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White House Budget Official Breaks Ranks, Testifies Behind Closed Doors; Hong Kong Police Officer Shot with Arrow during University Siege; Iran Fuel Protests; Venice Flooding; Prince Andrew Interview on Jeffrey Epstein; Effect of Climate Crisis on Children; The Ultimate Joe Biden Catchphrase. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired November 17, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Atlanta, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST (voice-over): Hello, welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.
U.S. President Trump is facing accusations of bribery, intimidation, witness tampering. That's just one week in the House impeachment inquiry.
Several more witnesses are scheduled for this week and transcripts from earlier closed-door depositions were made public Saturday.
A senior security official testified he was told the transcript from that now infamous July phone call between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian
president ended up on a highly classified server by mistake.
Also on Saturday a White House budget official revealed that the budget process went off the rails when nearly $400 million in assistance to
Ukraine was withheld earlier this year. A source familiar with Mark Sandy's testimony says he has no idea why the aid was frozen.
But a Trump political appointee insisted on taking over the account. CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us from Washington.
Certainly, a fascinating first few days of those public hearings into this impeachment process against the president and one outstanding moment I
noticed, the Republican, a young congresswoman from New York, who really attacked and tried to interrupt the hearing as it took place.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It was actually a very unique moment there. Her name is Elise Stefanik. She is a 35-year-old
from New York Congress woman who actually is quite a centrist. She doesn't side with the GOP on everything.
But when it comes to this impeachment, she is all in for President Trump. She has proven herself to be an ally and she is the only Republican woman
on that committee so there is a lot riding on her.
A lot of these GOP congressmen saying she is our best bet to get through all this and, of course, President Trump is also taking notice. He has
been tweeting about her all morning long, one of her tweets, a new Republican star is born. Great going, Elise Stefanik. So she now has that
presidential endorsement here.
President Trump all morning long, talking about this impeachment, who is doing well, who is not doing well and this is what Republicans are worried
about. We have to remember that they brought in, the White House brought in two former staffers to run a pseudo war room. They wanted to streamline
the message.
Republicans on Capitol Hill were complaining, they couldn't deal with the White House. There was no sense of real communications. They didn't have
any messaging, no strategy. They were having a hard time.
So they were very excited to have these two new people. They thought this is really going to change the entire messaging moving forward. All of this
again this all unraveled with one tweet on Friday during the former ambassador to Ukraine, Yovanovitch, her testimony.
President Trump tweeting something Democrats were able to use against him, saying it was witness intimidation, which now they may bring as an
additional article of impeachment. This again goes to show what Republicans have been dealing with throughout this entire process, which is
no matter what they do, what plan they put forward, no matter how well they prepare, all of it can be undone with a single tweet from President Trump.
KINKADE: It certainly can.
That is why we follow Twitter closely. Kristen Holmes, good to have you with us. Thank you.
Well, as the week of revelations from Capitol Hill during the first set of public hearings. Let's take a quick recap as to what took place, on
Wednesday, we heard from the top diplomat from Ukraine, Bill Taylor and State Department official George Kent.
Taylor directly tied Donald Trump to the Ukraine quid pro quo and testified that former national security adviser John Bolton opposed that July phone
call with Ukraine. Next up was the ex-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. On Friday, she told House lawmakers about the smear campaign
that led her to losing her post.
Yovanovitch said she felt threatened by the president's disparaging comments and revealed a senior Ukrainian official had warned her to watch
her back.
[11:05:00]
KINKADE: Coming up this week, we'll hear from eight other key witnesses, who have already appeared for closed-door deposition, including the U.S.
ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland.
Well, take a look at our next guest, who describes the impeachment process, saying there is nothing except for war that is more intense and more
monumental than the House conducting an impeachment inquiry. CNN legal analyst and law professor Michael Gerhardt joins us from University of
North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Good to have you with us.
MARK GERHARDT, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you.
KINKADE: Professor, you describe this as potentially more monumental, more intense than anything except for war.
Just why is this so monumental?
GERHARDT: It's monumental, first, because it has tremendous repercussions. Tremendous or at least possibly tremendous consequences. This process is
the primary process that's set forth in the Constitution for addressing presidential misconduct.
And one consequence -- one consequence of it could be the conviction and removal of the president from office. So that's huge.
It's also monumental because it can apply to a lot of other high ranking officials. And this is the single most important mechanism that Congress
has for addressing presidential misconduct.
And therefore every witness becomes important. And also every witness that the president blocks from testifying becomes important. And he's hindering
this process as it goes along, which itself may become another basis for impeachment.
KINKADE: Professor, you're the author of "Impeachment: What Everyone Needs to Know."
Just briefly, what do we need to know?
Although you describe this as monumental, we know that only two U.S. presidents in history have been impeached and neither were removed from
office.
GERHARDT: That is right. And one reason for those outcomes is because of the Constitution. The Constitution has two different phases with respect
to impeachment. The first is in the House. A majority vote in the House may result in an impeachment or charging the president with certain
misconduct.
In the Senate, you need at least two-thirds of the members present to convict and remove. That's a very high bar to convict and remove someone,
especially someone as powerful as the president.
Therefore, the Constitution really makes it almost impossible to convict somebody and remove them. The only people that have been convicted and
removed in American history have been lower court federal judges.
The presidents have something else on their side besides the high threshold for conviction and removal of two-thirds. They also have their political
party. And the extent to which people are faithful to that party and, in fact, maybe more faithful to that party than to the Constitution, works
oftentimes in the president's advantage.
KINKADE: So the chance of President Trump actually being impeached is pretty slim. Right?
GERHARDT: Yes. Well, I should clarify. He's likely, I think, to become impeached by the House. But it's unlikely he'll be convicted and removed.
KINKADE: Exactly. Look, I just want to rewind to the beginning of the public testimonies and listen to the opening statement of Devin Nunes, a
top Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee. Just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEVIN NUNES (R): Ambassador Taylor, Mr. Kent, I'd like to welcome you here. I'd like to congratulate you for passing the Democrat's Star Chamber
auditions held for the last weeks in the basement of the Capitol. It seems you agreed witting or unwittingly in a drama.
But the Russian hoax has ended and you have been cast in the low rent Ukrainian sequel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
KINKADE: So he's painting this all as performance, a drama. What sort of time do you think that set for the week and, how do you think that will
carry through this week?
GERHARDT: Well, I this I what we are seeing and this is likely to persist through this week is that the Democrats and Republicans simply have two
different realities they're talking about. On the Democratic side, these witnesses are oftentimes talking about facts, what happened on what day,
who said what.
But on the Republicans' side, it's largely not fact-based. It's a different narrative, a narrative that seems to be based on political
talking points and also based on a rather complex conspiracy theory that somehow the Democrats have found these witnesses and they're just talking
fiction.
In fact, they're not talking fiction. They have been talking about something that's never happened before in American history. The
possibility, maybe even the fact that President of the United States has encouraged, invited, a foreign leader to intervene in the next presidential
election is serious business.
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KINKADE: I just want to point out the former adviser to Mike Pence, Molly Montgomery. She spoke to "Foreign Policy" magazine and said if there is a
silver lining. It is that the American people have a rare chance to see American diplomats at work and to understand the caliber and patriotism of
their work.
But with all this partisan bickering back and forth, how do you think the diplomats are weathering a little bit?
In listening to the ousted Ukrainian ambassador, I don't think she's enjoying this process. I don't think this is looking great for her.
How do you see this playing out from the perspective of those diplomats?
GERHARDT: Well, I think what we've seen from the three diplomats that we've heard from this past week is their high level of professionalism.
And they're actually educating not just the committee but the American people of what their work consists of.
They represent the United States. They don't represent a political party or anything else. They owe their duties, they believe, to the United
States and to the Constitution. That's right. It may not be terribly dramatic.
But it has a high content of facts and I actually think none of them is having a good time. Because again, they are being pilloried by the
Republican Party and Republican defenders in Congress. That's not fun.
They're paying a high price in terms of alienating perhaps some of their friends and certainly some of the other people in the Republican Party.
Again, that's very difficult.
And why they're doing it is the important thing to understand. They are doing it because they believe something happened that is an abuse of power.
They are reporting it to Congress.
Keep in mind, the president is keeping a lot of people who know a lot about this, like John Bolton, from testifying and that makes it even harder for
these diplomats, because they can only talk about what they saw and heard.
KINKADE: Exactly.
And as that former ambassador to Ukraine, she said this is not the way I wanted my career to end. So it's certainly a tough time for those facing
public hearings. We appreciate your time.
GERHARDT: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, now to those Democrats who think they can defeat President Trump next November after weeks of more or less static standings among
their top tier candidates. Pete Buttigieg is having a breakout moment in Iowa. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has the latest polling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There's a new Democratic front-runner in the 2020 race in Iowa. His name is Pete
Buttigieg. For the first time the South Bend, Indiana, mayor holds a clear lead among voters who say they are likely to participate in the Iowa
caucuses.
He climbs to 25 percent in a new CNN/"The Des Moines Register" Iowa poll. Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are all locked in a three-
way race for second place.
Amy Klobuchar, the only other candidate to break out of the lower tier, with 6 percent. Take a look at how the race has changed since only
September. Buttigieg rising 16 points while Warren and Biden have slipped. Sanders and Klobuchar have increased.
But the race remains fluid with 30 percent saying they've made up their minds but still 62 percent of likely Iowa caucusgoers say they could still
choose another candidate. That, of course, gives a sense of hope to more than a dozen other Democrats still in the race here.
Now this is why second choice is so important. Elizabeth Warren is the second choice of 20 percent of likely caucusgoers, followed by Buttigieg at
14 percent with Sanders and Biden each at 13 percent.
But electability is a critical question for Democrats. That remains the core bit of Biden's strength of the four top candidates tested, a majority,
52 percent, say Biden could beat Trump. The rest do not reach the majority point.
This is where the race is standing right now. There is a sense of pragmatism hanging over Iowa voters: 63 percent say they prefer a
candidate with a strong chance to beat Trump compared to 32 percent, who prefer someone who shares all their views.
The race is now, some 80 days before the voting begins in 2020. Now the question for Buttigieg is, how does he handle the pressure of being a
front-runner? -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: We are going to Hong Kong, pro-democracy legislators have arrived on a troubled university campus. They are trying to negotiate an end to
the fighting between police and protesters who have barricaded Hong Kong Polytechnic.
Police are firing water cans, using tear gas, while protesters have been using everything from petrol bombs to catapults to bows and arrows. Now
police say an officer was wounded by an arrow.
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KINKADE: They're calling the protesters rioters, a designation that could open the door to heavy prison sentences. Anna Coren is live.
Bring us up to speed with what is taking place.
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, basically, everybody that is here, at the university is trapped. From what we understand, there are police now
surrounding all the exits of the university.
Down here you can see the water cannon. They have being positioned there all day, firing water. Only moments ago, they fired more water. There
have been multiple, multiple rounds of tear gas. Tear gas is very thick in the air right now.
In this direction, there are also more riot police and behind us up this road into the overpass, across the tunnel linking Kowloon to Hong Kong
island. There is also a standoff with police. Basically protesters were expecting there to be an operation two hours ago. That was what was making
the rounds here on social media.
That hasn't eventuated. But we do know that all the exits have been blocked. We are also getting reports that protesters who changed into
civilian clothing and who then left the area have been arrested outside.
Police, I should note, issued warnings, saying that everybody needs to leave and protesters need to surrender. But from the protesters that we
have spoken to, they say -- protesters that we have spoken to, they say they are at war. They are defending their university.
They see this as the final university to stand up against the police, up against the Hong Kong government and they say that they will stay until the
very end. Obviously, there is a great deal of concern about how this is going to play out over the coming hours, whether there will be a peaceful
resolution.
You mentioned those pro-democracy lawmakers who have pleaded with the government, pleading with the police, to try and resolve things peacefully.
But you mentioned the arsenal really that the protesters have. And on the balcony up here at Polytechnic University, it overlooks the road where the
water cannons and police are.
They have stockpiled bricks and petrol bombs. There are catapults up there, where they have been firing bricks and rocks and reportedly petrol
bombs from. We were up there earlier today. And there were several archers with their bows and arrows.
You mentioned a police officer that was hit with an arrow earlier today in the car. So police walking in here, were running in their charging in
here, storming this university is not going to be easy, because there are hundreds of protesters who are waiting for them.
So police would know in the back of their mind this could turn very ugly very quickly.
KINKADE: Anna Coren, we will touch base with you. You had and your crew there. We will speak soon. Thanks, so much, Anna Coren in Hong Kong at
the university.
Well, still ahead here on CONNECT THE WORLD, Iran warns security forces may act to stop protests in the country.
So what's fueling the fiery demonstrations?
We'll have that story ahead.
Also, would you like a slice of the world's most valuable company?
Well, the company giving Alibaba a run for its money -- up next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, protests have erupted in Iran this weekend after the government announced petrol price increases and rationing.
Demonstrators set fire to banks, to public property as well as other structures overnight.
The Iranian government is threatening security action against protesters if the quote vandalism continues. So far, at least, one person has died from
the violence. CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Violent protests in many parts of Iran. It's about a five-hour drive south
of Tehran flames rage at a branch of this bank. A similar picture at the border with Iraq as Iranians faced with high unemployment and a crumbling
economy take to the streets.
At the capital, Tehran, these social media video purports to show protesters screaming death to the dictator, death to Rouhani, Iran's
president.
The protests kicked off after the government announced a 300 percent hike on fuel prices. It hits many Iranians hard in an already struggling
economy. The government claims they want to combat fuel smuggling.
"Some people would definitely get upset over this decision," Ali Khamenei, Iranian Supreme Leader, said. "But damaging and setting fire to property
is not something normal people would do. It's hooligans."
On Sunday morning, workers at the main bazaar in Tehran went on strike, effectively shutting the businesses down. The merchants have been
struggling for months, since the U.S. president pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement and hit Iran with wave after wave of crippling sanctions.
Iran's government says it will remain steadfast and initiated what it calls a resistance economy, an effort to become more self-sustained. But while
Iran's government says, outside forces are fanning these new protests, many Iranians suffering under high unemployment and very little hope that things
could improve any time soon -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: For more now I am joined by Sanam Vakil, a senior research fellow at Chatham House Northeast Africa program and a lecturer with the Middle
East Studies Department at John Hopkins University. Good to have you with us.
SANAM VAKIL, CHATHAM HOUSE: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: So the big question behind these protests is how such price increases can happen in a country that is supposedly one of the top oil
producers in the world.
VAKIL: Well, this is really a reflection of two things. First of all, the impact of U.S. sanctions that have constrained Iran's ability to export
oil. So the government is under pressure and looking at a subsidy reform on oil, petrol, in order to increase their revenue and perhaps disburse
cash transfers to people that might need the money more than the general population.
Secondly, of course, Iran's economy is not very well managed. And this is a reflection of poor governance and the timing of this announcement.
[11:25:00]
VAKIL: And the way it was communicated in the middle of the night is a reflection of that poor government.
KINKADE: How much are we seeing with Iran's economy can be attributed to the U.S. sanctions?
VAKIL: Well, Iran is dependent on oil exports, above everything else. But it is a diversified economy. The IMF has recently downgraded Iran's growth
to a negative 9 percent for this year. But it is expected to recover in 2020.
So without a doubt, the economy is constrained by its limits of oil exports but it is slightly more resilient than other Middle Eastern oil-dependent
economies. And so, we're in a period where people are suffering and bearing the brunt of the economic pain from sanctions.
But ultimately, I think the government is not going to compromise under so much pressure and it's here that people are really suffering and you see
that in the protests.
KINKADE: I just want to play something from Iran's supreme leader about his response to these violent demonstrations. Let's just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHAMENEI (through translator): All the centers of the world's wickedness against us have cheered for the unrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: So it's likely he is referring to the United States and the sanctions against Iran. He says he supports the oil fuel price increase.
Iranians are frustrated by this and more are calling for him to step down.
How likely is that?
VAKIL: Well, it's very unlikely that the supreme leader is going to step down. And Iran has witnessed many protests over the last 40 years. We saw
protests in December of 2017, January 2018, that spread throughout the country quite quickly. We saw the 2009 protests after what was perceived
to be election fraud.
So the country has been through multiple rounds of unrest through the years. People have deep grievances against the Islamic Republic and, under
the pressure of sanctions, under this economic pressure that is really trickling down, there is more pressure on the average Iranian.
And we have been sort of waiting over the past two years to see if the pressure is going to result in unrest. It's sort of classic Islamic
Republic to blame the West for this, the impact of this pressure.
And, indeed, Donald Trump's maximum pressure strategy against Iran is one of the main problems that is, you know, the policy that is constraining
Iran's economy.
Again, it's not the only problem constraining Iran's ability to function; we're in this very fragile period that won't result in immediate
negotiations but we're also not going to see a change of leadership in Tehran.
KINKADE: The problems we are seeing are not just impacting Iran. Some of these protests are coming amid a wave of regional unrest. We are seeing it
in Iran and Iraq.
I quote Hanin Ghaddar, "The recent protests show that Iran's power is more fragile than the world perceives."
Reflecting on Tehran and its regional proxies, regionals influence, she writes Iran's resistance narrative did not put food on the table.
How do Iran's domestic woes play into what we are seeing regionally?
VAKIL: Without a doubt, the impact of sanctions on Iran is constraining its reserves. It's constraining its spending ability and with protesters
beyond Iran's borders in Iraq and Lebanon, directly calling out Iran for supporting non-state actors and not standing up for protests, this is
putting Tehran in a awkward position.
It claims it is the leader of resistance movements around the Middle East. But actually today Tehran is supporting the status quo. And that status
quo is keeping elites in power that are not meeting the needs of citizens.
We're seeing average citizens wanting to change the position and change the role of corrupt elites throughout the region. And the same applies within
Iran, where Iranian protesters are frustrated by their inability to express themselves and lack of economic sovereignty and their lack of future
prospects within the country.
[11:30:00]
VAKIL: And so they, too, are frustrated. So the protests are very much interconnected.
KINKADE: Absolutely. Sanam Vakil, good to have you with us. Thanks so much.
VAKIL: Thank you.
KINKADE: We are staying in the region where the world's most profitable company is on its way to being the most valuable on what could be the
biggest IPO in history. Saudi Aramco value range released today, put the oil giant up to $1.7 trillion in market value if all goes to plan when
shares are priced on December 5th.
Let's go to the climate crisis, where record breaking floods are facing Venice. And Australia's bush fires continue to blaze. We will speak to a
scientist about a new report on how this is impacting human health.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, there has been no let-up for residents in Venice. The city is hit by yet another exceptionally high tide in a week
of record flooding. Have a look at where the tide crested at 150 centimeters a few hours ago, Tuesday's historic flooding.
The worst the city has seen in 50 years. And the damage bill is estimated to be more than $1 billion. CNN's Scott McLean joins us now live from
Venice.
That murky water, Scott, I don't know if you can hear me right now, but that water has been sitting there for days.
If you can hear me, just explain what the major concerns there are for people.
[11:35:00]
KINKADE: We will try to connect back with Scott. We are, obviously, having difficulties with him. Scott filed this report a short time ago.
Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For Venetians, it's a familiar sound they would rather hear. Alarms echoing through the narrow streets and canals
warning of the rising tide. Sunday's peaks sent water into St. Mark's Square, into the basilica as well, peaking at a meter and a half.
On a nearby island it was nearly impossible to tell the sidewalk from the canal. The island is famous for the workshops that produced artisan pieces
of glass that end up on the shelves of gift shops.
This man has been making glass for decades. He stopped as water rushed inside his workshop for the second time in a week. He lost six of his
specialized ovens in the first high tide. He worries that, in the future, he may lose much more.
"We may have to move," he says, "we can't work here, we can't live here."
But it's not just the water that's a problem. It's the salt the ocean water leaves behind. Nearby, a woman showed us the brick wall in her home
that's turning to chalk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The salt break or breaks because they are completely melted (ph).
MCLEAN (voice-over): For more than 15 years Venice has been building a mobile hydraulic barrier system to block the catastrophic high tides from
flooding the city. But the project has been delayed by mismanagement and scandal. 2014, the mayor was arrested for his part in a bribery scheme.
An activist and environmentalist has doubts about the project.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why should I believe?
They started building it in 2003. They said it was going to be ready by 2011. It's now 2019 and nobody really knows if and when they're going to
finish it. And it just makes me think, you know, as a logical person that if it was ever going to be finished, they'd have done it by now.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Venice's current mayor is not blind to his city's frustration with the project now expected to be complete by 2021.
"Everyone intelligent has doubts," he says. "But today, it's the only chance we have to stop the sea. We have to finish it."
He says, if they can block the rising tide, it will be a victory for the world and a sigh of relief for Venetians, who can only pray they'll be
protected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCLEAN: Now there is still water here in St. Mark's Square but it won't last long as the tide goes back out. Now there are more high tides
expected this week. It will be enough to flood this square again, though, it's the lowest part of Venice. But it will, thankfully, not be enough to
cause any more damage than has already been done.
KINKADE: All right, Scott McLean for us from Venice. Good to have you with us. Thank you.
Well, on the other side of the world in eastern Australia, fire crews continue to battle dozens of fires in New South Wales. The fires have
destroyed hundreds of homes, killing four people. The cause of the blazes could be natural. Although we know in Queensland a 16-year old has been
arrested, accused of starting one of the fires there.
We are seeing a wave of extreme weather events amid an outcry for more action on climate change. A new report is mapping how climate change will
shape the health of young people and in about every stage of their lives. It's warning it's already damaging the health of the world's children right
now.
The report was compiled by "The Lancet" Countdown, a project that tracks the impact of climate change on human health. Well, let's bring in the
executive director of "The Lancet" Countdown, he joins me now from London.
Good to have you with us.
NICK WATTS, "THE LANCET": Oh, it's good to be here.
KINKADE: So as the climate warms and as we see these more extreme events, people who are young children and old people, those are vulnerable, seem to
be suffering the most or will suffer the most in the future, just explain why.
WATTS: Yes, you are definitely right. The report out this week published in "The Lancet" is the result of 35 different institutions, scattered
across every continent. The World Health Organization, Tsinghua (ph University, the University of Sydney.
The report has a really clear message, the health of children around the world are being affected today at every single point in their lives.
[11:40:00]
WATTS: And this is because they don't have the immune systems. They don't have the cardiovascular systems, the reserve ready to defend themselves
against climate change. Also they are just getting out in life. So when a young kid under the age of six months old is faced with malnutrition, that
malnutrition causes stunting.
That stunting causes all sorts of impacts, the entire way through their entire life. So you see, just as they are trying to get going, climate
change is already there, dragging them down.
KINKADE: It certainly is. I just want to look at the fires we are seeing in Australia because there is an unprecedented number of bush fires
particularly in New South Wales and Queensland. This report found, not surprisingly, human exposure to fires has doubled since 2000.
This, of course, has a huge financial cost. But it is also claiming lives.
WATTS: You are exactly right. The human cost of wildfires is enormous. So we see that in California this September. We see that in New South
Wales, in Sydney. My little sister is in Sydney at the moment. She woke up this morning. She looked to the east and she saw blue skies. She
looked to the west. She saw a black sky.
She tried to go for a run, she couldn't. She had an asthma attack. That's what the human symptoms, human effects of climate change look like. Now we
don't have the information just yet to talk about wildfires and climate change in the way of Sydney.
We do have evidence that said those events in California would not have happened without the fingerprints of climate change. We do know we had 25,
26 fire chiefs from across New South Wales preparing and predicting these sorts of wildfire crises would be coming the way of Sydney, of New South
Wales, because they were concerned about climate change.
KINKADE: And, Nick, as not only does the report find that young people could be most impacted by climate change going forward but from what we've
seen, protesters around the world, it's our young people demanding action here, demanding change.
We are seeing people like Greta Thunberg really take a stand here.
Why do you think politicians worldwide are failing to come together on this and why does such a large number of the so-called Baby Boomer population
reject the science?
WATTS: It's a difficult question to answer. In the second part of the report this week stresses the fact on the one hand we have this child born
today who is alive right as we speak. They will experience a 4-degree world, a world that is significantly more dangerous.
But it's so important that we stress exactly what you are saying, that there is a positive way that we can respond to climate change. It turns
out all the things we want to do to climate change, they are cost effective, sensible health interventions in their own right.
So it doesn't surprise me we see young people around the world standing up and demanding a healthier future for themselves, demanding cleaner air,
healthier diets, more livable cities built around people rather than around cars.
The sorts of changes we are talking about, they are enormous and to some extent there are things that individuals seem to do. But you are exactly
right. Governments aren't moving fast enough. Even as we see the commitments under the Paris agreement, under the U.N. climate agreement
we're not seeing the health benefits materialize fast enough. It's unfortunately happening at the expense of lives and livelihoods.
KINKADE: Just to tap it further along that line of hope that you mentioned, the report does say there are reasons for hope and among them,
China it is continuing to reduce its reliance on coal. Europe's air pollution levels in 2016 and globally more people are driving electric
cars. And health systems are starting to plan full climate crisis.
Certainly hopeful signs but is it really enough?
What else can be done?
WATTS: You are right. So there are reasons for hope. We call them the glimmers of sort of optimism. Because there are positive changes. A child
born today by the time they turn 60 years old, if they're born in the United Kingdom, they won't know what a coal fired power plant is. The
United Kingdom will have phased out coal just because it's bad for public health and for the climate.
By the time that child turns 21 years old, they're born in France or Western Europe, they'll be buying their first car. But they won't be able
to buy a diesel or a petrol car, that will be good for air pollution, it will be good for their physical activity. Instead, we have designed cities
that encourage them to walk to work, to cycle, to exercise more.
That will be good for their health as well. Finally by the time that child reaches the age of 31, if the world meets the commitment, we will have
reached net zero.
[11:45:00]
WATTS: This is sort of technical jargon. Really what it's getting at is a transformation in the way we consume food, our agricultural systems, our
diet, transformation and pollution, in the way that we run our health systems.
Increasingly, we are starting to see the world respond but there are some low hanging fruit that we really need to start targeting first. We need to
rapidly phase out coal fired power. We need to rapidly invest in our health systems, make sure the NHS, the United States health systems is able
to cope with the health impacts of climate change. It doesn't get overwhelmed.
We need to make sure we are investing in the countries and the populations, the people who are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and
the least responsible.
KINKADE: Nick Watts, executive director of "The Lancet" Countdown. Good to get your perspective. Good to have a fellow Aussie on the show as well.
Thank you so much.
WATTS: Thank you.
KINKADE: Still to come, Prince Andrew is going public. The British royal speaking out on his friendship with a late convicted sex offender Jeffrey
Epstein. We will have that report when we come back.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
Britain's Prince Andrew in an apparent effort of damage control has spoken to the BBC about his friendship with a convicted sex offender Jeffrey
Epstein, who died in a New York prison cell in August awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Well, the British royal says he never saw anything suspicious when he stayed at Epstein's New York home and denies allegation on one of
Epstein's accusers, who says she was forced to have sex with a duke when she was a teenager. Hadas Gold joins us from London.
The prince was under a lot of pressure to speak on this particular issue.
But did it do him any good or what were the takeaways from this interview?
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It definitely seemed like he wanted to do this interview to tell his truth. If he thought this would somehow draw a
line under the controversy, if anything it seemed to have fanned it further.
There has been reaction to this interview the BBC says took six months to arrange. It was actually held in Buckingham Palace. The BBC says it was
done with the queen's approval.
In the interview, Prince Andrew details how he came to know Jeffrey Epstein and why he chose to visit Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan in 2010, even
staying at his home, despite the fact Jeffrey Epstein had already been convicted for the first time of being a sex offenders.
Prince Andrew says he did so to break up the friendship. Earlier in the interview, he said they weren't that good of friends. Prince Andrew
addressed those allegations by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, denying he doesn't recall seeing her, despite the photo that shows the two together in 2001.
Take a listen at what he had to say to the BBC.
[11:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you saying you don't believe her, she's lying?
PRINCE ANDREW, DUKE OF YORK: That's a very difficult thing to answer. Because I'm not in a position to know what she's trying to achieve. But I
can tell you categorically, I don't remember meeting her at all, I do not remember her photograph being taken and I have said consistently and
frequently that we never had any sort of sexual contact whatever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: And for the first time, Prince Andrew also provided some alibis. He said for certain of the occasions that she claims they were together. He
was, for example, on one occasion with his daughter at a Pizza Express restaurant.
He also addressed in general whether he would be willing to testify under oath as an attorney for some of Epstein's accusers have asked him to do.
If you are willing to talk to the BBC, would you be willing to speak to investigators?
He said he would be willing to do so, only if his counsel advised him to do.
KINKADE: Hadas Gold, thanks so much.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, there's a good chance you've heard the word impeachment and 2020 polling more than once. I say them more than once
just this hour. But how many times have you heard the words, "C'mon, man," in the political playbook?
Well, the answer is probably more than you think. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the ultimate Joe Biden come-on.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: C'mon, man.
C'mon, man.
C'mon, man.
MOOS: Used to convey everything from sarcasm.
BIDEN: My heartbreaks. C'mon, man.
MOOS: To enthusiasm.
BIDEN: C'mon, man. Let's do it.
MOOS: In just a single interview, we counted four of them.
BIDEN: C'mon, man.
C'mon, man.
Oh, c'mon, man.
MOOS: Oh, sure, other Bidenisms might be plentiful.
BIDEN: Look. Look. Look. Look.
Guess what?
The fact of the matter is. The fact of the matter is.
Folks. Folks. Folks. Look, folks.
MOOS: Let's look, folks.
BIDEN: C'mon, man.
MOOS: It's so much more expressive.
BIDEN: It is all about around the clock sex, it's all -- c'mon, man.
MOOS: Whether he's dismissing outdated attitudes, or challenging President Trump to a push-up contest.
BIDEN: C'mon, Donald, c'mon, man.
[11:55:00]
BIDEN: How many push-ups you want to do here, pal?
MOOS: At least "C'mon, man" is G-rated for expressing exasperation. It's a handy alternative to stuff that needs bleeped.
TRUMP: With ridiculous bull (INAUDIBLE).
MOOS: Joe Biden's former boss employed it.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: C'mon. C'mon, man.
MOOS: But did Obama get it from Biden or Biden from Obama?
Maybe one or the other got it from the ESPN sports segment --
UNIDENTIFEID MALE: C'MONETTI: , man.
MOOS: Joe Biden's "C'mon, man" has got to the point that right-wingers have come to his defense.
A "New York Times" columnist wrote about the bro-iness of Joe Biden calling "C'mon man" a rhetorical device that men use among themselves in locker
rooms and barbershops to reinforce masculinity.
Conservatives criticize the criticism for being PC.
Comic sidekick Andy Richter credited Biden when describing his dog crowding him in the car, "In the words of Joe Biden, 'C'mon, man,'" an expression
Joe hangs on to like a dog with a bone.
BIDEN: C'mon, man.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos .
BIDEN: C'mon, man.
MOOS: -- CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: C'mon, man, I'm Lynda Kinkade. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks for watching.
END
