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Connect the World

Concerns Over Zika Not Stopping Carnival Goers; UN Panel To Rule Julian Assange Unlawfully Detained; Sanders, Hillary Set for First One-on- One Debate; 11-Year-Old Afghan Boy Assassinated by Taliban; Super Bowl Ads Reach Record Price; International Community Pledging Big Sums for Humanitarian Aid to Syrians. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET

Aired February 04, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:18] JONATHAN MANN, HOST: Black gold, cutting off ISIS's oil revenue has been the focus of coalition airstrikes. We'll take you inside

one oil field the terror group fled in a hurry and look at what they left behind.

Also ahead, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for years. Now the UN is addressing his case.

A live report from London, coming up.

And Super Bowl ad, also record breaking $5 million this year.

MANN: Are they worth it? We'll hear from the companies shelling out the big bucks for the big game.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World.

MANN: Thanks for joining us. The war in Syria rages on with no end in sight. And the one glimmer of hope on the horizon has now been dimmed.

Peace talks in Geneva, which never really got off the ground anyway, have now been suspended for three weeks and just today 21 people were killed in

Aleppo, Syria following a suspected Russian air raid on rebel-held neighborhoods, that according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Across northern Syria, coalition airstrikes are hitting ISIS hard. The terror group was recently driven out of one oil field and our Clarissa

Ward shows us what they left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bubbling beneath this desolate landscape is the black gold that has funded

the ISIS war machine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: This is a fighter with the Syrian Democratic forces who are battling ISIS in this part of the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: He showed us around an oil field in a rural town that was seized from the militants two months ago.

(on camera): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(voice-over): "ISIS earned a lot of money from these fields," he tells us. "People from all over this area came here to buy their fuel."

You can still hear the hiss of gas. But the pump is no longer operational.

The U.S.-led coalition has been hammering ISIS' oil, which at one time generated $40 million a month. Air strikes have targeted refineries,

pumping stations, and lines of tankers waiting for gas.

The fighter says the militants learn to adapt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: "In each field, they have one person as a cashier to sell the fuel. And one tanker can come at a time," he says. "They use this tactic

because planes are looking for big groups not individuals."

But Kurdish fighters and U.S. air strikes eventually forced ISIS into retreat. All that remains now of their presence is some graffiti.

(on camera): The Kurds and their Arab allies are desperate to get the oil pumping again. They have two major problems. Firstly, the front lines

are still just a few miles away from here. And, secondly, they don't have the money or the expertise they would need to start repairing the damage

that's been done.

(voice-over): The trickle of oil will not become a flow for months or even longer. As ISIS fighters fled, they destroyed what they could.

Electric cables were cut. Booby-traps were laid.

Only one facility was left untouched. Just behind the refinery, a row of tanks turned into an underground prison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: "Each cell held up to 15 people," he tells us, "among them, women and children."

Written on the walls of one, a harrowing message, "I'm not afraid of dying. But I fear the tears of my loved ones."

The fighter and his men are starting to clear the wreckage left behind by ISIS, but they can't erase the terror inflicted here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MANN: Clarissa Ward is standing by in Irbil, northern Iraq.

Clarissa, let me ask you about the oil. That was just one small field, but overall how important is oil to the course of this war?

WARD: Well, it's certainly been very crucial to the rise of ISIS, Jonathan. It wasn't long ago that the group was making nearly $500 million

a year. This was the most important continuous source of revenue that the militants had.

Now certainly a lot has changed since the U.S. really doubled down on its air campaign, specifically targeting, as we said, oil fields,

refineries, long lines of tankers waiting for gas and also it's been compounded by plummeting oil prices.

So essentially ISIS now finding it very expensive and very difficult to operate those pumps from within the country. And that is absolutely

hitting hard in terms of all the things that they were using with the proceeds that they made from the oil, whether it be weapons, whether it be

paying salaries. We have heard that ISIS salaries have been cut.

So, it's definitely made an impact, Jonathan.

[11:05:06] MANN: Clarissa Ward live in Irbil, thanks very much much.

World leaders, meantime, are gathered in London pledging billions of dollars in much-needed aid for Syria and its refugees. We'll get the

latest from the donor coffers, find out how much has been raised so far and with what in mind. Coming up.

A United Nations panel is expected it to rule that Julian Assange is effectively being unlawfully detained. The founder of WikiLeaks has been

holed up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, you may recall, since 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden where he's accused of rape.

No matter what the UN panel decides, British police say Assange will be arrested if he leaves the building.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is in London with the latest. And Erin, I'm scratching my head over this. Can you explain what the case is? What the

panel is? And what the impact of this is likely to be?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jonathan, in 2014 Julian Assange's legal team submitted a complaint to this panel, UN

panel on arbitrary detention alleging that Julian Assange was being arbitrarily detained because he's unable to leave the embassy without being

arrested.

They also allege that he's being deprived of certain liberties -- access to fresh air, sunlight. He's living in an area, they say, some 30

square meters large. They also say he's been denied access to proper medical treatment.

So they submitted that complaint to the United Nations, also alleging that he has not been able to have access to the full benefits of the asylum

offered to him by Ecuador.

Now, the press association today reporting that that panel has ruled in his favor. The Un at the moment, though, is not commenting. There is

the formal announcement expected in Geneva tomorrow.

MANN: Would the ruling change anything as far as the British government or the Swedish government are concerned?

MCLAUGHILN: It certainly does not seem to be the case. Downing Street today was very

clear that should Julian Assange leave the Ecuadorian embassy, they will issue a warrant for his arrest.

They say that the findings of this panel are not legally binding and we're hearing pretty much the same from Swedish authorities as well. They

say this has no baring on their investigation. Swedish authorities saying they still would like to question Julian Assange on allegations of rape.

Now in December, they submitted this request to the Ecuadorian embassy. In that request, the Swedish prosecutor offering to travel to

London to interview Assange in person in the embassy.

Now, the Swedish prosecutor saying that request was denied by the embassy. They urged the Swedish authorities to resubmit the request and

include in that request the questions for Assange.

The Swedish prosecutor's office says that they are in the process of drafting that list of questions as well as translating them into Spanish.

Those questions, if submitted, to be asked by an Ecuadoren official.

MANN: Strange case still dragging on. Erin McLaughlin in London, thanks very much.

Here in the U.S., the Democratic presidential -- here in the U.S. the Democratic presidential candidates tangled over the meaning of the word

progressive during a revealing town hall. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders didn't actually take the stage together Wednesday in New Hampshire,

but the event still got heated.

Brianna Keilar has a recap.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Of course, we're an underdog. We are taking on the most powerful, political organization the country and that's the Clinton

organization.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Only five day was from the New Hampshire primary, Senator Bernie Sanders taking off the gloves during last

night's Democratic town hall, jabbing Secretary Clinton over which candidate can claim to be progressive.

SANDERS: You can't go and say you're a moderate on one day and be a progressive on the other day. Some of my best friends are moderates. I

love moderates. But you can be a moderate and a progressive. They are different.

KEILAR: Clinton pushed back at his assertion when she took the stage.

HILLARY CLINTON, FRM. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I said that I'm a progressive

who likes to get things done. And I was somewhat amused today taht Senator Sanders has set himself up to be the gatekeeper on who's a progressive,

because under the definition that was flying around on Twitter and statements by the campaign, Barack Obama would not be a progressive, Joe

Biden would not be a progressive.

KEILAR: Sanders forcing Clinton to defend her relationship with Wall Street.

CLINTON: I do not know any progressive who has a super PAC and takes $15 million from Wall Street. That's just not progressive.

KEILAR: The former senator from New York stumbling a bit when Anderson Cooper asked her

about her paid speeches from Goldman Sachs.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHRO: But did you have to be paid $675,000?

[11:10:03] CLINTON: Well, I don't know. That's what they offered. So...

You know, every secretary of state that I know has done that.

COOPER: But that's usually (inaudible) and not running for an office...

CLINTON: To be honest, I wasn't committed to running. I didn't know whether I would or not.

COOPER: You didn't think you were going to run for president?

CLINTON: I didn't.

KEILAR: Clinton tackling another tough subject when an audience member asked her about her vote for the war in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What have you learned since that vote to give me confidence that you wouldn't make mistake of that magnitude again?

CLINTON: Oh, I think that's a very fair question.

You know, I did make a mistake. And I admitted that I made a mistake.

KEILAR: That mistake, one that Senator Sanders has repeatedly gone after.

SANDERS: You're the key foreign policy vote of modern American history was the war in Iraq. The progressive community was pretty united

in saying don't listen to Bush. Don't go to war. Secretary Clinton voted to go to war.

KEILAR: But Clinton standing firm.

CLINTON: All I can do is to just get up every day and work to do what I believe our country needs, find ways to help people, whether it's on

mental health or addiction or autism or student loans, whatever it might be. And I trust the American people. I trust the people of New Hampshire

to see my lifetime of work and service and to sort out all of the static and to know that I will work my heart out

for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MANN: Brianna Keilar reporting there.

Clinton and Sanders will debate each other face to face in Durham, New Hampshire tonight. Our senor Washington correspondent Joe Johns has a

preview.

Joe, you know, I'd score the Iowa caucuses a tie, score last night's town hall a tie. But New Hampshire is said to be friendlier territory for

Sanders than for Clinton. What can you tell us?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that's right, and it's for a bunch of reasons. I think the first is geographically he's from Vermont.

And he's even able to go home to Vermont, which is right across the border from New Hampshire at night while he's campaigning in New Hampshire.

So he is a really known commodity here in the state of New Hampshire and that probably

helps him.

Some of his issues, as well, the things he hits on very hard, the issue of big banks, the financial

industry as well as campaign finance reform and the differences in money, if you will, between the rich and the poor in this country. These are all

the things that he touches on.

And this is a fairly independent audience these candidates have in this state. 40 percent of people who vote are said to be registered

independents that probably plays to Bernie Sanders' strength, too, so he's been running pretty well in the polls, Jonathan.

MANN: What about the Republicans, what are they up to?

JOHNS: Well, the gang's all here, quite frankly. Donald Trump trying to come back from that second place finish in Iowa is crisscrossing the

state. He's been hitting Ted Cruz quite a bit here on the road.

Ted Cruz, for his part, is in the state with multiple events as well. He's recently been accusing

Donald Trump of having temper tantrums. Marco Rubio is in the state along with a number of other Republican candidates.

So they are going to be quite busy over the next several days looking toward the primary early next week, Jonathan.

MANN: Joe Johns live in Durham, New Hampshire, thanks very much.

CNN's Political Mann has the presidential race covered. The candidates, the controversies, the comedy. Joins us on Saturday at 12:30

p.m., if you're watching from Abu Dhabi and we'll have a look at the serious, the strange and the silly in America's presidential election.

Still to come tonight, millions of Syrians in need of aid, billions of dollars needed to help them. We're live in London where world leaders have

been meeting and pledging that money.

Plus, a Cyber attack that left hundreds of thousands of (inaudible) in the dark. Experts say it could happen again almost anywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:16:37] MANN: You're watching CNN, this is Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann. Welcome back. Nearly $9 billion, that's how much the

United Nations has requested to help Syrian refugees. The UN is hoping world leaders gathered in London will meet that

target and billions of dollars have been pledged in just the past few hours.

The need, though, is greater than ever. The nearly five-year war has driven more than 4 million Syrians from the country, 6 million are

displaced internally.

CNN's Nic Robertson is following the conference for us from London and joins us now.

Obviously, Nic, in a tragedy of this scope, money is maybe only a small part of the problem. But they do seem to be collecting some

impressive amounts. Who is donating? And what's it all going to be used for?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jonathan. I mean, the pledges are ranging from $1.1 million from Croatia to $3 billion

from the European Union. Britain giving $1.75 billion, Germany $1.3 billion, the United States $950 million, Kuwait $350 million, Norway $280

million.

This money, though, is being sort fo focused in a number of different places. Education is an important area that the money hopes to go to.

We have heard from the King of Jordan as well, King Abdullah, talking about that this is not a time to sort of give aid and relief, but this is a

time for investment and empowerment to the countries like Jordan, like Lebanon, like Turkey that have to -- so many refugees

living in their countries that they need help -- those countries to create jobs. So that's another theme

here as well as the humanitarian assistance, the food assistance, the shelter assistance.

You konw, figures here are quite staggering. 70 percent of Syria's population don't have access to clean drinking water, 13.5 million people

inside Syriaare in need of some sort of help. 5.3 million are in need of shelter. These are staggering numbers. And that's why the donations that

we're hearing about here are so big, Jonathan.

MANN: Fundamentally the problem isn't money, the problem is war. You have been covering the efforts to try to launch peace talks in Geneva.

They have seemed to have essentially collapsed just in time for you to make it to london. Where do things stand?

ROBERTSON: Well, technically the peace talks are on pause and they should be restarted on the 25th of February.

It took a huge effort for the international community to bring the opposition, the HNC, the igh Negotiating Committee, to Geneva to get into

the talks. They were several days late in arriving. They have said that they wouldn't get properly involved in the talks without a cease-fire,

without humanitarian aid being distributed, without a release of some prisoners. That wasn't on the cards. Indeed, quite the opposite.

The Syrian government, backed by Russia, was increasing and stepping up an offensive on

Aleppo in the north of the country and that really gave the talks no chance of getting underway. Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy was hoping

for some confidence building measures, but as you can imagine in that atmosphere where the conflict is still playing out on the

ground, it wasn't going to happen.

So, we have heard him here today, Staffan de Mistura, we have heard others here say -- we have heard Secretary of State John Kerry saying you

know Russia, the international community, all signed up for pledges to bring peace to Syria, immediate ceasefire, immediate humanitarian aid. We

must stick to that. We must go along that track, but really on the ground at the moment the willingness doesn't appear to be there.

So, the donations here, donors are really going to have to dig in their pockets deep, because the indications are for right now this war is

going to be a long war and it's going to continue, Jonathan.

[11:20:16] MANN: Well, the principle parties fighting on the ground couldn't come to any conversation in Geneva. I'm just wondering if the

conversation proceeds with the Iranians who are in London, with the Americans who are in London.

There are different sides who are backing these factions and they're all in one place. They're with you. Are they pursuing the efforts there,

or is all the money, all the world's hope centered on these stop and go talks that have stopped again in Geneva?

ROBERTSON: You know, there's a lot of about talk. There's a lot of talk about everyone -- UN security council -- signed up the UN resolution

that put in place the peace talks and a road map to elections in Syria in a year and a half.

There's a lot of talk about the countries that signed up should follow through with their obligations. But who has the leverage, for example, to

make Russia tell President Bashar al Assad you have got to get real. The talks are ongoing. We have all signed up to it.

Iran the same it's backing President Bashar al Assad. We heard that David Cameron today talk with the Iranian foreign minister who is here.

Their discussion, though, more about bilateral business relations rather than about Syria.

Secretary Kerry has had a phone call with the Russian foreign minister, his counterpart there, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss the sticking

points in Syria at the moment.

But really, if there was to be a step change on the ground in Syria, that would likely have to come from somebody like Secretary Kerry, if not

him, who else, telling Sergei Lavrov two years ago we all came to Geneva for talks expecting you to convince the Syrian government that they would

have to negotiate for real. Two years later we're back here now and actually on the ground you're backing the fighting on the ground.

It's that level of conversation that's going to have to turn the government of Syria around and

bring them to the table because the international community was able to get the opposition to the table but not able to get the conditions on the

ground. And right now that's not happening, Jonathan.

MANN: Nic Robertson at the Syrian donors conference in London, Thanks very much.

You can play a role in the conference and help the millions of Syrians who are in need both inside the country and as refugees elsewhere in the

region. Head to the website supporting Syria2016.com/howyoucanhelp.

Live from CNN center, this is Connect the World. Coming up, Jordan struggles to cope with the burden of Syrian refugees and the Gulf states

continue to keep their doors shut, only opening them to a lucky few. Those stories in about 15 minutes.

And the U.S. is learning a lot about a massive cyber attack on Ukraine's power grid. How it plans to use that information, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MANN: Welcome back. You're watching Connect the World live from CNN Center. I'm Jonathan Mann.

We're going to go to London now. The Syrian donors conference and news conference we're expecting to hear from David Cameron. Angela Merkel,

the prime minister of Norway, and the amir of Kuwait. Let's listen in.

(SYRIAN DONORS CONFERENCE)

[11:35:22] MANN; German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking there.

While we heard the translator giving the address from the government of Iceland.

One thing we did hear very directly was from the government of the United Kingdmo, our message to the people of Syria and the region is clear,

we will stand with you and we will support you for as long as it takes.

The words of David Cameron, one of the hosts of the Syrian Donor Conference, which has raised of more than $10 billion to address the

poverty, unemployment and educational disruption that's been wrought by five years of war.

The latest world news headlines just ahead. We'll be back right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

MANN: Despite the rapid spread of the Zika virus, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend Rio's de Janeiro's annual

carnival over the weekend. In a national address Wednesday, Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff urged Brazilians to fight the disease saying it

poses a real threat.

Let's cross live to Rio now. Shasta Darlington is there for us. Shasta, Carnival is about to begin but under a cloud I guess is the west

you could say. What's it like to be there?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You would think, Jonathan, but I tell you if you go down to the Sambadrome where they are

having their practice runs ahead of the bit Carnival parades or to one of the street parties also having their practice runs, you really wouldn't

know it.

People aren't talking about Zika. We have asked hotels and tourism officials. They say there really haven't been any cancellations. In fact,

they expect bigger numbers this Carnival than last year largely due to the exchange rate. It's actually cheaper to come to Brazil, if you're a

foreigner, and for so many Brazilians it's more expensive to go abroad because the currency is weaker so they are staying home.

That means that again you've got hundreds of thousands of people preparing to head to the street in the middle of these steamy, summer

months when doctors say there is a real risk of infection and yet they are just not terribly worried about it.

Nonetheless, officials have been going door to door really encouraging people to take responsibility for the pools of water where the mosquitoes

that spread the Zika virus where they breed. In fact, most of the mosquitoes are found inside people's homes. So there's been a huge education campaign. The soldiers are involved in

the door to door efforts. They have been fumigating wherever they can. So, the officials are taking their steps, again, in the

general population. It's where you don't find a whole lot of concern, unless of course you're talking to families that are thinking about getting

pregnant, Jonathan.

[11:41:00] MANN: Well, the fear has been of mosquitoes transmitting the disease, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has now confirmed the

first case it knows of on U.S. soil of the disease being sexually transmitted.

Is that getting any attention?

DARLINGTON: You know, it is in the scientific community, Jonathan. There is a certain amount of concern. In fact, we had a chance to talk to

the director of the top research institute here in Brazil, Fio Cruz (ph) about a number of issues involving Zika. And he

said, yes, that people should be concerned about it, but right here in Brazil the focus is and needs to be

on the mosquito, which they know is responsible for most of the spread of the disease.

You know, he said though what's interesting is that so many unknowns are out there. Each day something new comes up, like the possibility of it

being sexually transmitted. He said that this -- the only time he's ever seen something like this was back during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

Take a listen to what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: So, doctor, have you ever seen anything like this before? Can you compare it to anything we have seen in recent history?

DR. WILSON SAVINO: The challenge for the scientific and medical community

I'd say is comparable to what happened when we first knew in history the outbreak of HIV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: And he talked about how what started out as an apparently mild virus then they linked to birth defects and there are still so many

questions out there, among them, he said.

We don't know if you really get immunity. If you've had it once, maybe it's not like chickenpox, maybe you get it once, and you can still

get it again. So many unanswered questions, Jonathan.

MANN: Shasta Darlington in Rio. Thanks very much.

An 11-year-old Afghan boy who was hailed a hero for fighting insurgents has been killed. Wasil Ahmed, made headlines around the world

last year for helping his family protect their home from Taliban fighters.

Monday he was shot and killed. We bring in our Nick Paton Walsh joining us now from Beirut, Lebanon.

Nick, tell us about this boy. He wasn't just killed, he was assassinated. I mean, this young man's short life seems to sum up

everything that is sad and tragic and brutal about Afghanistan.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does just -- absolutely, Jonathan. Does this bring really home what has happened to

that country after three decades of war, since 1979 it's been pretty much in a state of civil conflict and also I think gives you an idea of how it's

traumatized a whole generation of younger children now.

You know, the view we had of that the war was often sanitized during the American military presence. But the details of this are what are so

shocking. Wasil Adhmed, about 11 years old, say most reports, was out shopping for his mother, brothers and sisters being the man of the family.

His father having died -- I'll get to that in a moment -- when he was gunned down near a market by Taliban gunmen on a motorcycle who

specifically targeted the 11-year-old.

Now, he was the man of the house, because his father had been killed in 2013 a year after he and Wasil's uncle, so the two brothers, had in fact

defected from the Taliban to join something which back in 2012 was called the Afghan Local Police -- it still is -- a project often American

initiative to get local tribes to side up in these groups and assist Afghan security forces in fending off the Taliban.

Now that cost Wasil's father his life in 2013.

Samaat (ph), Wasil's uncle, went on to teach young child, 10 then, who was proficient in English at school, but turned out also to be very good it

seems with an AK-47, a heavy machine gun, a high frequency radio, the tools of war, not the toys you'd expect someone of that age in the west certainly

to be playing with.

Now these skills, as it were, kept to effect last summer when his village, his home village, was besieged by the Taliban for over 70 days.

18 people lost their lives in that fight in fact at the one stage we're told by the uncle of Wasil that he in fact took up some kind of

leadership role telling people how to try and mount this defense.

A public figure increasingly, because of the praise heaped upon him, because of his terrifying young years -- irregardless of how you view this,

is a child soldier in no other short terms, his life brutally taken. But it does appear, too, that The Taliban in attacking and

murdering an 11-year-old boy, while increasingly radical -- we have seen them attack journalists too -- I think many see their current moves with

the shadow of peace talks potentially around here as well as a bid to seem radical, perhaps compete with the radicalism of ISIS, that there's got a

foothold in Afghanistan, too, and still regardless this 11-year-old shot while out shopping by gunmen on a motorbike,

Jonathan.

MANN: Nick Paton Walsh in Beirut. Thanks very much.

U.S. investigators say they found evidence of what they believe is the first of its kind, a sophisticated cyber attack on a power grid that caused

a blackout affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine in December.

The U.S. official close to the investigation says hackers attacked six power companies damaging sensitive control systems. The evidence also

confirming what had been theoretical that power grids around the world, including the U.S. and elsewhere, are vulnerable.

CNN's Evan Perez joins us now live from Washington.

This is an astonishing story. It was massive, more than 100 cities and towns all going into the dark. The first ever, its presumed, cyber

attack on a civilian population. What have U.S. authorities learned?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jonathan, the word gamechanger is sort of overused often. In this case here in Washington, this is what

is being treated like simply because, as you said, there have been suspicions of past cyber attacks and even demonstrations that it could

theoretically be done.

However, these investigators from the Department of Energy, homeland security, and the FBI, went to Ukraine to investigate this blackout, which

occurred last month. And what they say they found was unprecedented and astonishing. They said that these hackers, a group of very sophisticated

hackers broke in to six different power companies and launched a coordinated

attack. They say they destroyed computers, they destroyed even the systems that these power companies would

use to restart power and even the ability for people to report power outages through call centers.

So the destruction was very complete and it caused a lot of damage and really woke people up

here in Washington that this is beyond theoretical that this is something that could happen here.

MANN; Now, in Ukraine, people were very quick to blame Russia. Is Wwashington doing that?

PEREZ: Well, not yet. They do know that that they found malware on these systems that

does have an origin in Russia. It's called Black Energy. And, frankly, it's everywhere. It's been found in industrial systems in the United

States. It's been found in other systems in industrialized countries. The more computers your utility has the better the chance that hackers have

implanted this type of malware.

It's very common, and the question is what can you do about it because we do know that the U.S. has said that utilities here in this country are

very vulnerable to this and it's been found in other countries as well.

But they do not know yet whether or not this was the Russian government or whether these were hackers simply based there. It's not yet

clear.

MANN: Now, Ukraine, you mentioned the United States, Israel is reporting that its electrical

utility was hacked last month. How many countries are vulnerable?

PEREZ: It's worldwide. It really is a very big problem, especially for industrialized countries that have automated a lot of their power grid.

You want to be able to respond quickly if there are any problems. You know, every electrical system has shortages, has problems

that develop and you want to be able to switch power sources very quickly. And that's why you use these computers.

The problem is, it's connected to the Internet, that means hackers can get in and that's the big concern that U.S. authorities came back from

Ukraine with.

We do know that they have been briefing the White House. We know that they are briefing some of the big companies here in this country because

this Black Energy malware, this malicious software is very widespread and it could be used as a way simply as a Trojan horse to get into these

systems and then for hacker to come in and destroy things later on.

MANN: Wow, a 21st Century kind of problem.

Evan Perez, live in Washington, thanks very much.

Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World. Are you ready for some football? The Carolina Panthers meet the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl

50 on Sunday for non-football fans. The bit game is still fun to watch for the ads.

We'll go live to San Francisco, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:14] MANN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann.

The Carolina Panthers face the Denver Broncos in Sunday's Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco.

But the big money ads may be as closely watched as the game itself and this year they are showing online as well.

Senior media correspondent Brian Stelter joins us now live from San Francisco. Brian, two teams in competition. A lot of advertisers

competing, a lot of money on both. What can you tell us?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is really the ad bowl. It's the corporate bowl here in San Francisco right behind me. This is

Super Bowl City. It's where many of the big sponsors have their it big event spaces.

You know, I wanted to talk to the heads of marketing at Pepsi and Frito Lay about why it's worth $5 million for just 30 seconds.

And here's what they told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Super Bowl ads cost a record-breaking $5 million this year. And for the first time

ever, the same ads will be streamed online.

So, is it really worth the price?

Food and beverage giant PepsiCo says it`s a no-brainer.

SETH KAUFMAN, CMO, PEPSI: The investment around this platform of Super Bowl is a big platform that for fans of the NFL is not just about that

Sunday. All the analyses that we do, it`s worth the money that we`re putting against it because we`re getting great payback across our business.

RAM KRISHNAN, CMO, FRITO-LAY: We`ll have 75,000 displays in every one of our retailers across the country. Two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl

is the biggest purchase on stock and beverages. So, for sure, if you look at the entirety of it, it definitely pays off.

STELTER (on camera): How safety you have to play it for these ads? Did you worry about offending one of the 100 million people that are watching?

KRISHNAN: Well, especially in a brand like Doritos, which is targeted to 19-year-old consumer, we`re also going to get creative. Is it going to

offend someone?

STELTER (voice-over): A common theme in Doritos Super Bowl ads -- animals and babies.

KRISHNAN: I think five years, we finished as the number one top. It`s sense of humor. You know, you got to entertain. I think as a brand, you got

to entertain the consumers and obviously kids and animals tend to do that.

STELTER: Pepsi on other hand has focused on celebrities in the past, from Michael J. Fox and Cindy Crawford in the `80s and `90s, to Britney

Spears and even Elton John in more recent years.

ELTON JOHN: Pepsi for you.

STELTER (on camera): How do you all decide it`s worth having a celebrity in ads? Some years, there are celebrities front and center in a

lot of Super Bowl ads. Other years, maybe not so much. What`s the calculation about that?

KRISHNAN: We used to hire celebrities as spokesperson. No longer the case. Now, we want to understand what`s their narrative and what`s the

value they`re adding to the brand story. So, it`s very different from how we traditionally used celebrities in the past.

STELTER (voice-over): As for what you can expect this year, you`ll have to wait until Super Bowl Sunday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STELTER: Jonathan, concerns about concussions and other controversies continue to swirl around the NFL. Front page of today's The New York

Times, more stories about players, former dying perhaps as a result of CTE.

But viewers and advertisers and brands are not at all deterred. In fact, ratings for the NFL continue to reach new records. The Super Bowl

this Sunday may set a new ratings record as well. It's the 50th year, CBS is broadcasting here in the United States and of course it will be seen all

around the world.

Back to you.

MANN: Brian, it seems like a non sequitur, but I have to ask you more about it. I mean, how much of a shadow is all of this concern about

cranial injury casting over this? Because this is America's big party. Films like Concussion, the front page story you mentioned, it seems like a

buzz kill to put it bluntly.

STELTER: There is certainly a real dissonance I think when it comes to America's game and these very deep and very real concerns about the

health impacts of playing the game. It's almost as if viewers and consumers are of two minds. I think they consume the information, they are

aware of the concerns. They are reading the stories. They are seeing the new Will

Smith movie Concussion, but then when it comes time for Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening, they are as obsessed with the game as they ever have been

before.

[11:55:09] MANN: Brian Stelter live in San Francisco, thanks very much.

Before we go, cast your eyes on these Parting Shots. A photographer in Lithuania taking a 21st Century approach to a bird's eye view.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFEID MALE: For centuries it was a humanity dream to fly, at least if not to fly, but we can see the world from a bird's point of view.

The biggest challenges in drone photography was to get the flying skills. But once I got confident, it's all up to my imagination,

creativity and hard work.

Most of all I like taking pictures of people in their daily life and at their hobbies. I just love natural and real moments. It's very

difficult to choose one, all of them are really interesting and I like them, but probably the most interesting is the castle. It symbolizes the

freedom.

Photography became like an expression for me and all what it comes out and came out

already it was from my soul, from my heart and I'm just trying to speak my own language through

photography.

My name is (inaudible). And these are my parting shots.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MANN: Incredibly arresting images.

I'm Jonathan Mann. You've been watching Connect the World. Thanks for joining us.

END