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Connect the World
Final Moments of Flight 2933 Captured on Air Traffic Controller Audio; Chapeco Fans Pay Tribute to Fallen Players; Midway Islands: World's Plastic Dumping Ground; In Search for a Cure for AIDS. 10:00a-11:00a ET
Aired December 01, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[10:00:11] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One giant graveyard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNAH VAUGHN JONES, HOST: The UN pleads for urgent help in Aleppo as some 200,000 people are thought to be trapped in the city's rebel-held
neighborhoods. We'll bring you live reports from Beirut and Moscow ahead.
Then, we listen to what are thought to be some of the pilot's last words before Monday night's deadly plane crash in Colombia.
And strangled by plastic. CNN gives you a rare look at a Pacific island that's at war with waste. That's all ahead this hour.
Hello and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Hannah Vaughn Jones in London, sitting in for Becky Anderson. Aleppo is into a decent to hell. That's
how the UN is describing the utterly dire situation in Syria's largest city right now. The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday.
The humanitarian chief practically begging for action. Otherwise, he warns the city could turn into, quote, one giant graveyard.
More than 27,000 people have fled heavy fighting in eastern Aleppo in recent days. But an estimated 200,000 people are still there.
Well, there is intense fighting on the ground between the Syrian government and rebel fighters as those air strikes pound the city from above. And a
political solution to end the war will almost certainly need Russia's help. We'll get out to Jill Dougherty in Moscow for all of that in a moment.
But first, let's begin with Fred Pleitgen who is just over the border in Beirut.
Fred, just explain to us describe what the situation in Aleppo is like right now. Who owns what, who controls what in terms of territory?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Syrian government certainly has made a lot of gains over the past couple days.
And it is quite remarkabl, Hannah, because the gains that the Syrian government have made are far more than they've been able to achieve over
the past four and a half years. A lot of the territory there in eastern Aleppo was in the hands of the rebel forces.
Right now, it seems as though the Syrian government forces have been able to take 20 percent, maybe even 25 percent to 30 percent of the territory
held by rebels in eastern Aleppo. And you know the situation there right now is very fluid, very volatile and, of course, very violent, as well.
There was a bit of a lull in the air campaign that the Syrian government is conducting there
right now. There were barely any air strikes yesterday because of very bad weather over Aleppo. However, that changed today, apparently, when air
strikes were once again going on. Dozens of people were killed.
And as you mentioned, there is also a huge displacement inside eastern Aleppo. People who really don't have anywhere to run, trying to get away
from those front lines. At least 27,000, as you pointed out, says the United Nations. And, of course, with that comes all of the
vulnerabilities. They barely have any food and water. Medical supplies are an even bigger problem, so certainly an absolutely dire situation as
the Syrian government forces continue to make significant gains there on those last rebel-held areas in Aleppo, Hannah.
JONES: Fred, if Assad's forces take control of all of Aleppo, what does that mean then for the
rebel movement countrywide?
PLEITGEN: Yeah, I mean, it certainly would be a very pivotal moment in Syria's civil war, because the east of Aleppo is highly significant, both
to the Assad regime and also the opposition forces, as well. It is the last sort of urban stronghold that the Syrian rebels control or the last
urban area where they control a significant amount of territory.
So, losing that, obviously, would be a giant issue. It would then be an insurgency that's more based sort of in the rural areas of Syria, if they
lost that stronghold.
So, it is important to the Syrian government believes it can be again Syria's commercial hub. So it certainly is an area that they definitely
want to control just the city itself, but of course all the routes leading into the city.
Right now, going there is a very complicated process even if you want to go. important to them because Aleppo was, and the Syrian government
believes it can be again, Syria's civil war shifting in the favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and of course all of his backers, including the
Russians, the Iranians and Hezbollah as well, Hannah.
JONES: Fred, thanks very much indeed. Jill Dougherty is live for us in Moscow.
Jill, we said in the introduction that if there is to be any sort of political solution to the situation in Aleppo then it would require Russian
involvement as well.
What is the Kremlin saying, if anything, about how vital it is to secure Aleppo before President Trump takes to the White House?
[10:05:14] JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are not specifically saying it in those words. But I think you'd have to say
that Russia considers itself an indispensable partner. You can see that it is. I think everybody would agree with that. And they want to have Aleppo
taken by the government, because in their view there's really no difference between some of these rebel groups and the terrorists.
So, in their eyes they can decry the killing. They are talking about humanitarian corridors, and a ceasefire et cetera. But in the end, they
want to clear Aleppo of what they consider terrorists.
So, that's their prime purpose. They, again, Hannah, say that, you know, pointing out that they have not been taking part directly in these air
attacks, that's been carried out by the Syrian government forces. But that said the goal is to do exactly what the Syrian government wants, which is
to take Aleppo.
JONES: Interesting, you mentioned about the humanitarian factor. It seems to be quite a confused picture at the moment. Russia saying at one point
that the humanitarian corridors are now open, but the UN isn't taking advantage of it. Is that still the case, or has there been some more
communication between the two?
DOUGHERTY: You know, it seems to be kind of murky, because, yes, they had said that Castello Road was open, but then there is a reluctance among some
people, apparently, among the civilians to actually leave. So, it is kind of murky. The Russians also have said that they're putting together a
hospital for people that would help the refugees from that area. So, they're saying that they have a number of things that they want to do,
including, by the way, a de-mining team that could go into Aleppo. But where those are, whether they are being used, doesn't seem very clear at
this point.
JONES: The Russians have been criticized so heavily in the UN, particularly by the humanitarian chief and the U.S. ambassador as well,
recently, for building on what could become this one giant graveyard in Aleppo.
And, Jill, I'm wondering is there any evidence at all to back up Russia's claim that its actions in Aleppo are purely to rid the city and the wider
country of terrorists and that its efforts are humanitarian at heart.
DOUGHERTY: Well, I think you'd have to say that the Russians, again, see it in kind of black and white terms. These are the bad guys. These are
ISIS, these are some fighters who are allied with ISIS, it's a very mixed picture. But in their view, basically, you have to get rid of them.
And so when the say the goals of the west, the goals of the United States, certainly, are more complicated. And they're complicated precisely because
of these civilians deaths. The Russians are a bit more black and white on it. And they also, by the way, blame a lot of this killing on the
terrorists, on the rebels and the terrorists.
So, it's really that -- I think that's more the situation than anything about humanitarian goals.
JONES: Well, while the diplomatic process goes on and political wranglings go on, let's get one final thought from our Fred Pleitgen for us in Beirut.
Fred, 27,000 people thought to have fled from the east of Aleppo so far, most of them heading west.
When they get into government-controlled territory, is there any safe shelter for them there?
PLEITGEN: Well, I mean, it certainly depends -- and I'm sure for some of them it will be a very dire situation and some of them possibly could face
getting arrested and possibly disappear. That's certainly something that a lot of people who are fleeing, that's one of the things they're afraid of.
And, you know, they're not only fleeing into the western parts of Aleppo, into the government controlled parts of Aleppo, but also into a Kurdish
controlled area called Sheikh Maksoud (ph) simply because they believe that the Syrian government has less of a hand there, that they could possibly
find shelter there without having to face any of those repercussions.
Now, the Syrian government has said that anybody who is a civilian can get out via that Costello Road, that it is possible for the people to come out
and find shelter in the west of Aleppo. And, you know, these aren't the first people who have been displaced from the east of Aleppo. Certainly,
there are people who are trying to resettle in the west. In fact, a couple of months ago, I was in a district that was fairly close to the front line
between east and west, where people were actually being put out, many of them in bombed out houses that the government and also some aid agencies
were sort of trying to put back into repair. But it's very difficult.
And also, one of the things that we shouldn't underestimate in this time of year, Hannah, is the fact that right now weather is very, very bad in
Aleppo. It's very, very cold. These people are weak anyway, so certainly it is a devastating dire situation. And on top of that, many people fear
that if they go over to the government-controlled parts of Aleppo that they could face repercussions there, Hannah.
[10:10:11] JONES: Yeah, the winter making it that much worse.
Fred Pleitgen for us in Beirut and Jill Dougherty in Moscow, thank you both.
Now to some other stories on our radar today. At least five people are confirmed dead in the wake of storms loaded with tornadoes that blazed
through the southern U.S. on Wednesday. at least five people are confirmed dead in the wake of storms loaded with tornadoes that blasted
through the southern U.S. on Wednesday. Two deaths are in Tennessee. Three other
people died in Alabama. They were killed when a twister flipped their mobile home.
Thailand's crown prince has returned to Bangkok, and according to state TV, he has formally assumed the throne. He presided over this ceremony,
marking 50 days since his father died. The coronation itself won't be until next year, after his father's remains are cremated.
The man behind one of the world's most famous sandwiches has died. Michael James Delligatti invented the Big Mac in 1967. And McDonald's tweeted out
a message yesterday, celebrating his contribution to the fast food chain. He was 98 years old.
To Colombia now where we're learning new details about the final, terrifying moments of
flight 2933. A recording of the pilots talking to air traffic control points to the total failure of electricity and little to no fuel. It gives
investigators a vital clue as they try to work out exactly what went wrong.
CNN's Shasta Darlington has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: New details emerging into what caused Lamia flight 2933 to crash just as it was about to descend
in to Medellin, Colombia.
A Colombian radio station released a conversation between an air traffic controller and one of the pilots of the ill-fated flight. In the recording,
the pilot is desperately telling the air traffic controller that the plane was experiencing total failure.
PILOT (subtitles): Miss, Lima-Mike-India 2933 it's in failure, total electrical and fuel.
DARLINGTON: Minutes later, another exchange.
PILOT (subtitles): Lima-Mike India vectors. Vectors, miss. Vectors to the runway.
CONTROLLER (subtitles): The radar signal was lost. I don't have you. Notify your direction now.
PILOT (subtitles): We're heading 360, 360.
CONTROLLER (subtitles): Director. Turn left 010 and proceed to the Rio Negro localizer one mile ahead of the border. At the moment, you're
located, corect, I'm confirmed going left with direction 350.
PILOT (subtitles): Left 350.
CONTROLLER (subtitles): Yes, correct. You're at zero-point-one miles to the Rio Negro border. I don't have your altitude, Lima-Mike-India.
DARLINGTON: And then silence, those recordings now part of the investigation are sealed. Colombian authorities would not confirm their
authenticity to CNN, but said the audio has some overlap with their investigation.
Lamia flight 2933 crashed just minutes away from reaching the runway, killing 71 on board. Many of the victims were players for Chapecoense, a
Brazilian underdog soccer team that made it to the finals of one of South America's most prestigious soccer tournaments.
Family, friends, and fans ready to celebrate their team's possible victory now mourning their loss. Embracing one another visibly devastated.
Meanwhile, thousands of Chapecoense fans and friends packed stadiums in both Medellin where their first tournament game was to be held and Chapeco,
the team's home town, remembering their beloved team in death just as they celebrated them in life, cheering them on.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Medellin, Colombia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Still to come on Connect the World, a landmark deal that could be the tip of the iceberg. We hear from the UAE's energy minister about
OPEC's deals to cut oil production and what it means for the industry now.
Plus, we look at the impact of our plastic pollution on dolphins going near the great Pacific
garbage patch. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:16:56] JONES: Hello and welcome back to Connect the World.
Oil prices are holding on to gains after a breakthrough deal by OPEC to cut oil production. It's hoped that the agreement will help end months of
turbulence in the oil industry. And as the UAE's energy minister exclusively told our John Defterios, there could be more good news ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUHAIL AL MAZROUAI, UAE MINISTER OF ENERGY: Just what we are committing to do, and I think there is more to come from the non-OPEC countries. I think
together, we will achieve the rebound and we will get back to see the recovery much faster than what we are hearing from analysts before.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Put up 1.2 million barrels a day, which was at the high end of the range. What makes you 100 percent
certain that the non-OPEC players can offer up 600,000 barrels a day?
MAZROUAI: I think the level of engagement and discussion, and them attending with us meetings, and keeping that dialogue open, until the last
minute, even until this morning. It is giving us that assurance, and giving us the commitment from many.
Of course, we cannot guarantee everyone, non-OPEC, is going to contribute. But we know certain countries are going to join us. And we know that that
level is going to reach the level of 600,000.
DEFTERIOS: In the American vernacular, you would say three strikes and you're out. You had three mayor meetings to come up with this agreement.
If you failed this time around, would it have ruined the credibility of OPEC, trying to get something and then failing at the very end?
MAZROUAI: No, I don't think -- I don't think I would look at it that way, John. I will -- we were all we were all working toward a resolution that
has failed, and that and a resolution that has an effect in the market, and include non-OPEC.
So if any one of those are not there, then it is very difficult. It's either going to be unfair
for just OPEC to intervene, or it's not enough to do the rebounds in the market. And the timing is also important for us to do it. So I think we
felt from Algeria's meeting that we are -- there is a time for to target the level of production, and there is lots of work need to be done for that
to happen.
DEFTERIOS: Saudi Arabia and Iran, 24 hours ago, in Vienna, everybody thought, this is a major roadblock. Did it just vanish? Did it require
compromise, give Iran a bit more breathing room?
MAZROUAI: I think before the ministers meet, there is lots of speculations and people exaggerate sometimes on their understanding. But I think Iran
meeting with us in Algeria, we all agreed to target those two levers of oil production.
So I think everyone was conscious that the end of November is going to come. We will come and discuss and hopefully we are going to agree.
So, I don't doubt anybody's intention to come up with something that is reasonable for them taking their -- looking at their circumstances and what
we felt we achieved is a fair deal for everyone. And I think it will give the market room to breathe and to come back healthier and to recover
certain industries as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: That was our John Defterios conducting that interview on the deal to finally cut oil
production.
Well, a lot of oil is, of course, pulled from under the world's oceans. But a lot of it ends up back
there again after being transformed and processed into plastic. A sea of waste in our oceans.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this special report now from a Pacific Island haunted by plastic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Midway has always been vital to somebody -- a home for birds to breed; and for the U.S. and Japan,
a place so strategic they fought a decisive battle for it in World War II.
Wherever you step you're still reminded here of sacrifices made of a naval battle where American luck and courage combined to defeat Japan so
unexpectedly historians still marvel at it today. Even now it houses these sensors, meant to detect radiation from a North
Korean nuclear test.
To get more a sense of scale, we head out from the atoll towards the reef that encircles it, closer to the endless plastic of the great Pacific
garbage patch. It's often hidden under the surface, an almost invisible underwater soup of tiny fragments and not easy to spot, like this: a sunken
barge used to ship fresh water here when this was a Cold War early warning station.
Man comes and leaves, but this isn't his home, it's theirs.
The sound of dolphins talking.
Well, far more intelligent animal in the sea than us now. And they just seem to be following us wherever we go: staggering. Completely unafraid.
Possibly not used to seeing boats that often, but in an ocean which as we've been seeing is being changed really permanently by man's behavior,
and something just so staggeringly beautiful and calm.
The contrast could not be more stark. The message in these bottles that have floated thousands of miles to get here is clear: the trash from your
quick convenient gulp can end up anywhere on Earth and last forever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Well, although the plastic lasts an extraordinarily long time, it doesn't actually stay in tact, it breaks down into almost invisibly tiny
pieces. Let's go back now to Nick Paton Walsh for more on how that happens.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: What is a microplastic? It is the tiny particle created when larger plastic items -- toothbrushes, bottles, bags -- break down over
decades. They float in the water and get eaten by sea life. They cause two problems. First, the fragments act like a sponge to other toxins in
the water -- pesticides and flame retardants, for example, sucking them up and concentrating them. Secondly, they are themselves complex polymers,
molecules the body can't fully break down. When they get really tiny, into a billionth of a meter, the nanoplastic, scientists have shown they can
cross tissue membranes into fish cells. They say that is harmful to fish, their reproduction, immunity, survival skills.
What we don't know is what happens when human eat the fish or sea life. Is it harmf fful to us? It is already an urgent question, leaving U.S.
government scientists told CNN plastic is definitely in our food chain and drinking water. This isn't something maybe happening to our
children, it's already here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: And there is a lot of plastic out there. More than half of it that's floating in the world's oceans comes from just a handful of
countries in Asia. Science magazine says the biggest polluter is China, which threw away nearly 9 million tons of the stuff just in 2010 alone.
And with Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka all big polluters, as well.
Now, we've crafted a special section of our website to delve into the problem for you. We have got some really smart interactive graphics up
there, including this one have the problem for you in real time how many kilograms of plastic have been dumped into the ocean just since you started
reading the page. You can find that and much more at CNN.com/plasticisland.
The latest world news headlines are just ahead.
Plus, after Donald Trump's U.S. presidential victory, votes coming out in two European countries that could prove his brand of populism is catching.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
JONES: The plane that crashed in Colombia was apparently low on fuel and had lost total electrical power. That comes from an apparent audio
recording between a crew member and air traffic control just moments before the aircraft went down. 71 people were killed, just six survived.
On Wednesday, thousands of fans paid tribute to the Brazilian football team members lost in
that crash. CNN's Don Riddell was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: The locker room really is the heart and soul of any football club at a stadium. This is the room where you have the
banter, the rousing team talks, the celebrations after the game or perhaps the commiserations. And that was certainly the case here just a week ago
here when all those players of Chapecoense were absolutely jubilant at their historic achievement, reaching the final of the Copa Sudamericana.
And they partied long into the night. They savored that achievement.
But now, of course, everything has changed. And this locker room now feels very, very different. It has become a sacred placement It is now where
the surviving players are consoling each other and the family members are taking solace, too. As you can see, there is a
shrine.
We have the flowers, sentiments that are being echoed all over this stadium. And we see the tragic names and numbers here on some of these
lockers. These players, Sergio Manuel Marcelo (ph), Josimar (ph), these guys are never, ever coming home. And the club is really still trying to
come to terms with this awful loss, this absolutely devastating turn of events.
In time, the club says that it will rebuild and it will try and figure out a way to continue in
the future, but that seems a long way off right now. They do know for sure that the next few days are going to be very, very difficult. One day, the
atmosphere and the vibrancy will perhaps return to this locker room. But right now, that seems a very long way off in the
future.
Don Riddell, CNN, Chapecoense.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:31:41] JONES: Now, we've seen the UK's Brexit vote and Donald Trump's election to the U.S. presidency shatter political establishments. And now,
two more votes with populist underpinnings could reshape the future of the European Union altogether. Italy will vote on a constitutional referendum
this weekend. It includes replacing Italy's upper house with one of a regional representatives, which would have less power. If the referendum
fails, the prime minister, Matteo Renzi has said he will resign.
Austrians also go to the polls for a re-run of May's presidential election. An independent backed by the Green Party narrowly edged out the far right
Freedom Party's Nobert Hofer to win. That was back in May. But that result was nullified over voting irregularities, and now the polls show
Nobert Hofer poised to become the EU's first far right head of state.
Well, joining me now to shed more light on all of this is Matthew Goodwin. He is the associate fellow of the Europe program at Chatham House.
Matthew, thanks very much for coming in.
Austria and Italy, why is it so important that we keep a close eye on it this weekend? Is this a litmus test for the rest of the continent?
MATTHEW GOODWIN, CHATHAM HOUSE: Yeah, these are likely to be contests that will really cast a long shadow over Europe at a point where it is already
struggling with the refugee crisis in a lingering financial crisis.
Now, what is interesting about Austria and Italy is they're very important to the EU. They are central states. But in both countries, you have got
very strong populist revolts taking place. So, the outcome of the referendum, if Renzi loses and if the radical right Hofer wins in Austria
could be further blows to an already fragile EU.
JONES: We hear populism and nationalism used a lot at the moment, particularly after Donald Trump's success in the United States. And what
does populism really mean? Is it always with negative connotations?
GOODWIN: Well, you can really call lots of people populists -- you know, there's populists on the left and the right. But I think what the populist
right shares is a hostility toward what you might call the liberal mainstream establishment. An opposition to immigration and ethnic change.
And that's primarily the two features that unite most of the movements, particularly in Europe.
JONES: You can be patriotic and you can populist in nature without being fascist, right?
GOODWIN: Absolutely. The interesting thing about is happening in Europe at the moment, if you want to be sort of optimistic about all of this is these
populist parties are operating within the framework of democracy. It's not like the 1930s where they were saying, let's get rid of democracy. But they are advocating a different different
conception of democracy. They want more referendums, they want power radically devolved down from the elites to the people. They are, you might
argue, also contributing to the polarization of our politics. They're making it more combative and less moderate.
JONES: Is this a response -- a lot of people have been saying in the United States that the Trump supporters and his base of support was a kind
of response to a globalized world. They wanted to take back some control themselves. Is this an anti-globalization movement?
GOODWIN: I think it is very tempting to say, well, everybody here is just a so-called losers of
globalization. I'm slightly hesitant about buying into that completely because that implies it is all about
economics. Now, look at this case of Austria, really important election, and also, a big election in The
Netherlands next year.
Well there, you have got populists that are very strong but they have the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. So, there is a cultural dimension to
this, too, which is mainly people are feeling very anxious about the pace of change and also the pace of demographic change, immigration and the way
their communities are changing, really difficult stuff to respond to.
[10:35:08] JONES: You mentioned -- we've mentioned Italy, Austria. You said about The Netherlands, as well. France, they've got presidential
elections next year, as well. Both Marine Le Pen on the far right and also Francois Fillon, both of them have -- are right of center, to say the
least.
Does this mean the end of the European Union as an institution that we know?
GOODWIN: Well, the EU is going to have a very difficult 18 months, there's no doubt about that. But also, when we talk about the rise of the populist
right, let's not forget we should also be talking about the crisis of social democracy, because there is an idea in Europe today that's really
failing to reinvent, and the intellectual reason for social democracy isn't as clear as it once was when they were nicely organized, class interests in
Europe.
So, I think this is going to be a very tumultuous period. I think we're going to see lots of insurgents doing quite well.
And also, you know, we don't know where this is going to end. I mean, what is post-populism? What comes after all of these movements? What happens
if they don't give their voters what they want? It's going to be an interesting time.
JONES: It will be interesting to see what the mainstream middle ground parties and politicians come up with, as well. Matthew Goodwin, thanks
very much for your expertise on that. Appreciate it.
Now, we'll bring you analysis and reports from both those elections taking place on Sunday. We'll be live in Italy and in Austria. So, do tune back
in to Connect the World on Sunday, when our Becky Anderson will be back with you live from Abu Dhabi. That's right here on CNN.
Donald Trump, whose populism we just mentioned there, is hitting the road today, taking a
break from interviewing potential cabinet picks to get back among the people. The U.S. president-elect is kicking off what he calls a thank you
tour, holding campaign-style rallies in key states that helped him clinch the election victory.
But before he heads to Ohio tonight, he'll make the case in another industrial state that he's already keeping his problem to protect American
jobs.
Jessica Schneider has all the details for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President-elect Donald Trump heading back into campaign mode, embarking on a "Thank You" tour in
swing states that won him the White House. Trump will hold a rally in Cincinnati tonight after taking a victory lap in Indiana, celebrating a
deal with Carrier to keep at least 1,000 manufacturing jobs from moving to Mexico. Carrier offering limited details on terms of the deal, receiving
unspecified incentives from the state run by Trump's V.P. Mike Pence.
This as Trump's cabinet continues to take shape. The search for Secretary of State narrowed down to these four candidates. Close Trump adviser Newt
Gingrich hammering Mitt Romney after his high- profile dinner with Trump Tuesday night.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: You have never, ever in your career seen a serious adult who's wealthy, independent, has been a
presidential nominee suck up at the rate that Mitt Romney is sucking up.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Trump also facing blistering criticism from the left over his newly appointed economic team. Democratic Senator Elizabeth
Warren slamming Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs executive Steve Mnuchin, who headed a firm that made big money off the 2008
housing crisis.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: He promised when he was running for President that he would break the connection between Wall Street and
this Congress. And then what does he do? He turns around and picks a guy who had actually been one of the people who helped do all of those lousy
mortgages.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The President-elect's team defending the pick.
JASON MILLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR OF PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP'S TRANSITION TEAM: It takes someone like Steve who understands how the system
works, how we can go and make it more fair, how we can go and help American workers to get in there and actually change it.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Capitol Hill also reacting to Trump's announcement, with no details as of yet, that he will separate himself from his billion
dollar empire.
SEN. JAMES RISCH (R), IDAHO: You've got to be very, very careful on conflicts of interest. Sooner or later, this had to happen. And I suspect
he's probably not very happy about it, but it's just one of those things that had to be done.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The Office of Government Ethics sending out an unusual series of tweets applauding Trump's pledge and encouraging the
President-elect to divest his assets, a commitment that Trump has not yet made.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Jessica Schneider reporting there.
Let's bring in Ryan Lizza, a CNN contributor and Washington correspondent for The New Yorker magazine. Ryan, great to see you.
It's been a week of cabinet forming and Twitter storming. Does this give us insight into the Trump administration to come?
RYAN LIZZA, NEW YORKER: It does.
And, you know, I think there's a kind of consensus among journalists is pay a lot more attention to the cabinet formation rather than the tweet storms.
Sometimes, the tweet storms -- can cloud our vision in terms of what's actually important. You know, Trump likes to stir up fights with people on
Twitter, but what's much more important is the backgrounds and policies that the people he's bringing into the administration have.
And on that front, I agree with Senator Warren and some of the other critics that if Trump's mission was to drain the swamp, was to attack Wall
Street and Washington culture, we haven't really seen that yet from his picks. This is a very Goldman Sachs, business-friendly, billionaire
friendly administration so far, and a series of people that are very much in line with the traditional conservative wing of the Republican Party, not
so much this new nationalist populist wing that Trump talked about on the campaign trail.
[10:40:39] JONES: And Ryan, i was talking to someone yesterday who said that Trump's base supporters take him seriously, but not literally. Is
that what the rest of us are going to have to do if we're going to get all these presidential announcements coming all in 140 characters?
LIZZA: It's great line and something that has kind of gone viral now, and that is something that, you know is a good lesson for some of the
journalists covering Trump during the campaign when we took him very literally.
And I disagree with it a little bit. Some of the things he said on the campaign trail, we should
take literally. And he is going forward with. i think he is serious about building a wall on the border
with Mexico. I think he is serious about changing NAFA.
But at the same time, he has sanded off some of the rough edges of his most controversial
proposals. He no longer talks about banning Muslim immigrants. He does seem to have -- or he is starting to, apparently, change his mind about a
very important campaign promise that is going to be a political debate next year. And that is entitlement reform. Trump, during the campaign,
promised not to touch our two big entitlement programs - the health insurance program for the elderly, Medicare, and our social insurance
program for the elderly, Social Security. He said he wouldn't touch them.
The other Republicans in Washington want to dramatically restructure and, in some cases, either eliminate or privatize those programs.
And there are a lot more people in the incoming Trump administration and running congress who are in the restructure those programs. And so that's
going to be something to watch in terms of can he keep that that campaign promise not to touch them?
JONES: absolutely.
All right, one of the other things that he promised was to bring jobs back to America. He has already gotten an early win on that, by striking this
carrier air-conditioning deal. A lot of people praising that deal. But one person who isn't is Bernie Sanders. The former Democratic presidential
candidate who, of course, campaigned passionately for the working class. Take a listen to this. Sanders wrote in The Washington Post that Carrier
and its parent company, quote, "took Trump hostage and won."
He says Trump campaigned on a pledge to stand tough against corporate greed and, instead, he
caved in.
Sanders has gone on to say that that precedent is dangerous, then, for workers because it means
more companies will threaten to move jobs overseas, hoping to get some kind of handout then from the
government.
Sanders goes on to say that Trump's Band Aid solution will only worsen America's wealth inequality.
He's on this sort of thank you tour at the moment. And he's going to be going on about this jobs deal, no doubt.
How does it read to you. Is this a success?
LIZZA: Look, it was a campaign promise. He said he'd try to keep this plant or at least jobs in the United States and not have them go to Mexico.
In that sense, we'd be criticizing him if he didn't succeed in doing it. But the way he has gone about doing it has uniting economists on the right
and left who argue that this will create the incentive for corporations to essentially practice a version of extortion.
You know, say, look, I'm going to -- they'll coming knocking at the door of the White House and say, look, I'm sorry, it's just not competitive enough
in state X, and I've got to move this factory to Mexico. What are you going to do about it? And that's a very bad precedent. It's a very bad way to
set policy, to incentivize corporations to hold workers hostage or their jobs
hostage because you know you can extract something out of the federal government.
By the way, the sort of more libertarian wing of the Republican Party, you know, used to find this kind of ghastly, that the government would come in
and basically, you know, amount a campaign of corporate welfare to incentivize companies. So, he is going to have to come up with a broad,
national policy, not do this one by one thing in the Carrier case, or he's going to have every company in
America trying to extort him.
JONES: The devil will be in the detail, of course, of this deal. And we don't know all the detail as yet.
LIZZA: Absolutely.
JONES: That's all we have got time for this time. Ryan Lizza, thank you much for your expertise.
LIZZA: Thanks, Hannah.
JONES: Appreciate it.
Live from London, you're watching Connect the World. And still to come...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are no longer going to be safe behind those keyboards. We are going to find you, and we are going to prosecute you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Going after would-be predators online. We look at a brand-new initiative, fighting sex trafficking on the internet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:47:21] JONES: You are watching CNN and this is Connect the World with me, Hannah Vaughn Jones in London. Welcome back.
The CNN Freedom Project is taking an in depth look at the demand side of sex trafficking. A new website is tackling the problem by going after the
people who make their purchases online. And as our Robyn Curnow finds out, the system is making a difference.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sexual predators lurking behind their computer screens are no longer as hidden as they think.
YouthSpark, a non-profit that provide services to trafficking victims recently launched a new initiative that tackles the lesser discussed side
of the trafficking problem, demand.
ALEX TROUTEAUD, YOUTHSPARK EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: When every day you are serving youth who've been sexually exploited, at some point you sit back
and say, what's causing this? Because it's nothing wrong with the kids.
We really felt like we owed it to the youth that we work with to work upstream a little bit and start doing what we can as an NGO, to address the
exploitation that they were being faced with.
CURNOW: Demand tracker is simple, an employee posts ads online offering juveniles up for sex. Unlike the other ads on sites like this, hers are
decoys and the models, all adults, agreed to pose for them.
She clicks, posts and waits. But when a would-be predator calls or texts the number in the ads demand tracker automatically adds the number to a
public, searchable database. The caller is also sent a text message letting them know their number is being identified and is available to law
enforcement.
TROUTEAUD: Guys get involved in this bad behavior, they start somewhere. If the first time you do that you realize, whoa, someone is watching and I'm
going to be held accountable for this and law enforcement are paying attention. That's the kind of message that we think will educate men to
change their track real fast.
CURNOW: In the four months that demand tracker has been operational it has recorded 12,000 unique numbers. The system does have its limitations. It
can identify phone numbers but not who places the calls and it can't separate intentional calls from misdials.
If someone wants their number removed from the public phasing list there is a button on the site that allows them to do that but the number still
remains in the database itself.
Trouteaud says police are mainly concerned with numbers that show up multiple times as these are likely not accidental. It's not perfect but
many in law enforcement see it as a great start to tackling demand.
DALIA RACINE, DEKALB COUNTY GEORGIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It may not be something that we could use in a particular case, but I think it is good to
help with pushing legislation to make tougher laws against the purchasers. It could help in bringing together training curriculum on how to track
purchasers by looking at their patterns and their habits.
[10:50:07] CURNOW: It also sends a clear message to predators.
RACINE: We are coming after the demand side just as hard as we are after the exploiters and after the supply side of this issue. And you are no
longer going to be safe behind those keyboards. We are going to find you and we are going to prosecute you.
CURNOW: Robyn Curnow, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Well, tomorrow, Friday, the CNN Freedom Project will introduce you to a group of students running an endurance race to save the lives of
trafficking victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For 24 hours, teams of eight from Hong Kong-based schools will run continuous relay laps, a bold
mission to raise awareness of modern-day slavery and money to fight human trafficking.
KESHAV MONON, BUSINESS DIRECTOR, 24 HOUR RACE: Slowly, I started to go back to my home roots. And when I found out more about problem of slavery
in India, how it manifests in many different forms, I felt really bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: An important story to tell. You can watch that tomorrow only here on CNN.
And do stay with us. We'll be back after this short break for more on Connect the World.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: welcome back. You're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World. And with me, Hannah Vaughn Jones.
It has been three decades since we first pinned on red ribbons supporting those suffering with
HIV. But are we any closer to a cure today, this being World AIDS day.
Somewhere around the world, a teenager becomes infected every two minutes, but there is hope for a cure with the largest vaccine trial in nearly ten
years well underway in South Africa.
CNN's David McKenzie has more now from there on how we might be nearing a generation free from the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just one pill, that's all Patience Mputa (ph) needs, a far cry from the cocktail of drugs just a few
years ago.
But no matter how good the treatment becomes, for this mother and daughter, the impact
of HIV is permanent.
TITILA MPUTA, HIV VACCINE TRIAL PARTICIPANT: I went out to school, when and I
left her, she was fine, and then when I came back, she was not here and they told me that she was in the hospital, she had had stroke.
MCKENZIE: Four successive strokes, complications of the virus, crippled Patience (ph), it crippled her family.
The words are a struggle, the pain, unmistakable.
The massive rollout of antiretrovirals saved thousands of lives, but the epidemic still rages on. Worldwide, it is estimated an adolescent becomes
newly infected every two minutes.
Luyanda Ngoobo's HIV was passed on from his mother at birth. He is part of a generation of young people that must take drugs their entire lives.
LUYANDA NGOOBO, ACTIVIST: I am a human being. Why am I not like the other kids? Why am I (inaudible)? Why am I sick all the time?
MCKENZIE: In these neighborhoods, not everyone knows who is on antiretrovirals, but it is estimated in South Africa, more than 3 million
people are on HIV drugs, that's the most in the world. And it is a massive health burden.
UNIDENIFIED FEMALE: You need to take the drug absolutely every single day, that's quite a tall order for a young person.
[10:55:09] MCKENZIE: Linda-Gail Bekker runs a research center in the heart of (inaudible) Township. She says AIDS is the number one killer of young
people here.
LINDA-GAIL BEKKER, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL AIDS SOCIETY: If we ultimately want control of his epidemic, we are going to need to control the numbers
of people becoming infected. And there is no better way, no more sustainable way, than having a prophylactic vaccine. It is a holy grail of
epidemic control.
MCKENZIE: But the virus is complex. For 30 years, while treatment has improved, a vaccine remained out of reach until now.
BEKKER: We've seen immune responses that make us very optimistic. So, I think we are at, you know, rightfully and justifiably feeling optimistic.
MCKENZIE: Fanning out into the hardest hit communities, volunteers are being recruited for the first major vaccine trial in nearly a decade.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: We laugh together, we debate together. We are always are arguing. We like watching TV and making our own stories up.
MCKENZIE: The treatment saved her mother's life, but Titila she doesn't want anyone to
suffer like her mother. She, herself, is HIV negative, so she volunteered to participate in the initial study that cleared the way for the landmark
vaccine trial.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: You get to be the superhero that you want to be. You get to bring change in many people's lives just by you, like you doing
this can help 1,000 more people out there. You doing this can create an HIV-free generation.
MCKENZIE: Too late for her generation, but now hope for the next.
David McKenzie, CNN, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: And you can find much more of CNN's in-depth reporting, just like David's there, over on our Facebook page. Just head across to
Facebook.com/CNNconnect. There's that and there's much more there.
And as always, you can reach out to me directly on Twitter. So, if you'd like to get in touch, it's @HVaughnJones.
Now, you think someone drives an armored truck loaded with gold might be careful about locking it up. Perhaps even really, really careful. Well,
you'd be wrong. Check out this casual heist. This guy steals a bucket full of gold flakes from the back of this wild open lorry in broad
daylight, in the middle of New York. His haul? Worth more than $1.5 million.
Well, police are still looking for the suspect and those were your parting shots.
I'm Hannah Vaughn Jones. That was Connect the World. Thanks so much for watching.
END
