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Trump Makes National Address on Eve of Expected Acquittal; Trump Skips Pelosi Handshake, Pelosi Tears His Script; Buttigieg, Sanders, Warren Lead in Iowa, No Final Results Yet; Trump Touts Strength of U.S. Economy, Jobs, Trade Deals; What is Life Like Under Quarantine; First Lady of Lesotho Charged with Murdering Prime Minister's Ex-Wife; 38 Killed in Avalanches in Eastern Turkey. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 05, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Divisive, disorganized and distracted. Bitter partisanship on full display in Washington as we hit the impeachment end
game.
Then, stuffed in quarantine. What it's like to wait out the coronavirus.
And Lesotho's first lady charged with murder. More on that later this hour.
Well, it's 10 in the morning in D.C. It's 7:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. This is our expanded edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. Wherever
you are watching you are more than welcome.
The big story this hour, impeachment end game. The U.S. Senate poised to acquit President Donald Trump in the coming hours. And that final vote on
the two charges, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, is expected to reflect a nation bitterly divided. There are 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats
and two independents who vote with the Democrats in the chamber. And no Republican has declared that they will vote in favor. Well, a two-thirds
majority is needed to remove the President from office, remember.
On the eve of that vote, the U.S. President Tuesday gave his State of the Union address in the same room where the House voted to impeach him nearly
two months ago. His speech followed the theme of what he called the great American comeback, rooted with reelection themes for the President's base.
The economy, immigration, the border wall, guns, health care, judges, the address, at times, and those who say seeming like a partisan campaign
rally. Here's a wrap of what were the big moments from Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam Speaker, the President of the United States.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump gave his State of the Union address before a bitterly divided
Congress just hours before the Senate is expected to acquit him. In those 78 minutes, not once did the President mention impeachment.
But before he even started speaking, a sign of tension between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. President Trump seemingly ignoring Pelosi as
she extended her hand to greet him before she turned and shrugged to her caucus. The House Speaker addressing the apparent snub in a tweet. Writing
-- Democrats will never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done for the people. We will work to find common ground where we can
but will stand our ground where we cannot.
Immediately after the President finished his address, Pelosi ripped up her copy of the speech in full view of the cameras.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Because it was a manifesto of mistruths.
JOHNS: President Trump used the address to make the case for his reelection highlighting the economy and sprinkling in a handful of made for
TV moments.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your husband is back from deployment. He is here with us tonight, and we couldn't keep him waiting
any longer.
JOHNS: Including a military family reunion.
TRUMP: I will now ask the first lady of the United States to present you with the honor. Please.
JOHNS: And even awarding controversial conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Limbaugh announced this week
that he's battling advanced lung cancer.
Trump's Republican allies applauding his talking points while Democrats mostly sat silently through the evening. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
delivered the Democratic response using the opportunity to remind Americans that President Trump was impeached.
GRETCHEN WHITMER, MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: The truth matters. Facts matter. And no one should be above the law. It's not what those Senators say. Tomorrow
it's about what they do that matters.
JOHNS: But in the end, the bitter rivalry between the President and Pelosi taking center stage. The White House and Trump's GOP allies slamming the
House Speaker's gesture.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): It was disgraceful. It was disgusting.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): You can tear up the speech, but you can't tear up the accomplishments. And that's what this race is going to be about in
2020.
JOHNS: Some Democrats insisting outrage should be directed at Trump for using the State of the Union as a campaign rally.
REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): Let's hope we didn't distract you from the lack of factual accuracy of the speech, the divisiveness of the speech and the
blatant appeal to his base and very similar to his speeches in his rallies.
[10:05:00]
It was a State of the Union designed to appeal to the base, not to bringing our country together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Joe Johns reporting for you.
All of that happening while Democrats battling to replace President Trump. We're still waiting to see who came out on top in Iowa. The first contest
of the U.S. election season remains undecided, thanks to that technical debacle on Monday. But we do know this. With 71 percent of precincts
reporting, that's just under three quarters, Pete Buttigieg has a slight lead over Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The candidates are in New
Hampshire right now ahead of next Tuesday's primary.
Well, there is plenty to unpack. To help us do that, Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill for what is this final day of President Trump's impeachment
trial. Vanessa Yurkevich is in New Hampshire following that Democratic race. And CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer joining us from Princeton.
Let's start with you on The Hill, Lauren. Later on this afternoon, there will be a vote. Is there any chance at this stage that the President won't
be acquitted today?
LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: No, Becky. That acquittal is all but certain and it will happen at 4:00 today. The vote that members
have all been waiting for, once we got over that crucial vote on witnesses last Friday, it became clear that the drama in this impeachment trial was
really going to die down, come to a close.
And I will tell you that the only drama left is really watching a few moderate Democrats and how they plan to vote. We expect to hear from Doug
Jones at some point this morning. He's up for reelection in 2020 in the state Alabama, a very conservative state. We expect to hear how he plans to
vote in a floor speech later today.
We also are watching Joe Manchin who I just talked to here at the veterans affairs committee. His argument was, I will let you know at 4:00. And then
he repeated 4:00 three times. Essentially arguing he's not going to tip his hat on how he plans to vote. But that's the drama left. Look, the President
is expected to be acquitted. Republicans are ready to move on. And many of them wish that this could have happened on Friday rather than dragging this
out an additional few days. But this giving members an opportunity to give floor speeches, to explain why they are choosing to vote to either remove
the President or not to remove him - Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Lauren. Julian, while that then they say, or as they say is that, he will be acquitted. One of our colleagues describing Donald
Trump's State of the Union Speech Tuesday as a winner. By that, S.E. Cupp says it should remind everyone, especially Democrats, that he could very
well be on his way to winning another four years. That certainly reflected by the U.S. President's own tweets.
And if the chaos in Iowa is anything to go by, the Democrats have an awful lot of work to do, don't they? What did you make of what happened and what
is the first outing for these Democratic candidates Tuesday?
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, in terms of the speech, I think that's a fair assessment. The part of the speech that was about the
economy was filled with factual disinformation and mistakes, but it's a very powerful message. And if a President can connect himself to
macroeconomic numbers such as low unemployment rates that are good and talk about that again and again, Democrats are going to have trouble regardless
of who the president is. So I think they should hear that and they should try to think about how they are going to respond.
The chaos in Iowa is chaos and it's certainly not how Democrats wanted to start this. It will deflate a lot of their enthusiasm. But they will
recover. The results are being sorted out. And once we have the New Hampshire primary and super Tuesday, my guess is they'll move forward. But
it was the convergence of all of this and the impeachment vote that left many Democrats feeling a little blue going into the rest of this week.
ANDERSON: Vanessa, let me bring you in then at this stage because you're in New Hampshire. The Democrats and their organizations have rolled out of
Iowa and into New Hampshire without a result in Iowa at this point. We have, though, got with 71 percent of the returns counted a winner in Pete
Buttigieg. Does he stand equally as good a chance where you are?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Becky. Well, yes, he just wrapped up a town hall here on climate change. But the campaign is still
very much feeling the momentum as they find themselves in the lead coming out of Iowa.
[10:10:03]
He was with supporters last night at a town hall. And he got very emotional reflecting on him being in the lead. Here's what he said last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And it validates for a kid somewhere in a community wondering if he belongs or she belongs or they
belong in their own family. That if you believe in yourself and your country, there's a lot backing up that belief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: You hear him quite emotional there, reflecting on sort of this past year of campaigning, finding himself in the lead. But now the
attention, Becky, turns to New Hampshire. The campaign is saying that they're going to maintain the same strategy that they've always had here in
New Hampshire. Doing many, many events like they did in Iowa. That's what they think helped them do so well in Iowa. And also staying on message.
Buttigieg said himself, this result in Iowa proves that his message is resonating with voters.
Of course, the big question here as we're about a week out to the primary is will his message now relate to voters here in New Hampshire. There's a
lot of time to go. A week sounds like a short time, but that's a lot of time for voters to make up their minds. Becky, I've spoken to many of them
who said they still don't know who they're voting for yet but, of course, Buttigieg now in the lead with 71 percent of precincts reporting. And he is
really going to try to capitalize on that momentum as he campaigns here in New Hampshire this next week - Becky.
ANDERSON: Well, a week is a long time in politics. Let me bring Julian back in at this point. Equally as important, though, is who came out top in
Iowa. And the ballots are still out. I was going to say the jury is still out but the ballots are still out on that. Is how badly Joe Biden did. Just
pick apart what you think happened and why it's important.
ZELIZER: Well, there's two parts of it. The part that will scare the Biden campaign less is that he never expected to do well. He invested fewer
resources in the state than some of the other candidates, and he's really been focused on not just New Hampshire but the super Tuesday primaries.
Which is a day where there's many big states all voting at once. And he always thinks that's where he's going to get the biggest bang for his buck.
So that part, I think they'll walk away feeling OK.
That said, it was very, very low, the turnout for Biden. His supporters didn't seem particularly enthused. And let's remember, Senator Sanders and
Warren weren't even campaigning in the past week because they were back on Capitol Hill with the impeachment trial. So these numbers at that level
should still be worrisome because they get at this core problem. How deep is the support for Biden and how quickly can that fall if either candidates
are surging or he starts to make mistakes in the next few weeks.
ANDERSON: Back in Washington, meantime, this image of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripping up the State of the Union speech script towards the
end of -- at the end of Donald Trump's address. Doing the rounds on social media like it's going out of fashion today. A step too far?
ZELIZER: If that's to me, it's a dramatic step, but it accomplished exactly what she wanted. It has been in the news today as much as the
speech and the contents of the speech itself. And it was an act of defiance where many Democrats certainly are frustrated watching the President do all
of this after everything that's been revealed with impeachment. So she did challenge decorum, but, of course, she's doing that sitting behind a
President who has done that on steroids since 2017. So Republicans don't have a lot of ground to stand on as they express their outrage about what
she did.
ANDERSON: To all of you, we thank you very much indeed. Another busy week in Washington and in New Hampshire. And Julian out of Princeton for us, we
appreciate it.
President Donald Trump, of course, weaving in his own narrative on Tuesday night when it comes to jobs, energy and trade. Likely to go down well with
his base. To wrap up exactly what was said, let's bring in John Defterios who's with me here in Abu Dhabi. You sat through the near 90 minutes of
Donald Trump's speech.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I did. I listened to it this morning.
ANDERSON: And very good indeed. So you've done it twice. Your feedback will be invaluable.
[10:15:00]
What did you find?
DEFTERIOS: Well, it's interesting because the gulf of his reality and the facts is very wide. Let's put it that way. It did sound like an election
manifesto based on his economic track record. He also implies, Becky, which I find interesting every single time and he did this at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, that he's pulling America out of the dark ages. That is not the reality.
So the unemployment rate -- let's look at the scorecard here -- at 3.5 percent. It's the lowest in 50 years. That's very good. But during the
Obama administration's last three years in office they created more than 8 million jobs. Vis-a-vis the first three years of the Trump administration
in office, where he had 6.7 million jobs. It's a good track record but it wasn't better than the Obama administration.
And the growth rate is interesting here because it's 2.1 percent. That is at a three-year low. So I find it extraordinary that he sits before the
nation and says we have this fantastic growth. Vis-a-vis the other industrialized countries of the world, the G7, it's good growth. It's not
spectacular growth. The job creation is not fantastic.
And the other thing I wanted to add here. He's trying to extend the economic cycle. How is he doing it, Becky, a trillion-dollar budget deficit
-- first time in history. He admitted during his speech he's spending more than $2 trillion at the Pentagon. That's good for jobs. That's good for the
Republican base. It's not good for the long-term debt of the United States.
ANDERSON: Yes, and how do you pay that back going forward. Look, I mean, you say it is remarkable that he would be effectively making what sounded
like an electioneering speech in what is 2020 in a State of the Union ahead of running again. I don't think anyone else would be particularly surprised
that he would be electioneering, although that's not necessarily the point of the State of the Union speech.
DEFTERIOS: That's a very good point.
ANDERSON: He also made some bold claims during his speech regarding the U.S. energy sector. I want our viewers to have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: America is now energy independent and energy jobs like so many other elements of our country are at a record high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Are these true?
DEFTERIOS: Well, the oil and gas output by America is very high. It's 13.3 million barrels in the first quarter. It is higher than Russia and Saudi
Arabia. But the reality is, those two major producers had to cut their production because there's so much coming out of the United States. Their
view is they'd rather have a higher stable price which encourages investment in the future as opposed to going all out like they are in the
United States and the private sector. So he loves to tout this.
I have to say, and particularly because of the work I'm doing now on the global energy challenge, a new program that we have. In the 21st century to
have a President go through the whole State of the Union and not mention anything about climate change is extraordinary. He only talked about the
oil and gas, jobs and what it's done to bring factories back to America but no leadership whatsoever again talking to his base only, nothing about the
environment.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. And the shale industry which is the sort of bulwark for much of what is going on as far as energy is concerned in the
U.S. again, an industry that was boosted during the Obama era and --
DEFTERIOS: The best analogy is he's just riding a good wave. I mean, that wave was created by the previous administration but not in his -- not his
narrative for his base.
ANDERSON: The lucky him. He'll never going to admit to that, is he? President Trump also touted his trade deals, John. NAFTA and China, both
signed within the last fortnight. Again, what do you make of those deals because these are a big deal for him?
DEFTERIOS: Well, for the financial markets and everybody else in the global economy, he did a lot of shouting, and the result was somewhat of a
whisper. That first round with China is not offering the payback. He even said that he has better relations with China than any other U.S. President,
with President Xi. That is not the narrative coming out of Beijing, particularly when it comes to the coronavirus where they thought the U.S.
was serving as an alarm bell for the rest of the world which other people followed.
Mexico, the same thing. Very, very crude with his neighbor to the north in Canada. They did get some labor changes into the NAFTA agreement when he
renamed, but I don't think it's the thing he's touting. Again, to his base he's saying that the new NAFTA agreement will create 100,000 jobs in the
United States. There is zero evidence about that.
ANDERSON: 26,000 over six years, I think, is probably closer to the truth.
DEFTERIOS: Well, if at all. I mean, labor restrictions are good. It's good to go back and change things but the noise that he made over the last 18
months all about it, I think is quite different than the reality.
ANDERSON: He is a noisy U.S. President. Thank you, John.
Still ahead -- a relaxing vacation at sea turns into weeks of quarantine for thousands of passengers on a cruise ship. In Japan, the number of
confirmed cases of the coronavirus on board is coming up.
And more planes carrying U.S. evacuees from Wuhan have landed. The passengers heading straight into quarantine.
[10:20:00]
So how will they be spending the next 14 days? We will be speaking to someone who is already in quarantine, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, there are worrying signs about the potential for new clusters of the deadly coronavirus on cruise ships in both Hong Kong and
Japan. The Diamond Princess currently anchored off the coast of Yokohama near Tokyo with nearly 4,000 people on board, now under a 14-day
quarantine. At least ten of those people have tested positive for the virus.
And in Hong Kong, 1,800 passengers on the World Dream are undergoing health checks after three former passengers were found to be infected.
So what exactly is lifelike in quarantine? What do you eat? Where do you sleep? What do you do to pass the time? Is Zumba on the list of activities?
Well for some of those answers, let's bring in Jarred Evans who is currently quarantined at the March Air Reserve Base in southern California
joining us now live via Skype. You play, as I understand it, professional football in Wuhan. So how did you get from there to where you are now?
JARRED EVANS, U.S. CITIZEN IN QUARANTINE (via Skype): Yes, so I do play professional football in China. It's fairly new, but it's a great sport as
everyone in America knows. And, you know, I'm currently in quarantine, which is made up of 195 Americans --
ANDERSON: Right, and so you were flown back in. Tell us, what's life like where you are?
EVANS: It's fairly nice actually. You know, it's very comfortable. I mean, the CDC and department of state is doing a wonderful job keeping us busy
and updated on what's going on with the process screening. We have daily routines of Zumba classes, boxing classes. If you want to know, tax
consultants. We have a bunch of different things that keep us busy, keep us going. I personally work out. I actually run every single morning, and I
work out in the afternoon. So that's the time that I keep busy. And everyone else -- kids are playing with chalk.
ANDERSON: I have to ask. I wonder how many quarterbacks spend their time doing Zumba in quarantine.
EVANS: Probably 1 percent in the world.
ANDERSON: Are you the only one?
EVANS: I'm very lucky I'm guessing.
ANDERSON: Just out of interest, did you see the game? Did you see the Super Bowl game the other night?
EVANS: Yes, we actually had a Super Bowl party here. It was made up of three 80-inch televisions. We had pizza. We had barbecue wings. We had, you
know, cake, chips and salsa. Everything that you need. Even beer for the adults. So we had a great time and it was amazing. It was awesome.
[10:25:00]
ANDERSON: Well listen, you sound very, very positive. And I hope the story is similar for all of those who are quarantined elsewhere. I am concerned
that perhaps life isn't quite as easy as it seems to be for you. I know that you have been asked to pay the charges for your evacuation. Something
like 1,000 bucks, right? How do you feel about that?
EVANS: Well, you know, it's about right from China to America. So the price wasn't so much of a concern as much as being safe, sound and on
American soil.
ANDERSON: You get fed three times a day. You are doing a bit of Zumba. You're clearly got the right liquid lunches ready for this tele watching
experiences that you've had. So that's fantastic. Let me just ask you this final question. What have you left behind back in Wuhan? And does it worry
you for those that are still there in the city?
EVANS: Yes, so the most important thing that I am still talking to a lot of my friends that play football with me. And also that I met that are
still stuck and going through this tragic situation that's happening in China right now. So what I want to do is wish my prayers and my love for
those who are base (INAUDIBLE) going forward, hopefully everything is going to be all right.
ANDERSON: And with that, we'll leave it there. We wish you the very, very best. Jarred, enjoy life there. And get out soon. Thank you.
Well, a historic vote in the U.S. Congress just hours away as Senators are set to acquit the President of two charges. We will discuss how we got here
and what the lasting impact could be after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Democrats believe the Ukraine scandal had all the potential to be the smoking gun for Donald Trump's presidency. Mr. Trump has weathered
scandals his whole life including in the lead-up to the 2016 election. And it appears he will do that again today. There are those who say an
acquittal could actually make him stronger as he ramps up his reelection campaign. Well, all of this, of course, coming right off the back of the
State of the Union address where he drove him his unapologetic narrative of success for his base.
[10:30:00]
My next guest says that behind me Reagan-esque pose and the sunny smile there was the same old Trump. He says petty, angry, vindictive and
deceptive. That guest is Errol Louis, a CNN political commentator, joining us now from New York. The Reagan-esque pose is how you described Donald
Trump in delivering his address. Do you see any analogies between the two aside from their pose?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, yes, absolutely. Listen, the phrase that Donald Trump uses, "Make America Great Again," he took directly
from a Ronald Reagan speech. What struck me as I was watching the speech last night was the reelection campaign of Ronald Reagan back in 1984
featured a very famous political commercial called "Morning in America." And it had this very sunny optimistic view of the country and Reagan
associated himself with that. And essentially claimed credit for it. And he rode that to an historic, smashing reelection victory.
Donald Trump who has studied Ronald Reagan very closely and borrowed from him before, I think is clearly trying to do the same thing. To say that the
soaring economy, that the stock market records that have been set under his term, that any good number he can find, he'll use it from the economy and
say that he's responsible for it. The problem, of course, is that he goes a little too far. He makes up some of the numbers. He makes claims that are
simply not true, but that's clearly what his strategy is to try and position himself for reelection.
ANDERSON: We've just had this in. Nancy Pelosi has just told her members, Errol, and I quote her here, he shredded the truth so I shredded his
speech. Let me just see if I can get these images up once again. This was Nancy Pelosi at the end of the State of the Union address shredding or
tearing up this script. Errol, there will be those who accuse the House Speaker of being petty and vindictive just as you describe the substance of
President Donald Trump's speech. Which will, I think, we will agree, go down very well with his base. The question is, does it go down well with
the swing voter in 2020? Your thoughts?
LOUIS: Right, well, look, that's who the fight is going to be over. Presidential election contests of this sort and really for the last several
cycles have been about trying to get swing voters, undecided voters. Those who could go to the left or to the right to go conservative or go liberal.
And to the extent that President Trump was trying to appeal to that segment of the voters, the Democrats are going to -- and the shredding of the
document I think makes clear -- they're going to contest that. They're going to say, look, you don't get to - Donald Trump, you don't get to just
stand there and say that you're going to fight for health coverage that covers pre-existing conditions when, for the last three years, you've
introduced one lawsuit after another specifically trying to end that very program.
The Democrats, their chances of success really depend on convincing people that what the President is saying in case after case after case is either
not entirely true or completely false. And so, they don't have an easy time of it. But there's no better way to dramatize it than to do something like
what the Speaker did. So then when everybody comes to her and says, hey, why did you -- why this breach of protocol? Why did you rip it up? Then
she'll explain it and chill have a big audience who will be willing to hear it.
ANDERSON: My team and I here over the past couple of days have been reminding ourselves of the mess that was the Republican Party just before
the election of 2016 and the narrative went something like this. Once Hillary Clinton wins this election, how is the Republican Party going to
reinvent itself? We are now three years and a couple of months later witnessing the chaos that is the Democratic Party, not least what we have
seen of Iowa in the last 48 hours.
What does this party do to sort itself out with nine months to go and an awful lot of campaigning to get under its belt if it is to put together a
sound candidate who can beat Donald Trump.
[10:35:00]
LOUIS: Well, we should keep in mind and your viewers should know that the Iowa debacle, the caucus that was being run there, was being run by the
local party, the Iowa party. Not even really by the state of Iowa, which very quickly disavowed everything that went on there. The national party
has done the same. Nobody is to blame except for the Democratic officials in Iowa for what happened there.
But I think to go to your larger point, you should keep in mind the Democratic Party, unlike the Republicans in the United States, the
Democratic Party is really a collection or a coalition of different interest groups. There are labor unions. There are communities of color.
There are college students. And putting them altogether and having them all sort of pull in the same direction is always a little bit fractious. It's
always a little bit contentious. It often can look somewhat chaotic. But that's who they are. And that's how they win.
They have quite a lot of success, by the way, not that long ago in 2018, turning over many, many seats, turning over many seats from the
Republicans. And to the extent that they often use the slogan diversity is strength, we're going to put that to the test this year as we do every so
often.
ANDERSON: Pleasure having you on, sir. Your insight is valuable. Invaluable as we the international audience continue to watch the
machinations of U.S. politics after what has been the impeachment inquiry. Thank you, sir.
Also a story now that's stunned the tiny African nation of Lesotho. In the past few hours the first lady has been charged with murdering her husband's
ex-wife. The victim was shot just two days before the Prime Minister's inauguration in 2017. Police tell CNN the first lady became the prime
suspect when she failed to turn up for questioning last month. But in a twist, she turned herself in on Tuesday.
David McKenzie is in Johannesburg, South Africa, completely surrounding the land-locked nation of Lesotho, of course. Not you but the country that you
are in. What are the details -- what's the background to all of this and the details as we understand them?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's an extraordinary soap opera, isn't it? With very serious charges and allegations linked to it. As you
say, the first lady of Lesotho, Maesaiah Thabane, is accused and now charged with murdering the former first lady, the ex-wife of the current
Prime Minister. Eight other people have been charged or will be charged, say the police, in this murder.
The former first lady was outside her home when she was gunned down. At the time it was blamed on thugs on a house break-in. But a few weeks ago,
Becky, the police interviewed the current Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, and they found evidence, they say, linking his cell phone, his mobile phone
to the scene somehow. They haven't named the other suspect, but they had directly charged as they've put it, the first lady in this brutal murder.
As you say, just a few days before that inauguration. A couple of months later she formally married the Prime Minister. He's been formally asked by
his party to step down. He says he will, the 80-year-old Thomas Thabane. But this has already taken many several twists and turns. For several weeks
the first lady was in hiding, on the run, say the police, here in South Africa, until she voluntarily showed up at the border. A large police
presence was there at the border. And she will -- has been charged. Hasn't yet entered a plea and we haven't been able to get hold of her lawyers but
this certainly has riveted Lesotho and the greater region.
ANDERSON: David is in South Africa for you. Thank you, David.
To a devastating double tap from mother nature as to avalanches hit eastern Turkey. We are hearing that at least 38 people are confirmed dead,
including rescue workers who were responding to the first avalanche.
Let's bring in CNN's Arwa Damon who is with us out of Istanbul. And we're looking at these images. I mean, this is a disaster. What do we know at
this point?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, those images are very, very dramatic. Look, this happened along as far as we can
understand, a mountain road. The first avalanche took place yesterday evening. And from that one, they were able to rescue eight people, five
people were killed, two people were still missing. And that effort to try to look for, dig under the snow for those additional two missing people,
those efforts were under way when a second, seemingly much larger avalanche came barreling through, burying the rescue team and other people that were
in the area.
[10:40:00]
The images that you see on TV show vehicles that look as if they were just thrown off of this mountain highway and into a fairly deep ravine. Seems to
be tossed as if they were just toys with crowds there right now still trying to dig through the snow.
That second avalanche alone, from that, they were able to rescue 53 people at this stage. 33 people killed in that with the belief there are still
people buried underneath the snow that those rescue teams are trying to get to.
The conditions from the images that we're seeing that they're facing, extraordinarily challenging in and of themselves with winds whipping
through, snow being whipped up. Now this particular area of Turkey is prone to avalanches, but none recently that were anything close to this.
ANDERSON: Arwa Damon on the story for you out of Istanbul. Arwa, thank you. We will take a very short break. Back after this.
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ANDERSON: Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is not a happy camper. The six- time Ballon d'Or winner has lashed out on social media and his target is the club's sporting director, Eric Abidal. I'm going to get you "WORLD
SPORT" Christina Macfarlane joining us now. Not all smiles it seems at Barcelona -- Christina.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Not at all, Becky. Lionel Messi and his ex-teammate, now of course sporting director at Barcelona are at
loggerheads. The Barcelona captain took to Instagram to accuse Eric Abidal of, quote, dirtying the players. After he said they did not work hard
enough under Ernesto Valverde. So now, Becky, the big question is, after nearly two decades at the club, is Lionel Messi on his way out of
Barcelona? That's what we'll be looking at.
ANDERSON: Good. More on that after the break. Thank you. Back after this.
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[10:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:57:00]
MACFARLANE: The inspirational Patrick Mahomes there speaking to our Don Riddell from Disneyland where he is quite literally living his fairy tale.
And that is a good point for us to end it on and throw it back to our Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: Isn't he just -- and good for him. Thank you for that. Much more ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD. Folks, do stay with us.
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