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First Move with Julia Chatterley
U.S. House Passed Bill Forcing TikTok's Chinese Owners To Sell The App Or Face A Ban In The U.S.; China Says Potential TikTok Ban An Act Of Bullying; Ukrainian Drones Strikes Russian Oil Refineries; Russian President Vladimir Putin Threatens Once Again To Use Nuclear Weapons If Necessary; Boeing Unable To Provide Crucial Records Tide To January's Door Plug Blowout; New Zealand Officials Recover Black Boxes From The Boeing 787; Adidas Losing Sales After Kanye West Breakup; U.S. Facing Triple Threat Of Fire, Tornadoes And Snow; Battle Over TikTok; Interview With Representative Cory Mills (R-FL); Haiti Gears Up For Transitional Council; Celebrating Freedom; Harawa-Charawa's Fight To Leave Debt Bondage; Global Communities Holding Events To Combat Modern-Day Slavery; CEO Of IMAX Discuss "Oppenheimer" Praise, "Dune: Part Two," And Asian Expansion; IMAX Gets Special Mention In Oscars. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired March 13, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: The news continues next on CNN.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It's 7:00 a.m. in Tokyo, 10:00 p.m. in London, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley. And
wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
Well, welcome once again to "First Move." And here's your need to know. Is the clock ticking on TikTok? The U.S. House passing a bill that forces
TikTok's Chinese owners to sell the app or face a ban in the United States. But that's a long way off, we'll explain.
Ukrainian drones strike Russian oil refineries in one of the largest attacks since the war began.
Investigators say Boeing is unable to provide crucial records tied to January's door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight.
And an Oscar ovation. The CEO of IMAX joins to discuss Oppenheimer praise, "June: Part Two" success and Asian expansion. That conversation and plenty
more coming up.
But first, the biggest fight in Washington today, not between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, it's actually between lawmakers who want to force a sale of
TikTok in the United States and others who just want to leave the social media platform alone.
For perspective, around 170 million Americans currently use TikTok and contained within that, of course, a lot of votes. Now, President Biden
saying just last week he'd support a bill that could ban the app if its Chinese parent, ByteDance, doesn't sell it.
Meanwhile, Former President Donald Trump, who picked the fight first, just to be clear, now making a big U-turn criticizing any potential ban. Now,
despite Trump's opposition, House Republicans passed the bill by a wide margin on a rare bipartisan vote, but it's going to get much more
complicated in the Senate, as Lauren Fox reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a major bipartisan support in the House for a bill that could potentially ban
TikTok, its next stop in, the U.S. Senate and the fate of its tens of millions of users in the U S. is not as clear cut.
REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): This is one of those arguments, you could push either argument.
FOX (voice-over): The House overwhelmingly passed their plan that would require Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its popular social media
platform or face a ban in the U.S.
KILDEE: At the end of the day, for me, it really came down to whether or not we can take some action to try to deter this malign influence at the
PRC.
FOX (voice-over): But the bill wasn't without its detractors. 65 members voted against it, including 50 Democrats.
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): I think there are serious national security concerns, but I think the way the bill was crafted was problematic. And so
I voted no.
REP. DAN BISHOP (R-NC): The answer is not to go selectively banning the flow of information from a particular nation.
FOX (voice-over): Those backing it argue they did so for national security.
REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): I want to protect them from the foreign adversary collecting their data and manipulating it.
REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): TikTok is owned by ByteDance. ByteDance is in China.
FOX (voice-over): Already President Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill if it passes. That, opponents argue, could be a political mistake.
FOX: Do you worry at all about the political implications for Biden, for Democrats in the election over supporting this legislation?
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I don't know why you want to upset young people and 170 million people in a platform.
FOX (voice-over): Republican Front-Runner Donald Trump is taking a different approach. After the former president once called for an outright
ban on TikTok --
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, will either close up TikTok in this country for security
reasons or it'll be sold.
FOX (voice-over): -- he now says he isn't behind the House bill. The bill's future in the Senate also less certain.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): There's a lot of questions my colleagues are asking, myself included. I haven't come to a final decision as to whether
or not it should be banned.
FOX (voice-over): Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner, top members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, committed Wednesday to "working together to
get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law." But Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not committed to putting the bill on the floor.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I'll have to consult and intend to consult with my relevant committee chairman to see what their views would be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Now, the Chinese government not changing their view on this calling it an act of bullying. Marc Stewart has the details from Beijing.
[18:05:00]
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This discussion and debate surrounding TikTok comes at a time when the United States and China are trying to find
a roadmap for the future when it comes to these business and economic issues, yet there is skepticism. It's a point I brought up and a question
to a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Let's take a listen.
As you well know, lawmakers in the United States are voting to possibly ban TikTok. Regardless of what they may decide, what is your response to
feelings of distrust from American lawmakers and the American public toward Chinese companies?
WANG WENBIN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Even though the U.S. has not found evidence on how TikTok endangers its
national security, it has never stopped going after TikTok. Such practice of resorting to acts of bullying, when one could not succeed in fair
competition, disrupts the normal operation of the market, it undermines the confidence of international investors and sabotages the global economic and
trade order. This will eventually backfire on the U.S. itself.
STEWART: I also asked if China was advising TikTok on how to proceed. The response? Very much what you just heard, no further insight was given.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And we'll have much more on this later in the show when we'll be joined by Republican Congressman Cory Mills, who was a co-sponsor of
that bill.
For now, let's move to Russia's war with Ukraine. And Ukraine is on the offensive. A defense source says Ukraine has launched one of its largest
drone attacks since the war began, hitting multiple oil refineries. This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens once again to use
nuclear weapons if necessary.
His pledge was made during an interview with Russian state media. He also boasted that Russia has the most modern nuclear weapons of any nation.
Vladimir Putin also warned western adverse against further aggression towards Russia. And as Fred Pleitgen, explains president Putin says his
country is in a strong position on the battlefield.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moscow's troops claiming they're on the offensive releasing this video
purporting to show Russian cluster munitions destroying three Ukrainian combat choppers, even though CNN cannot independently verify the
authenticity of the video.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with Kremlin-controlled media directly warning the U.S., don't send troops to help Ukraine, even
though the Biden administration has never even come close to saying they do that.
We know what American combat troops on Russian territory are, they are interventionists, he said, that is how we will treat it, even if they
appear on Ukrainian territory.
And Putin even taking his threats nuclear, saying Russia would have the edge of the U.S. in the war using atomic weapons, on land, in the air using
strategic bombers, and at sea, with Moscow's powerful fleet of nuclear- armed subs.
From a technical point of view, of course, we're ready for nuclear war, he said. The missiles are constantly combat-ready. Secondly, and this is
accepted by everybody, our nuclear triad is more modern than any other triad. Actually, only us and the Americans have a triad.
Struggling on the battlefield, Ukraine says it has hit Russian oil refineries, including this one just over 100 miles outside Moscow with
long-distance drones. Putin calling this attempted interference in the upcoming Russian presidential election, he's set to win by a landslide.
The main goal is to, if not disrupt the presidential elections in Russia, he said, then at least to somehow interfere in the normal process of
expressing the will of citizens.
Ahead of that vote, and after the death and burial of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Navalny's supporters say the Kremlin's crackdown is
escalating. The former head of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, Leonid Volkov, assaulted and beaten with a hammer outside his home in Lithuania.
While the Kremlin hasn't commented so far, Volkov blaming Putin for the attack.
It was another obvious typical classic gangster hello from Putin from the St. Petersburg gangster. Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello to you too. What
else can I say? Continue working against Putin. That's what needs to be done. Let's go on.
And Lithuania's intelligence services believe the attack on Volkov was likely "Russian organized."
All this as the war in Ukraine continues and civilians bear the brunt of Moscow's full-on invasion, several killed and dozens wounded by Russian
drone and missile attacks in the past.
Fred Pleitgen CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: OK. Straight ahead here on "First Move," you're up to the minute weather forecast. Plus, Adidas' China outlook is truly CrossFit. The
sportswear's firm strategy working out again in Asia, but not everything is so yeezy-peasy, I'll explain.
And the theater chain that makes moviegoers swoon when they see "Dune." IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond looks ahead to the summer blockbuster season
globally. Stay with us.
[18:10:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." And to all our viewers in the U.S. and Latin America, we hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday
evening. And a good Thursday morning if you're waking up with us across Asia.
In today's "Money Move," a wobbly Wednesday for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 falling from record highs as Tech stocks sagged, but the Dow managed to
chalk up gains, as you can see, little gains there, 0 1 percent.
Meanwhile, Trans-Pacific trade tensions hurting shares of U.S. Steel, shares tumbling more than 12 percent on word that U.S. President Joe Biden
has concerns about its planned sale to Japan's Nippon Steel. The nearly $15 billion deal was announced late last year. I think you can expect to hear
plenty more about this ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's state visit to the United States. That's coming next month.
And that leads me to a mostly lower day across Asia, Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei falling for a third straight session. Chinese stocks also
pulling back. We'll see what the day brings this Thursday there.
Now, U.S. investigators say they are frustrated by the lack of information from aerospace giant Boeing as they probe one of the company's recent mid-
air safety mishaps. Officials investigating the shocking incident back in January when a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX jet say
Boeing has been unable to hand over key information. All this, as New Zealand officials recover the black boxes from the Boeing 787 that plunged
mid-air on Monday, hurting dozens of passengers. Pete Muntean joins us now.
Pete, it's tough to keep up. But let's talk about the first story first. Boeing say, I believe that the work that was done on that door plug
situation was not documented and the security tapes have been deleted. Hmm.
[18:15:00]
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hmm, indeed. I mean, the woman leading this probe is putting Boeing on blast once again. Jennifer
Homendy is the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, and she says Boeing's lack of a paper trail is now hampering this investigation.
Remember, the NTSB's preliminary report of January 5th incident said this, Boeing did not reinstall the four critical door plug bolts before this 737
MAX 9 was delivered to Alaska Airlines. The bolts were removed at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington for corrective work on another part of
the plane. But now, the NTSB says Boeing has not been able to produce the paperwork that details that work.
Here is what Homendy says in her new update to the senators on the committee overseeing aviation. He says, the absence of those records will
complicate the NTSB's investigation going forward. She also underscored that Boeing has been unable to locate the security footage of that work.
Boeing has responded, saying, it supported the investigation from the start and it will continue to do so. Although, another black guy for Boeing here
as it struggles to rebound from what is an apparent quality control problem at the plane maker.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I can understand why they might be reluctant to give up individual names of people because they don't want to deter perhaps
whistle-blowing or people raising concerns in the future, but why you wouldn't be documenting these things I think is just another red flag.
OK. Let's leave that one there and let us talk about the LATAM Airlines Flight 800 that, of course, had that drop or that technical event on
Monday. They have now got the -- I believe the cockpit voice recorder and they have got those black boxes. How long does it take to analyze those,
Pete? What are we expecting?
MUNTEAN: Both the black boxes here, and this is something that is really key as this probe is now starting to hit its stride. Investigators in New
Zealand have now recovered both of the black boxes from LATAM Airlines Flight 800. That's a Boeing 787, so another Boeing plane, experienced this
mid-flight drop on Monday, powerful enough to injure 50 passengers.
This This is really key, this account from one passenger who tells CNN that one of the pilots on his way out of plane told this passenger that the
cockpit displays went dark leading the pilot to briefly lose control. The flight data recorder here will be key and it can show the air speed, the
altitude, the position of controls, even the positions of switches. So, that will really give a lot of unvarnished insight into exactly what took
place here because there are some pretty big questions about what precipitated this.
The initial thought was that this could have been a severe turbulence issue. But now, investigators, of course, will want to know if this was a
problem with the flight controls, if there was with a problem with autopilot. It does take some time to get to the bottom of that data. It is
a lot of raw data. And so, in some cases, they ultimately need to send it here to the U.S. for it to be analyzed.
We will see. They've only just gotten the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder just today. And so, now, they really need to go through this
and figure out exactly what went wrong, but there will be some key clues in it.
CHATTERLEY: Pete, I need you to tap into your enormous brain and understanding for these things. And you can tell me if you don't know, but
would a black box be able to pick up a situation where, as the pilot suggested to one of the passengers, that everything went blank momentarily
and that accounted for the drop and then things came back and the plane carried on? Would a black box pick that up in some way?
MUNTEAN: It can pick a little bit about the systems in the airplane and their continuity, exactly what is happening on the flight deck. That is
where the Cockpit Voice Recorder comes in though too, because that is able -- very -- with very sensitive microphones to not only pick up the
conversations between the pilots but also the conversations on the radio and then the ambient noise outside of the airplane -- or actually the
ambient noise inside of the cockpit that they were able to hear as pilots.
And so, that can be really telling. And in some cases, they can do frequency analysis of that noise to hear exactly how fast the airplane is
going and what some of the other conditions would be around this incident.
You know, turbulence, clear air turbulence can often come on with not much in the way of warning. It's not really even associated with any weather
phenomenon. And so, that will be something that the investigators will also want to see as well. What was the weather at the time of the incident?
And if this was something that the pilots could have avoided, even if it was a turbulence incident, this may be accurate that the pilots said that
their screens simply went dark and they lost control of the airplane, that is a really, really big problem in an airplane that is so technically
advance like the 787. It's the flagship from Boeing.
[18:20:00]
CHATTERLEY: It's great to get your insights into this because, as you said, the analytics on this really matter but something even just as basic
perhaps as a pilot saying everything's gone blank --
MUNTEAN: Right.
CHATTERLEY: -- you know, now what type of thing, it could be picked up toto. We shall see. Pete Muntean, thank you.
MUNTEAN: Any time.
CHATTERLEY: OK. Running on now to Adidas and that messy breakup with Kenya West and costing the company millions. Lower sales of the rapper's Yeezy
line helped push Adidas to its first loss in three decades of $63 million last year.
Adidas parted ways with the rapper in 2022, if you're remember, over a series of antisemitic remarks with more than $325 million in leftover Yeezy
inventory. Anna Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, ending the Yeezy partnership hasn't been easy. Adidas cut ties with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, back in 2022
after he made a string of antisemitic comments. Now, this was an expensive breakup. At one stage, a Morgan Stanley analyst estimated the Yeezy line
contributed up to 40 percent of the company's profits, and the strategy on how to deal with it was pretty foggy.
First it suspended sales, then there was a plan to sell the sneakers without the logo before deciding it would sell the brand with the logo with
a significant amount of the proceeds going to organizations combating discrimination. And it made Adidas some money too. Yeezy managed to
contribute more than $300 million to the company's operating profit last year according to Wednesday's earnings report.
Adidas also suffered from a huge tax bill last year and a sharp decline in sales in North America, which it expects to continue into this year.
The Yeezy debacle didn't help those sales, but there is also a broader demand problem at play with Nike facing similar issues. In fact, Nike
recently announced it would be paying off around 2 percent of its workforce.
Some good news in China though, sales increased 8 percent last year and Adidas expects it to hit double digit growth this year. East not quite
making up for Kanye West, but Adidas hopes the Yeezy problem will soon be behind it.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: OK. More than one month's worth of snow expected in Denver, Colorado. Then there are tornadoes in Kansas and also wildfires possible in
Texas. Central U.S. bracing itself for just about every type of weather threat you can imagine. Chad Myers joins us now. Is it the worst of
everything all at once, Chad? Walk us through this.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All at once from the same storm, Julia. I mean, we have the wind on the one side, that's causing the fire threat, we
have the severe weather on the east and the warmer side, that's causing the severe weather threat, and then the cold air, which is causing all the snow
into Denver.
Now, the wind threat for Texas will go away tonight, but there will be wind gusts of 50 miles per hour, 75 KPH.
Now, here we go, the rain for tomorrow, off to the east, along the severe weather we're having right now into parts of Kansas. But it snows all night
tonight in Colorado, and that is going to cause on the east side of Denver, four inches, I don't know, eight centimeters.
You're going to go to the west of Denver, and all of a sudden, you're talking, I know you -- I heard you say it, a meter of snow, 39 inches, 40
inches of snow in the mountains. Now, this is a place that people want to go play in it, and it's kind of the ski resort area, but that's a little
bit too deep even for most skiers to ski in, I'm afraid.
This is what we're going to see for the day today, and into tonight, we probably have most of the roadways, especially west of Denver, I-25 West,
will be closed tomorrow, absolutely impossible travel. And then, the potential for severe weather, tornadoes, St. Louis, all the way down to
Little Rock, Arkansas. Yes, the threat is there tonight into parts of Kansas, not as populated though as the area we're going to see tomorrow,
with the potential for even a couple of strong tornadoes here.
A little bit farther off now to the east into East Asia. Temperatures are really doing very well. A little bit of rain showers here for Shanghai for
later on today, but this is a pretty good forecast for just about everyone here.
The showers will move away from Tokyo, move away across parts of Northern Japan. And for temperatures here at even Osaka at 14, very pleasant. And I
know people in America don't know what 14 means. When you're somewhere between 14, 10, 10, 20, somewhere in there, take the number, double it, and
add 30. Now, it's not perfect, you're supposed to do nine-fifths and 32, but just for your quick bath. So, if you see 10, double 10, that means 20,
add 30, that's 50, close enough.
So, here's 22 Beijing, that's around 72 degrees Fahrenheit for Beijing for tomorrow. And even Tokyo, a very pleasant number of days in a row, getting
ready for those blossoms to be all through the city, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: I love the maths on that for a European, especially in -- the numbers do get worse the higher you go or the lower you go, but we'll stick
with it in the middle of ground.
MYERS: That's right.
CHATTERLEY: Delivering the worst news in the best possible way. Thank you, Chad, as always.
MYERS: You're welcome.
[18:25:00]
CHATTERLEY: Chad Myers. All right. Coming up on "First Move," sell it or face a ban. We'll discuss the battle over TikTok with U.S. Republican
Congressman Cory Mills right after this break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." And to the Fight over TikTok. Here in the United States, nearly 60 percent of teens aged 13 to 17 use the
social media app every day. That's according to data from the Pew Research Center. And a third of adults under 30 say they regularly get the platform
for news.
Now, House lawmakers passed a bill that could force TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell the app. But its fate is unclear as senators appear to be
divided over the legislation. Joining us now, Republican Congressman Cory Mills.
Congressman, great to have you on the show. You were one of the co-authors of this bill. So, I will say congratulations for seeing it pass in the
House. Far easier, perhaps, than getting it through the Senate. Can you do that in some form?
REP. CORY MILLS (R-FL): Well, we will see. I actually was co-sponsoring it, not co-authoring it. I think that it could have definitely had a little bit
of a stronger language that was put in to make it a little bit more clear.
But, you know, our biggest problem with this platform -- and again, it doesn't ban TikTok, it bans foreign adversarial ownership of these types of
platforms that has been utilized multiple times, not just to violate data privacy, but also helping the propaganda misinformation campaign. And we
saw this even more so weaponized yesterday as the platform would actually force every single account user to enter your ZIP code prior to being able
to access and then it would give the representative's number that would auto-call so they had to actually contact the representative and show that
before they even accessed the application.
So, imagine how this could be manipulated on future legislation or in efforts to try and help the CCP ownership of these types of platforms.
[18:30:00]
So, our overarching goal here is just to protect the children and the users of these platforms, to stop this Cold War that has been going on for a long
time with China against the U.S. with the propaganda misinformation, cyber- based, resource-based economic and supply chain warfare, and to try and ensure the privacy of all Americans are protected.
CHATTERLEY: There are two things here. There's the protection of data, as you see it, and as you mentioned there, misinformation and disinformation.
If we take that piece of this separately, do you think TikTok poses any greater threat to the fabric of society in the United States or anywhere
else in use by foreign adversaries than any other platform that are U.S.- owned, Facebook, YouTube, for example?
MILLS: Well, I think this is a good step. The biggest thing about the U.S.- owned corporations is they fall under certain regulatory structuring. And I think that that's where TikTok, with its foreign ownership, kind of can
circumvent some of these areas.
But I don't agree with any social media platform, whether it be through Meta, whether it be Facebook or X or any of the others having the right to
violate privacy data or be utilized in a way to exploit children. And bear in mind that many of these platforms have seen it almost become a predatory
prey mechanism for those who are trying to exploit and trying to entice children or those who are underage into different types of sexual
activities and things like this.
And so, I think as a parent of a nine-year-old who utilizes YouTube and other things, we certainly try to monitor as much as possible. But the data
privacy piece and the continual espionage to the platform is what's most concerning.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I was going to say to your point, and maybe before you said that, I was going to say, and yet Congress has been unable or
unwilling to act on any other of those. What makes this different?
MILLS: Well, I think that it's the root of who is trying to utilize this platform, being the CCP, being an actual spy, an espionage data platform.
You know, Mike Gallagher has done a great job as the chairman of the China Select Committee to try and look at ways of weakening adversarial nations
such as the CCP leadership in China. And so, this is one of the first steps.
The other thing that we did in our tax bill was also to eliminate the double taxation on Taiwan to try and look at how that would prevent
continual aggression for the takeover of Taiwan. I mean, we know that China doesn't adhere to certain treaties and they're continuing to violate IP
data issues every single in the billions, by the way, by corporations here in the U.S. And so, this is a step in the right direction.
Again, I don't want perfect to be the root enemy of good, but this is a good bill that I think helps to try and send a direct message. And it
certainly should send a message to the rest of the platforms that they should be cautious in what they're doing when it comes to spying on
Americans and their data.
CHATTERLEY: It also sends a message to plenty of voters that use this platform too. I mean, the last time TikTok came under this scrutiny, the
Chinese were adamant, they said they won't sell, that actually they'd rather see the business in the United States fold if necessary. If that
comes, I guess, via (ph) a ban and so be it.
Is that a political risk worth taking? There are plenty of small businesses that use this, there are plenty of young voters that are dead against
losing access to this platform. What do you have constituents saying about this? It could certainly support it seems in the United States for a ban,
and I appreciate that's a long way down the line is actually dissipating and has dissipated quite aggressively even in the last 12 months.
MILLS: Well, first off, this isn't the only platform that's available to people out there. And certainly, it's one that's been the most abusive when
it comes to data privacy and other things that we have found through the platform, which is classified. But --
CHATTERLEY: Just get over it. Voters will just get over it. If they lose it, they'll go somewhere.
MILLS: Well, again, this is really up to the CCP on whether or not they're willing to divest. But the reality is, this is very similar to what
happened with Huawei. You remember when Huawei 5G was to be tried to be implemented, we found out that it was a tool that was being utilized for
espionage, which even Canada and other nations have now figured this out. So, did Macron over in France.
And so, they utilize these types of apps to continue to grab this data platform to utilize their espionage and also, to use coercive messaging
that tries to help with the propaganda misinformation campaign. So, it is up to them to divest it is up to the individual users.
But at the end of the day, our job, just like when it comes to the reauthorization of Section 702, which was being abused by the FBI, we, as a
body, myself, I actually voted against this reauthorization because, again, I believe in American privacy. I believe in everyone's independence, a
right to their privacy. And I think that platforms like this and 702 and others have definitely violated that.
CHATTERLEY: Some of them would say this is a violation of their freedom of speech though too. Can I ask about President Trump, because --
MILLS: It's not First Amendment violation at all actually. I mean, no one's telling you that you can't continue to utilize any free speech or platform.
This is not even trying to ban TikTok. This is banning CCP who we know is an adversarial body against America from utilizing this to spy and pry on
Americans.
CHATTERLEY: But could end up in a ban? Just to be clear. Can we talk about President Trump? Because he picked this fight initially with TikTok over
national security concerns, as you quite rightly have pointed out now several times.
[18:35:00]
Now, he's on a U-turn and said he's not in favor of a ban. What was your -- what is your message to him on this? Because if we do see a future
President Trump, he could reverse any decision by Congress, or at least push for it, particularly if the Republicans are in control of House or
Senate.
MILLS: Well, look. I support the president. I endorsed the president early on. I look forward to his return to the White House to be able to try and
take care of key issues. But one of the things that President Trump always done well was actually hold our adversaries accountable and help to build
and strengthen our allies.
Could there have been another type of an amendment that can come into this? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, I've got to listen to my
constituency, who's ultimately who I respond to, and many of our constituents who we've spoken to when we talked about the banning of this
Chinese platform was very much in favor of it.
So, I can't speak to other districts or other states, or even for the president himself. I can only speak for my constituency, who elected me to
represent them.
CHATTERLEY: OK. You'll agree to disagree, I think, on this one. Congressman, you've been rescuing American citizens again. The last time we
spoke, you were rescuing Americans in Israel after October the 7th. I believe you've been rescuing -- personally rescuing Americans that were
caught up in the violence in Haiti.
Can I ask what you saw there and how those individuals are doing, and why you flying in there to help them?
MILLS: Well, unfortunately, I wish it wasn't just having to be me. I wish that our administration and others would do more. But this has been a
pattern of abandonment, if you will, dating back to 2021 during the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, where Congressman Ronny Jackson had reached out to
us from Texas 13 to rescue a mother and three children who were Amarillo, Texas, natives who had been trapped.
And we eventually, after the State Department and others trying to thwart our efforts, conducted the very first successful rescue out of Afghanistan.
Fast forward to October of 2023, many nations had sent planes in to rescue people from Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel. The only problem was America
wasn't one of those.
And so, again, I saw where there was a lot of Americans who were calling in panic, many who were sleeping in fallout and bomb shelters, and some who
had lost their lives, unfortunately, are now even still hostages. And so, I went in October 11th, only days after the barbaric attacks on October 7th,
and was able to successfully rescue over 255 Americans.
Now. here we are again, the geopolitical failures, the failures in the failed State of Haiti, where people like Jimmy Barbecue Cherizier, he was
able to grow the G9 and family gangs to be able to be this violent cohort who is now the de facto leadership, in many ways, with the prime minister
resigning and most of the government being in Puerto Rico.
And so, again, Americans were at risk. Americans were begging the State Department for help. Mitch Albom and his group with Have Faith Orphanage,
had been asking the State Department, please come help us, help us do something. And they said, we're in the midst of planning. What they didn't
say is they were in the midst of planning their own evacuation. The people they were in contact with have now evacuated themselves out of the country
and have left them behind.
And so, at that point, we do have to step up. And again, I do believe in my job and my duty to protect and secure Americans, I don't care who they vote
for or what party affiliation, you know, what their job is, I care about the fact that there are Americans who are in help, and I always want to
come to the need of those who are in help.
CHATTERLEY: Congressman, thank you for your time. Thank you for the work that you're doing.
MILLS: Thank you so much.
CHATTERLEY: And the rescues attempted and achieved. Thank you.
MILLS: Thank you. ' CHATTERLEY: Congressman Cory Mills. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:41:19]
CHATTERLEY: The countdown is over and the celebration of freedom has arrived. It's My Freedom Day, a student-led day of action against modern-
day slavery and bonded labor.
Now, some of you might remember earlier this week "First Move" explored the plight of marginalized workers in Nepal. The Harawa-Chawara have been
forced to work the land for landlords for generations Trapped by loans with extortionate interest rates, keeping them in debt.
Now, the Nepali government officially freed them in 2022. But without financial relief. In a moment, we're going to talk to one of the
organizations helping them. But first here's one little girl who's celebrating her freedom today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When the Harawa-Chawara were liberated, I got the chance to attend school regularly. I study and I play
at school. I also attend a tuition class. I feel very happy. Happy Freedom Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Nick Grono is the CEO of the Freedom Fund, an international organization working to end modern slavery. Nick, great to have you on the show with us.
What we saw and what I've read and we saw, I think, earlier this week, was that the government banned bonded labor, what, 20 years ago, and we saw the
banning of the debts as well in 2022. But actually, to leap to something new and to get a new business or a new alternative livelihood requires
support, it requires financial access, and it requires education, and that's where you come in.
NICK GRONO, CEO FREEDOM FUND: Absolutely, Julia. I mean, it was a momentous day about 18 months ago when the government declared that this group,
Harawa-Chawara, about 100,000 people in Southeast Nepal who have been, you know, kind of in bondage and in a form of modern slavery for generations,
were declared to be liberated.
But there's a big, big difference between a declaration and real action. And so, that's what we're focused on now and Harawa-Chawara leaders are
focused on is turning that declaration into real action for the Harawa- Chawara and particularly for the children.
CHATTERLEY: And how does that work? Because as I mentioned, and as you said, a lot of the work that you're doing particularly with the forum
requires access to education, providing financing that's not at extortionate rates. How do you take someone that's worked for many years
and that their ancestors have worked in a specific situation for many years and provide them with unique opportunities for change, particularly for
young people?
GRONO: Well, I think you have to understand that it's not up to us, right? It's the Harawa-Chawara leaders that will drive change. And our role is to
support them in their struggle and their movement.
You know, at slavery at its heart is this massive power differential of highly exploitative landlords and perpetrators of violence exploiting
vulnerable populations who don't get the protection of the law. And so, what we're trying to do is help them assert their rights.
And so, what's been so impressive with the Harawa-Chawara is that over the last eight years or so, the leaders have come together, the communities
have come together, and they've decided on the course of action and they have agitated and they've built a movement and they've lobbied the
government. And what they've been able to do is get this declaration. And that's, to them, a starting point, because now they're determined to turn
that declaration into action. And by action, they want these illegal loans that are highly oppressive loans canceled.
[18:45:00]
They want their children -- I mean, when we speak to the leaders, I was out there in November and asked the Harawa-Chawara leaders, you know, what are
their priorities? Well, one of the top priorities is ensuring that their children go to school. For that to happen, the loans have to be cancelled.
They have to have proper jobs. They often live in a desperately vulnerable situation on land that is flooded. And so, they need access to proper, land
rights. So, all of that is a work in progress.
But I'm confident with support, and I'm confident with attention like -- that they'll get from this story, that they'll be able to get there and
will have, you know, this group of 100,000 people and some 10,000 kids who are currently forced to work in a situation of where they're living lives
free of this kind of exploitation.
CHATTERLEY: What do the workers themselves say, Nick? Are they optimistic that the work now up to this point and the declaration that you mentioned
will actually achieve the degree of freedom that we're talking about, and perhaps the ability to move on debt free and to find other sources of
income, perhaps, and to your point as well, education for their children to definitely do something else, perhaps, in the future?
GRONO: It's hard to say. I mean, you know, when you've been exploited for generations, you don't immediately just trust what you are told, right? And
they've had to fight for their freedom. And so, I think they're hopeful, but, you know, it's kind of trust, but verify.
And when I met with the leaders, they were just, you know, making very clear their determination. And the story you showed earlier, you saw some
of the leaders and you saw their determination to fight for their rights. And that's what the Freedom Fund is doing, right? It's providing support
and providing support to organizations that are working with them so that they can ensure that their voices are heard and that, you know, their very
legitimate concerns are addressed and that they can live lives in freedom and free of exploitation, and their children can grow up free of this kind
of exploitation.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I think you said it, trust. Trust has to be built to believe ultimately that change can come. What can people do to help, Nick,
if they're watching this and feel moved to perhaps donate? How do they get involved?
GRONO: Well, there's many ways people get involved. I mean, for a start, this particular story and drawing attention is absolutely critical. People
-- the Harawa-Chawara themselves said they want to spotlight shine on this issue.
The Freedom Fund is working with many local organizations. So, any money that we raise goes to local partners. So, you know, we're a channel to fund
organizations. And so, if people want to support us, then there's a way that we can get that to organizations on the ground that are leading this
fight and directly to the Harawa-Chawara network. But it's the continued attention and focus on the issue that will make a difference.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and we'll keep shedding light. Nick, great to chat to you. Thank you for all the work that you and the team are doing.
GRONO: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Nick Grono, the CEO of the Freedom Fund. Thank you.
Now, will you take a stand against forced child labor and join the movement? Post your message using the hashtag #MyFreedomDay on social media
and go to cnn.com/myfreedomday for more information.
And CNN will have special coverage of MyFreedomDay throughout the day. My colleague, Kristie Lu Stout, will be at a school in Hong Kong in around six
hours' time speaking to children about what freedom means to them.
Now, meanwhile, the global celebration continues. These children in Cape Town, South Africa are using their hands to play, not to work, and they're
posting their pictures on social media. Take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:33]
CHATTERLEY: At the Oscars, at the weekend, the award for best shoutout goes to my next guest. IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond got a name check from a grateful
"Oppenheimer" producer, Emma Thomas, as her movie scooped the Best Picture Award and there's more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the shadows of Arrakis lie many secrets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Yes, this year's must-see film "Dune: Part Two" is kicking up a storm at the Box Office too. It's produced by Warner Brothers, which, just
to mention, is owned by the parent of CNN. Shot entirely on IMAX digital cameras. IMAX captured 22 percent of the global Box Office in the second
weekend of its release, and that's a record. All this fueling growth, with 129 deals signed last year for new and upgraded IMAX systems. There is
plenty to shout about. And Rich Gelfond joins us now.
Rich, you never shout. Welcome to the show. It also follows a strong year for global Box Office receipts and local language films too. Talk us
through it.
RICHARD GELFOND, CEO IMAX: Yes, we reported a few weeks ago and it was tied with our best year ever in terms of gross Box Office receipts, and we had
triple the number of signings from the year before, more than double the number of installations. We really killed it in 2023, and that was despite
a fourth quarter, which was disrupted by the strike.
But I think what the most important thing was last year, and I loved your best shoutout award. I just wish you'd give me a trophy for that. We didn't
get that one.
But what's been going on is increasingly filmmakers have been putting more and more IMAX DNA into films which means shooting them with IMAX cameras,
using the IMAX aspect ratio, releasing them globally in our 90 countries in IMAX film and IMAX Digital. And our percentage of the Box Office has been
going up. You mentioned local language content, about 20 percent of our Box Offices. For example, Japanese films, in the U.K., Indian films, in the
United States. So, we've really had a lot of wind at our backs.
CHATTERLEY: I saw that 60 percent of IMAX China's 2023 Box Office receipts were local language titles to your point on that which actually blew my
mind. Can we talk about Taylor Swift? Everyone likes talking about Taylor Swift because you had the first ever IMAX concert, I believe, or film --
concert film in mainland China at the back end of last year, and I've not had a chance to talk to you about it. It was a sort of curated experience.
It wasn't live, but it felt live.
Talk about that too, because it's sort of a nice way of challenging some of the battles that are now going on, particularly in Southeast Asia over
where she goes live. You provide a great alternative.
GELFOND: Yes, and you know, I'll get back to Taylor, but it's not just Taylor. We just re-released a Queen concert from 40 years ago. We cleaned
it up using new technology. We remixed the sound. And I'm a big Queen fan, and I thought Freddie Mercury was right there in front of me. It was -- and
we did "Stop Making Sense," the Talking Heads. We have a lot more coming up this year.
So, I think because IMAX is so popular as an awe-inspiring experience, we felt we could open the aperture and not just do global blockbusters and not
just do documentaries, but find other experiences where people could feel like they're inside the action. And Taylor Swift works really well on a
worldwide basis overall, not just IMAX. It did over $200 million. But we played a role with AMC who had put the deal together in getting it into
China. And you're quite right, the results were spectacular.
We weren't so sure at the beginning because she doesn't quite have the following in China that she has in a lot of other places, but we were very
pleasantly surprised. And we're actually starting to look at, can we take Chinese music talent who maybe is, you know, much more popular than Taylor
Swift and release that in China? And as you know, after Taylor Swift, we did Beyonce and that worked pretty well.
[18:55:00]
So, I think one of the things that came out of the pandemic and the strike is you don't want to be just tied to Hollywood content. You want to
diversify and you want to use that fantastic screen and that wonderful experience for a broader array of experiences.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean your local language results scream that quite frankly. A quick question on China, by the way. I mean, a lot of the
conversations we're having are about the economy despite the performance that you're seeing and price pressures and deflation. Any sense of
discussions at least or moves to perhaps reduce ticket prices there?
GELFOND: Well, during the Chinese New Year period, which just ended, prices came down a little bit. But the summer in China was the best summer they
had ever had at the movies, which was very encouraging.
And I think, you know, for the right kind of movies, the kind of movies we do, people are willing to pay a decent price. So last weekend, we released
"Dune 2" in China and it was pretty much regular pricing. And we did one- third of the Box Office on 1 percent of the screens in IMAX. I think whether it's local language or it's Hollywood films, if you have the right
product, people will pay for it.
CHATTERLEY: Oh, my goodness. That's the star of the conversation. A third of the Box Office receipts for 1 percent of the screens. Rich, I've run out
of time. Congratulations on what we're seeing. And you're going to come back on soon and talk to me about what's coming up in 2024 and how "Dune 2"
progresses. Rich Gelfond there, the CEO of IMAX. Thank you.
GELFOND: Love to do it. Thank you so much.
CHATTERLEY: Awesome. That just wraps up the show. Thank you for joining us. I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
