Earth's Life at Risk Each Day; Kid Dies in CBP's Custody; Butina Pleads Guilty.
STOUT: Welcome back. And let's turn now to those crucial climate talks that are taking place in Poland. Many scientists agree if the temperature rises more than 1.5 Celsius then it could produce disastrous environmental results. Delegates from nearly 200 countries at the COP 24 summit are trying to negotiate a plan to limit global warming and move the Paris agreement forward. But reports say disputes over finances and other issues have been a major sticking point. Nick Paton Walsh is at the summit. He joins us now. And Nick, the COP 24 summit is at a critical moment. What's in store today?</s>WALSH: Yes. I'm on paper it was supposed to finish today. We were supposed to be seeing that sort of critical climax of negotiations here. What's at stake is what's known as the rule book really. You have the sort of volition of the Paris agreements of 2015, where countries said they wanted to reduce emissions. Now you have to work out how you are going to measure that, who is going to be accountable, to what standard, what level of transparency, who is going to pay for what. The important points are lot of rushing around. They are now of hotels we saw yesterday by delegations as they rush to see a draft text, it seems very drafted at this stage and a number of paradoxes too. We've seen the United States here come to dispute some of the science, along with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, and also promote fossil fuels. Many bizarre paradoxes here. The biggest of which being the summit itself is being held in the heart of coal country, in coal country itself, Poland.</s>WALSH: There's a glimmer of hope of climate change on the planet. It's not down here. A thousand meters mining underground. Women seen as bad luck and everyone greets each other with God bless you. It's why it's startling this far below the earth to see how divorced this world is from the global challenge above COP 24. This coal helps make steel even for cleaner technologies so nobody feels change is coming soon. "Global warming is overrated," he says. "It's based on political motives to lower the coal use. Poland has the mother lode of coal." It does indeed. Black gold is at the core of life and prestige here. Mining hasn't lost any of its sparkle. In this tiny block of flats coal is haul, in the damp they keep themselves warm. The real constant in this former miner's life. But it's also what they wear and how they wash and even in where they worship. This is once a mining community but now the men in overalls are here to fix gas supplies and former teachers, no change can't be stopped. "We care about the environment," she says, "but it's regrettable our families won't have jobs. The coal stoves are going away," another adds. I even use gas now. "We were teaching children three children how to separate (Inaudible) and what to do with it." A paradox too then for a summit about how the world will measure emission reductions. Technicalities that are both easy to dismiss but also vital to insure a drop to save our planet. A lot of this is about presentation about convincing people of the trillions of dollars they've got to spend to prevent catastrophe. But there is something also utterly vital missing. And that's a message of international consensus. The summit thrown by a refusal to work on a key scientific report last weekend led by Russia. You have space here but few people. And the United States who were listed as here on the floor map but aren't. People keep coming to you asking where is American. OK. They're joined by Kuwait who shares a space around this engine with Saudi Arabia who mark their office like this. No one inside. This is the Saudi room, yes?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.</s>WALSH: But a joke isn't funny anymore, not with 12 years to avoid global disaster.</s>WALSH: The U.S. instead, found itself chanted down by protesters at it promoted fossil fuel use. It's a different world here, to Barack Obama's former climate change envoy Todd Stern. There's been a certain amount of tracking the vegs (Ph) at a more political level as well. And having the U.S. not engaged in that instrumental way and not engage in that senior political way from the president, you know, down to -- you know, really to my level. That's -- that makes it more difficult here. Worse thing you can do is look at IPCC report say, my God, look where are we? And put your, you know, put a pillow over your head and say I can't think about this and let's just go see walls.</s>WALSH: But even if there is success here it is outside these walls, in daily lives globally that the great change has come.</s>WALSH: There is something startling, Kristie, really about how undisputable what has to be done here, is there is no doubt about the science the world is going to see catastrophic change in 12 years say scientists unless it acts finitely and quickly to reduce emissions. But still, the conversations continue here today. But the degree of urgency and the clock ticking, not only on the summit but the world. Kristie?</s>STOUT: There is no doubt about the science. But as you point out, so many bizarre paradoxes at this climate change summit taking place in the heart of coal country. High tension there as well as you brought up the images in your report at the protests. Just how fraught are these talks?</s>WALSH: Well, it's obviously an incredibly difficult task to get 1 to 200 nation states to agree simultaneously to a complicated technical document the outlines how they would transparently explain how they are fundamentally changing the nature of daily life in each of their countries. That's what is required to meet this emission goals by 2030. We saw a text circulated last night. It was certainly a draft text. It appeared in certain areas to have different options, potentially for the direction they may choose. And then subsequently most of delegations were called back. Essentially, they'll have to feel like they have some say in what the actual outcome is. We may see more of the (Inaudible) text later on today and then you have the broader question of exactly how quickly can they get everyone do agree to it. And then once that is done if that is an easier task, then perhaps some fear it may be here do they act on it, do we actually see a real change or people are looking for wiggle room. Kristie?</s>STOUT: Some of us will reach that critical stage. Nick Paton Walsh reporting live. Thank you. Now a young Guatemalan girl died while in the custody of U.S. border protection. The 7-year-old and her father were detained last week in New Mexico for illegally crossing into the U.S. She was in custody for eight hours when it was found she had an extremely high fever and was flown to a hospital. The Washington Post reports that she had no food or water for days. But border patrol says that is typically provided to migrants in custody and agents took every possible step to save the child's life. Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro and other politician say that they are devastated by the report and they were asking for an investigation into the circumstances that led to her death earlier. Earlier, my colleague George Howell spoke with Peter Simonson, he's the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico. Take a listen.</s>PETER SIMONSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU NEW MEXICO: This is yet another tragedy in this administration's war on poor immigrant families. And like the tragedies that we've seen before. This one also falls a child. It's an unspeakable tragedy to try and imagine what that young girl must have suffered through before she ultimately perished. It just bears the imagination. You know, we're going to do everything we can as an organization to get to the bottom of it, call upon authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation. But you know, we're facing huge challenges these days, and the realm of immigration and this is just one symptom of it.</s>GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: The ACLU is quoted in that report again by the Post that reportedly blaming lack of accountability and a culture of cruelty within CBP's culture for the girl's death. And they're demanding more transparency given that. Again, it took a week for this to come to light. Do you see the need for serios reforms here?</s>SIMONSON: We have long needed reforms of the border patrol and CBP generally. This is an agency that is the largest armed force in U.S. territory, short of only the military. It operates with virtual impunity. It does not count with the same kinds of accountability mechanism that you see in many of our municipal police these days. It refused to use and implement to use the body worn cameras. Its use of force policies and policies for systematically investigating use of force incidents are deficient. It doesn't have any sort of a civilian oversight apparatus. So, for a very long time we've known that this is an agency that suffered from a lack of accountability. Under this administration's reign it's only gotten that much worse.</s>HOWELL: A lot of questions here for sure. Customs and Border Protection is expressing condolence to the family of this seven-year-old girl, saying that agents took every possible step to save her life. CBP says it routinely provides food and water, but clearly, in this case something fell short, something didn't happen while she was in their custody for several hours.</s>SIMONSON: Yes. And you know, there's a lot that we don't know right now. And so, I'm a little hesitant to sort of leap to conclusions. But I do have to say that, you know, we've heard any number of reports about the sort-term custody facilities that border patrol uses. Concrete cells that are cold, that people are denied food and water for long periods of time and denied medical care. There are very harsh conditions oftentimes. And to hold a child in those conditions it just makes no sense.</s>STOUT: A heartbreaking development. That was Peter Simonson, the executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico. Now a woman that few had ever heard of months ago has made a big flash news in U.S. courtroom on Thursday centered on Russian espionage. The apparently gun-loving 30-year-old Russian admitted to crimes that may have an impact long after her guilty plea. Sara Murray has the details.</s>SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Russian national Maria Butina admitting she conspired to act as an illegal foreign agent as she pleaded guilty in D.C. federal court today.</s>A.J. KRAMER, FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, COLUMBIA: She was satisfied with her lawyers and made the decision voluntarily.</s>MURRAY: Wearing a green prison jumpsuit and a tattered undershirt beneath it. Butina spoke clearly with a Russian accent as she entered her plea. Butina admitted she acted at the direction of a Russian official who CNN has identified as former Russian banker Aleksandr Torshin while attending American university and failed to notify the U.S. government. As she cooperates with investigators Butina is providing information about how her boyfriend Republican operative Paul Erickson aided her activities in the U.S. and telling investigators about her contacts with Russians. The plea agreement reveals Erickson's involvement in Butina's ploy was more extensive than previously known. Butina kicked off her plan around March of 2015. Working closely with Erickson on a plot called the diplomacy project. According to her plea, Butina's plot to build relationships with politically influential Americans and advance Russian interests included attending National Rifle Association meetings and organizing a Russian delegation to attend the 2017 national prayer breakfast in D.C. According to the plea, she proposed getting hundred and $125,000 from a Russian billionaire to attend conferences and arrange other meetings. At one 2015 political event she asked Donald Trump about his views on Russia.</s>MARIA BUTINA, RUSSIAN SPY: If you would be elected as the president what will be your foreign politics, especially in relationships with my country.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin, OK?</s>MURRAY: That same year she invited an NRA delegation to Moscow to build closer ties. Afterward she sent Torshin a message saying "we should let them express their gratitude now. We will put pressure on them quietly later." Butina also attended the NRA's 2015 annual meeting. Meeting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Soon after, he announced his bid for president with Butina in the audience. At the 2016 NRA meeting, Butina and Erickson tried to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their efforts fell short. Erickson's role in aiding Butina has been a focus of the investigation, but so far, he is not been charged with any crimes. Now the Russian government had previously claimed that Butina was being tortured while she was in custody. So, there is a vibrant back and forth about the state of her mental health in court today. At one point, her lawyer said she is doing well mentally and even though she's in solitary confinement she is allowed out for a couple of hours in the night and also now allowed visits with a Russian orthodox minister. Back to you, guys.</s>STOUT: Sara Murray there. Now Donald Trump says he didn't direct former attorney Michael Cohen to break the law but the president may have been more involved that he's living on. Ahead, details on a secret meeting that may have violated campaign laws.