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Trump Threatens to Impose New 50 Percent Tariffs on China; Trump Remains Defiant After Volatile Day for U.S. Stocks; Video Contradicts Israeli Military's Claims About Deadly Incident; Understanding Bear Markets. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 08, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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


[00:00:27]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This time it really is about the tariffs, ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Europe is always ready for good deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: But the U.S. president warns there will be no tariff back down as global markets continue to lose trillions of dollars in value.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: He called in sick that day and his son Mohammed took his place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And a week after that official identified his son's body, one of 15 emergency workers killed in Gaza by an Israeli strike.

A sound not heard in over 12,000 years. The de-extinction of the dire wolf.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Carrots and sticks Monday from the European Union with offers to the U.S. of zero for zero tariffs on industrialized goods, but also warnings of countermeasures. But President Donald Trump seems to reject both, while also ruling out a pause in imposing his sweeping tariffs on almost every U.S. trading partner. That seems to be a moment of clarification for many that Donald Trump isn't using tariffs to force negotiations for better trade deals, but rather he really does want to rewire how the U.S. and world economy actually works.

The president has warned he's not backing down on tariffs despite dire warnings of a possible global recession as well as higher inflation, even though stock markets around the world continue to lose trillions of dollars in values. Right now in Asia, the main markets are all up. The green across the board there. This seems to be covering some of the losses that occurred on Monday. They have been very big losses across Asia, Europe and the United States.

This comes after the Chinese Commerce Ministry says it firmly opposes the huge additional 50 percent Trump tariff, which he says will be imposed on Chinese imports if Beijing refuses to take back a retaliatory 34 percent tariff imposed on the U.S. last week. China says if the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, following all this live from Hong Kong.

So we have this global trade war. Different countries are approaching this in a very different way. Some, like the Europeans, want negotiations but warning of retaliation. Some are backing down completely. China seems ready for a fight.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right. China is holding firm and China is not blinking. Latest comments coming out from the Chinese government earlier today calling Trump's threatened 50 percent tariffs a, quote, "mistake upon a mistake." And China says it will fight until the very end. This after on Monday what we all witnessed the U.S. president Donald Trump ratcheting up the global trade war even more, threatening a new 50 percent tariff on China if China does not remove its retaliatory 34 percent tariffs.

And China is holding firm. We've been monitoring official response in China. You mentioned that release that came out earlier today from the China's Ministry of Commerce. And it struck a defiant tone saying this, and let's bring it up for you. Translated from the Chinese, quote, "The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake which once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the U.S. China will never accept it. If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end," unquote.

Now, the ministry in this statement also called for all tariff plans to be dropped and said that any disagreements should be resolved through dialogue. Now, earlier, we heard from the Chinese spokesperson, the Chinese embassy in the United States, who offered a much more predictable, measured response using language that we've heard all along. This is what we heard from Liu Pengyu saying this, quote, "We have stressed more than once that pressuring or threatening China is not a right way to engage with us. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," unquote.

Now, meanwhile, markets here in Hong Kong, Shanghai, across Asia have been gathering in and taking stock of all the latest developments. And it's quite in contrast to the bloodbath that we saw on Monday. If you take a look at the latest market action right now, you will see all green arrows there on your screen especially you want to take a look at the Hang Seng now gaining, clawing back 1.6 percent after losing a significant amount and trading deeper into the red yesterday.

Now, as China is pushing back, other nations in Asia are pursuing a trade deal or pursuing talks to get to some sort of a trade deal with U.S. president Donald Trump, with Japan apparently is the priority. That's what we heard from the U.S. Treasury secretary and President Donald Trump on Monday also reaffirmed that. He said that Japan will be sending over a trade delegation to talk tariffs, to talk trade. This as a result of his phone call with the Japanese prime minister on Monday.

[00:05:07]

John, back to you.

VAUSE: Kristie, also, just with regards to Japan, they're also threatening the United States with, you know, direct investment in the U.S., Japan being the biggest direct investor there. Is that something which the, you know, the United States has actually responded to? What kind of impact could that have on the U.S. economy?

LU STOUT: For the other Asian economies that are taking a different tack compared to China, which is openly retaliating, they're looking to see if they can call for a delay in the enforcement of the tariffs and also entice the United States with a pledge to buy more U.S. products. It's really interesting to see this contrast that has emerged here in Asia, with the heavyweight China being defiant, the other Asian economies calling for discussions like India, like Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, the major economy that is Taiwan as well.

Vietnam, though, is very interesting to note. It's also asking for talks to delay punishing tariffs that Trump has promised to send down its way. And Vietnam is also adding a sweetener, saying and pledging that it wants to buy U.S. products namely defense and security products.

Back to you, John.

VAUSE: Everyone wants to make a deal, it seems. Maybe even China a little bit, but they're on the warpath.

OK, Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout live for us in Hong Kong.

Wall Street closed mixed Monday after an extremely volatile day of trading. Here's a look at U.S. futures. We can see it's green across the board there right now.

More details now from CNN's Alayna Treene.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have some new reporting about some of the behind the scenes conversations that are taking place as this tariff turmoil continues to roil global markets. We are learning now that shortly after those tariffs went into effect, starting Saturday morning, the president's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent actually flew to Mar-a-Lago to deliver a message to President Donald Trump.

That message was that his team needs to get on the same page, be more unified in how they are explaining these tariffs to the American people, but also to more clearly explain what the end game is. And essentially, that is better trade deals with other countries. Now, I've had multiple conversations today with Trump administration

officials, White House officials, and they tell me that the president is willing to negotiate. He does want to make deals with other countries. However, a part of that is really trying to milk these other countries for what they're worth and what they're anticipating and already we've seen this and White House officials are saying, you know, 70 countries at this point have come to the White House, have been speaking with Trump administration officials about wanting to open broader talks on how to find an off ramp to these tariffs.

Now, I think one thing that has been clear in my conversations as well is that there is definitely some mixed messaging. On one hand, you have people like Peter Navarro, one of the president's trade advisers, saying that these tariffs are not a negotiation. And then you have people like Bessent and others who are saying that the president is going to be negotiating. We heard from the president himself today in the Oval Office saying that he wants to have a negotiation with Japan, that he spoke with the prime minister Monday morning and that they are going to continue those talks. He called them high level talks.

But all to say, behind the scenes as well, some officials really do believe that they need to get some sort of wins on the board. They need to show the American public that there's, you know, it's worth being patient on this. They need to get them to buy in to this tariff plan, particularly, of course, as we're seeing the markets continue to be scattered, people's 401(k)s are shrinking. A lot of concerns about what is happening to people's wallets. That is the message from the White House.

All to say, though, no one that I've spoken with here believes that these tariffs are going or these tariff deals or negotiations could be finished and wrapped up in the near future. They do believe that it's going to take some time for them to work out really what is the president's ultimate goal, and I'm told his top priority here is what he believes is erasing the deficits that America has with other countries. And that does really mean breaking the way that global trade has been done for 70 or so years and rebuilding it in Donald Trump's image.

VAUSE: Josh Lipsky is the senior director of the Atlantic Council's Geoeconomic Center. He's also worked as an adviser at the International Monetary Fund.

Thank you for being with us.

Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK, so the head of the European Union is one of dozens of world leaders now wanting to negotiate a new trade deal with the U.S. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VON DER LEYEN: We stand ready to negotiate with the United States. Indeed, we have offered zero for zero tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, tariffs as a policy tool to force negotiations may be belligerent, a bit like holding a loaded gun to someone's head, but at least in this case it does seem to be working.

[00:10:02]

JOSH LIPSKY, ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY FELLOW, HARVARD UNIVERSITY BELFER CENTER: Well, it does seem to be working, but I'm not sure that's actually the president's goal here. In the first term he was certainly interested in tariffs as a negotiating tool. And I think a lot of the markets anticipated that he would be like that in the second term. But what's missed right now, and I think markets are waking up to, which is why you've seen the reaction over the past week, is that he's using tariff as tariff, meaning to raise revenue and actually try to restore manufacturing domestically.

And that means no matter what's offered, whether it's dropping other tariff barriers, it doesn't actually meet the administration's goal, which is to generate revenue, which offsets some of the budgetary plans and tax cuts they have planned later in the year. So I think there's a disconnect here. And that's probably why you saw him in the Oval Office today actually reject President von der Leyen's offer. There's miscommunication happening all over the world and confusion about what the White House actually wants.

VAUSE: With that in mind, here is the U.S. president on Monday speaking about a possibility of negotiations over tariffs. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would you be open to a pause in tariffs to allow for negotiations?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we're not looking at that. We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us. And they're going to be fair deals. And in certain cases, they're going to be paying substantial tariffs. They'll be fair deals as you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So to your point that the tariffs are now being used not as a negotiating ploy, but essentially to restructure the global economy, especially the U.S. economy, bring back factories, bring back those manufacturing jobs, is the White House doing the other side of the equation to make it possible for those factories and those jobs to return to the U.S.?

LIPSKY: No, I think there's a tension here because if they want to generate revenue, that means the importers are paying the tariff and then not reshoring the job. So you can't have both. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. I think what the administration would say is, well, maybe we'll generate revenue in the short term and over the long term, companies will try to bring back jobs to the U.S.

But I'm not sure how realistic that is. And there's so much uncertainty right now. Imagine you're a global corporation thinking about what you should do. Would you make a major business decision to reshore manufacturing, put aside all the costs associated with that, with the policy changing week to week if not hour by hour? So I think the administration really has a long way to go if that's their policy objective. And frankly, I think it's unrealistic.

VAUSE: Yes. And trillions of dollars have been wiped off the value of stock markets around the world. But for a very brief moment on Monday, Wall Street surged into positive territory. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG MCBRIDE, BANKRATE CHIEF FINANCIAL ANALYST: I think it was there was a rumor that there was a 90-day pause, which the White House has since denied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So does that indicate that all the losses since Trump announced reciprocal tariffs last week could be undone by immediately reversing course? And if that's the case, then how long will that remain an option?

LIPSKY: Well, it does indicate they could be reversed. This is a manmade crisis and it could be undone by a man, President Trump, and the market showed you that today. They also showed you how desperate they were for some sign that he was in negotiating mode. In an hour we had hundreds of billions of dollars, trillions traded on a rumor that wasn't true. So it revealed what was going on and how Wall Street so much wants this to be negotiation.

But as the hours tick by, as the minutes tick by, as we get to April 9th, I think we all have to come to the realization that he is serious, the White House is serious, and they, I believe, are going to go forward with most of these tariffs come Wednesday.

VAUSE: Josh Lipsky there, thank you so much for being with us. So we appreciate your time.

LIPSKY: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: The Israeli military now says a perceived threat led to the deadly strike on 15 emergency workers in Gaza. In a moment, the images from the attack casting doubt on that claim.

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[00:18:09]

VAUSE: According to Israel's prime minister, Donald Trump's, quote, "bold vision" of Gaza's future was the main topic under discussion during a White House meeting on Monday. President Trump again talked about U.S. postwar control over Gaza, calling it an incredible piece of important real estate, and once again suggested the two million Palestinians who live there should be relocated, a move supported by Netanyahu, saying Palestinians should freely make a choice to go wherever they want. He did not specify if that included a choice of staying in Gaza.

Netanyahu also says another hostage deal is in the works. That comes as Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv called for an agreement to free all hostages currently in Hamas captivity.

According to an initial investigation by the Israeli military, perceived threat led to the killing of more than a dozen emergency workers in Gaza last month. But a video of the actual incident cast doubt on those claims.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details and a warning, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (voice-over): Emergency lights flashing in the pre-dawn sky. A convoy of ambulances and a fire truck pull up to the scene of an Israeli attack. Palestinian paramedics and civil defense responders get out of their vehicles when suddenly, amid a hail of gunfire, emergency responders drop to the ground, and the paramedic who is filming begins to pray.

It is the single deadliest attack on emergency responders in Gaza during the war, killing 15. The Israeli military says it is reexamining the incident after this video debunked their claim that the ambulances were advancing suspiciously and without emergency lights. Now, new testimony from a survivor further undermining the Israeli military's narrative.

[00:20:05]

Paramedic Munther Abed says Israeli troops didn't just open fire on one ambulance convoy. About an hour earlier his ambulance was also attacked.

They opened fire directly on us in the vehicle, Munther says. I survived by lying down in the back of the vehicle. If I had stood up, I would have been killed.

He listened as two of his colleagues, Mustafa Khafaja and Ezzedine Shaath, drew their last breaths. Israeli troops then detained Munther. The Israeli military has described that first attack as targeting a Hamas vehicle, killing two Hamas members and detaining a third. An Israeli military official said they were not uniformed paramedics. But Munther says they were driving a well-lit ambulance and we're wearing their uniforms.

As Israeli troops questioned Munther, other medics were dispatched to look for him. The Palestine Red Crescent Society says this is Munther's ambulance, lights extinguished after coming under fire. No comment from the Israeli military.

Munther saw the convoy arrive.

I was lying face down and a soldier had an M-16 rifle pressed against my back with my face turned toward the street. In the street, there were civil defense vehicles, fire trucks, and ambulances parked nearby. They opened fire directly on them.

The Israeli military buried the bodies in this shallow grave. They say it was to prevent the bodies from being scavenged. The U.N. only reached the site a week later.

Paramedic Hasan Hosni nearly ended up in that grave, but he called in sick that day, and his son Mohammed took his place. He soon called him one last time.

Help me. Dad, Help me. I asked him what was wrong and he said we were targeted by the Israelis and they are now shooting at us directly. Then the call disconnected.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: For the first time, Ukrainian forces have been active across the border in Russia's Belgorod region. Confirmation came from President Zelenskyy during his nightly video address Monday. He'd previously hinted at military operations, quote, "a little below the Kursk region," adding operations in Kursk have successfully lured Russian forces away from the Ukrainian frontline.

We shall pause here and take a short break. Back in a moment.

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[00:27:15]

VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. Let's take a look at the day's top stories.

President Donald Trump says Monday direct talks are underway between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. During his meeting with the Israeli prime minister Donald Trump says U.S. officials are expected to sit down with their Iranian counterparts in a, quote, "very big meeting" that would take place in Oman Saturday.

China is warning of a fight to the end if the Trump administration follows through with an extra 50 percent tariff on Chinese imports unless China drops the tariffs it slapped on U.S. goods last week. The Chinese Commerce Ministry slammed what it calls unilateral bullying and blackmailing nature of the United States.

Donald Trump's trade advisers insist the markets are, quote, "finding the bottom now" and the U.S. will avoid a recession. Peter Navarro's analysis is in stark contrast to most industry experts, who warn the Trump tariffs will likely raise prices across the board and push the global economy into a recession.

Another day of wild swings and losses for U.S. markets Monday, opening in bear territory officially down 20 percent from recent highs.

CNN's Matt Egan with more now on the impact of this volatility and what it means for the U.S. and what the U.S. has learned about previous bear markets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Markets are melting down and everyone is talking about a bear market.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Nasdaq is in a bear market.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now nearing a bear market.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On pace for a bear market.

EGAN: But what exactly is it? A bear market is a 20 percent drop from a recent high. These steep market declines typically signal immense fear among investors about the health of the economy. Since 1929, there have been 18 bear markets for the S&P 500. The average drop, about 37 percent. Some bear markets were less severe, some more.

Some of them, like in 1990, were caused by war. Others were fueled by the bursting of asset bubbles like in 2000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The internet mania was a giant bubble.

EGAN: Toxic mortgages were to blame for the 2008 meltdown.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A breathtaking plunge for stock markets. The Dow drops by 800 points.

EGAN: And a deadly virus crashed markets in 2020. This time, it's self-inflicted. President Trump's trade war has freaked out investors around the world, causing enormous losses in rapid fashion. For now, investors are selling first and they're asking questions later.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Russia was spared the minimum 10 percent tariff, which Trump imposed on almost every other U.S. trading partner. Still, the Kremlin says it's closely watching volatile oil prices. The price of Brent crude Monday hit its lowest level since 2021, although recovered somewhat later in the day. Moscow has mostly been able to avoid hit from previous U.S. tariffs by moving most of its energy exports to Asia. But any long term dip in oil prices will hurt the Russian economy.

The U.S. Supreme Court says that for now the president can use or continue to use the obscure Alien Enemies Act to enforce rapid deportations. The court's justices openly dissented to the unsigned decision, as well as Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who partially dissented.

[00:30:11] President Trump and his cabinet were quick to applaud the ruling, though it's only temporary while the matter is litigated in lower courts.

The court was very clear that officials must give migrants targeted by the law adequate notice they've been removed, so they have time to file complaints.

We've now learned the U.S. government has revoked the visas of eight more international students. That's adding to the dozens who've had their visas revoked so far by the Trump administration.

At least 15 of those students or recent graduates of the University of California system and Stanford University. Cornell Barnard, with CNN affiliate KGO, has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CORNELL BARNARD, KGO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fear and concern on the UC Berkeley campus, the birthplace of the free speech movement.

TRINY RAVIDRAN, UC BERKELEY STUDENT: It's just very, very scary, overall.

BARNARD (voice-over): Undergrad Triny Ravindran is worried for friends who are international students. The university says this week, six Berkeley students had their F-1 visas revoked by the Department of Homeland Security and were told to leave the country.

It's believed some students may have been targeted for their political activism involving pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

RAVIDRAN: Sadly ironic that that has happened here, that people have been silenced for speaking out and have been literally sent back to where they're from for just expressing their rights.

BARNARD (voice-over): The university telling ABC 7 News, "Berkeley's International Office has been providing international students and others with guidance and information regarding changing federal policies and actions and will continue to do so. Campus officials are committed to doing what they can to support all members of our community as they exercise their rights under the law."

MARICELA MARTINEZ, VISITING MUSIC INSTRUCTOR, UC BERKELEY: It is upsetting. It is sad that these students that have an American dream study abroad, and they're not able to do that anymore.

BARNARD (voice-over): Stanford University learned on Friday four students and two recent graduates have had their student visas revoked, adding, "We are not currently aware of the details of the revocations or the reasons for them."

And at UC Davis, campus officials announced Saturday the federal government has terminated F-1 visas for a dozen international students and recent graduates. ZAHRA BILLOO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC

RELATIONS, SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: The Trump administration has made clear that it will target students based on their First Amendment- protected activity.

BARNARD (voice-over): The council on Islamic Relations, Bay Area, condemning the student visas being pulled.

BILLOO: We are continuing to investigate the situation. We are in touch with student groups and other legal groups in hopes of advocating for and protecting these students, who are being unduly targeted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Cornell Barnard there, reporting for CNN affiliate KGO.

Well, call it Jurassic Kennel, perhaps. Scientists say they've brought the dire wolf back from extinction -- extinction, 12,000 years after they were extinct. How the species was resurrected. That's next.

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[00:37:37]

VAUSE: Howls from the past, not heard in 12,500 years. And they're calling it de-extinction, resurrecting the dire wolf. Three pups, to be precise, all with genetic traits of their prehistoric animal. The pups are effectively a hybrid species.

According to "Colossal Bioscience," ancient DNA extracted from two fossils, as well as gene editing and cloning, were used to alter the genes of a gray wolf, the dire wolf's closest living relative.

Next up, the company wants to de-extinct the mammoth, dodo, and the Tasmanian tiger.

Some good news for the critically endangered Galapagos tortoise. That was on Friday. The Philadelphia Zoo announcing the nearly 100-year-old mating pair became the first-time parents at the end of February.

One baby tortoise has already broken out of its egg. Three other hatchlings are being closely monitored. Their mother, whose name is Mummy, is widely considered to be one of the most genetically valuable among her species, as experts around the globe work to revive the population.

The zoo says they plan to debut the new tortoises April 23.

There's a growing movement that asks people to ditch their phones with the aim of reconnecting them and shedding light on the health benefits of disconnecting or disconnecting, rather, from their screens.

Here's a look inside the Offline Club, where phones are traded for IRL experiences. And just in case you don't know what IRL means, it's "in real life." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HOUNSELL, CITY LEADER, OFFLINE CLUB, LONDON: My name's Ben Hounsell, and I'm city leader for the Offline Club, London.

We're pioneering a movement to help people swap screen time for real time.

GRAPHIC: What is the Offline Club?

HOUNSELL: It was founded by three Dutch guys in Amsterdam in February 2024. It was just a group of friends trying to get away from their phones.

And since then, it's really grown into a global movement.

GRAPHIC: What are the events like?

HOUNSELL: So, it's just a phone-free event. You turn up, you hand your phone in at the start, and for the next two hours, you're offline.

We'll have live music, live piano, and then people will pick up those forgotten hobbies: reading, journaling, writing. It's really mindful.

GRAPHIC: Are you anti-tech?

HOUNSELL: I'm not anti-tech myself. I think it's just very beneficial to get away from tech for a few hours.

So, I'm 23 years old. In my previous startup, I was spending hours upon hours a day optimizing video for TikTok, making sure it was as addictive as possible. Ironic, right?

I think for us as humans, it's about discovering what parts of these phones do we want to use for good and what parts aren't benefiting us.

GRAPHIC: Who comes to the events?

HOUNSELL: Our core audience is actually 90 percent female, ages 25 to 50. So, it's not actually really Gen Z and Gen Alpha that are coming to these events.

[00:40:07]

I think they're just the most addicted to their phones.

We've got weaker real-world connections. It's really declining our mental health.

My pep talk would just be to come to an offline event. Come and chat to me there in person, and I reckon I could convince them to go offline for a bit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I was just checking my phone. Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, back with more

news at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT is up next.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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