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Trump Not Saying Whether He Will Allow White House Witnesses To Testify Next Week; "Washington Post:" Smugglers Cutting Through Border Wall; ISIS Claims Responsibility For Two Attacks In Mali; Oil Giant Saudi Aramco Announces IPO; Firefighters Make Progress Against Fast-Moving Maria Fire; Indigenous Killed While Protecting Land; Dog Who Chased Down ISIS Leader Honored On SNL. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 03, 2019 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: From ringside last night at the Ultimate Fighting Championship in New York, the president today heading
back to Washington, as he gives up for a battle of his own. Also, ISIS claims responsibility for two attacks in Mali, but are they really behind
it? We're going to have a lot of reports. And firefighters in California finally getting upper hand, but the battle to make cities there safe is far
from over. And this boat in Niagara Falls finally makes a move after being stuck in a rock for a century.
Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us. I'm in for Becky Anderson. Well, minutes from now U.S.
President Trump will leave New York headed back to Washington and back to the pressure of the impeachment probe. The President got somewhat of a
break Saturday. He watched the Ultimate Fighting Championship at Madison Square Garden, along with some Republican lawmakers as well as two of his
sons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move, move.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Loud reception greeted by both boos and cheers as he walked in. A few people even held up signs that said impeach Trump. Our Kristen
Holmes is live for us from CNN New York. Good to have you with us. So his big fight in Washington is right now but he was of course at that fight in
New York last night. You were there. Give us a sense of the reception he got.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, this was fascinating because remember earlier in the week we saw him at that World Series game
and he essentially got only boos there. We heard chance of lock him up as he waved to the crowd. This was very different.
It was completely split. There was a crowd behind me just booing him. They were the ones holding up those signs. When it would get quiet, I
would hear one or two of them shout out, impeach Trump. But on the other side of the arena was another crowd who was cheering him on. At one point
during a fight, they actually started a chant saying Donald Trump, Donald Trump, USA, USA, clearly in support of him.
And we actually even heard from some of the fighters after they won, they get to make a little speech and they thanked President Trump for being
there. They gave him a shout out in the crowd. And it was really interesting to see how polarizing it was. It was that -- it almost
mirrored identically what is going on in U.S. politics. You're either on one side or the other. And whatever side you're on, you have a visceral
reaction to the other side.
KINKADE: And Kristen, looking ahead, he is certainly throwing punches and counter punches over this impeachment probe, even this morning just moments
ago, tweeting again about this. This, of course, another crucial week coming up. We have -- we do know that some White House aides are refusing
to testify, even under subpoena from Congress so we expected more stonewalling from the White House this week.
HOLMES: We absolutely are. So late last night, we learned that one of the aides who had been brought -- who had been asked, excuse me, by Congress to
testify would no longer be doing so. His attorney essentially saying that the White House said not to and the White House was being advised by the
Department of Justice.
Now, this aide, his name is Robert Blair. He's not a household name. He was an aide to the Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. He also was on that July
25th phone call with the Ukrainian president. And essentially the lawyer is saying he doesn't have to right now. And we expect this from quite a
bit of aides.
A lot of them had been asked to testify this week. We haven't heard back whether not they'll actually show up but clearly he is setting a tone here.
Last night President Trump was asked if the White House was going to step in if they were going to stop people from testifying, and here's what he
had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know. You'll have to speak to the lawyers. Nancy Pelosi has become unhinged. There's
something wrong with her. If you look at what's happening, if you look at the poll numbers, if you look at the poll numbers in the swing states,
they're saying don't do this. Don't do it. I'm fine with it. We did absolutely nothing wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He's clearly there blaming Nancy Pelosi, not really answering the question about whether or not those White House aides will actually show up
to testify. And I want you if we can pull up that tweet one more time he's already up this morning because it's not just Democrats he's hitting.
He actually tweeted at the whistleblower saying the whistleblower got it so wrong, that he must come forward. The fake news media knows who he is, but
is an arm of the Democratic Party and they don't want to reveal him. And you know, skip a little bit here, it says, reveal the whistleblower and end
the impeachment hoax.
[10:05:01]
OK, so this is interesting. He is clearly blaming the whistleblower for this entire investigation and the impeachment inquiry. But we've learned
so much more since the whistleblower came forward up from these officials who had firsthand knowledge, had not just heard this. But essentially I've
talked to some aides about why exactly he is attacking the whistleblower.
And it seems the strategy here is to essentially take away the building block of the impeachment inquiry, saying that Democrats put this
whistleblower, this mystery character up to this. They use them as a political pawn, and this entire impeachment inquiry is a total scam. It is
totally fake and it's all political.
Whether or not that would work, even if the whistleblower came forward remains to be seen, because again, at this point, we have heard a lot of
testimony firsthand from these officials who are actually in the room on the phone call. But President Trump clearly wants to know his identity and
clearly wants to use this as he tries to defend himself against this impeachment probe.
KINKADE: All right, certainly largest day across. Kristen Holmes for us. Good to have you with us. We will speak to you again next hour. Thank
you. Well, as we were discussing, this is a crucial week for the impeachment inquiry as the committee is investigating the President
continue to interview witnesses.
If former National Security Advisor John Bolton does indeed show up on Thursday, he will be the closest person to Mr. Trump to testify. Well, Mr.
Trump's supporters are making the rounds on Sunday talk shows. Earlier on CNN, Dana Bash asked Mr. Trump's top advisor Kellyanne Conway, if there was
a time when military aid was held up because the President wanted Ukraine to look into Trump's political rivals, the Biden's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don't know, but I know they've got their aid. And I know that --
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: So it's possible that happened?
CONWAY: Here's what's -- here's what's absolutely unimpeachably true. Ukraine has that aid. They have more than they have in the previous
administration.
BASH: But it is positive that it was held up at that time?
CONWAY: The Ukrainian president said he had no idea the aid was being held up. He felt no such pressure. He's speaking in that call about draining
the swamp. He's complaining about Macron and Merkel, not Trump and the U.S.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN Political Commentator Scott Jennings joins us now. He is a former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, now a columnist at
USA Today. Good to have you with us, Scott.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to be with you. Thank you.
KINKADE: So you've worked -- you've worked in politics a very long time, most notably as accounts lead to former President George W. Bush. If you
were dealing with this Impeachment Inquiry right now, what advice would you have for President Trump?
JENNINGS: Well, number one, I think that I would be relentlessly focusing on the process. I know he sort of wants Republicans right now to focus on
the content but I think the process really has hurt the Democrats, the fact that most of its taken place behind closed doors, the fact that after all
these weeks if you look at all the polling, no Republicans joined in with Nancy Pelosi on her vote this week. The polling is clear, the Republicans
and even Independents don't prefer the President be removed by impeachment.
So I would be focused on that, the fact that she's dividing the country. Regarding the content itself, the President has a different point of view
than the people who work for him who have testified about what happened. And in our country, the President sets the agenda. He can hire and fire
ambassadors, and it's not the unelected bureaucracy that sets our agenda.
So that's another sort of messaging point that I think that I would use. And then finally, Kellyanne I think hit it right on the "STATE OF THE
UNION" this morning by saying, look, Ukraine got their aid. We sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Ukraine to fight this proxy war against
the Russians. So I think that's the messages I would stick with.
KINKADE: Sir, House Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi, of course, was initially against this impeachment inquiry. She is now behind it.
However, she has had this warning. She said the public is only so much space for drama. When does the law of diminishing returns sit in? When is
the value added not worth the time?
Scott, you write in your latest op-ed for CNN that Democrats are wasting their time. Just take us through your reasons.
JENNINGS: Yes, look, I think we're going to skip to the end here. The House will impeach the President and it will be a partisan vote. And then
the Republicans in the Senate will not vote to convict the president. So he'll be acquitted on a partisan vote. And all this is going to be taking
place when the first ballots in the 2020 presidential election are being cast in Iowa.
And so my view is that in a partisan inquiry, such as this one, with an American presidential election on the horizon, one of the things that the
American people are going to want is a say on who the President is. They weren't able to get to an impeachment inquiry for three years of this
presidency. And here, they're sort of getting to it at the very end.
I just think the democrats are running the risk of trying to substitute their partisan political judgment in Washington for the judgment of the
American people who are on the cusp of being able to vote for or against Donald Trump in this election. So I think it's a big waste of time. I
think you can investigate these things and you can say you don't like these things, but impeachment is the most grave punishment we can have in the
American political system and to do it in the twilight of a first-term strikes me is politically tone-deaf.
[10:10:04]
KINKADE: Well, the Americans are divided on whether to impeach President Trump, as we've seen in those latest opinion polls. So what do you think
you could take for the Democrats to get Republicans on board with this process?
JENNINGS: Well, based on the polling I've seen, the Republicans nationwide, the grassroots Republicans are diametrically opposed to this.
I mean, I think political parties in the United States are relatively weak these days. But there is one thing that's true. People who represent
those parties tend to do what their parties want them to do.
When Republicans took control of Congress, there are people wanting to cut taxes so they did it. Democrats took control the House. There are people
who want them to impeach the president so they're doing it. So Republicans aren't budging. I don't see that their elected representatives who are
serving as Republicans are going to budge either.
So I don't see much of anything. If what we know today is all we know, which is some of the people in the unelected bureaucracy don't believe the
President exercise good judgment on this Ukrainian phone call, I don't think Republicans are going to vote to convict him in a trial in the
Senate. Some may say it was bad judgment, some may say I wouldn't have done it, but that's a far cry from saying I'm going to kick a president out
of office.
KINKADE: Right. I just want to look at one of the policy issue right now because the Washington Post has reported that smugglers are soaring though
parts of the U.S.-Mexico border. Mr. Trump, of course, has defended that wall saying if it breaks, they'll fix it. Just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I haven't heard that. We have a very powerful wall. But no matter how powerful, you can cut through anything. But we have a lot of people
watching. You know, cutting is one thing, it's easily fixed. One of the reasons we did it the way we did it, it's very easily fixed. You put the
jump back in. But we have a very powerful wall. But you can cut through any wall as you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: -- any wall. Well, this of course was the president's signature campaign pledge. Is he delivering on this or is he in trouble?
JENNINGS: Well, I think he's showing continued attitude of trying to crack down on illegal immigration problem. The fact that people are cutting
through the wall, A, tells people that there is a wall. Some people say there isn't and he's obviously building some wall. B, it does show the
relentless nature of the problem. I mean, you do have people who are relentlessly trying to get into the United States illegally, break through
our barriers, whatever they are, whether it's fences or walls.
And so I actually think in some ways, it bolsters the President's argument that we need to be tougher on illegal immigration when you have people
showing up and trying to break down the barriers that we are building. This is going to be a key issue in the 2020 election because there aren't
too many issues where Trump and the Democrats are so diametrically opposed, but this is one of them, border Security, border barriers, border walls,
cracking down on illegal immigration.
The positions that Democrats have taken in their primary are way far afield from where the President is. So this will be a bright dividing line
between the parties in 2020.
KINKADE: All right, Scott Jennings, always good to get your perspective. Thanks so much.
JENNINGS: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, I want to go to politics in the U.K. And the Leader of the Brexit party says he will not run in next month's U.K. election. Nigel
Farage says he needs to be all over the country pushing for Brexit rather than staying in one constituency. On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson
rejected Farage's offer of an alliance between the conservatives and the Brexit party.
Still to come here on CONNECT THE WORLD, ISIS creeping back in the headlines this week since its former leader and founder was killed. We're
going to have a latest on attacks the terror group they claim carried out. Plus, the world's most profitable company eyes a record breaking stock
market debut, and why some believe this could be the biggest IPO ever.
[10:15:00]
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KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, the week after Donald Trump announced the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group is claiming
responsibility for two deadly attacks in Mali. ISIS released a statement Friday saying it attacked a military base in the West African nation,
killing 54 soldiers and one civilian.
And on Saturday, a French soldier was killed when his vehicle drove over a roadside bomb. The terror group also said it carried out that attack.
Well, for more let's bring in CNN International Correspondent Sam Kiley in Abu Dhabi. Sam, this of course, being ISIS propaganda. Is ISIS really
behind this or is this just a publicity grabbing campaign?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, ISIS, as1 you well know, Lynda, are notorious for exactly that grabbing publicity for
atrocities that they didn't commit out of their brand image competition with the longest standing al-Qaeda, which is intensified really. Now that
they don't have the magnetic appeal of actually having land under their control under assault, so called Caliphate, that made them highly
attractive to Jihadis from around the world.
Now, it's much more in the realms of an idea in the area where we're seeing that fighting being shown there from Mali. There are at least seven
different radical Islamic groups there all claiming allegiance, some relatively small ones to the so-called Islamic state, a lot to al-Qaeda.
Almost all of them very deeply tied up with organized crime and smuggling and the legal mining of gold, particularly on the border area with Niger
which is where these attacks occurred. 55 people killed.
There was a very spectacular "attack" being carried out by some kind of an Islamist group. And these have been coming along in this sort of scale
once every six months or so something really atrocious is committed in West Africa, and a clear indication that very close to the doorstep of Europe,
things remain extremely troubled, not least because of the leakage of people but above all of weapons that have come out of Libya since the fall
of Gaddafi back in 2011. Lynda?
KINKADE: All right, Sam Kiley, we're going to discuss more of this next hour. Good to have you with us. Thanks so much for joining us. Well, a
source tell CNN the United States has placed an indefinite hold on military aid to Lebanon. It includes $104 million in a package to support Lebanese
Armed Forces.
And it comes days after the Prime Minister announced he was resigning amid the unprecedented anti-government demonstrations we've seen there. There's
no official reason why the aid was suspended. But to bring us up to speed with all of this, I want to bring in Senior International Correspondent Ben
Wedeman who joins us now from Beirut where these protesters are demanding political and economic change.
So Ben, this aid was approved back in September and it now seems to be on hold and indefinite hold at the request of the White House at what is a
pretty critical time there in Lebanon.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really sends the wrong message at this time of uncertainty in Lebanon. Apparently, the
State Department wasn't informed that this decision by the White House nor was the Pentagon. And our sources in the Lebanese military weren't aware
of it as well.
Now, the Lebanese army has since 2006, received about $1.7 billion in aid from the United States. The reason why the United States supports the
Lebanese army is that it wants to be the sole military force in this country, keeping in mind that Hezbollah, the political and military group
here, actually has the most effective military force in the country. And the purpose of this aid program from the United States was to bolster the
Lebanese army. So this is barely a vote of confidence in that institution.
[10:20:34]
Now, we do know that according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin met with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was pressuring the United States to pressure Lebanon on what the Israelis allege is an Iranian missile building
program here in Lebanon. But it's such a sensitive time this decision from the United States really seems to confirm from the Lebanese perspective
that the United States has one priority in Lebanon and that is to crush Hezbollah.
KINKADE: Ben, I just want to let our viewers to some pitches we're just getting in live to us in Beirut. You can see those on your screen.
Certainly, this was a demonstration that began mid-October. People there calling it revolution starting with a handful of protesters and certainly
growing then now as you can see from those pictures right now just saw after almost 5:30 there in Beirut.
So Ben, and just in terms of this military aid, obviously with the U.S. putting a hold on it, it could potentially open up Lebanon to greater
influence from other groups or other countries. Just who could be the winners or losers here?
WEDEMAN: Well, Lebanon has long been dependent on aid from other countries, basically cash handouts. Traditionally, Lebanon received a lot
of money from Saudi Arabia. But because of the delicate politics here, they stopped providing aid because the government includes some Hezbollah
members as ministers.
So Lebanon lost that source of aid. And because of U.S. sanctions on Iran, money isn't coming from Iran either. So one former minister told me that
the system is running on empty, it's got no foreign assistance of any kind.
Now, the United Arab Emirates apparently, is pondering the possibility of providing a cash bailout. It's not clear how large it's going to be. But
certainly, it would be desperately needed given the state of the Lebanese economy. Lynda?
KINKADE: Absolutely. Our Ben Wedeman there in Beirut where protesters still out on the streets there tonight. Good to have you with us. We'll
stay on this story. But for now I want to go to Iraq where demonstrations there are also ongoing despite the government agreeing to resign.
Protesters blocking roads in the capital and elsewhere today. At this protest in eastern Baghdad, the people chanting that Sunni and Shia are
brothers and that their homeland is not for sale. They also shouted, you are all thieves, that a reference to the political leaders.
Well, the protesters say they want systematic change, not just a reshuffling of power. And of course, they're calling for an end to
corruption and (INAUDIBLE). Well, investors may soon be able to earn a piece of the world's most profitable company after Saudi Arabia formally
announced its state oil producer Saudi Aramco will float shares on the Riyadh Stock Exchange.
It's an IPO that has been a long time coming and if the oil giant meets valuations, it will be around 50 percent more valuable than Microsoft and
Apple. Our John Defterios has the details.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Saudi Aramco is the crown jewel of the kingdom. It is a giant player in the
global market, the most profitable company in the world. Now a press conference in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, it now says it's on a
path to go public. It's a behemoth producing about a tenth of daily global demand with oil reserves that are bigger than the top five international
major oil companies combined.
Aramco earned at $111 billion last year, nearly two times the level of Apple. And the chief executive said they welcome the opportunity to be
compared to their energy peers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMIN NASSER, CEO, SAUDI ARAMCO: We will increase our visibility internationally. We are very strong company by sharing a lot of
information as acquired by any listed company. There will be a lot of analysts that will review our data and compare it with other listed
companies and who would like to have that type of comparisons because we are a company that is proud of our results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:25:04]
DEFTERIOS: Since this is the launch of the IPO process, key points to watch out for are can it be the record valuation by Chinese ecommerce group
Alibaba of $25 billion set in September 2014. And can be the most valuable public company to go out on the market around $1.5 trillion? The Saudi
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had aspirations to hit a $2 trillion valuation. There was initially also a big push to list in New York, London
or a major Asian market.
Chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan said there are no plans to do that but a listing in Riyadh in the near future does make sense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASIR AL-RUMAYYAN, CHAIRMAN, SAUDI ARAMCO: I think this is the right time for us coming to a juncture where we want to take Aramco to be a public
company, to have more disclosure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: After the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year, the arrest of nearly 400 Saudi business leaders to claw back $100 billion in
2017, and most recently the major attacks on their facilities in September, the kingdom under the Crown Prince known as MBS, is eager to look forward.
He wants to deliver on his 2030 vision and the listing of Aramco, even a scaled-down version of it is a key part of that success. John Defterios
CNN Business, London.
KINKADE: Well, as John was mentioning, Saudi Aramco is by far the world's most profitable company. Last year made a profit of $111 billion
surpassing tech giants like Apple and Google. That also dwarfs us energy company Exxon Mobil, and it's even bigger than the GDP of Kenya.
Well, you're watching CNN and CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come here, progress at last for firefighters fighting blazes in California, but there
is still a huge battle ahead. We're going to have details after the break.
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[10:30:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Well, U.S. President Donald Trump is lashing out at the governor of
California as firefighters are finally getting the upper hand over the wildfires there.
The president tweeting, "I told him from the first day we met that he must clean his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the
environmentalists, demand of him."
Well, that comes as the newest Fire Maria is going strong. But as Athena Jones reports, things are starting to look up.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, we're here in Somis, California in Ventura County, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. This is
where the Maria Fire broke out on Thursday night. The good news is that favorable conditions overnight and today have allowed firefighters to make
some progress in putting out this fire. But you can see behind me what the work is -- the work involved in making sure that fire stays out.
You can see in the distance firefighters are spraying that is because this is -- in this riverbed, embers from the larger fire flew into this riverbed
and caught tree stumps and branches. And can you see as you look around, the trees are either partially burned or at least charred.
And we are in the middle of an agricultural area. We are surrounded by avocado orchards on one side, a citrus on another. This is the kind of
thing that firefighters have been working to protect. And not just agriculture but also communications equipment, radio towers, petroleum
equipment.
And we have now nearly 1,300 firefighters who have been out fighting this fire, trying to make sure they get it under control.
We also have news on a possible cause of the Maria Fire. Southern California Edison has informed the public utilities regulators that on
Thursday night, there was a high power -- a high voltage line, 16,000 volts, right near the -- where the Maria Fire began.
They had just begun to re-energize that line about 13 minutes before the fire started. So, we don't know for sure if that was the cause of the
fire, but I can tell you, these power companies have been shutting off power, de-energizing lines to try to keep fires from sparking. They had
just begun to re-energize that line when that fire began on Thursday night.
So, we'll still wait to hear what the final word is on cause and watch as we hope to see firefighters make more progress. Back to you.
KINKADE: Thanks to Athena Jones there.
Well, between the relentless threat of fires and rolling shuttles turning off power to entire cities, towns across the state have had to quickly
adapt to what is become a new normal. Experts say the increase in fires are tied to climate change. And that the world should be paying close
attention to what's happening in California.
I want to bring in the mayor of Yountville and president of the League of California Cities, John Dunbar, joining now us live via Skype from
Yountville, California. Good to have you with us.
JOHN DUNBAR, MAYOR OF YOUNTVILLE, CALIFORNIA (via skype): Thank you very much, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, John, if you can paint a picture for us for our international viewers, a big picture of what we are seeing. Because right now there
seems to be a dozen fires in this state, millions of people at one stage or another have lost power, and you've also got many people dealing with the
respiratory problems associated with all the smoke and smog. Just explain for us how cities are coping with this.
DUNBAR: Well, we believe we are past the worst of it. We have had some air quality challenges from the fires here in Northern California. Those
in Southern California are a little more active. So, you are still seeing evacuations and serious fire threat in very specific areas of Southern
California.
But cities and towns like mine are responding first and foremost to protect our residents and make sure they're prepared if they need to either
evacuate or if they need any kind of services to keep them safe while we're seeing some of these wildfire scenarios play out.
KINKADE: I want to ask you a bit about the reasons we are seeing this. Because the International Association of Fire Chiefs says California's
ongoing wildfire situation there is linked to the state's crisis in housing. It's called the Wildland-Urban Interface. When homes have built
on or near areas prone to bush fires, lack of affordable housing in cities has pushed developers to build homes in these cheaper outlying areas.
And we know about 2 million homes that's about one in seven in the state are at in higher extreme risk for wildfire. That's according to estimates
by the Center for Insurance Policy and Research. So, one in seven homes at an extreme risk. How much of what we're seeing, John, can be attributed to
poor urban planning?
[10:35:13]
DUNBAR: Well, I think more than the issues of urban planning. And I do agree that there have needed to be and there are now changes to how we are
allowing development to happen. What we are seeing is support from the state of California, and Governor Newsom's administration to support local
government to be able to develop more smartly at a much safer way with certain housing either construction architecture materials that are being
used whether they're in high fire danger areas or not.
That is one of the critical changes we've been making is building more smartly and more fire safe throughout the country and frankly around the
world. There are always going to be weather conditions that impact housing and impact our quality of life whether they're tornadoes, hurricanes,
extreme winter, extreme heats.
We happen to be seeing here in California an increase in activity with very high wind events. We had extreme winds, in some cases, gusts up to 103
miles an hour when we were going through the worst of our fires up here in Northern California.
There's no way we can control those types of wind events but we can get smarter about how we respond in those risk conditions. And we've done that
through our first responders, through mutual aid deployment prior to anything happening whether it be a fire up rate or other type of wind
events.
Some of the power impacts we've seen have been from winds not all of them have been caused by the wildfires.
KINKADE: What we have been seeing in recent years is unusual. It has been especially bad. And I want to point to an editorial in the Los Angeles
Times which says, climate change is is to blame.
And I quote, "Countless researchers and government reports have warned for years that climate change would amplify natural variations in the weather,
leading to more frequent and more destructive wildfires. Five of California's 20 deadliest wildfires have occurred during the last two
years."
Well, it goes on to say that wildfires are just the beginning of what Californians can expect. You mentioned a little bit about how planning
might help to address this, but what else is being done to prepare cities for this to potentially prevent this from being as bad in the future?
DUNBAR: Well we really need to change as a state and with the support from the federal government how we manage our forest lands. That is part of our
challenges there are so much fuel available to burn when there are high fire risk conditions. So, both at the state level and with the federal
level because many of the wildlands that are impacted by these fires are actually owned and controlled by the federal government.
So, it requires partnerships at all levels right down to our local level to make sure that we're minimizing the fuels that are available for fires that
we are building smartly. That we are learning from previous lessons. We were impacted significantly here two years ago in the Napa Valley with more
than 100,000 acres burned, and those are long-lasting impacts.
(CROSSTALK)
KINKADE: And --
DUNBAR: So, we are working with all the resources we have at the local state and federal level to try to minimize those impacts in the future.
KINKADE: And John, just quickly, is there a potential to bury power lines because some utility companies it seems are going to be implicated in the
way these fires began. Can power lines be buried, is that a feasible option?
DUNBAR: I think, undergrounding power lines is absolutely one of the solutions. And it's going to take multiple solutions for sure. We are
still a state that is relatively prone to earthquakes when you underground power lines and there is an earthquake, you could potentially sever those
lines and it's even slower and more difficult to fix those, those breakages.
So, we have to be smart about that. We can -- we want to make sure that we're not reducing or eliminating one risk and just causing another.
KINKADE: Right.
DUNBAR: But that is certainly one of the ways we are going to try to minimize impacts in these wildlands. Another way is to reinforce the
infrastructure that currently exists, make the grids smaller so that when there are the needs for either power shutdowns or threat of wildfire, it
doesn't take out tens of thousands of homes and hundreds of thousands of residents go on the dark.
(CROSSTALK)
KINKADE: On millions. Yes.
All right, John Dunbar, good to get your perspective. Thanks so much for your time today.
[10:40:02]
DUNBAR: Thank you very much.
KINKADE: I want to go to Brazil now and an indigenous leader who was -- who swore to protect rainforests there, gave his life for it essentially.
Illegal loggers allegedly ambushing -- killing the leader of a group called the Forest Guardians.
Another member of that group was wounded; critics say it's the result of the Brazilian president's pro-development stance. Our Shasta Darlington
has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULO PAULINO GUAJAJARA, AMAZON LAN DEFENDER (through translator): We are protecting our land and the life on it, the animals, the birds, many
things.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Paulo Paulino Guajajara's right to protect his indigenous land was abruptly taken away,
Friday. According to authorities in Brazil, the indigenous leader was killed by a group of loggers who ambushed him in the same area he once
swore to protect.
The Arariboia Reserve in the state of Maranhao in northeastern Brazil. Guajajara was part of one of Brazil's largest indigenous groups known by
the same name. In 2012, they formed the Forest Guardians, a community effort dedicated to patrolling the land and protecting the rights of the
people that inhabit it.
At the same time of his death, he was being accompanied by another Guardian Laercio Souza, who according to authorities is seriously injured. They
were both looking for water not far from home.
Brazil's minister of justice and public security Sergio Moro called the incident a terrible crime and promised to spare no effort to bring those
responsible to justice. Justice, a word many believe arrived too late.
For years, Survival International, an organization that works to protect tribal peoples has warned about the great risk assumed by the so-called
Forest Guardians. They claimed that while the Arariboia Reserve is officially protected by the state, it has been the target of constant
attacks and threat by loggers and miners, inspired, they say by the pro- deforestation policies implemented by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
(TEXT)
There won't be a single centimeter for indigenous reserves for Quilombola people.
DARLINGTON: Last June, Guajajara and other indigenous leaders recorded a video warning about the attacks.
(TEXT)
Loggers are paying gunmen to kill some of the Guardians of Arariboia. We want the Brazilian authorities to help protect the lives of the Guardians
whose lives are being threatened.
DARLINGTON: That same month, according to official numbers, deforestation in the Amazon accelerated more than 60 percent compared to the same period
last year. But with deforestation, other consequences emerge. Several studies affirm that the number of fires each year is highly correlated to
deforestation and the severity of the drought during the dry season.
This year alone the number of fires in the Brazilian Amazon was 25 percent higher than the average number of fires in the same period from 2010 to
2018, facts that President Bolsonaro insists on minimizing.
JAIR BOLSONARO, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL: The Amazon is not being devastated nor is it being consumed by fire as the media is falsely portraying.
DARLINGTON: In the midst of the fire and the threats are the indigenous tribes. For them, the message is clear.
GUAJAJARA: I'm scared a little sometimes, but we don't let ourselves be dominated by fear. But we have to lift up our heads and make things
happen. We are believing and fighting.
DARLINGTON: A fight that Guajajara can no longer continue.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, there Shasta mentioned Survival International, the group that protects indigenous people. Well, next hour, we're going to talk to a
member of that group about the dangers facing their communities.
Still to come, the constant threat of natural disasters looms over Japan and now one startup is taken to space to try to prevent tragedies on earth.
That's ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:46:55]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Located on four tectonic plates, Japan has a long history of natural disasters. And according to experts,
changes in our climate mean that the worst may be yet to come.
Some innovators say, the country could be best prepared with a little help from out of this world. Axelspace, a Tokyo based company is using
microsatellite technology to aid in disaster prevention for Japan.
The technology has been developed over the past decade but is now being used in Japan as eyes in the sky that can alert authorities of vulnerable
areas long before disaster strikes.
YUYA NAKAMURA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AXELSPACE CORPORATION: By monitoring the whole world on a daily basis, we can detect that slight
changes, we can see the trends. So, maybe we may be able to predict the future.
LU STOUT: The devices can be 0.01 the size of their traditional counterparts and take two years to build. Making them smaller, cheaper,
and more accessible. A point that raises questions of overproduction or potential space debris.
CEO Yuya Nakamura says responsible disposal of each device is essential.
NAKAMURA: What we have to do to avoid devastating, you know, the situation in space, we have to be aware that every satellite should be deorbited
after the end of life. By doing so, we can -- you know, have the sustainable and orbital atmosphere.
LU STOUT: If developed correctly, he says the benefits of this technology could be global.
NAKAMURA: We're not focused on in Japan only. We can monitor anywhere in the world. So, our focus is the world. And while the company may be based
in Tokyo, its first official foray into space took place far from the Japanese capital, monitoring the impact of climate change on icebergs in
the Arctic Ocean.
YASUORI YAMASAKI, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, AXELSPACE CORPORATION: We have been capturing with -- through our satellites and the shrinking is
increasing year after year. If the sea rises, maybe more of our cities could face tsunamis. If our trees are dying, maybe we have more
landslides. So, an island country, Japan can be easily impacted by the changes from climate change.
LU STOUT: So, while our changing world may make Japan more vulnerable than ever before, its future could be told by its eyes in the sky. Kristie Lu
Stout, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:51:18]
KINKADE: Welcome back. They are the world's most feared apex predators immortalized in the film, Jaws. But in Cape Town, South Africa, great
white sharks have suddenly disappeared. In any given year, there should be more than 200 sightings of the fearsome fish. But in 2019, there haven't
been any. David McKenzie headed out in the water to find out why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to throw the cage off the back of the boat.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've come to dive with an apex predator. Sea Island is probably the world's most famous location
for seeing great white sharks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out in front.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, there he is. There he is.
MCKENZIE: And we see plenty of sharks --
That was incredible. It came right up to us and checked us out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, right there. Right there.
MCKENZIE: But no great whites. These sharks are scavengers, not the iconic hunter that made this bay famous. After millions of years in 2019,
the great whites of Cape Town have vanished.
CHRIS FALLOWS, PHOTOGRAPHER: For me, the loss of the great white sharks is losing part of my soul. You know, this is an animal that -- it's shaped my
life. It's given me some of the greatest highs of my life.
MCKENZIE: Chris Fallows, the photographer who put these sharks on the map is forcing himself to speak in the past tense.
The first time you saw this, what was it like?
FALLOWS: It was unbelievable. I mean, everybody is fascinated by great white sharks. But, flying great white sharks? to see this incredible super
predator taking to the air, showing off its athletic prowess, it was fantastic.
MCKENZIE: This past season, they haven't seen a single sharks.
MCKENZIE: On the cliffs above, shark spotters used to take these sightings for granted. This year, they've recorded zero great whites -- not a single
one.
What if they don't come back?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're just going to have to wait.
MCKENZIE: Fishermen like Solomon, Solomon say there are more seals now too, competing for their catch. It seems the ecosystem is already feeling
the effects.
SARA ANDREOTTI, MARINE BIOLOGIST, STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY: The impact of losing the network's predator for the marine environment is going to be
huge.
MCKENZIE: Biologist Sara Andreotti, says the zero sightings is alarming but not surprising. She predicted the collapse years ago. In 2012, by
studying genetics, she found that the population was smaller and more vulnerable than anyone imagined.
What were your reaction to the population of great whites in South Africa?
ANDREOTTI: Concern, mostly, but also shock. We were expecting to find a thousand or more individuals around here.
MCKENZIE: Overfishing, shark poaching, and the weak gene pool have all contributed.
ANDREOTTI: People don't like to listen to sad story. And it is difficult to realize that humans could have had such an impact on such a
prehistorical -- iconic predators.
FALLOWS: Unless we really step up efforts to conserve what we have left. South Africa's once bountiful shores are becoming more and more empty by
the day.
MCKENZIE: If there's any hope for the great whites to return, he says the focus should now be on what needs to be done, not about what once was.
David McKenzie, CNN, False Bay, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, it's been stuck on rocks above Niagara Falls for more than a century. The severe weather has dislodged a boat that has not moved from
its rocky perch since 1918. High winds and heavy rain pushed the boat closer to the falls on the Canadian side.
[10:55:04]
KINKADE: The vessel became stuck when it just lodged from its tugboat in the final months of the First World War. Well, against the odds, the two
men who were on board were rescued.
Well, before we go, Saturday Night Live gave Conan the canine, commander who took down ISIS leader al Baghdadi his very own press conference. Kate
McKinnon, who plays White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was with Cecily Strong, who served as the dog's translator. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How does it feel to be getting all the credit for killing Baghdadi?
CECILY STRONG, CAST MEMBER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Honestly, it was a team effort from day one. It's always been I sniff your -- you sniff mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: (INAUDIBLE) with that, for now, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks so much for watching. We're going to have much more
news at the top of the hour with me. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
