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Isa Soares Tonight
Saudi Arabia Beats Argentina In World Cup Upset; Iran Cracks Down On Protesters In Kurdish Cities; At Least 268 People Killed In Indonesia Earthquake; CNN's Richard Quest Interviews Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson; Five Killed In Colorado Springs' Club Q Bar; World Cup Upset By Saudi Arabia. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired November 22, 2022 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, a World Cup upset of historic
proportions. What Saudi Arabia's win against Argentina means to the Middle East. Then Iran's crackdown is turning Kurdish cities into war zones as the
regime tries to stamp up protests.
And then later, landslides are complicating search and rescue in Indonesia where more than 200 people have died after an earthquake. But first
tonight, it is one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history as underdog Saudi Arabia beat Argentina who are among the favorites to win as you all
know, the whole tournament.
The Saudis are so overjoyed that the king has declared -- I kid you not, Wednesday, a public holiday. Well, coming into the tournament, Saudi Arabia
were ranked 51st in the world. But they defied the odds, securing a 2-1 win of Neil Messi's Argentina. Argentina did start strong. Messi gave Argentina
the lead from that penalty spot as you saw there.
Argentina netted three more times in the first half, but each attempt was ruled out for offside. Well, after the break, the Saudis scored twice in
five minutes to stun the team ranked third in the world. Really a game of two halves. Our Becky Anderson is on the ground in Qatar covering all the
World Cup drama for us. She joins me now live.
And Becky, so good to see you. Look, this was a major upset. There's no way about it, no other way to say it. I was glued to the tele on the train. How
special was this with Saudi Arabia?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is huge, Isa. Look, we know that the World Cup is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world. When it
comes to atmosphere, there is nothing quite like it. You and I know that. You don't have to be a football fan to know that. And today, the World Cup
absolutely delivered.
Let's remember that this is the first World Cup ever to be hosted in this region of the Middle East and the gulf. And for the people of this region,
this is absolutely huge. So today's matchup between Saudi Arabia which is pretty much the team in this region, which has the most storied history
when it comes to the World Cup.
They competed in six. Their match-up between them and Argentina was always going to be a big deal. But what it delivered was insane, sublime, and
frankly, unbelievable on so many levels. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Sometimes, the beautiful game is just that. A game. And then there are days when it is so much more than that. For these Saudi
fans, today was one of those days. The Falcons stunning Argentina, one of the tournament's favorites 2-1 in arguably one of the greatest upsets in
World Cup history.
(on camera): How do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel absolutely amazing. It was a beautiful game. We beat them with Messi. Argentina, actually one of the favorites to win the
game. They were unbeaten 36 games, but guess who beat them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saudi Arabia!
(CHEERS)
ANDERSON (voice-over): But this game goes a lot deeper than just the David beats Goliath results. It's this image of the Emir of Qatar draped in a
Saudi scarf which really is so symbolic. And this is why? Until last year, Qatar and Saudi had fallen out big-time. In 2017, Riyadh cut off diplomatic
and trade ties along with three other Arab nations, accusing Doha of supporting extremist groups. Allegations which Qatar still denies.
That economic squeeze costing Qatar billions of dollars. Throughout that four-year spat, sources here told me in private they believed it was a move
born out of pure jealousy, that Doha had won the right to host the world's biggest sporting party. A competition Qatar always insisted was meant for
everyone.
[14:05:00]
HASSAN AL THAWADI, SECRETARY-GENERAL, SUPREME COMMITTEE FOR DELIVERY & LEGACY: From day one, we've said this is a tournament for the region, and
it still continues being a tournament for the region. We've always worked and strived towards ensuring that the benefit of the World Cup extends
beyond Qatar to the people of the region.
ANDERSON: Then in January 2021, the cortex(ph) as it was known suddenly reversed their decision, and Qatar was back in the fold. Evidence of that
rapprochement here during the opening ceremony. Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia wearing a Qatari scarf alongside the Emir of Qatar. Which
brings us back to this image. Tuesday, Tamim Al Thani at the Saudi game against Argentina.
A major win for both countries on Qatari soil, both on and off the pitch, and a moment of pure joy for Arab fans from all over the region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Isa, the Saudis are ecstatic. Those who are here, those who are back home, and those who live in Saudi, they all get a public holiday
tomorrow. So I'm sure they'll be partying into the night. That is how happy the leadership is in the kingdom tonight. The hosts are delighted. This is
a tournament that has been dogged by controversy as you well know.
Issues about migrant workers rights here, LGBTQ issues. Some of which are beginning to sort themselves out, some of which aren't. But today, with
this match, it was all about what was going on, on the pitch as opposed to what was going on around this tournament. And frankly, I cannot underscore
how important it is for the people of this region that they get a successful World Cup.
I live here, I live in the UAE. And there's been much criticism that I have heard from other parts of the world about whether the World Cup should be
hosted here, you know, is this really -- a region that has passion of fans, well, you and I know. This is a region with really --
SOARES: Yes --
ANDERSON: Passionate fans. And tonight, it's not just the Saudis here. It's fans from all over the region and from all over the world. I met an
English guy whose father is Egyptian. He's here to see the England games. He was draped in a Saudi flag tonight as a young Arab, and he just said, I
am so pleased and it means so much to him. And that is a story reflected by so many people here and around this region. Isa?
SOARES: Yes, today was very much all about the football, what a joy it was to watch Saudi Arabia --
ANDERSON: Yes --
SOARES: Tonight -- today, against Argentina. Becky, great to see you. Becky Anderson there for us in Doha. And before we leave the world of
sports, where I have one major football headline to bring you. Manchester United have announced that Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving the club
immediately. In a statement, the club thanked him for his contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, as you can see there.
And said the departure is by mutual agreement. Frosty relations if you remember between player and club came to a head early this month when
Ronaldo gave an interview in which he said he felt betrayed by Manchester United and stated his lack of respect for Manager Erik ten Hag. Ronaldo
issued his own statement in the last half an hour or so, saying he loves the club and quote, "that will never ever change, however, it feels like
the right time for me", he says, "to seek a new challenge."
While his next club is uncertain, right now, he's at the World Cup with Portugal and they take on Ghana on Thursday. Want to leave the World Cup
now and take you to Iran because Tehran is targeting Iranian-Kurdish groups in northern Iraq. PAK, the Kurdish -- Kurdistan Freedom Party says Iran
launched a new round of missile and drone strikes on Tuesday on the group's military base across the border.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim they are targeting, quote, "terrorist groups" who are supporting the protest movement back in Iran. Jomana
Karadsheh is following the story for us and joins me now. And Jomana, you and I have spoken about the crackdown in predominantly in Kurdish areas. We
had yesterday our chief correspondent yesterday Nima Elbagir talking about this.
And it seems from what we're seeing things are intensified. These attacks are intensifying. How ugly is it from what you're hearing?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, Isa, there's a lot of concern about this escalation that we've been seeing over the past
few days. You mentioned those attacks, cross-border attacks on Kurdish opposition groups -- Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq,
semiautonomous Kurdish region. And this has been going on for some time.
We've seen the Iranians launch attack after attack over the past few weeks. Drone strikes, missile strikes, artillery shelling. They've really been
pushing this narrative, that what is going on in Iran's western part of the country in the Kurdish region there is a separatist movement that is being
fueled by these outside powers and parties in northern Iraq.
[14:10:00]
And what we've also seen is they have been trying to paint a picture of those on the ground in the western part of the country, in the Kurdish
areas as separatists and terrorists. And they have really intensified the crackdown over the past week according to activists and human rights
groups. One rights group, Hengaw, telling us that what they've seen over the past week is a new wave of protests erupted.
They're saying it has been a significant increase in the brutality by security forces in this ongoing crackdown. A lot of concern right now about
the situation and, Isa, we have to warn our viewers, they may find some of the video in our report disturbing and graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Hundreds poured into the streets of Paranshar(ph), united in their grief and anger. A martyr for Kurdistan, the crowd chants.
They chant for 16-year-old protester Kawankawar Shochri(ph), one of the youngest lives lost in a week of carnage across Iran's Kurdish region.
At his burial, his father tells mourners, I dedicated my son to Kurdistan. Every funeral brings more anger, more defiance from a minority long
oppressed by the ruthless republic. Iran's minorities including the Kurds have borne the brunt of an unforgiving crackdown. Kurdish cities and towns
turned into war zones. The regime sent in troops and heavy weapons to suppress an uprising that's been growing stronger by the day.
RAMYAR HASSANI, HENGAW ORGANIZATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: The entire region that has become very militarized. This is quite a planned operation against
the Kurds. They very deliberately, indiscriminately are killing the Kurds in every city of Kurdistan.
(GUNFIRE)
Video after video emerged Monday, capturing the horror unleashed on the town of Javanrood.
(GUNFIRE)
No respite from the indiscriminate heavy gunfire, not even to retrieve their dead.
(GUNFIRE)
The regime claims it's confronting terrorists and separatists. Activists warn it's a pretext for an even bloodier crackdown under the cover of an
internet shutdown. Most of the regions now been cut off from the world.
HASSANI: Whenever Iranian government is shutting down internet, it means that they want to intensify the crackdown even more and carry out the
operations they want to even more freely.
(GUNFIRE)
KARADSHEH: Iran's repressive regime hasn't been holding back against its own people. But many fear the worst is yet to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KARADSHEH: And Isa, when we spoke with Hengaw Organization for Human Rights that has been documenting the abuses and the crackdown in Iran's
Kurdish region, they told us that they are having a real difficult time getting information from Kurdish cities and towns because of that internet
shutdown that has been imposed by the regime.
They are very concerned about the situation. They say up until yesterday, before they lost communications with these Kurdish areas, they had
documented the killing of a least 42 people since November the 15th, less than a week. They say more than 1,500 people have been injured. But they
are very concerned and they believe that the numbers are far higher than that. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, and the loss of communication signals of course a big affair, what could be happening on the ground. Jomana Karadsheh, I really
appreciate it, Jomana, thank you. Now, Ukraine is reporting continued attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, accusing Russia of shelling civilian
targets in towns and villages along the front lines.
It says at least four people have been killed in Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donetsk. In the past 24 hours, Ukraine says new shelling has also
destroyed homes in the Zaporizhzhia region. The U.N. Nuclear Watchdog says recent fighting has come dangerously close to triggering a disaster at the
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Let's go live to Ukraine, our Matthew Chance joins me now from Odessa. And Matthew, let's start with exactly what I just mentioned there. The
battlefield in the eastern part of Ukraine. Tell us what more do we know about the shelling, the mortar shelling around Donetsk?
[14:15:00]
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's in the Donetsk region in the east of the country. It's been a consistent, you
know, flashpoint in this conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the past couple of days. The shelling, according to local Ukrainian officials has
really been stepped up with it being, you know, constant in towns and villages around that region.
And earlier on in the week, as many as four people as you mentioned were killed. That push by Russian forces seemingly taking place as elsewhere in
the country in the south, near where I'm standing right now. There's been very dramatic gains taken by Ukrainian forces pushing in the other
direction.
There's also been more disturbing testimony from Russian soldiers along with some very compelling horrific video as well, painting a very graphic
picture of how tough it really is now on the front lines for Russian soldiers that have been sent here to Ukraine to fight the war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE (voice-over): As Russia's military highlights its barrage of Ukraine, CNN has obtained exclusive recordings of a Russian soldier
describing the brutal reality of life on the front lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The commander's position was shelled, so he packed up and moved further back. But what about us? Aren't
we humans too?
CHANCE: The Russian soldier was recorded phoning his girlfriend back home, according to Ukrainian Intelligence. And telling her candidly about the
severe military setbacks suffered in the two months since he arrived.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We had 96 people in our unit, but now there are less than 50. We don't know what to expect here. Sometimes
there's friendly fire and idiots shoot at us because they don't see our coordinates.
CHANCE: But it is advancing Ukrainian forces that are the major threat. Compounding low morale with high bloodshed. Ukrainian officials now
reacting to this extraordinary video of Russian soldiers apparently surrendering, geo-located by CNN to a recently liberated town in eastern
Ukraine.
"Come on out, one by one", a Ukrainian soldier calls out. Then, a short burst of gunfire before the video cuts off. Later, a Ukrainian military
drone shows what appears to be the same man in pools of blood. The Kremlin says it's an execution, but Ukraine says the soldiers feigned surrender and
fired at the Ukrainians, accusing Russia of its own war crime. No one disputes the horror.
It's unclear if the dead Russians were regular troops or deployed as part of the Kremlin's partial mobilization seen here earlier this year. But the
soldier recorded on the phone indicates he was recently conscripted, complaining bitterly at being unable to leave the war zone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Being mobilized is crap. Nobody can go home until Putin announces the order. There's no way to return. And
if we weren't here, they, the Ukrainians would already be at our borders. They would show Moscow your Katharinenberg, show everything.
CHANCE: And that constant threat of Ukrainian attack is having a terrifying effect. In particular, drone strikes which appear to have left
the soldier particularly nervous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My nerves are on edge. I'm afraid of every rustle, every bang, every click makes me drop to the ground.
CHANCE: In Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine, the funerals underway for more of those killed on the brutal frontline. Deaths, Ukrainian officials
insist would never have happened, but for Russia's war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Well, Isa, the big change in the past couple of days in particular across Ukraine has been the freezing Winter temperatures. The first snow
has fallen in many parts of the country and is on the ground. This as Russia has been stepping up its missile strikes on crucial energy
infrastructure targets across the country, causing shortages and power cuts nationwide, and plunging millions of Ukrainians into a potentially very
cold, very dark Winter. Isa.
SOARES: Matthew Chance for us in Odessa this evening, thanks very much, Matthew. And still to come tonight, an urgent search and a promise of
compensation as the death toll from Indonesia's powerful earthquake climbs dramatically. That story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Aftershocks, power outages and landslides, they're complicating efforts to reach survivors following a powerful
earthquake in Indonesia's West Java Province. The death toll is now nearing 300 people, many of them children. CNN's Anna Coren reports on this
developing tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 30 seconds of the earth violently shaking, a man in shock picks up his phone and
starts filming. "The building has been destroyed, everything has collapsed", he says. He walks through what's left of his village in Cianjur
District in Indonesia's West Java Province after the earthquake.
(CROWD SCREAMING)
As the injured sit dazed and bloodied, others scream for those few trapped under the rubble. "Where is my child, where is my child?" A mother cries.
While a little girl sobs, "mama". The 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous region about 75 kilometers southeast of the nation's capital
Jakarta at around 1:20 p.m. on Monday. It's shallow depth at 10 kilometers cemented wreaked destruction on the surface while multiple landslides
buried homes.
At the regional hospital, a staff yells for people to evacuate, fearing it would also collapse. Outside a makeshift triage center was set up as
countless injured were brought in waiting for medical treatment. Doctors saying most of the injuries were head traumas and fractures. But for this
mother of seven, seeking treatment, her priority was for her missing child.
"The children were downstairs and I was upstairs getting laundry", she explains. "Everything collapsed beneath me and I as crushed beneath his
child. One of my kids is still missing. My house is flattened. Good God." According to Save the Children, dozens of schools were damaged. Students
were in class at the time of the quake having come in from lunch.
Books and bags just left by those who were lucky enough to escape. "Suddenly the wall fell and the students were screaming and crying",
explains this teacher. "There was dust everywhere. The students grabbed each other and ran out of the building." As search and rescue teams comb
through the rubble, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the disaster zone to pay his condolences and offer compensation to the victims.
[14:25:00]
He told the tireless crews to keep searching for any survivors. An outcome that's looking more and more unlikely. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Now, the Cuban singer Pablo Milanes has died in Madrid at the age of 79.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: One of my favorite songs, Pablo Milanes helped found the music row La Nueva Trova Cubana which emerged in Latin America during the late 1960s
following the Cuban revolution. The singer had been hospitalized earlier this month for a series of infections. And if you've never heard of Pablo
Milanes, really, I recommend you get yourself a drink, even if it's just a hot chocolate, take it all in. He was truly poetic and legendary.
Still to come on the show tonight, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sits down exclusively with CNN, what the controversial politician
has to say about the waning support for Ukraine and the state of the Ukraine. Richard Quest will join me. Plus pomp pageantry and money. King
Charles hosts South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa in his first state visit as monarch. We'll look at what that could mean for U.K. trade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. He may no longer be Number 10 Downing Street, but former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not falling
silent on these issues really that defined his premiership. Speaking exclusively to CNN's Richard Quest, Johnson gave his frank view on the
state of play in Ukraine and why he sees Britain's blithe spirit in the Ukrainian people. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We need to supply them with better artillery. But we also and frankly should be giving them not just
helicopters, but fix within(ph) aircrafts that can go fast enough to take out the drones.
[14:30:00]
You don't need very sophisticated planes to do it. Ukrainians came to see me about it. You could do it with Spitfires. We don't make Spitfires
anymore. But you just need a plane that can go a few hundred miles an hour.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: If you can't get even that element of escalation, what on Earth is going to happen in the depths of winter -- assuming it's a
cold winter in Europe where citizens are facing a recession and they say, why are we doing this?
We support Ukraine. But enough is enough.
How do you keep populations in Europe on side?
JOHNSON: Well, you come to very influential audiences in places like Lisbon. And you try to get your message across. I agree with you. It's
going to be a tough one. I happen to think that the Ukrainian resolve is being strengthened by the attack on their infrastructure.
Remember what happened to London in the Blitz. It didn't lead to a collapse of morale; on the contrary. Morale was stiffened by the aerial bombardment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Let's get more on this.
Richard, it was a really fascinating interview. I watched it yesterday.
Did you get a sense that, now that he's out of office, he can speak more freely?
What did he tell you about decisions early on to support Ukraine?
QUEST: Oh, he was absolutely freer to speak. He described the French as being in denial at the beginning of the war.
And he said that there were elements within the then German government that were -- that basically while opposed to violently to Russia's actions, took
the view, look, if Russia's going to do it anyway, then let's hope it's over fast.
He said that this was abhorrent to him and that was not the way forward. I think Boris Johnson is very determined to keep the pressure up. He knows
that there will be demands for negotiations. There will be backsliding on commitments.
That's why he's using his bully pulpit as best he can, in as many ways if he can not only to promote the coalition for Ukraine but also to excoriate
Putin and to continue to put the pressure there.
SOARES: Let's try and get a sense of what he said. We heard from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs last week during my show. And he said that
Russia and Ukraine will have to realize that military victory is impossible to achieve.
How does Boris see this concluding?
How does he see Ukraine?
Does he see Ukraine giving up any territory?
A negotiation?
What does victory look like here, Richard?
QUEST: I asked him that. And you hear the whole thing in "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" shortly. But what he basically says is there can be no
negotiation although he accepts that a negotiation will be ultimately the way this is sold or dealt with, if you will.
But there can be no negotiation until Ukraine has recovered the land that it has lost since February 24th when the war started. That is crucial. As
you will be aware he's not talking about the necessity to recover Crimea before you start negotiating your way out of this.
But he says Zelenskyy is not going to just go into negotiation because he doesn't believe that the other side, Putin, he does not see that Putin
would negotiate in good faith. That's the problem, as the former prime minister sees it.
SOARES: Like you said, we'll have much more on your show in about 30 minutes or so.
What else did you discuss?
What else was revelatory, Richard, in your view?
QUEST: Two things: first of all, on the mini-budget in Britain, the famous Liz Truss-Kwasi Kwarteng budget. He says it was like him playing the
piano. There were the correct notes but not necessarily in the correct order.
And then he said, when I asked about his regrets, he says his regret is not keeping his own team informed. In other words, his own MPs, which meant, of
course, when it came to the end, there wasn't anybody there to support him -- or not enough.
And finally, Isa, your own mindreading abilities, you were just talking about the late musician and you said, even if you are enjoying a hot
chocolate.
[14:35:00]
How could you know that's exactly what I was enjoying in the cold night of Vienna?
SOARES: And it looks beautiful. I could see you loving a hot chocolate. I hope you brought me back some custard tarts, Richard. I expect them
sometime. I hoping that you brought some. Richard Quest, thank you very much from Vienna.
Richard will have much more of that conversation with the former British minister, Boris Johnson, coming up, next hour right here on "QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS."
Now there were scenes of pomp and pageantry in London today in his first state visit. King Charles welcomed South Africa's president Cyril
Ramaphosa. The trip is especially significant as the two countries look to bolster economic ties. Nada Bashir has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All the pomp and all the pageantry. A truly royal welcome for South African president Cyril
Ramaphosa, the first foreign dignitary to be invited for an official state visit under the reign of King Charles III.
The South African president arriving just in time for some more favorable British weather.
This is a moment of history but also one of tradition. And preparations have been underway for weeks. From lining the mall with the South African
flag to rehearsals for the royal carriage procession. A special menu for Tuesday's state banquet has even been designed.
South Africa's national flower carefully being recreated out of sugar. The British monarchy shares a long and complex relationship with South Africa,
a former colony and enduring Commonwealth nation and Britain's biggest trading partner on the African continent.
But beyond royal relations, this will be an opportunity for the British government to strengthen its own diplomatic ties with South Africa.
JAMES CLEVERLY, U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY: The fact that we are welcoming the president of South Africa for His Majesty the King's first ever state
visit, I think should be read as our enduring commitment to the continent.
BASHIR (voice-over): Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also be looking to cement his own relationship with the South African president. With
ambitious plans to, in his words, "turbocharge investment and economic growth in South Africa."
Trade between the two nations is worth more than $12 billion annually. So it's no surprise that economic cooperation is expected to be high on the
agenda as the two leaders sit down for their own bilateral meeting on Wednesday -- Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Still to come tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. RICHARD FIERRO, U.S. ARMY (RET.), Q CLUB HERO: This whole thing was a lot.
My daughter and wife should have never experienced combat in Colorado Springs
SOARES (voice-over): How this man brought down the gunman in Colorado's night club shooting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SOARES: Welcome back. We are learning more about the man being hailed as a hero after he brought down the gunman in a mass shooting at a night club in
Colorado Springs. Former United States Army Major Richard Fierro relied on his combat instincts to disarm the shooter, who killed five people on
Saturday night.
Fierro says he was just trying to protect his family. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIERRO: I went, hey, I got to stop this guy. So I ran across the room. And I pulled him down. He fell to his left side. And when I put him down, his
rifle was in front of him. The young man that tried to help me was in front of him, with his feet toward his head.
And I started yelling, hey, kid, they are. And I was going for the pistol. I just started hitting him just to make him stop firing. I'm not letting
him get back up.
And Thomas, I told him, hey, man, kick, kick. Kick this guy. Kick this guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: CNN correspondent Nick Watt joins us now from Colorado Springs with the latest on the investigation.
Nick, Fierro is quite rightly I think being hailed as a hero. But worth reminding our viewers here that he, too, lost someone.
NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Isa, he doesn't want to be a hero. He doesn't claim he's a hero. Obviously, he is. And, yes, he was
there with friends and family. He said two of his friends were both shot. He didn't think they were going to make it.
So he took both of their hands and had them hold hands in case this was their final moment together. He was there with his daughter and her
boyfriend, 22-year-old Raymond Vance.
And Raymond was murdered in that club. So he's a hero. He's a victim. He's lost friends. It's terrible. You heard him mention there a young man. At
that point we did not know the young man's name.
So the two of them got to the suspect, got him on the ground. This young man was at the suspect's head. So Fierro told him, get the AR away from
him. Get the rifle away from him. This man started kicking the suspect in the head. We now know who he is.
He is a U.S. Navy Petty Officer Thomas James and he was injured. He's in the hospital right now. The Navy says that they hope still that he will
make a full recovery. There was also, Isa, a third hero involved here.
So once Thomas James, who was injured, kind of drifted away, Fierro recruited somebody else who was walking past wearing high heels.
This person, who a survivor has told us is a trans woman, she then started kicking the suspect in the head, keeping him away from his weapon, keeping
him from killing more people in that club.
We're also hearing just what a hub of the community this club was. One woman who was friends with the bartender, she told CNN this morning, we
don't talk about the LGBTQ community here in Colorado Springs, this little conservative city. We talk about the Club Q community.
And the two bartenders who were murdered. Derrick Rump and Daniel Aston, they were, she said, the glue that held this community together. As for the
suspect, we hear he will soon be released from the hospital. He's not talking to police. His mother is not talking to police.
We have learned that he changed his name back in 2016 just before he turned 16 after some online bullying. We don't know if those two things are
connected. In terms of the investigation, the police say they're not going to be giving us any updates in the next few days.
They say that there is a judicial proceeding underway that's outside of our control. So we're not getting many more answers on why this happened. But
this community reeling and hailing these heroes, Rich Fierro, prime amongst them, a veteran, four tours overseas, who saved so many lives and lost a
life very close to him.
SOARES: And, Nick, on the investigation, do we know when actual formal charges will be filed against the suspect?
Why is it taking so long?
WATT: They say that arrest charges will be filed as soon as he is out of the hospital and then in the custody of law enforcement. Formal charges
will take a couple of days after that. They are being very tightlipped. The DA here is I think petrified of putting any foot wrong that might
jeopardize this investigation.
We know it is probably going to be five first degree murder charges and also some bias hate crimes, if they can get the evidence together for that.
[14:45:00]
But prosecutors being exceptionally cautious so that they can see what they say is going to be justice done, Isa.
SOARES: Nick for us in Colorado Springs, thanks very much, Nick.
COP27 has now wrapped up. Young people were front and center at this year's summit. Several new initiatives were put in place, giving a platform for
children to get their voices heard. Jomana Karadsheh has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): We should not accept the fact that the climate crisis has been decided for. Us
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Young people at the center of the climate change debate a hallmark of COP27.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The annual climate conference held in Sharm El Sheikh this year featured a dedicated pavilion for children, a first for
COP.
DR. OMNIA EL OMRANI, COP YOUTH ENVOY (voice-over): I think that the children and youth pavilion is such a historic accomplishment here in
Egypt. We are affected the most. We need to be part of the agenda.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Omnia El Omrani, a 27-year-old medical doctor in training, is now in charge of making that happen.
OMRANI (voice-over): I've just been recently appointed as the COP27 president youth envoy. My role is to be the link between what young people
need when it comes to integrating their voices and solutions into the negotiation process.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Egypt was not her first climate change conference. She attended COP24 and COP25 as part of a medical delegation for students.
That's when she realized the need to bridge the gap between youth leaders and decision-makers.
OMRANI (voice-over): We're inviting the policy makers to come to us and see how we can work together. It's not just about being equal partners. We
are being continuously excluded from the decision-making processes that can drive urgency and (INAUDIBLE).
KARADSHEH (voice-over): During the conference, another first for young people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Youth and all marginalized groups will be most hit by the impacts of the climate crisis.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Young leaders collaborated with ministers sharing their concerns and offering their ideas to help mitigate the impact of the
climate crisis.
OMRANI (voice-over): Coming out of these (INAUDIBLE) there will be key policy (INAUDIBLE) coming out of other nations (ph), the nation (INAUDIBLE)
climate finance. We want to see them implemented on a global level.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The UAE's minister of climate change and environment attended one of the discussions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've invested about $14 billion outside the UAE in renewables.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Next year, the UAE will host COP28. El Omrani says there is a plan in place to hold leaders accountable beyond the two-week
conference here in Egypt.
OMRANI (voice-over): If their commitments are inadequate, we, as young climate activists and advocates, we know how to be vocal, be specific and
be very resistant in our own demands.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Leaders, listen to us children, please. (INAUDIBLE).
KARADSHEH (voice-over): El Omrani says she's confident these voices can and will be heard, even from the youngest of leaders.
OMRANI (voice-over): World leaders to take on is to be inspired by the work that young people are doing. We believe that this is our future and we
are also responsible for the current generations to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SOARES: Still to come tonight, how CO2 collection helps us tackle the climate crisis. We hear from a young innovator using new technologies to
stop global warming.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SOARES: Today in our environmental series, "Going Green," we will meet a scientist in Tokyo who is on a mission to not only capture carbon but also
repurpose it into fuel. Larry Madowo has the story for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KAZUMI MURAKI, INVENTOR AND ECOWARRIOR (voice-over): We Japanese are very conscious on climate and also environment. We have less than 10 years to
halt climate crisis, our deadline is very short.
(Speaking Japanese).
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kazumi's environmental activism stems from a childhood curiosity of living on Mars.
KAZUMI: Martian atmosphere is constituting of 95 percent or 96 percent of carbon dioxide. So if we want to live on Mars, we have to remove Martian
carbon dioxide.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KAZUMI (voice-over): I started my research to collect CO2 from the air.
MADOWO (voice-over): In 2017, when Kazumi was 15 years old, he developed a carbon capture device called Hiyassy.
KAZUMI (voice-over): There are so many CO2 collecting machines in the world. But most of them are so huge.
MADOWO (voice-over): The small, carryon size device was created for at home or in office use so that everyone can help stop global warming.
KAZUMI (voice-over): By only pushing a button, you can remove carbon dioxide from the air easily.
MADOWO (voice-over): According to Kazumi, his device absorbs about the same amount of CO2 as 15 cedar trees and can capture about 5 kilograms per
year when used continuously. While most of his work happens in the lab, he is always eager to get out on the water, where he says he will soon be
testing the fuel he has created from captured carbon.
KAZUMI (voice-over): We are about to generate fuels for cars and ships and also trains and airplanes and rockets and so on. Our ship will use our new
fuel in six months or so.
MADOWO (voice-over): The island nation is targeting net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime industry by 2050. And Kazumi is on board to
help make this happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: For more stories on climate change activism, you can visit cnn.com/goinggreen.
This just in to CNN: the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the tax returns of former president Donald Trump to be released to a Democratic
Party-led House of Representatives committee. Trump has tried, if you remember, to block the release of those returns for
years. This gives the committee a chance to complete its investigation before the new Congress takes office in January. We'll stay on top of that
story.
All this as you know Trump announced a new bid for the presidency in 2024. Bringing you more details as soon as we get them.
(SPORTS)
[14:55:00]
SOARES: Do stay right here. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next. I shall see you tomorrow. Before we go, this beautiful story from France. The Champs-
Elysees in Paris is once again lit up for the holidays. Officials say new energy efficient lights are being used.
Look how beautiful it looks. The lights will also be turned off earlier each night. Now I'm definitely leaving. See you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
