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Trump's EPA Pick Doubted Severity Of Climate Change In 2014 Comments; Biden Administration Working To Trump-Proof Climate Policies; Man Accused Of Killing Laken Riley Waives Right To Jury Trial; Elon Musk's Big Bet On Trump Already Paying Off; Stock Markets Gain Steam With Investors Optimistic About Trump Win; Bitcoin Briefly Hits Record High, Trump Win Buoys Cryptocurrency. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired November 12, 2024 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HARRY DUNN, FORMER U.S. CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER: So, I mean, that's a slip on the wrist.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Officer Harry Dunn, we appreciate you sharing your perspective with us. Thanks for joining us.
DUNN: Thank you. Have a good day.
SANCHEZ: You, too.
Still ahead, how the Biden administration is trying to Trump-proof climate policies as the president-elect promises to roll back regulations.
And Bitcoin again breaking records. The Cryptocurrency surging after Trump's win. We'll take a look at the factors driving up the price.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:09]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The head of the United Nations warned today that the world is in the, quote, "final countdown to limiting the rise of the earth's temperature by that all-important 1.5 degrees Celsius."
Climate experts have repeatedly cautioned that exceeding this threshold will lead to a new level of danger from global warming.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made his plea at the COP-29 climate talks in Azerbaijan.
SANCHEZ: And there, the Trump presidency is looming large. The president-elect says he will pull the U.S. out of the Paris agreement where that 1.5-degree limit is enshrined.
And the man he's tapped to lead the EPA, former Congressman Lee Zeldin, is on the record, casting doubt in 2014 about the severity of the climate crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEE ZELDIN, (R), FORMER CONGRESSMAN & TRUMP PICK TO LEAD THE EPA: I think it would be very productive if -- you know, if we could just get to exactly what is real and what is not real.
Because I think both sides of the climate change debate are filled with people that are stretching truths.
I'm not sold yet on the whole argument that we have as serious a problem with climate change as other people are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: CNN's chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, joins us now.
Bill, what's the Biden administration going to try to keep the U.S. climate efforts going?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are trying to Trump-proof it as fast as they can in these waning days of their presidency.
Last night, trying to button down rules around methane emissions. This is the by-product of natural gas, a very common fuel. But when it leaks, it's 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of capturing gas in the short-term.
It's about a third of the global warming problem right now, and the easiest to catch, capture and store underground or use in other ways. So he's trying to stick that in.
It would take an act of Congress to roll it back. If the Republicans win the House, they could do that eventually anyway.
But interesting news out of Baku today, as the environmentalists and those climate activists who are trying to manage this huge problem got an interesting ally in the CEO of ExxonMobil, the biggest oil company in the country.
Dan Woods is one of the rare experts in Baku expressly trying to make the point to Donald Trump not to pull out of the Paris Accords. He did this unsuccessfully back in 2017, thinking that more fair regulations and less of a Wild West would benefit everybody.
And ExxonMobil told CNN that a second U.S. exit from the Paris agreement would have profound implications for the U.S.'s efforts to reduce its own emissions and for international efforts to combat climate change, which Lee Zeldin isn't sure is happening.
"We advocate for policy that accounts for security, reliability and environmental stewardship -- not drastic changes that could hinder the progress being made today."
So there are sort of practical, pragmatic arguments being made towards the Trump administration. But so far, he is indicating that he's stuck in the ideology that all oil is good, all renewables are bad, and everything the Biden administration did must be clawed back. The practical realities of that may be more difficult than Trump
anticipates.
KEILAR: Bill, remind us what happens surpassing that 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in temperature.
WEIR: Well, over 100th of a degree means another ecosystem could be lost. We don't know where the tipping points are. Where we get to a point where permafrost just melts up in the Arctic and cannot ever be re-frozen again or if giant ice sheets collapse.
You know, the whole idea of 1. 5 was to hold the warming long enough for civilizations to adapt, to build better coastal cities, more resilient fireproof homes, better supply chains.
But we're losing that time. These changes are happening much faster. So it's not like falling off a cliff. It's just a gradual degradation in which every little bit matters in huge chunks of life on earth.
KEILAR: All right. Bill Weir, thank you so much, as always, for your reporting.
[14:39:19]
And next, her murder made headlines and sparked debate about the border crisis. Today, the undocumented immigrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, waived his right to a jury trial. So what this means for the case ahead.
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SANCHEZ: The man accused of killing Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, waived his right to a jury trial. Now a judge will decide the fate of Jose Ibarra.
The case gained national attention after Ibarra allegedly killed Riley while she was out going for a run. He was later indicted on 10 counts, including murder.
And you may recall, Riley's death sparked debate over President Biden's immigration policy, as Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, was in the country illegally.
CNN's Rafael Romo is outside the courthouse in Athens, Georgia.
And, Rafael, you were in the court this morning. Walk us through what happened.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, it was very difficult to see the arrival of Laken Riley's parents, Allyson Phillips, and Laken Riley's stepfather, John Phillips, who were here for the proceedings this morning.
[14:45:01]
And at the Athens County Superior Court, Judge Patrick Haggard had already rejected motions by the defense to throw out evidence regarding phone records, DNA, and also fingerprints. He had also dismissed the motion to have the trial moved elsewhere.
And then we were expecting to begin jury selection on Wednesday. And this morning, the defendant, Jose Antonio Ibarra, through his defense attorney, Justin Kirby, decided that he was going to waive his constitutional right to have a trial by jury, and instead accept a bench trial.
This means that, of course, it will be the judge who will decide ultimately whether he's guilty or not.
And we also heard from prosecuting attorney, Sheila Ross, who said that, last week, the defense approached her team saying they wanted to have a bench trial.
This is how she explained it in court. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEILA ROSS, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: They let the state know that they wished to waive the defendants right to a trial by jury. And instead, this defendant wishes to seek a trial by judge only, a bench trial.
The state has agreed to a bench trial so long as the trial remains before Your Honor and no other judges are brought in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Boris, the 16-year-old Ibarra appeared in court wearing a white and blue checkered shirt. He was handcuffed. He was wearing shackles, both hand and feet when he was asked by the judge whether he understood what he's -- what his decision meant, and that he was not going to be able to change it in the future.
He said, yes, through an interrupter. Of course, he's facing 10 counts, including several that have to do with the murder of nursing student, Laken Riley. One of them is malice. The other one is aggravated assault with the intent to rape.
And according to the indictment that we have reviewed, he allegedly hit the victim in the head with a rock that morning in February when she was killed.
But the trial begins on Friday -- Boris?
SANCHEZ: And, Rafael, what can we expect when the proceedings begin on Friday?
ROMO: The one thing we know is that this is going to be much, much faster. Because, as you can imagine, the days that are spent choosing a jury, we will not have to deal with that.
And also a lot of documents that normally would be used are not going to be you'd used in this trial anymore -- Boris?
SANCHEZ: Rafael Romo, live for us in Athens, Georgia, outside the courthouse. Thank you so much, Rafael.
Still to come, dozens of economists warned against a second Trump presidency. So why are markets rallying after his election victory? We'll discuss. Stay with us.
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[14:52:16]
SANCHEZ: President-Elect Donald Trump's victory a week ago is already paying off for some of his most loyal supporters, and that includes Elon Musk, who bet big on another Trump administration.
KEILAR: Yes. So far, it's been a good investment, to say the least, because Musk has seen his entire fortune and political influence surge since Election Day.
CNN's Richard Quest is here with a look on this.
So, Richard, how much money has Musk made in the last week?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE & CNN ANCHOR, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Well, if we take a rough number, I would say he's made just roughly $70 to $80 billion.
If you look at the valuation of stock at, say, Tesla, and his other investments and the way the market has risen overall, he's worth now more than $330-odd billion.
You've got one particular number there. You pay your money, you take your choice. He also shows $20 billion in a particular method, or particular methodology, but overall, it's probably essentially more than that. It's $50 billion, $60 billion, $70 billion.
Certainly, he has absolutely made a fortune.
SANCHEZ: And, Richard, economists have been warning for some time that Trump's policies, including tariffs, could be detrimental to the fight against inflation. And they could tank the economy.
But markets have been way up. I imagine that is already pricing in some of the deregulation we might see under a second Trump term?
QUEST: Completely. That's exactly it. You're going to see spending cuts, which boosts the economy -- sorry, tax cuts which boost the economy.
You're going to see deregulation across the board, not only in government and bureaucracy, but also, of course, in regulation for different industries. That's going to boost corporate profitability.
You're going to see an administration that is far more business friendly, and therefore creating an environment where companies will make more money. That will boost the stock market.
Now, those warnings about the economy could go down. They are much longer term. They are going to be seen when tariffs, if and when they come in, they're going to be seen as a tit for tat from other countries. They're going to be seen in a much slower environment.
There's no question that, in the short-term, the next administration is going to be far more business friendly, far more goosing up the economy, if you will.
And unless the Fed decides it's going too far with the risk of inflation, then the Fed is going to let it take place, and maybe just pause on cutting interest rates.
KEILAR: And Bitcoin going gangbusters, Richard.
QUEST: Oh, Bitcoin!
KEILAR: What's up with that!
QUEST: Same reason. First of all, interestingly, about half of corporate money to the campaigns came through Bitcoin.
[14:55:01]
The Crypto industry is on fire, because they know those who love Crypto, whether it's Elon Musk, Howard Lutnick, whoever it is that likes Crypto, has the ear of the president, the president-elect
The president-elect himself has said, whether you like it or not, you have to be in Crypto.
So are we going to see less regulation, more encouragement, arguably some shifting of the reserve requirements for Crypto exchanges?
Whichever way you look at it, we're moving into unchartered territory for Crypto, because it is relatively new. And that's giving it a boost.
It is an investment, as an asset class. You and I can disagree whether we think it is or not. The market is saying it's good for now.
KEILAR: Yes. My kids still don't want their allowance in Crypto. They want it in cold, hard cash. That might have nothing to do with --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Whoa, whoa! Time out!
You could be sued in the future by your children, who could say that you were financially negligent in not diversifying their allowance.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: -- into a bit of Crypto and maybe a bit of --
KEILAR: I gave -- (CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: I gave them the choice, Richard. They can sue themselves.
SANCHEZ: You can't pay for, like, the ice cream cart in Bitcoin unless there's something I don't know about.
KEILAR: Yes. It's true.
QUEST: So --
KEILAR: Or Hot Wheel cars, for that matter --
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KEILAR: -- Richard Quest.
But point taken, Richard. And I will review this with the 6-year-old and 8-year-old.
Thank you very much.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: Thank you.
KEILAR: Also skyrocketing after Donald Trump's victory, sales of emergency contraceptives. Telehealth companies say that women are stockpiling in preparation of a second Trump presidency. We'll have that, coming up.
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