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White House May Get Tougher On China Trade; Scientists Edit Gene Mutation Out Of Human Embryos; Previous Study Of CRISPR Used Abnormal Embryos. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 3, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Welcome to "News Stream." President Trump tries to cut legal

immigration to the U.S. in half. Appealing to his face as a rift grows between the president and his own party.

As North Korea stokes tension with the series of missile tests, we asked the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency how

concerned he is by the country's nuclear program.

And a medical breakthrough. Scientists find a way to remove a genetic disease from a human embryo.

Now, we begin in the U.S. where President Donald Trump is pushing a major overhaul to the country's immigration system. He is backing a plan to slash

legal immigration to the U.S. by half. He says that the proposal will protect American workers. But as Sara Murray reports, it already has its

critics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump endorsing proposed legislation to slash legal immigration in half over the

next decade and shift the country to a so called merit-based system.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This competitive application process will favor applicants who can speak English, financially support

themselves and their families, and demonstrate skills that will contribute to our economy.

MURRAY (voice-over): So roll out of the bill a company by a combative press briefing. Senior Policy Advisor Stephen Miller facing off with CNN's Jim

Acosta about whether the policy is in line with American values.

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR: The Statue of Liberty says, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to

breathe free. It doesn't say anything speaking English.

The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of liberty and lighting in the world. It's a symbol of American liberty lighting the world. The poem that you're

referring to was added later, is not actually part of the original Statue of Liberty.

MURRAY (voice-over): A line of questioning that quickly turned personal.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This whole notion of, well, they could learn -- you know, they have to learn English before they

get to the United States, are we just going to bring in people from Great Britain and Australia?

MILLER: It shows your cosmopolitan bias. And I just want to say --

ACOSTA: It sounds like you are trying to engineer the racial and ethnic flow of people into this country --

MILLER: That is one of the most outrageous, insulting, ignorant, and foolish thing you ever said, and for you that's still a really -- the

notion that you think that this is a racist bill is so wrong.

MURRAY (voice-over): The controversial plan also sparking fierce debate in congress.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: To take all the green cards and put them in one end of the economy is just, I think, ill-advised and I

can't support that.

MURRAY (voice-over): The growing rift between President Trump and his own party also on display Wednesday when the president reluctantly signed the

Russia sanctions bill away from the cameras, before slamming congress' veto-proof bill as seriously flawed and unconstitutional, claiming that he

can make far better deals with foreign countries that congress.

Senator John McCain striking back, noting, I hope the president will be as vocal about Russia's aggressive behavior as he was about his concerns with

this legislation. The president's approval numbers hit a new low and mounting credibility issues are streaming his political capital. The White

House conceding that two phone calls the president recently counted with the president of Mexico and the Boy Scouts actually never happened.

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They were direct conversations, not phone calls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, he lied --

SANDERS: I wouldn't say it was a lie. That's pretty bold accusation. The conversations took place. They just simple didn't take place over a phone

call that he had an in person.

MURRAY (voice-over): As for the president's claim that the Boy Scouts called to tell him last week's appearance was the greatest speech that was

ever made to them, the press secretary said this.

SANDERS: Multiple members of the Boy Scout leadership following his speech there that day congratulated him, praised him, and offered

[08:05:00] quite powerful compliments following his speech in those references were about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That was CNN's Sara Murray reporting there. The immigration bill backed by President Trump does two things. First, is there reported aims to

cut legal immigration to the US by half and here are the numbers that were talking about. During the first half of this year, more than 560,000

immigrants received permanent U.S. residents.

Mexico is the top country of origin with more than 80,000 new immigrants so far this year. That's followed by China, India, and Cuba. The second thing

that this bill does, it creates a point system to grade who qualifies for immigration. Applicants who get high points would be, for example, a 26 to

30-year-old with a U.S. based doctorate or professional degree who speaks nearly perfect English and has a salary offer that is three times the

median income with AR.

Meanwhile, there is reaction from around the world to a bill that has already been signed by President Donald Trump. The new U.S. sanctions bill

targets Russia's energy and defend sectors and places restrictions on banks and governments working with North Korea. It also punishes Iran for its

weapons programs.

Was focused on Russia, North Korea first, Oren Liebermann joins us in Moscow. Alexandra Field is standing by in the South Korean capital. But

first, let's go to Oren. Now, Oren, President Trump, he signed the bill but said it included, quote, clearly unconstitutional provisions. So, Oren,

does that take some of the sting out of sanctions for Russia?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all. The Russians are still furious about this bill as many of their statements have made clear. The

initial reaction is a fairly muted quote from Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, was that Russia will further retaliate against the U.S. for

this bill.

But just a few hours later, Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, I'm sorry, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev fired back and issued a blistering response of the

President Trump, essentially calling the Trump administration impotent in the face of this congressional action, in the face of the sections bill.

That has been sort of the the sole difference here.

Most of the anger from Russia has been pointed at Washington politicians who they accused of having this anti-Russia hysteria. Trump avoids the

worst of the criticism and that perhaps because he said the bill (INAUDIBLE) even if the Russians now see him as being weak for not standing

up to congress and essentially going along with the soap. Even if Trump did criticize the bill, it doesn't make it any easier for the Russians to

swallow here.

LU STOUT: Harsh words from Medvedev. What about action? Because even before Trump signed this bill, Putin retaliated, saying nearly 800 U.S. diplomats

must go. Now, that the bill has been officially signed, what could Moscow do to strike back?

LIEBERMANN: Well, Putin has said he won't specify what other options Russia may take, but he did point out that Russia has a number of other options it

could take against the U.S. So far, as it stands right now, cutting that 750 staff as well as closing two U.S. diplomatic compounds here in Russia.

Putin did go on to point out all the areas the U.S. and Russia get along. He was talking about space or some cooperation in Syria or Korea that may

have been felt threatened, may have been Putin saying, look, I've got more options here if I want to response. But, so far, the indication is that it

won't be anything immediate.

On top of that, those are the expectations from both the U.S. and the Russians that this relationship which many hope would get better under the

Trump administration isn't getting better any time soon. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it's the worst it has been since the Cold War and still

going downhill.

LU STOUT: All right. From Oren Liebermann in Moscow, let's cross over to Alexandra Field in Seoul. Alex, the new sanctions bill of course also

includes sanctions against North Korea. But up to now, we know that sanctions haven't worked. They failed to deter North Korea. So, how

effective will this new round of sanctions be?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Kristie. If you step back and take a look at this, there have been six rounds of U.N.

sanctions that have failed to stop North Korea from building up its missiles and its nuclear program. They had two ICBM launches just last

month. And while their efforts underway to pursue another round of U.S. sanctions, you now have the U.S. stepping in with their own sanctions.

These are expanded sanctions, new sanctions, that would target financial institutions and other entities that are doing business essentially with

the North Korean regime. Sending resources essentially over that fueled the illicit activities that are happening inside of North Korea. If all

sanctions have failed, why would not this sanctions fail?

Well, you heard the U.S. say over and over and over again, that sanctions need to be fully enforced. But this does pose another question. Does the

full enforcement of sanctions results in the desired effect here, which is the denuclearization of the peninsula? And there are many analysts out

there who will said that no sanctions will never be enough because no matter how much you squeeze the regime, no matter how much pressure you put

on North Korea,

[08:10:00] their top priority, their single goal remains to have a nuclear program and the nuclear weapon that they deal is key to ensuring their

survival, something they will simply never relinquish. Kristie.

LU STOUT: There's sanctions but there is also diplomacy because even though the pressure is rushing up with the sanctions just signed by President

Trump, the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that U.S. is willing to consider having talks with North Korea. How Seoul reaction to

that and would South Korea be part of those talks?

FIELD: The suggestion of talks comes with the major precondition which is an agreement from North Korea for denuclearization and abandonment of its

nuclear missile program. Just last month, when North Korea was launching two different ICBMs, North Korea was very clear and saying that they would

never give up on this program.

It isn't something that they will barter with. So it's tough to even see the conditions that would lead to talks at this point. But then you bring

in the question of who would be involved. Well, from an optics perspective, of course North Korea would like to be talking directly to the U.S. and

alone to the U.S. If you look at the tasks as pressing here, the U.S. has continued to take a multilateral approach to dealing with the crisis on the

Korean peninsula.

The last time the U.S. was at the table with North Korea, those were the six party talks back in 2008. Obviously, six different parties involved in

those talks. As for South Korea, certainly they would want to be part of any discussions that were happening with North Korea. You got a new

president who was elected here just a couple of months ago, and he was elected partially on the platform of greater engagement with North Korea.

It's an effort that his young administration has already made. We've seen them extend an invitation to North Korea to open up dialogue. Kristie, that

invitation has not even met with with a response though.

LU STOUT: Alexandra Field live from Seoul. Oren Liebermann live in Moscow. Big thank you to you both. Meanwhile, Iran is also blasting the U.S.

sanctions. Nick Paton Walsh has the reaction from Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in Tehran, the reaction from this new U.S. sanctions is overwhelmingly negative. The

deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, saying clearly that the main purpose of the United States in implementing the new sanctions against Iran

is to destroy the JCPOA, which is nuclear agreements.

And we will show a very clever reaction to this, echoed too by (ph) a spokesman for foreign minister saying there is otherwise (ph) response in

whichever way they seemed kind. But the problem for this deal here was that it was launched (ph) in spirit of better will (ph) between Tehran and

Washington. Now, it was at the heart (ph) of 2015 agreements.

We heard Donald Trump repeatedly throughout his campaign bust the deal itself, even more in recent interview saying (INAUDIBLE) by Iran as being

in compliance with it potentially in the months ahead. Senior Iranian officials are saying, well, (INAUDIBLE) to the enrichment side of this

(INAUDIBLE) nuclear activity. When are we going to see better goodwill from the U.S. in terms of alleviating more of the sanctions?

They see the new sanctions imposed by the U.S. just yesterday will be ones that don't affect the same areas as given relief under the nuclear deal.

They see them as being in violation actually of the (INAUDIBLE) in that deal. U.S. shouldn't do things that internationally harm Iran. So Iranian

officials certainly questioning exactly what the broader end game of Washington is here.

In fact, more explicitly say they believe they are all trying to undermine the deal in its tracks. But Iran doesn't response, will have many across

this region wondering (INAUDIBLE) mass trade with the United States, minimal diplomatic relations. They may look some sort asymmetrical response

in Iraq or Syria countries where Iran has great traction and the U.S. requires some (INAUDIBLE) particularly in the fight against ISIS.

Very many concerns here I think that brief moment (INAUDIBLE) between Washington and Iran is slipping fast partially because of Trump's

insistence. But even he doesn't like his own sanction law, he said himself, there is some better idea out there, but the White House is yet to

articulate. Many here in Tehran are saying that the goodwill they see at some point in the past from Washington about raising (INAUDIBLE) and worry

quite what may come next. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Tehran in Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Still ahead right here on "News Stream," more on North Korea missile testing and concerns about its nuclear ambitions. We speak to the

head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In just a few days of campaigning left (ph) before Kenya goes to the polls. We'll have more on two long-time rivals buying for the country's top job.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. You're watching "News Stream."

In Kenya, some are raising concerns about the integrity of the upcoming presidential vote after senior election official was found murdered just

days ago. A Kenyan government pathologist says that Chris Msando was strangled to death and had marks on his right arm, but it's unclear if he

was tortured.

His office handled voter I.D. and information technology. On Tuesday, Kenyans head to the polls. It was said to be a very tight race for the

country's top job. CNN's Farai Sevenzo has this report from Nairobi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Nairobi (INAUDIBLE), one of Africa's largest, mother of five, Evelyn (ph), is

making (INAUDIBLE) to sell. Here in Kenya, this (INAUDIBLE) dish is popular with everyone. But when it comes to politics, Kenyans are so far more

varied.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SEVENZO (voice-over): Eight candidates are running for president, but polls show the real race is between two long-time rivals whose own fathers led

Kenya into independence nearly 55 years ago, as president and vice president.

SEVENZO: Who are you supporting?

(CROSSTALK)

SEVENZO (voice-over): It is the name of incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, on this particular street. Fifty-five year old Kenyatta has served one term as

president and he is going for a second. Seventy-two year old Raila Odinga has failed three times in the polls and is going for the presidency for a

fourth time. The race is tight enough for him to hope that this time the outcome will be different.

SEVENZO: This has been fiercely contested election. These two men are fighting for the share of 19.6 million votes. And no matter where you go in

Kenya, people want to know, will this be a free and fair election and will it be peaceful? And the question of the hour is, of course, who will it be?

SEVENZO (voice-over): Evelyn (ph) tells us that two main candidates are ready to win and this worries her because, she says, neither of them is

ready to lose. Even though Kenya's last election in 2013 was peaceful, she says the violence that followed the disputed polls in 2007, when over 1,000

people were killed, still scares her. But she is determined to vote for the opposition, Raila Odinga.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Let's give another person another chance. We can't continue with somebody who is making our life miserable

and continue with him again and again and again.

SEVENZO (voice-over): The word "peace" is on everyone's mind. Go into the center of Nairobi and you will hear it again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Let's have a peaceful election. At the end of the day, whoever wins, it will be fine.

SEVENZO (voice-over): Make no mistake, this is wealthy nation, popular with tourists. But Kenyans are worried about the cost of living and how such

incredible wealth does not tend to trickle down to everyone.

President Kenyatta is promising to create more jobs and to keep Kenyans safe from terrorism. Mr. Odinga is promising to support the poor and to end

the corruption that many acknowledge has blighted development here.

When two bull elephants clash, they say in these parts, it's the grass that suffers. Kenyans are hoping there will be no suffering and that their

country will roll out

[08:20:00] an election without incident, come the eight of August. Farai Sevenzo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Just before the break, we told you about a new U.S. law that imposes sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Now, the U.S. has been

grappling with how to deal with Pyongyang's recent missile test. And this week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the U.S. is willing to

talk to North Korea if it stops making nuclear weapons.

Joining me now is the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano. He joins us from Vienna, Austria. There is a bit of a

delay between our connections to do bear with us. Director general, welcome to the program. How concerned are you about North Korea's nuclear program?

YUKIYA AMANO, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: I think the situation is very serious and grave. After the launch, North Korea

stated that it was an ICBM capable of carrying a large size nuclear warhead.

In the light of the experience of following North Korean nuclear issue, generally North Korea does what it says it is going to do when it comes

onto our nuclear issues. We are facing a new level of threat.

In the past, it was about nuclear weapons. Now, it is some nuclear weapons and missiles. In the past, it was a regional threat from them, but now it

is a global threat.

LU STOUT: You called this a new level of threat, a global threat. North Korea shows no sign that it's willing to stop. It's not willing to comply

with U.N. resolutions. You just heard that Trump is increasing pressure in Pyongyang with new sanctions. Your thoughts on sanctions. Will that be able

to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions?

AMANO: What is more important now is that North Korea engages seriously with the international community team. The international community team

needs to work together. The nature of issue is very different, unlike in case of Iran, it cannot show committee working together. It is very

important. I think this is the priority for now.

LU STOUT: OK. You say that North Korea should engage with the international community. So, sir, would you as the director general of the IAEA, accept

invitation to visit North Korea for talks?

AMANO: (INAUDIBLE) but for now, what is needed is -- the international community team work together. The function of the IAEA is (INAUDIBLE) and

we are in charge of verification and inspection, but we are not yet there.

LU STOUT: Director General Yukiya Amano of the IAEA, many thanks indeed for joining us on the program. To our audience, our apologies for a little bit

of delay between our communications there.

Now, sanctions against North Korea target its funding but researchers have found signs that Pyongyong could be using cyber attacks to deal with its

economic problems. They found links between North Korea and had some financial institutions around the world. The director of the Korea Working

Group, John Park, tells that Pyongyang is using its cyber expertise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PARK, DIRECTOR, KOREA WORKING GROUP: So, cyber is something that the North Koreans are documented to be very good. The Sony cyber hack is a

classic example here. That is documented. That resulted in an executive order during the Obama ministration.

What technical experts are saying now is that the North Koreans are using cyber not so much to the get data or access to data which is a traditional

use of cyber. But perhaps to get money. There is the case of the Bangladesh Central Bank and the use of SWIFT and manipulation of SWIFT. I think this

is an area that could be another revenue stream that grows quite largely for the North Koreans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right. North Korea has denied involvement in those hacks that Park just mentioned there.

Meanwhile, HBO says it is working with law enforcement and cyber security companies to investigate a large scale security breach. The anonymous

hacker or hackers reportedly leaked stolen data including unreleased episodes of Game of Thrones, other shows, as well as passwords.

The hackers claimed to have 1.5 TB of data. HBO of course is owned by CNN's parent company, Time Warner. The CEO of HBO says it does not believe that

e-mail system was compromised.

Soon, we will be seeing less of Britain's Prince Philip. Queen Elizabeth's husband is 96. On Wednesday, he retired from public life.

[08:25:00] Alone, he has attended more than 22,000 events. You could add to that countless engagements with the queen. Nick Glass looks back at the

prince's decades of service.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ramrod straight, a man in a raincoat and a traditional bowler hat. From behind, you would have been

hard pressed to guess his age, 96. Or that this, after 70 years, was his final official engagement. As parades go, this was informal. Prince Philip

just doing his thing. Raising a smile and a laugh among young and old.

As an ex-navy man, it seems entirely apt that the parade at Buckingham Palace was by the Royal Marines. Prince Philip is still affable, still

inquisitive, ever more hawk-like in look, but at his great age, his energy is dimming and he's finally retiring. Who else aside from the queen has

done more for the monarchy over such a long time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think in a way it is transitional moment. The queen has been a little bit worried about him at certain times over the last

couple of years. I have heard people say that. And I think that, you know, she doesn't want him to get overly tired and so I'm sure there is an

element that this is a sensible thing to do.

PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH: You're now seeing the world's most (INAUDIBLE).

(LAUGHTER)

GLASS (voice-over): Here he was at Lords Cricket Ground in London earlier this summer, wearing the famous egg-and-bacon tie of the MCC and doing what

he's done on countless occasions, chatting, this time about old cricket bats and cutting a ribbon. Are you ready? he asked the photographers.

Prince Philip has been around so long, we need to remind ourselves of his glamorous arrival in 1947, a handsome groom of 26, Leftenant Philip

Mountbatten of the Royal Navy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God, he was good looking (INAUDIBLE).

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) ever. And I think he really, truly has been a rock.

GLASS (voice-over): Prince Philip has always been his own man, a thoughtful man, a family man.

PRINCE PHILIP: Like all families, we went through the full range of pleasures and tribulations of bringing up children. I'm naturally somewhat

biased, but I think our children have done rather well under very difficult and demanding circumstances.

GLASS (voice-over): He could also be combative, livid, in fact, especially with photographers. But more often than not, he saw the funny side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry to hear you're standing down.

PRINCE PHILIP: I can't stand up much.

GLASS (voice-over): By his own admission, Prince Philip has never been a man to look back much. But this afternoon, he did seem to just for a

moment. It was 70 years there have been a lot of parades, a lot of young men marching past, some of them off to war. As he left the parade ground,

the band struck up "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow."

The palace has issued a retirement photo taken in the garden of Buckingham Palace. Although there will be no more official engagements, Prince Philip

is still expected to appear at the queen's side from time to time. Nick Glass, CNN, in Central London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, could the world's two biggest economies be about to square up on trade? The White House is said to be close to approve of Chinese

trade practices. We got the details next.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines.

U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled an ambitious new plan to slash illegal immigration to the country by half. The proposal would move the

U.S. toward a skills-based immigration system but it faces an uphill battle in Congress for members of both parties have criticized the plan.

Our President Donald Trump has reluctantly signed new sanctions on Russia into law. The bill gives Congress veto power to prevent him from eating

the sanctions.

And a short time ago, Mister Trump tweeted this, quote, our relationship with Russia is at an all time and very dangerous low. You can think

Congress, the same people that can't even us give us healthcare.

Venezuela's attorney general is launching an investigation to potential fraud during Sunday's election on the head of the company that provided

voting machines since official numbers on turnout were tampered with.

The president majority denies this. The newly elected constituent assembly will meet for the first time on Friday.

The Spanish football league has block Brazilian star Neymar's transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain. The leaks says Neymar's lawyer, tried to

pay a fee but it was rejected. Rejection is thought to be connected to European football's financial fair play rules which Spanish media says, the

belief is being contravene.

The White House could be gearing up to get tougher on trade with China. A senior official says President Trump's administration is moving closer to

launching an investigation into whether China is pursuing unfair trade practices. Will Ripley has this from Beijing.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, this is not taking the Chinese government completely by surprise. They had been expecting some kind of

trade action by the United States, especially after those comments from President Trump blasting China over the North Korea issue.

Even Chinese trade officials warned the United States not to conflate trade with the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Nonetheless in the coming days perhaps, the United States expected to announce that it's launching a trade investigation, looking at the

practices of the Chinese government.

We know that American companies here have complained for quite some time, but even though they are making money in China, it is not a level playing

field.

They say it's more difficult for American companies to do business here that often they are forced to cut the amount of money that they have to --

they have to charge Chinese companies to license their patents, would have to share their trade secrets with Chinese partners.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is giving Chinese companies, particularly in the high-tech sector, large infusions of state money and protections

from American competition.

So there is a real concern on the part of the United States. After that investigation is complete, the U.S. could potentially slap very steep

trades on Chinese companies.

They could pull their licenses and then in return, China can do a whole lot of things to make life very difficult for U.S. companies operating here.

Look at what happened when they were angry at South Korea over the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system. And they punished the

South Korean supermarket chain latte cutting -- shutting down 87 out of 99 of their store, suspending operation of a theme park, making life very

difficult.

Regulators finding violations in those companies operations and don't think that the same thing couldn't happen to a lot of American businesses.

So certainly, the stock market watching very closely here and hoping, Kristie, that those two words people keep floating around don't come true.

A trade war between the U.S. and China.

LU STOUT: Will Ripley there. And still to come here on News Stream, a breakthrough in the editing of the human gene. We'll hear from the co-

author of a brand new study that suggests we may one day be able to correct disease in people before they are born.

[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: For the first time, researchers in the United States have successfully corrected a gene mutation in human embryos. The mutation is

linked to a genetic heart condition by using a technical called CRISPR.

Researchers were able to remove the mutation inherited from the father that the missing cells were replaced with a copy of the genes from the mother

who did not have the mutation.

Researchers found that the harmful gene was safely corrected more than 70 percent of the time. Now, just imagine the implications here. A scientist

can one day remove certain diseases from people before they are born.

But critics worry that this technique can be used to create so-called designer babies. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte is a co-author of the study

that was published in Nature. And here he tells how he balances ethical concerns with the obvious benefit that comes from this type of research.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN CARLOS IZPISUA BELMONTE, DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGIST, SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES: We scientists as may other people have been thinking

about these a long time.

And infact, the National Academy of Sciences has issued a report, a committee which I am a member, with guidelines of how we should approach

this development.

And for the time being, this is something that should just remain in the laboratory because we need to learn much more before we can even think to

bring this into a clinic.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: Interesting, and in just a -- if gene editing can be used to eliminate this particular deadly heart

condition.

How long before most other inherited diseases can be remove from embryos and how close are scientist of trying this out on a real pregnancy. You

say you are going to take some time over this.

BELMONTE: Yes, we have demonstrate it that seems to be quite a few students take in these particular disease which is a disease of a heart.

But we need before we can expand these more like a (Inaudible), we need to demonstrate that these experiments are also safe for these diseases.

CHURCH: If you mention the safety aspect of the -- and I wanted to ask you, how can you be sure, using this technique, that scientist don't

accidentally damage or affect other perfectly normal genes during the course of this procedure.

BELMONTE: That's a very good question. I may say that we realize that it's not the template that we provide to the embryo to do the complexion.

In fact, it is the mother right gene that fix the correction, so that's wonderful. Nature kind of divides procedures by which they can fix

themselves.

I am confident that this aspect will help to minimize these possible, unintended effects on other parts of the genome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: It's an incredible. Very sure that Belmonte describes this research as the first in the world to demonstrate gene editing to be safe

and accurate in human embryos.

I took a closer look at the technology on an episode of CNN's on China where the technique was first used.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Scientists in China become the first in the world to use a technique called CRISPR on humans. In October, the injected modified cells

to a patient with lung cancer, a different team in China was the first to modify a gene in human embryos.

[08:40:00] The work raising considerable ethical concerns. CRISPR is also used to engineer beagles and twice the normal muscle mass. And develop

wheat that is resistant to mildew. But what is CRISPR?

EMMANUELLE CHARPENTIER, CO-DISCOVERER, CRISPR CAS-9: CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. CRISPR

associated Protein 9. Is CRISPR Cas-9 a miracle discover?

A gene is composed of -- of DNA and our selves and principle are composed of a number of genes over a library of genes, and the genes -- the

composition of the genes is DNA.

And what the system does, is that it can recognize certain specific gene in the genome of ourselves and can correct mutations to some cut and pasting,

do some editing that create these effects.

This system can edit genome and change the property of the genes. And when one performs genetic, we want to reduce use with the (Inaudible). This is

good in Hong Kong by doing the Haute Couture on genes.

This is Haute Couture because if you want the study the function of a gene, you want to make sure that you study the function of gene A and know the

function of gene B.

It's very efficient, it's also very versatile and very easy to design. So this is the reason why Haute Couture has really been democratize and why

Haute Couture has been used very fast by the community world wide biology.

I'm most excited by the application of the technology in treating human genetic disorder. I would be very happy if within the next five years, we

see first clinical trial and successful for certain types of disease.

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LU STOUT: Fascinating explanation there from Microbiologist and CRISPR pioneer, Emmanuelle Charpentier. And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu

Stout. But don't go anywhere, World Sport Christina Macfarlane is next.

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