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Connect the World
Russia Warn Against any U.S. Patriot Missile Shipments; Final Episode of "Harry & Meghan" Docuseries Released; U.S., European Markets Tumble after Interest Rate Hikes; Peru Declares State of Emergency as Protest Rage; Musk Vows more Transparency in "Deamplification" Process; Praise and Pride: Sports World Honors Morocco's World Cup Run. Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired December 15, 2022 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome back to "Connect the World". I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. I'm standing in for my colleague Becky
Anderson. Great to have you join us today. Now both sides in Russia's war on Ukraine are dismissing any chance to have a Christmas ceasefire as they
each report new attacks.
The Russian backed Mayor of Donetsk says Ukraine launched its largest strike on the city in eight years and he claims Ukrainian forces fired 40
rockets at civilian targets. A Regional Governor in Russia says Ukrainian missiles triggered air defense systems in Klintsy, about 50 kilometers from
the border for a second day now.
And you saw the orange flash there, CNN cannot confirm if that was from an attack. Now in Ukraine a Kherson official report shelling is ongoing after
86 separate strikes over the past day, including this one on a government building Wednesday. And he says the city is now completely disconnected
from the power grid.
Two more deaths are reported today after three on Wednesday. We've got Will Ripley, back with us this hour from Kyiv. Will, I want to get into the
blackouts that we've been seeing in Kherson, the targeting, specifically in Donetsk as well and where we're standing right now on the frontlines and
the aggression that seems to be boiling to new levels, levels that we haven't seen since the start of this war.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, the United States had said it was last week or the week before Eleni how they
expected the fighting to kind of slow down during the winter months. And yet we've seen real escalations on the frontlines to the south and in the
east.
You talked about Kherson, which has been under nearly constant Russian bombardment since they pulled out of that city and the Ukrainians retook
it. And so you now have the population there, not only coming under relentless attack and we have the video from that administrative building
that took a direct hit, huge portions of it totally destroyed.
And yet you also have, you know, civilians and an entire city essentially cut off in terms of electricity. And so the conditions that people have to
live in there, and in many spots along the front lines, they're just unspeakably horrific, especially for any of the children who might remain,
who can't go to school who have to live under the constant fear of air raid sirens and rockets raining down.
That's why UNICEF is saying that these Russian airstrikes on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, which means not just the immediate frontlines, but
striking the power grid and plunging huge swaths of this country into the dark and cold, are not only hurting the physical and mental health of
almost every child, but putting them in a desperate risk.
Every single child across Ukraine, according to UNICEF, their physical and mental health is at desperate risk. In Donetsk you have the Russian backed
authorities claiming that Ukraine is doing the same thing to those who live meaning civilians living under Russian occupation. And they point to rocket
attacks.
They say that the Ukrainians fire 40 rockets at civilian targets in Russian occupied Donetsk, which broke away from Ukraine at the beginning of all of
this going back; you know, eight, almost nine years back to 2014. You have video that has emerged of a major intersection in Russian health Donetsk on
fire; you have a cathedral that was hit along with commercial and residential buildings.
CNN can't independently verify these claims. You also have, you know, yet another report of a of a potential shelling attack even inside Russia, of
course, the most brazen attack allegedly involving Ukrainian drones striking a strategic airfield just 500 miles from Moscow.
So all of this, you know, just kind of also shines a spotlight on this conversation about bringing Patriot missile defense systems into Ukraine
something that the President of this country Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been asking for not just for months, but for years. But as Nick Paton Walsh
pointing out last hour, it's incredibly complex.
And there's a lot of moving parts but the Ukrainians say they badly need every tool every weapon that they can get to fend off this Russian assault.
GIOKOS: Alright, thanks so much for that, Will Ripley for us. And on the news of those Patriot missiles, Russia is warning that any potential U.S.
shipment of the Patriot missile system to Ukraine could lead to unpredictable consequences. Now the Russian Embassy in Washington says any
such move threatens global security.
CNN broke the news that the White House was finalizing plans to send the system to Ukraine. It could happen as soon as this week. The Patriots is
considered to be one of the most complex advanced U.S. air defense systems. Ukraine has been asking for this for months to help defend its skies
against constant bombardment against it from Russia.
[11:05:00]
GIOKOS: Nick Paton Walsh joins us now from London with more on the significance of this potential move. Nick. I mean, we've ascertained there,
you know, their complex systems difficult to deploy. But tell me about how they can be deployed, if they're going to be, you know, getting delivery of
these in the next week, what kind of logistics are we talking about here?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: I'm not sure it necessarily is delivery within the next week. I think we might be looking
at this week for clarification from the U.S. Defense Department that such a scheme or mechanism may be underway; possibly they could say it's already
on Route.
We don't know a lot of the detail as to how this will happen. That's important because the timeframe is very important for Ukrainians suffering
on a daily basis from these relentless Russian missiles. And it seems Russian fired Iranian drone attacks as well, the Patriot system, some
analysts hold out as kind of the gold standard.
And frankly, U.S. allies around the world have often asked for patriots to defend their skies. And these often involve deploying U.S. troops to assist
with the servicing and maintenance the operation of these complex but highly effective systems. That's not really an option when it comes to the
Ukrainian battlefield.
Because obviously that would involve putting U.S. personnel on the frontlines, potentially targets and potentially to complicating
Washington's desire to not be competent in this war. They're very happy to supply Ukraine with pretty good weapons to defend themselves against
Russia, but they don't want NATO or U.S. personnel actually on the battlefield.
So in order to fill this clear messaging that we're hearing from the U.S., they want to give patriots to Ukraine. There's a complex tasks now of
training that may begin according to our colleagues in Washington in Germany at a U.S. base there pretty soon of Ukrainian personnel to operate
these systems, maintaining them possibly in Ukraine, you have to train Ukrainians do that as well, or bring damage patriots out of Ukraine to do
that servicing on the U.S. auspices.
And then, of course, the complexities the technology around this as well, while a truck that fires some of these Patriot anti-aircraft or anti-
missiles can take as few as three people to actually operate. A patriot battalion can have just shy of about 100 people in it multiple devices
within that to make these proper systems function to the effectiveness they can.
So that's a huge ask, frankly, to get that many Ukrainians ready fast enough for this to be implemented during winter. So clearly, the Pentagon
hearing messaging from the White House this is probably underway soon having to deal with the intense logistical challenge ahead of them.
But also conscious too of the signal this is sending that the U.S. is not shying away from sending its best weaponry to help Ukraine defend itself.
And that's a key message to give Moscow ahead of a potential winter counter offensive or stalemate depending on what happens in the cold months ahead
Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yes. Nick Paton Walsh for us, thank you. New revelations in the bitter dispute that has engulfed the House of Windsor, Prince Harry says it
was terrifying his word to have his brother Prince William scream at him during his split from the royal family.
That's just some of what's covered in the final three episodes of the Harry and Meghan Docu series on Netflix. Megan, Duchess of Sussex goes on to
describe how she put a lot of effort into trying to fit in, but still felt she wasn't quite good enough. CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster brings
us a closer look at the controversial documentary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: What she said to me was it's like this fish is like swimming perfectly powerful. It's on the record. That one day this
whole organism comes in.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The second installment has landed; Harry and Meghan's Netflix Docu series latest drop could prove to
be a lot more explosive than the last time round.
MEGHAN: And the entire thing goes. What is that? What is it doing here doesn't look like this. It doesn't move like us. We don't like it get it
off of us.
FOSTER (voice over): Well, the piece starts with fond recollections of their wedding. It goes on to accusations that the institution became
jealous of the couple during their triumphant tour of Australia in 2018.
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: The issue is when someone who's marrying into should be supporting a supporting act is then stealing the limelight or is
doing the job better than the person who was born to do this. That upsets people it shifts the balance.
FOSTER (voice over): For Meghan, her claims of jealousy, media intrusion, lack of protection from the palace even leaking of negative stories was too
much. The stress of the coverage she says triggering a miscarriage and even suicidal thoughts.
MEGHAN: All of this will stop if I'm not here. And that was the scariest thing about it because it was such clear thinking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember her telling me that that she had wanted to take her own life. And that really broke my heart.
[11:10:00]
HARRY: I was devastated. I knew that she was struggling. We were both struggling. But I never thought that it would get to that stage. And the
fact that it got to that stage, I felt angry and ashamed.
FOSTER (voice over): In late 2019, Harry says conversations were leaked between him and his father, about Meghan and Harry taking reduced roles and
leaving the UK. In early 2020 they issued their own statement laying out their plans, which culminated in a family route of the Queen Sandringham
estate between Harry William Charles and the queen.
HARRY: It was terrifying to have my brother screenshots of me and my father say things that simply weren't true and, and my grandmother quietly sit
there and sort of take it all in.
FOSTER (voice over): A year later, ahead of their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, a story leaked that Meghan had bullied her palace staff.
HARRY: To see this institutional gas lighting that happens is --it is extraordinary. And that's why everything that's happened to us was always
going to happen to us because if you speak truth to power, that's how they respond.
FOSTER (voice over): Harry speaking out for his wife, but also his mother, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, so they won't be responding to the
Netflix series. Instead, senior Royals will continue with their planned public engagements.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Max Foster there for us. And we've got CNN's Royal Historian Kate Williams joining us live from London. I think the first three episodes
people were just wondering if we're not going to see anything new, big revelations.
But these next three really have been illuminating about what's going on the secrets within the palace walls. And at least from Harry's and Meghan's
perspective, these are damning reports, is it going to hurt the royal family?
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, so Eleni, these are damning reports, the first three episodes, as you say, we're very much focused on
Harry and Meghan and the racism that Meghan suffered at the hands of the British press. Now, we've heard that before, it's important to hear it
again. But it wasn't necessarily a new revelation.
These last three episodes have been very much about how the royal household has dealt without racism. And it's not a pretty picture that Harry and
Meghan paint at all. It's one in which, as Max was saying, in his package there, there were leaks. And there were also stories being briefed against
Harry and Meghan, how he says very clearly that the other Royals were jealous of Meghan.
They were upset by the fact that she was such a loyal Rockstar. And as a consequence, there were actual stories briefed against her and the attacks
began, they failed to protect her. And this I think is very damaging. Also, the image that it gives of the future king, King Charles has a very early
reign; he can't ever measure up to his mother's popularity.
And this, I think is damaging, because I think people are watching this and saying, but Charles is Harry's Father, why couldn't he do something to
protect them? Why couldn't he intervene? And I think people are saying, what kind of institution is this, in which a woman of color marries into
the institution, the first ever woman of color to marry into the war family and the consequences, she suffers so much that her mental and physical
health is very much damaged.
GIOKOS: Yes, and what was really interesting to me is that, you know, it was inferred that if you're a woman in the royal family, or at least
entering the royal family, that you are going to be treated in some way badly. But you know, as they say, it was compounded race compounded the
experience.
I want you to take me through some of these issues where you think the royal family might need to address down the line. Right now they're saying
they're going to stay silent on this.
WILLIAMS: Yes, the royal family is saying they're not saying anything. It's a cool service tonight. They'll all be out there in force. It will be
business as usual. But I do you feel that they should address some of these allegations, certainly the allegations that offices within the palace were
briefing against Harry and Meghan.
And Harry he talks about this strategy, this setup of trading by which one office if they see their royal on the front page for a negative story,
they'll get the ethicist to take it off by offering a negative story about another royal. So and he says that my brother and I said we'd never do
that.
And then he says that he and his brother do it. His brother does end up doing this. So I think they were very serious allegations to be looked at
here and engage with and if I were a royal advisor, I would say to the palace, you do have to look at these.
These are the royal family is there for the country and obviously for the Commonwealth. And the Commonwealth is a majority people of color and for
them to in the Commonwealth to look at the royal family and say well this is what happens to someone who looks like us that I think is very damaging.
[11:15:00]
GIOKOS: Yes, absolutely, Kate very quickly leaking of stories planting of stories. And by the way, I mean, we already had sort of this experience
around Princess Diana sort of the secrecy around her. And she made she was quite important the first three episodes, wasn't she?
WILLIAMS: Yes, Diana plays a major role. Harry draws explicit comparisons between the treatment of Meghan and the treatment of Diana. Diana suffered
sexism; Megan suffers second sexism as well as racism. And also what it says to us is have we learned nothing; Diana was tormented by the person
chased and unprotected.
And I think that's what Harry is saying very clearly, not a lesson has been learned. Women are still expected to suffer. And that's the reason why we
left; we left because my wife's mental health, physical health and indeed life were in danger. GIOKOS: Alright, Kate, thank you so very much for that
insight. Good to see you.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
GIOKOS: All right. And just ahead there are some of the most respected people in Britain. So why thousands of nurses walking the picket line as
the UK are is hit with a wave of strikes. We'll go to London live to find out and why the suspension of this Twitter account has caused so much
controversy for Elon Musk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: UK nurses are held in high regard and work for a revered institution, the National Health Service but today they're doing something
Britain hasn't seen in more than a century. They've walked off the job across much of the UK as many as 100,000 members of the Royal College of
Nursing, Britain's biggest nursing Union are striking in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT CULLEN, HEAD, ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING: We're here because this government has turned its back on nursing and when to turn their back on
nursing. They've turned their back on patients and they've turned their back on the NHS.
WILL, STRIKING NHS NURSE: We have to acknowledge that we're only here because we've been pushed to this. We have been pushed to this occasion
right now of being on strike and there will be further strikes. But we have to acknowledge that we aren't here by choice and that we've done not done
this on an easy win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is inflation the NHS is under threat from this Tory government. This is the right time to strike. We need coordinated
action across many different sectors. And I completely support the nurses in this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: It's the most unprecedented job action in a winter of walkout sweeping the UK including railways, the Postal Service schools and
universities. CNN's Scott McLean joins us now live from London. Scott, many are asking whether this strike these strikes are even legal. Can you take
us through that?
[11:20:00]
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because obviously nurses are a very essential component of any public health system. But broadly speaking in
this country, the law says that nurses are free to walk out provided that no patients' lives are put in danger, the precise definition of what that
means is a bit of a gray area, but the government and the union actually negotiate that and work that out in advance.
And so if you show up to an emergency room with a broken leg or something worse than you'll be seen. But if you show up with something more minor, or
you show up, or you have an elective surgery that may be in danger. But keep in mind that not all of the nursing unions are actually going on
strike or not all of our hospital regions are going on strike and not all nurses are part of the Union.
So the union that is striking the Royal College of nurses, what are they looking for? Well, they're looking for a raise that is 19 percent seems
like a lot except when you consider inflation right now is 10.7 percent.
The government is offering them a raise of 4.3 percent. And they say that they are willing to talk to the Union about anything, except for pay
because of the financial pressures that the government is under right now. I should also mention that the Bank of England is trying to keep inflation
to around 2 percent.
It opted to raise its key interest rate by half a percentage point today. And while it didn't specifically in its statement mentioned strikes, it did
mention that there are wage pressures domestically right now. And so perhaps the government is also thinking that if you give a whole bunch of
public sector workers a raise that may not help the situation when it comes to inflation.
But the nurses also say that look, the system more broadly needs to be overhauled because if you look at the number of people showing up to the
emergency room, broadly speaking, the numbers have not changed over the last four years. What has changed, though, is the number of people who are
waiting 12 plus hours to actually be seen by a doctor.
And you mentioned it earlier Eleni it is not just nurses that are upset with their working conditions at the moment. This is the number of days,
working days that have been lost per month due to labor shortages. This are labor strikes, excuse me, this was the pandemic so they didn't keep track.
But right now, they have peaked at 417,000. And just to end, the nurses are going on strike today, they're going on strike Tuesday, but it's not just
them. You also then have the paramedics that are going on strike Friday and Wednesday, and then you have the Royal Mail and the bus drivers that are
going off the 16th and the 17th.
I could go on and on. But look, the bottom line is there are a heck of a lot of public sector workers in this country that are not exactly satisfied
with conditions and it's only going to get worse from here Eleni.
GIOKOS: Brilliant work really interesting to see all these graphs because they give us an idea of the gaps right between the ones and what government
is willing to do. And I wonder where this is going to settle. I think it's going to be a long road and a long December.
Scott McLean, thank you so much. Alright, so bankers have fired another volley in the global fight against inflation, but investors are still
apparently fearful of what lies ahead. Here's a look at the major U.S. and European stock markets right now. And as you can see, it is a sea of red
across the board, Dow Jones down over 2 percent , NASDAQ taking almost 3 percent hits.
And so to - the S&P and footsie Paris CAC, DAX, all deeply in the red, the sell-off happening after major announcements on interest rates, and that of
course, is very market moving. We've got CNN Business Digital Correspondent, Paula Monica joining me now.
You know, look, the ugly head of inflation of interest rates still very much top of mind because it speaks to so much right. Its demand
destruction, it is a concern about what that's going to mean for growth. And it seems that we're still very much in the thick of things.
PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely Eleni, as you pointed out, obviously, the Federal Reserve raising interest rates
yesterday, the Bank of England and European Central Bank following suit this morning. And even though they all three of them did rate hikes by just
a half of a percentage point, which is, you know, a step back from the more aggressive rate increases that we had seen in previous months.
I think investors are worried about the Feds future forecast and they just aren't all that rosy. Some would argue that they might even be recessionary
or stagflation airy in the sense that you have stagnant growth, still high inflation because the Fed they lowered their GDP forecasts for 2023.
They raised their unemployment rate forecast, they also raise the rate that they think consumer prices are going to go up, and if that all wasn't
enough, they also boosted their target for how high interest rates will go by the end of next year. Add all that up and you can understand why the
market is in a very, very bad mood today.
[11:25:00]
GIOKOS: I was hoping that most of that bad news would have been priced in because we knew this was going to be a long road. Paula Monica, always good
to see you thank you so much.
MONICA: Thank you.
GIOKOS: And then there were two. It was an unforgettable night in Qatar as the giants of football went toe to toe with the underdog that stunned the
world sadly, Morocco's journey ends here, after France beat them to nil to reach the World Cup final.
It was an agonizing defeat for the Atlas lions and their fans who already made history as the first African and Arab side to reach the semi-finals.
The big showdown will be the Sunday as France play Argentina in the final France are the first defending champions to reach the final in two decades.
But Lionel Messi is fighting for the first World Cup win of his career and won't be giving up that easily. Don Riddell is following the action for us
in Doha. I just want to take a moment for Morocco against France. I was in total pain and agony and anxiety yesterday, a lot of people felt that. But
it was just so fascinating to see them get this far, I think some people would secretly hoping that they could get through.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, I feel your pain a little bit. I've developed quite a soft spot for Morocco with the Atlas lions as well. And
yes, it was amazing seeing what they achieved both on the field and what their run achieved off the field with it bringing so many people together.
We've had so much fun here in Doha and that - every time they play, we go out and we mingle with the fans. And it's not just fans of Morocco, is fans
from all over the region, everybody rooting for this same team, that they were brilliant throughout the tournament. In the end, it was a bridge too
far.
But it wasn't that big a difference between themselves in France, they really took it to the defending champions. And in the end, just a couple of
chances have gone, you know, an inch or two either way, maybe it would have been a different story. But I think the French will be mightily relieved to
have got that game out of the way. And now they can have a crack at history on Sunday.
GIOKOS: Definitely is its good to shake them up just a little. And we know that Morocco is going to be paying for third spot as well against Croatia.
But I want to talk about Lionel Messi, because it was going to be an important game for him and Argentina.
And I think both teams are going to go and galvanize knowing exactly what they want. I think there's just so much at stake. But also I keep saying
there's just too many surprises. So anxiety levels going to be high for whichever team you're into.
RIDDELL: Yes, well, so it has been the World Cup of upsets so many surprises. I don't think there are any surprises left. I mean, one of these
two sides is going to win it and both of them are fancy before the tournament began. Of course, France arrived with injuries to so many top
players. They've done really, really well to get here.
Of course they've showed their class Kylian Mbappe has led them he is emerging as such a young leader on the field. He's got five goals coming
into this game. He wants a second World Cup, and he also wants to Golden Boot. So does Lionel Messi, he's also got five goals. He also wants the
World Cup, which he's never won before.
And he's won everything there is out there, except this. It's his fifth and final World Cup tournament. And many fans believe it's his destiny. And
certainly he wants it so badly because of course he's compared so often to his great compatriot Diego Maradona considered one of the all-time greats
who won the World Cup. Messi is in that conversation. But he hasn't won the World Cup.
And I think for so many reasons, this is why he wants to get his hands on it. And I think why people think he is destined to do so. But of course the
French who are no stranger to the big occasion, this is their fourth World Cup final in seven tournaments. That's amazing. They're going to bring it
as well on Sunday.
GIOKOS: Well Don, it was really good to speak to you across this assignment. I'm sure you're going to miss the World Cup. We've got a few
more days to go. Good to see you. Thank you so much.
RIDDELL: All right.
GIOKOS: All right, coming up on "Connect the World" Peru takes urgent measures as it tries to reel in violent protests when officials are
considering and amid calls for new elections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
GIOKOS: Government of Peru has declared a nationwide state of emergency as it tries to control widespread protests, military vehicles and soldiers are
patrolling the streets in efforts to limit large gatherings. This after days of violent protests in which at least seven people have been killed.
Peru's spiraled into political chaos last week, when the former president Pedro Castillo was impeached and arrested after he tried to dissolve
Congress. CNN Correspondent Rafael Romo has been following this and he joins us now from our world headquarters in Atlanta. --is she capable of
calming the nation sending the right messaging and ensuring that in some way they find political stability here or is it all going to depend on the
fates of Pedro Castillo?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, she seems to be trying her best, but it's not going to be easy with so many people out protesting
blocking roads, trying to do their best to get the message that they want former president Pedro Castillo out.
And just to put it in perspective, Eleni we're talking about a man who was the President of Peru a little over a week ago that meant Pedro Castillo is
now behind bars waiting to hear his faith. The hearing started over two hours ago in Lima Peru's capital and we have an update for you Eleni.
Just a few moments ago, the hearing was adjourned until 5 pm local time, which is also 5 pm eastern. A judge must decide whether Casio remains in
prison for the next 18 months as the nation's Attorney General has requested. As you may remember, Casio was impeached and arrested on
December 7 after he announced plans to dissolve congress and install an emergency government.
He was apparently trying to get ahead of a congressional vote on his impeachment. Castillo is accused of conspiracy and rebellion. He denies
those allegations, but it was still a country in turmoil today. More than a week after Castillo's impeachment, the government declared Wednesday a
state of emergency that will be in effect for 30 days.
Defense Minister Alberto Otarola said the National Police and armed forces are responding to what he called, "Acts of vandalism, violence and seizure
of roads". Peru's National Police has said earlier that highways in at least four regions across the country have been blocked by protesters
demanding the immediate return to power of former President Castillo.
As you know Eleni, Peru is a country that receives many international tourists every year who are attracted to wonders like the Machu Picchu Inca
Citadel train service between Machu Picchu and Cusco was disrupted due to the deadly protests leaving dozens of tourists stranded there.
A political crisis has gripped the country for years, - who you mentioned before and who took over after the ousting of Pedro Castillo spruce six
precedents in less than five years, Eleni back to you.
GIOKOS: Yes, six presidents in less than five years. I tell you, this is going to be a vital story for us too. Watch in the next few weeks, Thank
you very much for that update. Now the Biden Administration has released a new plan to send more resources to process migrants at its southern border.
[11:35:00]
GIOKOS: The plan includes hiring nearly 1000 more Border Patrol agents and setting up 10 new processing facilities. And this comes as a Trump era
border policy known as Title 42 is set to expire next week. It allows officials to turn away migrants at the southern border under a public
health authority.
Now, a big concern is that hundreds of migrants who've been staying across the border and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico would try to enter the U.S. next week.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has more.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are on the edge of the Rio Grande. And this is the spot in Juarez, Mexico, where thousands of
migrants have been crossing into the U.S. for the better part of a week; we've been seeing numbers of on average, about 2500 a day. And this
morning, once again, it's a very orderly process as you might be kind of hard to imagine here.
But there's a literally a long line of people that go several 100 yards back, there are hundreds of people essentially making a line waiting to be
allowed into the U.S. to get processed. All of these people you see on the other side of the river are essentially waiting to turn themselves in to
Border Patrol agents. And as I mentioned, it is a very orderly process.
They stand here in this line. And then you can see the embankment there where the border wall ends and the barbed wire there ends and there's a
little chain link fence. And at that point, there are Border Patrol agents there who are calling the people up and they call them up one small group
at a time.
And then they get processed or taken into a border patrol facility processed and then determine whether they will be deported, or they will be
allowed to go through the immigration process. So that is what we're seeing here.
These numbers are really intense and the number of people that we're seeing here, but essentially, this is coming days before the possibility of the
end of Title 42. And as we have been reporting, the concern is that the number of people that we're seeing here at this point could just be a
fraction of what is coming.
The Biden Administration says it is projecting and preparing for the possibility of anywhere between nine and 14,000 migrants a day crossing all
along the U.S. southern border, that would be twice the number of people we're seeing right now. But all of these people you've seen behind me here
they have been waiting overnight in the frigid temperatures down into the 30s waiting they're all covered in blankets. They have been making fires to
stay warm.
And this is just part of the process and part of the scene that we're seeing unfolding here along the Rio Grande between Juarez and El Paso. We
just spoke with one family who said they had been spending two and a half months traveling from Venezuela, the mother and father had tears in their
eyes as just a few moments ago. You can see it just a little rocky path that the migrants have built up there to make the crossing of the river a
little bit easier.
They had tears in their eyes as they got to that point crossing over into the U.S. and stepping over there to a great deal of uncertainty. They know
full well that after everything that they've been through, the chances of staying in the United States isn't guaranteed, so all of this process
playing out and unfolding here. This is the scene on the banks of the Rio Grande between Juarez and El Paso.
GIOKOS: A big thank you to Ed Lavandera there for us. That report is coming from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. And coming up we take a close look at the so-
called Twitter files what they revealed and what Elon Musk says will change now that he has been charged.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
GIOKOS: Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter has sparked new controversy over what constitutes free speech. The social media company has suspended in an
account that track the live location of the billionaire's private jet. The @elonjet profile was run by 20 year old Jack Sweeney, whose personal
account now also seems to be suspended.
This is despite the fact that last month Musk tweeted my commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane even
though that is a direct personal safety risk. It is unclear why these bans have been put into place.
And it has set off a new round of complaints about what critics call an inconsistent and opaque policy. Recently, journalists have released
internal Twitter files that sheds some light on decision making within the company. But they are also raising even more questions. CNN's Donie
O'Sullivan has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been suspended by Twitter a few times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got sick of Twitter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got censored tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Censored.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was in jail every other day on Twitter jail.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Republicans have long believed social media companies like Twitter are biased against them.
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: Shadow ban 100 percent. You look at what's going on.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Enter the Twitter files. Over the past few weeks journalists picked by Elon Musk have been given access to some of Twitter's
internal systems and communications. Matt Taibbi is one of them.
MATT TAIBBI, JOURNALIST: They have a whole universe of stuff that they can do to any single account. They can dial it all the way down to you cannot
be searched all the way up to your account will not trend. Only people who follow you can see you even people who follow you won't see you unless they
searched.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): So far select images like these of Twitter's internal systems purport to show how some prominent conservatives were
added to this like do not amplify and seemingly broke Twitter's rules, but few specifics were included in the files.
CHARLIE KIRK, RIGHT-WING ACTIVIST: We were averaging 115,000 re-tweets a day when we were really at our peak, then all of a sudden we saw off a
cliff almost immediately our engagement, our re-tweets disappear.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Twitter has previously acknowledged de-amplifies accounts if uses harmful or that regularly break its rules. But it does not
tell those users their accounts are being limited. Musk wants to change that.
GABRIEL NICHOLAS, RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY & TECHNOLOGY: Musk has talked a lot about informing people of removal and reduction. And that
is a good thing. But it's not clear how he's actually going to have the engineering and the resources to do it.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Well, Gabriel Nicholas was study de-amplification says transparency is a good thing. There are some cases where it is better
to not inform a user their account is being limited, such as the case of serial harassers.
DR. JOAN DONOVAN, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: And we look at the kinds of accounts that Twitter has de-amplified or banned over the last two or three
years. It tends to be accounts that will post things that are both novel and outrageous and detrimental in some way to society, whether it's through
hate harassment or incitement.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So what is de-amplification? Well, sometimes when you open your Twitter feed, you're not just seeing the latest tweets. What
you're seeing is the algorithm recommending to accounts and tweets it thinks you might be interested in. Now, let's imagine Twitter is Time
Square.
People here can say whatever they want to whoever they want. But sometimes the algorithm might pick up the more interesting comments and tweets and
highlight them on some of the billboards. But if you're blacklisted, you're never going to get your comments or tweets up on these billboards. And that
is what some people understand to be shadow banning.
NICHOLAS: Shadow banning definitely has a lot of negative connotations sort of brings up this image of a shadowy cabal of decision makers who determine
what people can see and what people can't see. But I think it's really not a productive word to use when we're actually trying to talk about some of
the nuances of content policy.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Well, many groups have raised concerns over de- amplification the central focus of the Twitter files is that Republicans were unfairly targeted, that is something Twitter has long denied.
[11:45:00]
MIKE DOYLE, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Twitter undertook no behavior to selectively censor conservative Republicans or conservative voices on your
platform. Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Well, Republicans are not convinced, particularly after Twitter initially suppressed the 2020 New York Post Hunter Biden
laptop story; believe it could have been Russian disinformation. That decision is something former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says was a mistake. So
too, does he well, Ross, Twitter's former Head of Trust and Safety.
YOEL ROTH, FORMER HEAD OF TRUST & SAFETY AT TWITTER: It is widely reported that I personally directed the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop
story, it is absolutely unequivocally untrue.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): But he was involved in internal conversations about it. The Twitter file show host staff at Twitter discussed and debated
how to handle the Biden story.
ROTH: We didn't know what to believe we didn't know what was true. There was the - there were smoke. And ultimately, for me, it didn't reach a place
where I was comfortable removing this content from Twitter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's still is mistake.
ROTH: In my opinion, yes.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Musk himself has endorsed similar de-amplification policies, tweeting new Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom
of reach. Negative hate tweets will be max de-boosted.
DONOVAN: By and large, these tools, which have been around for some time have been politicized. And as Musk is trying to suggest that the old
Twitter is going to be different from the new Twitter, we want to be careful to remind ourselves that all technology is politics by other means.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Donie O'Sullivan brilliant reports. It's been fascinating to watch all the new information we're seeing on Twitter, Twitter files. And on
this, you know, suppose it free and open marketplace for dialogue was actually pretty controlled in many ways.
What have we learned from these Twitter files would you say that that is giving us a bit of a sense of what system we've been plugged into for so
long and how it's going to change?
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, well, I mean, look, Musk has given these files to journalists that he has selected. So we're not seeing kind of the full
story, as such. But what we are learning is that, as you mentioned, there are these very complicated big decisions. And there is this kind of
discussion and dialogue and debate happening within the companies.
Some of what has been presented has kind of been presented as if, you know, there are these huge revelations that Twitter was talking to the FBI and
intelligence agencies and things like that in the U.S. That was actually something that has been reported out through the past few years, a Twitter
and other social media companies have made public statements about.
And of course, it all came from the aftermath of the 2016 election, when Russia was taught to have interfered in that election, true social media.
GIOKOS: I want to talk about the man that has been tracking his jet and I think that it really speaks to a lot of issues right. So firstly, Elon
Musk, contradicting his very philosophy that he claimed his brought to Twitter, our freedom of speech. And suspending this man, tell me what his
response has been. I know you've had a discussion with him.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, so Jack Sweeney is a 20 year old who lives in Florida? He's a coder. He's actually an Elon Musk fan. And he built an app. A
Twitter account that tracks where Elon Musk's private jet is. Yesterday, Musk Twitter closed down that account and we spoke to Jack, have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK SWEENEY, CREATOR OF @ELONJET: If he keeps it up, it just shows that he can continue to do what the last people did at Twitter and they can bend
the rules in however which way they want for whoever they want. They could ban someone for one thing and not ban someone else for the same thing
because they just liked the person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Now of course, there are some reasonable I guess, security concerns of being able to track somebody's private jet if you were to own
one. But he is using public information there. But I guess the hypocrisy that a lot of people are pointing out is that Musk said that he is a free
speech absolutist you know, he is removed rules against COVID misinformation from Twitter.
But speech that he views as harmful in this case the tracking his plane, he has taken action on. So as Jack mentioned there, you know, will we see more
of this things that Muck personally doesn't like or personally bought us in.
GIOKOS: Can you -
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, he did.
GIOKOS: I think he offered him a nice chuck of money.
O'SULLIVAN: He did, yes. So Musk has been for a long time quite perturbed by this account. And even before he bought Twitter, he allegedly reached
out to Jack and offered him $5,000 to take the account down.
[11:50:00]
O'SULLIVAN: Jack went back out a counter offer of $50,000 or a Tesla must have been taken up on that and he said Musk bought Twitter and shut the
account down that way $44 billion.
GIOKOS: Yes, well, I mean, well, it cost him 44 bills to get that done O'Sullivan, always good to speak to you, thank you sir.
O'SULLIVAN: Thanks.
GIOKOS: All right. Musk's troubles don't end with Twitter Tesla; the company he made his fortune from has not had the best year on the stock
markets. The share price of the electric car manufacturer is down nearly 60 percent so far in 2022. And that's part of a wider shock to tech stocks
caused mainly by rising interest rates and inflation.
And since Musk bought Twitter on October 27, the share price has fallen even more than 30 percent where shareholders worried his attention has been
diverted from Tesla. But also a concern is just how much equity Musk has dumped since announcing plans to buy Twitter in April, a total of $22.9
billion worth of Tesla stock.
Alright and still to come on "Connect the World" sadness and pride hand-in- hand remembering the unprecedented success of Morocco's World Cup squad and what it meant to millions of people worldwide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: A potentially dangerous situation is unfolding right now on board the International Space Station, the Soyuz capsule attached to the ISS
began leaking coolant on Wednesday, the liquid is spewing out of the spacecraft for several hours until all of it was gone.
A planned spacewalk by Russian cosmonauts has been canceled, while the leak is investigated. That Soyuz craft is supposed to bring two Russians and one
American back to Earth in a few months. NASA is also delaying the launch of a satellite that will use new technology to monitor water resources on our
planet.
The SWAT mission which stands for surface water and ocean topography was originally set to launch today. But liftoff was pushed to tomorrow after
engineers found moisture on two rocket engines.
All right, so in today's parting shots, the magical run may be over but we will never forget the thrills we all got from Morocco's World Cup squad.
The first African and Arab nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals was asked by France to know on Wednesday.
There were many emotional moments when it was all over, including this hug between France star Kylian Mbappe and Morocco's Ashraf Hakimi. They are
teammates on Paris Saint-Germain. And Mbappe praised his friend for making history.
U.S. Sports Network ESPN summed up many when it said Morocco may not have won the World Cup, but they won our hearts. As for the fans, there was one
word one everyone's lip after the match was over. I want you to take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, a bit disappointed it was talking rather the team they played very well a great journey, so yes quite proud.
[11:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All Morocco can be proud, Moroccan Ward wild I have friends all over the world. I have friends, I mean and we are very, very
proud of what had been achieved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ground that Morocco - to that stage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: And it's not over yet for Morocco. This final note Morocco face Croatia and the third place playoff on Saturday and of course France play
Argentina in Sunday's final. Well, that's it for us. I am Eleni Giokos in Dubai. "One World" with Zain Asher is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
