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President Obama Demands Respect Of Basic Human Freedoms In His Address To The Cuban People; Four Presidential Hopefuls Spoke At AIPAC; U.N. Security Council Plans To Lift Sanctions On Four Blacklisted Ships. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired March 22, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:11] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is "CNN Newsroom," live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour:
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Obama and Castro declare a new day, but old disputes linger.
VAUSE: Plus, the man called America's toughest for his hard line on illegal immigration joins us this hour, as voters in his home state of Arizona prepare to go to the polls.
SESAY: And the day before a scheduled court hearing, the FBI says it may not need Apple's help after all to open the suspected terrorist's iPhone.
VAUSE: Hello everybody, great to have you with us; I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay; "Newsroom" L.A. starts right now.
U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver his message for improved human rights to the Cuban people on Tuesday.
Oh his final day of this historic visit he'll also meet with Cuban dissidents. A human rights activist says about 20 dissidents were detained Monday, including one on his way to an interview with CNN.
Now Monday night Mr. Obama was hosted at a State dinner at the Palace of the Revolution.
SESAY: It came on the heels of a lengthy private meeting between Mr. Obama and President Raul Castro, and a sometimes testy news conference.
VAUSE: President Obama called Cuba's human rights record a "very powerful irritant." Raul Castro was clearly irritated when reporters tried to ask him about it.
SESAY: One area of agreement is the U.S. trade embargo. Jim Acosta has the day's events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a sign that decades old enemies can one day change their tune. That's the U.S. national anthem being played on Cuban soil. As President Obama joined the island's ruler, Raul Castro, in Havana to close out this final chapter of the Cold War.
While there were the usual diplomatic gestures as Mr. Obama signed a book, to remember the pre-Castro revolutionary Jose Marti, the President also delivered a tough message to the Cubans, to begin respecting basic human freedoms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We continue, as President Castro indicated, to have some very serious difference, including on democracy and human rights; and President Castro and I have had very frank and candid conversations on these subjects.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But Castro had his own set of grievances. Right at the top? The U.S. embargo, strangling the Cuban economy, that still stands, but he did not answer the question on why his country holds political prisoners.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: Why do you have Cuban political prisoners?
RAUL CASTRO, via translator: Give me a list, right now, of the political prisoners, so I can release them. What political prisoners? Give me the names.
ACOSTA: The President is going around Congress to weaken the embargo, loosening travel restrictions on Americans who want to see the island and bringing with him big hotel company CEO's, who want to turn Cuban mojitos into money.
Jose Daniel Ferrer, a former political prisoner, says the President's visit can provide a much needed push. Freed under the Obama Administration's diplomatic breakthrough with Cuba, he's calling on the President to think of Reagan -
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
ACOSTA: -- and demand that age old barriers start coming down in Cuba.
JOSE DANIEL FERRER, via translator: We have to tear down many walls, he tells me, so that the Cuban people can live with dignity.
ACOSTA: At the end of their news conference Castro tried to hold up Obama's hand, to show off their budding friendship. Mr. Obama didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm.
Next the President will deliver an address to the Cuban people and meet with Cuban dissidents here in Havana. The White House says Mr. Obama will once again call for an expansion of human rights in Cuban, then he'll try to wind down his trip, enjoying a past timeshared by both the U.S. and Cuba, a baseball team between the Cuban National team and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A sign of how signs have changed, a few years ago a trip to Cuba for any elected official, from Miami or Florida would have been likely career suicide but not now. The mayor of Miami Beach is also in Havana this week, a visit that happens to coincide with the visit by the U.S. President.
Mayor Philip Levin joins us now from Havana. Mr. Mayor, thanks for being with us. We should point out you're not part of the President's entourage, but you are seeing all of this play out in real time. So what's your take away on this and are you getting any idea what the Cuban people are expecting from this Presidential visit?
PHILIP LEVIN, MAYOR, MIAMI BEACH FLORIDA: Well it's very exciting. I'm actually leading a delegation of students from Tuff's University, happened to coincide with the President's visit. Of course, we're coordinating directly with the White House.
What I'm feeling on the street, of course, there's a lot of excitement; excitement from the Cuban people that change is in the air; that positive [00:05:03] movement in the future is happening. And having the President here is pretty outstanding, I think, for the entire country.
VAUSE: You know, there was some awkward moments on Monday. The Cuban President denied there were any political prisoners there. He clearly wasn't comfortable talking about the incredibly low wages that Cubans are paid; and critics do point out this is just another example of how this communist government has not changed, how far there is to go here.
LEVINE: Well, you know, I think it's very important to point out that President Obama is not here for the Cuban government. President Obama is here for the Cuban people, and that's the message of this entire trip. It's very important; and, of course, part of the reason I'm here of course is for the Cuban people, giving them hope, giving them interaction with the American people, letting them know that there's a world outside of Cuba and if they'd like to change and make their quality of life better, that they have friends to the north. I think that it's time for a change in our policy.
VAUSE: Talking about Cubans, there's a lot of Cuban-American who live in your city. It makes up about 20-percent of your electorate. Have you seen their attitudes change toward Cuba and towards the U.S. policy on Cuba over the years?
LEVINE: Absolutely; there's been a real dramatic change, John and I think the way you could look at it is this: there are a lot of senior Cubans where the memories of the revolution are very fresh to them, still. Then, of course, you have the Cuban that's in their 40s and 50s, I guess you could say the baby boomers, that feel much more positive. There's a tremendous contingency of Cuban Americans, at my hotel, that are very successful, that have gone through the revolution, that are much younger, and they're looking forward to change; and, of course, the millennial Cubans who really, I guess, helped President Obama win office in Florida, they are all for change.
VAUSE: And I guess one of the issues, too, you say you're there leading a delegation. One of the things you're looking at is how a more open Cuban could impact tourism on the city of Miami Beach. A lot of business leaders are there looking for opportunities in Cuba. So look at it from the other way. Mix the politics and the business if you like. Is this now the plan? Engage economically because economic isolation hasn't worked, maybe engaging economically that's going to bring about the social change here? So kill them with Coca- Cola, if you like.
LEVINE: Well, I couldn't agree with you more. I think when you have cultural interaction with the United States, you have business interaction with the United States, -- I mean, I'm here looking over at the cruise pier and there's a couple of cruise ships here and I could tell you that at the same time next year I believe you'll have many cruise ships here. You're going to have more hotels; more American capitalism. Now, of course, the reason for my trip is human, person to person contact. It's not business, but I've met many entrepreneurs that are here and I think this is the beginning. You're going to see them change through interaction with the United States and United States businesses.
VAUSE: Mr. Mayor, it's been great speaking with you. Enjoy your time there.
LEVINE: Thank you so much.
SESAY: Four of the U.S. Presidential hopefuls spoke to one of the largest pro-Israel lobby groups in the United States. Hillary Clinton, John Kasich and Ted Cruz each pledged broad support for Israel.
VAUSE: So did Donald Trump, but he tried to walk back some earlier statements that he would be neutral on the Israeli-Palestinian issues, and the republican front-runner got a lot of applause when he blasted the Iranian Nuclear Deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.
[Applause]
TRUMP: I have been in business a long time. I know deal making and let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic for America, for Israel and for the whole of the Middle East.
[Applause] TRUMP: The problem here is fundamental: we've rewarded the world's leading state sponsor of terror with $150 billion and we received absolutely nothing in return.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We're joined now by Amanda Susskind. She's a regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, a non-partisan human rights group that fights anti-Semitism and hate speech, and a lot of other things. You guys do a lot of good work and you're very busy, so we appreciate you coming in Amanda.
SESAY: Thank you for coming in.
VAUSE: This speech at AIPAC, this was the moment, a lot of people said, for Donald Trump to step up, to be presidential, to change the tone, to show that he's got the policy chops, that he can actually, sort of, change this campaign away from where it was heading. Did you see that tonight?
AMANDA SUSSKIND, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: We've been watching all of the speeches and we're still parsing through them carefully; and we're at 501(c)3 so I do want to be a little careful about specifics on any one speech -
VAUSE: Sure.
SUSSKIND: -- but I will say that, along with the vast majority of Americans, all of the candidates did speak forcefully in support of the state of Israel, as a Jewish state, and that's really good news for everybody. It's also consistent with the American public.
[00:10:02] We were also happy to see the candidates denounce the state of Iran, their appalling record of human rights at home, their continued support of terrorism abroad and their hegemonic behavior in the region. So holding their feet to the fire is very important for our community, as well as the American public.
VAUSE: So broad terms, we will include Donald Trump in that statement.
SUSSKIND: Yes, we will include everybody in that statement.
VAUSE: Okay.
SUSSKIND: I will also say that people look to more than just the words spoken in these campaigns and at speeches, at conferences like this. We look as well, as I think all good, responsible, voting citizens do, we look at people's records. We look at people's experience. We look at people's credibility. I will also say the Jewish community is not monolithic. We are also going to look at other issues. The Anti-Defamation League in particular is interested in issues of civil rights, issues of hate speech and these kinds of issues.
SESAY: And to that point, Donald Trump's recent comments regarding minorities and regarding refugees, and some going so far as to say that he's been cheering on violence, led some Jewish groups so they didn't think it was appropriate he should speak at AIPAC. The ADL did not take that position; help us understand why.
SUSSKIND: First of all, the ADL believes AIPAC has a right to invite, and has always invited traditionally candidates from all campaigns; and if people really didn't want to hear it, also people at that conference were free to walk out, and I think some did and some probably stayed and didn't stand to applaud. So I think there's a whole range of things that can be done to show support.
But ADL's position on Trump, in particular, was more pointed to the hate rhetoric that has been -
VAUSE: Let's get to that now because Donald Trump has donated about $56,000 to the ADL over the past decade, according to your website. In a statement from the League's CEO he said this, "In light of the recent campaign we have decided to redirect the total amount of funds that he contributed to the ADL over the years specifically into anti- bias education programs that address exactly the kind of stereotyping and scapegoating that are being injected into this political season."
That's a pretty big statement you're making there about Donald Trump; yes?
SUSSKIND: Yes; and we are very clear that it is imperative for people to stand up to this kind of hate speech. We believe that ADL has the kind of resources that people need for schools, for teachers, for law enforcement even, to address, whether it's bias in school, whether it's anti-bullying, whether it's teaching law enforcement how to not discriminate. So I think those are the kinds of programs and other programs, like, No Place for Hate, there's a lot of programs that ADL does. You can go to the website, adl.org, to hear more about it. Join us in our campaign against hate.
SESAY: (Inaudible) any other group standing with you and doing the same, redistricting funds they may have received --
SUSSKIND: I haven't heard of anyone else redirecting funds, but I can't speak for all groups. As far as other groups redirecting to an anti-bias or bullying prevention types of programs, I think we do those singularly the best in the world. So I can't imagine anyone else doing quite what we do and having the impact we do. It's a really important component of our work and we think a very positive way to approach these issues, is to turn it into a learning moment.
VAUSE: A teachable moment.
SUSSKIND: A teachable moment.
VAUSE: Okay, Amanda; thank you for coming in.
SUSSKIND: Thank you so much for covering the issues.
SESAY: Thank you.
VAUSE: Appreciate it.
SESAY: Now, Donald Trump continues to be republican voters' top choice in recent polls.
VAUSE: With the field narrowed down to three candidates the latest CNN/ORC poll shows 47-percent of Republicans backing Mr. Trump; 31 support Ted Cruz; and, 17 for John Kasich. All five U.S. Presidential Candidates also spoke to CNN on Monday.
SESAY: Yes, indeed. They addressed a wide range of issues, everything from NATO to Cuba, to the protests at Donald Trump's rallies and even Hillary Clinton being told to smile more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED CRUZ (R-TX) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not interested in playing the media got you game.
JOHN KASICH (R-OH) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My message of hope is the vital message.
HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has been engaging in bigotry and bullying.
TRUMP: I am the least racist person you'll ever meet.
BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This guy will not be elected as president of the United States.
CLINTON: Whenever I have a job, I really work hard to do it to the best of my capacity.
SANDERS: Secretary Clinton and I look at foreign policy in very different ways.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You don't want any violence to emerge, right?
TRUMP: Of course I don't.
BLITZER: You used the word "riot" twice.
TRUMP: I didn't use -
CLINTON: I think his incitement on violence raises very serious questions.
BLITZER: do you think the United States need to rethink U.S. involvement in NATO?
TRUMP: Yes, because it's costing us too much money.
KASICH: No, that's silly. No, no. We're going to have to strengthen.
SANDERS: Have some good things been done in Cuba? Yes. Should the United States go around, overthrowing governments we don't like? I don't think so.
[00:15:02] TRUMP: Nobody respects women more than I do. Nobody takes care of women and they take care of me -
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've seen people on television saying oh, you should smile more. Is that sexist?
CLINTON: Well, let me say, I don't hear anybody say that about men.
BLITZER: Is it all realistic if you get the nomination, you could call on this man, you call him lying Ted, to be your vice presidential running mate?
TRUMP: Crazy things happen in politics.
CRUZ: I have zero interest whatsoever.
CLINTON: This is like a big, giant, you know, job interview.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: When, Donald Trump headlined a rally in Arizona, over the weekend, he was introduced by our next guest, Sheriff Arpaio, who's been dubbed America's toughest sheriff on CNN. Sheriff Arpaio warned that protesters would pay the consequences for trying to disrupt the rally.
SESAY: He has also become well known for rounding up undocumented immigrants and his controversial tent city jail, where prisoners are kept in outdoor tents.
Sheriff Arpaio, thank you so much for joining us. To look ahead to the primary taking place in your state on Tuesday, you, of course, have endorsed Donald Trump. Arizona conducting a closed primary, leading some to say this might not be a win for him. How do you see his chances on Tuesday night?
JOE ARPAIO, SHERIFF, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZON: Well, that's wishful thinking from the so-called establishment. Everybody's taking a shot at Mr. Trump, but you know, he's going to win. He has a lot of support in Arizona. He's leading all across the country; so I expect a win tomorrow.
VAUSE: Sheriff, regarding the protests at Mr. Trump's rallies, you said earlier today in one interview on another network, "we have to do something about what's happening to Trump. It's very, very sad." When you said that, what do you mean? What exactly has to be done there? What do you think?
ARPAIO: Well, you know, I was with him in Fountain Hills, Arizona, my hometown, where I'm also head of the law enforcement there. They tried to block the streets, so I had my deputies lock up the people that were blocking the street to keep thousands of people from attending Donald's rally and they're in jail.
Now, I also was with him down in Tucson, when I introduced him, and there was some altercations there. In fact, I was there when his campaign manager was trying to take some vicious signs away from people breaking into that forum. So I don't know what all this hype is about him defending himself, defending his forum. He had to pay for that forum, down there in the convention center, so I feel that he has a right to not accept everybody coming in to that area, especially the disorderly people that are going after him, trying to keep people from coming in to listen to him. You know, he has a first amendment right.
SESAY: Sheriff Arpaio, there are those that would say that Mr. Trump himself has some role to play in the very violence that is taking place at his rallies, that it is, in fact, his statements that is, you know, riling up people and is inciting the violence. So what do you say to that?
ARPAIO: Well, what about the President and everybody else inciting problems with their rhetoric? What about the former president of Mexico making vicious remarks against a person running for U.S. president, especially Trump? I don't see a big uproar from Congress or anybody else in this country going after that -- those comments. I think they like it. They like when Mexico criticizes Trump because they don't want Trump to be the president. So that's sad -
SESAY: Sheriff, but it's - Sheriff Arpaio, but you know that it's not just the former Mexican President that has criticized Donald Trump. Many people in this country have taken issue with his statements he's made about Mexico and people from Mexico coming to this country.
ARPAIO: Well, you know, I have 8,000 people in my jails that I run that are in there for all different crimes; okay? All different crimes including murder, they happen to be here illegally. We turn them over to ICE and 3,000 have come back to the same jails. Very frustrating. Nobody talks about that. they're back on the streets. Some come back 20, 25 times. So there's a lot of frustration about people coming into this country, that do have - that do commit crimes. I'm not saying everybody does, and he doesn't say everybody does. He was talking about certain elements that come into our country, commit crimes and are supposed to be deported and they are not being deported. Very simple.
VAUSE: Sheriff, Secretary Clinton, with the Democrats, was campaigning in Arizona on Monday. She specifically mentioned you, your policies and the tactics, she said you treated human beings with "disrespect and contempt." [00:20:02] If you had a chance to respond to that what would you say?
ARPAIO: Well, maybe she should have done her job as Secretary of State and gone to Mexico more. How many times has she been there trying to get the Mexican government to stop all the drugs coming into our country? How many times has the President been the Mexico? They sure know how to travel every else in the world. So I blame her.
Secretary of State is the most critical official in foreign relations. She wants to take shots at me, I'll take shots at her. She did not do her job in Mexico. SESAY: Sheriff Arpaio, to look ahead now to the convention, the GOP convention, many saying now that it could well be a brokered, a contested convention. Donald Trump warning that if there are any shenanigans, if you will, and he doesn't get the nomination there could be riots. (A) What is your view of the road ahead in this race and (B), if, indeed Donald Trump doesn't get the nomination, will you remain a member of the GOP?
ARPAIO: Will I do what, leave the GOP?
SESAY: Would you - yes, if Donald Trump doesn't get the nomination, the candidate you've endorsed, if it gets down to the convention and he doesn't get the nomination, will you stay with the Republican Party? I mean, what's your view of what lies ahead in this race?
ARPAIO: Of course I will. I was the honorary chairman for the George W. Bush. I was the honorary chairman for Mitt Romney. I endorsed Rick Perry last time. That's the way it is. I'm not going to leave the Party, but I expect they will get the nomination. I hope they're fair and stop going after him because they don't want him in office because they know he's not going to be beholden to anybody. He's going to do what he said he's going to do and sometimes people don't like that and he's spending his own money so he doesn't owe anybody anything. So I think that's what they fear.
VAUSE: Sheriff Arpaio there in Phoenix, Arizona. We appreciate you being with us, sir.
SESAY: Great to speak to you, Sheriff Arpaio.
VAUSE: Thank you very much. Hope you come back and talk to us again.
ARPAIO: Any time.
SESAY: Thank you.
ARPAIO: Love it.
SESAY: All right, well, we'll bring you much more from the final five presidential candidates talking to CNN. You can catch our highlight show at 7:00 p.m. Hong Kong time; that's 11:00 a.m. in London, right here only on CNN.
I am surprised he said he would stay because there are some republicans saying -
VAUSE: Willing to walk.
SESAY: -- they are willing to walk away from the party.
VAUSE: Absolutely. It's an interesting couple of months ahead.
SESAY: Interesting.
VAUSE: In the meantime we'll take a short break here. When we come back, U.N. is planning to remove some of North Korea's sanctions after requests from China. We'll tell you how the country is vouching for Pyongyang.
SESAY: Plus, a man hunt is underway for a new suspect in the Paris terror attack. His connection to the man captured just days ago. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. CNN has learned that the U.N. Security Council plans to lift sanctions on four ships blacklisted for ties to North Kores. That's coming after requests from China.
A U.S. official says China has now given written assurances that the vessels would not be staffed by North Korean crews.
SESAY: Now this some comes as South Korean officials say the North fired [00:25:01] five short-range projectiles off the peninsula's east coast Monday, ratcheting up tensions amid U.S. joint military exercises with the South.
VAUSE: Let's go to Paula Hancocks now, live in Seoul, for the very latest. So, Paula, my count, 15 recent missile launches; four different occasions. Is there a growing sense now that this is more than just anger at those annual U.S./South Korean military exercises?
PAULA HANCOCKS, via satellite: Well, John, we've had pictures in from North Korean state run media showing what those projectiles from Monday likely were, showing the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un monitoring and guiding a test fire of a multi-rocket launching system, the same as he did a couple of weeks ago. So we're getting these pictures in from North Korean state run media.
Once again, we're seeing 15, as you say, since February. We have, in the past, seen more than this during these joint military drills. Back in 2014 there were about 90 launches by North Korea. So certainly we can expect some more; but, you're right, there is more to it this year.
We're certainly seeing tensions higher than they have been in some years because of that nuclear test, the satellite launch, the U.N. sanctions. Really, since the start of this year, we have seen an uptick in tensions on the peninsula. We don't expect it to ease any time soon, at least not until April 30th, which is the end of these joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, which, every year, anger Pyongyang. John?
VAUSE: And, Paula, very quickly, are there any options on the table here or would a response by the Americans or the South Koreans make it worse?
HANCOCKS: Well, certainly no one's publicly saying that they believe that that's going to be any kind of preemptive strike and certainly I think the repercussions would be extremely serious and no one seems to have the appetite for that at this point. The U.S. and South Korea saying these military drills are defensive in nature, which is what they always say; but, of course, Pyongyang sees them in a very different way. At this point it is the diplomatic route that the international community is taking hoping that these U.N. sanctions, which have been described as unprecedented, will actually make a difference.
VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks live there, in Seoul, where it's going on 1:30 on a Tuesday afternoon. Thanks, Paula.
SESAY: Coming up on "CNN Newsroom" L.A., a chief suspect in the Paris terror attacks eluded police for four months. What finally led them right to his doorstep, next.
VAUSE: Also, a major hearing in the U.S. Government's case against Apple has been postponed. We'll tell you why it could mean trouble for the tech giant's security measures.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:55:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody; you're watching "CNN Newsroom," live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Isha Sesay; the headlines this hour: President Obama pushed Cuba on its human rights record during a news conference with President Castro. Mr. Castro appeared irritated when CNN's Jim Acosta asked him about political prisoners responding with, "what political prisoners?" A human rights activists says about 20 dissidents were detained Monday.
VAUSE: Four of the U.S. Presidential Candidates addressed one of the largest pro-Israel lobbying group. Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich each made broad pledges to maintain the close relationship between the United States and Israel. Democrat, Bernie Sanders said he couldn't attend the conference because of scheduling problems.
SESAY: A U.S. official says the U.N. Security Council is expected to grant the request to lift sanctions on four ships once linked to North Korea. China says it owns the vessels and has given written assurances they will not be staffed by North Korean crews.
Now, French and Belgian police are looking for a new suspect in connection with November's Paris terror attacks.
VAUSE: He's identified as 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui. Authorities believe he traveled with another suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, to Hungary in September.
SESAY: Abdeslam was captured Friday in Brussels. Officials believe he was ready for fresh attacks and had a large network of supporters helping him.
VAUSE: We're also learning more about what led authorities to Salah Abdeslam's hideout, after he'd spent four months on the run.
SESAY: CNN Senior National Correspondent, Nima Elbagir reports a phone call was a critical break when many thought the trail had gone cold. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A senior Belgian counterterror official is telling CNN that it was a phone call from Salah Abdeslam to an individual already under their surveillance that tipped them off to his hideout, inside the Molenbeek neighborhood, just a street away from his childhood home. It was an individual, they say had been under surveillance for a while and it was after the trail had gone cold that they finally picked up this crucial information that led them to Salah Abdeslam.
This comes as Belgian's Foreign Minister warns of continuing threats against the country. He says he believes that the network that Salah Abdeslam built around himself, during the weeks and months of his evasion of capture, was planning on launching new threats, new plots here in Belgium, and the finding of detonators inside that first hideout, really gives credence to this broader theory that authorities are working on.
All this comes as Interpol is warning European countries to be hyper- vigilant at their borders. France has already deployed new troops; and Belgium says it is still not yet over there, warning the public to be vigilant, to be aware and to pass on any information that they receive.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Brussels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: A U.S. judge has postponed a crucial hearing in the legal battle between Apple and the Justice Department. We will explain why.
VAUSE: Also ahead, the tech giant's fight with the government is not slowing them down. We'll tell you about all the new products and upgrades, and the new prices. They're upgrades.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:53] SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. Now to new developments in the legal battle between tech giant, Apple, and the U.S. government.
The Department of Justice was set to face off with the company Tuesday, but the judge has postponed it.
VAUSE: That hearing was expected to be a major turning point in the FBI's fight to access an iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino gunman; but the DOJ postponed it after learning that an outside party might have another way to unlock the phone.
SESAY: Well, it's not clear who this third-party is or what their methods are, but it's certainly not good news for Apple. Let's turn to Samuel Burke, live with us from Cupertino, California, near Apple's headquarters.
Samuel, good to have you with us. I've got to ask you, just right off the bat, have we heard anything from Apple in response to this news? What are they saying? Any response?
SAMUEL BURKE, BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Basically what we're hearing from an Apple attorney is that they say, well, this case is moot now if the Government can get into the phone. Then, they're saying, this is what we've been saying all along. This is why we have to be strong in fighting these type of back doors because then people can get in. It looks like the government might be taking advantage of some type of loophole, but this certainly doesn't look good for Apple because it exposes a hole in their system. So on the other hand it's a little bit of a PR headache for Apple.
SESAY: Indeed; but Apple Chief, Tim Cook, you know, using the moment as he announced these new upgrade Apple products on Monday to really, you know, make a stand, take a swipe at the DOJ, at the authorities. let's play a little bit of what he had to say and then, Samuel, I want to get your reaction on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: We did not expect to be in this position, at odds with our own government, but we believe strongly that we have a responsibility to help you protect your data, and protect your privacy. We owe it to our customers, and we owe it to our country. This is an issue that impacts all of us and we will not shrink from this responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: We will not shrink from this responsibility; a remarkable moment there given the location, the timing of it all. Samuel, what did you make of it?
BURKE: Well, none of us in that room were surprised to hear Tim Cook talk about this battle between Apple and the Government, but we were all literally you could hear gasps in that room when he started off the news conference talking about it. I mean, it wasn't really a news conference; it's an Apple event. They always focus on product, product, product.
The first thing he said, charging out of that gate talking about this epic battle is really a surprise. And for anybody who thinks that maybe it was Apple who somehow gave this backdoor way for the Government to get in all of a sudden, I really don't think so, given how strong he spoke, using that word, we will not shrink. I don't think it was Apple who all of a sudden changed their tune from yesterday morning until yesterday afternoon.
VAUSE: Okay; Steven, stay around, because there's a lot of news in the tech world right now. So let's bring in Ross Gerber. He's the Co-Founder, President and CEO, gosh you're busy, of the Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. Ross, thank you for being with us.
SESAY: Welcome.
ROSS GERBER, CO-FOUNDER, PRESIDENT & CEO, GERBER KAWASAKI WEALTH & INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: Thank you.
VAUSE: I guess, I just want to pick up on that last question. I know we're going to talk about the products, but I want to get to that first. I have a different take on this decision to postpone it. I think it's win for Apple because I think it basically says, the obvious argument, that Apple is the only one that can unlock this iPhone is now moot.
GERBER: I think you're right. I think this is a disaster for the Government, actually.
VAUSE: Yes.
GERBER: How did this all happen? I mean, they went to court, they said open up the iPhone -
VAUSE: And now they do it.
GERBER: -- and then the night before they can find out how to it? I don't believe this at all. I think they knew they were going to lose in court because I don't think they have the right to force a company to do it. I think it has to be a law. So I think the Government just backpedaled.
VAUSE: They now need a legislative -
GERBER: Yes.
SESAY: You don't think this long-term damages Apple, the fact that it exposes --
GERBER: No; I've thought the phone was hackable from the beginning. I've been arguing with these privacy people for literally days and days about this.
VAUSE: And the Government holds back a lot of the flaws in the software [00:40:02] anyway. They don't reveal that to many of the companies.
GERBER: I'm sure the Chinese government are getting into iPhones when they want something.
VAUSE: Okay.
GERBER: So I think there's a little bit of hypocrisy going on here and we all have to keep into perspective this -- how did this get into the public.
VAUSE: Okay.
SESAY: The new products or the upgraded products.
VAUSE: Yes, they're not new.
GERBER: They're not. They're not.
SESAY: John's very upset about this.
VAUSE: I don't think an upgrade is a new product; it's an upgrade.
GERBER: I agree; I don't think it's a new product either.
SESAY: (Inaudible) what it brings to the market and the pricing, put it in context for our viewers.
GERBER: I think it's about broadening their base of users, let's be real. Everybody has an iPhone or an iPad already, and how do we get more people to use them? So with the iPad they had to address the upgrade cycle. It's taking forever for people to upgrade because, quite frankly, iPads are great. Now, they've made a really, really good iPad, so now I have a reason to upgrade. But where the phone is concerned it's just about bringing down the price point and giving people a great product; and that they're getting -- and also lowering the Apple Watch price which is just about expanding their markets because really where they're making money and getting growth is all the accessories and services.
SESAY: Yes.
VAUSE: Okay; let's go to Sam now because the other news out there is Twitter.
GERBER: Right.
VAUSE: But, Sam, you're a big Twitter-head. You love it. It's now ten years old, but how much longer is it going to last?
SESAY: Oh my goodness.
VAUSE: The share price is down 65-percent.
SESAY: You're just praying it goes away.
VAUSE: Please do, go away. Go away. I mean, you know, it's not growing. Twitter is the same now as it was ten years ago, essentially.
BURKE: Well, there are some subtle differences along the way, but at its core, it's still those 140 character messages. Look, at the end of the day a lot of people bought Twitter stock because they thought they were getting another Facebook, and they thought it had all that potential; Twitter is not another Facebook. It doesn't have more than 1.6 billion users. In fact, its user growth is shrinking; it's not growth at all here, here in the United States. So at the end of the day I think Twitter will continue in one form or another. It's just simply not another Facebook, certainly not for investors.
SESAY: Ross, very quickly, your thoughts on Twitter and what the future holds? I mean, they're trying to make it all about being live, a live experience, live conversation.
GERBER: Well, I think the future for Twitter is getting rid of Jack Dorsey. It's about time that we just accept that he can't run the company. What is the strategy? What's the plan?
When you compare to Facebook, you have Cheryl Sandburg and Mark Zuckerberg, two of the best, most capable people running companies in America, and they've done a phenomenal job and were big Facebook owners as well. But we do not own Twitter because we believe in creating shareholder value and that is not something Jack is doing. He gave out 600 million in options in stock to his employees, in a year that they are continuing to lose money and lose users. So I just think they need new management. It's reminding me of yahoo!, very much.
VAUSE: Do you think that, with the stock price this far down and falling, it's a possible takeover target?
GERBER: No, because they have kind of like a poison pill in board of directors, and I looked into this because we were thinking about taking activist position in Twitter; but we can't because ultimately we can't affect change on the board without the board letting us. So it's this clubby Silicon Valley thing that we really don't like because they just think it's their company to do what they want and they treat the shareholders fairly and that is - obviously the shareholders have suffered.
SESAY: Ross Gerber, it was such a pleasure. Thank you so much for the insight.
GERBER: Thank you.
VAUSE: And Sam Burke, always a pleasure to have you with us. Thank you for staying to play. We should also mention this isn't Twitter's 10th Birthday, that's actually July. This is actually the day the first tweet was sent out.
GERBER: Right.
VAUSE: It's July -
GERBER: I'm sure they'll be tweeting about that.
SESAY: I'm sure. Samuel, thank you so much. All right; and thank you for watching "CNN Newsroom," live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause; "World Sport" is up next and we'll be back with another hour of news from all around the world. You're watching CNN.
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