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NEWS STREAM

Smoldering Ash And Tent Cities, California's Wildfires Reach A New Level Of Devastation And Create Increasing Desperation; Too Terrible To Hear, Donald Trump Says He Will Not Listen To The Recording That Captured The Killing Of Jamal Khashoggi; Avoiding A One On One, What The US President Is Now Saying About A Sit-Down Interview With Special Counsel Robert Mueller; There Are Growing Signs Of A Ceasefire In The War In Yemen Where A Leader Of The Iran-Backed Houthian Movement Says His Forces Are Ready To Stop Military Operations Against The Saudi-Backed Coalition; Nissan Has Revealed That Its Chairman Has Been Arrested After Allegations Of Serious Misconduct; After A Turbulent Last Few Days In Westminster, The British Prime Minister Is Facing New Challenges Over Her Brexit Plan This Week.. Aired: 8-9a ET

Aired November 19, 2018 - 08:00   ET

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


KRISTIE LU STOUT: Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream." Smoldering ash and tent cities, California's wildfires reach a

new level of devastation and create increasing desperation.

Too terrible to hear, Donald Trump says he will not listen to the recording that captured the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

And avoiding a one on one, what the US President is now saying about a sit- down interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Now, it has the distinction of being the most destructive and deadliest wildfire in California history and officials say, it's not over yet. After

scorching about 61,000 hectares in the last week and a half, the so-called Campfire is likely to burn for 11 more days before it's finally contained,

and while the financial cost is still being tallied, the loss of human life that is incalculable. At least 80 people have been killed in this fire and

another fire in the south of the state.

Nearly 1,000 people remain missing. Community boards like this one with photos and contact information are now popping up. Survivors frantically

are searching for their loved ones. The parking lot of this Walmart just 10 miles from the fire's epicenter has been transformed into this, a tent

city, after local shelters have reached full capacity. And amid all the devastation, one church is making this vow, "We will rise from the ashes."

Let's get straight to CNN's Kaylee Hartung. She joins us from Chico, California, where many of those who were displaced have sought refuge and

Kaylee, the number of missing has skyrocketed. What is behind that and the alarming death toll?

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, this fire when it was at its worst was burning through the equivalent of New York's Manhattan Island

every three hours. There were extremely high winds, there was low humidity and warm conditions which really fueled this incredibly rapidly moving

fire.

And so the people in the town of Paradise, a town with a population of approximately 25,000 people had very little notice when they needed to

leave their hillside community. Now, when we speak about this number of missing, the number of people who were unaccounted for, authorities say

because so many people were displaced, they estimate about 50,000 people evacuated from the fire zone, they say it is so difficult to manage this

list as they are sourcing information from multiple different types of reports, whether that be 911 calls or e-mails, other incident reports.

So 993 names are on the list as it stands now. That number is absolutely startling, but authorities say that's 283 fewer names than there were on

the list the day before. They say for all of the folks who may be afraid to look at the list because they might see someone's name on it, they ask

them to take a look and if you see anyone's name on this list who shouldn't be on it, someone who is safe, please let them know because they are going

to comb through it meticulously to ensure everyone is accounted for.

LU STOUT: Kaylee Hartung reporting for us live from Chico, California. Kaylee, thank you. Now, our meteorologist Chad Myers is at the CNN Weather

Center. He has been monitoring conditions. He joins us now and Chad, what are the conditions like today?

CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST, CNN: Not bad, although for the people that live there, the smoke is in the air and certainly the air is as hazardous as

anything you can imagine in any industrialized country, even though there is no true industry there.

We are now 60,000 hectares here and even into the Woolsey fire, that is down by Malibu, that is beginning to clear up, almost completely contained

here. The smoke is in the air, the smog just feels like you're breathing something and it's getting at the back of the people's throats here from

Sacramento all the way down to Oakland and San Francisco, a very big populated areas just so much haze and smoke in the air, but rain is coming,

but a lot of rain is coming and that's a good thing, bad thing. Good news, bad news kind of thing here.

We will see rain on Wednesday, we'll see another batch on Thursday afternoon and again maybe even into Friday. Some spots will pick up with

the first roundabout of 100 millimeters of rain and then another 50 on top of that in just a couple of days. You think, well, that's great, and it

is, it will put out the fire. The problem is all of this land here is about to turn into a giant mud slide. And I'll tell you why in just a

second.

[08:05:01]

MYERS: Fifty millimeters to put out the fires, but the burn scars are the problem. The burn scars are the problem because the fire almost like

painting a piece of wood won't allow the water to soak in. The surface below this super hot fire of the dirt, of the soil, turns hydrophobic. It

actually seals it like searing a steak so that you sear the steak so that the juices don't come out.

If you sear the land, the juices or the rain doesn't soak in. So all of this ash that's in the way here will get all coagulated in to a slurry and

slide right down the hill. And it's the sliding part that is going to be the problem.

On the bottom of these mudslides, sometimes these things can be doing 30 or 40 miles per hour and people can't get out of the way of these significant

mudslides. We see them all the time. The subsurface soil will not allow any rain to soak in and so the mud just goes downhill. We call it a debris

flow, but debris is lots of things -- trees, sticks, logs, sometimes even boulders can be pushed down with this very almost cement-like, wet cement-

like structure here as it slides downhill, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Chad, really appreciate that you explained it. When we hear that rain is in the forecast, we think, oh, relief is on the way, but, no,

in fire ravaged California, rain is a double-edged sword when there's too much of it. Chad Myers, a good explainer, as always, thank you. And to

find out how you can help the victims of the California wildfires, you can check out our website, go to cnn.com/impact. You will find a list of

vetted charities helping those in need.

In a new interview, US President Donald Trump says he is not really sure if the Saudi Crown Prince lied when he said he wasn't involved in Jamal

Khashoggi's murder. This is at odds with the CIA assessment that the Crown Prince personally ordered the killing.

The Saudi journalist was killed on October 2nd inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. An audio recording by Mr. Trump's own intel officials now

have obtained captured part of the murder, but the US President says there is no need for him to listen to it. Here is what he told Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to hear the tape. No reason for me to hear the tape.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Why don't you want to hear it, sir?

TRUMP: Because it's a suffering tape. It's a terrible tape. I've been fully briefed on it. There is no reason for me to hear it. In fact, I

said to the people, should I? They said you really shouldn't. There is no reason. I know exactly - I know everything that went on with the tape and

what happened.

WALLACE: And what happened?

TRUMP: It was very violent, very vicious and terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Let's bring in Jomana Karadsheh. She is live from outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and Jomana, Trump doesn't want to listen to the

tape? President Trump is distancing himself from the CIA assessment saying it's too early to know. Does this give the Saudis room to just brush off

the latest allegations?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, you know, Kristie, the feeling has been that since day one, the administration and President Trump

personally have at least publicly appeared not to want to push the Saudis too much and some feel that it was Turkey's strategy, this drip feed of

leaks over the past few weeks that got us to this point where Saudi went from basically denying any knowledge of what happened to Jamal Khashoggi to

now admitting that he was killed in the consulate.

But when it comes to the President's position it seems, you know, so many times we've heard him defending the relationship with Saudi Arabia,

defending the Crown Prince and basically saying that there's no evidence. Take a listen to what the President said in an interview with Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: We now know that some of the people closest to him, some of his closest advisers, were part of this. Question, did MBS lie to you, sir?

TRUMP: I don't - I don't know. You know, who can really know? But I can say this, he's got many people now that say he had no knowledge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH: And, you know, some, Kristie, feel that the President and this administration just want the world to take Saudi Arabia's word for it, for

what took place in this consulate, and then when you hear the President saying it is too early to reach conclusions, some are wondering, you know,

they find it as a very baffling statement.

It's been 50 days almost since Jamal Khashoggi was killed. It has been nearly four weeks since the CIA Director, Gina Haspel was here in Turkey

and the Turks shared the intelligence they had, she listened to the audio recording. Some are wondering why is it taking so long for this report

from the administration for them to really come out with the conclusion and some here in this region also within the Turkish government, some officials

feel that we're seeing some sort of stalling tactics from some within the administration as well as Saudi Arabia hoping that the longer this goes on

that the world will simply move on and just forget about th case.

[08:10:08]

KARADSHEH: But that obviously is not happening right now, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, because more pressure will be applied from various sources, whether it's US Congress in the US or Turkish officials there where you're

reporting. Jomana Karadsheh, reporting live. Thank you.

Now, there are growing signs of a ceasefire in the war in Yemen where a leader of the Iran-backed Houthian movement says his forces are ready to

stop military operations against the Saudi-backed coalition. The comments followed diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia to engage in peace talks after

the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and now the Saudi King Salman says the Kingdom supports a political solution to the conflict.

CNN's Sam Kiley is in Abu Dhabi. He joins me now. Sam, the Houthi leader is ready for a ceasefire, but what about the Saudi-led coalition?

SAM KILEY, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, so far the Saudi-led coalition has said at least during a lull in the fighting last

week that its attitude was that it was continuing operations at pace.

That was before Mohammed al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis, the Iranian backed separatists in Yemen announced this overnight ceasefire. It's a

unilateral offer to stop using long range missiles and stop using drones not only against targets inside Yemen, but also beyond the borders, notably

into Saudi Arabia and here into the United Arab Emirates.

Those were in part, part of a previous UN Resolution that called on the Houthis to stop these sorts of operations ahead of any previous - any

possible ceasefire. Now today, there is an expectation that Britain will come up with a new UN Resolution, possibly requiring both sides, that was

the idea at least over the weekend, to create a level of equality, if you like, in this requiring both the Saudis and the Houthis to simultaneously

cease operations.

It will be interesting to see whether or not that appears in the final resolution or whether it gets watered down after protests by the Saudis,

but there is a glimmer of hope here, Kristie, that towards the end of this month there could be some peace talks that could get under way in Sweden,

not least because one of the major blocks to that had been the release of 50 wounded Houthis by the Saudis to allow them to go and seek medical help

outside the country. The Saudis have now agreed to that.

So these things are inching in the right direction at a time when of course as you know the humanitarian crisis is catastrophic there.

LU STOUT: Yes, so peace is desperately needed. Sam Kiley reporting. Thank you. You're watching "News Stream." Still ahead, we've breaking

news for you. Nissan says its Chairman has been arrested after major allegations made by the company. What this means for the car giant? What

is happening behind the scenes here with Carlos Ghosn, more on the investigation that led to this development. That is happening after the

break.

Also ahead, the APEC Summit ends without its leaders agreeing on a joint communique. This is the very first time this has happened. Keep it here.

[08:15:00]

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Breaking news, in the past few minutes, Nissan has revealed that its Chairman has been arrested after allegations of

serious misconduct. Nissan accuses Carlos Ghosn of underreporting his compensation and the personal use of company assets.

Nissan says it's been going on for years. Board member Greg Kelly also has been accused in the scheme. Anna Stewart is in London and joins us now.

Anna, it was an internal investigation that was launched and took place in the last few months that led us to this moment. Tell us more about the

investigation and what more did it reveal about Carlos Ghosn leading to his arrest.

ANNA STEWART, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Exactly. We've just heard from the CEO of Nissan himself, he is giving a press conference right now and he gave us

the information that Carlos Ghosn has been now been arrested as has Guy Kelly, the other executive involved in this.

And what they released today was a very clear statement actually in terms of sort of what the allegations are. It says, "Over many years, both Ghosn

and Kelly have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange that were less than the actual amount." And in addition to that,

Kristie, in regards to Ghosn, there are numerous other significant acts of misconduct which have been uncovered such as the personal use of company

assets amongst other things.

So that's all we know at this stage in terms of what is the investigation. It was an internal investigation following a whistleblower report. Now of

course, Nissan is cooperating with Japanese authorities and the CEO has been arrested. The question is now of course, will the board oust him,

which of course we largely expect, not just from Nissan but from the other car companies that Carlos Ghosn heads up.

LU STOUT: Yes, Carlos Ghosn, he is a titan of industry. He is not just the chairman of Nissan, he is the Chairman and chief exec of Renault. He

is the Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors. I know you've been following the stock price for at least a couple of these companies, and what does the

arrest mean for all these firms?

STEWART: Well, quite right, Renault, as you can see from the share price, Kristie, double digits down this morning. The news broke just after Nissan

closed for the day, but I can tell you that on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, those share prices are under pressure, too.

Now of course, shareholders wants more clarity. It's hard to understand how he could retain any of his positions on any of these boards, frankly,

given the serious nature of the allegations against him. We're waiting to hear from Renault and from Mitsubishi. Of course, they are likely having

crisis meetings with their boards now, but we should get more details in the hours to come.

LU STOUT: All right, Anna Stewart reporting live from London. We'll have more details in the first move with Julia Chatterly at the top of the hour.

Anna, thank you.

Now, after a turbulent last few days in Westminster, the British Prime Minister is facing new challenges over her Brexit plan this week. The

first began a couple of hours ago when Theresa May pitched her draft deal to British business leaders.

Now, the focus turns to the rest of the EU where there are key meetings scheduled. So what is motivating Britain's leader during these tough

talks? Well, she explained this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOPHY RIDGE, ENGLISH BROADCAST JOURNALIST: Have you ever thought at any stage about just giving up? What's the point of this?

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: No, I haven't. Of course it's been a tough week. Actually, these negotiations have been tough right from the

start, but they were always going to get even more difficult right towards the end when we are coming to that conclusion, but what I think is this

isn't about me, it's actually about what's right for the people of this country. It's about what's in the national interest. That's what drives

me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Tough request to answer, tough times for Theresa May. We've got Nina Dos Santos live in London. And Nina, let's talk about her pitch to

the business community which she just gave earlier in the day. How much business support does the Prime Minister have for her Brexit plan?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, for the moment she does seem to have the support of the biggest business lobby, which is the Confederation

of British Industries that's been long agitating about the fact that there isn't enough clarity in the UK's Brexit negotiations and says that

essentially although this deal is not perfect, it is some sign of the kind of stability that they would like to see, some visibility on the future

framework that the UK would have with the EU after it leaves the EU in march of next year.

There's also been some clarity over the last few days that seems to have been given when it comes to this so-called transition period. If the UK

leaves and hasn't yet got a deal with the EU, it seems as though instead of that being an unlimited transition period, which is a total redline for

many Brexiteers, the government has firmed up the language on that to make sure the transition period lasts no longer than January 2022.

As you pointed out, Theresa May is going to be heading over to Brussels to try and again, sell this deal to the community over there. She's going to

be meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker she said in the next few days, largely not to talk about the withdrawal agreement because she says this document

that of course has caused so much ire in Westminster over the last several days that is largely the withdrawal document.

[08:20:05]

DOS SANTOS: That she believes is said and done, it's the best deal they are going to get. But instead, the focus is going to shift towards the

future political declaration, the future political relationship and economic relationship that the UK will have with the EU once it has left

the European Union.

And when it comes to the voices that are coming back from Brussels, again, the message has been we have agreed what we've agreed with Theresa May,

Theresa May saying to her MPs who as yet haven't had the numbers to mount a big leadership challenge against her, changing me is not going to achieve

anything. This is the best deal that we can get, Kristie?

LU STOUT: Yes, testing times for her and her Brexit plan. Nina dos Santos reporting. Nina, thank you. This year's APEC summit, usually a relatively

tame affair ended in dramatic fashion. For the first time in its 25-year history, the meeting wrapped up without a formal joint statement. That's

because according to a source within the meeting, China wasn't happy with some of the wording in a paragraph about trade.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing, they were front and center throughout the summit and that was evident in speeches by the Chinese

President and the US Vice President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have great respect for President Xi and great respect for China. But in the President's words,

China has taken advantage of the United States for many, many years. Those days are over.

XI JINPING, PRESIDENT OF CHINA (Through a translator): History tells us to take the road of confrontation, whether it's in the form of a cold war,

open war or trade war, it will produce no winners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, the disagreement over the wording in the communique apparently caused a scene at the Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister's

office. Now for more, let's go straight to Ivan Watson. And Ivan, usually the APEC Summit ends with a communique and a photo op with the world

leaders in matching tunics. That didn't happen in this time. What went wrong?

IVAN WATSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes, there was a failure to achieve consensus here. As the Prime Minister of the host

country, Papua New Guinea put it, it was because of the two big giants, China and the US, the two world's largest economies could not see eye to

eye, but there was also some drama on the sidelines.

A source familiar with the incident tells CNN that at one point on Saturday in the capital there, four Chinese diplomats barged into the office of

Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister after he had rejected a request from them to help draw up the final draft communique. He was arguing that he

had to be objective as the host country and couldn't have their influence.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has denied that and claimed that these are rumors aimed at trying to spoil the Chinese Papua New Guinea relationship.

That was a bit of a sidebar to a bigger issue and that was that the 21 countries couldn't come to an agreement. A US official tells CNN that

China was alone against the other 20 countries because of a different - difference of agreement over visions of trade going into the future.

Kristie?

LU STOUT: A bizarre turn of events at the host nation for APEC this year. Ivan, just how heated did it get between Xi Jinping and Mike Pence at APEC.

WATSON: They met twice and evidently they didn't swing at each other or anything. They did speak, but in their speeches they did make some pretty

blunt criticism at each other with Xi Jinping talking about the need for multilateralism or rules-based system, for tolerance and warning against

protectionism, whereas Mike Pence went very much against one of Xi Jinping's pet projects, his One Belt, One Road initiative. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENCE: Know that the United States offers a better option. We don't drown our partners in a sea of debt, we don't coerce to compromise your

independence, the United States deals openly and fairly, we do not offer a constricting belt or a one-way road.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So he is criticizing here China's One Belt, One Road initiative where China has lavished huge amounts of money around the world on these

infrastructure projects and Pence basically arguing that this is a debt trap that will take away nations' sovereignty. Xi in his own speech said,

no, there is no hidden agenda to our One Belt, One Road initiative. You can see the jockeying here, Kristie, because Pence came to this meeting

talking about joint investment projects and infrastructure in the Asia- Pacific region that would be done with Australia, for example, or Japan. Promising to bring electricity to Papua New Guinea which has issues with

power, and also announcing that there would be the creation of a new trilateral military base on Papua New Guinea's island of Manus with the

Australians and Papua New Guinea.

[08:25:09]

WATSON: So you can see the competition shaking out here in addition to a trade war where both countries have levied tariffs on hundreds of billions

of dollars' worth of each other's goods. There could be an off ramp and Pence himself suggested this at the upcoming G-20 summit in Argentina where

President Trump and Xi Jinping will meet face-to-face, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, for that, we will wait and see. But wow, for APEC this year, no communique, no consensus just open feuding. Incredible. Ivan

Watson, reporting, thank you.

Now, not long ago Shenzhen was a poor fishing village on the southern coast of China, but today it is one and has been for a few years the fastest

growing cities on the planet. Matt Rivers takes us on a tour of China's Silicon Valley.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Forty years ago, none of this existed. The buildings, roads, none of it. Shenzhen was a little more than a poor

fishing village on China's southern coast, but today, it's home to 12 million people and growing. It's the world's greatest or biggest boomtown.

That's because it's one of the top centers of Chinese wealth, and this is the man who started it all.

That's Deng Xiaoping who led China from the late '70s to the early' '90s, and it was his idea to open up China to the rest of the world. He did that

in part by creating with these special economic zones which included Shenzhen. They got preferential tax treatment, more direct foreign

investment, and that more than anything else helped create all this.

Western firms flooded in like China's first McDonalds and factories popped up churning out boatloads of cheap electronics and consumer goods and

amongst them were a whole bunch of knock offs until manufacturers here realized.

ANDREW HUANG, AUTHOR, THE HARDWARE HACKER: You can't really actually make a big profit just pure copying, so they learned how to actually add value

to the designs, so now they're coming up with like new designs.

RIVERS: Tech startups lured by easy access to the global supply chain of gadgets flourished in this warmer less polluted city far away from Beijing.

Innovating in AI, robotics and electric vehicles. This isn't the stuff of the future. It's happening right now from facial recognition --

So right now when you walk into the subway here, they take a picture of your face. There's lights there. They take a picture of you every time

you walk under the subway.

To an entire market, the world's largest operating almost entirely almost cash and card free.

So every little store here that you can buy fruit or whatever you need, you go on your phone, you scan a QR code like this one, so this is WeChat Pay

and that's that, simple as that. I just bought fruit from this woman.

All of these innovations supported by the government in a bid to rebrand "Made in China" to "Created in China." To be sure, much of the world is

wary of China's rise. Can it truly challenge the US for economic dominance? That's not clear. But if it does, Shenzhen, the city built in

just a single generation will likely be the force that makes it happen. Matt Rivers, CNN, Shenzhen.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT: The Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei once said that, "Everything is art, everything is politics." Now that is especially true

if you work somewhere where freedom of speech is not taken for granted like Taiwan, but it's comments made outside the cutting room from Fu Yuea, a

director from Taiwan that are stirring up deep feelings on both sides of the Taiwan strait. Take a listen to what she said at the Golden Horse

Film Awards this weekend. It's the Chinese language equivalent of the Oscars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FU YUET, TAIWANESE FILM DIRECTOR (Through a translator): I really hope our country will one day be treated as a genuine independent entity. This is

my biggest wish as a Taiwanese.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, under its One China policy, Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory even though it is self-governed and democratic. Taiwan's

leader has spoken out saying this, quote, "I am proud of the Golden Horse Ceremony yesterday because it accentuated how Taiwan is different from

China." You're watching "News Stream." Still to come, President Trump is speaking out about the Russia probe. What he's saying about his written

answers to Special Counsel Mueller's questions, next.

[08:30:41]

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

Carlos Ghosn has been arrested after allegations by the company of serious misconduct. Nissan accuses him of underreporting his compensation and the

personal use of company assets. Board member, Greg Kelly is also accused in the alleged scheme and we have not yet heard a response from either of

them.

California officials say the deadliest fire in the state's history won't be contained for another 11 days. At least 77 people have been killed; nearly

1,000 remain missing in the devastating Campfire. Cooler temperatures and rain are in the forecast for the devastated region.

Israel's education minister says he is not resigning despite major divisions in the government. Many Israelis are upset that Prime Minister

Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas last week. His Defense Minister quit and the Prime Minister's base calls for a snap election. Mr.

Netanyahu says that would be irresponsible.

In a new interview with Fox News, US President Donald Trump said who can really know if the Saudi Crown Prince lied when he said he wasn't involved

in Jamal Khashoggi's murder. This is at odds with a CIA assessment that the Crown Prince personally ordered the killing of the Saudi journalist

last month. Mr. Trump says he will be getting a very full report on Tuesday.

In the same interview, President Trump spoke out about the Mueller probe and criticism over the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney

General. In the past, Whitaker has been critical of the Russia probe. Here is what Mr. Trump told Fox News about Whitaker's oversight of the

special counsel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: If Whitaker decides in any way to limit or curtail the Mueller investigation, are you okay with that?

TRUMP: Look, it's going to be up to him. I think he's very well aware politically, I think he is astute politically. He is a very smart person,

a very respected person, he's going to do what's right. I really believe he's going to do what's right.

WALLACE: But you won't overrule him if he decides to curtail.

TRUMP: I would not get involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: CNN's senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns is at the White House. He joins us now. Joe, good to see you. Will President Trump sit

down for an interview with the special counsel? What did he say to Fox?

JOE JOHNS, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPODENT, CNN: Well, that's certainly the farthest the President has gone and it's pretty strong language, too, isn't

it? The President has said in the past that he had concerns about sitting down with Mueller, but now just listen. Listen so what the President had

to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We gave very, very complete answers to a lot of questions that I shouldn't have even been asked and I think that should solve the problem.

I hope it solves the problem. If it doesn't, you know, I will be told and we will make a decision at that time. But probably, this is the end.

WALLACE: No interview.

TRUMP: I think we've wasted enough time on this witch-hunt and answer is probably - we are finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:35:05]

JOHNS: "Probably, we are finished." Now, if you talk to power lawyers around Washington, DC, and I have, many of them have said they would never

allow the President of the United States to sit down with the special counsel, simply because of the legal exposure that's involved when it comes

to things like perjury or obstruction of justice.

Also, the President has been known to be a bit challenged by the truth. So there's that as well. Difficult to see how an attorney would willingly

allow the President to sit down and answer questions, impromptu, with the special counsel's office, Kristie.

LU STOUT: This was a wide-ranging interview, it generated a lot of headlines. Also in the interview, President Trump unloaded on retired

Admiral William McRaven, former head of Special Operations Command. What did he say?

JOHNS: Essentially reducing the man who spear-headed or was the architect for the capture of Saddam Hussein as well as the killing of Osama bin

Laden, reducing his reputation to a political hack. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: McRaven, retired Admiral, Navy SEAL, 37 years, former head of US Special operations.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton fan.

WALLACE: Special operations --

TRUMP: Excuse me. Hillary Clinton fan.

WALLACE: ... who led the operations, commanded the operations, that took down Saddam Hussein and that killed Osama bin Laden says that your

sentiment is the greatest threat to democracy in his lifetime.

TRUMP: Okay, he is a Hillary Clinton backer and an Obama backer and frankly --

WALLACE: But he was a Navy SEAL for 37 years.

TRUMP: Wouldn't it have been nice if we got Osama bin Laden a lot sooner than that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: That is the world of the President of the United States. People who oppose or criticize him are seen to do it because it is motivated by

politics, but people who support the President do it because of altruism. Back to you.

LU STOUT: This interview just revealed so much about the US President. Joe Johns reporting live from the White House. Joe, thank you.

After a contentious Senate race and recount, Florida will send a new senator to Washington. Current US Senator Bill Nelson on the right conceded

to Republican challenger Rick Scott on Sunday. The margin, just over 10,000 votes. Meanwhile, the Senate Republicans will keep their majority

now with 52 seats. Democrats only have 47. One undecided race in Mississippi will be decided later this month in a runoff.

In the House of Representatives, Democrats have a majority with 232 seats, Republicans have 200. Three races are still undecided. And as the new

Congress prepares to go to work, will they continue their colleagues' focus on big tech in the wake of data breaches and disinformation campaigns, the

CEO of Apple says the scrutiny on his company and others could intensify.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that's inevitable?

TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of regulation, I'm a big believer in the free market, but we have to admit

when the free market is not working and it hasn't worked here. I think it's inevitable that there will be some level of regulation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Tim Cook made those comments to "Axios" and they come as the backlash grows for Facebook after that "New York Times" investigation

suggested it failed at recognizing and stopping Russian interference and hired a PR hit firm to write negative stories about its critics.

You're watching "News Stream." Still to come we are going to meet a geographer who is determined to make Britain's capital city a thriving

national park. We're going green. That's next.

[08:40:00]

LU STOUT: Welcome back, now, in major cities around the world, creative minds are tackling some of society's toughest issues. In this edition of

CNN's "Going Green" we meet an inspiring environmentalist trying to turn London into one of the first's urban national park. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DAN RAVEN-ELLISON, GUERRILLA GEOGRAPHER AND CREATIVE EXPLORER: I absolutely love being in nature. Throughout London, there are thousands of

parks like this one with this beautiful tree canopy and I love the curvature of the branches, the dappled light coming through the trees, the

sound of wind going through the branches. I'm Dan Raven-Ellison, working to make London a national park city.

When most people think of national parks, they think of deserts or rain forests or mountains marlins, but I have explored all of the UK's national

parks and I noticed that maybe something is missing and that's a major urban area.

We share the city with 15,000 other species of wildlife and I don't think that the urban life is worth any less, I don't think an urban red fox is

worth less than an arctic fox or a desert fox, it's just a red fox.

I think people are awakening to the fact that we need to have a better relationship with nature, for our own health and wellbeing, for the health

and wellbeing of wildlife populations, but we also need to have a better relationship with nature for the health and resilience of our cities to

tackle climate change.

I started the campaign to make London a national park city five years ago now and when I started out, I think that most people thought that I was

completely bonkers, but I'm delighted to share after all of this work, London is going to be launched as the world's first national park city in

July 2019.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT: Wow, that is a vision for London I'd love to see happen not just there, but in so many places, urban centers around the world. Now, when

you plan to visit Disneyland, you accept that waiting in line, that's just part of the deal, but at Disneyland Japan, the waiting time to meet Mickey

Mouse on Sunday reached nightmarish proportions.

Now, in the morning on Sunday this sign warned visitors of a 660-minute wait to explore Mickey's House and to take a picture with the character.

That's 11 hours. Later in the day, it shortened to a mere three hours. November 18th marked 90 years since "Steamboat Willie" premiered, that was

Mickey's first public appearance and by the time, many of his fans got through the line, it probably felt like 90 years had gone by.

And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. "World Sport's" Alex Thomas is next.

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[09:00:00]

END