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Schoolboy's Final Moments Captured on Video in Yemen; Moon to Meet Kim and Pyongyang; Erdogan Fires Back at U.S. Over Sanctions; Omarosa Squares Off Against White House, Releases Tapes; FBI Agent Peter Strzok Fired Over Anti-Trump Texts; Focus on Race Relations One Year after Charlottesville; Human Remains, Flight Recorders, Recovered from Stolen Plane; Liverpool, Manchester City Begin with Victories. Aired 11-12p ET
Aired August 13, 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] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson for you in London.
And we begin this hour connecting you to footage that we wish we didn't have to. From an attack that never should have happened. CNN can now show
you cell phone video from Yemen of the very last moments that a group of school boys were alive right before this air strike obliterated their bus.
The missile that did this launched by the American-backed Saudi-led coalition. They're Fighting Iranian-backed rebels. Well some of the
scenes that you are about to see in Nima Elbagir's report are extremely hard to watch. Graphic and distressing, but we think it's important you
watch to see what the catastrophe of Yemen's war is really like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're taking roll calls. They're probably needn't bother. This is the day we're
told the students have excitedly been waiting for weeks. The little boy filming, Osama, swings the cell phone around to capture all his friends.
They're due to graduate today after two months of religious summer school.
First stop is a shrine to the Houthi masses. It may not seem like a fun day out but in a city ravaged by war this cemetery is one of the few
remaining green spaces. The children scatter in a games of chase. Less than an hour later and most of the children you'll see in this video we're
dead.
Osama's phone was found in the wreckage of the bus and with it the children's last moments. CNN obtained the footage from local Houthi
officials. This attack on the school bus carrying children by the U.S. backed Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen has drawn condemnation. The coalition
maintains the attack hit a legitimate target, trainers and recruiters of child soldiers. Still, the Coalition is investigating and says it is
fighting to reinstate Yemen's legitimate president after his overthrow by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias. Three years on though, and the
devastation in Yemen continues. The surviving children struggle to piece together what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD (translated text): I couldn't see my friends, then I found one of them. I helped him get up and told him to run, but he
stopped and said I will go find my brother. He kept looking for his brother but didn't find him.
ELBAGIR: The scope of the tragedy still too difficult to absorb. Kazan Hussein (ph) is a medic, the first at the scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): As I was nursing people, I lifted a body and found it was Ahmed's face. I carried and hugged him, he was my
son. It was a scary situation. Very scary.
ELBAGIR: Many of the bodies found after the attack, are so mutilated that the process of identifying them has been drawn out and torturous. While
the men busy themselves digging little graves waiting to be filled one by one.
You can hear the joy in Osama's voice. Ilah Mohammad, he pulls out chasing behind them, wait. Let's take a picture and the camera goes dead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The camera goes dead. Yemen's seemingly senseless war extinguishing their young lives all too early and then robbing them of
peace in death.
You're hearing the leaders of the Houthi rebels blaming America for the attacks, speaking to an ocean of furious protesters. The bodies of the
boys in the green trucks here almost hard to spot at their own mass funeral. Let's get back CNN's Nima now. Who is joining me on the set.
[11:05:00] And what do we know today?
ELBAGIR: We understand that even though you saw the pomp and circumstance of the funeral that not all the boys have been identified. Some of the
bodies are just too mutilated so there are over between 10 to 12 bodies that still the parents aren't are unable to properly grieve for. Because
they don't know if this is their child and therefore they are unable to even find an outlet for their grief. Osama, the young boy whose video
footage we saw there, his parents lost him and his brother. And there is another child, we understand, that still has not yet been identified. And
that is just one family's story.
ANDERSON: We heard that Houthi rebels are blaming America for the attacks saying they are complicit in all of this. The Americans, of course, sell a
lot of weapons to the Saudis. Weapons the Saudis can then fire into Yemen. In fact, the very missile used could well have been made in America, as it
were. So, they're watching this closely, very closely. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MATTIS, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I have dispatched a three-star general into Riyadh to look into what happened here and if there is
anything we can do to preclude this from the future even while we support the State Department's call for an investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Nima, anything likely to come out of an investigation that could help ordinary Yemenis?
ELBAGIR: Well, General Mattis is very careful not to say that. His wording that could help preclude, i.e., in the future. So, he's not taking
responsibility for what happened in this instance. But the reality is that even if they have a three-star general there on the ground, this is being
undertaken by an internal mechanism, so we don't know that this is independent or would be transparent. And what we've seen not just in our
own reporting but in the reporting that human rights organizations have done. Is that even when that internal mechanism has found the Saudi
officers were guilty or coalition officers were guilty in instances that the reparations their own mechanism has called for haven't actually been
paid out. So, unless the U.S. is much more present within the ranks of the coalition and present in a day-to-day reality where they can force that to
happen, then it's difficult to see how this could help with Yemeni.
ANDERSON: Well, the Saudi-led coalition telling CNN it is looking into what happened. Let's not forget what they told my show just hours after
the attack though that, quote, no, this is not children in the bus. We do have high-standard measures for targeting. Just how concerned are the
Saudis about the fallout from this?
ELBAGIR: Well, it seems they have been caught on the back foot. They have been in this place before. You remember -- I mean, you reported on it
extensively -- the 140 dead and the funeral, reparations still haven't been paid out for that. So, they have been allowed, because there is a sense
both the U.S. and the U.K. -- it's not just the U.S. that sell weapons -- perhaps have allowed themselves to be complicit with what is happening in
Yemen. You have the British Ambassador now sitting at the head of the table at the Security Council. Karen Pierce -- which should be a very
proud moment for Britain to have a woman sitting at the head of the table - - having to juggle very delicately their own involvement as the seller of arms with any potential sanctions against Saudi Arabia.
ANDERSON: Yemen a violent microcosm, of course, of the region's much bigger struggle between the Iranians and the Saudis. And you can really
see it in this map. Let's have a look at this. Red for Iranian backed rebel, blue for Saudi-led forces. You can really see how fractured and
splintered Yemen really is. It feels, and it will feel certainly to our viewers like had is a war that could go on and on and on.
We do know that the U.N. envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffith, has been in Washington. He's been talking to stakeholders on the ground. He was in
Yemen back in Washington trying to put the pieces together on a peace plan. What do we know about that at present, or does this just go on?
ELBAGIR: Well, the hope from those we're speaking to on the diplomatic side is that potentially this tragedy could bear some kind of fruit, that
it has embarrassed the Saudis to the extent that they could potentially actually sit down. And this is something you've spoken about extensively,
that there's a lack of trust between the actors in this. That the Saudis want the Houthis to commit to something before they will commit, and the
Houthis want the Saudi-led coalition to commit, and it could go on and on as we have seen in the past in Yemen. The reality is that this conflict is
deeply unpopular in both the UAE and in Saudi Arabia and it is really who is prepared to blink first.
ANDERSON: Deeply unpopular in country deeply unpopular on The Hill, of course, in the political capital being wasted through this war. If you
want to use those terms, is ridiculous. Thank you.
[11:10:03] ELBAGIR: Thank you.
ANDERSON: It's a pleasure having you on, Nima, as ever. We will continue to connect everybody on this story. An excellent report on this on our
website where in a war as immune to description as to solution, you really take us inside the attack. You should check that out viewers. That's
Nima's report at CNN.com.
Leaders of North and South Korea are planning to meet face-to-face next month in North Korea's capital. It will be the first time a South Korean
leader's set foot in Pyongyang for more than ten years. And the third time the two leaders have met this year. Well, the two countries made the
announcement a short time ago after a round of high-level talks at the demilitarized zone, DMZ. Who better to break this down than our very own
Will Ripley. Knows the Korean Peninsula better than most having visited the North and the South dozens of times. What do we know about this
meeting, the details of this meeting, and what we might get out of it at this point?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is going to be the first time that a South Korean President has traveled to the North Korean capital in more
than a decade, Becky. That in itself is significant. But it's also coming really at a crucial time, a time when the entire denuclearization process,
this very delicate relationship between the United States and North Korea is in danger of really coming off the rails.
It was just a few days ago -- on Friday actually -- that North Korea's permanent mission at the U.N. put out that statement blasting certain
members of the administration for -- in the North Korean view -- trying to undermine the denuclearization process with old thinking. Not showing a
willingness to do things like push for a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War. Which has technically been in a state of cease-fire since
1953. That's something that both the North and the South have said that they want. In fact, at the first inter-Korean summit this year, President
Moon and Kim Jong-un, they declared that they wanted to work towards ending the Korean War formally. And certainly, on the North side at least they
are frustrated about that.
So, President Moon has served as kind of an intermediary throughout all of this process. We know he will be traveling to Pyongyang in September, so
the next month. Now we don't know the exact date yet but there are some important dates already on the calendar in September. The 9th of September
is North Korea's Foundation Day, the 70th anniversary of their country's foundation. They're planning a huge grandiose celebration in Pyongyang.
They have invited world leaders to attend. Could President Moon go around that time?
And then, of course, on the 18th of September, the United Nations General Assembly kicks off in New York. There have been rumors that Kim Jong-un or
somebody of very high rank from North Korea might fly to New York for the UNGA. So, could the meeting happen at some point between the 9th and the
18th? And then as President Moon has done previously this year, could his meeting with Kim Jong-un tee up a potential second summit between Kim and
President Trump? Because remember, President Moon has been the one who is the diplomatic middleman talking to the North, talking to the United
States, keeping both engaged and trying to keep this process moving forward. And not going back to the tension and the escalating tension in
the region we saw for much of the last couple of years -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Will, is North Korea any longer a nuclear threat?
RIPLEY: Yes. They absolutely are. They still have a nuclear arsenal. A nuclear arsenal that according to U.S. intelligence is growing. Although
North Korea has now disputed that intelligence. But it is a known fact that North Korea possess dozens of nuclear warheads. They continue to
produce nuclear fuel. They have ample capability to launch those weapons at any moment that they choose. Even though North Korea hasn't conducted a
missile test since last November and they haven't conducted a nuclear test since late last year. That doesn't mean they couldn't push the button on
one at any moment. So, yes, North Korea does remain very much a nuclear threat.
The North Koreans though feel that they -- the possession of those weapons is justified until they have security guarantees for their government. And
the biggest way to get a security guarantee in their view, is that peace treaty that they say the United States just isn't moving quickly enough on.
But the U.S. says there shouldn't be any peace treaty until after they give up the nukes. That's really where they're caught in gridlock right now.
ANDERSON: Will Ripley is in Hong Kong for you today, as I said, been in and out of both the North and the South repeatedly over the past couple of
years. Will, thank you.
Still to come tonight. We take you to Istanbul to explain what is behind Turkey's currency crisis and how it is affecting ordinary life and the
people there. Stay with us.
[11:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): Our response to those who wage a trade war against the whole world and include our
country that will be heading towards new markets and new alliances.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Turkish President Erdogan firing back at the United States showing no sign of backing down over what he calls an economic war.
Meanwhile Turkey's currency continues its dramatic tumble hitting new record lows. Its freefall sending shock waves through the world's
financial markets. Let's bring in Arwa Damon who's been speaking to people in Istanbul about all of this. How are people feeling, Arwa?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Incredibly vulnerable, Becky, and incredibly anxious as you can imagine watching their economy
take this most recent devastating blow because of basically the relationship between America and Turkey. Some analysts are likening the
U.S. administration's more recent moves of sanctioning two Turkish ministers and then slapping on those tariffs to Turkish steel and aluminum
imports. As being similar to kicking someone in the gut when they're already down. That being said, we're not seeing people running to the
banks and trying to withdraw their money. But we're not also seeing people heeding President Erdogan's calls to convert whatever dollars, gold and
foreign currencies they may have into Turkish lira. And the Turkish President is trying to calm the situation down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERDOGAN (through translator): The exchange rate will position to its normal level within economic rules as soon as possible. Do not worry about
it. Be relaxed about it. We did not make concessions from the rules of free market economy. Nobody should listen to speculations that say
otherwise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: But, Becky, I think for a lot of people here it's not necessarily the issues of listening to speculation, although there are plenty of rumors
that have been going around as people are really trying to grapple with what it is that is going on. The one thing that is going to reassure this
population is only going to be seeing their currency, the lira, begin to gain some value.
ANDERSON: So practically speaking, how is this affecting people?
DAMON: You know, we're still in very early days and there's a lot of watch and wait and try not to panic at this stage. As I was saying you're not
seeing a run for the banks. You're not seeing people really panicking in that sense just yet. But there is a lot of overriding anxiety.
[11:20:00] People are watching this so closely that almost everyone I know, for example, is following the moves, the fluctuations of the Turkish lira
on nearly a minute by minute basis and then updating all of their friends about it. That's how closely it's being watched. Because at the end of
the day, as I'm sure our viewers can relate as well, when you see your country's economy plummet like this you're not just seeing the economy
plummeting, you're potentially seeing your own future going along with it, your children's future, your savings. I mean, this really can have a
devastating impact on so many in this country.
ANDERSON: Arwa Damon is in Istanbul for you. Arwa, thank you for that. While the lira has tumbled more than 40 percent -- 4-0 percent this year.
Its nose dive last week is connected to this man, American pastor, Andrew Brunson, detained in Turkey for nearly two years on charges of espionage
and links to terrorist groups. Now when Turkey refused to release him, the U.S. began imposing sanctions. In May I spoke to President Erdogan about
the case. Have a to listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERDOGAN (through translator): We're just trying to say that this is a judicial process right now and all of the cases amassed are within the
position of the judiciary. And this individual will keep on hearing, keep on appearing in front of a court and should he be released, or should he be
acquitted as a result of the hearings he might as well be our judiciary and justice mechanisms will function even more fair than those in the United
States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
New markets editor, John Defterios, is here to break this all down with us. A radical response to this diplomatic dispute over Brunson. And we know,
President Erdogan wanting the extradition of Fethullah Gulen from the United States. This diplomatic dispute has resulted in the slapping of
these swinging tariffs by the U.S. President on Turkish goods. This isn't helping. But how much of this crisis is about the U.S. and these trade and
diplomatic disputes, or is it more about a crisis that is home grown?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNNMONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I think it's mainly home grown. But to your point, politics and economics don't mix. Particularly
when you have the bully on the block, the U.S. the largest economy in the world slapping tariffs and actually looking for punishment. It was timed
right before the U.S. market opened so President Trump was out to inflict some pain because of the Brunson case. And as you said, because of the
arguments over the extradition of Fethullah Gulen.
But I think this is a list of pre-existing conditions, if you will, domestically for Turkey. Let's take a look at the list here. First and
foremost, they've been running a current account deficit, Becky. We've been talking about it in the emerging markets sphere for the last 24
months, to be candid. It's running at about $57 billion. It's high. They have problems with financing it because they've been juicing the economy
and is growing better than 7 percent. You'd say there's no problem there, right?
The second issue is the inflation. It's nearly 16 percent which is wiping out that growth, of course. So, the Turks aren't feeling that growth. And
then the corporate debt, which has started to send ripples to other markets, is running nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars. The Turkish
corporates have been expanding, borrowing heavily. Now we have exposure to the Spanish, Italian and French banks at the same time. Then the problem
is that Turkey is making this quite a political situation, particularly the President, Mr. Erdogan, saying, look, you risk losing an ally in Turkey. A
NATO member to the U.S. Saying, look, you continued this, this economic war and lining up Russia on its side, this can't continue at this pace.
ANDERSON: Finance 101, your currency is in a nose dive you raise your interest rate. Turkey's central bank hasn't raised its interest rates. Of
course, some economists say is necessary to stave off this debt crisis. President Erdogan says, and I quote, interest rates are an exploitation
tool that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. Adding that Turks won't be fooled by what he calls a plot. They are though going into damage
control with emergency measures announced on Sunday. How are these being viewed, and will they be enough?
DEFTERIOS: They're being viewed as something that's a 100-day plan and not an emergency measure here. Let's be blunt, they pulled out all the top
guns, the finance minister, central bank governor, the head of the capital markets authority, the bank supervisory board. They're saying all the
right things. There not talking about capital controls or seizing deposits within the banks right now. But President Erdogan over the weekend and
again repeated it now, he's blaming the interest rate lobby here in London, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo for the woes right now and he's not talking
about raising interest rates, Becky. So, the conventional measures, and some leaders feel like they're strong enough, they don't need to listen to
conventional measures of raising interest rates and cutting back spending.
[11:25:01] He wants to hold the course and he's at this fork in the road. And I would say he's actually at the cliff. Because you've seen a 40
percent correction in the currency. And he's not responding with any sort of urgency despite all the nice words from those four big players I talked
about.
ANDERSON: John, a social media crackdown. We know that in Turkey there is a review of some nearly 350 social media accounts. These sound like
emergency measures all over again. Are they?
DEFTERIOS: Well, you know, it it's interesting, he's criticized President Trump, of course, with a tweet that we had on Friday. But he's taking a
page from the Trump playbook, if you will. They're calling it fake news and they're going after nearly 350 social media accounts. I think what
worries international investors is -- if you go back two years and you cover the coup attempt the emergency measures, is this going to be
emergency right across the board when it comes to financial information in Turkey? It's a large emerging market. He has aspirations to 2023 and the
100th anniversary of the secular Republic. But if you're going to put on controls in the financial market news area, it's a whole different sphere,
and I think that's what we're edging to, to be really candid right now. That's the language that we're seeing.
ANDERSON: So, the night after my interview that we saw a part of there with the Turkish President back in May, I treated my team to a steak dinner
-- I'm a good boss like that -- damage almost $300. Right now, that would cost less than $200. My bosses do know about this. It's nothing they
didn't know about.
DEFTERIOS: Much of it's true.
ANDERSON: No, it was a very good meal. It has to be said. I may have worked very hard for it. The point being, John, this must be very good for
tourism, right? You know, Turkey has been struggling with its tourism, the terrorist attacks both from internal and external actors, have been really,
really hard on tourist back.
DEFTERIOS: Yes, in fact, they saw their tourist arrivals drop to 25 million after the coup attempt for all of 2016. Recovered a bit in 2017.
They're hoping to get a backup 40 million. You know, they peaked in 2014 at 42 million and going back to that hundredth anniversary I was talking
about, the target is for $50 billion in revenue and 50 million visitors by 2023. This helps spending. So, the Europeans that go in, the Americans
that are going in, the Asians, the Russians who go in to Turkey, if they spend more this will juice the economy. You have to look for a silver
lining, this is one of them. For the foreigners that go in this looks like a discount on the ground in Turkey.
ANDERSON: John Defterios in the house with me. We are both, as you will be well aware if you're regular viewers, we are both normally based in Abu
Dhabi, both here in London this week.
DEFTERIOS: Thanks, nice to see you.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
All right, well some economists say that there are already signs of a spillover in all of this. This is the state of the U.S. market right now.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average off about -- let's call it a fifth of one percent or just less than 42 odd points down. 25,270 and change. Not a
massive drop but certainly some influence there, investors and traders tell us on the U.S. main Dow Jones market.
Just ahead Donald Trump says he knows it's not presidential to take on, in his words, a low life like his former aide, but he's doing it anyway after
this woman released audio tapes from her time in the White House. Stay with us.
[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: If you're just joining us you're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson and you are very welcome. Just after
4:30 here in London.
U.S. President Donald Trump wrapping up a holiday at his New Jersey golf resort and returning to Washington today where a lot of controversy awaits
him. The White House is in defense mode after some explosive claims made by this ex-reality star. She's just published a tell-all book after her
brief tenure as President Trump's aide and has released several audio recordings. President Trump is also in defense mode over the Russia
investigation and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is now muddying the waters once again. My colleague Boris Sanchez explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rudy Giuliani is again changing his story now saying President Trump will deny ever telling FBI
director James Comey to ease up on former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: The President says he never told Comey that he should go easy on Flynn.
If he goes in and testifies to that under oath, instead of this just being a dispute, they can say its perjury if they elect to believe Comey instead
of Trump.
SANCHEZ: But just a month ago Giuliani said the exact opposite.
GIULIANI: They didn't direct him to do that. What he said to him was --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comey says he took it as direction.
GIULIANI: That's OK.
SANCHEZ: Comey has always insisted Trump asked him to take it easy on Flynn. And says he has the contemporaneous notes to prove it. Flynn has
since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with the special counsel's investigation. Giuliani later back tracking claiming he
was repeating Comey's words not the President's.
GIULIANI: The conversation never took place. But if it did take place and here's the conversation that's alleged, it is not illegal to have said
that.
SANCHEZ: All of this comes as former White House aide, Omarosa Manigault- Newman, releases a recording that she secretly made inside the White House situation room back in December when Chief of Staff, John Kelly, fired her.
JOHN KELLY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: If we make this a friendly departure, we can all be -- you know, you can look at your time here in the
White House as a year of service to the nation. And then you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation.
SANCHEZ: Omarosa, who is promoting her controversial tell-all book about her year in the White House, says the recording was the only way to defend
herself.
OMAROSA MANIGAULT-NEWMAN, FORMER AIDE TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: The chief of staff of the United States, under the direction of the president of the
United States, threatening me on damage to my reputation and things getting ugly for me. That's downright criminal.
SANCHEZ: The White House is slamming the recording as a national security breach. The President not mincing words about his former aide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel betrayed [11:35:00] by Omarosa, sir?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Low life. She's a low life.
SANCHEZ: Omarosa was the last African-American to work in a high-level position in the White House. When pressed to name another White House
counselor Kellyanne Conway could not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does that say to have not a single senior advisor in the West Wing who is African-American?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, U.S. COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: I didn't say that there wasn't. But hold on --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But who is?
CONWAY: There are plenty of people if you're going by that and not by the actions of the President which you probably should. Then you should look
at the fact that we have a number of different minorities.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Boris Sanchez reporting there. Well, I'm going to get back to some of what was in Boris' report there.
Breaking news now though from the U.S. We have just learned that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has fired the controversial veteran agent
,Peter Strzok. Now that news coming from Strzok's lawyer. He's the agent, you'll remember, who was removed from the Russia investigation last year
for sending text messages, disparaging Donald Trump. The lawyer says the FBI deputy director ordered the firing on Friday and comes after a
disciplinary official had ruled that Strzok should be suspended and demoted instead. Well Strzok has drawn considerable criticism from Mr. Trump as
the scandal has unfolded. And we will get you more on that as we get it. Let's get you then to CNN White House reporter Jerry Diamond. And first on
Strzok. What do you make of this?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It's certainly a significant firing here. Peter Strzok, as you noted, had sent these disparaging text
messages to somebody with whom he was having an affair then at the FBI about then-candidate Donald Trump. And when that came out, when that was
revealed, he was removed from the special counsel's investigation. Looking into 2016 interference by Russia and these questions of collusion between
the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Now it appears he has been fired, and so this is going to raise a lot of questions not only about the motivations behind his firing as it appears
the original course that was suggested by this professional in the disciplinary office was to have him demoted. So, questions there about the
influence of politics in all of this, of course. And were likely to see something from the President himself. You know, he has tweeted repeatedly
about Peter Strzok in the past using him as kind of a prime example -- as the President has tried to do -- of the issues he sees with the FBI with
corruption, with questions about the legitimacy of the investigation that he is facing. So, we're likely to see the President respond but nothing as
of yet.
ANDERSON: Well, the Russia investigation won't go away however hard the U.S. President tries to bat it off as a witch-hunt. It awaits him and his
arrival back in Washington as does this spat over his former aid. Donald Trump blasting Omarosa on Twitter just a short time ago. Let's bring that
up. Jeremy, he wrote, wacky Omarosa who got fired three times on "The Apprentice." Now got fired for the last time. She never made it, never
will. She begged me for a job, tears in her eyes. I said, OK. People in the White House hated her. She was vicious but not smart.
And it sort of goes on and on and on. How big a deal is this? What does his former aide have on him and his administration? What's the fallout
from this, do you think?
DIAMOND: Well, as we begin this week in Washington we're already seeing Omarosa dominating the conversation, shaping the narrative going into this
week. She's released not one but two recordings so far. One of her firing by Chief of Staff, John Kelly. Another conversation with the President.
And we've been told there are more recordings to come as well. That Omarosa insists repeatedly that she has receipts as she calls it. Let's
listen to one of those. Her conversation with the President about her firing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Omarosa, what's going on? I just saw on the news that you're thinking about leaving. What happened?
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: General Kelly. General Kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave.
TRUMP: No, nobody even told me about it.
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN Wow.
TRUMP: You know they run a big operation, but I didn't know it. I didn't know that. God dammit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: And so, you see there that is the President supposedly reacting to Omarosa's firing suggesting that he did not know about it.
Interestingly enough, Omarosa just yesterday said that the President told her that he had delegated the authority to fire her to General Kelly.
Today Omarosa release this is recording. So again, credibility questions both with Omarosa and of course with the President. We're going to
experience a severe case of he said/she said all weeklong it seems.
ANDERSON: Our man in Washington at 11:39, Thank you for that.
[11:40:00] From a look inside the White House to the scene outside where a rally by white nationalists fizzled out on Sunday. Organizers predicted
hundreds of supporters would march. The actual turnout was around two dozen and they were far outnumbered by anti-hate groups. The marches came
one year after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a woman was killed when a suspected neo-Nazi drove into the crowd.
So, one year after Charlottesville, where do race relations stand in America? Joining me to talk about that is CNN political commentator, Marc
Lamont Hill. He's with us via Skype from Philadelphia, and we appreciate it, sir. A year on from Charlottesville then, his critics will say that
Donald Trump has normalized racism in the U.S. Does the evidence, Marc, bear that out?
MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (via Skype): Well, I'm always skeptical of using a word like normalize. Because it would suggest that
racism was exceptional prior to Donald Trump's tenure in the White House. And I think we have to look at the everyday forms of inequality, injustice,
both at the structural level and at the interpersonal level before Donald Trump ever walks into D.C.
That said, Donald Trump's behavior, Donald Trump's policy, Donald Trump's statements, the things that Donald Trump has not said at moments where he
should have intervened, have all reinforced and emboldened the white supremacist sector of our nation.
And so, to that extent, yes, Donald Trump is largely responsible for the tone and tenor of the moment.
ANDERSON: We don't know how big a slice of American society that white supremacist group is. But we do know that much of what Donald Trump does,
he does because it helps him politically. It's politically expedient. Is his position on race and racism politically expedient for the U.S.
President?
HILL: You know, if I'm thinking about Donald Trump's own self-interests I would argue in the long term it's not. Because his base is shrinking.
Donald Trump would probably argue that this was the same logic that said he couldn't be president. Because his 31 percent base would never grow. That
he would get the extremists, he would get the far-right wing and get the radical racists. He'd get the anti-Semites. But he could never garner a
big enough coalition to win the presidency and yet he did. And so, Donald Trump is essentially doubling down on the same strategy.
But again, I think it's a different moment now. I think there are people whose fears and anxieties has propelled them -- and their biases have
propelled them to vote Donald Trump instead of Hillary Clinton in 2016. Who right now are regretting that decision because of the mix of bad public
policy and the tone of the moment. Even if you are a Donald Trump supporter and you're a moderate, when you hear him call people low IQ, when
you hear him talking about Mexicans, when you hear him kind of diminishing the intellectual capacity of Judge Curiel. When you hear him talking about
blank hole countries in Africa. All of these things make it difficult to stand behind him unless your part of the small slice of died in the wool
white supremacists. So, to that extent, I think Donald Trump is making a bad political decision. But I think we won't know that for sure until the
midterms and the general.
ANDERSON: Well today we've seen Mr. Trump have some scathing words for Omarosa. Wacky probably being the cleanest of those or certainly the least
scathing of those including calling her a low life in this tweet.
He wrote, that it's not Presidential to take on a low life like Omarosa and he'd rather not. But what he calls the fake news media will be working
overtime to make wacky Omarosa as legitimate as possible. What's your take on this current moment in time.
HILL: There's some irony to a President whose claim to fame in much of the public imagination was being a reality star and appealing to the low lives
of society as it were to now be kind of attacking Omarosa for the very same thing ostensibly. But I think this speaks to how much we've cheapened the
idea of the presidency. How much we've cheapened the office of the presidency. It speaks to the fact right now we are in a national and even
international soap opera and Omarosa is simply the latest turn in this.
And while we can have criticisms of Omarosa for her tactics, I think Donald Trump has certainly set the stage for this type of activity. He's
normalized this type of behavior. When you look at the goings and comings of staff, when you look at all the hirings and firings, when you look at
the manner with which he has dismissed people, this is not inconsistent with that. This moment is part and parcel of what a Trump presidency looks
like, a never-ending reality television show.
CNN's political commentator, Marc Lamont Hill, in the house. Thank you for your time, sir. We have a lot more on the comings and goings, mostly the
goings at the White House on our website.
[11:45:01] This piece looks at Donald Trump's promise to put the best people in the White House. Well, how many of them are still around. You
can find out at CNN.com.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. It is 4:45. Live from London here. Coming up, the last words of the man who stole this
passenger plane and how authorities were scrambling to keep anyone on the ground from being hurt. That after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Just before 4:50 in London, I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. You are very welcome.
I'm just going to nose down and call it a night. Well, those chilling words from a man who stole an empty passenger plane and crashed it in the
U.S. Authorities preparing to look over his remains and the plane's flight recorder. CNN's Dan Simon has more on what was a frantic effort to get him
to land that aircraft safely.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god, oh, my god, is he OK?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's just after 7:30 Friday night at Sea-Tac Airport when Horizon air ground worker, Richard Russell,
steals the passenger Q-400 turboprop and takes it for a deadly joy ride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (audio): Right now, he's just flying around and -- he just needs some help controlling his aircraft.
RICHARD RUSSELL, HORIZON AIR GROUND WORKER: Nah, I mean I don't need that much help. I played some video games before.
SIMON: A calm air traffic controller tries to persuade Russell to attempt a landing. Advising that a military airbase is in his vicinity.
UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: There is the runway just off your right side about a mile. Do you see that? That's the -- that's McCord
field.
RUSSELL: Oh, man, those guys will rough me up if I try landing there. I think I might mess something up there too, I wouldn't want to do that.
SIMON: But it becomes increasingly clear --
RUSSELL: This is probably like jail time for life, huh? I mean would hope it is for a guy like me.
SIMON: That Russell has no intention of making it out alive.
RUSSELL: I think I'm going to try to do a barrel roll and if that goes good I'm just going to nose down and call it a night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guys, he's coming this way. Do we leave? What do we do?
SIMON: Russell, who officials believe had no experience flying a plane, makes treacherous loops as armed F-15 scramble to prevent massive
casualties on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Rich. This is Captain Bill. Congratulations, you did that. Now let's try to land that airplane safely
and not hurt anybody on the ground.
RUSSELL: All right, ah damnit I don't know, I don't know.
SIMON: Moments before crashing into a small forested island, the 29-year- old says his good-byes.
RUSSELL: I've got a lot of people who care about me. And it's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this.
[11:50:01] I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it until
now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Remarkable. That report from Dan Simon in Seattle.
Coming up, all the action from a weekend of football, soccer, call it what you will. It was a great weekend. That just ahead.
Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, all the action from a weekend of football -- soccer, call it what you will. It was
a great weekend. That just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You know the show, it's CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. It's just before the top of the hour here in London. Which
means we've just got a few more minutes left. So, what should we do? We'll do football because I love it.
The Premier League is back and it's like it never went away. Let's do the check list from this weekend for you. At Liverpool, Mo Salah, still
scoring goals and so are his teammates. The reds kicked off with an emphatic 4-0 win over West Ham. At Man City, well, they're still winning.
The defending champs started their title defense with a solid 2-0 victory over Arsenal. One thing that is different the man behind the wheel, as it
were, at Arsenal, Unai Emery, taking charge after the two-decade reign of Arsene, Mark Bolton is with us to break down all the developments. Let's
just start with that. Because I mean, Arsenal fans most of them in the end wanted to see the back of Arsene Wenger. I think they like the idea of
Emery. I mean, certainly we were talking about him yesterday. Good guy, not a great start, though. But then they were playing Man City the
defending champions.
MARK BOLTON, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, and it's Chelsea next. It doesn't get any easier does it.
ANDERSON: I guess it gets easier after that one.
BOLTON: I hope so. If he's got that long. You know how football is in the modern world. Patience is the key at Arsenal this year. The big
questions remain, Becky. You know, the questions have been, are they too soft? Do they have the intensity? Do they have leaders? The questions
have not been answered on the first 90 minutes that we've seen so far. I think there's a degree of understanding and empathy amongst the fans, but
Emory's big mantra is intensity. It's in his DNA. It flows through the players in the club. If that comes back, they have a chance.
I think what was nice to see was Matteo Guendouzi yesterday. You would've seen him play. He looked bright. He's only 19. He's coming with the real
spirit. Re-energized the squad. But it needs to permeate through that squad quickly otherwise they won't make the top four.
ANDERSON: Liverpool fans you have been very patient over the past few years. Must be having an absolute ball. The first match of the season --
well, the first real match of the season as you were -- kicking off and finishing the way that the team ended last season, lots of goals. Those
front three playing as only they know how, it seems and Mo Salah up front. The guy's a poacher, isn't he?
BOLTON: Oh, it's wonderful for the league to see him in that form again. You talked about the years, you're right, 28 years since their English
champions.
[11:55:00] Not good enough for a club of that stature. I think it's about priorities this season. I think Liverpool's priority is winning the
league, build the house and put the roof on it. The roof is of course the Champions League, what Manchester City might be going for. And that may be
the difference between things this year and last. The gap was huge last year to City, a record-breaking amount of goals, points, the margin between
the win and second place. And so, City are going Champions League as the priority and Liverpool focused on domestic. Then we may see a new
champion. But what we saw from Pep Guardiola over the weekend at his side, Becky, I mean, is it over already?
ANDERSON: Mark Bolton, in the house, our regular soothsayer -- he told me not to say it, but I'm going to say it anyway. You can hold him to
everything at the end of the season.
BOLTON: Please don't, no, absolutely not.
ANDERSON: It's a pleasure having you. Thank you.
I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.
END
