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Zimbabwe in Transition; Russia Investigation; Possible Explosion Detected in Hunt for Argentine Sub; U.S. Fighter Pilots Train for First Response in North Korea Threat; Emmersonn Mnangagwa Sworn In As Zimbabwe's President. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired November 24, 2017 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Zimbabwe's first transition of power since independence. Robert Mugabe's successor will be sworn in, in the next few hours. What Zimbabweans want from Emmerson Mnangagwa.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A new development in the Russia investigation. Michael Flynn's lawyers are no longer sharing information with President Trump's lawyers. We examine what that could mean.
VANIER (voice-over): Plus grief and despair as the Argentine navy says an explosion was hear near the last known location of a missing submarine.
ALLEN (voice-over): It's all ahead here. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.
VANIER (voice-over): And I'm Cyril Vanier. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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ALLEN: History being made this hour in Zimbabwe. We're awaiting the swearing-in ceremony for a new president. After three decades under Robert Mugabe, his former second in command, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is set to take over.
VANIER: That's supposed to happen within the next few hours. We'll be bringing you those pictures. After the swearing-in, Mnangagwa will address the nation. "The Crocodile," as he's sometimes called, does not exactly have a track record of promoting democracy. He's been a close ally of Robert Mugabe for most of his rule.
Yet Zimbabweans hope that their new leader will bring colleague.
ALLEN: Let's get straight to CNN's David McKenzie. He's live from Zimbabwe's capital for us.
David, hello to you. Yes, the question is this next president friend or foe? So the people of Zimbabwe jubilant this moment in their country's history.
But what will they be listening for from this new president?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Natalie, they'll certainly be hoping for a message of unity. And I have to say it's really incredible scenes in Harare with people coming in buses, coming on foot, military civilians, all of them streaming into the national stadium behind me for what is a momentous occasion in Zimbabwean history.
They've had the same president for 37 years. This is an inauguration of a man who was Robert Mugabe's right-hand man for a lot of that time. So there are questions of whether Emmerson Mnangagwa will be something new or continuation of the same.
But I think it's worth pausing and remember what an extraordinary week and a few days this has been, with the military moving into the capital, getting on air at 4:00 in the morning to announce that they've effectively taken control.
The protests of tens of thousands on the streets, calling for Mugabe to step down. The president then digging in, in a sense of despair, I have to say, for people on the streets here. And in that moment when the resignation came through of Robert Mugabe, the president, for all that time, jubilation that we witnessed first-hand on the streets of Harare and all throughout this country, that's all culminating in this moment, this inauguration.
I spoke to the U.S. ambassador here in Zimbabwe, who said despite the fact that sanctions are put in place against Emmerson Mnangagwa, they're looking to see what he does after he becomes president and perhaps they can work with this man.
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HARRY THOMAS JR., U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ZIMBABWE: Again, we deal with everything performance based. This is a new day. This is an opportunity for him and his cabinet to live up to the wonderful 2013 Zimbabwean constitution. And that's what we will tell them. It's your constitution. It's democratic. It's something you endorsed when you were minister of justice and later vice president. This is for your people. So live up to it and the United States will find a way to partner.
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MCKENZIE: There will be leaders from the region coming in for this big moment. They're piling in right now to stadium behind me. And again, all eyes will be on that inauguration moment and just what the new presidents of Zimbabwe incoming, interim president, has to say -- Natalie.
ALLEN: And you say leaders will be attending.
What about former president Mugabe?
MCKENZIE: That is a big question. We had the impression he was coming. And then just a few moments ago, state media saying that he may not attend due to the, quote, "hectic nature" of the last week. Certainly it will be worth seeing if President Mugabe is going to be here.
Throughout this process, the military and Mnangagwa, everyone really, keeping up this veneer of a constitutional transition. Mnangagwa called it a dawn or a incoming new democracy. Well, it's not a democracy; it's a forceful transfer of power. So everybody is also going to see, if he talks about possibly the next election, which is slated to happen before August next year.
That will be a key bellwether for the international community if Zimbabwe can --
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MCKENZIE: -- hold a credible, peaceful election, then I think they will certainly want to partner, as the American ambassador said there, with the new president. But I think they will hold their breath or wait and see until that moment. But certainly today is a big day. And the diplomatic community, the Zimbabwean people and the whole continent will be watching this very closely.
ALLEN: Absolutely. David McKenzie will be there for us, thank you, David.
For more now, here's Cyril.
VANIER: And Doug Coltart is also in the capital. He's a lawyer, a human rights activist, a Zimbabwean himself. He's also the son of opposition politician David Coltart.
Doug, what's happening today is just unprecedented. There hasn't been a political transition since Zimbabwe's independence.
How do you feel today?
DOUG COLTART, LAWYER: I think today, as with a lot of Zimbabweans, this is mixed emotions. There is certainly, you know, a huge amount of joy and jubilation and excitement about the fact that we have seen the back of Mugabe, which I think was the first major hurdle to cross in the transition toward real democratic consolidation.
But we also are very aware that we have a lot of work still to do, has been stated -- Mnangagwa has a very checkered past. He has been part of the system. And as someone said, while the tyrant has fallen, the system of tyranny has not.
So certainly it's time to roll up our sleeves and really try to make the most of this transition which has begun.
VANIER: How much do you trust Emmerson Mnangagwa? COLTART: Very little in a sense, in that this is a man who has been at the center of most human rights atrocities that have been committed over the past several decades and yet there are signs of (INAUDIBLE) things that he has said about wanting this to be an inclusive process, that this cannot be a job that is done by Zanu-PF alone but by all Zimbabweans.
So I think those are things that we need to hold him to. But I think that for Zimbabwe to make something of this transition, ordinary citizens cannot sit on the sidelines and hope that Mnangagwa will be the messiah, the savior.
But people need to get active, get mobilized, get organized and really push to have -- to hold them to account (INAUDIBLE) reforms that will get us toward having a free and fair election and a stable economy and a free and open society.
VANIER: Just a word from you on Robert Mugabe now. I know we are turning that page. But he negotiated immunity for himself and his wife. He also gets to keep his properties.
Are Zimbabweans angry about that, angry that he won't have to face justice?
Or is that already thing of the past?
COLTART: I think, again, you know the response is mixed. I think certainly there are those who would -- who would really like to see him face prosecution, especially those from southwestern region, who -- almost everyone has a family member who was a victim of the mass atrocities in the 1980s soon after independence.
I think, you know, there is a feeling among many that he should face prosecution. But I think for a lot of people, they're just so tired and ready to move on and they're also so aware that this is an extremely old man, who, even if he was sentenced to life imprisonment would probably only serve a couple of years (INAUDIBLE) he may never even make it to the sentencing in a case like that.
So I think for many people I think it is -- there is a feeling that at the very least, Mugabe has -- will die knowing that he was removed from power and that he was despised by his own people, which, in some sense, may be punishment enough.
VANIER: Doug Coltart, great talking to you. Thanks very much
COLTART: Thanks very much for having me.
ALLEN: Other news we're following, those trying to read the tea leaves in the Russia investigation may have gotten a big sign Thursday.
VANIER: CNN has learned that attorneys for fired national security adviser Michael Flynn has told other defense teams, including president Donald Trump's, that they will no longer share information about the probe. ALLEN: That could mean Flynn is now cooperating with the special
counsel's office or maybe negotiating to do so. An attorney for President Trump says --
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ALLEN: -- information sharing agreements can end for a number of reasons. Flynn's attorneys did not comment.
Joining me now from Los Angeles is Troy Slaten, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.
Thank you so much for joining us.
TROY SLATEN, ATTORNEY: Thanks for having me, tonight. Happy Thanksgiving.
ALLEN: Yes, and to you. Thanks for taking the time for doing this on a holiday.
So let's talk about this headline. Mr. Flynn's lawyers have stopped sharing information with the president's legal team about the Russia investigation.
What could this signal?
SLATEN: Well, it could mean a lot of things. And it's really hard to read the tea leaves this early in the game. Attorneys have joint defense agreements, information sharing agreements all the time.
But it becomes unethical if one of the parties is actually dealing with prosecutors and maybe working out some sort of plea agreement to then share information with the others because it comes a conflict of interest because then the interests of all those parties, all those represented parties, become adverse to each other.
ALLEN: Right.
So what else could it be?
SLATEN: It could mean that a plea deal is likely. It could mean that General Flynn is just providing the information. It could mean a whole host of things. And we really just don't know at this point, especially because it seems like the special counsel's office is keeping it quite mum.
ALLEN: All right. Let's look at a quote that we received back in March from Flynn's lawyer.
"General Flynn certainly has a story to tell and he very much wants to tell it."
So if perhaps he is starting to talk with the investigators, if he could be cooperating, what would Mueller be looking for beyond what we know about Flynn as far as lies he told about his relationship or his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the transition? SLATEN: Well, when you say "lie," it may have been -- it certainly was not true, whether it was an intentional lie; maybe it was just an inadvertent omission. We don't really know. And that's what's needed to prove obstruction of justice or perjury. But perjury would only be if it was testimony before Congress and we know that he didn't do that.
Congress was seeking to speak with him. But before he'd be willing to do that, he was seeking immunity from the Justice Department with regard to anything that he could say.
Look, it really seems like General Flynn has criminal exposure here. And before he's going to just waive his 5th Amendment right, that's the right we all know, to remain silent and actually talk with prosecutors, who have power to put somebody in jail, he wants to be sure that he either has deal in place or he's going to be immune for anything that he might say.
ALLEN: All right. So I should have said lies, I should have alleged mistruths of something forgotten. That probably would have made more sense.
I want to talk about when someone does cooperate with an investigation and they may have a truth problem, would that compromise this witness?
SLATEN: Absolutely. Anytime that prosecutors, whether it be federal prosecutors or even in state courts, when they work out an immunity agreement with a defendant or with a witness, the condition of that immunity is that everything that the person says is truthful. And if anything that they say turns out to be a lie during that cooperation, as part of that immunity agreement, then immunity is off the table. And everything that they say can and will be used against them.
ALLEN: Very interesting. They have already charged the investigators, three former Trump associates, how does Flynn compare to them?
Would he be a bigger get for them?
SLATEN: Well, General Flynn was a three-star general. He was the national security adviser to the president of the United States, albeit for a little bit less than a month. And he was very intricately involved and intimately involved with the campaign. So the special counsel here is looking at Russian interference in the election. And if there is anyone who was part of the Trump team that knew about that, it would be General Flynn, especially considering his close ties to Russia, to Turkey and to the Russian ambassador.
ALLEN: And we know that his son could also be involved here and certainly as indicated, that is a concern to General Flynn.
We thank you so much for joining us and for your analysis and helping us understand. Troy Slaten in Los Angeles, thanks, Troy.
SLATEN: Thanks for having me.
ALLEN: And next here on CNN NEWSROOM, a new clue --
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ALLEN: -- in the hunt for that missing Argentine submarine, how family of the crew are responding to this latest news. That's just coming up here.
VANIER: Plus the search has now stopped for three U.S. sailors missing in the Philippines Sea. We'll tell you more after the break.
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VANIER: Over the past week we have been reporting on the missing Argentine submarine and at this stage, the outlook for the crew looks grim. Authorities say an explosion may have been detected near the last known location of the ARA San Juan. It was picked up the same day that the ship vanished.
ALLEN: The mood, as you can imagine, devastated family members of the crew. Some are lashing out at the navy. For more, here's Stefano Pozzebon in Argentina.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: The search is still on for the missing Argentine submarine. It has been missing for over a week now and the Argentinian navy is urging relatives and fellow Argentinians to keep hopes alive, saying they are still hopeful to locate and rescue the San Juan and its 44 crew members.
But this morning we received the Argentinian (INAUDIBLE) confirmed the news that a noise was detected in the area where the San Juan last made contact with its home base here in Marta Plata, in that area on that particular morning when the San Juan last made contact with the home base. It was detected, a noise that the navy said it was consistent with an explosion.
That was enough to cause tragic reaction and panic among the relatives who were here in Marta Plata and were confident and hopeful to be able to welcome those crew members back home again. In particular, we were able to speak with a couple of them. And here is what they had to say this morning.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language). (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
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POZZEBON: Some very, very strong words, strong accusations against the Argentinian navy, saying that they were not communicating as they should have. Meanwhile, the Argentina navy confirms that the noise has been detected but rejects to cancel any of the option as it still says that they are putting on their best effort possible to locate those 44 crew members -- from Marta Plata, Argentina, for CNN, Stefano Pozzebon.
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ALLEN: Well, we want to talk more now about what could be happening with the submarine and will they be found.
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ALLEN: William Craig Reed is joining us. He's a former U.S. Navy diver, author and submarine expert.
Thank you again for joining us, William.
WILLIAM CRAIG REED, FORMER U.S. NAVY DIVER: Thank you.
ALLEN: We certainly just heard the grief and the rage of these families, so understood. But let's talk about what we have learned. There was some sort of an event, possible explosion on the sub the day it went missing. But we only know about a short circuit that was communicated from the crew.
Does that provide any information on what could have happened?
REED: It doesn't give us much of a clue. It could be almost anything. For the families, I know this is quite difficult. But let's recall that back in August of 2000, the Russian submarine Kurz (ph) went down and there were two very large explosions.
And while, yes, a large portion of the crew did not survive those two large explosions, there were survivors. So there is still hope regardless of what it might be.
ALLEN: Right. So this explosion, whatever, could have been isolated to a certain area, perhaps?
REED: Quite possible, so they did detect this in the area where they believe the submarine was. But there's no way to tell at this point if it was coming from the submarine or if it was an explosion. There's just no information yet that confirms what it might be.
ALLEN: Well, the submarine has been missing now just over a week. The crew is said to have 7-10 days of oxygen.
Is there a chance they could still be alive if they survive at this point?
REED: There could be. A lot of it depends upon the last time they actually raised the mast and did what we call snorkel, which means they brought fresh air into the submarine and recharged their batteries.
We don't know when they did that. It may have occurred about a week ago or perhaps even a little bit later. Also, there are some things on the submarine that will help them to lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. That could give them another day or two.
ALLEN: And is it unusual if there's been no signal, there's been no mayday, we haven't heard or seen any distress signs?
How much information could they put out there to try to get someone to find them?
REED: It really depends upon the condition of the submarine. If they are trapped on the bottom, there may be no way for them to communicate. And there is nothing they could do except perhaps tap on the submarine, on the hull of the submarine.
This is what we believed did happened with the Kurz (ph) when it went down. They were tapping SOS for a few days. So that is possible they could do that and our sonar would hear that.
ALLEN: Well, as we know, time is running out. There are numerous vehicles searching in this huge areas of the ocean. It's said to be the size of Finland, the search area. But let's talk about where the submarine could be as far as the depth. If it has sunk, whether it is in shallower waters of the ocean or some have said it may have slipped off the continental shelf.
If that's the case, what danger could that pose?
REED: Well, of course they're not going to be searching in waters that would be too deep. There are two different types of what we call depths for the submarine. One is called a test depth. That's what it's been tested to. And that limit is a little less than 1,000 feet.
Now it's possible they could go to another 500 or 600 feet below that. That would be the crush depth. So again, if it did go deeper than that, it's just not possible for a submarine to survive too much deeper than its crush depth.
ALLEN: Well, certainly everyone in the world is holding out hope. Thank you so much, William Craig Reed, thank you for talking with us.
VANIER: And also this, the U.S. Navy has halted its search for three sailors missing since the plane that they were on crashed in the Philippine Sea on Wednesday. Eight other crew and passengers were rescued after the crash and they're in good condition. The plane is a plane like this one, it went down during a routine
flight while approaching a U.S. aircraft carrier from a base in Japan. It's not clear why it crashed. But one official did say engine trouble may have been a factor.
ALLEN: U.S. fighter pilots train every day in the skies over South Korea for a potential conflict with the North.
VANIER: If war breaks out they need to be ready, that means running through scenarios, practicing air battles and attacks on ground targets. CNN's Alexandra Field knows exactly what that's like now after climbing into an F-16.
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ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a few seconds --
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FIELD (voice-over): -- we're fully vertical. U.S. Air Force Captain Kyle Miller calls on diesel takes us straight up to 13,000 feet. I'm strapped in the back, straining to stay conscious, feeling the gravity and the weight of it all.
As the commander of the 8th Fighter Wing, Col. David Shoemaker, and this happens every day, a practice faceoff with North Korea.
COL. DAVID SHOEMAKER, 8TH FIGHTER WING: As we practice just some of the basic maneuvers for air-to-air or some of the basic bombing patterns or bombing maneuvers. We also practice the ability to survive and operate on the ground.
FIELD (voice-over): Kunsan is the southernmost U.S. air base in South Korea. It's home to two U.S. F-16 fighter jet squadrons, flying time to North Korea, 12 minutes.
What do the first few hours of a conflict look like here at Kunsan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time isn't measured on a clock. It's measured in casualties. And the faster that we can get on the job, the fewer casualties we'll see, particularly in Seoul, in the opening volley of that war.
FIELD (voice-over): In wartime, Kunsan could expand to up to four times the number of service men and women currently serving here, an essential feat of U.S. and South Korean operations and a prime target.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We expect that North Korea's going to target, you know, any of the military bases that are here in the south.
FIELD: What kind of threat could North Korea present to the base here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we worry about their short-range ballistic missiles here. And we know that they have chemical weapons at this their disposal. FIELD (voice-over): They stay ready to fend off a ground invasion from North Korean special forces and to take the fight north from the air.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously having that air-to-surface capability, being able to take out the long range artillery that would be bombarding Seoul.
FIELD (voice-over): This is the third tour at Kunsan for Col. Shoemaker. It's undeniably different.
FIELD: We know that North Korea has advance in its nuclear capabilities and its missile capabilities.
Have you changed the way that you do things at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a mindset shift of why it is so important and the seriousness with which all of the airmen and soldiers here at Kunsan air base take our exercises and our training.
FIELD (voice-over): This is Diesel's third flight in two days. He puts us on the ground as the sun sets. The supersonic jet now quiet, its pilot, always already -- Alexandra Field, CNN, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea.
VANIER: Now the dignitaries are beginning to arrive in the capital of Zimbabwe where we are watching live pictures right now. And the country prepares to swear in its new president after three decades of Robert Mugabe, it's now up to Emmerson Mnangagwa Mugabe's former vice president. And that's a fact that hurts his credibility as a reformer. We'll bring you all the live pictures and more after the break. Stay with us.
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[02:30:22] ALLEN: And welcome back. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.
VANIER: And I'm Cyril Vanier. Let's take a look at your headlines here on CNN. The source familiar with the Russia investigation tells CNN that the legal teams have fired U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has stopped communicating with Donald Trump's lawyers. That could mean that Flynn is either cooperating with the special counsel running the Russia investigation or preparing to do so.
ALLEN: In Papua New Guinea, authorities say they have cleared all 300 asylum seekers from a detention center on Manus Island. Some there say police destroyed their property and cut off good and water. But officials say they did not enforce of three-week scandal.
VANIER: And the live pictures as Zimbabwe will swear in Emmerson Mnangagwa as the interim president very soon. He was Robert Mugabe's right-hand man during the dictator's three decades in power. A Zimbabwe Herald Newspaper says Mugabe may not attend his successor's inauguration. Those are not the live pictures but we will bring those to you very shortly. ALLEN: Under Mugabe's dictatorship, dissent was punished with violence but since his removal, it's been pure jubilation in the streets of the capital.
VANIER: We got several teams on the ground. Farai Sevenzo visited parts of Harare that is reveling in its newfound freedom.
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Highfields, one of Harare's townships. Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, the founding fathers of the ruling ZANU-PF have lived here. Now it's a stronghold for (INAUDIBLE) opposition party. The movement for Democratic change. And life here is about survival. The jobs are informal, mechanics, market women, barbers, and a great deal of unemployed youths, hustling.
Now, it's just the opposition area, Highfields. This is I -- remember where Robert Mugabe's people did an Operation Murambatsvina which means clear out the filth. And they raised people's houses on the pretense that they didn't have planning permission. But the aim really was to smash the newly formed movement with Democratic change opposition support based which is all over here.
Maxwell is one those who had his home destroyed in 2005. The father of three used to be a bank manager. Now he, like so many of others, has no job.
MAXWELL TANDARA, HIGHFIELDS RESIDENT: All these years I have been working in the bank for 19 years as a manager (INAUDIBLE) nothing to do. I'm looking and get around.
SEVENZO: He is desperate for a chance to vote for change freely and fairly.
TANDARA: We must have the voice of Mnangagwa (INAUDIBLE) they must come together, wait together, bring the reform for election, wait for election to be done. If the election held now is unfair.
SEVENZO: Unfair because people are so euphoric that right now incoming President Emmerson Mnangagwa has the edge. The boys at the barbershop are optimistic. In fact, Niasha, George, Mayesa, and Archival can't even believe they're allowed to speak to us.
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SEVENZO: I know that they say. He say to it -- he say the Mugabe era, if they're being seen like this they would have been beaten out for talking to us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's only that people wanted change. It's our view that things will change because they wanted change.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody in Zimbabwe (INAUDIBLE) seems to be a bit simpler.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) this old man.
SEVENZO: And then everything is back to normal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SEVENZO: These school girls said they that also believed the future is suddenly brighter with Robert Mugabe's departure. Still in some areas like this, poor ignored and proud where the real test of change will be measured.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When comes the election, we choose a new president who make things go well. Yes. I think it's OK that way. But the meantime I keep (INAUDIBLE)
SEVENZO: Farai Sevenzo, CNN, Highfields, Harare.
VANIER: All right. That was our Farai Sevenzo. Let's turn to David McKenzie now who's in Harare, he's outside the stadium where Emmerson Mnangagwa is going to be sworn in during the morning local time, Zimbabwe time. David, Zimbabweans came out massively against Mugabe last weekend. Do you expect them to come out massively for their new president swearing in today?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I do think so because, you know, you see all the people gathered here. They've been streaming into the stadium because this is such a historic event for Zimbabweans, 37 years with one president, you don't get inaugurations coming every day here. And you've had crowds gathering here, jamming into the stadium. There are more still coming in.
[02:35:10] Now, I spoke to one mother who brought her son, Robert, he is two years old holding a small Zimbabwean flag. She said she had to bring him here because it's such a historic occasion. So, from throughout the capital, people running into the stadium, coming in on buses, on foot, the military is here. This is just being an extraordinary week in Zimbabwean history. I think people really want to be a part of it regardless of what happens next.
VANIER: David, Mr. Mnangagwa promised a new Democracy. Do Zimbabweans trust him on that?
MCKENZIE: Well, look, this is a lot of things but it's not a Democracy or it's not a Democratic transition. You had the military coming onto the streets just over a week ago. They had that 4:00 a.m. address saying that they would effectively take over and purge elements of the ruling party. And then it's all been given this veneer of a constitutional transfer. I have to say I think probably a lot of Zimbabweans today don't care too much, they've seen the end of Robert Mugabe's rule and Emmerson Mnangagwa has at state said he's going to ushering a new era and bring investment to the struggling economy.
Just on the way here, we saw people lined up with the bank teller. They can only withdraw around $50.00 a day. That's the kind of struggles that people go through here. For now, it's a moment of celebration I have to say. And all the pomp and ceremony and regional leaders flowing in to witness this inauguration in a critical Southern African country of a man who came into power in a very unusual way that certainly will be the next president, the next leader of Zimbabwe.
VANIER: Who will actually be running this country? Will it be Emmerson Mnangagwa or the military?
MCKENZIE: Well, you know, when Emmerson Mnangagwa came in, he said at his first address in public that he had been in constant contact with the military throughout t this process, so he had to think that they were in lockstep and we know from previous reporting that there was a lot of discussion about this eventuality of this kind of coup even before we entered the extraordinary week. So, yes, I believe he will be in charge of the country. For the first time today since we've arrived you see police on the streets of Harare. They've vanished up to this point. So, in a way things are getting back to normal but normal without Robert Mugabe is a very unusual thing for all Zimbabweans I think so.
VANIER: Indeed it is. David McKenzie reporting live from outside the stadium where Zimbabwe's next president, Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn in this morning. David, we'll speak to you again shortly. Thank you.
And reaction is still pouring in over dramatic footage showing a North Korean defector being shot at by his formal military comrades as he fled across the DMZ, the Demilitarized Zone.
ALLEN: He did survive. Our Anna Coren tracked down another defector who knows all too well what this young soldier just went through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see him moving at a good rate of speed.
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Speeding down a deserted road on the DMZ, a North Korean soldier is attempting something the U.N. Command says no one has ever done before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will see some KPA soldiers come out of this building here as the vehicle quickly moves past them.
COREN: Using an army jeep he drives within meters of South Korean border and under a rain of bullets from his own comrades he runs across the demarcation line defecting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There have been many defectors but this is the first one I want to praise for bravery. He was heroic. I never thought to do this because it's a suicide mission.
COREN: 32-year-old (Kang re-Hyuk) would know. He spent 10 years as an officer in the North Korean People's Army based on the DMZ. And while he thought about defecting he never imagined pulling off such a daring escape. Instead, he crossed the border into China made his way to Thailand and then defected to South Korea four years ago. And that's where he met his wife also a defector who doesn't want her identity revealed fearing for the safety of her family back in North Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conditions were harsh. Everyone was hungry even the soldiers he says. The U.N. is sending rice and fertilizer and it all goes to the ranking officials. There are many soldiers who also from disease but they're not given medical treatment.
The latest defector, the third this year suffered serious injuries to his arms and abdomen from at least four bullet wounds. By the time he was medevac to hospital, he lost more than 50 percent of his blood and was almost dead. And while surgeons were operating they discovered dozens of parasitic worms, some up to 27 centimeters long which doctors say were the result of poor hygiene and malnutrition.
[02:40:09] Back in the 1990s, famine and starvation played North Korea plagued North Korea but the U.N. says malnutrition is still a major problem. Well, the 40 percent of the population is undernourished and one in four children faced chronic malnutrition. And while North Korean soldiers generally treated better than civilian like it's still a constant struggle.
This exclusive footage obtained by a South Korean Christian Mission shows North Korean soldiers physically plowing the soil instead of using livestock. And here they're foraging through a birds nest hunting for chicks presumably to eat. Pastor Kim Sun who heads the mission has rescued hundreds of North Koreans. He says while this footage is bleak, it's not hunger that motivates defectors but rather the desire for freedom.
North Koreans are thirsty for the outside world and frustrated by the reality they face, he explained. Those who defect including soldiers are hungry for information and have a strong desire to get out.
(INAUDIBLE) he too wanted to a better life, especially for his new family. And now working as a journalist, he occasionally broadcasts loudspeaker messages to the North Korean soldiers and has this message for his fellow defector.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Congratulations on your defection, happy South Korea. I wonder if you heard my broadcaster and it helped with your decision. I hope we can meet and have a soji. Anna Coren, CNN Seoul.
VANIER: And still to come on CNN NEWSROOM. A seismic shift in culture but is it here to stay? Women around the world are telling their stories of harassment and abuse by men in positions of power. I'll be discussing this with the leading advocate for women's rights next.
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ALLEN: On Thursday, two men, just two of a number of powerful men recently accused of sexual misconduct across the United States released statements about allegations against them and those statements couldn't more different. VANIER: And Senator Al Franken addressed head on a new accusation that he groped a woman during a public photo op in 2010. He said this. I recognize that I need to be much more careful and sensitive in these situations. I feel terrible that I've made some women feel badly and for that, I'm so sorry. And I want to make sure that never happens again.
Meanwhile, Alabama Senatorial candidate Roy Moore took a more indirect approach. In his statement, he thanked supporters for their prayers during what he calls the toughest spiritual and political battle of his life. Some observers say these harassment scandals are a cultural game changer. Joining me now is Gloria Feldt, floor of president of Planned Parenthood here in the U.S., advocate of Women's Rights and founder of Take The Lead, a non-profit that aims to put women in positions of leadership.
[02:45:05] Gloria, I'd like you to help us assess this moment that we're in. And the accusations of sexual misconduct against dozens of men in power, powerful men, and it looks like it's going to continue. How significant do you think this really is? And how much staying power do you think this really has?
GLORIA FELDT, CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, TAKE THE LEAD: Well, the second part of your question is very prescient because the difference that this moment will make will be fully dependent upon what women do now and what men do now, what men and women do now. You know, for millennia men have been able to basically behave badly. Let's face it. The way our culture has been structured women have been secondary for millennia. That has changed. It has changed in the law, we have opened doors, we have changed laws, we have seen a woman first on almost everything but we haven't really changed the culture in totality as yet.
So what's happening is you can sort of liken it to -- you know, when a baby puts a blanket over its head, it thinks nobody can see it. And men culturally have been able to have that blanket over their head and think nobody could see the behavior that they were exhibiting, but I --
VANIER: But so, what is your gut instinct when you see all of these happening, all of these accusations, the men that have had to step down. And, you know, it happens within minutes. Are you skeptical of this or do you think --
FELDT: Oh, no. Oh, no.
VANIER: -- as somebody who's worked with these issues for years if not decades do you think, well, this is the moment we've been waiting for?
FELDT: I think this is the moment we have been building to. It is not a moment we have been waiting for, it is a moment that we have been building to. And as I said, we had to change laws, we had to change -- I want to change women's perception of ourselves. You know, the work that I do with Take the Lead Now really focuses profoundly on women's relationship with power. And what everyone can now see is that sexual abuse and harassment is about power. It's really much more than being about sex. It is about -- it is about who is in control.
VANIER: Do you think this trickles down to ordinary people and the everyday workplace and the everyday life? Because you look at the men who are concerned here, and who have been accused and those who have stepped down, it is men who are in the spotlight, right? Who are in some kind of position where they get a lot of public attention, whether it' a producer like Harvey Weinstein or politics or in the media, but what about people who are not in the spotlight?
FELDT: Well, you know, it's -- it is in that sense a watershed moment for everyone because when we see these things in the media, it not only informs us, it also informs our behavior. And I'll bet you that there are a lot of men, particularly, men over the age of say, 50 or 60, who are quaking in their boots because they know they have exhibited some kind of harassment. What I think we as women and as men, however, need to do going forward is to teach people starting with young people, starting with young men and women proper behavior toward one another, and respect toward one another.
I mean, when you look at -- you know, I saw a statistic that Charlie Rose had about 80 -- over 80 percent of the people on his panels were men. Well, that tells you something right there about respect and recognition of what women are able to bring to the table. Women now know what we can bring to the table. And we have to value ourselves enough to be able to say, no, that's not behavior that I'm willing to tolerate. And so, it works both ways.
VANIER: You say a lot of men are probably quaking in their boots right now. What would you say to women who are looking at these allegations, accusations that have been made public and think, well, I have the same story, I've experienced similar things. What would you tell them?
FELDT: Right. I think it's really magnificent that so many women are coming to tell their stories. Look, I grew up at a time when what I learned to do was to smile and move away. Though it's not that I didn't experience these behaviors. It's that I would have never -- I would have never called them out. I just smiled and moved away. What's great is that when -- the Anita Hill situation which you recall is now over 20 years ago. When Anita Hill began a national conversation about sexual harassment, suddenly we had a name for it. But it took really a generation of women who now understand they don't have to take that, they really know it's wrong and that they can call it out.
So, we're going to learn from the young women how you set your own terms from the very beginning, how you don't let men even start to exhibit harassing and diminishing and demeaning behavior toward you.
[02:50:09] VANIER: And Gloria, we're not done analyzing this moment and this shift in our society and culture. We'll speak to you again. Thank you very much for your time and coming on the show.
FELDT: Thank you, Cyril. ALLEN: And next here on CNN NEWSROOM, Facebook says soon you'll be
able to see if you've actually been following Russian trolls in your newsfeed. Why critics say that's not enough to gain back public trust.
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ALLEN: Well, Facebook wants to know if you were duped by Russian trolls during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. On Wednesday, the company announced a new tool that will let users see if certain pages they liked or followed were linked to the internet research agency, a Russian troll farm with ties to the Kremlin.
VANIER: The tool will be available at the end of the year. But as our Samuel Burke, there are some caveats.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This has left a lot of scratching our heads because on the surface, you would think that it's a good move that soon Facebook will be launching this tool which will show you if you were exposed to Russia-linked content. But if you read between the lines, Facebook will only be giving access to this tool for the users who clicked, liked, or followed these Russia linked accounts. Now, you don't have to like one of these accounts to have been exposed to the promoted posts that they had all across Facebook. Keep in mind that 150 million Americans were shown these posts. That is more than the entire U.S. electorate.
So, why only show this to a smaller group of people? Why not make the tool available to everybody? Keep in mind that CNN Money had seen and shown the evidence that these very same accounts were also posting around Brexit here in the U.K. So, the ranking member of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, says that he believes that this is a positive move that the social media networks need to take additional steps for more transparency so that people can better understand everything that happened around Russia and Facebook and the other social networks in the 2016 elections.
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ALLEN: All right. Wow, this has been a Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, a holiday. And it signaled the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season when stores hoped to turn the red ink in their books to black.
VANIER: Now, stores are fighting the online competition with something that you just can't get by shopping on the Web window displays. CNN's Clare Sebastian brings us the window wars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In New York's department store, windows a festive arms race is underway.
FAITH HOPE CONSOLO, CHAIRMAN, RETAIL LEASING AND SALES DIVISION, DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE: Each store has really pulled out the stops this year. Trying to make it better, smarter.
SEBASTIAN: Faith Hope Consolo New York self-described "Queen of Retail" is a conocer of holiday windows. And at the city's oldest department store, Lord & Taylor, she's impressed.
CONSOLO: They always had movements. And they always had the story, but nothing as beautiful as this. They only used to do Fifth Avenue, so they're trying to bring the course traffic, the downtown, the uptown.
SEBASTIAN: Amidst the holiday cheer, the landscape for these department stores is shifting. Lord & Taylor's parent company, Hudson's Bay, recently announced it's selling this very building to race cash.
[02:55:10] CONSOLO: All of these design outside --
SEBASTIAN: Well, in the (INAUDIBLE) stores.
CONSOLO: Yes, they've never done like this.
SEBASTIAN: And over at (INAUDIBLE) Avenue owned by the same country, all 14 of its Fifth Avenue windows are decked out for the first time out of a partnership with Disney. And as for Macy's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is wanting the asset. These stores are not liabilities or assets, they have to be deployed properly and you have to maximize how you use them. This is one of those ways.
SEBASTIAN: Macy's was the pioneer of New York's holiday windows. It has kept going through economic ups and downs. This was 1933 where the U.S. economy still reeling from the Wall Street crash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this will be a benchmark type here last year, we felt it was heavily promotional. This year it's going to be heavily promotional again. No one is sitting back waiting to roll all their promotions out on Friday. They've been doing it on tactical bases for the last few weeks.
CONSOLO: The save (INAUDIBLE) glamor.
SEBASTIAN: Look at the dinosaurs.
CONSOLO: Look at the dinosaurs.
SEBASTIAN: At Bergdorf Goodman, they're using cultural institutions to stand out.
Is this going to drive foot traffic into the store?
CONSOLO: I hope so. I'm not sure but I think anything different, it has to be different this year.
SEBASTIAN: A window onto an industry where nothing is standing still. Clare Sebastian, CNNMoney New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Those windows are mesmerizing. Well, of course, Thanksgiving would not be complete without the Macy's Parade, balloon, bands, floats, glided through the streets of Manhattan amid heavy security. The terror attack back in October though did not stop New Yorkers from turning out to watch. Shoulder to shoulder in the chilly autumn air as giant movie and T.V. show characters wound their way from Central Park to Herald Square. This was the 91st Thanksgiving tradition, the parade.
VANIER: All right. Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Cyril Vanier.
ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. And we'll be back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM right after this our top stories.
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