Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Implicated in Two Federal Crimes; Final Moments of Jamal Khashoggi; Court Filings Relating to the Sentencing of Michael Cohen; Parliament Will Vote on Theresa May's Brexit Deal; Emmanuel Macron Dealing With Multiple Protests; Climate Change: COP24 Fails To Adopt Key Scientific Report; South Korean President Sees Sinking Popularity; Winter Storm Dirupts Travel, Impacts Millions In U.S.; Loyal Dog Waits For Owner At Burned Home. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 10, 2018 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:07] GEORGE HOWELL, NEWSROOM ANCHOR, CNN: Implicated in two federal crimes, lawmakers from both sides have a blunt message for the U.S. President. No one is above the law, reaction from lawmakers ahead.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, NEWSROOM ANCHOR, CNN: Plus, the final moments of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a CNN exclusive report revealing his very last words.

HOWELL: Also, thousands of people without power after -- look at that massive winter storm slammed the southern part of the United States.

CHURCH: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and from all around the world. I am Rosemary Church.

HOWELL: And I am George Howell from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Newsroom starts right now. Around the world, good day to you, we begin with what the U.S. President calls as a witch hunt. But some serious accusations are being raised, giving us more insight into the Russia investigation, and the focus does seem to be sharpening.

CHURCH: It does. Here is what we have learned so far. Court filings relating to the sentencing of Michael Cohen show Mr. Trump directed his one-time attorney and fixer to pay off two women to keep quiet about alleged affairs. The filings also show Cohen had more contact with Russia than he acknowledged in earlier statements. All of that happened during the 2016 election.

HOWELL: What is still unclear, though, is how this will affect the Special Counsel's investigation in to Russian election interference. In any case, lawmakers are speaking about their next steps if there is any proof that Mr. Trump did something illegal. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it's proven is -- are those impeachable offenses?

JERRY NADLER, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Well, they would be impeachable offenses. Whether they are important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question. But certainly, they are impeachable offenses, because even though they were committed before the President became President, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office. That would be an impeachable offense.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), UNITED STATES SENATOR: If someone has violated the law, the application of the law should be applied to them like it would to any other citizen in this country. And obviously, if you are in a position of great authority like the presidency, that would be the case. I don't know if it's going to reach that or not. We have to wait and see.

But my decision on that or my position on that will not be a political decision. It will be the fact that we are a nation of laws and no one in this country, no matter who you are, is above it.

ADAM SCHIFF, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: The Justice Department basically say that the President of the United States not only coordinated but directed an illegal campaign scheme that may have had an election- altering impact is pretty breath taking. But that was just one of the things we learned from Michael Cohen this past week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, Donald Trump is busy narrowing down his list of candidates for a new White House Chief of Staff, and trying to steer attention away from the Cohen revelation.

HOWELL: CNN's Sara Westwood is following developments from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH WESTWOOD, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, CNN: President Trump spent his weekend railing against the Paris climate accord, going after his former FBI Director, calling for an end to the Russia investigation, and basically talking about anything other than prosecutors linking him directly in court filings submitted Friday to illegal payments his former attorney Michael Cohen made during the Presidential race.

Now, Trump think had attempted to tout these latest documents as vindication because they didn't contain evidence of Russian collusion, but they did tie the President directly to illegal payments that he had initially denied knowledge of. Now, all of this comes against the backdrop of a major staff shake up at the White House.

The President told reporters on Saturday that his Chief of Staff, John Kelly, would be leaving the White House, ending months of speculation about Kelly's future. And the President's top choice for that job, Nick Ayers, Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence will be leaving the administration after discussing seriously with Trump the prospect of replacing Kelly.

Now, Ayers and Trump disagreed on the timeframe for Ayers holding that job. Our colleague Kaitlin Collins reports that Ayers wanted to hold the job on a temporary basis until this spring, until the President could find a permanent replacement for Kelly. And Trump wanted a two- year commitment from Ayers. Now, the President is considering four different names to become his new Chief of Staff.

One of them may be Congressman Mark Meadows. He's a particularly close ally of the President's on Capitol Hill. And CNN is also told that the President aims to make this decision by the end of year. Sara Westwood, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for some perspective on the situation, we are joined now by Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for Europe at the New York Times, Steven, good to have you with us.

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Thanks, Rosemary.

[02:04:53] CHURCH: So let's start with this big news over the weekend, the revelation that President Trump has been implicated in two crimes relating to his former attorney Michael Cohen, making illegal payments of hush money during the Presidential race. What could this mean for the President's future, do you think?

ERLANGER: Well, he's individual number one. And individual number one is in some trouble. This was -- there are two investigations at least going on. This was the one into Michael Cohen from the southern district of New York, which is different from the actual Mueller investigation. But it basically -- if Mr. Trump were not President, I think he would be indicted for a crime.

But the convention is you don't indict a sitting President because he's in charge of the whole government, including the Justice Department. So if he will be charged, it would have to be up to the House of Representatives and not the Justice Department.

CHURCH: Right. And former FBI Director James Comey said this in front of a live audience at New York City's 92nd Street. Let's just bring that up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FORMER DIRECTOR, FBI: I hope Donald Trump is not removed from office by impeachment because it would let the country off the hook, and it would drive into the fabric of our nation, a third of the people believing there was a coup. That said if the facts are there, and the legislative -- two houses of Congress think it's appropriate, that's fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So first, Comey says he hopes Donald Trump is not removed from office by impeachment. Then he says it is fine if that's what Congress decides to do. What did you make of that and how likely do you think impeachment is at this point? ERLANGER: Well, you can see why Comey frustrates people. The fact is

when he said is absolutely true. At least from his point of view, he would like Mr. Trump to be defeated in a real election rather than impeached. I think the chances of Mr. Trump, from what we know now, being convicted in the Senate is almost nil, which means that the House now run by Democrats would probably be ill-advised to impeach him.

I think that's the view. But they are going to make his life very, very difficult with all kinds of investigations. And those could, with Mueller, turn up things that do lead to impeach. But I doubt it very much. And if he's impeached, I very, very much doubt that he would be convicted.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, the other big topic, a major staff shakeup at the White House, President Trump confirming Saturday that his Chief of Staff John Kelly will indeed leave. Now, the President had hoped to replace him with Vice President Pence's Chief of Staff Nick Ayers. But he turned down the offer, one of the four names now being considered is Congressman Mark Meadows. What might he bring to that role at the White House, do you think?

ERLANGER: Well, the first thing that you have to bring I think is discipline and patience. Because this is not a disciplined President, he's not going to be restricted by his Chief of Staff. He's going to come on and say what he wants. And he's going to tweet what he wants. And sometimes, you have to row him back. What Kelly managed to do was at least controlled the access to Mr. Trump in a more intelligent, disciplined way and structured the policy process.

But any new Chief of Staff is going to have to cope with a President, who as he has said himself, trusts his own instinct more than the brains of anyone around him. And that includes his Chief of Staff.

CHURCH: Steven Erlanger, it was great to get your perspective and analysis, many thanks.

ERLANGER: Thanks, Rosemary.

HOWELL: This week marks a critical test for Brexit with the British Prime Minister hoping to get her Brexit deal approved by Parliament.

CHURCH: Yeah. Despite calls for a delay, Parliament will vote on her Brexit deal Tuesday. By all indications, it will be rejected. The Prime Minister faces opposition, a heap of opposition in fact, not only from within her own Conservative Party but also from Labour, from the liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party, and Northern Ireland's Democratic Nationalist Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN BARCLAY, U.K. BREXIT SECRETARY: The vote is going ahead and that's because it is a good deal. It's the only deal. And it's important that we don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The Brexiters in the party, for people like me, we campaigned in the referendum to take back control of our immigration policy, to have a say on things like not sending sums of money to the E.U.

And this is a deal that does that but does it in a way that balances the need to protect jobs, to keep the supply of goods flowing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And there are protesters on both sides of the issue. Brexit supporters say this deal doesn't do enough to free the U.K. from the E.U. and remainers don't want Brexit at all. Let's go live to London, covering all angles of this story with our Anna Stewart outside Number 10 this hour, and Nina Dos Santos at Abingdon Green.

[02:10:09] Good to have you both with us. Anna, let's start with you. First, the pressure certainly on the Prime Minister to garner enough support, and the new report that was published is not helping her cause.

ANNA STEWART, REPORTER, CNN: Yes. It was a cross-party report, George, from the Brexit Parliamentary committee and it was pretty damning. Let me read a little bit. It says she has failed to offer sufficient clarity or certainty about the future that put forward, no realistic long-term proposals of (Inaudible) Irish border.

A really damning report going to the last 36 hours before this vote, and it is a vote that she is expected widely to lose. Of course, the question is what happens to the Prime Minister should she lose this vote. And that really depends on the defeat, George. It was a vaguely small defeat she could probably stay in position.

She'll probably get sent back to Brussels to renegotiate for a better deal, which is something she said is not possible. She cannot get a better deal. If it's a much bigger defeat, and we are talking about a hundred seats here or more, then we are looking at lots of different scenarios, could she face a confidence vote within the party, a leadership vote, could she face a lack of confidence from the House of Commons itself, which could pave the way for a new government or even a fresh election.

Will Parliament ask to, you know, initiate a second referendum. There are so many scenarios here. The one thing that's looking pretty sure is that she's not going to win this vote and that it is going to happen. Because we have plenty of reports over the weekend saying that it might not. But Downing Street today is adamant this vote will happen 7:00 tomorrow.

HOWELL: All right, the uncertainty, though, that you just spoke of. Let's cross over to our colleague Nina Dos Santos. And Nina, the Prime Minister pressuring her fellow MPs to get on board or risk losing power as Anna pointed out there. But as of now, the Prime Minister does not look to have the votes.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: No. She doesn't, but over the last few weeks, what she has been is engaging in this strategy of trying to coax a rebellious (Inaudible) to brief them to the specifics of this deal to try desperately to convince them, but also to claim that she has the support of the people. People who want Brexit to take place, and she says that essentially voting down this deal would be frustrating the Brexit process and not giving people what they had voted for a couple of years ago.

She's claimed that she's had about 3,000 letters of personal support from ordinary British citizens who can see the difficult position that she's in, trying desperately to wrestle with this most complex of deals for the country. And as Anna was pointing out, yes, it isn't looking particularly favorable in terms of the Parliamentary math.

But, of course, there is the possibility potentially of some kind of amendments being voted in by the House. Of course, the question then becomes whether or not Brussels would buy them if she had to take a slightly amended deal back to the E.U. to say, well, this is what my Parliament would go for. In the meantime, further complicating the issue, George, is the fact that the European Court of Justice is also this very morning set to rule on whether or not the U.K. would be allowed to unilaterally remove itself from the Brexit process by canceling article 50.

So it may be that by the time the MPs actually vote on things in about a day and a half. They will be armed with further arguments from the ECJ, George.

HOWELL: All right. At this point, it looks like the vote will proceed as planned for Tuesday, deal or no deal. As the game show is, we'll see what happens there in London. Thank you both for the reporting. We'll keep in touch for you.

CHURCH: Well, Japanese media are reporting that former Nissan Chairman, Carlos Ghosn, has been indicted for allegedly under- reporting his income.

HOWELL: Reports say Nissan has also been indicted as a corporation, along with other former top executive Greg Kelly. Both were arrested three weeks ago after an internal investigation by Nissan revealed acts of misconduct. A Nissan spokesperson has declined to comment.

CHURCH: CNN has exclusive new details about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. We will have the latest evidence that the journalist's killing was planned.

HOWELL: Plus, the French President Emmanuel Macron faces a serious test of his leadership, as the public outrage and Yellow Vest protests grow louder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:00] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, outrage is growing in the United States Congress about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Both the White House and Riyadh deny that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is behind Khashoggi's killing, but lawmakers are not buying it.

HOWELL: Another Senate Republican is breaking ranks with the Trump administration and slamming Saudi Arabia. It is Marco Rubio peering to back the CIA's take on who is responsible for Khashoggi's death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Here is what he told CNN's State of the Union.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: We don't need, you know, direct evidence that he ordered the code red on this thing. The bottom line is that there is no way that 17 peopled close to him got on a charter plane, flew to a third country, went into a consulate, killed and chopped up a man, and flew back. And he didn't know about it much less order it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Key U.S. senators were briefed by the CIA on their assessment of Khashoggi's killing. And they were horrified, and said so publically. And now, a source has given CNN a briefing on a transcript of an audio recording of Khashoggi's final moments.

CHURCH: CNN's Nic Robertson was provided with details of the translated transcript, reproduced in this report. It correlates with the CIA finding that the Saudi team sent to Istanbul came with the intent to kill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:19:50] NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: CNN can now reveal Jamal Khashoggi's last words. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. These previously undisclosed details of what happened that afternoon in October come from a source who's been briefed on the investigation. The source has read a full transcript of an audio recording of Khashoggi's horrific final moments.

Within moments of his fateful steps into the consulate, Khashoggi recognizes someone, asks why they are there. The answer you are coming back. According to CNN source, the Turkish transcript identifies that person as Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a former Saudi diplomat and intelligence official working for Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, whom Khashoggi knew.

Khashoggi is clearly alarmed and replies you can't do that. People are waiting outside for me. According to the source, the conversation ends right there. The transcript indicates noises, as people set upon Khashoggi. And very quickly, Khashoggi can be heard saying I can't breathe. He repeats it again. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. What happens belies initial Saudi claims. His death was a grave mistake.

CNN's source says it's clearly from his reading of the transcript. Khashoggi's murder was no botched rendition attempt, but the execution of a premeditated plan to murder the journalist. But it is what happens next that is really horrific. The transcript records many voices and noises. Then says scream from Jamal. Again, scream. Then gasping, noises are identified as saw, and cutting. Then, a voice, Turkish authorities identify as Dr. Salah Muhammed Al-Tubaigy, the Head of Forensic Medicine at Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry.

He says if you don't like the noise put your ear phones in, or listen to music like me. According to the source, Mutreb, the apparent leader of the team makes at least three phone calls during the murder, to a number Turkish officials identify as being in the Saudi Royal Court. Only Mutreb's side of the conversation can be heard.

But there is no sense of panic or of an operation gone wrong. Mutreb tells the person in Riyadh tell yours. That the source takes to mean your boss or your senior, the thing is done. It's done. CNN reached out to Saudi officials to get a response from those named in this report. And we're told Saudi security officials have reviewed the transcript and tape.

And nowhere in them is there any reference or indication of a call being made. A Saudi source close to the Saudi investigation says both Mutreb and Tubaigy deny making phone calls. And while the transcript provides no smoking gun directly tying Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to the killing, it seems to echo Senator Lindsey Graham's sentiment after hearing the CIA's assessment of Khashoggi's killing. There is not a smoking gun. This is a smoking saw. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN shared our sources detailed description with the office of a Senator who was briefed by the CIA last week, and we were told that the CNN report of the transcript was consistent with the briefing the Senator received.

HOWELL: That report is disturbing to say the very least.

CHURCH: It certainly is.

HOWELL: Yes. Moving on now to France, the French President Emmanuel Macron, he is hoping to convince the Yellow Vest movement to work with his government, and that's a tall order as many people there have called for his resignation.

CHURCH: Protesters say the cost of living is too high. And Mr. Macron's government only takes care of the rich. More than 130,000 Yellow Vests held rallies across the country on Saturday.

HOWELL: Protesters clashed with police in several cities, including in Paris and Marseille. The French President Emmanuel Macron's challenge now is to find a way to ease the growing crisis, especially as the anger becomes directed at him.

CHURCH: Mr. Macron is said to meet with business leaders and trade unions in a few hours from now before likely calling for national unity in a televised address. Well, Sophie Pedder is the Paris Bureau Chief for the Economist. She joins me now from the French Capitol. Thank you so much for being with us.

[02:25:01] SOPHIE PEDDER, PARIS BUREAU CHIEF, THE ECONOMIST: You are very welcome.

CHURCH: So President Macron is expected to address nation. But how likely is it that he can convince angry protesters to work with his government if that indeed is his message? PEDDER: Well, it's going to be extremely difficult for him, because

as we have seen already, in response to previous weekend of protests, he did actually give in to the protesters' demand, which is to cancel a planned increase in the carbon tax on fuel. And that made no difference at all, because the protesters were back on the streets on Saturday. And there were scenes of violence again in Paris.

So, you know, it is very difficult. It will take more than just one or two measures. I think he has got to do something for people's pockets so that they feel that they are not squeezed and so taxed. The sort of middle classes here in France, but I think he's also got to do something in terms of tone and style. You know people feel that he's a President who is too remote from their concerns, and he has going to have to shift that tone I think.

If he's going to be able to find the right words to address people who are very angry with him personally. So it's a sort of double challenge for him this evening.

CHURCH: Right. Indeed. And protesters, of course, insist the cost of living is just too high in France. You mentioned the tone there. Is there a sense that President Macron is tone deaf and missing the point?

PEDDER: Well, you know, when he was elected, he very much wanted to sort of install in France this kind of grand presidency. In a way, he's almost a de Gaulle-like figure, someone who, you know, does sort of give France a sense of dignity and feel good about their President. He represents them well on the world stage. But with that came something that was perceived as remote, and aloof, and disconnected.

And I think that that balance he's not got that quite right. And this is why there's such a sort of anger that people feel that he's not connected with ordinary people's lives, that he doesn't care that there is sort of indifference towards these concerns, which is why finding the words, you know, Macron he's very smart. He's a real intellectual.

He's a philosophy graduate. And sometimes, his vocabulary, his language just feels very different and very kind of disconnected from ordinary people think and talk and express themselves. And that for him is a real challenge, finding the common touch and finding a sense that not reacting too much as a kind of rational leader. But as someone, you know, who can speak from thee heart.

CHURCH: All right. Sophie Pedder, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

PEDDER: Thank you.

HOWELL: Still ahead, we investigate how a largely overlooked cause of global warming maybe playing out, how beef could be harming the Earth.

CHURCH: And later, a dangerous winter storm is battering the southern United States, disrupting travel and impacting millions of people. We'll take a look at that. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:22] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm George Howell.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Let's update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour. A drive-by shooting in the West Bank on Sunday left at least seven people wounded including a pregnant woman. Officials said the shots were fired at people standing at a bus stop near the entrance (INAUDIBLE) settlement. Nearby soldiers fired at the vehicle but it got away.

HOWELL: In the United Kingdom, Brexit, Therese May's Brexit minister says Tuesday's vote will go on ahead as planned in parliament even though it appears that it will fail. In an interview with the Daily Mail, the prime minister may warm a rejection of her deal could leave the country in, "Uncharted waters".

CHURCH: Another top U.S. Republican is breaking with the White House and slamming Saudi Arabia for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION", Senator Marco Rubio said there's no way the Saudi crown prince was not aware of the killing and that he very likely ordered it.

HOWELL: The most important number you may not have heard of, 1.5 degrees Celsius. If the Earth's temperature rises anymore above that, the global results could be disastrous.

CHURCH: Yes. Nations gathering in Poland are working to keep global warming under two degrees. But experts warn that may not be enough.

HOWELL: At one and a half degrees above pre-industrial levels, the effects of climate change grow more and more rapidly. CNN is exploring the consequences of past inaction at what comes next if warming doesn't stop at that critical threshold.

CHURCH: Now, it turns out some of the contributors to climate change are not that obvious.

HOWELL: Our Nick Paton Walsh reports one overlooked factor maybe beef production.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What you eat what does it cost you? The planet. Your children's future. How does it affect our struggle to limit global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius. Texas is the beef capital of America, the world (INAUDIBLE) but now it's at a core or life here. It's a tribal symbol (INAUDIBLE) a mascot. The grin out burger, sausage, steak, ribs, excess is the point. So beef in climate change, how are they related?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, you're asking me that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not today because this is delicious. WALSH: Beef and dairy agriculture are a key and often overlooked

caused of the greenhouse gases human kind must rapidly curtail if we want to live like we do now. This amphitheater of teenage dreams grows now but it's for a generation. You may see these excesses, these heights of everything being everywhere in cheap and in their lifetime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Well, think about it this way, half a pound of beef causes as much greenhouse gas to be emitted that's driving 55 of these cars for one mile.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: If mankind want this planet for the length of this football game, it would have this much time left of the game to fix it. We drive out as the sun rises over beef country 12 million cattle in Texas where the extraordinary toll of something so natural as beef on the planet emerges.

[02:35:06] We have to make drastic changes by 2013 to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees. If we don't, beef and dairy will caused 10 percent of greenhouse gases. If we do meet other 2030 emission targets, that cause much more 30 percent. In a way, we must act. America's hunger sit of a natural edge here radically compressing the cattle space to roam and time to fasten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: The first thing that hits you is just the smell. It's just so many so tightly packed together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: There are 19,000 here on this feed lock that the corn that gives their flesh the fatty taste where it used to and their nearly 1.5 billion cattle on earth one for every five people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

WALSH: The United States and the world will likely this year eat a record amount of beef. We're going the wrong way. But it is the bottom line livelihood. But understandably, it matter more here. Now, when I said global warming, you said they say, do you believe in it or do you think this is all just (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe in it.

WALSH: Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just don't.

WALSH: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just -- it's hard for me to believe that global warming has something to do with the rainfall.

WALSH: What would it take to change your mind about that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have to be a drastic change in our weather because I don't feel that our drastic change. Yes, we have go through some droughts but that's just a normal period. We go through droughts. We have rainfall. We go through winter. We don't have, you know, here in the past couple of years we hadn't much winter. I mean it doesn't get that cold down here and in years past we used to go months and months of freeze and weather even down here in East Texas.

WALSH: So you're saying you're seeing to get more warmer down here already but you want to get really bad before (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, yes.

WALSH: Wherever you roam here, the land is (INAUDIBLE) to the love of beef. Dusk (INAUDIBLE) here seem haunted by the corn that went before. Nearly a hundred million acres of corn are planted, grown, fertilized, process, and transported around America, the biggest producer in the world. Eating cattle corn means clearing carbon absorbing forest feels adding to the animal emissions from burping, farting, and manure. That's CO2 but also the more potent nitrous oxide and methane.

It's not just cattle using our plants, pigs, sheep, and chickens all mean animal agriculture takes as much of the plant as the United States, most of Europe, China, and Australia combined or put another way the landmass of Africa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I got ribs. I got brisket. I got sausage.

WALSH: So how do we change or can we? There is hope and it is both distant and tiny. And so culture meat (INAUDIBLE) grows in a dish and it's developing fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2013, it had this would be about $20,000. I mean two to three years from now it's 25 cents.

WALSH: What does it taste like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It taste like meat.

WALSH: (INAUDIBLE) is getting funding from food giants and even the cofounder of Google. By 2021, he hopes this might be served as initial alternative and years later become the mainstream. The process is natural to a point. Even a single stem cell taken from a cow or the nutrients it needs to divide again and again but no instruction as with the living cow to stop. Ten billion cells are formed and woven with these fatty cells for flavor into one burger or even a steak one day. Are you a vegan yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not. I should be but I'm not.

WALSH: You like meat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do.

WALSH: And is this any of this (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) we really -- we really need to do something about this to avert all the environmental ethic of meat production which is going to increased. In 2050, we will need 70 percent more meat for -- on this planet that we currently have.

WALSH: But it can't come soon enough and however naturally we make beef we can't change soon enough either. Consider this, it's never going to happen. But if we all went vegan tomorrow, we would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent. A huge change to feel part of the problem. Are we even ready for that or more to keep existing as we do now?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: A spokesman for the U.S. meat industry said they've made changes and are leading the way in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CHURCH: They say U.S. meat farming proportionately admitted less gas than other countries and that the drastic reduction in meat consumption would impact human health.

[02:40:07] HOWELL: Nick Paton Walsh was reporting from Texas now joining us live In Poland from the Global Climate Summit in -- Nick, this conference kicking off to a bit of a disappointment with the United States, with Russia, and Saudi Arabia coming together on this --

WALSH: Extraordinary, George. I mean it's not a bit of a disappointment really. This is a key scientific (INAUDIBLE) says that we need to do our very best to keep global warming at 1.5 degree Celsius in order to stave off catastrophic potential impact on our way of life by 2030. That was something which the same climate change group here had in fact commissioned and instead over the weekend the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Kuwait got together and stopped a vote here which would have welcome that report essentially blocking it from being properly adopted here really is a piece of science.

Now, the U.S. spokesperson here says they never really endorse that report but it's the Trump administration's position quite in contrast of the Obama administration who amongst those who in fact commission (INAUDIBLE) a disappointing tone here frankly because that key disagreement that essential refusal to accept a piece of science may overhang the next week. And this next week has some incredibly important work ahead of it because while the Paris agreement was kind of a set of a theoretical embrace of the need for substantial change.

This is the meeting where they work out what it looks like on paper what the (INAUDIBLE) what the technical things they have to do are to meet those particular climate goals. And sadly, I think we're looking in a week here where there's a lot more work to do on that and still people perhaps troubled by this four countries preventing that key scientific report from being embrace, George.

HOWELL: All right. Nick, again, you see governments, the U.S. president denying a climate change with the data, the science, it all proves, it all says this is a real thing. It is a real thing. Nick Paton Walsh live for us in Poland. Thank you for the reporting.

CHURCH: And we'll take a very short break here. But still to come, he's approval rating used to be sky high but it seems the honeymoon is over for South Korean President Moon Jae-in. We will look at what's behind the change in popularity with that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:29] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, many leaders see a dip in popularity in their second year on office. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is no different.

HOWELL: That's right. His critics say that he's too concerned with North Korean relations and not focused enough on issues at home. Our Paula Hancocks has this report from Seoul.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is one of the images of 2018. The South Korean leader hand-in-hand with the North Korean leader at the DMZ. Moon Jae-in's approval rating top 77 percent shortly after this summit, but has since been on a downward trend despite further summits and photo ops aplenty.

The Labor Unions wants strong supporters of Moon now find reason to protest. A 52-hour work week down from 68 hours was welcomed. Subsequent adjustments the government said were necessary for smooth implementation were not.

This protester says, "We thought we were the ones who put this administration into office. But now, it's aiming its knife at us by changing the Labor Law for the worse." Students are another group credited with putting the president in power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM SEUNG-HYUN, UNIVERSITY STUDENT, SOUTH KOREA: I hope by the time I graduate, which is near, there would be a lot of more job opportunities created by President Moon.

MICHELLE KIM, UNIVERSITY STUDENT, SOUTH KOREA: We don't feel like next year is going to be different from this year. And we don't think it's going to actually have any other like positive changes in the economy, as well.

HANCOCKS: One of his main focuses is the North Korea at this point. Do you approve of what he's doing with North Korea?

KIM S.: Not really. As of now, it seems that his priority is the North Korea policy. And that's not what students are really interested in. HANCOCKS: We spoke to Moon in his first year in office and he laid out his plans.

What's your legacy, what would you like that to be?

MOON JAE-IN, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (through translator): A president who had achieved a true democracy, and also a president who had established Korean peace. A president who had achieved an economy that is more equal and fair so that it's inclusive. That's how I want to be remembered.

KIM EUN-MEE, PROFESSOR, EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY: We do have domestic issues like unemployment, falling birth rate, and all these other sorts of social and political issues that also need to be tackles.

HANCOCKS: The Blue House says, it doesn't watch these ratings too carefully. And to be fair, approval ratings in the second year of a presidency often slip as campaign promises are replaced by reality. And a rating of around 50 percent, that's the level that some leaders could only dream of. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Paula, thank you. Here in the southern part of the United States, a winter storm is causing all sorts of problems, and it's also turned deadly. We'll have the forecast on that, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:50:25] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: And good Monday to you. I'm meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, CNN "WEATHER WATCH". Watching the eastern United States slow-moving systems finally exiting the picture back behind its some residual snow showers.

But notice much of the broader picture here is for sunshine and very cold air that set up shop across that region. And speaking of cold air, it does move out of here actually moderate, it's a little bit. So, we'll call it cool especially here for the last few weeks of the autumn season.

But up to 60 centimeters of snowfall across portions of the Appalachians have been observed in the past 48 hours. But again, the warming trend begins to push in. A lot of that snow will begin to melt off quickly as well.

Places like New York City will struggle to get up above say, three to four degrees the next several days. The forecast does eventually bring them up all the way up to 11 degrees. Some rain expected come Saturday afternoon.

Long-range forecast models indeed. Do you want to suggest a warmer trend and potentially continuing on in towards the Christmas period, as well? So it looks like this shot of cold air not necessarily an indication of the latter portion of the remainder of 2018 across the eastern U.S., at least. New York sunny skies, four degrees. And Atlanta will make it up to about six. Into Nassau, about 26. Kingston, upper 20s and remaining dry. While a little farther toward the south, Around Guatemala City, Belize City, near the Yucatan, expect a few showers to begin to pop up across that region. Manaus highs around 28.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Well, a winter storm is burying parts of these Southern U.S. in snow. Some areas in North Carolina is seeing record snowfall. Hundreds of flights have been canceled and the roads are becoming treacherous.

HOWELL: And we know the storm has also turned deadly. One person killed when a falling tree hit the car that the person was driving. More than 25 million people are now under winter weather alerts from the State of Oklahoma through Virginia.

CHURCH: Let's turn to our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. He joins us now with the very latest on this. And Pedram, it seems a lot of snow coming very, very early.

HOWELL: Yes.

JAVAHERI: It is. Yes, when you look at the calendar, we're still a couple of weeks away from the official start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. And, of course, when you're talking about this sort of snow, it is record-breaking in a few spots, as you noted. And in Virginia, in particular, we've had reports of, at least the foot in some areas, two feet of snowfall here in the latter portion of fall.

And again, at least, 18 million into some areas when you count areas back towards the west over 20 million underneath the winter weather threat here for residual snow showers still into the forecast, going into Monday.

And, in fact schools across places such as Charlotte have all close for Monday, as well. As the state of emergency remains in place for every single County in the state of North Carolina.

You notice, still a wintry mix in place. The disturbance pushing away from the coastline cold enough air in place here to refreeze some of the snow even after the temps climb above freezing over the next few hours.

But here we go with cancellations, upwards of almost 1,800 flights were canceled. About a thousand of them out of the Charlotte area. And then, you notice over 3,000 flights were delayed, as well, out of the United States. And into the U.S. as well, associated in large part with these winter, winter weather event that was in place.

But, here we go with the totals, the white top region picking up the highest amount of two feet in the past couple of days. While we have snowfall totals across Northeastern Georgia up to eight inches. While you work your way into Western North Carolina into parts of Virginia. That's where the highest amounts were observed with historic in a few spots.

Again, in Roanoke and Richmond, Virginia, among the highest snow totals, we've ever seen in the month of December. And, of course, with all that heavy snow coming down across some of this region -- the regions. Trees coming down, as well, and we had about a quarter million customers even at this hour without power right now across Virginia and the Carolinas.

System on the move with it, still a risk here for some ice again and some wet weather that's been in place. In fact, when you take a look at the precipitation totals, parts of Georgia, parts of Alabama, on into Mississippi, significant rainfall just on the cusp of what would have been significant snowfall. Of course, it was exactly 12 months ago that places such around Northern Georgia and Northern Alabama picked up significant snows.

But temperatures they are sitting now into the middle and upper 30s at this hour, even down on the Gulf Coast, mobile across the Panama City 10 to 20 degrees below average for this time of year into the low to mid-40s at this hour.

We do expect the trend here to want to warm up a little bit. In fact, the average for this time of year in Atlanta is 55. Aiming for 43 come Monday afternoon. Raleigh at 38. Then 55 is more in lined with normal temperatures.

The long-range forecast going towards Christmas Eve and eventually Christmas Day looks to want a warm temps up just a little bit. So, it looks like the beginning of December may very well, at least for the Eastern U.S. be colder than the end of December if it all plays out based on what it looks like right now, guys.

[02:55:23] CHURCH: Yes.

HOWELL: All right.

CHURCH: Pedram, it does make you wonder what January and February again will look like, doesn't it? Thank you so much.

HOWELL: Yes.

JAVAHERI: Might be a long winter, yes.

CHURCH: It says so.

HOWELL: No, Pedram. All right. Thank you very much.

JAVAHERI: Yes.

HOWELL: We end this hour with the story of loyalty in the face of adversity. A dog left behind in the deadly California campfire. A dog found protecting the ruins of his buried burned home there in California. Wow!

CHURCH: Yes. Madison's owner found him waiting there when she was finally allowed back into the area. She was forced to evacuate when the fire erupted last month. And after weeks of waiting, the two were finally reunited last week.

HOWELL: That's --

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: That's happy ending, at least.

HOWELL: Yes, at least. But there -- at least --

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: Tough journey for them both.

HOWELL: Yes.

CHURCH: And thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM this hour. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, let's do it again. More news right after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)