Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Greek Finance Minister Resigns; Markets Down with Greek Debt Crisis; U.S. Beats Japan in Soccer's World Cup; Pope Francis Visits Latin America; Chicago's Top Cop Talks "Broken System"; Greek Finance Minister Resigns; Greek's Debt History; S.C. Lawmakers Begin Considering Confederate Flag's Removal; Shooting Exposes Problems with U.S. Deportation Process; Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 06, 2015 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:12] ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Zain Asher. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Max Foster. Thank you for joining us.

ASHER: We want to begin with breaking news in the Greek debt crisis. The country's finance minister says he is resigning after the voters rejected the Europe's latest offer for a bailout deal.

I'm joined by Elinda Labropoulou who joins us live from Athens.

Linda, essentially, Mr. Varoufakis basically won, but from what I understand the Troika is refusing to do business with him. There appears to be bad blood after all those negotiations.

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the reason he gave in his blog, and the statement we got out of the finance ministry following the resignation seems to suggest that the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, felt to go more comfortable going into negotiations without him there. This is the suggestion that the Euro Group. We know there is a lot of tension between he and a number of the ministers there. And he has taken this route as a way to facilitate to make things easier between Greece and its creditors to reach a deal. This comes after the no vote which has really strengthened in some respects or in some people's eyes the position of the government. It has been hailed in Mr. Yanis Varoufakis' campaign.

FOSTER: He's hero now in Greece, isn't he, of this huge contingent that supported his campaign. So they will be sad to see him go.

LABROPOULOU: It's a complicated one. Varoufakis is someone who is outspoken and popular with a part of the public and unpopular with another part of the Greek public. He is a controversial figure. We have seen him getting into all kinds of debates, strong rhetoric exchanged between Mr. Varoufakis and the German finance minister. So I think this will be seen more as a move of let's go into calmer negotiations and see if we can reach a deal. So some people will be disappointed but I think for others it will open a route to diplomacy in these talks.

ASHER: And, Elinda, the big fear right now is of a Grexit, Greece leaving the Euro Zone. How likely is it that this resignation could be a prerequisite to Greece being able to stay in the Eurozone?

LABROPOULOU: I think what we're likely to see from the creditors is they will want a more diplomatic approach from Greece and a more reconciliatory tone as we go into the next round of talks. It is obviously very difficult to see how this is going to play out simply because Greece is going to go into the next round of talks after months and months of negotiations. Now they are likely to ask for more concessions and debt release. And it is uncertain whether the creditors will be willing to back down. Until we see how the first negotiations are likely to go, it will be very difficult to tell how this will play out.

FOSTER: Elinda, just on a practical basis, how are people going to survive over the next few days? As far as the negotiations unfold we've got the situation where the banks are talking about running out of cash and people are obviously struggling hugely just to meet day- to-day costs.

LABROPOULOU: We do have a situation that banks seem to be running out of cash. Right behind me you have a queue at an ATM and there are queues all around the country. Banks have been closed now for a week. All I can say is that it will be difficult. The ECB convenes today to decide what to the with emergency liquidity assistance for Greece. This no at the referendum and a strong no, which is not what was anticipated, is likely to affect any decision making for Greece in the next day or two. And until some decisions are made, for Greek people it will be very difficult. I mean, it's all we can tell at this point. Unless, you know, Mr. Tsipras really does manage to reach a deal as he has promised in the next 40 hours the situation with the banks will become incredibly different.

[02:35:15]FOSTER: Thank you, Elinda, than you for that story from the streets of Athens.

We want to see how the knock-on effect is going to affect the world.

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: -- the Asian markets. They're a bit low, Andrew Stevens. How do you read it?

ANDREW STEVENS, ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: It's interesting, Max. Just as the announcement of Varoufakis' resignation came out. We were looking at the real-time indices from Asia and they turned around. They are heading back toward positive territory. They are a long way into the negative but the situation was worse. The picture was worse before the resignation news came out. To give you an idea, the Nikkei because down 2.2, 2.3 percent. Hong Kong down 4.5 percent. It has come back a little bit. But what you see there, Max is very much a feeling that the possibility, the likelihood of a Grexit, of Greece leaving the Eurozone has increased significantly with that no vote. Now, what's interesting is with Varoufakis' resignation does it then

claw back away from the brink, if you like? I mean, he was seen certainly by the European authorities, by the Troika and central bank and the European Commission as someone who they couldn't trust in essence. And that was the problem that the trust between the two sides had broken down. Now he has gone doesn't mean that they will be able to negotiate in better faith with Europe when the meetings start tomorrow. Certainly, investors as you see there, a little bit of a respite but still there is a lot of skepticism in the markets and the investment community and they are taking a pragmatic view on this. If Greece does go they will be prepared for it.

ASHER: Obviously, Greece wants better negotiating terms. Now if the E.U. does give them a sweeter deal what message does that send to countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy, countries riddled with debt?

STEVENS: It's an interesting question, Zain. That is the nub of this. If Greece can get a better deal and essentially, if he called Europe's bluff and went to its own people and came back with this resounding no, what is to stop other countries in the grip of tough austerity measures doing the same. Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland will be looking closely now. This is going to be a political decision. This is no longer an economic decision whether Greece stays in the Eurozone or not. If it is a political decision, it may be the beginning of fundamentally altering the relationship between the Eurozone partners. Before it was very clear this is the way it's going to be done once the austerity measures came into place you are going to play by our rule book. If Greece does not, the others will ask, why should they as well. The bottom line here is this has got a long, long way to go and we're going to see volatility in the markets continue particularly in the European markets. If you look in the U.S., the futures there are pointing to a 1 to 1. 5 percent fall at the open. There is still a lot of uncertainty out there. The markets hate uncertainty. At the moment it's difficult to get a clear read on where this may end up.

FOSTER: While this may not have a huge contagion around the world if the ECB puts out the right messages today it is going to put off any big decisions on fed rates. Do you think that's true? It could hit the, you know, the U.S. And the world market in that sense?

STEVENS: Yeah, certainly. A fed rate rise is not a foregone conclusion, particularly looking at the statistics of the latest job numbers last week. So expectations are that the fed will raise rates in September. But that is by no means a done deal. Any sort of uncertainty, anything that is going to shake global market confidence is going to obviously have a knock-on effect on the U.S. The fed will be in no hurry to further undermine confidence by lifting the cost of borrowing.

And the other effect is in China. China is down 30 percent in three weeks. We're talking $3 trillion being wiped off the value of the Chinese stock market. So that is also sending ripples of real concern out across not just Asia but around the world as well. What is going on in China you have to balance that with the fact that Chinese stocks are up 150 percent. But the last thing the fed wants to do is raise rates because it feels like it has been having to. It is going to watch closely the conditions. I'm sure Europe, the Grexit threat, all that will play into Janet Yellen's decision, the fed's decision and they are going to err on the side of caution, no doubt.

[02:10:24] ASHER: Andrew, if Greece was to leave the Eurozone, which country do you think they would end up looking to for stability? Russia? China? What do you think?

STEVENS: It's a difficult one. I think --

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: That's quite a question.

(LAUGHTER)

STEVENS: Look, if you look at what's been happening, Russia has been -- you know, has been a relationship between Greece and Russia much more than China. And China has its own issues to deal with at the moment. Russia would be a more obvious partner. What they can actually do is difficult to say. What also to take into account the geopolitics of this, a Grexit would basically mean that Greece was failing and perhaps a failing state, does Europe want that on its southern borders? Of course, it doesn't. What's it going to do to stop that happening? We'll have to wait. What can Russia do? I don't know. I don't want to speculate but there has been some sort of relationship.

ASHER: Absolutely. Who knows a Grexit could cost the Eurozone more than a bailout in the long term.

But, Andrew Stevens, thank you so much. We appreciate your analysis.

FOSTER: It's interesting because a lot of people are analyzing the exposure countries have to Greece but the southern European countries would be affected.

ASHER: Right.

FOSTER: Let's look at what Yanis Varoufakis said in announcing his resignation, because this is what we got from his blog, colorful language as ever. "Very shortly after the announcement of the referendum, I became aware to the fact that the participants of the Euro Group and other partners would appreciate my absence from the meetings which the prime minister considered may help in reaching an agreement. For this reason, I will step down as the finance minister."

ASHER: He goes on to write, "Is it my duty to help Alexis Tsipras" -- and I'm readying here -- "as much as to take advantage as he considers the capital which was donated to us by the Greek people through the referendum."

FOSTER: And he has strong words about the Euro Group.

ASHER: Yes, he does. FOSTER: He is quite a character. And he is going to be missed in

terms of a character.

Greeks around the world are paying close attention to what is happening of course.

We spoke to one expatriate about what his friends and family felt about the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED GREEK EXPATRIATE: They didn't vote no to the European Union. They voted no to what they believe and have experienced for the past five years. This is the feeling that I'm getting from my friends and family in Greece. This is how they felt about what the no represents. They saw it as a way of stop following that program.

And it's the other thing, too, it's that this program has created so many people that don't have anything else to lose that they really just don't care if they are going to be in the Eurozone or if they're going to go back to drachmas. Because right now, in their pockets, they don't have anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We will have more on this story later this hour. You can get the analysis and background on CNN.com, including the breaking details on the resignation of the finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, and that's ahead, and what is ahead for the Greek banks as well. So a terrible few days to consider. ASHER: Now, we have good news for the United States. Team USA is celebrating in Vancouver, Canada, after winning the highest scoring women's World Cup final ever. The U.S. dominated Japan, beating the defending champions, 5-2.

FOSTER: Sunday's game was a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final. This is the third title for Team USA and their first since 1999. An amazing moment.

ASHER: With a hat trick in Sunday's match-up, it was midfielder and team captain, Carli Lloyd, who led the team to a World Cup victory.

CNN sports anchor, Kate Riley, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE RILEY, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: The United States has won their third World Cup crown their third title in 16 years. Japan had the perfect tournament going into this match although they found themselves down 4-0 after 16 minutes. Carli Lloyd scoring the first ever hat trick at a women's World Cup final.

[02:15:00] CARLI LLOYD, TEAM USA MIDFIELDER & TEAM CAPTAIN: I dedicated my entire life to this moment. Everything else comes second, my fiance, friends, family. This is it for me. If you want to be the best you can be, you is to sacrifice so much. And for me, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED TEAM USA PLAYER: I always describe her as a winner. She is going to work her tail off and fight for you and you want a player like her on your team.

UNIDENTIFIED TEAM USA PLAYER: Big players make big plays in big games. She is the engine of the team and comes up big when we need her. It's important to have someone on the team who is going to take the reins and take control and get the job done.

RILEY: This game was the highest scoring match at a women's World Cup final. The final score, 5-2. The Japanese return empty handed.

However, the Americans can now celebrate in style. They've been invited to the White House and the president told the team not to forget their trophy.

Kate Riley, CNN, at the women's World Cup final in Vancouver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: So many people tuned in.

ASHER: Invited to the White House, not too shabby.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

FOSTER: Meanwhile. Pope Francis starting a trip to Ecuador. Up next, the issues he plans to address and why this trip is coming at an important time for him.

ASHER: Also ahead, Chicago police confiscate guns after a deadly and violent weekend there.

FOSTER: And we'll look at Greece's history in the Eurozone and how the country's debt crisis began.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:34] FOSTER: Breaking news out of Greece this hour, the country's finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, says he is resigning after voters voted out of a bailout appeal.

ASHER: He wrote in a blog post -- and this is sort of a lose translation -- "I was made aware of a preference by Euro Group participants and assorted partners for my absence from its meetings." Saying the Euro Group wanted him to resign. Varoufakis believes that his resignation could help Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reach an agreement with creditors.

FOSTER: What a bombshell. We weren't expecting that.

ASHER: No, we were not.

FOSTER: Pope Francis is in Ecuador right now on a mission for the poor and the planet, meanwhile.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translation): I thank God for having allowed me to return to Latin America and to be with you today in this beautiful land of Ecuador. I feel happiness and gratitude after this warm welcome. It's one more demonstration of the welcoming character that define this nimble nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The pope is from South America. And he says he is excited to be there and has a busy week ahead.

ASHER: Later today, he plans to lead mass and meet with Ecuador's president. In a few days, he heads to Bolivia and he goes to Paraguay. And he has speeches and masses to deliver in his native Spanish.

Joining me is Father Edward Beck, CNN religious commentator.

Father, thank you so much for being with us.

These three countries, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, he says they are the forgotten countries of Latin America. How does the pope plan to change that?

FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGIOUS COMMENTATOR: Just by visiting the poorest countries, he is making a statement. Remember, he said he wants to go to the periphery. And so, in fact he is doing that. Some said why didn't he go to Argentina? He hasn't been home since he was elected pope. His sister is there and hasn't seen them. He says he has to focus on the forgotten first. These are three of the poorest in South America and he chose them to say these people matter, too.

ASHER: Pope John Paul II visited Ecuador. The last time a pope visited Ecuador was about 30 years ago. How does this pope's visit differ from the last pope that visited Ecuador?

BECK: What is interesting about the last visit is that John Paul II was looking at liberation theology and its encroachment in Catholic theology, especially in South America. This pope, Pope Francis, is not as concerned about that. In fact, he has brought some liberation theologians back into the fold. It says you need to look at God and the experience of faith through the eyes of the poor. That is something very close to the heart of Pope Francis. So he is not as concerned as John Paul II with the church, per se, that it's losing members, that liberation theology is ruining the church. He is thinking of the poor and the environment. Let's think of ourselves secondarily. So he is making a different focus and priority than John Paul II did.

ASHER: He wants to focus on the poor and the environment. But 40 percent of the world's Catholics are in Latin America and that number is decreasing. They are losing Catholic followers. Can the pope's visit expect to reverse that in any way?

BECK: Well, it is decreasing but we are talking about Ecuador being 79 percent Catholics. Even though the evangelicals are making inroads, I think what you see Pope Francis say there is something for you in Catholicism to those who have left. Pentecostalism and evangelicals is about small-based community and about reading the scripture and serving the poor. And so perhaps the charismatic movement within the Catholic Church where there is emotionalism, more sharing, more reading of scripture that can be attractive to evangelicals who have leather Catholicism. So he may see Pope Francis making an appeal to them as well and say we still have something here for you as well.

[02:25:04] ASHER: Quickly, I want to talk about the context of this visit. This visit does come at a time of political tension in Ecuador. We're seeing anti-government demonstrations against the president. Do you think the pope will weigh in on that?

BECK: One of the issues that is interesting is the environment. They are mining in a national park right now and oil drilling and the pope are supposedly going to speak against some of this pillaging of the natural environment. Now when the pope arrived, the president made a point of saying how environmentally committed Ecuador is. I think the pope may challenge him on that. Because some of his own constituents don't believe he is that committed to the environment. I think there will be conflict there. There will be a conflict with the church in the sense that people think the church has been colonialistic in its approach in South America. So people are calling for getting away from clericalism where priests and bishops make all the decisions but how about more of a role for the laity. And it will be interesting to see where the pope comes down on that.

ASHER: Interesting. The pope is not going to Argentina during this visit, preferring to spend time in the poorer countries of Latin America.

If you want to keep up with the pope's travels, you can log on to this website, Vatican.va.

FOSTER: Also, Chicago gun violence has been making headlines for several years now, and in the past few days. A 7-year-old boy is one of seven people killed over the long holiday weekend. At least 40 people were shot in numerous incidents.

ASHER: Chicago's top cop stood in front of a table full of confiscated illegal guns and spoke passionately about what he calls a broken system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRY MCCARTHY, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm angry. I'm frustrated. And I'm frustrated and angry that we're here again talking about another senseless murder. Pick out the names. The list goes on and on. This has got to stop. We can put another 10,000 police officers on the street. And what would happen? Maybe we'll arrest Mr. Brown 90 times and nothing will happen. Maybe we'll take 10,000 guns off the street and 10,000 will fill up that illegal market the next day. I'm incredibly proud of the men and women of this department who in spite of what I'm talking about go out every day and do what they do. We need some help here, folks. We have to fix this broken system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And Garry McCarthy went on to say that basically too many violent prisoners are being released only to return to a life of crime. Is it a vicious cycle there in Chicago.

FOSTER: Ahead we go live to Athens for you where we're following breaking news, the Greek finance minister stepping down. A bombshell in the last hour or so, wasn't it?

ASHER: Yep.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:37] ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Zain Asher.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster. We're getting back to the breaking news for you this hour.

ASHER: Greece's financial landscaping is drastically changing.

FOSTER: The finance minister in Greece said he would resign if Greeks voted in favor of the latest bailout offer. Instead, they voted to reject it and he is resigning anyway.

ASHER: Yeah.

Elinda Labropoulou is in Athens with the details for us.

Elinda, we have not heard from Alexis Tsipras on Yanis Varoufakis' resignation. I mean, are we expected to hear from him praising Varoufakis or explain why Varoufakis resigned?

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that Alexis Tsipras is going to be meeting all the other political leaders, the opposition leaders today in just a few minutes from now. So perhaps we'll get a statement right after that. We had a statement from the deputy finance minister who told Greek television that basically what will be happening now is we'll be looking at a negotiating team with a more European direction orientation, if you like, that will submit specific proposals to put an end to uncertainty. It is suggested that Mr. Varoufakis was more of a hard-liner and Greece is willing to follow a more diplomatic route to reach a fast agreement with its creditors.

FOSTER: He wasn't always diplomatic. Even in his statement he says, "I wear the creditors loathing with pride." But the issue is for many people in Greece he is seen as a hero because he is martyring himself on this issue.

LABROPOULOU: For people who wanted to see a more hard-line approach who wanted to tell the Europeans, the creditors what many Greeks think of them, which is along the lines of what you describe from Mr. Varoufakis, he was the man to do it. But it seems that that didn't particularly help the talks until now. You know, we've seen months of negotiations so far. So although Mr. Varoufakis is a popular figure with some, it seems that Mr. Tsipras decided it might be best for him to step down.

ASHER: And Mr. Varoufakis, in term of his controversial comments, he accused the Troika of spreading fear, saying that they wanted to humiliate Greeks, and he accused them of terrorism as well. I am wondering how ordinary Greeks reacted to those comments.

LABROPOULOU: I think a lot of Greeks are very pessimistic about what is happening and disillusioned with Europe and the creditors. They feel they have gone through five years of austerity and very hard times and what has been put on the table does not really get Greece out of that austerity cycle and much like the government, they have been supporting ideas of debt relief and anything that would show that Greece could be moving towards growth. People like Varoufakis have been expressing what a lot of Greek people feel and also the vote yesterday that no -- that resounding no at the referendum yesterday saying that Greece would not be prepared to accept a deal that does not include some kind of way to grow, some proposal that would enable Greece to get out of resection is very much in accordance to what Mr. Varoufakis has been saying all along and to how a lot of people feel.

[02:35:08] FOSTER: Let's talk about the practical implications of what happens now for Greeks. The banks are expected to be opening tomorrow. It doesn't seem likely they will be able to. If they are running out of cash they can't keep giving out $60 a day they were doing either. How are they going to get by?

LABROPOULOU: At the moment, it's going to be very difficult to see the banks reopen before a deal. This is also something that the government has actually said. The minister of state said the banks will reopen when there is a deal. Mr. Varoufakis and the prime minister have been saying we can get a deal wildfire before 48 hours. That remains to be seen. Until there is some kind of certainty and some way of pacifying people that, you know, they shouldn't just run to the banks and get their money out, it seems virtually impossible to see the banks reopening. It's something that the ECB will decides to provide extra liquidity, which the ECB will decide today whether it will carry on with its liquidity assistance to Greece or not, or increase it or keep it at the same levels.

FOSTER: Elinda, thank you very much. We'll be back with you throughout the day as the news sinks in as the finance minister, a very charismatic, powerful character, is going.

ASHER: And I'm curious whether or not Varoufakis' resignation will allow Tsipras a better negotiation platform with the Troika.

FOSTER: We just saw this from a Greek government spokesman, saying that "Varoufakis played a leading role in the negotiations as the finance minister. But the prime minister feels the need to thank him for his unrelenting efforts to promote his efforts for the Greek people."

ASHER: So we have heard from Alexis Tsipras on this issue.

FOSTER: A Greek exit from the Eurozone could have devastating effects on Greece and the entire Euro Zone. It could result in financial contagion. That's what some people are saying. We haven't seen it yet. And we have other debt-laden countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy.

ASHER: And some are fearing that post-Grexit Greece, or Greek exist, could forge closer ties with Russia or China, and that would upset the political balance of Europe and the West. And immigration could become a greater issue. Floods of Greeks battling homelessness and more could cross into neighboring countries as well, needing aid and wanting welfare.

FOSTER: As a Greek exit seems more and more likely, CNN's Tadhg Enright, looks back at Greece's entry into the group and how the country's debts began to build up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TADHG ENRIGHT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not every day that a new currency is born. And the Euro, created for the world's most important trading block, was exciting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Euro has been launched and a wonderful step forward has been achieved.

ENRIGHT: There were 15 countries then. But the U.K. and Denmark and Sweden didn't want a single currency. Those that did had to prove their economies were in good shape, including a maximum 3 percent budget deficit.

Greece was the last to hit the target. The enthusiastic candidate wasn't left out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Greece really wanted to get in and there was a tendency to take those who wanted to get in. And the thing is the Eurozone is a political animal. And there was not, in the political class, a sufficient understanding of the economic necessities for making it work.

ENRIGHT (on camera): In the years that followed Euro membership, Greeks borrowed more than was allowed under the rules. By 2004 it was more than double the limit at 7.5 percent. It was 9.9 percent in 2008, the year that the financial crisis hit. By then, lenders were worried and they were right to be so. Then came a bombshell, Athens confessed it had been lying about the true scale of these numbers.

(voice-over): In 2010, when the costs of borrowing became unsustainable, Europe and the IMF rose to Athens' rescue. This was bailout number one. NICOLAS SARKOZY, FORMER PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: What will remain of

Europe if the Euro disappears? What will remain of Europe if its economic heart collapses? Nothing.

ENRIGHT: But this wasn't easy money. The lenders demanded tax increases and spending cuts to balance the books. The economy stuttered and the debt mountain remained. But in 2012, bailout number two included debt relief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In retrospect, they got it late and probably too late. The Europeans have not been blameless. But the real issue here is that successive Greek governments can't ever really implement good policies.

[02:40:09] ENRIGHT: With one in four unemployed and the economy having shrunk 25 percent in five years, late last year, Greece selected a new leftist party to government. It pledged to resist any more austerity while keeping Greece's place in the Eurozone, two promises that now look increasingly impossible to keep.

Tadhg Enright, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Some grim news out of Africa. A week of violence has killed 200 people in Nigeria. Twin explosions in Jos (ph) where at least 15 people are dead.

ASHER: One blast happened near a mosque during Ramadan prayers, and the other at a restaurant in a Muslim neighborhood at sunset as people were breaking their Ramadan fast. There are no claims of responsibility just yet.

FOSTER: The arrest of an illegal immigrant for killing in California exposes major problems with America's deportation process. We'll have more on that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Today, lawmakers in South Carolina will begin debating whether to remove the Confederate flag from capitol grounds. This comes after calls from the governor and others to take the flag down after a racially motivated shooting at a predominately African- American church. A two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of the general assembly is necessary to remove it. Some South Carolina residents see the flag as symbol of pride and others as a symbol of hate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, how are you doing, and when I did, another fellow jumped on me. I got jumped. That was last Monday. You try to take down the Confederate memorial and take down the Ten Commandments in Oklahoma, you are starting all this stuff you can't handle.

[02:45:05] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All it takes is sometimes one person saying, think, think, it's just a symbol. Whether it's up there or in a museum, it's just a symbol. It's what we do with that symbol that is going to determine whether South Carolina is in the news for the wrong reasons or whether we are stepping off the grand stand and shaking hands and saying this is us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And South Carolina is actually the only state that still flies the Confederate flag on capitol rounds. But references to the Confederacy are still displayed on other flags. The seven flags you see here incorporate elements of Confederate imagery or allude to the Confederate past. South Carolina's flag was the battle flag for the Confederate States of America, which fought against the North during the American Civil War, which ended in 1865. Now one reason the state seceded was to preserve their right to keep slaves.

FOSTER: Now, the shooting death of a woman in San Francisco is exposing major problems with America's deportation process.

ASHER: CNN's Boris Sanchez has more on the story, including emotional comments from the woman's father, who watched her die.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Walking with his daughter, Kate, on a busy San Francisco pier Wednesday night, Jim Steinle heard a loud pop ring out.

JIM STEINLE, FATHER OF KATE: This was evil, evil personified.

SANCHEZ: Kate fell to the ground, hit by a bullet, the shooter running off without saying a word.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: There does not appear to be a connection between the victim and the suspect. At this point, it appears to be a random shooting incident.

SANCHEZ: The suspect? 45-year-old Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant and repeat felon. According to immigration officials, Lopez Sanchez has been deported five times to Mexico. In March, he was released from federal prison after serving time for sneaking back into the U.S.

Federal law enforcement sources tell CNN it would have been six deportations except authorities in San Francisco wanted him on a drug related warrant so U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement turned him over to deputies.

ICE officials say they requested an immigration detainer that would give them a head's up before he was released. But the sheriff's department denied the request, according to policy, before letting him go. The chief attorney telling CNN there was no legal cause to detain him. Lopez Sanchez now faces homicide charges.

STEINLE: It's not going to bring Kate back, again, them finding the guy and the justice will work its way through the system, but our focus is on Kate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Boris Sanchez with that report.

The suspect reportedly told CNN affiliate, KGO, he found the weapon on the ground and it accidentally fired when he picked it up.

ASHER: And more upbeat news. The United Nations has released its newest picks for the coveted World Heritage List. We'll tell you which places made the cut. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:52:12] FOSTER: Look at this video out of China. Drivers attempting to cross a flooded road amid extreme flooding.

ASHER: That is very brave, I've got to say.

FOSTER: I hope he is all right.

Pedram Javaheri has the details on the weather -- Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, this is incredible video out of China where we are seeing cars and motorcycles trying to cross the roads.

I don't know if you could pop that video up for me one more time.

This is incredible. And you see the truck trying to do the same and a bystander on the side of the road. And the force is inundating on the roads. It does not take much moving water and you look at the video again. It looks like a brief puddle, but just that, just ankle-deep water moving at six kilometers per hour can knock you off your feet. We say turn around, don't drown, is the statement used in the United States. Six inches will move you off your feet. You bring that to knee high, or 600 millimeters, that lifts cars and moves them down stream. It is counter intuitive. You say the water is below the door of the vehicle but it takes less water to move the vehicle in its entirety.

Show you what's happening because we have a trio of tropical systems in the Western and central Pacific. Linfa, north Philippines, we have had heavy rainfall in recent days. That storm system will weaken and bring some rains towards Taiwan. It is this particular feature, Chan- Hom that is sitting out there west of Guam that we are watching carefully. Models show the initial storm falling apart and it could get up to 240 kilometers per hour. That would be a supertyphoon. This would be one of the bigger stories of the year if it remains this strong. Okinawa, Taipei, eastern China all in line for damage with this storm system if it makes it there by the latter portion of the week.

And the other story is the heat across Europe. Is this an optical illusion? It is an incredible site as people try to cool off. In Germany, receiving the highest temperature Germany has ever observed in recorded history, 104 Fahrenheit. And Frankfurt at 100 Fahrenheit is occurring on Sunday. But notice a pattern shift here, we have some of the warmest weather moves east. London will begin a cooling trend. But severe storms in Hanover. Lightning strikes taking two lives over in Germany over the weekend. And we had hail size reports nearly the size of grapefruits or a teacup in diameter, about 3.5 inches or nine centimeters in Olpe, Germany. A big story there. It does warm up and then cool off again.

I know, Max, you are probably glad to be getting away from the London heat.

[02:55:17] FOSTER: The sun came out when I left.

PEDRAM: That happens.

FOSTER: We talk about heat waves.

ASHER: He is glad to be with us.

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: I feel bad talking about a heat wave in U.K. when you have temperatures like this in Atlanta.

PEDRAM: We will take you in Atlanta.

(LAUGHTER)

You are a welcome guest here.

FOSTER: Thank you, Pedram.

ASHER: Thank you, so much.

Well, over the weekend, the United Nations added nine new cultural sites to its World Heritage List, including a port in Uruguay, and an ancient tomb in Israel as well. Now, Scotland's bridge made the list as well. It opened in 1890 and still carries passengers and freight. It is the world's longest multi-span cantilever bridge.

FOSTER: And the windiest.

ASHER: Oh, you've been on it?

(LAUGHTER)

FOSTER: Yeah. The San Antonio missions also made the cut. This group of five structures built by Franciscan missionaries. And the Alamo. This landmark played a pivotal role in the Texas Revolution in 1836.

ASHER: Coming up next hour, we'll have much more on the breaking news out of Greece where the country's finance minister just resigned in a surprising move.

You're watching CNN. I'm Zain Asher. FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)