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NEWS STREAM
Searching For Consensus, Theresa May Scrambles To Come Up With A New Brexit Deal; Rudy Giuliani's Head Scratcher - Donald Trump's Attorney Says He Doesn't Know If Aides In The Trump Campaign Colluded With Russia; The Big Retirement, Japan Prepares To Bid Farewell To Its Last Remaining Sumo Champion. Aired: 8-9a ET
Aired January 17, 2019 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST, "NEWS STREAM": I'm Kristi Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream." Searching for consensus, Theresa May
scrambles to come up with a new Brexit deal. Rudy Giuliani's head scratcher - Donald Trump's attorney says he doesn't know if aides in the
Trump campaign colluded with Russia. And the big retirement, Japan prepares to bid farewell to its last remaining Sumo champion.
Britain's Parliament is now set to debate and perhaps even vote on a Brexit Plan B later this month after the Prime Minister's first deal to leave the
E.U. went down in flames. Theresa May's plan did not have staying power, but she sure has it having now survived a government and party leadership
confidence vote. She has just days to accomplish what she failed to do in two and a half years, deliver a successful Brexit deal.
Mrs. May is expected to lay out her alternative on Monday, which Parliament will then debate on January 29th. The Prime Minister is urging all
political parties to work together on a compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: In a historic vote in 2016, the country decided to leave the E.U. In 2017, 80% of people voted for parties
that stood on manifestos promising to respect that result. Now, over two and a half years later, it's time for us to come together, put the national
interests first and deliver on the referendum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: CNN's Bianca Nobilo is live outside Parliament; Melissa Bell is at E.U. headquarters in Brussels, but let's begin with Hadas Gold at 10
Downing Street. And Hadas, Theresa May, she is pushing for this cross- party consensus to get a new deal, but there has been a lot of flexibility across the board, so can it be done?
HADAS GOLD, REPORTER, CNN: That is a great question, Kristie. I want to point out to you the number 19. That's the number of votes by which
Theresa May survived that no-confidence vote last night here in London in Parliament, and that goes to show you the sort of number that's we're
dealing with when it comes to finding a consensus for Theresa May's Brexit deal.
She is now having talks across party lines including within her own Party, with the harder Brexiteers and the Northern Ireland Party that helps prop
up her government right now that says just a handful of members, but their numbers are crucial for her current majority.
They really helped keep her in power last night after that vote. But, of course, there is one person who is not meeting with her yet, and that is
Jeremy Corbyn who said he won't meet with her until a no-deal scenario is taken off the table.
We are seeing a lot of activity here in Downing Street. Phillip Hammond just walked in. There's lots of talks on going, but it's not clear what
and who will budge in this because Theresa May has been pretty strong on her red lines and there's been a lot of complaints from Members of
Parliament that she refuses to move from them.
The question now is whether she will move on things like a Customs Union, whether she will move on even the date, that March 29th date. There is the
question of whether the U.K. will ask to extend Article 50, ask to extend that deadline potentially later into the summer to give them time to figure
out what's going to happen because we are just 71 days away, Kristie and time is really running out.
LU STOUT: Yes, time is running out, and it's hard to get consensus when no one wants to budge. Hadas Gold reporting live for us. Thank you. Let's
go to Bianca Nobilo and Bianca, Theresa May, again, calling on Britain's Parties, you know, to put the self-interest aside, to work together, do
reach a compromised deal, but, you know, we haven't seen a lot of agility. There are a lot of entrenched interests. So can they realistically deliver
something here?
BIANCA NOBILO, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: The chief criticism on both sides has been that either party, the Conservatives and the Labour Party are being
opportunistic in thinking about either staying in power or getting themselves in power. But now, Theresa May's Brexit deal has failed so
dismally.
We're not talking about something which a few tweaks could fix. She lost by an overwhelming majority. She now accepts that she needs to do
something different. So as Hadas was saying, her approach is now cross- party talks.
[08:05:04]
NOBILO: But she faces a really difficult dilemma and this is what all of the Conservative MPs that I have been speaking to have been saying to me.
Does she either appeal to her own back benchers, those who would favor a harder Brexit, crashing out of the E.U. on W.T.O. terms or certainly
removing the backstop from the current arrangement or does she look towards the Labour Party and try and appeal to some of the waiverers on that side
who would like to see a softer Brexit, a Customs Union because she has quite a few MPs in her own Party that would also get on board with that.
Now, Conservatives warn that if Theresa May was to leave her own Party's wishes aside, leaving her back benchers wishes aside and looking towards
the Labour benches, that could be catastrophic. In fact, such a strategy has spelled the end of several Prime Ministers in British history, and
she'll be reminded of that.
But even though it seems like nothing is really changing here in Parliament, it reminds me a bit like a nature documentary where a plant
doesn't look like it's growing day by day, but overall, you see shifts. And what we are noticing is the center of gravity in this Brexit debate has
shifted. And it is now around this notion of a Customs Union of some sort because that is what the Labour Party could get on board with, that's what
a lot of Theresa May's party could get on board with, as well.
LU STOUT: Bianca, I am looking forward to seeing you file the Brexit time lapse package one day. Bianca Nobilo, live from outside the House of
Parliament. Thank you so much. Take care.
And we go to our Melissa Bell standing by in Brussels. And Melissa, let's say they do it. But even if Theresa May and Parliament work together, they
reach a compromise, they come up with a new deal, is there any sign that the E.U. would change its position?
MELISSA BELL, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, the E.U. European leaders are essentially waiting for Westminster to get its act together. If we imagine
for a moment that it does come back with a deal that's been approved by Westminster, it really can't go very much further in terms of expecting
the British government that is any kinds of concessions as what Europe has said is look, "Come back to us. There is a possibility potentially of more
time." This is something that's been signaled by European leaders and by the leaders of European institutions over the course of the last 48 hours.
But that is all they're going to get.
Meanwhile, Europe prepares for the worst case scenario, Kristie, and that is the U.K. crashing out of the E.U. on March 29th. This morning, France
triggered a plan that have been many months in the preparation, but it was finally triggered this morning given that catastrophic vote for Theresa
May.
Remember that that plan that fell had involved a 21-month transition period, up until December 31st, 2020. That would have allowed the E.U. to
prepare, the U.K. to prepare, both of them to decide what kind of future relationship they wanted. That's now gone for the time being. So European
countries are preparing for the worst.
France has triggered this plan, 50 million euros will be given to ports and to airports to try and get them ready for that worst case scenario, a no-
deal Brexit. A bill is to be introduced in Parliament. Essentially, Europe is preparing for the worst.
But again, we were talking about the shift of that center of gravity, it is very much now on Westminster to find a way forward. The Europeans having
gone as far as they're willing to go and frankly, Kristie, maintaining the balance of power in this since the case of a - the worst case scenario,
which is that the U.K. crashes out of the E.U. is really worst of all for the United Kingdom. Nobody wants to see it happen, but it is clearly in
the U.K. that the impacts will be felt the worst -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, and among E.U. leaders, they're getting ready and preparing for all possible options. Melissa Bell reporting live from Brussels.
Melissa, thank you. And now to the Russia probe, and that stunning about face by President Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani now says he has only
stated that President Trump never colluded with Russia during the 2016 Presidential campaign, but he can't speak for other members of the
campaign.
Here is what he told CNN's Chris Cuomo last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, DONALD TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign. I have
no idea. I have none. I said the President of the United States. There is not a single bit of evidence the President of the United States
committed the only crime you could commit here, conspired with the Russians to hack the DNC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Okay, that is not what Donald Trump has declared over and over and over again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian people.
There was no collusion whatsoever. There never has been. The last thing I want is help from Russia on a campaign.
There has been no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Another problem, Giuliani himself has previously said that there was no collusion by top campaign officials like in this interview with Fox
News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY BENSON, CONTRIBUTOR, FOX NEWS: Is it still the view of you and client that there was no conclusion with the Russians whatsoever on behalf of the
Trump campaign?
GIULIANI: Correct. When I say the Trump campaign, I mean the upper levels of the Trump campaign.
[08:10:10]
GIULIANI: I have no reason to believe anyone else did. The only ones I checked with are obviously the top four or five people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And certainly, one of the top four or five people controlling that campaign would have been Chairman Paul Manafort and we just learned
last week that Manafort gave secret polling data to an associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian national who is linked to Russian
intelligence.
Joining us now from Washington is CNN legal analyst and former Federal prosecutor Shan Wu. Shan, good to see you. Wow, remarkable comments there
from Giuliani. He has said something that President Trump has repeatedly denied. How damaging is this?
SHAN WU, LEGAL ANALYST, CNN: I think it is damaging, certainly, and most importantly it's a preview of at least what the President's personal legal
team and Giuliani represents him personally is seeing coming down the pike.
Whether or not they are privy to any inside information, if they know something in terms of what Mueller has, it's clear that they see the danger
here. And where things started way back when, was saying that there is absolutely no evidence of even any contacts between the campaign and the
Russians. That had to get moved back to, okay, there was contacts, but there's nothing substantive, meaning no collusion.
And now with the, perhaps, inadvertent disclosures from Manafort's team, with him sharing the polling data, it's obvious that there was at least
something of substance going on here. So in that sense, as a former prosecutor, I would say that technically, the case has already been made
that there was substantive interaction between the campaign and the Russians.
I think what remains to be seen is just who in the campaign besides, let's say, a rogue actor Manafort, the Campaign Chairman knew about in and, of
course, did it go to the President himself.
LU STOUT: Yes, very significant, very damaging, and also begs the question what is going on with Rudy Giuliani. He is, as you point out, the
President's personal lawyer. He has - and he has done this before, he has this tendency to just go on air, do these wild interviews, contradict
himself and his client and do you think, what he said to Chris Cuomo that that was intentional?
WU: Yes, I think it was. He - I think there are two things going on with Giuliani. First, his primary goal and mission is to protect the human
being that is his client, which is Donald Trump. And so he isn't concerned with protecting the Office of the President or the administration or anyone
else involved in the President's Cabinet or inner circle. He has got to protect him.
So his last line of defense is going to be, no matter what else happened, Donald Trump didn't know about this. So he is beginning to set the stage
for that. Secondly, he's always been very geared towards the political, as opposed to the actual legal defense because ultimately, again, what his
concern is for the human being is he's defending against impeachment.
So he feels that it's okay to talk all of these inconsistent statements because he's really just trying to do a PR messaging campaign geared at the
base, perhaps geared at the GOP senators who might have to decide on a trial basis whether or not the President will be impeached or not.
LU STOUT: And he's making these statements one week after that bombshell involving Paul Manafort, his lawyers accidentally revealing in that botched
redaction that he shared polling data with someone believed to have links to Russian intelligence. Because of that revelation, what do you think are
the additional lines of questioning being pursued right now?
WU: I think most of those lines may have already been pursued in terms of who else has already been interviewed or people who are cooperating like my
former client, Rick Gates, and I'm of course not talking about anything confidential with regard to that.
But we can safely assume that much of that has already been explored. Lines of questioning for the President, were he ever to subject himself to
live questioning, which is looking increasingly unlikely would be to go down all these particular paths, so and so's contacts, Manafort giving over
the polling information, did you ever hear about that? Who might have you told you about that?
And that in and of itself presents a great danger for Trump and Giuliani knows that because those are going to be very detailed questions. There
have been hundreds of hours at this point spent by the prosecutors learning the details. Trump simply does not have the discipline to even answer
those in accurate way. It will be whatever comes in his mind that moment that he says, and that's exactly where he would get himself in to the so-
called perjury trial for making false statements.
LU STOUT: Shan Wu, thank you for joining us.
WU: You're welcome. Good to see you.
LU STOUT: You're watching "News Stream" and still to come, a suicide blast in Syria kills Americans, but U.S. vice president mike pence insists ISIS
has been defeated. We'll have a live report from Northern Syria.
[08:15:10]
LU STOUT: Plus, Al-Shabaab claims an attack on a hotel complex in Nairobi was in retaliation for something Donald Trump did. The latest on that and
an explosive device that was left behind. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." ISIS is claiming responsibility for that suicide
bombing in Northern Syria just as the U.S. military begins to pull out of the region.
A senior commander at the Manbij Military Council tell CNN 14 people were killed, including four Americans. We're going to show you video of the
blast and a warning. It is disturbing to watch.
Now, it was caused by a man in a suicide vest outside a restaurant where Americans were known to gather. Two of the victims were U.S. troops. The
other two were a defense contractor and a civilian with the Defense Department.
The attack happened on the same day that U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was giving a speech to senior diplomats. He told them that ISIS had been
defeated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks to the leadership of this Commander-in-Chief and the courage and sacrifice of our Armed
Forces, we're now actually able to begin to hand off the fight against ISIS in Syria to our coalition partners and we are bringing our troops home.
The caliphate has crumbled and ISIS has been defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, for more details, we're joined by our chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward who is in Northern Syria. And Clarissa,
though the group's involvement has yet to be confirmed, could this attack be, yes, a response from ISIS to the Trump administration?
CLARISSA WARD, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, I think ISIS would certainly like it to be perceived that way. For them, the U.S.
withdrawal is a huge opportunity, Kristie, because essentially it creates a power vacuum on the ground here. It upsets the very tenuous and delicate
balance that currently exists between here in Northern Syria between the various powers, who have a stake here.
You have the Turks here, you have the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian backers. You have the U.S., you have the Kurds, and by pulling the
U.S. out of that equation, then essentially, you're sort of downing the house of cards. You're creating an opportunity for groups in these places
to come in, take advantage and exploit the power vacuum.
We were actually on the ground, Kristie, in the town of Manbij just three days before the attack. We drove past the restaurant. We were shooting a
video just a couple of hundred yards away from it, and while it was certainly bustling ...
[08:20:09]
WARD: ... life appears to be back to normal on the surface. This was a town that was liberated from ISIS back in September 2016, you could
definitely feel palpable tension in this town.
The veneer of security here is paper thin. There are ISIS sleeper cells all throughout this area of the country, even in liberated areas.
Important to remember, as well, Kristie, this happened seven hours drive away from the front lines.
So nobody here feeling very good about the security situation and a lot of people are very concerned about what life after the U.S. withdrawal will
look like, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, Syria was already as you point out, a very complicated battlefield, and now with the U.S. withdrawal of troops, it's getting even
more complicated, but in terms of the terror threat, what is the reality on the ground? When we hear from Donald Trump that ISIS has been quote-
unquote "defeated," what is the reality? How defeated is ISIS?
WARD: You just have to visit the front lines, which is exactly what we did yesterday. We drove down near to the border with Iraq to the towns of
Hajin, Shafa, Sousa -- these are all towns that have been the site of fierce fighting between coalition-backed Kurdish led forces and between
ISIS, and make no mistake, ISIS's territory has been drastically diminished.
The Kurdish led fighters are really pushing them out of the country, but what they leave behind is not just (audio distortion) secure territory,
it's a very volatile and combustible mix. On the surface, it appears to be empty and quiet, but lurking not far beneath the surface are a number of
ISIS sleeper cells, a lot of the local populace still sympathetic to and supportive of ISIS.
And commander after commander who we spoke to told us the same thing again and again. It's easier to win this battle militarily than it is to win it
ideologically. We still have to factor in these sleeper cells and that lurking sympathy that exists for ISIS, Kristie.
LU STOUT: That's right, how do you defeat ISIS when it uses not just military tactics, but guerilla tactic - ideology as well. Clarissa Ward
reporting for us live from insider Northern Syria. Clarissa, thank you very much indeed.
Now, all of the people who were missing after this week's attack in a hotel in Nairobi, they are now accounted for, but bomb experts have found and
detonated a remaining explosive left by the militants and they are still looking for more. At least 21 people died in the siege that lasted hours.
Al-Shabaab militants say the attack was retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Surveillance video shows the moment one of the terrorists detonated a suicide bomb, and a warning, this video is graphic.
(VIDEO PLAYS)
LU STOUT: An earlier video shows another man who walks by, stares at the attacker and then resumes walking. The Kenyan President is praising
security teams for their swift response. He said more than 700 people were rescued in the security operation and the community is also coming together
with people donating blood to help the injured.
The U.S. and North Korea could be a step closer to setting a date for that second summit. Pyongyang's lead negotiator on nuclear talks is expected to
arrive in Washington in the coming hours, and a source tells CNN, he is carrying a letter from Kim Jong-un to Donald Trump.
Will Ripley joins us now live from Tokyo with more. Will, good to see you, what more do we know about this North Korean delegation that will soon be
in the U.S. with this letter in hand?
WILL RIPLEY, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It seems that this is going to play out much like it did back in June when Kim Yong-chol visited Washington on June
1st and then 11 days later, they had that historic fist summit between the sitting U.S. President and North Korean leader in Singapore. That was on
June 12th.
We know that because Kim Yong-chol is carrying a letter, he is traveling with a small delegation including perhaps Choe Son Hui, also a high ranking
official with the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and one of the designated lower level nuclear negotiators shall be negotiating with Steve
Biegun, who is the Special Representative for North Korean Policy.
We know that in fact these people who are there does seem to indicate that the North Koreans have perhaps accepted President Trump's offer for a
second summit. We know that the letter that President Trump sent to Kim that was delivered in Pyongyang over the weekend, did propose Hanoi or
possibly Bangkok as a location for the summit.
There are an increasing number of news reports indicating that it is going to be Hanoi. That's what I've been hearing from my sources for more than a
week now, that Hanoi is the most likely spot. But perhaps after this meeting at the White House, Kristie, we could get an official announcement
about that, the location, the timeline and whatnot.
[08:25:08]
LU STOUT: We will be waiting for the new headlines when that letter is passed, when that new meeting takes place. Will, thank you so much. Will
Ripley reporting live for us from Tokyo.
Now, the Chinese tech giant, Huawei is reportedly under criminal investigation by U.S. Federal prosecutors. They're trying to find out
whether the company stole trade secrets from U.S. business partners. "The Wall Street Journal" reports that the probe was spurred in part by civil
litigation between Huawei and the telecom giant, T-Mobile.
That company accused Huawei of stealing information related to a robot used to test mobile phones. Huawei is not commenting on the report, but it
points out that disputes with T-Mobile were settled in 2017 following a jury verdict that essentially found Huawei did nothing wrong.
Goldman Sachs's new CEO is apologizing for the role of a powerful ex-banker in a multibillion dollar embezzlement scandal. In an earnings call, David
Solomon said sorry to the people of Malaysia for Tim Leisner's role in the 1MDB fraud.
Now, last year, Leisner had pled guilty to his charges of bribery and money laundering, but critics say Goldman is casting Leisner as a rogue
individual in order to reduce its liability as an institution. The saga hung over an otherwise solid earnings report that boosted shares up in
Wednesday trade.
You are watching "News Stream" and still ahead, we're going to take a look at how the U.S. government shutdown is affecting Federal workers as well as
President Trump himself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I am Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, you're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines. Britain's Parliament is set to
debate, and perhaps even vote on Brexit Plan B on January 29th. Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence motion on Wednesday,
following a historic vote against her plan to leave the E.U. She is expected to lay out the alternative plan on Monday.
Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani is now saying that while President Trump never colluded with Russia during the 2016 Presidential
race, he can't speak for other members of the campaign. The President has repeatedly denied in speeches and on Twitter that his campaign colluded
with Russia.
The U.S. and North Korea could be a step closer to setting a date for a second summit. Pyongyang's lead negotiator on nuclear talks is expected to
arrive in Washington in the coming hours and a source tells CNN, he is carrying a letter from Kim Jong-un to Donald Trump.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is grinding on with no end in sight, and the impact is spreading. Even President Trump's planned
State of the Union address could be affected. Jason Carroll has the fallout.
[08:30:10]
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The President of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JASON CARROLL, CORRESPONDENT, CNN (voice over): A White House official tells CNN that at this point, President Trump still plans to deliver his
State of the Union speech as scheduled, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent him a letter asking the White House to delay the January 29th address
or deliver it in writing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: This requires hundreds of people. Most of those people are either furloughed or are
victims of the President's shutdown. But that isn't the point, the point is security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen pushing back, insisting that her Department is fully prepared to support and secure the
State of the Union. House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy accusing Pelosi of playing politics, calling her power play "unbecoming of the Speaker," as
Democratic leadership voiced support for the move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK SCHUMER, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: Government is closed because of President Trump. If it continues to be closed on the 29th, I think it's
a good idea to delay it until the government is open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): Of the over 7,222 Secret Service employees, 5,978 are considered essential. Meaning they would be working without pay; 1,244
are furloughed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout the agency, the morale is deteriorating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): That message echoed by financially strapped Federal employees across the country. In Dallas, Baltimore and Sacramento,
Aviation workers raising concern about safety as the TSA continues to report skyrocketing absences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRISH GILBERT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS: I would say it is less safe today than it was a month ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): On Wednesday, President Trump signed a bill guaranteeing that the 800,000 government workers who are not receiving
paychecks will eventually get paid, but CNN has learned that at least two million Federal contractors could also be impacted and not eligible for
back pay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need to know when is he going to open things back up because I am about to be evicted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): A group of contractors gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office Wednesday with their unpaid bills
in hand, demanding that Congress and the President take action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONITA WILLIAMS, PART TIME CONTRACTOR, STATE DEPARTMENT: He's messing with our lives - the small people, the poor people, you know, the people that
struggle every day, work paycheck to paycheck to pay their bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): Amid uncertainty over the USDA's free and reduced meal program, one North Carolina school district announcing they're scaling
back lunches to conserve food and funding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... it does upset me because a lot of kids aren't getting the proper nourishment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): Furloughed Fish and Wildlife Service worker, Mallory Lorge says that her health is also being impacted by the shutdown. Lorge
says she cannot afford the copay for her insulin and has resorted to rationing even when her levels were dangerously high last weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALLORY LORGE, FURLOUGHED FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE WORKER: I can't afford an ambulance bill. I can't afford to go to the emergency room right now.
I went to bed and just hoped I'd wake up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (on camera): And Kristie, some local governments are stepping in and trying to offer some sort of assistance to Federal employees affected
by the shutdown. For example, late last night, the City of San Jose authorized temporary loans for those Federal workers who worked there at
the San Jose International Airport. Again, the shutdown has no end in sight -- Kristie.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LU STOUT: Jason Carroll there, thank you. Now, in Japan, its last active homegrown Sumo Grand Champion is retiring. Just ahead, Kisenosato made his
way to the top and what his departure means for the sport.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:35:00]
LU STOUT: Welcome back. Coming to you live from Hong Kong, this is "News Stream." Now, South Korea has dominated the Olympic sport of short track
speed skating for years, but there is a dark side to that success. A new report details alleged cases of assault, sexual violence and abuse. Paula
Hancocks reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN (voice over): This former speed skater says she was beaten by her coach from the age of 11. She wants to hide her
identity for fear of retaliation. She claims physical and verbal assaults were a regular part of training and her female coach beat her once a week.
"I used to get called into my coach's room," she says, "Where she used to hit me with a skate blade sleeve 10 or 20 times."
HANCOCKS (on camera): How does a coach have so much control over an athlete here?
HANCOCKS (voice over): "There's a small and powerful clique," she says. "If I criticize my coach, my career as a skater is over. If I accuse my
coach of crimes, I won't be accepted to university or professional team. That's how it works."
At age 15, training with a new male coach, she says physical abuse changed to sexual harassment. "He kept kissing me on the cheek and close to my
lip," she says, "Hugging me all the time because I felt he was doing it to everyone, and I was young, I didn't tell anybody. Even now, I felt
humiliated."
She was inspired by this woman to break her silence. Shim Suk-hee, a gold medalist and a household name in South Korea. Her coach, seen here, is
serving ten months in prison for physically assaulting her. Shim now says, she was repeatedly raped since the age Cho Jae-beom since the age of 17.
Cho denies the new allegations.
Outside the court last month, she told reporters she hoped no one else would be victimized as she has been in sport saying the violence must end.
A national star comes forward, people in power have no choice but to take notice.
President Moon Jae-in spoke this week of the Korean shame hidden under sporting glory, the head of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee has
apologized saying coaches should no longer have such power.
Shim wanted to publicize her physical abuse before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last February, support groups say it was downplayed for the sake
of national glory. The International Olympics Committee tells CNN it did know of Shim's case before the Olympics, but would contact Korea's Olympic
Association to see how it can help change.
The government says it's setting up a special investigation, establishing prevention measures and enacting bans on those found guilty.
HANCOCKS (on camera): South Korea has dominated short track speed skating for decades. It has won more Olympic medals than any other country, but
this dark side of that success is only now receiving the high level attention that it deserves and support groups worry that those victims
we've already heard from may only be the tip of the iceberg. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LU STOUT: Staying in the region, in Japan, the Grand Champion of Sumo is bidding farewell to the ring. His name is Kisenosato. He became the first
Japan-born Sumo wrestler in almost 20 years to reach the coveted title of Grand Champion in Japan, otherwise known as Yoko-Zuna.
Now, a wrestler, in order to become a Grand Champion, they need to win two consecutive tournaments to reach this elite rank. He announced his
retirement earlier, telling fans in Japan and all around the world that he has nothing to regret about his life as a Sumo wrestler.
Now, to get more on the retirement of Japan's home grown Sumo wrestling star, joining us from Tokyo is NHK Sumo commentator and reporter John
Gunning, and John, Kisenosato, he was Japan's last remaining homegrown Sumo champion. How devastating is the news over there in japan?
JOHN GUNNING, NHK SUMO COMMENTATOR: Yes, it's cast a pole over the ongoing tournament for sure. Every newspaper today, the front page had pictures of
him crying, and I think most fans in Japan feel the same way, they feel like crying.
LU STOUT: People feel like crying because this means so much to people in Japan. So what does this mean for Sumo wrestling in Japan? Can there be
another one? Can there be another homegrown Sumo Grand Champion in the near future?
[08:40:01]
GUNNING: I would think in the next couple of years, there's a good likelihood of that happening. A lot of the young and upcoming wrestlers in
the sport of Sumo right now are Japanese.
That is of course, dominated for the past 15 years by Mongolians, but I think the future is going to switch around.
LU STOUT: You mentioned like the Mongolians have really dominated the sport, which is traditionally a Japanese sport. Why Mongolia? And is
Mongolia the future of Sumo?
GUNNING: Mongolia in particular has dominated because they have their own style of wrestling, and you know a lot of the wrestlers there grow up doing
that on fields, outdoors, so they have that kind of hardiness to them that maybe Japanese kids had in decades gone by, but don't have any more.
Plus they're more motivated coming from a slightly poorer country. When they come to Japan, where they succeed, they can pay for their family and
people back home. So there's more motivation, a sharper and keener motivation to it.
LUt Interesting, the sharper, keener Mongolia, perhaps a bit more grit, is that a barrier to recruitment inside Japan, just the qualities that you
need, the sacrifices you have to make to be a Sumo wrestler?
GUNNING: Absolutely, you know, Sumo is an incredibly stressful world and a physically and violent world and it's a hard, harsh lifestyle and 97% of
all people who join it never even make it to the salaried ranks.
So trying to convince young kids to put their bodies on the line and to endure all this stress and pressure for several years when the odds of
succeeding are low is a difficult task.
LU STOUT: And what's next for Kisenosato? In retirement, could he be a role model and help boost the appeal of Sumo to help get more Japanese
recruits interested?
GUNNING: He could, indeed. He's taking up a name share, so he'll be one of the Sumo elders. He needs to wait a year before he opens his own
stable, but the announcement was made today and that's what he intends to do. He is looking for a location somewhere around Akihabara, it's the
famous electronics and anime culture area of Tokyo.
So he's going to open up a stable in there and maybe have some tie ups with some different parts of Japanese culture.
LU STOUT: And before I let you go, let's talk about Kisenosato at his prime. It was in 2017. He reached the rank of Grand Champion. What does
it take to be a Sumo wrestler at such a high elite level?
GUNNING: It takes absolute dedication and almost everything else in your life has to be shut out and that's what Kisenosato did. He spent his
entire life basically since he was about 14 years of age focused only on Sumo and dedicated to his craft. Before he got injured, he fought in 1,122
of 1,123 fights over a 15-year period and he was basically the ironman of Sumo and he absolutely dedicated himself to it, which is what you have to
do if you want to reach the top.
LU STOUT: The ironman of Sumo now retired at the age of 32. John Gunning, Sumo commentator joining us live from Tokyo. Thank you so much, sir. Take
care.
GUNNING: Thank you.
LU STOUT: And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristi Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is next.
(SPORTS)
[09:00:00]
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