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U.S. President Trump to Meet Like-Minded Italian Prime Minister Conte; Trump Calls Out Special Counsel Mueller in Tweetstorm; Zimbabwe Votes in First Mugabe-Free Election; British Parliament Warns "Fake News" a Threat to U.K. Democracy; New York Times Disputes Trump's Version of Talks about "Fake News"; CBS CEO Moonves Accused of Sexual Misconduct; Hundreds Trapped After Deadly Quake in Indonesia; Investigators are Unable to Determine Why MH370 Plane Disappeared; Deadly Inferno on the Move in California. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 30, 2018 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00] BIANCA NOBILO, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London.
With his administration facing crisis after crisis at home, U.S. President Donald Trump is kicking off the week with a show of solidarity from one of
his strongest allies in Europe. He's hosting Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, at the White House today, a leader who shares his populist
style of government. They'll meet just over an hour from now and then will head into closed door talks. A couple of hours later they'll give a news
conference. It will be the first time in a week that Mr. Trump takes questions from reporters. After that, Mr. Trump will take part in the
swearing in ceremony for the new secretary of Veterans Affairs.
And Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Conte share several similar views on controversial issues including immigration and a friendlier approach to
Russia. CNN's Delia Gallagher has more now from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump may see some European countries as foes but in Italy's Prime Minister, Giuseppe
Conte, he's got a friend.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The new prime minister of Italy is great. I got to meet him. Very strong on immigration, like I am,
by the way.
GALLAGHER: Closing ports and borders to illegal immigrants is one area where Trump and Italy see eye to eye. Italy's Interior Minister, Matteo
Salvini, visited the U.S. President in 2016 on the campaign trail. And ripped more than a few pages out of Trump's playbook for his own election
campaign, even the winning slogan, Italians first.
MATTEO SALVINI, ITALIAN MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR: Prima gli italiani.
GALLAGHER: More than 600,000 refugees, most from North Africa, have landed in Italy in recent years. But in June more than 600 refugees at sea were
turned away from Italy. Salvini was defiant. They will only see Italy on a post card, he said. They were eventually accepted in Spain.
Professor Federigo Argentieri, says Italy's government is similar to Trump's in random decision making and an apparent incoherent plan.
FEDERIGO ARGENTIERI, PROFESSOR, JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY: Trump has understood or at least he's being told that Italy must be coddled, so to
speak, because so far, the only real similarity in Western Europe.
GALLAGHER: Although Italy has refused Trump's request to give more money to NATO, they're behind the President in his support of Vladimir Putin.
Prime Minister Conte tweeted, I agree with the President. Russia should be back in the G8. Matteo Salvini's made no secret of his admiration for
Putin, calling him one of the best politicians of our time. And publishing a photo on Facebook wearing a Putin t-shirt in Moscow's Red Square.
Italy's government coalition received 69 percent of the vote in March elections but not all Italians agree with their leader's support of
President Trump. Sabrina, a legal assistant in Rome, said Trump hasn't made the best impression or bella figura internationally. Especially
separating immigrant children from their families.
Bella figura or not, in Italy's government leaders, President Trump has got a friend in Europe, something hard to come by these days.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: And Delia is with us live from Rome with more. We're also joined by White House reporter Jamie Diamond. Delia, let's start with you. How
much of a boost to the Italian Prime Minister is this really? I mean, is Trump's a bit of a poisoned chalice for him?
GALLAGHER: Well, look, Bianca, this is a government, which as you said in the piece, received 69 percent of the vote between the Five-Star Movement
and the Right-Wing League Coalition, 69 percent of Italians voted for the Conte government. And they ran on a heavily anti-immigrant and anti or at
least EU skeptic platform. Trying to arrest back power as it were from Brussels. That's something we heard a lot during the campaign.
So, what's really important about this meeting is not just what it can do for Italy but what it is going to do for the stability of the European
Union and this kind of changing and shifting of alliances.
[11:05:00] Italy is one of the founding members of the EU. It is the third largest economy in the euro zone. And the EU is dependent on Italy's full
support. So, if that seems to be drifting away slightly and there is a new opening towards populous rhetoric and measures and anti-immigrant measures,
and a new opening towards Russia, that's shifting some of the historical alliances that the EU depends on -- Bianca.
NOBILO: Yes, a lot of shifting alliances. And Delia, if you can just bear with me, I want to get your thoughts on something here. So, Italy's far
right Deputy Prime Minister has been echoing the words of Benito Mussolini on what would've been the fascist dictator's birthday on Sunday. Matteo
Salvini tweeting out, so many enemies, so much honor. Almost parroting Mussolini's phrase, many enemies, much honor.
Now Delia, that's not exactly a subtle nod but I guess the surprising thing is how emboldened he felt to do this.
GALLAGHER: Well, this gives you an idea of the feeling here in Italy that a politician can get away with, to a certain extent -- he's received
criticism for it -- quoting Mussolini. Look, Matteo Salvini is really one of the political powerhouses in this government. He has a lot of support.
He is the one who was responsible for closing the ports and that received 59 percent of support from Italians and not only from the right. So, he is
somebody who has taken a page from President Trump, uses Twitter extensively and uses highly inflamed rhetoric such as that one yesterday on
Mussolini's birthday. But he is somebody who still has a great deal of support in this country -- Bianca.
NOBILO: OK, let's bring in Jeremy Diamond now at the White House. Jeremy, how important is it do you think to the President to have his messaging
resonate in Europe and around the world and to have other world leaders like the Prime Minister of Italy be supportive of his policies?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's certainly coming at a time where the President has had several tiffs with some of the U.S.'s more
traditional European allies, whether that's Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, even some disagreements with the French President, Emmanuel Macron,
towards the NATO summit. He is now coming face-to-face with a European leader with whom he has a lot in common. They are both antiestablishment.
They are both populist. They both had very little political experience before coming into office. And so, they will be able to find ground not
only over the policies like immigration that you guys were just talking about there, but also over their personalities and the types of people they
are.
However, there will be a sticking point in this relationship over NATO funding. You know, the President has impressed upon NATO allies the
importance of reaching this 2 percent defense spending of GDP threshold and Italy is one of those countries that has not yet met that threshold and is
in dire financial straits. So, that's going to be difficult for them to meet eye to eye on. However, you know, if the Italian Prime Minister can
steer the discussion towards the migration crisis in Europe, which he and the President have similar views on, then perhaps they'll be able to get
along just fine.
NOBILO: Thanks, Jeremy, Jeremy Diamond at the White House and Delia Gallagher for us in Italy. Thank you both.
Well meantime, the first trial stemming from the Russian investigation starts tomorrow. Ex-Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is accused of
fraud. Over the weekend the President sent out a series of tweets attacking special counsel Robert Mueller. One accused Mueller of conflicts
of interest. The President's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told CNN Mueller has some explaining to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: You put out something like that you have every right to say, OK, you explain it, Mueller. Stand up and be
a man.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN CO-ANCHOR "NEW DAY": Wait a minute, this doesn't make sense. How can the President make this claim and not support it?
GIULIANI: He doesn't have to.
CAMEROTA: Why is it up to Robert Mueller to have to support the President's tweet?
GIULIANI: Because he has the conflict. Not the President.
CAMEROTA: What's the conflict?
GIULIANI: I can't tell you. I'm not sure I know exactly what the conflict is. I have a good idea what it is. It's one that would have kept me out
of the investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: CNN White House correspondent, Abby Phillip, has been following the President's tweet storm. Now Abby, the President obviously tweets
effusively and often, so what should we really be looking at here in these last series of tweets?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianca, the interesting thing about the President's tweets over the weekend was how pointedly he
went after Robert Mueller. And went after him by name. Something that he actually very rarely does. But you're seeing here a full court press
against Mueller by the President and his allies. Reinforced this morning by Rudy Giuliani speaking to CNN and attacking Mueller and also attacking
the President's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Who's made it clear that he is willing to cooperate with investigators.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP (voice-over): With special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation inching closer and closer to Trump's inner circle, the President ramping up
his attacks against the probe and directly targeting Mueller by name.
[11:10:00] In a series of tweets, the President accusing Mueller of having conflicts of interest. Including an alleged contentious business
relationship with Mr. Trump. The White House did not respond to CNN's request for information. But ethics experts from the Justice Department
determined last year that Mueller's assignment is appropriate.
President Trump's latest criticism coming days after sources told CNN, that the President's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is prepared to tell Mueller
that then candidate Trump knew in advance and approved the Trump Tower meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton months before the
2016 election.
The President has repeatedly denied that he had any knowledge of the meeting. Cohen also authorizing the release of a recording of a
conversation with Mr. Trump discussing a potential payment to a "Playboy" model who claims she had an affair with him. Something the President
denies.
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER DONALD TRUMP ATTORNEY (audio recording): I need to open up a company for the transfer of all the back info regarding our
friend David.
PHILLIP: President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, telling CBS the tapes of 183 Cohen conversations exists. But that only one captures a conversation
with the President.
GIULIANI: There are 12 others -- maybe 11 or 12 others out of the 183 in which the President is discussed at any length by Cohen, mostly with
reporters, all clearly cooperating what the President has said in detail on many of those tweets.
So, these are tapes I want to you read. I want you to hear them.
PHILLIP: Giuliani continuing to assail Cohen's character.
GIULIANI: The man is a pathological manipulator, a liar.
PHILLIP: Despite repeatedly praising him.
GIULIANI: He doesn't have any incriminating evidence about the President or himself. The man is an honest, honorable lawyer.
PHILLIP: President Trump also taking to Twitter to again threaten a government shutdown if Congress does not fund his border wall and change
the nation's immigration laws. The threat coming after the President met with Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker, Paul Ryan,
last week to talk about government funding. After that meeting both leaders downplaying the possibility of a shutdown.
UNIDENTIFIED HOST: So, you're not worried about a government shutdown before the midterms?
MITCH MCCONNELL (R), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: No, that's not going to happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP: And as the probe intensifies around President Trump, he's becoming increasingly agitated. But we are also hearing a new argument
from his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, this morning who told CNN that he does not even know if collusion itself is a crime. Hacking, he said, is a crime.
That's something very different from what we've heard from the President thus far. Who talks about no collusion all the time.
Meanwhile, we will have an opportunity potentially to question President Trump on several occasions today where he's hosting the Italian Prime
Minister this afternoon. They're going to have a press conference and several pool sprays. So, there is perhaps going to be an opportunity for
President Trump to explain what kind of conflicts he says Robert Mueller actually has -- Bianca.
NOBILO: And Abby, you note that the President's seeming agitation this week. And it's been about a week since Kaitlin Collins, the CNN reporter
was barred from the White House event. There's been a lot of spotlight on the President's reticence to engage with the media. There are these
opportunities for the media to ask him the questions today. What do you think we can expect from how he's going to approach that?
PHILLIP: Well, that's a really good question. I mean, it's been about a week since Kaitlin was in the office trying to ask the President questions
and he hasn't answered any questions since that time. CNN is going to be in the room today on behalf of the rest of the television networks and we
will have reporters in the room as is common practice for these events. It is very likely that there will be questions shouted at the President asking
him to respond to some of these things. We don't know how the White House is going to respond. It's clear that that incident last week really caused
a huge stir and perhaps it's not what they anticipated when they decided to do that. So, we'll see if he decides to answer those questions or if they
try some other way to prevent reporters from asking. But we'll certainly be trying.
NOBILO: Abby Phillip in Washington, thank you.
Still to come tonight a day so many Zimbabweans have been dreaming about for decades. Elections without long time President Robert Mugabe. But can
today's vote usher in a new era for the impoverished country? All the details of these historic polls for you just ahead.
[11:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A great deal of jubilation. They all say that November 18th is Independence Day. Everywhere. They're coming
from all over the place. Tremendous. Look at this. It's unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: From those joyous moments celebrating longtime President Robert Mugabe's resignation to now, Zimbabweans lining up in record numbers to
vote in what many there hope is something the country has never seen before, a free and fair election. This is the first time in 37 years that
Mugabe is not on the ballot paper. The political strong man was forced to resign last year amid military pressure and calls for his impeachment under
his rules Zimbabwe struggled with a failing economy and soaring unemployment rates. As Farai Sevenzo reports, many people see this
election as a chance to finally turn the country around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEVENZO (voice-over): Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, was gripped by election fever this last weekend. The city became a tale of two political rallies,
campaigning ended Saturday for the first election since Robert Mugabe resigned under the threat of impeachment last November. He had been in
power for 37 years. Followers of the opposition MDC-Alliance gathered in part to come and hear from their leader Nelson Chamisa. Around the same
time Zanu-PF supporters of the ruling party once led by Mugabe came to hear from their man, current President Emmerson Mnangagwa on the eve of the
historic election with a record 23 Presidential candidates. Mugabe suddenly appeared on people's TV screens. He called a press conference not
to praise the new dispensation but to put one more knife in his back.
ROBERT MUGABE, FORMER ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT: I cannot vote for those who have tormented me. No, I can't. I will make my choice among the other 22.
SEVENZO: Zanu-PF's candidate immediately released a video addressing the Mugabe intervention.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zanu-PF candidate, Zimbabwean President: Now that this is clear to all that Chamisa has forged a deal with Mugabe, we can no
longer believe that his intentions are to transform Zimbabwe.
SEVENZO: The man at the center of Mugabe's dubious praise drew massive crowds to his final rally.
(on camera): As you can see the numbers have been absolutely massive at Nelson Chamisa's rallies. Now whether these parade numbers in a sea of red
will translate into a majority of the vote come Monday is anybody's game.
[11:20:00] (voice-over): I wanted to know from opposition supporters what they would do if their man lost these elections.
RESPONSE CHIWOKO MDC SUPPORTER (through translator): If Chamisa loses, it means they would have cheated him. We do not want to be continually
intimidated. We are tired, and we don't want anymore.
SEVENZO: A road away, the Zanu-PF faithful where all awaiting their leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the old veteran, he's the one who fought for our country.
SEVENZO (on camera): It's he too old? After five years he'll be 80 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is not old. We need his matured brain.
SEVENZO (voice-over): CNN caught up with the opposition leader on the last day of campaigning.
NELSON CHAMISA, MDC ALLIANCE LEADER: Maturity is not a creature of age. Maturity is a creature of your ideas. Mugabe, you know, was known to be a
man who was not willing to open the doors of democracy. But Mnangagwa is wise because he's sophisticated. He was in government for 38 years. You
can't tell us that he's now a born again. When was he born again?
SEVENZO: The task of rebuilding Zimbabwe will be a tough one. The hope is the country will not go up in flames whoever wins.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: So, polls closing in just under two hours from now. Let's go over to Farai Sevenzo who is live in Harare for us. Farai, it's great to have
you with us. You've been following all of this. So, tell me how is the election day looking in terms of security, voter turnout? We hear it's
high. I note the European Union chief observer has said today it seemed in some areas to be going very smoothly and then in other parts of the country
very disorganized. So, what can you tell us?
SEVENZO: Yes, characterization of any African election especially one that's been so keenly anticipated, Bianca. I mean, first of all, the very
fact that I'm living somewhere -- working, I beg your pardon, with some men who are up at the crack of dawn, maybe 3:00, 4:00 to join queues to vote.
And when they arrived at 4 o'clock in the morning, the queues were already 200 people deep. So, it reminds me a lot in covering Africa of perhaps
South Africa in 1994 or even let's go back to August in Nairobi, in Kenya when they voted in that first election. Queues around the block.
Now, you must remember that the Zimbabwean political scene has never seen anything quite like this. In Robert Mugabe's rule people used to be forced
to be bussed to those rallies that you saw in my package. But this time around this open campaigning, there's a real keenness among the voters that
they want to have their say. Listened to and note it down on paper. So, at the moment the atmosphere is a little bit chaotic in some areas. We
just heard, it hasn't been verified, that one ballot took place in Norton was burned down. I can't verify that.
But these are kind of things that are spreading all over social media. And of course, all of the big characters of this political life including Mr.
Mugabe, who is going to be 95 in February, Mr. Mnangagwa, the current President, and Chamisa, they all voted and everyone else in these queues
that I've seen have all been sharing bander and talking openly which is never, you must remember never, ever used to be this open, this voting
process.
NOBILO: Farai, that's momentous, that change alone. You've talked a little bit about the atmosphere and obviously, the complexity of African
elections which you know. But do you sense that there is that feeling of celebration which there was when Mugabe resigned? Do you sense that as
well? A lot of young people in particular excited about these elections.
SEVENZO: Well, you know, I met a lot of young people, young nephews and nieces of mine who have voted for the first time because they're 18. And
of course, as you know, the majority of the people who are voting in this nation are under the age of 35. So, it becomes about opening up the
electorate, opening up the paper sign for these young people to experience what democracy is.
Now, when we start talking about being celebratory as it was in November when we covered some of Mugabe's demise, that fall from grace is not the
same. This is going to be a very complicated adding up process. Mr. Chamisa is 40 years old has managed to amass a whole lot of disgruntled
people. Workers out of jobs, factory workers who haven't seen those factories opened in years people. People are desperate to get jobs and
some dignity into their lives. He's managed to talk to them in the same way that his former leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, trade unionist who managed
to get to the very soul of his people and provide Robert Mugabe with his first real opposition.
And then on the other hand, you talk about Emmerson Mnangagwa who has been selling and rebranding this country into something new. Everywhere the
mantra is Zimbabwe is open for business.
[11:25:00] And of course, the very reason that there are so many observers in this country at this point in time, anyone who wants to observe has been
allowed in. I as a member of the media, have accreditation, loads of people, a man from a Japanese newspaper. Everyone is watching this
election. But what happens when one of them loses? That is the fear. Will they lose in grace or will it be a contentious through the courts and
of course, back to the horrible days of 2008 when it took three months to count Robert Mugabe's votes. And then it turned out in a rerun in which
the opposition boycotted. That's the kind of fear in the history of this country that people are really desperate to avoid.
NOBILO: And Farai, whoever does win this election what would you say are the biggest challenges that will be immediately facing them?
SEVENZO: Well, let's start with jobs. You know, if many of the population that are under 35 are also the majority of the voters, they need to be
employed. Then let's go to the economy. We are dealing always with Zimbabwe the country that gave the world's first $1 trillion note and now
then went to dollarization and then created another currency called the bond note, which is supposed to be paid with the U.S. dollar but doesn't
quite make it. Because you can go downtown streets of downtown Harare and with your $100 you can purchase $135, $140, 150 bond notes. So, the level
isn't quite right.
Then there's the farming. This is a land that is very, very deeply rooted in the land and in the land issue. You remember those chaotic farm
invasions. Now, when those happened, they were supposed to distribute the land. But of course, we know that Robert Mugabe's patronage made that some
have more than one farm, five farms, six farms, 20 farms, the rumor goes on. So, whoever takes his country on must start trying to develop
everybody's pocket and wallet and well-being rather than look after their own.
NOBILO: Farai Sevenzo, thank you so much for your reporting from Harare. It's great to hear about your nieces and nephews voting for the first time
as well. Thank you, will continue to follow this. It is a land mark vote. And you can follow it not just on television but also online as we wait for
the results. You can head over to CNN.com for an in-depth look at what these elections mean for Zimbabweans. As well as to watch interviews with
the leaders of the main political parties there.
Live from London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD. And just ahead, the U.K. wants to crack down on fake news. But at what cost? We're live in London
with the details on a plan to regulate social media.
[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: You're watching CNN, and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I am Bianca Nobilo. Welcome back.
Well, a grim warning for members of the British government, so-called fake news, is a threat to the U.K.'s democracy. A parliamentary committee has
been investigating the spread of disinformation and this new report claims it has, quote, disturbing evidence of hacking and voter suppression
involving political campaigns as early as 2010. The proposed solution, greater regulation of social media. That investigation began after the
Cambridge Analytica scandal. And our Samuel Burke has been following it all from the very beginning and he joins me now. So, Samuel, what did we
learn from this committee?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianca, we now know that the U.K. Parliament just doesn't want to go after
Facebook by fiscal means. They want to use legal tools and Europe has had a lot of bark but now that bite is starting to sink in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BURKE: It's a blueprint for regulation sure to reverberate across Silicon Valley. This 89-page report released Sunday by a British parliamentary
committee. The report called on companies like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to face financial and legal liability for failing to police fake
news on their platform.
DAMIAN COLLINS, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: We have to create this sense of liability for them to say if you don't proactively look for and monitor,
powerful content and I think they are to classify the real hard, fake news, real lies being spread during the election of harmful content. If you
don't know how to identify that and the sources of it, then you could be liable for that information having been spread. And I think if we
introduce that liability into law we'll see them take it more seriously.
BURKE: The committee recommended new taxes on social media companies and stiff fines when they promote political ads that lack transparency.
COLLINS: The tech companies are saying themselves they want to give more transparency. What we can do is write it into our laws.
BURKE: If adopted the recommendations would radically change the way tech companies are treated in the U.K., less like passive platforms and more
like publishers.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO FACEBOOK: I think that it is inevitable that there will need to be some regulation.
BURKE: But British lawmakers said they weren't satisfied with efforts by social media companies to regulate themselves.
COLLINS: What they do is they preempt regulation. They don't like being regulated. So, if they think the threat of regulation is real they will
try and design their own way of solving the problem.
BURKE: The committee which has been working closely with members of the U.S. Congress also proposed measures to combat election interference. And
it slammed Facebook in particular for failing to fully investigate how and if Russia uses its platform to influence voters.
In a statement to CNN Facebook said, the committee has raised some important issues. We share the goal of ensuring that political advertising
is fair and transparent and that electoral rule changes are need. We will work closely with the U.K. government as we develop these new transparency
tools.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN MONEY ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: The chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, is $16 billion poorer than when he woke up this
morning.
BURKE: Last week the stock prices of Facebook and Twitter each fell almost 20 percent after both companies said they were spending heavily to combat
misinformation and clean up fake accounts on their platforms.
COLLINS: When you look to the near future and this problem is probably going to get worse using, you know, virtual reality all the way to reality
techniques. You can already create fake speech given by someone in a place they never were to an audience they never met and pass it off real and
share that online. Now we can either help the tech companies to stop that information spreading. Otherwise that could have a real outcome on
elections in the future.
BURKE: Big tech's willingness to help out will surely be tested now that regulation is growing closer to becoming law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURKE: And a point I can't reiterate enough, Bianca, is that the U.S. Congress is working in conjunction with the U.K. Parliament. Just after
this report came out we got our hands-on documents from Senator Mark Warner in the United States.
[11:35:00] If we just put up on the screen points that he's looking into blueprints for social media regulations, federal funding for media literacy
programs -- many of us in the media have been pushing for that. Increased identifiers for authentic accounts, so maybe something more than just that
the blue check mark and making platforms legally liable for defamation claims. It's really interesting to see how they're working with each other
on both sides of the Atlantic.
NOBILO: It is. And so, you've outlined they're some of the potential proposed solutions to the issue, but do you think that this is the likely
to actually happen in practice? Perhaps the fact the U.K. and U.S. are working in concert is an indication that it does this time.
BURKE: Exactly, I think in the past you've seen Europe with a lot of bark. But now that we're Seeing a GDPR, for example, those new privacy rules, and
the fact Damian Collins, who is the MP that just saw in that report, has been going at this so relentlessly for so long. I think you someone who
has real serious policy heft, not just political heft. And so, I think for that reason we at least know now what the possible tools are. Investors
can look is this. It may not come to fruition, but we know what the possible tools that can be used on both sides of the Atlantic are.
NOBILO: Samuel Burke, thank you so much. We know you'll continue to follow that for us.
Donald Trump says he had a great meeting with the publisher of "The New York Times" about fake news. But that the publisher is now speaking out
saying the U.S. President's version of the meeting is, well, essentially fake itself. AG Sulzberger came to the White House earlier this month for
what was supposed to be an off the record meeting. But after Mr. Trump tweeted about it, "The New York Times" said it felt compelled to clarify
what actually happened.
Mr. Trump said they discussed how the media are putting out, quote, vast amounts of fake news and how that fake news has morphed into the phrase
enemy of the people which he calls sad. So, let's bring in CNN's Hadas Gold now to give us "The New York Time's" version of those talks. Hadas, I
know that you've been following this closely. What have you learned about what happened in that meeting from the perspective of "The New York Times"?
HADAS GOLD, CNN MONEY POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER: Right, Bianca, this all happened early Sunday morning when President Trump sent
out that tweet that you just put up on the screen. Explaining that he had out of the blue met with AG Sulzberger and that they had discussed, as you
noted, fake news and the term enemy of the American people.
But what happened a few hours later was "The New York Times" came out and said, actually this version, this tweet that you're seeing, is not exactly
what happened in this meeting. "The New York Times" said that Donald Trump and the White House actually were the ones who invited AG Sulzberger down
to have this meeting. Now that's not unusual, major publishers often meet. And this is what AG Sulzberger told us. He said that he told President
Trump that although the phrase fake news is untrue and harmful he's far more concerned about President Trump labeling journalists the enemy of the
people. And he warned him that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise and threats against journalists and will lead to violence.
And Sulzberger went on to explain that he told President Trump that if -- he's more than welcome to have complaints and criticisms about his coverage
and that he can always talk to the publisher about that. But then when he uses the rhetoric, especially around the world, especially abroad, it's
very dangerous and it can lead to violence against reporters. And, in fact, in a further interview with "The New York Times" Sulzberger explained
that he told Mr. Trump a lot of news rooms have had to enhance their security with armed guards. And that President Trump seemed surprised that
wasn't already the plan in place to help protect reporters.
So, it seems as though this was an educational meeting and Sulzberger defended even going out to visit President Trump saying that when the
President invites you, you want to go specially to have this sort of open conversation. But clearly, Sulzberger warnings did not stick because just
a few hours after all of this we saw more tweets from the President about the fake news and about "The New York Times" and how he even called them
unpatriotic. So, this war with the press continues.
NOBILO: Hadas, speaking of this war with the press, there has been in recent days and weeks, there have been displays of unity from the media. I
think in particular of Fox getting behind CNN last week when Kaitlin Collins was banned from that event. Do you notice a more concerted effort
for media outlets to work together to resist this anti-press rhetoric developing?
GOLD: Well, that sense of unity that we saw last week was definitely notable but it's not new. Because in previous years when any
administration has tried been certain outlets, this happened to Fox under the Obama administration, all the news outlets sort of banned together and
said this was relating to an interview that the White House was offering with the Treasury Secretary. They said, we're not going to sit for this
interview unless Fox is included as well. So, it is notable we're all coming together in this moment. But it's definitely not new.
[11:40:00] What I will be looking for this will happen from the White House. We are almost guaranteed the White House will ban somebody else.
Will do something, will try to pull credentials, some of the things they have warned about over and over again. Then what happens? Will we see
news outlets vote to not cover something? Will we see news outlets really come forth and put out more than just statements and actually create some
action to come out with all of this? Because this is going to happen again. It's unprecedented to see a White House ban a reporter like what
happened with Kaitlin. Especially when she wasn't doing anything unusual. She was just asking questions in a pool spray. If anyone listens to that
video they would see that she was not acting out of turn. She was not disrespectful at all.
NOBILO: Yes, that is true. Well, Hadas Gold, thank you very much for your reporting. We'll continue to watch how that unfolds.
Another big media story in the U.S., the CEO of CBS is facing allegations of sexual misconduct. The company's board of directors is meeting today to
discuss the claims against Les Moonves. He said in a statement that he has quote, promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees.
But he also acknowledged there were times, decades ago, when I may have made some women uncomfortable. The journalist who broke the story spoke to
CNN today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONAN FARROW, THE NEW YORKER: We are talking about encounters in which women alleged they were pinned down and struggled to escape. It serious
stuff, but I also want to point out that in some of these cases more than the initial incident these are women who said what was scarring were the
threats of retaliation, that there appeared to be a pattern of saying, you know this is going to harm your career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: There's a lot more to come this hour. Next, we're connecting you to these scenes. Tourists thousands of feet up the side of a volcano when
a huge earthquake hits triggering landslides all around them. We'll show you where hundreds of people are still trapped, next.
Plus, it's one of the great modern mysteries. Now after more than four years are we closer to finding out what happened to MH-370? Ahead, what
investigators are saying now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN, and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I am Bianca Nobilo filling in for Becky Anderson. Welcome back.
Right now, rescue workers are looking through scenes like this trying to find survivors after a massive earthquake hit a popular tourist spot in
Indonesia. Shaking villages and towns into wreckage. At least 16 were killed and hundreds more badly hurt. CNN Kristie Lu Stout, takes us inside
what it's like to be caught up inside a natural disaster as it happens.
[11:45:00] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR, NEWS STREAM (voice-over): Moments after the quake struck hikers scrambled to get down the mountain with clouds of dust
rising from landslides all around. There are more than 800 people including many foreign tourists hiking on Mount Rinjani at the time.
Rescuers set out on Monday morning to help find hundreds of people still trapped. Elsewhere, Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, visited survivors
to hand out emergency supplies and promised more aid.
JOKO WIDODO, INDONESIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As for Rinjani, the search and rescue agency, disaster mitigating agency and the military
are working together. Hopefully it will be over soon.
LU STOUT: Around a 1,000 buildings were damaged including many people's homes.
ANCI, QUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): We are sitting here at the side of the road because our house collapsed in the quake. So, my family and I
have to sleep here. There are other villages sleeping at other locations around here too. We were afraid of aftershocks.
LU STOUT: The earthquake was centered 50 kilometers northeast of Mataram and a at relatively shallow depth of seven kilometers it was felt on the
neighboring island of Bali. Many homes here are not built to withstand strong tremors and rescuers have to be careful of aftershocks while
searching the rubble.
SUARDI, LOMBOK ISLAND OFFICIAL (through translator): Many houses collapsed in the quake as a 6.4 magnitude earthquake is relatively strong. In
addition, the epicenter is very close to the northern area of the island. The third reason is that the housing structures are not firm enough.
Lacking reinforced steel bars and a solid foundation.
LU STOUT: People often feel earthquakes in Indonesia. It is in the ring of fire region of heightened seismic and volcanic activity. But this quake
was stronger than usual and happened while many people were sleeping. The Indonesian Red Cross are helping to treat the injured and along with the
police and volunteers are searching for those still missing. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: After more than four years and the biggest search in the history of air travel, investigators still don't know what happened to Malaysia
Airline's flight 370. A report today provided no real answers and no solace to the friends and family of the 239 onboard. The plane disappeared
on his way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing of March 2014. CNN's Will Ripley has been reporting on the story since early on and he joins us now from
Hong Kong. Well, it's great to have you on the show. This report seemingly doesn't provide any finality or explanation. But has the
investigation made any form of progress?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've made progress in the sense they've laid out a number of different theories that they can discount.
For example, the plane being taken over by someone from another location with remote control. They said that didn't happen. There was somebody who
likely turned the plane and then maybe at some point it switched to autopilot.
But what they don't know was that person the captain or the first officer? Did somebody break into the cockpit? Were they in a situation where they
were trying to rescue the 239 people onboard from some sort of a critical equipment failure that would have caused communications equipment to switch
off and cause the plane to drastically change altitude and whatnot or was this a more sinister act? Those questions were the questions that we were
asking in the initial days and weeks after MH 370 disappeared and here we are now 1,606 days later and we are still asking those questions. So, the
end result you have this 495-page report that's very heavy on facts, but it doesn't have what families need the most, Bianca, which is answers.
NOBILO: Exactly, Will. I mean, you and I keep on asking these questions but, of course, it is the friends and family that are desperate for the
answers. So, what happens now?
RIPLEY: So, there have been two searches. There was the search that the Australian Transport Authority conducted, and they searched more than
120,000 square kilometers. They wrapped that up earlier this year in January. Then Malaysia hired a private company. They did a very extensive
90-day search. They searched 112,000 square kilometers, saying they claimed were the most advanced technology available now. So, you have more
than 230,000 square kilometers and sub Indian Ocean search, the area that is believed to be the most likely location of the plane. And they have
found absolutely nothing.
What they have found are 27 pieces of debris that washed up on Africa's East Coast. As far north as Tanzania, as far south as South Africa, but
only three of the pieces, three pieces of the wing that your seeing on the screen have actually been confirmed to be from MH 370. The other two dozen
pieces are considered to be highly likely. And until they find the main cabin of the plane, which is where the passengers are, where the black
boxes are, they really may not have any more answers for the families.
And they haven't announced plans to resume a search at this time. They simply don't think that they have any more area left to search right now.
And so, this might be a situation where decades down the road we talk about this because somebody stumbles upon this plane. But it's just a reminder
for all of us of the vastness of the ocean, the small size of this plane.
[11:50:01] But for the people, 227 passengers, 12 crew members, who are somewhere in the ocean presumably and their families, of course. I mean,
is just going to be day after day of this continued kind of uncertainty and really agony for many of them.
NOBILO: Yes, it will. Well, Will Ripley in Hong Kong, thank you for the latest there on an incredibly complicated and frustrating situation. Thank
you.
Still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, terrifying wildfires in California double in size. We're on the ground with the latest as firefighters desperately
work to contain the blaze.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: You're watching CNN, and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Bianca Nobilo. Welcome back.
To the western United States, where more than a dozen wildfires are taking lives and consuming property in California, the biggest, the Carr fire, is
in Shasta County in the northern part of the state. It doubled in size over the weekend turning the sky a terrifying orange color. It's been
burning for a week now and its still only 20 percent contained. These fires have created unimaginable tragedy for some families. Dan Simon is in
Redding, California near the Carr fire.
Dan, these fires have taken so much from people and you, I know, have spoken to a man who lost his wife and two great-grandchildren. What did he
tell you?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Bianca. This is one of the most difficult interviews I have ever conducted. This is a man who is broken,
who has lost the most important things, the most important people in his life. Now, I can tell you that 76-year-old Ed Bledsoe and his wife Melody,
they were raising their two great-grandchildren, they have been raising them since birth. We're talking about 5-year-old James, who they called
junior, and 4-year-old Emily. Now on Thursday night about 7:00 p.m. Ed left his house to run into town, really to run a quick errand, and about 15
minutes later he received a frantic phone call that his house was about to go up in flames. Now inside the house were his wife and his two great-
grandchildren. I'll let Ed pick up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED BLEDSOE, WIFE AND TWO GRANDCHILDREN DIED IN CARR FIRE: I talked to junior on the phone until he died. He kept saying, grandpa, come get me.
He said, come and get me. The fire is coming in the back door. Come on, grandpa. I said I'm right down the road. He said come and get us. Emily
said, I love you, grandpa. Grandma said I love you grandpa. And then Junior said, I of love you. Come and get us. Come and get us. I said I'm
on my way. My wife was the greatest woman in the world and my grandkids were excellent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:55:07] SIMON: Well, as you can imagine he is feeling a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened, but we should point out that nobody
ever told him that he should evacuate. That just goes to show you how fast this fire really took over some communities. Bianca, let me explain where
we are. We are in the town of Redding. We are in a subdivision. And you can see this house behind me is gone. There is so much destruction
throughout the community. We're talking more than 700 homes that have gone up in flames. But fortunately, we're now seeing some improvement with this
fire. The containment number is 20 percent now. That may not sound like a lot but 24 hours ago we were at 5 percent containment. And we're told that
the fire is burning away towards inhabited communities, in other words, it's in a rural area.
NOBILO: Dan, thank you so much for your incredibly important and harrowing reporting from California. Thank you.
And before we go, a German cruise company is facing a backlash after one of its employees shot and killed a polar bear. And we want to warn you the
image we're about to show is disturbing. It happened when the cruise line made a stop in the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic. Guards employed by
the ship were on the ground to make sure there were no polar bears nearby before the passengers came onshore. But failed to spot one bear who then
attacked a guard. The other guards fired on the bear after they tried but failed to scare the bear away. The injured guard was airlifted out and is
reportedly in a stable condition.
I'm Bianca Nobilo and that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.
END
