Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
China's Tit-for-Tat Tariffs on U.S. Products Begin Today; Macron Prepared to Go Tot-to-Toe with Trump with Tariffs; Former Scammers Use Skills to Find Culprits of Costly Hoaxes; Released Thai Hostage Return Home from Gaza. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired February 10, 2025 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane. If you're just joining us, here are some of today's top stories.
The Philadelphia Eagles spoiled hopes for a Super Bowl, three peat by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles dominated most of the game and it turned into a blowout. The final score was 40 to 22.
A judge is blocking Elon Musk's DOGE team from accessing payment systems used by the Treasury Department, a move President Trump is calling crazy. He says hundreds of millions of dollars is being wasted by the government.
Mr. Trump is also expected to announce a new 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum coming into the U.S. It's not yet clear if this will be on top of the levies already in place on exports from places like China, which announced its own retaliatory tariffs starting Monday.
FOSTER: Those measures from China include a 15 percent levy on U.S. coal and natural gas and 10 percent for crude oil, farm equipment and some vehicles shipped to China from the U.S. Beijing's move is in response to President Trump imposing 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese products last week. And it's sparking concerns of an all-out trade war as well.
Our Kristie Lu Stout has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China's response to Trump's tariffs could be the opening salvo of a new tit-for-tat trade war and they go into effect today. These are broad measures that appear to vary in terms of potential impact. And here is the breakdown.
They include a 15 percent tax on certain U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas, 10 percent tax for crude oil, farm equipment, trucks and big engine cars. These tariffs take effect today and join other countermeasures from China, including controls on metal exports and an anti-monopoly investigation into Google. Look, China is striking back after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed
10 percent tariffs on Chinese goods all in a bid to hold China accountable for the fentanyl trade.
The U.S. says that China is a source for fentanyl precursor chemicals. China has called fentanyl America's problem and has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization. So what impact will China's tariffs have?
Now analysts say that the tariffs are modest, especially compared to U.S. measures and that they're designed to send a message. But new analysis from the Brookings Institution says that China's retaliatory tariffs will hurt American communities that voted for Trump.
According to the report, it says this, quote, similar to the 2018 tariffs, the industrial heartland is again bearing a disproportionate impact from Chinese retaliation. Some of the most intensely affected counties are energy and manufacturing communities in North Dakota, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama and West Virginia, unquote.
Now the study says between 400,000 to 700,000 American jobs could be affected by China's retaliatory tariffs.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now with Donald Trump's tariff war now apparently focused on China, other countries are watching closely to see how far this tit for tat will go.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Richard Quest sat down for an exclusive interview with French President Emmanuel Macron and asked him how concerned he and other European allies are about all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[04:35:00]
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: I already did so and I will did it again. And I think we should be ready to obviously be in the room and react.
But I think more than that, the European Union has to be ready to deliver what we want and what we need for ourselves.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Can I suggest to you that the European Union is not fit for purpose when it comes to dealing with something like President Trump, who's threatening tariffs and basically saying my way or the highway?
MACRON: I think it could be the opposite when you have direct contacts and you are clear. I think the European Union should not be the one to wait for the initiative of the others and just react. What we have to do is to act for ourselves and to tell our people this is our project, this is what we want. This is why for me the top priority of Europe is competitiveness agenda, is defense and security agenda, is AI ambition and let's go fast for ourselves. If in the meanwhile we have tariff issue, we will discuss them and we will fix it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well Emmanuel Macron also warned putting too many tariffs on international business sectors will ultimately increase costs and increase or create more inflation in the U.S.
Now three weeks into his second term a narrow majority of Americans are happy with the job that Donald Trump is doing. A new poll from CBS News finds that 53 percent of adults surveyed approve of how he's handling the presidency, 47 percent disapprove.
MACFARLANE: And that divide is much wider when broken down by party. 94 percent of Republicans approve of the job he's doing but just 15 percent of Democrats do. CNN data reporter Harry Enten compares the current numbers to Trump's first time in office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Positive net approval rating for Donald Trump again using the aggregate of the polls. Look at this in his entire first term just 11 days, just 11 days was he on the positive side of the ledger. Compare that so far every single day, all 20 days so far he has been on the positive side of the ledger.
So he has nearly doubled up the number of days in which he has a positive net approval rating from his first term and we're only 20 days in. Every single day Donald Trump has been positive territory compared to just 11 days during his first term. The bottom line is no matter which poll you look at, no matter what way you look at it, simply put Americans like the job that Donald Trump is doing significantly more this time around than they did in his first term when he just had 11 days in which he had a positive net approval rating compared to already nearly three weeks so far.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well J.D. Vance is on his first international trip as vice president. You see him arriving in Paris here along with his family. Vance will attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in the French capital.
After that he'll move on to the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to attend the Munich Conference.
FOSTER: Experts say people worldwide lost more than a trillion dollars to scammers last year, amongst them a French woman who fell prey to a Brad Pitt deepfake scam which ultimately cost her $850,000. The man who helped track down the culprits behind that scheme used to be a scammer himself but now he uses his skills to help catch those who carry out those costly hoaxes. Our Saskia Vandoorne talked to him. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
A.I.-GENERATED FAKE BRAD PITT: I shared everything with you.
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER (voice-over): This AI generated fake Brad Pitt swindled a 53-year old French woman named Anne out of $850,000 in a scam that would become a viral sensation.
Meet the man who says he found the scammers behind the elaborate hoax.
MARWAN OUARAB, FOUNDER, FINDMYSCAMMER: I learned all my skills in the dark side.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Marwan Ouarab is a now reformed scammer who not only helps victims get their money back but helps track down the bad guys.
To catch our scammers, he emailed them a booby trapped link.
OUARAB (through translated text): By clicking on it, he revealed to us his exact GPS coordinates.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Marwan says it was not one but three people behind the fake account.
OUARAB (through translated text): This is the house.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Prosecutors have since opened an investigation and are using the information Marwan collected to bring Anne's scammers to justice. But tracking down online criminals comes at a cost.
VANDOORNE: Have you ever received threats?
OUARAB (through translated text): Yes, we've already received threats. I've already moved house, so it's part of daily life.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Marwan started his company FindMyScammer, four years after he was convicted of fraud and handed a suspended prison sentence. Since then, he says he has been inundated with cries for help. On a normal day, he receives up to 150 requests.
According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, over $1 trillion was lost to scams globally in 2024. And yet, 70 percent of victims didn't report the crime.
[04:40:00]
OUARAB (through translated text): It's the girl who was in contact with me, the so-called Zara.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Zara is a fake persona who stole both Luca's heart and $70,000. He's another scam victim who has been helped by Marwan and wishes to remain anonymous.
"LUCA", SCAM VICTIM (through translated text): I don't want to do an interview with the face uncovered because I saw what Anne went through in the case of the fake Brad Pitt, the cyber bullying she suffered, and I don't want to go through that too.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Scammers rely on this shame, so victims don't come forward.
Anne tried to take her own life after being ridiculed online.
"LUCA" (through translated text): The whole world makes you feel like you are stupid. I don't want that. Marwan conducted his investigation so we were able to find out that this girl, in the end, she was not in London as she said she was. She was in Dubai, and after that, he was able to get in touch with the authorities in Dubai.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): He says she was then arrested.
After Marwan helps track down his clients' scammers, he also helps them go over their banks obligations to reclaim their stolen funds.
"LUCA" (through translated text): I was able to recover some money.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Marwan says if someone you haven't met in real life asks you for money, even if you've been talking to them for months or years, then that's a big red flag.
OUARAB (through translated text): I've been a crook myself before. I very much regret it. I think that this is also the path of redemption that I have chosen.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now anyone who's fallen prey to a hoax knows how frustrating it is and I love the idea that you could hire someone, that there's a whole industry perhaps opening up to track down, not only track them down, but get your money back.
FOSTER: Yes, shame the governments aren't doing it but in their absence.
MACFARLANE: Next best thing, right? At least someone's thinking ahead.
FOSTER: Yes. Still to come, long-awaited reunions marked by tears and prayers. Ahead, the homecoming story of the five Thai workers taken hostage by Hamas.
[04:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Hamas says that Israel has now fully withdrawn from the Nazarene Corridor, a militarized zone that spits Gaza in half.
MACFARLANE: Israeli forces began leaving the area about two weeks ago as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Since then, thousands of Palestinians have passed through the area on their way home to northern Gaza.
FOSTER: Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation is in Doha for more Gaza ceasefire talks. A source says these are technical discussions and are not expected to be about the second phase of the deal.
MACFARLANE: So far, 16 of the 33 hostages expected to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal have been freed. Three of them reunited with their families on Saturday. Their family members are speaking out about what they've been through and are demanding the release of all the remaining hostages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YULIE BEN AMI, DAUGHTER OF RELEASED ISRAELI HOSTAGE OHAD BEN AMI: Yesterday, we got our father back. He lost much of his weight, but not his spirit. My father is strong, and I admire him. He survived hell.
The return of the hostages yesterday leaves no room for doubt. They all must return. We will not stop fighting until the last hostage come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, five Thai workers are finally back home and reunited with their families after being held hostage by Hamas for more than a year. Our John Vause brings us the story of their reunion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The embrace says everything words cannot about returning home. One of the five Thai hostages recently released after more than 15 months in Hamas captivity, clasped by his grandfather in Thailand in a homecoming family members say is long overdue.
WIWWAEO SRIAOUN, MOTHER OF RELEASED THAI HOSTAGE (through translator): This is something we've been waiting for, for a long, long time. It's a miracle. Something many thought would never happen. It feels like my son has died and been born again.
VAUSE (voice-over): Watchara Sriaoun left Thailand to earn money? He worked as a laborer in Israel, but was taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7th attacks in 2023.
He's one of the last Thai hostages to be set free, and his mother says he's sharing some details now of his time in captivity.
SRIAOUN (through translator): He said the place where he was held was sometimes a house, but he was frequently moved from one place to another, including underground caves.
VAUSE (voice-over): Watchara and four other Thai workers held hostage arrived home in Thailand Sunday. The scenes of joy and tears at the airport.
It's been more than a year since any Thai nationals have been set free by Hamas. Thailand's foreign ministry says one Thai national is still being held captive in Gaza.
But after months of uncertainty, families say the reality of the five being back in Thailand is an answer to some long-standing prayers.
In the hometown of another hostage, his family celebrated his return with a Thai tradition of tying strings around his wrist.
JANDA PRACHANAN, STEPFATHER OF RELEASED THAI HOSTAGE (through translator): I could not find the words to describe how happy I am that my son is safe and finally home.
VAUSE (voice-over): A band of blessings and a sign of bonds that still hold even after the worst of circumstances.
John Vause, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: A centuries-old portrait by a Renaissance master has been found. We'll show you how researchers discovered a painting behind a painting.
MACFARLANE: Intriguing.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Ecuador is headed to a runoff vote in April according to the preliminary results of Sunday's presidential election.
MACFARLANE: President Daniel Noboa fell short of an outright majority in Sunday's general election. His 14-month term has been defined by unprecedented security crises. The center-right incumbent will face off against leftist politician Luisa Gonzalez in the second round. She's running on a campaign to quote, revive Ecuador.
FOSTER: Both candidates have urged their supporters to watch the vote counting to prevent any fraud and more than 100 observers from the EU have been deployed to the polls.
MACFARLANE: Now it's officially carnival season in La Paz, Bolivia. Celebrations kicked off Sunday beginning with the traditional awakening of the spirit of carnival who goes by Pepino or Cucumber in Spanish. Pepino is one of the three main characters of the Bolivian carnival season and represents joy.
The annual unearthing parade of the Pepino begins at the General Cemetery and continues through the streets of La Paz, showcasing the country's rich folklore and history.
FOSTER: And color.
MACFARLANE: Yes.
FOSTER: Now a painting has been found after hiding for centuries under another painting.
MACFARLANE: Researchers in Cyprus discovered the hidden portrait under an oil painting by 16th century Renaissance master Titian. CNN's Nick Valencia explains how they found it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This work of art has been hidden for more than 400 years. The portrait, created by Renaissance master Titian remained undetected beneath another painting since the 1570s.
NIKOLAS BAKIRTZIS, CYPRUS INSTITUTE PROFESSOR: It was like uncovering a puzzle. We said, ok, maybe this is a part of something and then the artist changed his mind. But then once we start to realize that there is a complete work underneath, we became extremely excited and happy and intrigued also.
VALENCIA (voice-over): The newly discovered portrait depicts an unidentified man bearing a thin mustache, a quill in hand and standing beside a stack of papers or books. An ordinary image compared to the one of Jesus Christ bound, wearing a crown of thorns that Titian ultimately painted over it.
BAKIRTZIS: Titian is somebody who was reusing his canvases. There have been other paintings discovered or partially painted works under some of his other canvases.
VALENCIA (voice-over): The painting of Jesus, called "Ecce Homo", was undergoing a conservation process when researchers using a microscope spotted varying pigments through the fine cracks of the old painting.
[04:55:03]
Using a combination of imaging, x-ray visuals, and other noninvasive methods, researchers in Cyprus were able to detect the full buried portrait and created a new oil painting version of it.
BAKIRTZIS: The discovery and mapping of this underpainting has helped us to understand a lot more than what we knew until this day, about the reuse of canvases and the reuse of paintings in Renaissance studios.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Titian's original painting, along with the recreation of the once hidden portrait, are now on display in Cyprus until March 10th.
Nick Valencia, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: It does make you wonder how many are hidden up quietly behind the scenes.
FOSTER: Start scratching all your paintings in your house.
MACFARLANE: Maybe not in the galleries in the museum. Yes.
Since its new CEO took over last year, Starbucks has tried to raise its flagging profits by cutting down on discounts and giveaways.
FOSTER: Today's stores in the U.S. will be offering free 12-ounce hot or iced coffees only to members of the Starbucks reward loyalty program.
MACFARLANE: The coffee chain is trying the event to the Super Bowl, saying people who stayed up late may need caffeine. I certainly do. As part of the new changes at Starbucks, CEO Brian Niccol is encouraging baristas to write messages on the paper cups for customers, although some employees worry it might slow them down on a busy day.
I think that's a legitimate concern.
FOSTER: What would slow them down?
MACFARLANE: Having to write messages to customers --
FOSTER: Oh, yes.
MACFARLANE: -- to raise the mood.
FOSTER: Oh, yes, actually -- and also I was reading about how they often put hearts on and that's been misconstrued by some of the customers.
MACFARLANE: Oh, yes. I think it places a bit too much pressure on the baristas to say, you just want to get in, get your coffee and get out. Certainly I do. I don't need a message.
However, that'll do it for us here at CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane.
FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next.
[05:00:00]
