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Harvey Weinstein Fired From The Weinstein Company; San Juan Mayor Asks U.S. For More Aid; Stopping Child Prostitution In A Vacation Paradise; North Korea Tensions; Trump White House; Catalonia Crisis; Developing Story. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired October 9, 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 and welcome to "News Stream."

Kim Jong-un promotes his sister at a key meeting as President Trump continues to instill tension with North Korea on Twitter, but a senior

Republican calls his tweets reckless. Stinging criticism coming from inside the president's own party.

And one of Hollywood's most powerful men is sacked from his own company. Harvey Weinstein is accused of years of sexual harassment.

And we begin in North Korea. Leader Kim Jong-un is pulling his own sister into the center of power. He promoted Kim Yo Jong as an alternate member of

the all powerful Politburo, the central decision-making body within the ruling Workers' Party. This move comes at a pressing time for the regime,

international sanctions over its nuclear program, and a war of words directly with the U.S. president.

A day from now, the party celebrates the anniversary of its founding. In the past, the regime has used such occasions to show off its military

might. CNN's Will Ripley joins me now live from Seoul, South Korea with more on the story. Will, Kim Jong-un has headed more power to his younger

sister. Who is Kim Yo Jong and why is she promoted now?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she is the only full sister of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un. They were raised together.

They went to boarding school together. And by all accounts, they are very close. She has been a top advisor to the North Korean leader ever since he

took power in late 2011.

And now, her ascension to this new even more important role really underscores how Kim is consolidating his power, bringing people around him

who are close whether it be family or whether it be other professional allies who are going to help him push forward with an agenda at a really

critical time for his government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice-over): The stakes have never been higher. The North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un. An escalating conflict with U.S. President Donald

Trump. An escalating nuclear program, defiant and threatening the world. At this critical time, only a handful of elite North Koreans are believed to

have the ear of their supreme leader.

His younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, is one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kim Jong-un has, you know, brothers and sisters, but Kim Yo Jong is the only sister by the same mother. So, you know, it's the

closest in the blood relationship.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Since their father's funeral in 2011, Kim Yo Jong has been a regular presence by her brother's side with a growing list of

official responsibilities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has become unparalleled (INAUDIBLE) figure in terms of influencing Kim Jong-un's decision.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Over the weekend, state media announced a big promotion for Kim Yo Jong, alternate member of the Politburo, North Korea's

highest decision-making committee, a role once held by Kim's aunt, Kim Kyong Hee, who disappeared from public view after the 2013 execution of her

husband for treason and corruption.

DUYEON KIM, SENIOR FELLOW, KOREAN PENINSULA FUTURE FORUM: The biggest difference here is that Kim Jong-un's aunt assumed a senior level position

within the Politburo when she was in her mid-60s, but Kim Jong-un's younger sister is perhaps at most 30. And so it clearly shows she's on the fast

track.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Also on the fast track, analysts say, Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, the North Korean diplomat who ridiculed President Trump,

calling him "president evil" in a fiery speech to the U.N., even threatening to test a powerful nuclear weapon over the Pacific.

KIM: Kim Jong-un is trying to turn the Workers' Party into his party, into a Kim Jong-un party by filling senior positions and key positions with his

people.

RIPLEY (voice-over): All of it, experts say, further consolidates Kim's power as he and his inner circle try to navigate North Korea through an

intensifying nuclear standoff with no end in sight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: The analysts I have speaking with say that Kim Yo Jong may actually be even more powerful than this new bigger title suggests because of the

fact that she is so close to her brother, the North Korean leader.

Some have even said they believe she could be considered the second in command of that country although, of course, officially, there are many

officials inside the North Korean system that have far more seniority than she does. As an alternate member of the Politburo, she doesn't actually get

to -- she's not a full voting member,

[08:05:00] but she does participate in debates and for a 30-year-old, believed to be 30-year-old young woman who has been in the spotlight now

for several years, it certainly is a mediocre rise by North Korean standards, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, her profile has certainly risen with this latest announcement. I want to also get your thoughts on the latest messaging from

Donald Trump. He tweeted, quote, only one thing will work on North Korea. How was that being interpreted in the Korean Peninsula?

RIPLEY: You know, on the record, North Korea continues to issue their various condemnations of the United States, and South Korea and Japan

continue to publicly stand by President Trump and the United States, that country being their most important alliance.

But I can tell conversations that I've been having with a number of people here in the region in various different positions, government, private

industry, a lot of people very concerned by this escalation, Kristie, very nervous about what this could lead to.

The big fear isn't necessarily that North Korea or the United States intentionally want to start a military confrontation, a war, but the

concern is that there could be an accident, a misstep, and that this bellicose rhetoric only escalates tensions to the point that one side could

make a mistake from which there would be no walking back.

LU STOUT: Yes, a lot of concern about any sort of miscalculation as well as what could happen tomorrow. We know that North Korea will be celebrating on

Tuesday, a major holiday. Could there be another possible nuclear missile test?

RIPLEY: It's absolutely possible. North Korea's Workers' Party Foundation Day is a major holiday. We were there covering the event last year. This is

a time when we have seen in the past military parades, weapons tests, and according to some Russian lawmakers who are recently in Pyongyang, they

claim that they were told by officials in North Korea that another major missile launch could happen in the very near future.

Could it coincide with this major national holiday? I've learned, Kristie, covering North Korea for the past several years and visiting the country

more than a dozen times, often when we expect them to do something to mark a major event, it doesn't happen, but one thing we know for sure is that

there will be another provocation at some point. The question is, what is going to happen, when, and how will the United States and its allies

respond?

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Will Ripley reporting live for us from Seoul. Thank you, Will.

North Korea's nuclear test last month has many around the world deeply concerned, but the threat feels especially real for people in once city in

Eastern China. Matt Rivers traveled there and found out why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNTRANSLATED)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The nuclear test on September 3rd was North Korea's largest to date, it triggered an

earthquake and international reaction was swift. The U.N. Security Council passed new sanctions. Donald trump threatened to completely destroy North

Korea, and Kim Jong-un warned his next test would be over the Pacific Ocean.

But at the exact moment of this latest test, the people in the Chinese City of Yanji just 120 miles from the test site didn't know about the nuclear

blast or the international outcry that would follow. All they knew was that the earth is shaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is an earthquake in my apartment.

RIVERS (voice-over): Hundreds of thousand of people felt the physical repercussions of a nuclear test without knowing at first what it was. Many

rushed outside to safety.

This is where you were when the earthquake happened.

This man, a butcher, was asleep in his bed.

So, were you scared?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): All of a sudden, everything began shaking back and forth, so I ran outside, and everyone was saying it was an

earthquake. I had no idea what was going on.

RIVERS (voice-over): An entire city thinking the same thing though collectively about to connect the nuclear dots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Everybody came in and said it was an earthquake. A bit later, we realized it was from the North Koreans.

RIVERS (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) runs a restaurant in town where conversations have lately focused on Kim Jong-un's nuclear program and what

it could mean for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I am worried about the radiation. It could really hurt us.

RIVERS (voice-over): Concerns over radiation escaping from the test site had increased with each explosion. Some experts have suggested that the

mountain at the site could even collapse, spewing deadly radiation into the air and quickly across the Chinese border. China says it has not detected

anything of the sort and its military keeps a vigilant watch over air quality levels, but in Yanji, for some parents, it's of little comfort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have a four-year-old daughter. These tests could make buildings collapse. There could be radiation. I

would like to move to Beijing or Shanghai, but I don't have the money.

RIVERS: So, it is fair to say that people are more nervous about the constant nuclear activity going on not that far away from here. But there

is also this kind of pervasive sense that well,

[08:10:00] there is not much we can do about it and we still got to pay the bills, we still got to take the kids to school. So, life goes on, right?

So the restaurants are still open. There is still outdoor recess. New buildings are going up even if they might be shaken by another nuclear test

soon. A concerted effort to look past a problem that's becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Matt Rivers, CNN, Yanji, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: U.S. President Donald Trump is in a very public spat with the top senator of his own Republican Party. Bob Corker, the chairman of the

foreign relations committee, has lashed back at the president for a series of attacks he made on Twitter.

In an interview with The New York Times, Corker reveals the tensions between the president and the very people he needs to help move his agenda

through congress. And that is just one of several fights that the president is having right now.

CNN's Joe Johns joins us now live from Washington. Joe, dispute between Trump and Corker is heating up. Any new comments from the White House on

Corker's latest comments in that New York Times interview?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It is extraordinary, isn't it? The president of the United States slammed by a prominent member of his

own party. The president know he has not responded at least publicly since Corker did his interview, but what this does show is some of the deep

divisions on Capitol Hill between key members of the president's own party and the administration.

It's very important to this administration to have all the people in the party on the same page, as they try to push in key elements of the

president's agenda, like tax cuts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): In a scaling critique, Senator Bob Corker telling The New York Times that President Trump's reckless threats could put the U.S.

on the path to World War III. He concerns me. He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation. Corker saying Mr. Trump is treating the

presidency like a reality show, remarking, I know for a fact that every single day at the White House is a situation of trying to contain him.

Corker's blunt criticism coming after the president bashed him in a barrage of tweets Sunday morning, suggesting Corker begged him to endorse him for

re-election. Corker flatly denying that account and calling the White House an adult daycare center.

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mattis, and Chief of Staff Kelly are those people that help separate our country from

chaos.

JOHNS (voice-over): This is the Trump administration effectively derail any potential deal with Democrats to protect Dreamers, unveiling a long list of

demands in exchange for a legislative solution. Among them, curving funding for sanctuary cities, a crackdown on unaccompanied minors from Central

America, and funding the border wall.

Democratic leadership denouncing the White House proposal saying the administration can't be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers if

they begin with a list that is anathema to the Dreamers. This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise.

All this while Vice President Mike Pence is facing criticism for amplifying the president's feud with the NFL. The V.P. walking out of Sunday's

Indianapolis Colts' game after some players knelt during the national anthem. President Trump quickly taking credit, tweeting that he asked Pence

to leave if any players knelt.

A protest, it seems, the White House expected. The vice president traveled from Las Vegas where he was paying tribute to the victims of the massacre

to Indianapolis for the game and then back to Los Angeles. CNN estimates the travel cost to be around a quarter of a million dollars. Had Pence

skipped the game, it would have been substantially lower.

ERIC REID, SAN FRANCISO 49ERS PLAYER: The last time he has been at a Colts game was three years ago. So this looks like a PR stunt to me. He knew our

team has had the most players protest. He knew that we were probably going to do it again. This is what systemic oppression looks like.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: And every indication this morning, the president plans to keep this NFL controversy going as long as possible. A tweet by him says, the trip by

V.P. Pence was long planned. He is receiving great praise for leaving the game after the players showed such disrespect for the country. Kristie?

LU STOUT: Back to the tension between Trump a Corker, how is that tension not just between Trump and him but with a number of senior Republican

leaders. How is that going to affect the president's ability to get his agenda through congress including that plan to happen this week, to

decertify the Iran deal?

JOHNS: It certainly has a potential for trouble when you think about the fact that Bob Corker is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations

Committee, which would have a lot of say on how to handle the president's attempt to decertify. Of course, what happens is the president says the

Iran deal in his view is not in the

[08:15:] interest of the United States. He kicks it to Capitol Hill and then people in Capitol Hill have 60 days to decide which way to go. So,

that's potentially a problem for him.

As you mentioned, there are number of other members of congress the president has had run-ins with including Senator John McCain of Arizona,

who was the presidential nominee for the Republican Party a few years back, and even the senate majority leader himself, Mitch McConnell.

So, the president clearly showing more signs now of running against some of the most powerful members of his party on Capitol Hill.

LU STOUT: Joe Johns reporting live from Washington. Thank you, Joe.

You're watching "News Stream" and this week is a pivotal one for Spain. The prime minister is pledging to do everything within the law to stop

Catalonia from breaking away. We will have a live report from Barcelona straight ahead.

Plus, Puerto Rico asks for more help two weeks after Hurricane Maria tore through the tiny island. Some hospitals are still without power and

patients without medicine. We'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream." The big question, will Spain stay united or will Catalonia break

away? That question is on every Spaniard's mind as a week of deep political insurgency begins. This was a scene in Barcelona on Sunday. Tens of

thousands of people rally against independence. The Catalan president is set to address his parliament on Tuesday, just over a week after the

referendum showed overwhelming support for splitting from Spain.

Live from Barcelona, CNN's Isa Soares is there. Isa, what is going to happen? Will Catalonia declare independence? If so, how will Spain respond?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question, Kristie, and that's what everyone here in Catalonia and the rest of Spain is waiting to

see what happens. We know that Catalonia's president, Carles Puigdemont, is expected to come to parliament just behind me here, the parliament of

Catalonia, where he will talk about the current political situation in Catalonia.

Whether that will be an excuse for him to really declare independence, we do not know, but it's very clear from both sides that really the groundwork

now is set in the ball within his court.

We've heard in the last 48 hours also from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's speech with El Pais newspaper, also the German prince this morning has laid

out his cards very clearly, said the declaration of independence won't happen and he said he got everything pretty much up his sleeve to prevent

it from happening including invoking article 155, the Spanish constitution, which basically means that

[08:20:00] if a declaration of independence does go ahead, Kristie, it means that they will be taking control of Catalonia. So, now it's up to

Carles Puigdemont to really decide on how he is going to go ahead with this. Will he call unilateral independence? Or if he doesn't, what will it

mean for the cause, for his cause, which he is pledging along and also for the millions of people who have backed him from day one, Kristie.

LU STOUT: There's a question of whether Catalonia will declare independence and also among the people in Catalonia, should it? At the weekend, we saw

the video of tens of thousands of protesters in Barcelona rallying against independence on Sunday. So, just how divided is Catalonia on the issue?

SOARES: Extremely polarized and it is a country divided. You know, we've seen very early on and we've been here for over a week now, we've seen the

pro-independence move in hundreds of thousands in the last few days. But over the weekend, as you showed, these images of people dressed in white,

people draped in Spanish flag. You know, we are hearing from the the other side, many people here are calling them the silent majority because until

then we hadn't heard from them.

Many coming from Catalonia, many coming from the rest of Spain. But, you know, people are carrying placards saying we are Spanish, we are Catalan,

also saying Puigdemont does not represent us all. So, this is extremely divisive issue and it is something that, of course, Carles Puigdemont will

have to addressed. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will not be able to ignore if they sit down for dialogue in the next 48 hours or so, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Isa Soares reporting live from Barcelona. Thank you, Isa.

Britain's prime minister faces her own political crisis. Brexit talks with E.U. will resume in Brussels. And in the next hour, she is to address

parliament on where those talks stand. But, it comes as the prime minister faces growing pressure both from within and outside of her own party to

resign. Let's get the latest now from Downing Street. CNN's Diana Magnay joins us now live. Diana, what is she expected to say in the speech?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, she is expected to say that to secure that deep and special partnership that she

wants with the E.U. requires leadership and flexibility from both the U.K. and the E.U. 27, and that she feels that the concession that the U.K. has

made means that the ball is now in the E.U.'s court.

Now, it is interesting to see (INAUDIBLE) terminology given the position of weakness that she is in at the moment after that disastrous speech last

Wednesday at the Tory Party Conference. There has been talk of a coup against her on Friday, which collapsed. I mean, if you read the Sunday

papers, all you see is the Tory in-fighting. So, there is really not a very united or strong position for her to take to the E.U.

Before she's even made that speech, the European Commission has taken her tenuous analogy and bounced that might back after her. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARITIS SCHINAS, SPOKESPERSON, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: There is a clear sequencing to these talks and there has been so far no solution found on

step one, which is the divorce proceedings. So, the ball is entirely in the U.K. court for the rest to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNAY: The U.K. wants the E.U. to agree that sufficient progress has been made on these three key issues, the northern Irish border, E.U. citizens

rights, and the divorce bill in order in order to move on to the next phase i.e. the transitional phase and the future trade relationship.

European parliament has already voted and said insufficient progress has been made. Next week, European Council leaders will make their decision.

Michel Barnier has already said that it will be a miracle if we are able to move on to the next phase.

So, it will appear as though negotiations are going at a very, very slow pace if they're going anywhere at all. And Theresa May is facing pressure

from the Brexit here inside of her party to really say, OK, if you're not going to move on this, we are going to make preparations for no deal.

Kristie?

LU STOUT: Yes, and the challenge for Theresa May here is not only has to press ahead with Brexit talk, she has to unite the party, and keep her own

political position secure. Can she do it?

MAGNAY: Can she do it? That's the question. There isn't necessarily anyone who can do it better at this state. It is a very poisoned chalice that they

would have to take on. For example, just a simple matter of the divorce bill that has a lot sort of commentary that really it's best to stay in the

job and be the one who agrees with Brussels what that is going to be and then pass the baton (ph) on

[08:25:00] to somebody else. There has been quite a bit of talk about a potential cabinet reshuffle. Now, Downing Streets' response to that is that

they don't talk about whether there will be or won't be cabinet reshuffle. In an interview with the Sunday Times yesterday, Theresa May hinted that

one was possible when she was asked what to do about Boris Johnson, who has proven quite tricky to her in the last few weeks. She said, I have never

been one to move away from a challenge.

Today, in the lobby, her spokesman said she was referring more to her leadership style rather than anything specific that she was doing against

Boris Johnson. But what we have at the moment are calls from the pro-Brexit side of the Tory Party for Philip Hammond, her Chancellor, to go or

certainly claims that the treasury is frustrating the Brexit talks while on the other side, you have people who say that Boris Johnson is frustrating

the process.

So, it is a very, very tangled situation that she has to pick her way through while trying to pretend to Brussels that the Tory Party is united.

I mean, it is clear for them that they are not and that is of course something that they can exploit too as these negotiations move forward.

Kristie?

LU STOUT: All right. Live from Downing Street, Diana Magnay reporting for us. Thank you, Diana.

Turning now to that escalating feud between the U.S. and Turkey. The American Embassy says it is no longer issuing visas for Turks to visit the

U.S. unless they plan to move there. Turkey is retaliating with the same measure against U.S. citizens.

This follows the arrest of a U.S. consulate employee. He is accused of having ties to a cleric and Turkey blames him for being behind last year's

attempted coup. Cleric Fethullah Gulen is living in the U.S. (INAUDIBLE) has been pushing for his extradition. Gulen denies any involvement.

Also to come right here on "News Stream," film producer Harvey Weinstein has been fired from his own company after report alleging decades of sexual

harassment. The question now, why it took so long?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

In North Korea, Kim Jong-un has promoted his own sister, Kim Yo Jong, as an alternate member of the country's top decision-making body. The move comes

just before the ruling Workers' Party marks the anniversary of its founding. There is suspicion the regime could use the occasion for another

missile test.

U.S. President Donald Trump is in a public fight with the prominent senator of his own

[08:30:00] Republican Party. Bob Corker has openly criticized the president and attacked the senator in a series of tweets. In a New York Times

interview, Corker says that Mr. Trump could put the U.S. on the path to another world war. Now, the president of Catalonia subdues Carles

Puigdemonton Tuesday just over a week after racial referendum showed overwhelming support for independence. Madrid says the vote was illegal.

And over the weekend, this came here, thousands of protesters rallying in Barcelona calling for Spain to remain united. A movie and T.V. producer

Harvey Weinstein has been fired from the company that bares his last name, The Weinstein Company.

It comes just three days after a bombshell report by the New York Times that alleged decades of sexual harassment against the media mogul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: CNN's senior media correspondent Brian Stelter is following the story closely from New York. He joins us now and, Brian, tell us more on

the boards decision. How do the board explained the decision to finally fire Harvey Weinstein?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The board says there are new allegations of misconduct by Weinstein that have come to light in the past few days.

Well, that means, Kristie, there is more stories about to come out.

The New York Times investigation landed last Thursday it was an extraordinary piece of reporting documenting decades of improper behavior

by Weinstein. Some of which he has admitted to and apologized for.

He denied some of the other allegations of the story. He basically confirmed some of it however. There was a lot that Weinstein said on

Thursday and Friday. He was public about his anger at the story.

At one point he threatened to sue the New York Times but he also he needed help. He needs therapy and vow to get it. The board apparently did not

appreciate all of those public statements from Weinstein nor did appreciate the fact that more stories are about to come out about his behavior. So it

was a combination of those factors that led the board on Sunday to dismiss him.

LU STOUT: You're telling me now that Hollywood is under fire for not speaking out about these allegations that go back decades of rampant sexual

harassment. Will the industry -- will Hollywood A-listers now speak out with Weinstein officially out?

STELTER: I think today is the day we're going to see that happen. Meryl Streep in the past few minutes issued a statement saying that Weinstein's

behavior as alleged is disgraceful. She is the most prominent star to talk about this so far.

We've heard from some others like Lena Dunham and Producer Judd Apatow, both from HBO's Girls are well-known for their feminist oppositions. Well,

we've not heard from her that kind of like the top, top A-listers like that the George Clooney's, the Meryl Streep's.

But like I said, Streep now weighing and I think we're going to see more comments from more Hollywood stars in the hours to come. It is frankly

easier for them to comment now that Weinstein has been fired.

LU STOUT: Yes, and this has been called an open secret in Hollywood for decades. How is it that his allegations of sexual assault by Weinstein

were covered up for so long?

STELTER: One word, power. This is -- this is about power. Weinstein had tremendous power. You can make or break careers. He also had the power to

bury news stories that he didn't want to see published.

There are numerous reports of journalists looking into his past, let's say a decade ago for example and been unable to publish those stories. That

could be for a variety of reasons including concerns about advertising.

Weinstein was a big advertiser for many years but let me show you what President Trump said about this over the weekend. He was asked about

Weinstein, keep in mind of course, Trump also has been accused of harassment in this past. Here is what Trump said about Weinstein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've known Harvey Weinstein for a long time. I'm not all surprised to see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Well, one example there of that idea that it has been an open secret. But the president claims it is not surprising to hear about these

allegations. Kristie, personally I always knew Weinstein with a volatile figure, someone prone to fits of anger, did not know about the allegations

made by women that he have been -- he have been harassing women for decades.

This was a whisper secret, something that was passed along, sort of as a rumor over the years. There were some women who were paid settlements

until they were not to talk about what happened. So as a result, it was -- it was kept quiet until now.

LU STOUT: Yes, and these terrible stories from are coming to light and bravo to the women who been so brave to speak out. Brian Stelter, we thank

you for your reporting, take care.

STELTER: Thanks.

LU STOUT: The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico has once again criticized the U.S. for not providing enough aid. More than two weeks now after hurricane

Maria slammed the U.S. territory. She says that she is requesting support from FEMA and received nothing.

But U.S. President Donald Trump defends the U.S. response, saying this quote, nobody could have done what I've done for Puerto Rico with so little

appreciation, so much work. But there's something else going on here, Puerto Rico's governor tells CNN, the food and water is getting to

municipalities.

[08:35:00] And there were reports that it's not being distributed. And he has launched an investigation. Leyla Santiago was on the ground in Puerto

Rico speaking what's in the island's most vulnerable people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still a strong sense of desperation, hospitals telling us that they are operating on a day-by-day basis. They

are still, two and a half weeks after the storm, finding it difficult to get their hands on what they need, water, diesel for those generators.

As a matter of fact, when we visited one hospital in Caguas, we noticed FEMA stopped by but only to assess their needs. The only delivery we saw

was diesel. And it was a delivery the hospital scheduled and paid for. Workers told me it was going to last them just a day and a half.

As a matter of fact, earlier this week, patients had to be evacuated to the U.S. Navy Ship Comfort because of a generator failure. And the doctor of

one of those patients told me the person was connected to a ventilator. That's why it was so important to get more help. Do you think you'll get

that help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope so.

SANTIAGO: Do you need the help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SANTIAGO: And because hospitals are struggling, many who are already sick, already vulnerable, are trying to get off the island.

I met an 8-year-old boy named Diego. And he has rare disorder. His mother has really been struggling to find the medications that he needs to stay

alive.

And, thankfully, through the help of some private donor, the family was able to get on a charter flight to get to Florida and get more help -- not

everyone as lucky. Leyla Santiago, CNN, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You are watching News Stream and up next, CNN's Freedom Project is shedding light on human trafficking in the Dominican Republic, and up

next, we will explore the darker side of the country to show you what's being done to stop child prostitution in this tourist hotspot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All this week, CNN's Freedom Project is exposing child prostitution in the Dominican Republic. The Caribbean Nation is vacation

paradise who is doing some 5 million towards a year but there is a much darker side on the island. Don Riddell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a classic beach scene, Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It's 35 degrees, we've got sun, sea,

sand, everybody's having a great time. Everybody seems to be free except if you look a bit closer, you might see something quite different,

something not quite right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May approach you and offer any kind of woman. What do you prefer? I have all you want, I have minors as well.

RIDDELL: In a country that attracts more that 5 million tourists every year, there's a very dark that is often hiding in plain sight. Up until

2003, the Dominican Republic didn't have any legislation to prevent human trafficking but passing a law and having the resources to properly enforce

it are two very different things.

[08:40:00] So the NGO International Justice Mission arrived to help in 2013 with Fernando Rodriguez heading up the operation. What would you describe

the situation here in the Dominican Republic, if you can give me a broader view of what's going on here.

FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ, FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, IJM-DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: We are looking for cases and confronting cases of children being sold for sex,

children being paid to have sex on purpose by pedophiles, the production of pornography using children.

We have one rescue operation in which we were involved where a mother is now being accuse of producing pornography with her five and seven-year-old

girls.

RIDDELL: When IJM arrived, baseline research revealed that they found examples of minor being sold for sex in 90 percent of the communities that

they looked at. Many experts here say the real problem is poverty according to the World Bank, assert of Dominicans live below the poverty

line and it's easy to spot when you drive away from the all-inclusive vacation resorts.

DAISY NUNEZ, AFTERCARE DIRECTOR, IJM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: in our culture, it's very common for teenage girls especially to be emancipated when

they're 11, they're 12, 13, 15-years- old so they're on their own and they're exposed to that kind of crime and they need money to survive.

RIDDELL: One investigator told me that the price for having sex with a minor here is incredibly cheap, as little as, 1,000 or 2,000 Dominican

pesos. It's unthinkable that you can ruin a life for that, that something so damaging can be acquired for just $20.

It would be very tempting to think that the program is fueled solely by international tourist and their vacation dollars but IJM's researchers

revealed has revealed that it's a cultural problem, too, many of the victims don't even see themselves as victims.

And the users can be locals as well as visitors, and according to one investigator, the Dominican culture of secrecy only facilitates the

trafficking.

You can find these cabanas all over the capital city, motel like rooms to rent for as little as $10. Tinted car windows conceal your identity on

arrival, complete anonymity is guaranteed during your stay.

Investigators that I spoke with say around half of the victims they rescued were taken to places like these but despite the scale of the problem, and

though the obstacles, there remains real hope.

NUNEZ: We see changes in the government. The government is doing their best of what they have.

RODRIGUEZ: I know in 2015, the human trafficking department of the national police conducted zero rescues of sex trafficking and this year, we

have engaged in five rescue operations of sex trafficking with this department. So it's beginning to change, it's beginning to get mobilized

but there is still a lot of work to be done.

RIDDELL: Don Riddell, CNN, Dominican Republic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Yes, beginning to change but not soon enough and that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. We've got World Sport with Alex Thomas,

next.

END