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Putin Threatens War with NATO Over Long-Range Missiles; 33,000 Union Workers at Boeing Now on Strike; Harris and Trump Back on Campaign Trail Following Debate; El Salvador Turns from Murder Capital to Safe Haven; Swing State Voters React to Debate; Gen Z Creators Making TikToks to Support Harris, Trump. Growing Incivility Impact U.S. Workplaces; Mega- Tsunami Sparked 9 Days of Mysterious Vibration in 2023. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired September 13, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:36]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos. I'm in for my colleague, Becky
Anderson.
This hour, will the White House give the green lights for Ukraine to use Western weapons on targets inside Russia? Plus tens of thousands of Boeing
employees are now on strike, a move that could halt airplane production at America's largest exporter and deal a massive blow to the U.S. economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Now I feel a little bit silly even having to wear this. The biggest threat is a slowdown and going to where
you need to go because of taking photos and saying hi to people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: It used to be the murder capital of the world, but the situation has improved so much in El Salvador, but many people are returning after
years of building new lives in the United States. CNN's David Culver travels to the city to show us how the transformation happened.
And we start the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD with Vladimir Putin's warning to NATO if the alliance allows Ukraine to launch long-range
missiles from member nations into Russia, the Russian president says if that happens, the war with Ukraine will expand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is their direct involvement and this of course would in a significant way change the
very essence, the very nature of the conflict. It will mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries are at war with Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, Putin's warning comes as the leaders of the U.S. and U.K. get to meet at the White House today. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister
Keir Starmer are expected to discuss the prospects of lifting weapons restriction on Ukraine, which its president says is desperately needed to
win the war.
Kylie Atwood is connecting us this hour from Washington.
Kylie, good to see you. What are we hearing from D.C. right now?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, what we're hearing from D.C. is that this is a critical meeting today between
President Biden and the U.K. Prime Minister Starmer specifically when it comes to Ukraine. We have reported over the course of the last few months
that the Ukrainians have been pushing the United States to allow them to strike deeper inside Russia, to go after some military targets that they
say are deep within Russia.
The United States has been wary to allow them to do so. There's a number of reasons for that. U.S. officials are concerned about fears of escalation.
Russia claiming that the United States is party to this war, but they also say that there are military strategic concerns that they have. The weaponry
that the Ukrainians would be using to carry out such strikes are called ATACMS. And the U.S. says there's simply a limited supply of those in the
United States, but also in Ukrainian hands.
And so they think that the ones, those weapons that the Ukrainians already have could actually be used in other areas of the battlefield like Crimea,
don't necessarily need to go after those targets deep inside Ukraine, but Ukrainians I have spoken with say that there are legitimate targets
specifically when it comes to weapon production facilities that they would like to hit inside Russia. And so this is a critical ask for them.
President Biden said that he would be hearing from his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who traveled this week to Ukraine on the matter and we know
that this is something that he's going to be discussing with the prime minister today as the U.S. and the U.K. really try to work in sync when it
comes to adjusting their strategy in terms of support for Ukraine.
So we'll watch and see what comes out of the meeting this week, but I also think it's worth noting that there is mounting pressure on the Biden
ministration, not just globally from the Ukrainians, but also here in Washington. Republicans have been pushing the administration to lift these
restrictions on those long-range strikes inside Russia, but also notably some Democrats, some key Democratic senators this week have put out
statements saying that they too believe that now is the time to go back to those restrictions, at least adjust them in some way shape or form so watch
and see what the Biden administration does here.
[10:05:03]
We might get an announcement today. We may not. We don't know yet. But we'll be watching this incredibly closely because it is a pivotal decision
for the United States to make at this moment in the Ukraine war.
GIOKOS: It is actually pivotal, and given the fact that, you know, by all accounts they'd want to avoid an escalation before the upcoming elections.
But we are learning about how the elections could impact this war.
What are you learning and what are the implications here?
ATWOOD: Yes, so there's a lot of questions about what former president Trump would do when it comes to policy on Ukraine. And he was asked during
a debate earlier this week, if he wants Ukraine to win the war, he would not give him direct answers to that. That is typical for him over the
course of last year. So he is not committed to being necessarily 100 percent on the side of Ukraine, simply saying that the war needs to come to
an end.
And we heard from his vice presidential partner, J.D. Vance, earlier this week on this, and here's what he said about the matter and where he thinks
former president Trump stands on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what this looks like is Trumps sits down. He says the Russians, the Ukrainians, the
Europeans, you guys need to figure out what does a peaceful settlement look like, and what it probably looks like is something like the current line of
demarcation between Russia and Ukraine. That becomes like a demilitarized zone. It's heavily fortified so the Russians don't invade again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ATWOOD: Heavily fortified demilitarized zone. But not bluntly saying that Ukraine needs to get all of its territory back, and that is concerning for,
of course, Ukrainians, but for folks here in Washington who believe that Ukrainians should be able to gain back their entire territory that the
Russians have moved in on over the course of this war that has lasted for more than two years now.
So this is a really interesting policy question for former president Trump. And of course, Vice President Harris has said that she is on the side of
Ukraine. She is the Democratic contender here in Washington, here in the United States. But there are questions about exactly what her support would
look like as well. So the Ukrainians have many questions about what the presidential elections here in the United States will mean for their
country.
GIOKOS: All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you so much.
Thirty-three thousand Boeing workers are walking off the job after union members overwhelmingly rejected a new contract offer.
Well, some of the striking workers immediately hit the picket lines. They rejected a tentative deal, even though the contract included pay rises of
at least 25 percent. It is the latest blow to the aerospace giant after a string of problems in recent years, including two fatal crashes.
CNN business and politics correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich, joins us now live from New York.
Vanessa, give me a sense of whether the decision to strike caught people off guard and caught Boeing off guard?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was an overwhelming no from membership, but about 95 percent saying that they did
not like the deal that was on the table and 96 percent saying that they were going on strike and they are on strike right now.
I think that Boeing and the union leadership were hopeful that the membership would vote yes on this deal, but over the last 24 hours leading
into last night, we started getting the sense that there was an overwhelming resistance to the deal on the table. As you mentioned, it was
25 percent in pay wage increases over four years. They also offered more money into employees' 401(k)s.
But the union was asking for a return to the traditional pension. They wanted 40 percent in pay increases and job security was the big one.
Contingent on this deal passing was that Boeing was going to include in the deal a new airplane to be built in Washington state. Unclear if that's
still on the table because of this no vote and this strike today. In terms of negotiations, when they're getting back to the table, we simply do not
know. We have asked both sides.
But this is just day one of what could be a very drawn-out strike because there are still so much room between the two sides.
I want you to listen to Jim Bloomer. He was on the picket line right after midnight Pacific Time. He tells us why he wanted to go on strike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BLOOMER, BOEING UNION WORKER ON STRIKE: The fact of the matter is we're owed a lot more for what we do. You know, if Boeing touts that we're the
best in the industry they need to treat us the best in the industry. There's a lot of stuff that just doesn't add up. Their math is crazy. It
just -- people aren't seeing it. They want more for what we're asked to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:10:07]
YURKEVICH: This is the first time in 16 years that Boeing union employees have been on strike. It's really the first time that they got the
opportunity to negotiate a full contract and they say the deal on the table just wasn't good enough. It did not make up for all the concessions that
they've made in previous contracts. The cost of living wages have not kept up with inflation and they believe that they need more to get back on the
job. They believe that they deserve more.
Boeing for their part says that they are very eager to get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible -- Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, absolutely that Boeing would want to get back to the negotiating table and, you know, I guess the question is, we know timeline,
we have no clarity on right now. All depends how quickly they can hammer out those deals. But very quickly, if you could explain to us what this
would mean for all the orders that are currently in right now from airlines from around the world and whether this could create a backlog.
YURKEVICH: If the strike drags on for weeks and weeks and months and months it certainly could create a backlog. Boeing is one of the biggest
manufacturers in the United States, and a huge exporter of airplanes to other countries. Foreign airlines, U.S. airlines rely on Boeing in order to
fly planes for all of us to fly on every single day. And so what happens is if you take all of these workers out of the facilities and onto the picket
line, you do not have a production of airplanes and we know that there are many orders in the pipeline.
Right now day one, there's no impact, but as this drags on, if does become problematic. Also, the suppliers down the supply chain impacted. And so
this could have a ripple effect. I know both sides really want to get an agreement together. It's just we don't know what the main sticking point
is. It could be many and that's what the union leadership is going to be listening to over the next couple of days as they tried to head back to the
negotiating table eventually.
GIOKOS: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very much for staying on top of the story for us.
Well, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are back on the campaign trail today with just 53 days to go until November's election. Harris will campaign in
the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, specifically two counties that Donald Trump won in the last few presidential elections. Donald Trump
meantime heads to California and Nevada for campaign rallies.
CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joins us now from Washington for a bit more insights.
Kevin, what does the Harris campaign have to say about the next two months? What does it got up its sleeve?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think that if they were to describe their strategy for the next two months, it's
essentially to grind it out, to get Kamala Harris into the battleground states in front of the undecided voters who will decide this election. And
you do see her starting to do that today in Pennsylvania and if you wanted any more indication of just how critical this state will be to her
electoral strategy, you can just look at her calendar for the last eight days.
She has spent seven of those days all or part of them in Pennsylvania. And so this will be a critical state for her. As you mentioned, she is in two
counties today that Donald Trump won. And when you talk to her advisers, they say that this is an indication that she will be looking for votes
pretty much everywhere she possibly can over the next several weeks. She will start today at a sort of a retail stop. She'll be visiting a small
business with the Democratic Senator John Fetterman. And then it's onward to one of these large campaign rallies in this town of Wilkes-Barre.
And so Kamala Harris very much now on the campaign trail for good for the next couple of months or so. Of course, she had hoped at one point to
engage in another debate with Donald Trump. Her campaign said that they wanted a second debate almost immediately after the debate this week
wrapped up. Yesterday, Donald Trump threw cold water on that and said he didn't want to participate in another debate.
But when you talk to Harris's advisers, they say they're not necessarily taking that at face value. And of course, it has been true in the past that
when Donald Trump seems to rule one thing out, he does find a way of getting around to yes in the end so they don't think that this will
necessarily be the last word on the matter. And in fact, they will ensure it's not the last word on the matter and you can bet Kamala Harris will be
talking about wanting to debate Donald Trump going forward and she started that yesterday.
She didn't necessarily say that Donald Trump was afraid to rejoin her on the debate stage, but she did say that it was their obligation to the
American voter to get back out there. Listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump and I had our debate. I believe we owe it to have another debate. Right? We owe it to
the voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:15:05]
LIPTAK: Now yesterday we did learn that the Harris campaign brought in $47 million in campaign donations in the 24 hours after that debate. So
certainly this swell of fundraising, the swell of momentum also comes with these spheres of over-confidence. The campaign very much trying to guard
against that. They say they're still the underdogs in this race.
GIOKOS: All right. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much for that update.
Well, coming up on CONNECT THE WORLD.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RENE MERINO, SALVADORAN DEFENSE MINISTER: If the bad guys know that some civilian people say hi to us, they'd kill them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: People used to be afraid to walk down the streets in El Salvador's capital. Now those who fled are flocking back to the city. A look at how
things have changed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now the issue of illegal immigration is a hot-button issue in the U.S. presidential election. Some migrants are seeking safety
in the United States and escaping violence back in their home country in Central America. But in El Salvador, remarkable transformation has taken
place that's seen thousands of gang members put in prison. And now, instead of trying to enter the U.S. many Salvadorans are now renewing their lives
there. Some are even crossing back the other way to return home.
CNN's David Culver has the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER (voice-over): We're layering up to walk through a notoriously gang- infested part of El Salvador's capital. The country's defense minister is our tour guide.
And this area especially was --
MERINO: Was very, very, very dangerous area.
CULVER: He said go back three or four years, and the folks who lived in this area didn't even want to look police and military in the eye.
MERINO: If the bad guys know that some civilian people say hi to us, they'd kill them.
CULVER (voice-over): For decades, gang violence suffocated nearly all aspects of life in El Salvador. But now walking these once deadly streets
with the defense minister feels more like a victory parade. Handshakes, hugs, photos, even carrying babies. For some, even asking about the past
brings out tears.
Only God knows what it was like here before, she says.
Less than a decade ago, El Salvador was labeled the deadliest country in the world. Murders have since plummeted, according to government data. From
more than 6600 in 2015 to 154 last year.
[10:20:04]
Life has seemingly returned to these streets.
Now, I feel a little bit silly even having to wear this. The biggest threat is a slowdown in going to where you need to go because of taking photos and
saying hi to people.
(Voice-over): But how did it all change so quickly?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bukele.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bukele.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bukele.
CULVER: Most crediting Nayib Bukele, the country's president. In 2019, he came into office. His actions, controversial. Consolidating power,
tightening his grip of control, and essentially eliminating any political opposition.
Under a state of emergency, more than 81,000 people arrested. Bukele even boasting that El Salvador now has the highest incarceration rate in the
world. The government says the most hardened gang members end up here at the Terrorism Confinement Center. Government images from inside have been
widely shared on social media. But most of those arrested are actually kept in facilities like these. A side of El Salvador's prison system a few have
seen.
You can actually see just over where we are, there's row after row after row.
(Voice-over): This facility alone holds roughly 30,000 inmates. Prisoners are put to work, tasked with rehabilitating themselves and their country.
You can even see there's a police vehicle that they're working on.
(Voice-over): We tour another facility where inmates are making government uniforms and building desks for local schools. Some inmates are sent into
communities to help heal the nation by erasing parts of a painful past. President Bukele ordered the inmates to shatter gang tombstones.
So this is one of them here, and you can see this is all broken off. They're still buried here, and they still have a plot.
(Voice-over): But any mention of their past gang affiliations and nicknames destroyed.
Driving through the capital, we see kids playing, parks packed with vendors and families, and lots of traffic. It all might seem normal. But locals
stress to us, this is all new to them.
It's calm. (Speaking in foreign language)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in foreign language)
CULVER: Before nobody would visit here, not even your own family.
(Voice-over): Though feeling safer, this woman tells me the drastic changes have come at a devastating cost.
She's saying her son, who helps her normally financially, is in jail. So, for her, yes, it might be safer here, but economically, it's no better.
(Voice-over): She says her son is being held at one of the work prisons we visited, but that he's innocent and has not been given the opportunity to
defend himself. It's a claim many have made against the government.
But the Bukele administration is adamant that they've taken lawful and necessary steps to liberate this country.
We meet this woman who says she's been able to move in thanks to the changes.
So for her to be here in this space now to have a little business, she says it's been a blessing.
(Voice-over): Keeping the gangs out has meant military patrols at all hours. Though now, even the sight of armored trucks with flashing lights
surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, no longer intimidating for residents, so much as fascinating.
They're just curious and wanting to take a picture and video of the inside of some of this military equipment.
MERINO: Mr. President says this is a miracle, he says. This is a miracle.
CULVER (voice-over): And perhaps like a miracle, El Salvador's transformation has its skeptics and doubters. But most everyone we find
here, for now at least, devout believers. Hopeful this change will last.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER (on-camera): But it seems the impact of President Bukele's crackdown is going beyond the borders of El Salvador. In fact we looked at the
numbers from Customs Border Protection here in the U.S. And starting in roughly early 2022, around the same time that that controversial state of
emergency began in El Salvador, up until 2023 the number of encounters of folks from El Salvador at the U.S. southern border dropped 36 percent. Now
it's on track to drop even further this year.
What's more is when we were down in El Salvador we met a lot of folks who for years lived in the U.S. and who in the past few years have decided to
uproot their lives in the United States and cross the border south into El Salvador, where they're now building a new life for many of them back home
where they started.
David Culver, CNN.
[10:25:08]
GIOKOS: And still to come, CNN talks to voters in the crucial swing state of North Carolina about Tuesday's presidential debate. What they're saying
about Trump and Harris now. Plus, we'll introduce you to TikTok content creators who are trying to influence young voters in this year's election.
Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi.
At the start of this hour, we told you about the U.S. and U.K. considering lifting restrictions on NATO long-range missiles to allow Ukraine to launch
them inside Russia. Those missiles already in use inside Ukraine.
Clare Sebastian looks at what could be targeted if Ukraine gets the go- ahead to expand the use of the missiles into Russian territory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now Ukraine has been using Western long-range missiles on occupied territory for months. This believed to be a
British Storm Shadow, a long long-range stealth cruise missile hitting Russia's Black Sea fleet headquarters in Crimea last year. But Russian
territory has been off limits. Now a major reason for that is of course Western fears a Russian escalation.
But recently the U.S. has also been arguing that actually lifting those restrictions wouldn't make much difference on the battlefield because it
claims many high-value targets including aircraft that dropped those deadly glide bombs are out of range.
But what exactly is in range? Well, this map from the Institute for the Study of War suggests that there are well over 200 targets still in reach
of U.S. ATACMS. Those are the red dots you see there. And among them is also the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District in Rostov and
dozens of command centers, storage depots, weapons production facilities, and military regiments, including, for example, the 52nd Guard Heavy Bomber
Regiment believed to be responsible for a deadly cruise missile attack on an apartment block in Dnipro last January.
President Zelenskyy warning that any further delay may mean the U.S. is proved right.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through text translation): Delaying this process leads to Russia moving these military targets deeper
into the territory of Russia. So if our partners lift the restrictions, I really want it to be a strategy for Ukraine's victory, not a political
strategy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Well, that was Clare Sebastian reporting.
[10:30:02]
Returning to the U.S. election now, North Carolina is one of the seven states that could decide the race for the White House. Republicans have
taken the state in every presidential election since Barack Obama in 2008. But Kamala Harris is looking to turn the tide. In a recent poll showing
Harris ahead by three percentage points among likely voters. That's within the margin of error. And that's putting pressure on Donald Trump who won
the state by just over 1 percent against Joe Biden in 2020. The state's governor says he's optimistic for a Harris victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ROY COOPER (D), NORTH CAROLINA: If Kamala Harris can win here, then she's the next president of the United States. So I think this is her 18th
visit to North Carolina as vice president. Her presence here means a lot. So coming here as much as she can, we obviously want to see.
There are not that many people who haven't made up their mind but there are a lot of people who haven't made up their mind whether they're going to
vote. If we can get those people to the polls, which I believe we can, Kamala Harris can win North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, CNN's Dianne Gallagher is gauging voter sentiments in North Carolina days after the presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Are we going to do this North Carolina? Yes.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris back in battleground North Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm feeling a lot of hope now, which I wasn't feeling before.
GALLAGHER: Fresh off a debate performance, her supporters believe will help flip the state blue in November.
AMY STEELE, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: Races are won or loss on the margin in North Carolina. I think she did enough to convince people who were on the
fence to go toward her way.
RAKI MCGREGOR, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: She came out on top. It wasn't close, head and shoulders.
GALLAGHER: Republicans here say criticism of former President Donald Trump's debate showing is overblown.
MARIA ELENA CONWAY, REGISTERED REPUBLICAN: It was three against one.
GALLAGHER: And won't matter come November.
CONWAY: I think Trump loves this country and loves the people of this country. I think he wants the best for us. He wants to fight.
GALLAGHER: But in this critically close state --
MAIGAN KENNEDY, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: There was nothing in the debate that helped me make the decision that I need.
GALLAGHER: Not everyone has made up their mind.
You are an undecided voter.
JIBRIL HOUGH, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: Undecided who is strongly looking towards third party.
GALLAGHER: Did the debate change anything for you?
HOUGH: No, it didn't.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Jibril Hough says he'll only vote for a candidate who supports an arms embargo on Israel and ceasefire in Gaza.
HOUGH: It's more important than the economy. That's more important than health care, that's more important than so many other things because we
have to stop this genocide.
GALLAGHER: Others want more specifics.
KENNEDY: There wasn't a lot of policy that was talked about, just kind of like aimless plans and vibes honestly.
GALLAGHER: Naomi Hernandez Hall, a registered Republican who voted for Trump in 2020, has not been swayed by Harris but remains frustrated by the
former president.
NAOMI HERNANDEZ HALL, REGISTERED REPUBLICAN: And I was just really disappointed because he hasn't shown and proven himself like he did with
the first campaign.
GALLAGHER: Especially on reproductive rights.
HALL: He kind of deflected on it. He didn't really speak like I wanted him to when they kept asking if the bill came to his desk, would he be veto it,
or would he ban it?
GALLAGHER: With 50 plus days to decide, Hall says she is going to take her time.
HALL: I'm going to continue to look to see what they're going to say for the next couple of weeks, to kind of weigh it out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GALLAGHER (on-camera): And undecided voters like those truly could make a difference here in North Carolina, where polling shows that Trump and
Harris are virtually tied. Both campaigns have already spent millions of dollars here with millions more in ad reservations through the election. It
is no coincidence that the first post-debate stop for Harris a pair of rallies right here in North Carolina, where every vote truly does count. As
apparent, there are still some that are up for grabs.
Dianne Gallagher, CNN. Back to you.
GIOKOS: Well, TikTok recently announced it's adding resources to improve information about the election for its more than 170 million American
users. The popular Chinese owned platform could possibly be banned in the U.S. as soon as January over national security concerns, but TikTok is
still attracting a growing number of users, including young American voters, who say they use the app to keep up with politics.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan joins us now from New York.
Donie, always good to see you. Thanks for joining us. OK, so you did some important investigative work because you interviewed two Gen Z content
creators. So what did you discover? What did you find out in some of those conversations?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Yes. First, we wanted to know two things really. How are content creators, TikTokers, who
are posting videos for Harris, but also for Trump, what are their strategies, their tactics, what works on the platform, what doesn't work.
[10:35:02]
But also we wanted to see what shows up on their "For You" page. What does the TikTok algorithm feed them knowing who they support. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN: What's your most viewed video?
NESSA E, TIKTOK CONTENT CREATOR: Born in Iran, raised in Iran, but more patriot than those who vote blue. With the Trump flag in my office.
HARRIS: You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?
MARIANNA PECORA, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, @VOTERSOFTOMORROW: That was just a couple of days ago in the airport on my way here to Atlanta. Donald Trump
is the biggest, most existential threat to Gen Z's future.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Nearly all TikTok users said in a survey that they use the app because it's entertaining, but more than a third said they also
use it to keep up with politics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen to this rant that Donald Trump just went on.
PECORA: It's been a really fun time to be on the internet.
O'SULLIVAN: So I met with two Gen Z TikTokers to talk about how and why they make political videos.
NESSA: You guys want to know what's worse than a liberal?
Despite what some people refuse to believe, Donald Trump is receiving so much support from people that are young, like, kind of like my age.
O'SULLIVAN: Right.
(Voice-over): Nessa is an Iranian immigrant who's amassed thousands of followers with her pro-Trump TikToks, many of which show off this MAGA
store in Farce Lake, Minnesota.
NESSA: You will get compliments from most people on social media as long as you support their opinions. And I believe the algorithm also plays a huge
part specifically on TikTok.
God bless you. I followed you. Facts.
O'SULLIVAN: You know when you're posting this stuff that it's going to start a debate.
NESSA: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: And that's kind of the point?
NESSA: Kind of. Yes. I believe I'm providing a space for Republicans and Democrats to have debates.
O'SULLIVAN: What are you seeing on your feed?
NESSA: I mostly see Trump stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finish getting ready with me while I talk about --
NESSA: I went to the same high school as Barron Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As Barron Trump. For those of you who don't know Barron --
NESSA: I'm going to save this to watch it later.
PECORA: Sure, you might have been seeing online engagement for Donald Trump, but that's because young people are really, really scared of it.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Mariana Pecora works with Voters of Tomorrow, a non-profit focused on getting Gen Z to the polls.
PECORA: Quick take. What's your least favorite thing in Project 2025?
O'SULLIVAN: Marianna is a big fan of Vice President Harris.
You edited it?
PECORA: This one I had some help from one of our younger volunteers. We were specifically trying to reach like a younger Gen Z, almost Gen Alpha
leaning audience with that. We've been talking about what Congress can do to support young people.
Hey, Congressman Bowman, what you got?
At this point just about every Congress has either like Facebook page or an Instagram or Twitter. Not all of them are on TikTok. And I think that's OK.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
PECORA: Like they're not -- not everybody is suited for it, but I think it's really important and exciting that there's a lot of young people
working in politics that are focused specifically on content creation right now.
The best messenger for a member of Gen Z is another member of Gen Z.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): So look, as you can see there, there's lots of different ways people are getting creative on TikTok. When it comes to
campaigning and then getting the message out, though, of course, you know, it might be a different platform, it might be a different age bracket, but
it is going back to a lot of the same sort of tactics folks would use in social media.
What I thought was most interesting out of that really, though, was, you know, you really get a sense there for just how different it is. The social
media feeds, the videos, the experiences people are having based on what the TikTok algorithm thinks and knows that people want to see and that's a
big question around this election very much the algorithm of TikTok, especially more so almost in any other platform seems to be this black box
and we really don't know how that's going to affect and potentially change the election.
GIOKOS: And that's such a good point, right? Because depending on what the algorithm does with specific videos, I mean, you've got news spreading
really rapidly. I mean, with TikTok possibly being banned early next year, I just wonder what kind of impacts you believe perhaps, Donie, that it
could have on elections and specifically on Gen Z that are looking to social media for any kind of clues on what to do on the political front.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, I mean, I think a lot of us know people who spend hours every day on TikTok, right? It's where they get their news, where they get
most their entertainment. And so what this algorithm is serving you can really profoundly impact your understanding of reality, your understanding
of politics.
You know, for the many and tens of millions of Americans watch the debate between Harris and Trump live a few nights ago. But also millions more will
not have tuned in especially some of the Gen Z, and they will be watching just these moments on TikTok. And again, depending on what the algorithm
thinks that you want, you might have a very, very different understanding of what happened at the debate.
[10:40:01]
Now, look, of course, you can get that from sort of more traditional and partisan media as well. But I think just really underlines here that when
it comes to the algorithms, we have no idea how they work because TikTok doesn't tell anybody how they work.
GIOKOS: It's like being in an echo chamber, right? You click on one thing and then suddenly you're flooded with the same context.
Donie, before I let you go, very quickly, are millennials completely out of fashion now?
(LAUGHTER)
O'SULLIVAN: Well, that's what the Gen Z people told me. Yes, so.
GIOKOS: I'm not giving away my age, but, you know.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, no, I'm millennial also. And yes, I had some -- which we didn't put in there, some pretty what I were told are stupid questions. So
I now also feel old.
GIOKOS: Donie O'Sullivan, good to be in the same bracket as you, for one millennial to the other. We'll see you after the break, right?
And ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, are you being nice to your co-workers? Are they being nice to you? The answers to those questions are coming into
focus in a new study that has alarming conclusions about workplace incivility in the United States, and its cost to productivity.
Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: The U.S. has civility problem and that is the sobering conclusion of a new study by the Society for Human Resource Management, which says
Americans collectively experienced or witnessed a total of 71 million daily instances of incivility in their workplaces over the past month. The study
says each incidents result in an average productivity loss of 31 minutes. And if you factor in absenteeism due to incivility, a daily productivity
loss of more than $2 billion, a number that the group calls unsustainable.
Joining us now is Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management.
So great to have you with us. Thanks so much for joining us. This is pretty shocking. I mean, firstly, the number of incivility cases that we're seeing
in the United States, the loss of productivity, what the ultimate cost is. But tell me, what does this pertain to? What are people being uncivil about
in the workplace?
JOHNNY C. TAYLOR JUNIOR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: So you name it. You know, we used to say politics but
everything is politics now. All social issues are the causes of these angst. People simply have gotten to a point where if I don't agree with you
then you're bad and I hold you in contempt, and it's not just that you're bad, anyone like you, your relatives, your friends, et cetera, are bad.
And so we've literally found ourselves in a boxing ring of sorts where people go to their respective corners. And my position is different from
yours and you're bad because your position is by definition different than mine.
[10:45:03]
GIOKOS: So is U.S. politics at the center of this? I mean, do we know how U.S. politics is affecting things within the workplace?
TAYLOR: Right. Well, for obvious reasons now as we approached November 5th, U.S. politics is what is the conversation. Tens of millions of people, as
you pointed out in your earlier segment, tuned in for the debate the other night and the day afterwards. That's all people were talking about in the
workplace. And since the U.S. electorate is so divided, I mean, it's -- depending on how it's roughly 50-50, no matter you have a very good shot
and the odds are not agreeing with the colleague sitting to your right or to your left. And so yes, workplace toxicity is largely for now the result
of disagreement around politics.
GIOKOS: I thought you weren't allowed to talk about politics at work, except if you're a journalist. But look, you've got five different segments
on the issues, right. We're not at code red, which is the most serious. We are currently sitting at take action in terms of incivility in the
workplace. How would corporates deal with this? Because clearly it could affect corporate culture in the long term.
TAYLOR: Well, not only does it affect corporate culture and broadly that's right, but it's affecting corporate profitability and success. We know that
employees who come to work and face an environment where they feel there's excess toxicity and they ultimately will leave. So we have a retention
problem and they're notwithstanding the softening in the labor market, we still have a war for talent.
Secondly, and perhaps worse, is when people come to work, but aren't engaged and therefore aren't productive because they're so does disengaged
on account of being subjected to workplace toxicity. So this is a real business issue and it's why we quantify the $2 billion a day that companies
lose on account of this.
Here's something that's really interesting is the point that you raised earlier. It takes the average person about 31 minutes to get it back
together after they've experienced or been the subject of an act of workplace incivility. That is a huge loss of productivity. That's affecting
us a negative way. So what do companies do? First of all, is what we started here at SHERM. Now, earlier this year, and it's create an
awareness, a conversation around the significance of incivility and why it is so important to be civil.
But secondly and most importantly, organizations have got to establish very clear policies. The policies can range from have no such conversations at
work, right, around politics, or if you're going to, here are the guardrails. And chief amongst those are, you must treat your colleague
according to not just the Golden Rule, but the platinum rule. Treat them how you'd want to be treated.
GIOKOS: Yes, and this is what's interesting actually. According to a survey, the people who personally experienced or witnessed incivility are
more likely to commit uncivil acts themselves. So what are your tips to management and to bosses in terms of dealing with that and getting people
to accept different views?
TAYLOR: Well, no surprise, right? It's a tit-for-tat. You -- I mean, eye for an eye and so people feel like if I've been subjected to it, I know how
horribly it felt, and I'm going to lash out the next time someone comes my way. Counterintuitive in some ways, you'd like to think that we're better
people after these exam, after these incidents, but in fact people exchange blows.
What do we as employers need to do? As I said, in addition to the rules we've got to train for civility. It's not enough to just tell people to be
civil, we've got to talk to people and train them on how to be civil for good or for bad. That's the reality that we find ourselves. And next, model
and monitor good behavior. Again, our employees are looking at us. So if you're a people manager and you're hosting a meeting and someone says
something that you don't agree with, you can't engage in an uncivil way and then tell people that they should. So it's not do as I say, and not as I
do, that kind of thing. And finally, focus on this concept --
GIOKOS: So it's turn the other cheek basically?
TAYLOR: That's right. That's right. Except no, right?
GIOKOS: Just turn the other cheek.
TAYLOR: The idea is similar.
GIOKOS: Yes.
TAYLOR: That's right.
GIOKOS: Yes. OK. Johnny, it was so good to catch up with you, sir. Thank you so much for your time, Johnny, there for us.
All right. Still ahead, a collapsed glazier, a mega-tsunami, and nine days of global shaking. Scientists say these events offer grim new warnings
about the progression of human caused climate change. We'll explain after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:11]
GIOKOS: A victory today for environmental activist in the U.K. as London's high court rules that the approval of Britain's first new deep coal mine in
decades was unlawful. Britain's conservative government approved the new mine located in northwest England in 2022. Environmentalist filed legal
challenges and the Supreme Court determined that planning authorities must consider the impact of burning as well as extracting fossil fuels when
deciding whether to approve projects.
It looks peaceful now, but last September glaciers melting in the meantime in Greenland's Dickson Fjord triggered a massive landslide, which spawned a
mega to tsunami that shook the planet for nine whole days. This timelapse captured the triggering events, but its aftermath has taken dozens of
scientists a year to work it out. The conclusions offer fresh warnings about human-linked climate change.
CNN's bill Weir joins us now with more.
Bill, great to have you with us as always. I'm telling you this is an ominous term calling these events a cascading hazard anthropogenic issues,
again, behind nine days of global shaking. Tell us how this happened.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, cascading hazard. That's a new one for our vocabulary these scary days. It's really fascinating the
science behind this, Eleni, solving this mystery. It started with drip by drip, glaciers melting up in Greenland on the east side there until last
September, a side of the mountain gave way and put about enough rock and earth into the ocean to fill 10,000 Olympic size swimming pools.
The seismic wave was recorded in Antarctica on the South Pole about an hour later. But then there was this strange hum that earth scientists were
hearing. They'd never heard anything like this before. Usually you hear it after an earthquake. There are pops and whistles as the earths settles. But
this was like a steady drone and they went back to the source of that and realize that tsunami waves, 650 feet tall, imagine a wave the size of a 60-
story building, it couldn't escape the fjord.
Now normally these tsunamis have enough ocean power to cross entire oceans, but this was stuck in the tight, narrow, these winding inlets there and
balanced back and forth every 90 seconds for nine days. It took something like 70 scientists from over a dozen countries looking at all kinds of
different records to figure this out. But it's one of these sort of lightbulb moments where these earth scientists say, we didn't know this was
possible.
We didn't know what is called a seiche, a sloshing back and forth in an enclosed area could last for nine, could last for nine whole days. And so
we are learning in real time what an earth without balance looks like and things that have never happened in our lifetime.
GIOKOS: So, Bill, I mean, my question is, you've got this global shaking for nine days. What does it mean in the long term? I mean, how does it
affect our lives?
WEIR: Well, this one is -- the shaking doesn't, you wouldn't feel it. Luckily, there were no cruise ships passing by that part of Greenland,
which that is a route for them. It would have destroyed whatever ship was nearby at the time. But it's just another sign from the planet. This
ancient planet ball that we're flying through space on is really changing in dramatic ways.
And the North and South Poles which have been locked in ice for millennia now are giving way. And it's causing these knockoff effects that scientists
honestly are just trying to understand.
GIOKOS: All right, Bill Weir, always good to see you. Thank you so much for breaking that down for us.
A runway penguin lost at sea off Japan for two weeks is now safe. The penguin was named Pin was swimming with staff from a traveling zoo when she
escaped. Since the feathered fugitive was born in captivity and had never been in open waters so chances of survival were dim.
[10:55:04]
But then Typhoon Shanshan hit. A zookeeper tells CNN that probably helped her survive. Keeping her cool and hydrated and safe from boats and fishing
nets. Pin was found Sunday eight miles from where she went missing.
A New York City art show hopes to promote harmony between man and animal. 100 wooden elephant figures have popped up in New York's trendy Meatpacking
District. It's part of an artist's relation titled "The Great Elephant Migration." The organizers says the sculptures are crafted by indigenous
artists from Southern India and are based on real wild elephants from the coffee plantations there.
Spectators are invited to touch the elephant sculptures, which range in size from baby to adults. The pieces are also for sale with proceeds going
to conservation groups.
Well, that's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. Stay with CNN. "NEWSROOM" with Erica Hill is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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