Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Historic Town in Maui Reels as Number of Dead Climbs to 55; Some Fire Evacuees Find Shelter in Honolulu; West African Leaders Order Activation of Standby Force; Judge Holds First Hearing in Trump's January 6th Case; Russian Missiles Hit Hotel in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine; Russia Steps Up State Media Campaign; Five Americans Now Under House Arrest in Iran; Suspects Arrested in Ecuador Assassination; Actor Brian Cox and Wife Side with Writers on Strike. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired August 11, 2023 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:30]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, I'm Becky Anderson, live from London. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. The time here is 3:00 in the

afternoon.

Coming up this hour. Over 50 dead after wildfires incinerate towns on Maui. West Africa activates regional forces to stand by to counter Niger this's

junta. Happening this hour, the first hearing into Donald Yrump's election interference criminal case, and later, why "Succession" star Brian Cox is

supporting the writers' strike.

It's all gone. That from the mayor of Maui, talking about the main stretch of the historic tourist town called Lahaina. One authority now say 55

people perished in this week's wildfire. That number is expected to rise, as searchers reach more burned-out buildings. Apocalyptic scenes like these

from a community that just days ago was a lush, tropical paradise.

For more perspective, here is a look before the fire and afterwards. Buildings turned to ash within minutes, catching many people off-guard.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLE MILLINGTON, FLED MAUI FIRE: At about 4:00 in the afternoon I looked out and I saw a huge plume of black smoke. I immediately told my roommates,

I said, hey, you know, this looks pretty serious, maybe we should start packing bags. And within 15 minutes of talking about that, seeing the

smoke, we were running down to our cars with anything we could grab, go bags, mostly nothing. I got my passport and my dog, and my truck and we

were peeling out of the driveway.

The whole street of Waianae (PH) was starting to catch on fire. There wasn't really an evacuation notice for us. It was more of we realized the

town and our street looked like it was going to burn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: It's surreal, isn't it? CNN's Bill Weir says it looks like a bomb went off in Lahaina. He walks us through the devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is the historic banyan tree, 150-year-old majestic tree, at the center of Lahaina

town. It looks like it may have survived, it needs water desperately to survive right now, but for the locals who are coming down and looking at

the damage, this is such a sign of hope that maybe, their iconic tree will have lived when so much else is gone here.

But the history can never be replaced. Right here, this is the first hotel in Hawaii, the Pioneer Hotel, the Pioneer Theater. It's completely gone.

Right over here was the library. It's just now a stone shell of scorched lots. Around Front Street there, Fleetwood's -- Mick Fleetwood of the band

Fleetwood Mac, his place is gutted with flames. It's just unrecognizable.

One of the most charming, beloved port cities anywhere in the world is just scorched like a bomb went off.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That's Bill Weir. Many of the evacuees are ending up in Honolulu, leaving the devastation behind, but not the sense of loss.

CNN's Mike Valerio joins us from there -- Mike.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, good early morning to you. We're just passing 4:00 a.m. here in the central business district of

Honolulu, about 130 kilometers away from the epicenter of the destruction, where we just saw Bill there.

And, you know, Becky, we've been here since about midnight local time, today and yesterday, and this is where people are still coming from Maui.

You know, the crescendo of this crisis was Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening. There are still people, thousands of them, who are making their

way out of the western part of Maui, here to Oahu to Honolulu, and back to the mainland United States, to New Zealand, Japan, Canada, wherever they've

come to spend their holidays, spend their vacation.

But there is still the question that people here at the main shelter in Honolulu are asking. What is going to happen to the soul of this community

when so much of it, as Bill showed us, is gone, and so many are still missing?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR RICHARD BISSEN, MAUI COUNTY, HAWAII: It's all gone.

VALERIO (voice-over): A sobering response from Maui County's mayor Richard Bissen.

[10:05:00]

BISSEN: None of it's there. It's all burned to the ground.

VALERIO: And while it's only been a few days that have passed since wildfires lit up the sky in Maui.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see fire raining down from the sky and all of a sudden, things were igniting everywhere all around you.

VALERIO: The images still fresh in the minds of the survivors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an extremely traumatic experience. There is a lot of emotion and trauma that's going to have to be dealt with for the whole

community.

GOV. JOSH GREEN, HAWAII: It's the largest natural disaster that our state has seen.

VALERIO: Rebuilding Lahaina will be a massive effort according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green.

GREEN: It is going to take many years. When you see the full extent of the destruction of Lahaina, it will shock you.

VALERIO: These satellite images show the extent of the damage to Lahaina before the catastrophe and after. Nearly every home, building and business

decimated.

TIFFANY WYNN, BUSINESS OWNER: It really look like a war zone.

VALERIO: One of the many businesses destroyed belong to Tiffany Wynn, the owner of Whaler's Locker gift shop.

WYNN: This is so devastating but I do think that Lahaina, and all of Hawaii, has a really special place in everybody's hearts. It is such a

tight-knit community.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our prayers are with the people of Hawaii.

VALERIO: President Joe Biden issuing a federal disaster declaration allowing federal aid to help the state and members of the Coast Guard and

National Guard joining local efforts to help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The National Guard has activated 134 National Guard personnel, 99 from the Army National Guard and 35 from the Air National

Guard to assist with the Hawaii wildfire response.

VALERIO: And as the residents of Maui piece their lives back together, a reminder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are Maui strong. We will get through this. We will be better. We will make this the safest, the best community possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So, Becky, here in the next few hours, dozens and dozens of evacuees who are asleep right now, again 4:00 a.m. local time, are going to

be waking up making their way out of Hawaii, and the animating energy, as we head into daylight hours of Friday and into the weekend, are to take

out, remove, get home as many tourists from Maui, so that their hotel rooms, the ones that survived and are, you know, untouched on the eastern

part of the island can be filled with first responders from the conterminous United States and international partners to help find the

people who are missing.

There's still no cell phone service in the western end of the island, so people here in this gleaning city of Honolulu, they may, you know, not be

able to know what has happened to their family member since late Tuesday. Are they unreachable because there's no mobile phone service or are they

unreachable because the worst has happened to them? That is the dynamic that's playing out here in Hawaii -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Sir, thank you for joining us. It's just devastating. So many people have lost everything.

There are ways that you can help, folks. You can go to CNN.com/impact. We've got a list of vetted organizations you can check out there, and

please, you know, do what you can.

Well, the president of Ivory Coast says his country is ready to deploy troops to Niger as soon as possible in response to last month's military

coup. His pledge comes after the West African bloc ECOWAS ordered the activation and deployment of a standby force to restore constitutional

order.

During its emergency meeting on Thursday, ECOWAS said it's also determined to keep all options on the table for peaceful and diplomatic resolution to

this crisis.

Well, for more on this, let's bring in Larry Madowo who is in Nairobi in Kenya.

You have been across this story from the outset. We are nearly two weeks and a promise of military intervention last week of course went past ECOWAS

now. They're putting together a standby force. What chance at this point, Larry, that this can be resolved through diplomacy and peaceful means?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So ECOWAS is playing with cards here. They are signaling to the military junta in Niger that they still want to

explore diplomacy, but the military option is not off the table. That is why they are getting their resources ready and that is why you hear from

President Alassane Ouattara of Cote D'Ivoire that he will contribute troops to this West African standby force, up to 1100 troops if necessary he says,

and he's getting all of that ready.

He also mentioned that Benin and Nigeria will be contributing troops to that. We have reached out to those countries to confirm. But I get the

sense that he's almost impatient with how long this has taken without getting through to the military junta in Niger. Listen to his remarks which

are significant which he made them in English.

[10:10:13]

ANDERSON: Larry, I think we may not have that sound for the time being, I'll just let you wrap.

MADOWO: Right, Becky. So President Ouattara essentially calls the continued detention of President Mohamed Bazoum a terrorist act, and he says if the

junta will not release him, they will go ahead and -- they should go in there and get him out, and get rid of this problem now. If they actually go

ahead and do that, it risks destabilizing not just Niger, but the wider region, and getting this ECOWAS force into a long-standing, long-running

battle that they do not want to get involved in.

And a question has been asked, why do you want to do this only in Niger? You didn't do that in Mali or Burkina Faso or in Guinea? And so you see

this pushback from some people who feel this appears to be a popular coup, it's been bloodless so far, so why do you want to include violence in it?

ANDERSON: It is fascinating. We are having some technical problems with Larry. So I'm going to leave it there just for the time being. But we will

get back to this story next hour.

Larry, for the time being, thank you very much indeed.

Well, it's a crucial day in court for former U.S. president Donald Trump. The first hearing in the 2020 election subversion case against him is

happening this hour in Washington, D.C. His lawyers are now there. We will hear from the judge overseeing the case later.

Katelyn Polantz is outside the courthouse, where this is all playing out. What do we expect to hear at this point?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are expecting to hear this judge to set some terms on how evidence can be

handled when it is turned over from the Justice Department to Donald Trump and his legal team. Evidence that Trump and his legal team have never seen

before, and so there's a discussion of when they learned that information and are getting it to prepare for a trial.

How much can they talk about it? Either amongst their communities, politically, behind the scenes, and just in their personal lives? Or also

how much can Donald Trump talk about it publicly, in social media posts, on the campaign trail, and in all of the times he speaks publicly?

And so that is what is at issue today. I have heard from our team inside the courthouse that this hearing started right on the dot, at 10:00, and

that the judge, Judge Tanya Chutkan, she is prepared to rule today on how that evidence handling is going to be managed by the court, the order she

would place over it at least on some things.

And as soon as they get that order in place, it's important because that's when the Justice Department can turn over information to Trump's team that

gets everybody moving along toward a trial. And the issue hanging over this case is really how fast will it go to trial. That is not on the table

today, and so we don't expect to learn a trial date today, but we do know that the Justice Department already is looking for a very fast trial

timeline, one that will bring a jury in or a jury pool in for jury selection in December, and then they want the trial to start January 2nd,

the day after New Year's.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Thank you.

Coming up on CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN COX, ACTOR: We are totally in support of the writers because without writers, we can't do it. We need the writers. And the writers are the thing

that needs protecting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: I speak to actor Brian Cox and his wife, actor-director Nicole Ansari-Cox, about the writers' strike and how artificial intelligence is

affecting the entertainment industry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:51]

ANDERSON: In times of war, her victims are so often innocent kids, caught up in a conflict they play absolutely no part in and have no understanding

of. Well, in Ukraine, their sense of security is being shaken yet again by an all too familiar sound.

You are listening to air raid sirens after explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital overnight. Kyiv's mayor says missile fragments hit a children's

hospital, and the damage and injuries are now being assessed.

And in western Ukraine, an official says a child was killed in a Russian missile attack. Meanwhile --

Ukraine says here, a hotel in Zaporizhzhia, which was the target of a Russian strike on Thursday was also the site of a children's day camp.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins me now live from Dnipro.

We are both parents, but it makes sort of no difference here, everybody understands how much of an impact, whether you have kids or not, a conflict

like this will have on the very youngest, Nick. They are not escaping this war, are they?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Look, this Zaporizhzhia attack, Becky, we talk about attacks against civilians on

a daily basis here, but this Zaporizhzhia attack is I think particularly chilling because of the exact place that was targeted by two Iskander

missiles. These are things you'd normally fire at military command and control posts to try and take out large numbers of soldiers.

Instead about 7:20 yesterday evening on the riverside, a hotel used by families, we were there recently ourselves and were checking it out, had an

internal pool, you could hear kids jumping in and out of it, playing, screaming. Out in the car park was a children's play area. A smaller pool

for the children, climbing frames, slides, swings, the things you'd expect. The missiles landed in the car park next to it, caused a significant

crater.

Now the reason why -- I say only but the reason why only one person died and over a dozen or so were injured was because the building essentially

seemed to shelter most of the occupants of the hotel from the blast in the car park. But there had been a children's day camp in that playground just

an hour earlier ending then. And so the potential here was for a significant loss of very young life indeed.

I think between the age of 6 and 13 the children that are attending that camp were. And so it wasn't just one missile that came piling in, it was a

second one, so a so-called double tap strikes, where people rush in to help and the second one hits. Not only after that, we then heard Russian

officials saying that every hotel in Zaporizhzhia was now a target because they believed they were full of Ukrainian soldiers.

So if you ever need a moment to pause and check out the sort of extraordinary ruthlessness we're seeing from the Russians, the barbarity,

frankly, of hitting a place like that, and being, frankly, unafraid to kill children, this is a prime example -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh, on the ground, with what has been some extraordinary reporting this week. And for that, Nick, we really appreciate

it. Thank you.

Well, since he started this war, Nick has been doing this reporting sort of week in week out, as it were, from deep inside the counteroffensive. And

you can get even more of that in-depth analysis from Nick and his team on the ground. I know that Nick would be the first one to ensure that that

team was recognized and acknowledged for the work that they are doing. That is at CNN.com.

Well, as Ukraine tries to make a breakthrough in its counteroffensive, Russian state media are making their own push on the airwaves. Their take

on the Ukrainian offensive is that it's already dead in the water.

Matthew Chance reports.

[10:20:02]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is how the Russians say they're taking advantage of Ukraine's flagging

counteroffensive.

The latest Defense Ministry pictures showing Russian forces advancing on land and in the air. We can't independently verify Russian claims, but

officials here insist they are now making daily military gains on the battlefield.

IGOR KONASHENKOV, SPOKESPERSON, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY (through translator): During the day, seven counterattacks from armed forces of

Ukraine were successfully repelled in the Kharkiv region.

CHANCE: On the country's flagship news show, they are already branding Ukraine's counteroffensive a bust, looping videos of Ukrainian troops in

Western supplied kit getting bogged down, ridiculing what they say are Western excuses for Ukraine's failure.

At first Westerners justified Ukrainian failures with the weather, general frost, the anchor says. Later it was general mud, and now it's the turn of

general fizzle. The Russian army is now aided by the greenery. this insurmountable obstacle is why the Ukrainian army is failing to push

forward, supposedly, she says.

In fact, Ukraine says it is making progress, albeit slow, without the weapons it says it desperately needs to overcome heavily defended Russian

lines. And it's going on the offense, stepping up drone attacks on Russian shipping and other targets to pressure Moscow and disrupt supply lines.

Bringing home Russia's special military operation like never before.

We're all shocked that it's happening here, says this woman in Moscow, but we're not politicians so we don't want to comment, she told local media.

I've got two kids and want to stop being ashamed they were born in this time, says another. Her face blurred to protect her identity.

But on the battlefield, Ukraine's slow progress is fueling Kremlin hopes that a turning point may soon be reached and that patience with Ukraine in

the West may eventually run out.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.

And parts of China are getting more bad storms this weekend. This is the number of victims rising from the recent record rains and floods.

Authorities now say 29 people were killed in a single province near Beijing. Rescuers are looking for 16 others, dozens perished nationwide.

Well, in Syria, a bus carrying government soldiers was attacked on Thursday with a number of those on board killed. A source telling state media had

terrorist group carried out the attack near Deir Ezzor. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Islamic State is responsible for the

attack and that 23 soldiers were killed and that 10 were wounded.

In the occupied West Bank, a funeral was held for a 23-year-old man the Palestinian Ministry of Health says was killed during an incursion by

Israeli forces. They say eight others were also wounded in the clash. In a statement, Israel said the suspect held explosive devices and fired towards

IDF soldiers who responded with live fire.

Well, it's being called a major step in bringing five American detainees home from Iran. The U.S. says the five are now under house arrest, with

four of them just moved out of a notorious Iranian prison. Well, we know the identity of three of them. All five are described by the U.S. as

wrongly detained. The complex deal to eventually free them involves the transfer of billions of dollars in Iranian funds currently in a restricted

account in South Korea.

Kylie Atwood is with us from the State Department.

Look, these are first steps, albeit really, really optimistic ones, Kylie. How optimistic is the State Department that ultimately they will get these

individuals home?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, I think if everything goes as they have planned for it to, with this roadmap that they

have laid out, they are incredibly optimistic that it will all work out. But, you know, as far as these things go, there's a certain amount of time

here, probably a number of weeks, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, and over that period of time, there's a number of things that

need to happen.

[10:25:02]

So when there is time that is given to these situations, it can get incredibly delicate and can get incredibly dangerous. And so they are

concerned about, you know, something going awry and these Americans not actually getting out of the country, and as you well know, one of the

pieces that we are watching for are these $6 billion in Iranian funds that are in South Korea, they're in restricted account there.

The expectations that they're going to be moved to restricted accounts in another location where the Iranians essentially have easier access to those

funds. There's been challenges with transferring them from Korean currency so that they can be used for humanitarian purposes, so the expectation is

that this will allow the Iranians to actually use those funds in a more productive way.

So that's one thing that we're watching. We're also watching the Iranians are saying that there are five prisoners in the United States that are

going to be released as part of this deal. U.S. officials not commenting on that yet at this point so it's part of the sequence that we're going to be

tracking over the course of the next few weeks. That is another piece of it.

But the National Security Council, of course, welcoming the fact that these Americans have been moved to house arrest, but saying that these ongoing

negotiations are delicate. And the secretary of State echoing those sentiments here at the State Department yesterday. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a positive step, but I don't want to get ahead of its conclusion because there's more work to be

done to actually bring them home. My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare, and the nightmare that their families are

experiencing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now of course, Becky, one thing that we'll be watching for is how these efforts, how this potential win could actually impact U.S.-Iran

relations more broadly when it comes to conversations about Iran's nuclear program specifically of course. And U.S. officials have said that the

negotiations to get out these Americans have been separate from the negotiations or the conversations surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

But we also know, according to those involved in these negotiations, that they do feel that if there is progress on this topic, that there could be

forward progress on the nuclear front as well, so that's another area for us to continue watching incredibly closely -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Kylie, this is important stuff. Thank you very much indeed.

And we'll have more on this story in the next hour of CONNECT THE WORLD, including perspective from Jason Rezaian, a "Washington Post" global

opinions columnist and CNN contributor who spent more than 500 days detained in Iran.

And at this hour, we are finding out more about the people arrested in the assassination of a presidential candidate in Ecuador. That up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:54]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. Half past 3:00 in London. That's where we are broadcasting from this week. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching CONNECT

THE WORLD.

Here are your main headlines this hour.

Searchers are using dogs to look for more wildfire victims on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The death toll there jumped to 55 overnight. Parts of

historic Lahaina were virtually wiped off the map and will likely take years to rebuild.

Well, the West African bloc ECOWAS is now responding to the military coup in Niger by ordering the activation and deployment of a standby force to

restore constitutional order. ECOWAS says it's also determined to keep all options open for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

Authorities in Ecuador say the six suspects arrested in connection with the assassination of a presidential candidate are Colombian nationals and gang

members. Fernando Villavicencio was killed on Wednesday during a campaign rally.

Well, joining us now is CNN's Rafael Romo.

You are in Quito, Rafael. What more are we learning about the suspects? And just describe the atmosphere on the ground, if you will?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi, Becky. Ecuador's Interior Minister Juan Zapata said here in Quito that those detained are members of organized

crime groups and, as you mentioned, all our Colombian nationals. He didn't specify, though, if they belong to a specific criminal group. In the past,

officials have said that at least two Mexican drug cartels operate here in the country.

And the security situation here in Quito and other cities around Ecuador has been spiraling out of control for years now, Becky. Earlier this year,

two mayors were murdered, including one in the coastal city of Manta, the six largest in the country. There was another candidate for local office

who was murdered in Esmeraldas Province which borders Colombia. And then there was assassination attempts targeting the mayors of two other cities,

giving this alarming situation.

There are at least two presidential candidates saying that the upcoming presidential debate to be held on Sunday and the election itself planned

for the following Sunday should be delayed. This is what one of them, Otto Sonnenholzner, who was also Ecuador's vice president, had to say. Let's

take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OTTO SONNENHOLZNER, ECUADORIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is something we have never seen before in Ecuador. This is something new. It has started

maybe one and a half or two years ago and it's a spiral of violence that is completely out of control and demands concrete goal and action that we are

not seeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Becky, even before the assassination attempt of Fernando Villavicencio, Interior Minister Zapata had already announced that 59,000

police would be deployed throughout the country. The original goal of course was to safeguard the upcoming presidential election. And President

Lazo also announced Thursday that he has requested support from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI confirmed their agents will be

assisting in the investigation.

Now back to you.

ANDERSON: Rafael, good to have you. Thank you.

Well, U.S. screenwriters and Hollywood studios have agreed to meet today to resume negotiations since the first formal meeting since writers went on

strike on May 2nd, crippling the entertainment industry there. Both sides remain far apart on issues like pay and staffing. The union representing

160,000 actors is also on strike.

Well, famous acting voices have been voicing their support for the strikes, and a lot of star power is being thrown behind these writers. None less

than Brian Cox, for example, the star of HBO's hit show "Succession," along with his wife, actor-director Nicole Ansari-Cox, I spoke to them about how

artificial intelligence is changing the industry and where the strikes are at present. Have a listen.

[10:35:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COX: I think the actual business about, you know, fees and wages and all that, an increase, 11 percent that were going for, I think it's a

legitimate one and I think we'll probably do OK on that front. The main problem is the AI, artificial intelligence. I mean, the problem is that

they want to do -- I mean, they really want our image and to do what they like with it, which I feel that it's not a union thing anymore, but it's

actually a human rights thing.

And maybe we have to go to the court of human rights to say that we need to protect who we are. And that's the difficulty because they've -- you know,

they've said, oh, we will take your image and we could use it in perpetuity and will pay you 50 quid or $50. And what we need to do is we really need

to establish that it's a human right to have our own identity and to take care of our own identity.

ANDERSON: Some believe that using AI technology in the film industry has the potential to actually enhance storytelling. But you hear that argument,

right?

COX: Yes. I'm not anti-artificial intelligence, I think there's a lot of good things go with it. But when it comes to your own identity, when it

comes to the fact that you've got to kind of somehow get your own image and take care of it, it's just not good and it's not on.

ANDERSON: Go on.

NICOLE ANSARI-COX, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: It's also a misunderstanding of what our profession is actually about because what you're missing when you're seeing

things that are artificially produced is you might see the surface of the scene. But what makes the scene and what makes people connect is the human

element, is the soul of the person, of whatever you want to call it but it is bigger than just what you see on the page.

COX: And this is why the writers, you know, were the first people to go out and say they were very against it. And they are the ones that one has to

really protect. And they are produced and, you know, not to a side, and all sides is very annoyed and I'm still very annoyed at the fact that the

directors didn't come out in support of the writers. They settled quite early on.

Now the actors, we are totally in support of the writers because without writers, we can't do it. We need the writers and the writers are the thing

that needs protecting.

ANDERSON: What is your message to those who run these huge entertainment organizations now, the CEOs and chairmen of this world?

COX: Well, I just think you can't be greedy. And you really can't have us at your expense that you can do whatever you like with. And that's the

thing that has to be top. That's why I think it is becoming a human rights issue. It's not just for paying the union issue but a human rights issue.

Do I own my own identity, that which I have created? Do I want you to screw around with it and actually -- and make it less than what it is? And that's

the biggest worry of all.

And also, it's a huge worry for the writers who created us, you know, created our characters. We are only servants of the writers at the end of

the day, and that's why we need to stand up for the writers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Brian Cox there. Well, "Succession" is one of the leading contenders in this year's Emmy Awards. Of course, Brian played Logan Roy in

"Succession." Those of course are being pushed back due to the ongoing strikes. The television awards show has historically taken place in

September. The ceremony is now scheduled to air on Monday, January 15th.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson for you. We've got some sports news coming up for you, another former women's World Cup champ

goes down to defeat. A look at how surging Sweden defeated Japan with an assist at the crossbar.

Also in the U.S., the Biden administration expected to make a major announcement today about fighting carbon emissions. All that coming up,

stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:15]

ANDERSON: Well, in the United States, the Biden administration is expected to make a major announcement today about fighting carbon emissions. The

U.S. Department of Energy will spend more than a billion dollars for carbon removal investments. Now the projects based in Texas and in Louisiana. They

use chemicals to remove greenhouse gas from the sky. Once removed, it gets stored underground or trapped in products like cement. Well, the projects

are expected to remove more than two million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

First, they knocked out two-time defending Women's World Cup Champions USA. Today, Sweden looked to defeat another former champ to reach the tournament

semifinals.

Andy is with us with details of what turned out to be, Andy, a drama-filled match between Sweden and Japan.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky. So, you know, Japan, they had not trailed this entire tournament thus far. You know, they were

favored to beat Sweden. Many thought they were the favorite in the tournament of all the teams left but Sweden, you know, we talk about teams

that just have that confidence, that swagger. They certainly have it after knocking out the U.S. Now they knock out Japan and they're on to the

semifinals.

It was a fantastic match as was Spain and the Netherlands. We're going to break it all down for you coming up on "WORLD SPORT."

ANDERSON: Andy Scholes in the house. That's "WORLD SPORT" after this short break. I'm back at the top of the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:23]

(WORLD SPORT)

END