot of money on treating incurable cancer.

But a lot of times when you see cancer cases that are curable in refugee camps in Idlib and you can't provide them any care, that is when it's --

that becomes really painful and frustrating.

We did create a cancer center in the city of Idlib and I get the chance to visit it. I was extremely happy to see that it's treating some cases that

are really curable. And one of the first patients I saw there is a 29-year- old with three kids and who has Hodgkin's disease, a very curable disease, and I was very happy to see that with that -- that we created that center

in order to treat patients like her. And without it, she probably wouldn't have had a chance to be treated with the therapy.

GORANI: I want to revisit one thing you said at the beginning, which is that people, including children, and this breaks my heart. I think more

than anything else, when people tell me that the children have stopped crying, they've stopped reacting, they've stopped complaining, they've just

become these numb kind of just shells trying to cope trying to cope through the tragedy.

HAMADEH: Yes. And that's the only way you can cope -- when you shut down, totally, you become numb. I don't know how psychologically down the line,

this is going to come back to haunt them. We have a whole lost generation of children in Syria that went through hell. And they have seen, you know,

some imaginable pain and suffering throughout their lives.

And another Other than that, some of them are just placed in refugee camps or they're subject to spot, you know, domestic violence and sexual abuse.

There is a lot of work that we have ahead of us down the line. And I was -- you know, what really breaks my heart. This probably could have all been

prevented.

GORANI: Sure.

HAMADEH: Right?

GORANI: I think all of it. I think all of us who observed the Syrian tragedy unfold, at the beginning, thought there was a chance to avoid the

worst-case scenario and yet every step of the way, it became worse than we thought.

[13:50:08]

But -- and you and I are both Syrian. You know, I've never lived in Syria, but my parents are originally from Aleppo. You're from Idlib. You lived

most of your life, you were telling me, in the United States. I can hear from your accent and you work there.

But when you look at it from afar, what does it do to you emotionally to see your country in the state that it's in?

HAMADEH: Well, believe it or not, I did -- I identify as a Syrian-American, I'm more American than Syrian. But as a physician, as a humanitarian, it

doesn't matter whether you're Syrian or not. This breaks your heart, as a doctor, as a physician, as a father.

I can't just sit idle and do nothing. This is the biggest key and other Holocaust such as being committed right in front of our eyes. And we vowed

many years ago that never to let this happen again.

And in Syria, we have no excuse. We can see it happening right in front of us. Two clicks on your iPhone, you can see the massacres right live in

front of you happening right every day. Yet, we never learned from the Holocaust. We never learned from (INAUDIBLE) we never learned from Rwanda.

And there has to be someone who's going to have to speak up and say something about this, and maybe, you know, our leaders who failed us in

preventing this tragedy from happening and allowed the, you know, the slaughter of innocent civilians to happen right in front of them, maybe

they have the morality to do something about it.

GORANI: Dr. Mufaddal Hamadeh, the president of the Syrian American Medical Society. Thank you very much for joining us in London. And I hope next time

we speak, it will be to talk about something more uplifting than the tragedy that's unfolding there.

Still to come tonight, CNN is working with young people around the world to fight against modern-day slavery. We'll join some of them to mark Freedom

Day just head on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, welcome back. It is a Freedom Day. CNN is partnering with young people around the world for a student-led day of action against a

very serious problem, modern-day slavery and other injustices.

Listen to their strong and confident voices in some of the clips they posted on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are protesting against human trafficking and especially we are raising our voice for children because 50.6 percent of

human trafficking involved children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freedom say no to slavery. Freedom say no to hunger and starvation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freedom say no to coronavirus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom is a chance to be better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom is to be expressive.

ALL: Freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, Lynda Kinkade joins us now with more on that cause from the Atlanta International School. What are they doing there, Lynda?

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Hala. Well, here, they are raising awareness about the issue of modern-day slavery and human

trafficking, but they're also talking about ways, we as consumers can make a difference to end this problem by buying ethically sourced products.

[13:55:07]

And I've got with me, Kelsi, who is 17. Come on in, Kelsi. And Lana, who's 11. So Kelsi is overseeing this fair trade, these tables.

Just describe the products you have here and why it's important to look for fair trade products when you're out shopping with mom and dad.

KELSI PATEL, 11TH GRADE STUDENT: So what we have here are some chocolate bars that we have from Tony's Chocolonely. And we also have some other

products that are all fair trade. And the -- it's really important to buy fair trade products because they -- if products aren't fair trade, they

could be made using child labor, which is not OK, obviously, and also with adults who could not be getting compensated for the work that they're doing

or being worked long hours. And we need to make sure that people aren't being treated this way. So it's important to promote companies that aren't

using these tactics and making the products ethically.

KINKADE: Exactly. So Kelsi, you've teamed up with Tony's Chocolonely, which is a product that's made in Belgium, but you can buy it pretty much

anywhere here. What do students have to do to get a piece of chocolate today?

PATEL: So basically, the point of this is not really as much of a sale, more of a way to raise awareness. So what we're doing is not exchanging

these goods for money, rather, awareness. So we have a table where you can either post using the #myfreedomday, or you can sign your name, pledging to

protect the rights of the child.

And in exchange, you'll be able to get one fair trade goodie from these tables we have here and it promotes students to being able to raise

awareness, as well as getting something that they enjoy.

KINKADE: Excellent. We have Lana with us as well whose 11, and you have been learning about modern-day slavery for at least five years. Your mom is

at the forefront of this initiative. Just explain for us why it's important when you're out shopping to look for the fair trade sign.

LANA MCDANIEL, 5TH GRADE STUDENT: It's important to them, you know, that it's not made by children.

KINKADE: And talk to us about the taste. It obviously taste better too, right?

MCDANIEL: Yes.

KINKADE: Would you like to try some?

PATEL: Of course.

KINKADE: And tell us about the products.

PATEL: So this is white chocolate raspberry.

KINKADE: All right. Let's give this one a crack. I do have a weakness for chocolate.

PATEL: It's so good.

KINKADE: Get in, Lana. Try some chocolate. This is how we lured you in. But it's really great initiative that they've got here today.

MCDANIEL: Really yummy.

KINKADE: And they will have a panel discussion later tonight where you meet various members of the community, a victim of sex trafficking, as well as a

FBI agent. So that's happening later tonight, but great initiative. Thanks, girls.

Back to you, Hala.

GORANI: All right. Great way to raise awareness. I'm Hala Gorani. Thanks for watching tonight stay with CNN. "AMANPOUR" is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END