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CNN NEWSROOM
Nicolas Maduro Wants to Negotiate with Opposition; Top Intel Chiefs Going to Opposite Direction; New Challenge for Brexit Talks; Huawei's CFO to be Extradited; Maduro Tells Russian Media He's Ready For Talks; Intel Chiefs Contradict Trump On ISIS, North Korea, Russia; Brexit Chaos, Markets react To Latest U.K. Parliament Votes; Apple CEO Tim Cook Says China Tensions Ease; The Seductress Speaks; Wave Of Abuse Allegations In Speed Skating Scandal. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired January 30, 2019 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR: A chance for peace talks in Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro reportedly says he's willing to negotiate with the opposition.
Plus, Theresa May stuck in the middle. British parliament is now asking her to renegotiate the Brexit deal with Europe but E.U. leaders are saying once again that the deal on the table right now is the only deal you're going to get.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can you explain that to me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russian -- Russian agents.
CHANCE: What did they say to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They said to me don't touch Oleg Deripaska anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: In an exclusive interview, CNN sits down with a Belarusian model who's claimed she had evidence tying President Trump to Russia.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Nick Watt. And this is CNN Newsroom.
After months of protests in Venezuela, A sign that embattled President Nicolas Maduro may be ready to talk. He tells Russian state news agency RIA Novosti he's willing to meet with the opposition as long as international mediators are present as well.
Maduro was reelected last year but the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries don't recognize his presidency as legitimate. They say he stole the vote. But Maduro says he will not agree to a new presidential election until his term is up in 2025.
With more mass protests planned from the day ahead, Maduro is appealing for calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Please, do not allow Vietnam and Latin America that the United States intends to intervenes, they will have Vietnam but worse than they can imagine. Let's not allow violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Meanwhile, Venezuela's attorney general has opened an investigation into opposition leader Juan Guaido who has declared himself the country's rightful president. The Supreme Court has also frozen Guaido's bank accounts and restricted his travel.
The U.N. says that at least 40 people have been killed in recent clashes between authorities and Guaido's supporters.
Venezuela's military generals remain in Maduro's corner but army defectors are now calling for help from the United States.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports from neighboring Colombia.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wednesday's protests in Caracas called by the opposition a key test really. Will they pass without bloodshed violence, will they show support on the streets, enduring support for Juan Guaido, the opposition leader who's declared himself interim president and is now in charge of many of the Venezuelan bank accounts sanctioned by the United States.
He has a lot of international recognition, but also too, Nicolas Maduro, the president there in Venezuela has a lot of military support. But we've been hearing from Venezuela army defectors here outside the country, that they want assistance armed from the United States so they can ferment an uprising inside Venezuela. Here's what they have to say.
"As Venezuelan soldiers we're making a request to the U.S.," he says, "to support us, in logistical terms with communications with weapons so we can realize Venezuelan freedom."
WALSH: The U.S. very conspicuously trying to up the feeling of the possibility of military action around Venezuela. The national security advisor John Bolton walking around very conspicuously holding a note pad with a phrase 5,000 troops to Colombia.
Here in Bogota, we're getting indication that's imminent at all but I think it adds to the broad sense that Washington aren't letting go of this particular conflict. It's fair to say they're upping sanctions. They're upping the rhetoric around every option potentially being on the table. Will that shatter the military click around Nicolas Maduro, will let
deprive the Maduro government the billions it really needs to cling on to power to keep people loyal to it? We'll have to wait and see. But the real key test at the moment is whether the protests on Wednesday pass peacefully.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Bogota.
WATT: With less than two months before the Brexit deadline, British lawmakers have set up another showdown with the E.U.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:04:55] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ayes to the right, 317. The no's to the left, 301. So, the ayes have it. The ayes have it unlocked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Parliament passed two amendments to Prime Minister Theresa May's deal with the E.U. It rejected a no deal Brexit and called for the Irish backstop provision to be renegotiated. The E.U. has already said it won't renegotiate. But despite that, some say that the prime minister now has a mandate and it's a victory for her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It is now clear that there is a route than can secure a substantial and sustainable -- substantial and sustainable majority in this house for leaving the E.U. with a deal.
We will now take this mandate forward and seek to obtain legally binding changes, the withdrawal agreement that deal with concerns on the backstop while guaranteeing no hard -- no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: For more on this CNN's Nic Robertson joins us on outside 10 Downing Street in London.
No, Nic, I mean, the E.U. has said that they will not negotiate. Theresa May has been told by parliament to go back there and renegotiate this thorny issue of the Irish border. Will those E.U. leaders cave just a little or throw her a bone just so she can get a deal through parliament and we avoid the chaos of a no deal Brexit?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: At the moment they're essentially saying not going away from the deal. They're not indicating if they got any bones in their back pocket outside of that deal.
The best sort of inference we've had on this, I think has come, you know, from E.U. negotiators and even from the Irish foreign minister speaking at weekend who said, look, if Britain wants more and Theresa May wants more on the backstop, it's not going to come from within the withdrawal agreement but the future relationship. That this arrangement with the European union, Britain's future
relationship with the European Union that is separate from the withdrawal agreement, the divorce, which at the moment is only sort of pages of text which is going to be years more of negotiation.
I think the indication has been if there are some bones this will be the place to find them and put them. But I think the reality is that whatever language, and Theresa May said she had to have legally binding language, whatever language may go into that future relationship or whatever might even be a large bone here when we're talking about maybe something that could be sort of separate to withdrawal agreement but bolted on.
It does seem that it's going to fall short of what the hard liners in her party are demanding from and the expectation that she's created. She's going to speak later today in parliament. The prime minister's question time, the regular early Wednesday afternoon encounter she has across the benches in parliament.
Undoubtedly, we'll hear calls for when are you going to Brussels and what are you going to get and at the moment that is a question. She knows the task she said herself, the objective is sitting in Brussels, the people she needs to talk to. And we have no clue yet on what she's planning and when she's planning to go if she is.
WATT: And Nic, I mean, right now, there are basically a few options, a few things that could happen here. We could get a deal in an orderly Brexit, we could get a no deal Brexit, we could get a delay a suspension of article 50, delaying that to give people more time to figure something out. Or we could have another referendum.
After what you saw in parliament on Tuesday, what is right now the most likely outcome in your mind?
ROBERTSON: I think the most likely outcome is going to be, and I think this is the general view here that we are looking towards a probable extension of article 50 if Theresa May really means to reopen the withdrawal agreement and the European Union was willing to engage with her on that which at the moment they're not.
But to have a meaningful discussion of any -- of any -- of in any context around this issue of the backstop would take time.
In parliament yesterday, there were opportunities in amendments to block the backstop, rather not block the backstop, block a no deal Brexit. But what parliamentarians went for what they supported was the opinion rather than the blocking. They are of the opinion that a no deal Brexit is bad.
But this is not binding on the prime minister. But I think what it does indicate is that parliament is opposed to a no deal Brexit. We're not there yet in the path of Theresa May's negotiations. But I suspect that this is where we're going.
[03:09:59] Theresa May says, my deal or no deal. But the reality is probably going to be -- it is going to take more time to decide this. And I think, I suspect that's where we're heading.
WATT: Nic in Downing Street, thanks very much.
We're now going to move a little further south to the town of Arundel near England's southern coast. There they voted overwhelmingly to leave the E.U. And for a look at how residents are feeling now I'm joined live by CNN's Hadas Gold. So, Hadas, are they still thumbs up looking forward to March 29th down there in Arundel?
HADAS GOLD, CNN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER: I don't know if they're so much looking forward to March 29th but they definitely overwhelmingly voted to leave in this area.
Sixty-two percent voted in 2016 to leave the European Union compared to just 38 percent who voted to do remain. Right in front of the beautiful Arundel Castle here in the main town of Arundel.
And we've spoken to residents here all day yesterday. And most of them told us, whether they were remainers or leavers, that they were absolutely disappointed and disgusted in the politicians, disgusted how this process has worked out, disgusted at how politicians haven't been able to come to any sort of consensus.
Some of them said that they're risking the future of the United Kingdom because of their internal squabbles. And keep in mind, this is from people both who want to remain and people who want a second referendum and those who are ardent leader.
One person even described it to us as a dog's dinner, he said, of how the politicians are handling all of it. And they say that they are' feeling like there's a widening divide between what London and what Westminster is doing and what the people on the ground are actually thinking.
However, I didn't hear panic about a no deal scenario. Nobody told us that they were stockpiling food or medicine. Everybody said that they think it's all going to be just fine, they'll be able to work it out. They just want the top politicians to figure out the deal going for us that the entire country can move on.
We spoke to also small business owners who said, that they have seen business suffer. They've seen the high street suffer, shops shuttered. They think that they've gotten less customers as a result of the uncertainty over Brexit. So al they want out of all -- out of any of this, whether they voted leave or remain, is some sort of solution and some sort of clarity on what's going to happen next.
WATT: Dog's dinner. Hadas Gold in Arundel, thank you very much for you time.
Ahead, a reality check, Donald Trump's intelligence chief publicly refute his view over the world, those contradictions coming up.
Plus, Huawei's chief financial officer appears in a Canadian court and the clock is officially running on the U.S. request for her extradition. [03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATT: One after another, U.S. intelligence chief just delivered a reality check to their boss, President Donald Trump on critical national security issues. This comes as the president faces sagging poll numbers and the release of yet another tell-all book.
CNN's Jim Acosta has the details.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The nation's top intelligence chiefs delivered sobering warnings on global threats to the U.S., contradicting President Trump at nearly every turn.
Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats told lawmakers the terror group ISIS remains a potent threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN COATS, UNITED STATES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Remaining pockets of ISIS and opposition fighters will continue, we agree, we assess, to stoke violence. ISIS's intent on resurging and still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The reality-based assessment stood in stark contrast with the president's rosier claims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have won against ISIS. We've beaten them and we beaten them badly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Coats also seemed to differ with the president on North Korea. Six months after Mr. Trump tweeted that there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea Coats told Congress that's not quite the case. That reality check coming just weeks before the president is set to meet once again with dictator, Kim Jong-un.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COATS: We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its WMD capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: On Russian interference in U.S. elections, FBI Director Chris Wray said Moscow has yet to curb its behavior and inspiring other countries to follow the Kremlin's lead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR, FBI: Not only the Russians continued to do it in 2018, but we've seen indication that they're continuing to adapt their model and that other countries are taking a very interested eye in that approach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Don't tell the president who sided with Vladimir Putin on that question last July.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have great confidence in my intelligence people. But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The president is also meeting resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who warned the White House its plans to pull U.S. troops out of Syria and Afghanistan could back fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) MAJORITY LEADER, KENTUCKY: We're not the worlds policemen but we are leader of free world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Part of the problem for the president his sagging poll numbers with 56 percent of registered voters in a Washington Post/ABC News poll saying they will definitely not vote for Mr. Trump. And one in three Republicans and GOP leaning voters wishing the party would pick another candidate.
The president's political team is advising him to hold his ground on his border wall, even as a former trump organization official told CNN not to expect the art of the deal to save the day before another government shutdown next month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA RES, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: There is no documentation that says Donald Trump was a great deal maker. He's made good, he's made bad deals. He's caved more often than I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Former White House aide Cliff Sims says in his new book that Mr. Trump has a tendency to exaggerate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIFF SIMS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE & "TEAM OF VIPERS" AUTHOR: Everything seems bigger, everything seems grander, you know. And that could be -- there could be good things about that. But there's also kind of this atmosphere that gets created that's extremely cut throat (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The president appears to have had enough of White House tell- all, tweeting about Sims that he pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer. He's signed a nondisclosure agreement. He is a mess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a mess.
SIMS: There it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And the Trump campaign sounds like it's ready to throw the book at its former aide with one top campaign official tweeting the campaign is preparing to file a lawsuit against Cliff Sims for violating that nondisclosure agreement.
But that seems to be the least of the president's problems as his own top intelligence officials are telling Congress, and really, the rest of the world that they simply don't see the world the same way their boss does.
Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
WATT: Now that Trump tweet dismissing Cliff Sims as a gofer dropped at 8.45 a.m. Tuesday local time. Also, at 8.45 a.m., Sims was live on CNN discussing the president's border wall and negotiating tactics. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMS: I will say the shutdown was a little bit out of character for Trump. Because I noticed his negotiating style, he's always for ways to increase his leverage, look for ways to invent leverage if he can. And he seems to be negotiating right out of the gate from a position of weakness, because, you know, we used to have Republican control of both Houses.
Now a Democrat member -- Democrats who are in control of the House. So, he was negotiating from a much worse place I feel like than if he had this fight earlier in the president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And thank you, Mr. President for watching our segment and our show today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:19:54] WATT: Now at the time of the Tuesday morning tweet, Sims book "Team of Vipers" was number 12 on Amazon's bestselling books list and now it stands at number five.
Joining me now is Daniel Dale, he's the Washington bureau chief for the Toronto Star. Daniel, I want to start with why is there such a huge chasm between President Trump and his intelligence chiefs on these major global issues, Iran and North Korea, Russia and ISIS. Why is there this chasm?
DANIEL DALE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, TORONTO STAR: Frankly it's because the intelligence officials are dealing in actual intelligence and Donald Trump just says things. When we talk about North Korea and Trump says that North Korea has agreed end its nuclear threat and is no longer a threat, or when he says that ISIS has been irradiated and is no longer a threat in Syria, he's not dealing with reports.
This is not something that has been told to him by somebody who is informed. This is Donald Trump making a political sales pitch. And so, when his intelligence officials come before Congress or dealing with any manner of other setting, they are providing factual information of people and Donald Trump is usually not in the business of providing factual information of the public.
WATT: Is it a stretch to suggest that this is perhaps gaslighting if he makes people disbelieve or question the views of intelligence, then when the Mueller report drops people will be conditioned to question that also?
DALE: You know, I always struggle with the accurate use of the word gaslighting. What I feel confident saying is that this is consistent dishonesty of some sort on Syria, on Iran, on North Korea on any manner of domestic matters, the president is usually not being truthful with the American or world's public.
WATT: OK. Now moving ahead to 2020 when he will most likely be seeking re-election. I've just read a new Washington Post/ABC News poll that shows that one in three Republicans and Republican-leaning voters would like the Republican Party to nominate someone other than Trump for that 2020 campaign. Do you think he's going to face a challenger?
DALE: I would like to see more polling evidence before I'm convinced that the number is that high. I think it is possible that he will face a primary challenger. But I think it is very likely unless something dramatic changes which is possible in Trump world that this challenger will be doing it more to make a point to influence public opinion to lay down a set of principles about what they think the Republican Party stands for than to actually win a primary against Donald Trump.
Most of the polling evidence we've seen suggests that Donald Trump is in big trouble in 2020. He's hugely unpopular with the independent voters who are a big factor in the election, but with Republicans he's still quite popular.
And so, in a party primary, I think at this point, anyone else would be hard pressed to beat him.
WATT: One other event that just happened that I'd like to get your opinion on, was Roger Stone was arraigned. And you know, through his Nixonian pose, he had the proud boys, this far right group outside the courthouse, how does that play to Trump's base? Is that kind of theater a help or hindrance to him?
DALE: I think his base his hardest core supporters like it. You know, they like people who fight. People who insult the media and other elites, who say that they'll never stop being loyal to Donald Trump.
Roger Stone in part, it seems to raise money for his legal defense fees, is striking this pose of the defiant, you know, never quit fighter. But I don't think that works in a courtroom or with special counsel Robert Mueller and his staff.
You know, the playing field that Roger Stone is now playing on is not the political playing field, it's the legal one. And so, yes, you know, this stuff might help him raise money. It might, you know, win him in a place in the hearts of many of Trump voters but that's not going to prevent him from going to prison.
WATT: Finally, I just want to talk about something other than Donald Trump, for a second.
Kamala Harris who has thrown her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for 2020. And she is run -- going to run on a platform of socialized medicine and Medicare for all. She's talking about the complete destruction of the medical insurance business in the United States. Can somebody in your opinion run on that platform and win the White House?
DALE: It's so hard to know. And I think what makes it so interesting is that all of the polling we've seen in the United States suggests that the phrase Medicare for all is popular. Specifically, if you ask people what do you think of Medicare for all, it would get significant majority support.
But when you start asking people about the details of single payer healthcare, now how would you feel about they are no longer being private insurance in the country, for example? That polls much worse.
[03:24:56] And so, I think what will be so interesting as we proceed through the Democratic primary is can Democrats successfully sell this idea of so-called Medicare for all, when people start to understand it better, when there's a barrage of attack ads against it, when they're being pressed for details on how they'll pay for it and what will happen to people with private insurance.
So, I think this will be the biggest test America has ever seen in whether this country and its voters will tolerate the healthcare system that much of the rest of the developed world uses.
WATT: Daniel Dale joining us from Washington, thanks very much for your time.
DALE: Thank you.
WATT: Canada is considering whether to grant a U.S. request to extradite Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou south of the border. Canada arrested her at Washington's request. She made her first court appearance in more than a month on Tuesday.
In sweeping charges against Huawei, the U.S. accuses Meng of bank and wire fraud and violating sanctions on Iran. The extradition hearing came just before trade talks between the U.S. and China resume on Wednesday.
Let's go to Beijing and CNN's Steven Jiang. Steven, a lot is going on. What are we hearing from the Chinese side?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Nick, the Chinese foreign ministry's daily press briefing actually just ended a short while ago. But a spokesperson actually did not address any of the issues you mention on Huawei, on Ms. Meng or on the trade talks.
In fact, the Chinese have not said much since Tuesday when they responded to the sweeping U.S. charges against Huawei.
I think one likely reason for that was the leadership here really worried about the market slowing economy did not want to derail these crucial trade talks before they even begin. Even their response on Tuesday was considered fairly measured.
There was no threat of serious consequences or potential retaliation as they had done to Canada in the past. But these Huawei charges really are casting a shadow over these talks. The announcement in the U.S. was seen by many as a hawkish signal from the White House to China before the trade talks begin.
And these indictments themselves revealed there's increasing consensus within the U.S. government on a number of issues that are bound to come up doing these talks, including the risk of using Chinese technologies and the alleged theft of U.S. trade secrets by Chinese companies like Huawei.
These are going to be thorny issues that need to be worked out by negotiators. But if hopes are high -- expectations are quite low actually over the results of these talks. Because according to many analysts, even that if the Chinese offer major concessions, there is the issue of verification actually that Chinese in the past, these analysts say they had made major promises to address the same trade issues but only to fail to follow up with concrete actions. Nick?
WATT: Jiang in Beijing, thanks very much for joining us.
Now, Brexiteers warned that the U.K. was giving away money to the E.U. But right now, amid Brexit chaos, the pound is surrendering some of its value. How markets are handling the latest turmoil coming up.
And a message to abusive coaches from a South Korean court. The latest on the country's speedskating scandal, ahead.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta, I'm Nick Watt with the headlines we're following this hour. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tells Russian state news agency RIA Novosti he is ready for talks with the opposition in the presence of international mediators. It comes as another day of mass protests loom. Opposition leader Juan Guaido has declared himself the legitimate president and is urging people to rise up against Maduro.
U.S. Intelligence fleet had directly contradicted President Donald Trump on critical national security issues. They said North Korea won't give up its nuclear weapons and that ISIS is still commanding thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria. And she is also warned that Russia will likely target the 2020 U.S. elections.
And the British Parliament passed two amendments to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal. They rejected a no deal Brexit and called for the Irish backstop provision to be renegotiated. That means that the Prime Minister is going to try and reopen talks with the E.U., but European leaders say that they're done with negotiations.
Now, for a look at how the markets are handling the latest Brexit news, CNN's Anna Stewart joins us from London. Ann, how is it looking?
ANNA STEWART, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Nick, you'll see from the European markets today, they are reacting with something of a shrug, 5100 are also the CAC, the DAX pretty flat as SMI be, you can see there. The British pound which is much more sensitive to any Brexit movement, interestingly still up on the week, we had something of a rally.
But it did drop last night during these votes and part of the reason that happened is because of no deal Brexit, which is the biggest fear for investors, for businesses, that is very much still on the table and actually according to Capsule Economic.
Theresa May last night, they actually put the chances of a no deal Brexit happening at end of March up from 25 percent to 30 percent. And let me tell you why. There were two amendments that were passed yesterday. One of them, as you mentioned, essentially says that Parliament doesn't want to no deal.
However, they failed to pass many amendments that would actually enable that to happen, whether that would be extending article 50, whether that would be negotiating a permanent customs union with the E.U. They said they didn't want a no deal Brexit, but they did not vote for any measure that would lead us to that point. As a result, this is largely symbolic. So, the risk is still there on the table for markets, Nick.
WATT: And Anna, do we have any projections of what would happen to the pound in the event of a no deal Brexit?
STEWART: Plenty of projections. In fact, a no deal Brexit could see the pound tumbling 5 to 8 percent depending on which analyst you speak to. There are pretty dire economic consequences as well for GDP, for the jobless rate. There are many dire predictions overall.
Most people, of course, expect there to be some sort of an extension by the end of March, so that no deal Brexit is at least pushed back a little bit, but a lot depends on how Theresa May gets the (ph) E.U. over the next couple of weeks. The next meaningful vote is on February the 14th and until then. And until we get more noises, I think, investors are just going to tread water up to that point.
I would expect the pound to trade on a very narrow ban. But as we approach that end of March deadline, if nothing moves, that there's really no compromise from the E.U. and if May's deal doesn't like it, it's going to get threw and if no extension is asked for, that is when you could start to see some real jitters in the market. Nick?
WATT: Anna Stewart in London. Thanks very much.
I'm joined from Brussels by Ryan Heath. He is the senior E.U. correspondent at Political. So, -- Politico, I'm sorry. So, Ryan, I'm going to put you on the spot. March 29th what do you think is going to happen?
RYAN HEATH, SENIOR E.U. CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: I think at the end of the day, Britain will fold, but that the E.U. will give them some kind of reassurance, some kind of legal reassurance that the backstop is temporary. It's up to Ireland, are they going to allow a date to be put on it, but the E.U. isn't going to change the fundamentals of this.
[03:35:03] They are more prepared than the U.K. and will suffer less than the U.K. if there is a disorderly withdrawal. So, I think that for the E.U. future negotiating strength, they're going to see this one through and only going tinker at the edges. And the U.K. will just have to decide whether it folds or puts itself through the pain of the disorderly Brexit.
WATT: So you're suggesting that there will be a little bit of flexibility on both sides. I mean, right now, the European leaders are saying, no, we ain't talking anymore. But you're saying that maybe they'll budge just enough that Theresa May can get this deal through Parliament and we can have an orderly -- as orderly a Brexit as we can hope for.
HEATH: I think you put your finger on it. I don't think they believe here in Brussels that Theresa May knows what it will take to get her deal through Parliament. So, that's why they're not willing to give a lot, because they think they might give a lot and she'll still lose and they'll threaten all of their future negotiating on what really matters which is the permanent future relationship.
So they would be willing to change at the edges and a lot of it comes down to Ireland and you'll see a little bit of panic from E.U. leaders over the coming six to eight weeks. But hopefully, from they're perspective, they'll be able to contain the panic and follow Ireland's lead.
WATT: I want to read you a tweet that saw. It was posted by David Snyder who is actor, writer, comedian. And he writes, "Today has proved yet again the if a group of people had sat down and worked out how to destroy Britain from within, they could not have come up with a better plan than Brexit." What do you think about that?
HEATH: I think that that's largely accurate. And on the flip side, if Theresa May had begun some consultation before she opened these negotiations with the 27 government, you might see a very different situation today.
The way she's conducted these negotiations as if you could do them in secret and as if you could come up with the answer at the end rather than the beginning of the negotiations, it's really the opposite of the way of continental government and the E.U. itself operating. And I think we're seeing those results now.
If you had actually gone to the Scottish government or to Germany, Corbyn and his Labour Party, figured out where is the common ground and come up with some plan that mostly reflected that even though it way to the little bit towards the U.K. government and the conservatives, she wouldn't have lost that vote by 230 votes. And you could have seen the negotiations happen possibly even quicker because it would had been clear from the beginning of what was the viable outcome.
WATT: You mentioned Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party. This I find fascinating aspect of all this that Jeremy Corbyn is not really standing up with a strong alternative to what Theresa May is suggesting. He's playing a strange game here.
HEATH: It's a very self-interested game. If you remove the questions of what could work or what might be the national interest and you just look it up from Jeremy Corbyn's perspective, his goal is to get rid of Theresa May's government and that's why they've always focus on this general election rather than some other compromise that could work or could be salable to Brussels.
So, I think, that's up to British people to judge whether they think that's acceptable behavior from the second biggest party, but I think that there are ways for Jeremy Corbyn to come to some arrangement with Theresa May, but it doesn't seem to be his goal at this point.
WATT: And Ryan, a year from now who is going to be prime minister, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn or someone else?
HEATH: I couldn't possibly figure out the answer to that, but I know that Brussels hopes it is not Boris Johnson, that's their nightmare. As much as their frustrated with Theresa May, they prefer her to Boris Johnson.
WATT: Ryan, thank you very much for your time joining us there from Brussels. We appreciate it. Cheers.
Now, tech giant Apple said its revenue fell 5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. It's the first time it sales have dropped during that crucial holiday quarter since back in the year 2000. The decline was driven by a dip in iPhone sales which fell 15 percent from last year.
But there is some positive news for investors. In an interview with Reuters, the Apple chief claimed that trade tensions within the U.S. and China are easing and that helped lift Apple shares in afterhours trading.
A self-proclaimed sex coach is out of jail and talking with CNN, what she has to say about the Kremlin's ties to Donald Trump and the chilling advice she got from Russian agents while she was in jail.
[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATT: A Pakistani Christian woman freed from death row last year will not be retried. Pakistan's Supreme Court said Tuesday it will not review the case of Asia Bibi. She was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to hang after she was accused of defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed. Bibi won her appeal last year. She is now expected to seek asylum on another country. Supporters warned she remains at risk of violence from extremist groups.
And a South Korean court is sending a stern warning by increasing prison time for a former speed skating coach. Cho Jae-beom will now serve 18 months in jail instead of just 10 after he was found guilty of striking an Olympic champion who also accused him of sexual abuse which he denies. The case has led to a wave of similar allegations from other athletes which are now under investigation.
CNN's Paula Hancock is live in Seoul, Paula?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Nick, there are some fears within the sporting industry and certainly the skating union and the industry that this could just be the tip of the iceberg. This is a very high-profile case. A twice gold Olympic winner, Shim Suk-hee, saying that he has also her coach sexually assaulted him. Now, he denies those allegations. That is a separate case from what we saw today. But the very fact that the court decided to increase his sentence on appeal shows that they're taking this seriously.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: This former speed skater said she was beaten by her coach from the age of 11. She wants to hide her identity for fear of retaliation. She claims physical and verbal assaults were a regular part of training and her female coach beat her once a week.
I used to get called into my coach's room, she says, where she used to hit me with the skate blades sleeve, 10 or 20 times.
How does the coach have so much control over an athlete here?
There's a small and powerful clique she said. If I criticized my coach, my career as a skater is over. If I accused my coach of crimes, I won't be accepted to a University or professional team. That is how it works.
At age 15, training with a new male coach, she said physical abuse changed to sexual harassment. He kept kissing me on my cheek and close to my lips, she says, hugging me all the time. Because I felt he was doing it to everyone and I was young, I didn't tell anybody even though I felt humiliated.
She was inspired by this woman to break her silence. Shim Suk-hee, a gold medalist and a household name in South Korea, her coach seen here is serving time in prison for physically assaulting her. She now says she was repeatedly raped by Cho Jae-beom since the age of 17. Cho is being questioned by police but denies the new allegations.
[03:45:03] Outside the court last month, she told reporters, she hoped no one else would be victimized that she has been in sports saying, the violence must end. A national star comes forward, people in power have no choice, but to take notice.
President Moon Jae-in has spoken of the Korean shame hidden under sporting glory. A head of the Korean sports and Olympic committee has apologized. There are calls for his resignation. One lawmaker is working with the skating support group to fight for the victims.
Solidarity for young skaters, she says, has identified six cases of sexual assault, including Shim's case. The victims are afraid of retaliation. They're worried about whether they could continue to compete after going public.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: The National Human Rights Commission here in Korea has just launched a year-long investigation. They intend to survey all 130,000 athletes in the country and student athletes to try and figure out how widespread this kind of abuse is. We already know potentially it goes beyond skating as there had been allegations of abuse in both judo and tae kwon do. Nick?
WATT: And -- I mean, why was this abuse happening? Why in South Korea?
HANCOCKS: Well, it is interesting when you consider just this time last year, the -- with the Winter Olympics here, the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and that particular case we've been talking about today, Shim Suk-hee, she actually left the national team just a couple of weeks before the Olympics because the abuse was becoming too much.
Her family said that she tried to go public with what happened, but they were persuaded by officials, one in particular at the time, not to go public before the Olympics itself. Now that individual has been removed from the skating union. He is under investigation. He denies all wrongdoing as well.
But it is certainly -- the case that as the president himself said that there is a Korean shame that this has been going on underneath the sporting glory. Support groups criticize these incidents saying that it shows that these kinds of accusations have been suppressed over a number of years to make sure that there's no bad publicity, and especially surrounding the Olympics.
WATT: Paula Hancocks in Seoul, thank you very much.
Now, jurors in the Joaquin El Chapo Guzman trial returned to New York court in the coming hours for closing argument. The defense, rested its case Tuesday after calling one witness to the stand, an FBI agent. By contrast, the prosecution questioned more than 50 witnesses during 34 days of testimony. Guzman faces a wide range of charges including drug trafficking and murder.
The FBI has closed its investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history without finding a clear motive. Fifty eight people were killed when Steven Paddock opened fire on a Las Vegas concert in October 2017. The report notes that Paddock was similar in ways to other mass shooters, a desire to die by suicide and no obvious grievance.
To Russia now and the self-styled sex coach who claimed to have information about the Kremlin's ties to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. She sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN, even after she said Russian agents warned her to keep quiet. Matthew Chance reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is remarkable this self-styled sex coach is still willing to talk, but 11 months in a Thai jail that she describes as hell has made Anastasia Vashukevich (ph) even more convinced of the value of publicity.
Do you regret making those claims that you made about the evidence you said you had of Russia and the Trump campaign colluding? Do you regret that?
ANASTACIA VASHUKEVICH, SELF-PROCLAIMED SEX COACH: I think it saved my life. How can I regret about it? Because if journalist not come at the time and that story not to come to newspapers, maybe I will die now.
CHANCE: These are the images that got her into trouble. Her and a Russian billionaire, Oleg Deripaska, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin on his yacht in 2016, there was another figure photographed to a Russian Deputy Prime Minister sparking allegations this was a secret meeting to pass on Trump campaign briefing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) millions of dollars ahead of the Trump campaign.
CHANCE: The oligarch have already been offered private briefings by his former business associate and Trump campaign chair, Paul Manafort. Manafort now behind bars, convicted of financial crimes in the special counsel's Russia investigation.
[03:50:10] Meanwhile in Thailand, the sex coach promised even more detail.
You said I'm ready to give you all the missing puzzle pieces, videos and audio regarding the connection of our respected lawmakers with Trump, Manafort and the rest. Why did you say that? VASHUKEVICH: After that I was almost one year in the prison. For me, really enough. I understand mostly of the aggression is about Oleg Deripaska, about connection of America and something like that, but I cannot answer. You should understand me.
CHANCE: This is the welcome waiting for the 28-year-old when she finally returned to Moscow earlier this month. Forced into a wheelchair and dragged away, terrified, all the evidence she once had she told was confiscate and once behind Russian bars, she was given a stark warning before being unexpectedly released.
VASHUKEVICH: I have some talked when I was in jail in Russian jail --
CHANCE: Yeah.
VASHUKEVICH: -- and they explained me very clear what should I do and what should I say and what I shouldn't say, something like that.
CHANCE: Who explained that to you?
VASHUKEVICH: Russian agents.
CHANCE: What did they say to you?
VASHUKEVICH: They said to me don't touch Oleg Deripaska anymore.
CHANCE: Don't touch him, she added, or risk replacing that Thai prison with a cell in Russia. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT: Bone chilling temperatures in parts of the U.S., testing even the hardest Americans and putting previous records on ice. The frigid forecast is next.
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WATT: As the coldest air in a generation pours across parts of the U.S., more than 200 million people will see temperatures drop below freezing over the next few days. The extreme wind-chill can cause frostbite in less than five minutes. And it's so bad, that the U.S. Postal Service has suspended delivery in 10 states.
Our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, joins us now with more on this snowy weather. Pedram?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Nick, you know when the U.S. Postal Service cancels or delays anything, it is a big deal, because they fight through, embattle through just about any sort of weather conditions you threw at them, but even the fuel lines on some of these vehicles are beginning to turn into a gel-like substance because of the extreme temperatures.
And any time you get minus 30, minus 40 and even minus 50 or lower it certainly becomes a life threatening scenario. And in fact we've have wind-chill observe now at minus 54 Celsius which sits at minus 65 Fahrenheit across this region of Northern Minnesota.
An incredible trend and again, a lot of people have a tough time have relating to these temperatures because many people have felt the minus 50s or minus 25s before. That's one thing, you can certainly bundle up, put on the appropriate clothing and get outside for a few minutes, maybe even, kind of enjoy and have fun at the unique nature of those temperatures, but when you dip to these valleys of 40 below or 50 below, and colder, really is an unenjoyable even at the moment you step outside. And it takes specialty design gear to step outside to be able to kind of handle these sort of scenarios.
[03:55:00] And let's take a look, 46, 47 below, those are the current wind chills right now in the upper Midwestern, U.S. In Chicago, it feels like minus 43 degrees outside at this hour, among the coldest temperatures ever observed in the city's history with over 120 years of weather records to be had, and you notice, expect the lows on Thursday morning at 32 below zero.
Minus eight is what is expected for this time of year, but a dramatic warming trend at least in store over the next couple of days. But before we get there, we know at least several dozen records expected across the Midwestern United States.
All of this energy, all of this cold air will want to shift off toward the eastern seaboard of the United States and we get there on Thursday and eventually Friday as much as almost 40 records could be set as well.
And certainly flights has been disrupted across these region, schools have been canceled just avoid kids being outdoors waiting for say, the bus or even hitting outside of their schools as well. And we know record temperatures possible maximum record temperatures, meaning the coldest afternoon on record for 61 different locations are possible there for Wednesday and even going on towards Thursday as well.
Another way to dissect this, you kind of see the high temperature versus the average temperature across some of these areas. So an incredible pattern in place right now across the United States. And again, it looks like it'll warm up rapidly as we go on at least towards this weekend, to a more seasonal temps.
WATT: And Pedram, wearing a sweater in solidarity with those people to our north (ph). Thank you very much.
JAVAHERI: It's cold in the studio, yes.
WATT: Moving on, now we are hearing that more than 200 car models that offered keyless entry are increasingly prone to theft. The British consumer group, Which says that thieves are using cheap electronic equipment sold online to trick the car into thinking that you are nearby and unlocking the doors then with a push of a button, it's gone.
The study says that more than 30 auto makers have created insecure cars, including big names like Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Nissan, and Honda, as well as Hyundai, Renault, Ford and Volvo. Many of those carmakers released statement saying that they take the problem seriously and are working on improvements, but the Which group says, that they are sacrificing security for convenience.
And he is at it again, French Spiderman, Alain Robert, just climbed the GT Towers in Manila, all 47 stories. The climber got his nickname after scaling the Sears Tower, known as well as the Willis Tower, in Chicago back in 1999. He now has more than 150 skyscrapers under his belt, among them, the Eifel Tower in Paris and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building. For many reasons, we don't recommend you follow his lead, here is one, after his dissent Robert was arrested and driven away by police.
Thanks for your company. I'm Nick Watt, the news continues next with Max Foster in London. You are watching CNN.
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