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Donald Trump on the Defensive; Jonathan Pollard to be Released; Goodell Upholds Brady Suspension; American Kills Famed African Lion; Scientists Warn Against Artificial Intelligence on Battlefield; Twitter Plays Pivotal Role in Global Events. Aired 1:30-2a ET
Aired July 28, 2015 - 01:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:09] JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Donald Trump on the defensive, this time it's a controversial comments made by one of his senior staff member.
ZAIN ASHER, CNNI HOST: Plus, NFL superstar Tom Brady loses his appeal in the Deflategate scandal. Why an old cell phone may have come back to haunt him.
VAUSE: And the hunter is now the hunted. Authorities in Zimbabwe are looking for an American dentist who they believe killed a famous lion illegally.
ASHER: Hello and a warm welcome to all our viewers in the United States and around the world. John and I are glad to be with you the next hour. I'm Zain Asher.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm here with Zain Asher and we begin this hour with another Donald Trump controversy. He's once again distancing himself from some controversial comments.
ASHER: Accept this time they aren't comments made by the billionaire frontrunner but a close adviser to his campaign.
Here's our Jeff Zeleny with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's presidential campaign has weathered one storm after another.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists.
ZELENY: But a new controversy over offensive language is suddenly hitting far closer to home. Tonight, as he keeps riding high in the polls, his team is trying to clean up yet another set of comments. This time it's has nothing to do with illegal immigration, but Trump's own long time marriage. His long time council and spokesman Michael Cohen is under fire for telling "the Daily Beast," you cannot rape your spouse. Those five words set off a firestorm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Stunning response, a decades old allegations against Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump's campaign is issuing a strong response this morning.
ZELENY: Cohen made the comment while trying to keep "the Daily Beast" from reprising 1989 allegation made Trump's first wife, Ivana. In their divorce proceedings, she allegedly said Trump once forced her to have sex against her will, a statement she later recanted.
Today, Cohen back tracked saying in my moment of shock and anger I made an inarticulate comment which I do not believe and which I apologize for entirely. Marital rape is again the law in all 50 states.
The Trump campaign, famously unapologetic, quickly distanced itself from Cohen who has been one of the most prominent faces of Trump's candidacy. Trump's campaign manager told CNN Michael Cohen is a corporate employee and is not affiliated with the campaign in any way.
In the middle of it all, Ivana Trump issued a statement of her own saying their divorce was a time of very high tension. But she add, I have nothing but fondness for Donald and wish him the best of luck on his campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Donald Trump.
ZELENY: All this, with only a week to go before the first Republican presidential debate as Trump's standings soar. Tonight, a new poll of New Hampshire voters shows Trump is on top of all GOP candidates with twice the support of his nearest rival, Jeb Bush.
BRUCE BLODGETT, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: He is doing well because he is speaking his mind. Because he is a breath of fresh air. People, you know, he is not like all the other politicians who have focus groups and who tell them what to say and how to say and exactly what words to use.
ZELENY: Jeff Zeleny, CNN, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: And CNN actually spoke to Donald Trump on Tuesday evening to ask about his adviser's comments. Trump admitted while he disagreed with Michael Cohen's comments regarding marriage and rape he's not going to fire or get rid of him. He also said that Cohen speaks for himself.
VAUSE: Mr. Trump was also asked about the upcoming presidential debate. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST, CNN TONIGHT: Now this debate is coming up. Are you ready for it?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have absolutely no idea how to answer that question. I am me. I don't have pollsters. I mean, I have a lot of money, much more money than all of them put together and all of that of their phony contributions put together, but you have to understand I want to be me. You know, they pay pollsters millions and millions of dollars, Don. You know that better than anyone and they won't answer a question.
You see with Jeb Bush, with the simple question that was asked about Iraq. It took five days to get the answer out. And I think Jeb is probably a nice person. I don't really know Jeb, but I think he is probably a nice person. But you can't rely on pollsters every time there is a question.
Same thing with Hillary Clinton. I mean, she doesn't want to answer any questions. She doesn't deal with the press. Everything is done by pollsters. And you know, my expression is if the pollsters were any good why aren't they running for office?
LEMON: But Donald, you are going to be up on the stage. You are going to have a timer, you are going to be up against the other candidates, are you preparing? Do you have a debate coach? Are you ready for this?
[01:04:58] TRUMP: I am what I am. I mean, bit debate coach. Look, Romney had a debate coach. Obama had a debate coach. Frankly, I thought Obama was terrible but Romney got worse and worse every time there was a debate. And by the time they had the third debate he was catastrophic. I don't know what happened to him.
I have to be myself, Don. And if it's not good enough, that's OK. I'll have, you know, I'll go on to other things. I'll ride into the sunset and do some more buildings and create some more jobs. And that's OK. I'm doing this because I want to make America great again and that is why I'm doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I am what I am.
ASHER: Is anybody else going to be able to speak during the debates? Is anybody else going to get a word in?
VAUSE: I really doubt it. And that first Republican debate will take place on August 6th in Cleveland, Ohio.
ASHER: OK. On to some other stories we are following.
Jonathon Pollard, a convicted spy for Israel will be soon free after spending nearly 30 years in a U.S. prison. Pollard was a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst sentenced to life behind bars for giving top secret U.S. government information to Israel.
VAUSE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is pleased with the U.S. decision and went on to say, quote "throughout his time in prison, I consistently raised the issue of his release in my meetings and conversations with the leadership of successive U.S. administrations. We are looking forward to his release. ASHER: And despite his happiness over Pollard's pending release,
Israeli's prime minister is strongly opposed to the Iran nuclear deal.
VAUSE: And that sentiment is shared by many Americans. On Tuesday, U.S. secretary of state John Kerry went to Capitol Hill to try and convince Congress they should approve the deal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iran's supreme leader sends a chilling message to President Obama. This image from his twitter account appears to portray the president holding a gun to his own head warning quote "if any war happens the one who will emerge loser will be the aggressive and criminal U.S." only giving fuel to opponents of the nuclear deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are presuming Iran will change its behavior and that behavior did not change last weekend when they were chanting again death to America.
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Chairman, please, with all due respect. We're not presuming any such thing. There's one objective, make sure they can't get a nuclear weapon.
LABOTT: On Capitol Hill, another bruising for Secretary Kerry trying to defend the deal against firm Republican opposition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stand for America. You represent America.
KERRY: Congressman, I don't need any lessons from you about who I represent. I have represented and fought for our country since I was out of college.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God bless you for your service, sir.
KERRY: Don't give me any lessons about that, OK.
LABOTT: A new CNN poll finds 52 percent of Americans want Congress to reject the deal, only 44 percent say it should be approved. In Africa, President Obama blamed quote "fast and loose attacks from Republican presidential contenders like Mike Huckabee who evoked the holocaust."
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is so naive he would trust the Iranians and he would take the Israelis and basically march them to the door of the oven.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The particular comments of Mr. Huckabee are I think part of just a general pattern that we have seen that would be considered ridiculous if it weren't so sad.
LABOTT: While the harshest push back to the deal is coming from Republicans, the president is struggling to keep his own party on board to override a veto. Even the chairwoman of the Democratic Party is at best noncommittal. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: There is a lot of
merit to the deal but a legitimate cause for concern. And I think this is a decision no member of Congress should make lightly.
LABOTT: The White House did pick up an important democratic endorsement. Congressman Sandy Leaven, the longest-serving Jewish member of Congress has come out in support of the deal. But Senator Chuck Schumer on tap to become the next Senate majority leader remains undecided. Despite mounting pressure from the president to support it.
Elise Labott, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Another big story making headlines in the United States. The National Football League upheld a four-game suspension for Tom Brady in his role in the so-called deflategate scandal. But a commissioner says Brady tried to hide the evidence destroying his cell phone. Investigators say that phone may have held incriminating text messages.
ASHER: Yes. A lot of patriot fans upset about this. Now, this controversy started when Brady's team, the New England Patriots were accused of under inflating game balls to get an edge in January's AFC championship game.
VAUSE: It seems the bottom line is the cover up is worse than the crime. If Brady had come clean right away, chances are he may have received a stern talking to and nothing more than a slap on the wrist. But now his legacy and reputation are tarnished.
For more, CNN sports anchor Rachel Nichols joins us now from New York.
So Rachel, when Brady destroyed that cell phone, did he destroy his credibility at the same time?
[01:10:03] RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well first, I have to make it clear that Tom Brady had an assistant destroy his cell phone. I don't know what's going on in the Tom Brady, Giselle entourage. Maybe they have like cell phone destructor as one of the position that's open to them. But yes, he claims that this is something that is usually done by someone who works for him. That they regularly - that he will switch cell phones and that he will regularly have that cell phone and sim card destroyed for privacy reasons. And clearly, I mean, as much as I am joking around, Tom Brady and Giselle have a very public life. There are people who probably go through their trash wanting to get little tidbits on them. So, it is not so out of the realm that this is something that he may regularly do or have someone do for him.
But what is suspicious and what really got to NFL investigators is that he did it on the day the NFL investigation came to him to meet with him. And that is suspicious, especially since he was aware before that day that they would want his electronic records. Also, in addition, I just got to jump in and tell you that a cell
phone previous to this four-month period that is really in question has surfaced. So the NFL is saying, wait, if that phone wasn't destroyed why was the important cell phone destroyed? So there is just a lot of question marks here.
VAUSE: Didn't he have three cell phones and only one was destroyed and the one that was destroyed was the one with the 10,000 text messages on it that were pertinent to the investigation.
NICHOLS: I mean, look. No one can say how many cell phones Tom Brady has or hasn't had. But yes, that's the one that was destroyed is certainly the one that they wanted to see and that there was at least one other one that they found that was not destroyed.
VAUSE: OK. So legally though, Brady can argue he was under no obligation to turn that phone over.
NICHOLS: Absolutely.
VAUSE: So will that be the basis of a federal appeal?
NICHOLS: Well, they are going to now appeal not really on any of this stuff, not on the merits of did he deflate or not deflate the footballs. They won't talk about the cell phone. The appeal process will be on the procedure. Because, really, the way the American court systems work with arbitration, that is the only thing you can appeal to an outside federal court. So they will basically go and make the claim of hey, Roger Goodell and his office made the initial punishment for Tom Brady. Then Roger Goodell was the appeals hearing officer on his own punishment. And by the way, he was also a witness in the case.
So Roger Goodell, the judge was overseeing a Roger Goodell decision while Roger Goodell was a witness being questioned in front of Roger Goodell, the judge. Now, the collective bargaining agreement that the players signed with the league allowed for that procedure but they will say to a court, hey, laws of the shop, which is a labor law in the country that he should not have been allowed to do that. At some point it is just becomes too ridiculous.
VAUSE: Is it especially sad that Brady has been done in on what seems to be a really stupid, old, dumb rule which is ignored by almost every quarterback?
NICHOLS: Well, my personal opinion is if you cheat you cheat. And that all rules are there for a reason and you can't start having players decide which rules are or are not important enough to follow.
But that being said this is minor. And if it was cheating, then it was cheating in the smallest way. It was not something that was influencing the outcome of games. And you do wish that both Tom Brady and the NFL could have stopped this train earlier. There are so many different ways they could have downgraded this conflict. And instead at every turn, there were more lawyers, there were more appeals, there was more arguing. And now we find ourselves with the most powerful man in American sports, Roger Goodell, facing off against the most celebrated face of American athletics, Tom Brady, the winningest quarterback of the century in a sport that Americans hold the most dear. They are on opposite sides of what has really become tawdry.
VAUSE: Rachel, great to speaking with you. Thank you for your insights. We really appreciate it.
NICHOLS: Thank you.
ASHER: Yes, certainly having that cell phone destroyed, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: It is a way to cover up. We should also say a four-game suspension is a big deal. They only play 16 games in the season. That's why it is such a stiff penalty.
ASHER: Yes. It is only the stiff penalty. We will keep an eye on that story.
Now, meantime in Texas, authorities have released hours of video in an effort to quell rumors that Sandra Bland was dead before she was brought to jail. Officials say the woman wearing the orange jump suit inside this video, that is Sandra Bland.
VAUSE: She was found dead inside her jail cell three days after being arrested for a traffic citation that happened on July 10th. Officials say she hanged herself with a plastic bag. Her family, though, and others have questioned that account. Rumors quickly spread on social media that Bland was in fact dead when this mug shot was taken. But officials say those rumors just simply are not true.
ASHER: The New York prison worker who helped two inmates escape is facing prison time herself. Joyce Mitchell tearfully pleaded guilty. See her wiping her face on Tuesday. She pleaded guilty to promoting prison contra brand and facilitating the escape. Charges that could bring up to seven years behind bars.
[01:15:03] VAUSE: While police searched for the two men back in June, Mitchell told authorities how she fraud and delivered tools to help the inmates break out. She also talked about the plot to kill her husband and how she had a sexual relationship with one of the prisoners.
ASHER: Meantime, an American dentist is sought in the death of a prize lion in Zimbabwe. Walter Palmer said in a statement that he hired professional guides and that he thought his hunting trip was legal.
VAUSE: Zimbabwe officials, though, say the 13-year-old lion named Cecil was killed illegally.
David McKenzie has more now on the lion's death and renewed calls to change hunting regulations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cecil was one of Africa's best known lions, a major tourist draw for Zimbabwe. Conservation has sent police say he was lured out this national park and killed by an American hunter. Alleging it is this man, Dr. Walter Palmer, an avid trophy hunter in his 50s and a dentist from Minnesota.
In a statement, Palmer admits to killing Cecil, but he says he didn't know the lion's significance and relied on the expertise of local guides. Cecil's killing has sparked outrage on social media and renewed calls to ban trophy hunting.
This is a very large male.
Conservationists like (INAUDIBLE) have been calling for a ban for years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Killing such an animal just because you want to have and then may be skin on your wall. To me it is a form of sickness.
MCKENZIE: Does it make you angry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Extremely angry.
MCKENZIE: (INAUDIBLE) runs Lions Rock, a sanctuary in South Africa that has rescued scores of big cats. Many of them were bred just to be hunted.
When he was just a few weeks old, Conn (ph) was taken away from his mother. He was bred to be killed and trophy hunters for a gorgeous black mane lion like that will pay tens of thousands of dollars.
Hunting groups say that money can be funneled back in to conservation. But lion numbers have plummeted up to 90 percent in Africa.
Wow. Should trophy hunting be a crime?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is murder. It is really cold blood killing of creature that can defend. Because if she can defend then OK, we are equal.
MCKENZIE: And (INAUDIBLE) and other conservationists want the killing of Cecil to spark change.
David McKenzie, CNN, Lions Rock, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We will have more on the story later this hour. We will speak with an animal activist who believes the whole system of selling these licenses to raise money to protect endangered species is in fact wrong.
ASHER: Of course, it is also important to note that Walter Palmer does say that he only knew the identity of the lion after he killed it. But of course, a lot of people are very upset that the lion was killed in the first place.
VAUSE: Walter Palmer a dentist in Minnesota, just check out his Facebook page.
NATO is pledging its support to Turkey's war against terrorism but hear why some are concerned about airstrikes against a key ISIS enemy, that's when we come back.
ASHER: And later, robots on the battlefield and a stern warning from some of the world's leading scientists.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:20] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.
In the United States, a South Florida man is under arrest charged with plotting to use a weapons of mass destruction. The FBI says the suspect planned to bury a nail bomb on a beach in Key West and set it off with a cell phone.
ASHER: The suspect's name is Harlem Suarez. He is 23. He first came to investigators attention after posting pro ISIS messages on Facebook.
VAUSE: Next to Turkey where the country's military has new support for its fight against terrorists. NATO leaders on Tuesday condemned recent attacks inside of Turkey and along the border with Syria.
ASHER: But there's some concern about who exactly Turkey is targeting.
Here's our Barbara Starr with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Turkish warplanes pound Kurdish targets this time in northern Iraq after a round of air strikes inside of Syria. It comes as NATO held a rare session to hear Turkey's rising concerns over the terror threat it faces along its border from both ISIS and the Kurds.
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: All of us stand in solidarity with Turkey.
STARR: The U.S. wants to focus on the fight against is. But the Turkish president making clear he is also going after Kurdish militants opposing this government.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (THROUGH translator): Those who walk in the countryside and in big cities wearing masks and carrying guns will get the necessary response from our security forces.
STARR: The Obama administration willing to back Turkey against Kurds known as the PKK, a group Washington already labels as a terrorist organization.
The Pentagon still trying to work with moderate Kurds and the Turks in northern Syria to fight is. U.S. military planners are now finalizing how and when the U.S. will conduct airstrikes from bases in southern Turkey providing essential air cover to highly effective Kurdish fighters, Syrian rebels and protect civilians on the ground.
COL. PETER MANSOOR (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: We are going to be walking a very fine line with the application of our air power. It's hard to specifically just target ISIS targets when you have Turkish troops now on the border.
STARR: The newly proposed safe zone is envisioned to be a 68-mile strip along Syria's border west of the Euphrates River reaching toward Aleppo. But it is not clear how the U.S. and Turkey will revolve their different goals.
[01:25:01] MANSOOR: I'm sure they realize we are not going to attack the Kurds, but they will. And so, this is going to be a tight rope that we are walking with the Turks.
STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: The leader of the militant Pakistani group has been killed by police in an attempted jailbreak. (INAUDIBLE) prime minister say that (INAUDIBLE) and 13 others were killed.
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) among the dead, (INAUDIBLE) was on a U.S. list of global terrorist and his group claimed responsibility for the death of hundreds of mostly Shiite Muslims.
And Libyan court has sentenced to death the son of former leader Moammar Gadhafi. (INAUDIBLE) was charged with killing protesters in the 2011 revolution that ousted his father. Several other officials from the Gadhafi regime were also sentenced to death.
VAUSE: Saif was not at the trial. He was last known to be held by a militia group captured - which captured him in 2011. Human rights says Saif has not been seen or heard from for more than a year.
ASHER: Officials in France and Britain are working with to increase security at the euro tunnel after 2,000 migrants tried to cross late Monday night. A tunnel official said the migrant entered through the French side and were trying to reach the United Kingdom.
VAUSE: Some were hurt. The French interior minister said the migrants were pushed back, though, by police and a number of arrests were made.
And with this programming note. All of this week, CNN is bringing exclusive reporting on the desperate measures so many people are taking to flee their country in hopes of making it to Europe. Be sure to watch part one of Arwa Damon's special series "Migrant Journeys" coming up next hour right here on CNN. ASHER: Coming up, we are going to bring you a little bit more on a
story we brought you earlier. Police have identified an American man who killed one of Zimbabwe's most revered lions. Ahead, why he says his hunt was legal.
VAUSE: And then still to come, a little boy without hands and feet once dreamed of playing football. Thought it was impossible but now it is a reality because of an incredible team of doctors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to say to you guys, thank you for helping me do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:44] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live all around the world with. I'm John Vause.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Zain Asher. Let's give you your headlines.
Israel's prime minister is praising the U.S. decision to release a convicted spy, Jonathon Pollard, after 30 years in prison. Pollard will be paroled in November. Israel had already admitted to paying the former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst to pass on top-secret American government information.
VAUSE: The National Football League has upheld a four-game suspension for star quarterback, Tom Brady. The league commissioner said Brady tried to hide evidence in the so-called Deflategate investigation by having his cell phone destroyed. Brady's team, the New England Patriots, were accused of under-inflating footballs to get an edge during a championship game.
ASHER: Authorities in Zimbabwe say they're seeking a U.S. dentist illegally killed a prize lion at a national park. 13-year-old Cecil was revered by visitors and locals. The American, Walter Palmer, said he hired a professional guide and thought his hunting trip was legal and properly handled.
VAUSE: Walter Palmer, the dentist from Minnesota, defends his actions and there has been a roar of outrage over the lion's death around the world over the lion's death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are going to do something like that, go out in the wild where the animal has a chance to get revenge against you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is stupid that people could take a life like that, whether it is human or not.
Jeff Rocken, with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, is joining us from Washington.
Jeff, for most people it would seem -- hunting and killing an endangered animal is a way to protect an endangered species.
JEFF ROCKEN, INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE: You're absolutely right. The majority of American people around the world don't want to see imperiled species killed for sport. It is counterintuitive and it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make economic, biological sense or ethical sense.
VAUSE: Isn't this whole system of legal trophy hunting open to corruption any way? There is no guarantee the huge license fees paid by people, like Palmer, the dentist from Minnesota, that the money even winds up where it is meant to go.
ROCKEN: There are many questions about that. Even if some of the money goes where it is supposed to go, is it meaningful amounts? Studies have shown with lavish Hunts, 3 to 5 percent of the income from the hunt ends up for local people on the ground where the hunt happens and there are better ways to earn this money. Revenue from nature tourism, where the animal is not killed, brings in three to 15 times what is brought in from these trophy Hunts in Africa.
VAUSE: It has been banned in some countries in Africa, still legal in others. What will it take for something like this to be essentially outlawed everywhere?
ROCKEN: I think, first of all, this outcry shows what people believe. The more these issues are looked at and the more people talk about what is going on it is hopefully going to be something of the past. One of the problems with the legality of it is sometimes law takes a while to catch up with science. In 2011, there was a petition based on the best available trade and science data trying to get the species protected. It's been three years and the U.S. government is still looking at the petition to decide if it warrants protection. In the meantime the species has declined. We know African lions are in trouble. They have declined 60 percent in the last three decades. That's a very steep decline. And other species imperiled, like elephants and rhinos, and species suspected in trouble, like leopards and giraffe, are hunted for trophies, as well.
VAUSE: Walter Palmer, the dentist from Manhattan, who carried out this hunt, his defense is he thought it was legal, relying on the guides. He doesn't think he has done anything wrong here. Even so it seems incredibly cruel the way the lion was killed. Shot with a cross bow, left staggered wounded for 40 hours and finally gunned down.
ROCKEN: Because it is legal, does not make it right. If the reports are true this was a horrible way for this iconic animal to die over a long period of time, hunted and killed. This should never happen to any animal.
[01:35:05] VAUSE: Now that Cecil is dead, what happens to his pride?
ROCKEN: That's a great question. With lions, they have a complex social structure. Studies have shown when the dominant male is taken out, it has a ripple effect. Other lion life could be lost because the pride has become destabilize. Coalitions of stray males will try to take it over. When that happens, it that can battle with some adult males left in the pride and males could be killed on either side. If they are successful they could wipe out all of the young and females could die defending the young. It is a ripple effect. Not just one lion that could be killed. It could be many.
VAUSE: We should note these trophy hunts happen all the time. This isn't a one-off.
Thank you for speaking with us, Jeff.
ROCKEN: Thank you very much.
ASHER: Meantime, in the United States, another hunt for a big cat is taking place in Milwaukee. We're not sure. It may be a lion or a cougar. Nobody knows for sure. Whatever it is, on the loose and making a lot of people in this area very, very nervous.
VAUSE: The animal was first spotted July 20th prowling through someone's private house. Authorities have been looking for it for a few days now. The Milwaukee Zoo has not reported any missing cats. So officials think it may be an exotic pet that escaped, maybe Walter Palmer from Minnesota, the dentist could be in the area hunting it. Who knows?
ASHER: A quick break on CNN. When we come back, we have seen killer robots in sci-fi movies for decades. Still ahead, hear why scientists like Stephen Hawking are warning against artificial intelligence on the battlefield.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: There is it. In central Canada, they had to take cover from violent storms. This is one. Massive tornado ripped across farmland and prairies on Monday for an incredibly long three hours.
ASHER: You can hear people screaming.
VAUSE: That was Ivan.
(LAUGHTER)
ASHER: Joining us is Ivan Cabrera.
IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I would be screaming.
VAUSE: Sheer terror.
CABRERA: The people screaming are the chasers out there. They do this for a living. Sheer excitement.
(CROSSTALK)
[01:40:16] You get close to something like that, that is a wedge tornado. They don't get much more powerful than that.
ASHER: It ripped the asphalt off the road. CABRERA: How about that? We have the Fujita scale, a damage scale.
They go out and survey the damage and by the kind of damage the tornado made is how to determine what the speeds were. This skirted farmland so I don't think we will get the true force of what this was, which was probably between an EF 3 and 5.
VAUSE: So they were lucky. They dodged a big bullet.
CABRERA: Yes. Open fields is where you want a wedge tornado. That's where we were here across southwestern Manitoba. If it hit Winnipeg it would be a different story. Look at the storm system here. Dynamic here. On the backside of it we have snow. Snowing big sky, Montana if you can believe that in the peaks. 10,000 feet up. That's impressive this time of the year. We are in august after all. Fly in here closer. There's Manitoba, Canada, and there's the tornado touchdown, extreme southwestern Manitoba, the cell that moved up. A clear rotation there on the radar perspective and you can see that is indicative of a tornado signature there and so certainly thankfully no one hurt with this tornado. We continue to see this low moving to the north and east. On the eastern flank of it, here, terrific thunderstorms have been exploding ahead of it.
The big story, well out ahead of the storm is the heat. Are you ready for triple-digits? It's not that you are ready. We are used to it at this point in the south central U.S. We have been under the gun as far as the heat with temperatures that will feel from 100 to 110 degrees later this afternoon. That's an ongoing situation. We are now sharing the heat with our friends in the northeast. Get ready. We are going to continue with temperatures -- look at Philly here, low to mid-90s. New York, low 90s once get over the next few days and in to the weekend. Boston in the upper 80s. This is an official heat wave for the northeast. It is summer, typical summer for the south but in the northeast low 90s for an extended period. That's what we are talking about only saving grace is by Friday we will have a front move through. It will not do much for the temperatures but what it will do by Friday afternoon is bring the humidity down. So the low 90s will feel like low 90s opposed to --
(CROSSTALK)
ASHER: You step out of your car and it just hits you.
CABRERA: Yes, a steam bath out there.
(CROSSTALK)
Well, I can, but then you would talk about blizzards and snowstorms.
VAUSE: So where do you stand on killer robots? For or against?
(CROSSTALK)
CABRERA: They are coming. That's all I know. I'm terrified of Siri. I think she's --
(CROSSTALK) ASHER: "iRobot," the Will Smith movie.
VAUSE: A group of leading scientists are on your side. They are warning against these killer robots.
Thank you, Ivan.
ASHER: Thank you, Ivan.
Stephen Hawking and Elan Musk are among those who say such artificial intelligence could lead to a new arms race that would not, would not --
VAUSE: Oddly enough.
ASHER: -- would not benefit humanity.
Here's our Max Foster with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: They are starting to take over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The idea of killer robots threatening to take over the world is nothing new.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: If we uplink now, Skynet will be in control of your military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Movies like "Terminator" have made sure of that. But fears that this science fiction could become science fact are now growing more real. A group of the world's leading scientists and tech experts, including physicist, Stephen Hawking; and Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, have issued a stark warning an open letter published today. They say autonomous weapons systems, which use artificial intelligence to select targets without human intervention, should be banned. Predicting that in the wrong hands, killer roboting could be used for assassinations and ethnic cleansing and would lead to a global arms race to rival the nuclear era.
The U.S. military has invested heavily in the development of robotics for use on the battlefield, but mostly in a non-lethal capacity. This four-legged friend has been designed to help soldiers carry heavy gear across rough terrain without the need for a driver. And this tiny machine can creep across enemy lines and is equipped with infrared cameras.
Lethal drones have been used for years by the United States and others to hunt terrorists in countries like Afghanistan. Operating without a pilot on board, they still rely on a human being for the final deadly pull of the trigger.
Both Israel and South Korea have used semi-autonomous lethal sentry robots on their troubled borders, but until now, no one has developed a machine that can make decisions and kill entirely on its own.
Tuesday's letter from experts warns that fully autonomous killer robots could be deployed within years, not decades. The warning comes ahead of a U.N. meeting in November, which will see countries discuss whether to pursue a ban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBOT: Don't arm me.
[01:45:37] Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Who would have thought the movie "Terminator" would be based on a true story.
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: It all started with "Lost in Space," didn't it? The evil robot sabotaged the spaceship, the Smith family.
ASHER: And then iRobot, that actually came to James Cameron in a dream. He woke up and --
VAUSE: The Robinson family. I went back to the '60s and '70s television.
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: Next here on CNN --
(CROSSTALK)
ASHER: Before my time, I think, possibly.
VAUSE: Possibly.
Next here on CNN NEWSROOM, a great story, a great story, an inspiring story. A little boy, first child ever to receive a double hand transplant.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:50:08] VAUSE: Look at the time. It is almost 2:00 in the morning here in the United States, and President Obama is back home in the White House after his Africa tour. Earlier, he landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after his visit to Kenya and Ethiopia.
Mr. Obama ended his time with a speech before the African Union. ASHER: He spoke about African heritage and women's rights and he also
joked about running for a third term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Under our constitution, I cannot run again.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I can't run again.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I actually think I'm a pretty good president. I think if I ran, I could win. But I can't.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: He was trying to encourage African leaders to term limits.
(LAUGHER)
VAUSE: That's a good thing.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: No president for life.
VAUSE: Mr. Obama said also said he is looking forward to life after the presidency and, of course, spending more time with his family.
VAUSE: Meantime, the website "Politico" is reporting that President Obama held private meetings with the comedian and the host of "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart. This happened at the White House. "Politico" discovered the meetings, which had not been publicly reported until now, in the official White House visitors' log. We don't know exactly what they talked about during those meetings.
ASHER: But we do know the president requested his visit with Stewart in 2011 and 2014. "Politico" reports that top White House aides knew that, of course, Stewart's show, the daily show was influential and made sure to field calls and e-mails from him and his staff.
VAUSE: Twitter shares had a turbulent day on Tuesday following a report of the tech company's earnings. The stock shot up by 5 percent after Twitter beat expectations in the second quarter with revenue of more than half a billion dollars.
ASHER: Growth was not as strong, rising 15 percent from the previous year. Interim CEO Jack Dorsey told investigators that new Twitter features were not attracting and keeping new users. That, of course, was worrying for investors, and that sent shares diving 11 percent in after-trading hours. VAUSE: Now despite the problems, Twitter's influence continues to
grow.
ASHER: From a pop star taking on a tech giant to European politicians airing grievances on social media, the platform is playing a pivotal role in global events.
Here's our CNN correspondent, Clare Sebastian.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From politics to popular culture, over the past few months, Twitter has been at the center of it all.
ALEXIS TSIPRAS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SEBASTIAN: Athens an example. The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announcing a shock referendum on the bailout terms. It didn't end there. Throughout that day, he tweeted 23 times, each more defiant than the last.
TSIPRAS: We don't need to ask permission to let the voice of the Greek people to be heard.
SEBASTIAN: As the crisis escalated, parallel protests unfolded on the streets and on Twitter. The Greek finance minister even tweeting out his resignation.
MARK SCHAEFER, AUTHOR & SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT: Today, there is an expectation of transparency. There's a lot of politics that take place on Twitter. And it can be perilous. Some of these negotiations are extremely complex.
SEBASTIAN: They don't come much more complex than a nuclear deal with Iran.
(on camera): To say key parts of this historic moment played out on Twitter would be an understatement. On the day the deal was reached, the Iranian's president's Twitter account sent out 21 tweets. And the White House, faced with the task of selling the deal to a skeptical Congress, went one step further.
(on camera): They set up a new account at the Iran deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finally using Twitter for what it was designed for, explaining complex nuclear agreements involving several nations.
(LAUGHTER)
SEBASTIAN: Jerks aside, Twitter has become a powerful tool, and no one knows that better than Taylor Swift.
(SINGING)
SEBASTIAN: On June 21st, the pop star tweeted "To Apple, love, Taylor," to her 61 million followers. It was an open letter saying she would not release her album on Apple's new music service because the company wasn't paying artists during the three-months free trial. Her protest worked. Apple reversed its policy.
SCHAEFER: I think it is an amazing example of how influence and authority has been democratized today. And here we have performer who stopped one of the most powerful companies in the world in their tracks really within 24 hours.
SEBASTIAN: Twitter, the company, is in a period of transition. The power its users can wield seems to be greater than ever.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:55:06] ASHER: Got to love Taylor Swift.
Another story we are following, all 8-year-old Zion Harvey dreamed of doing is being able to throw a football. But after a serious infection that resulted in the amputation of his hands and feet, many thought his dream would never come true.
VAUSE: That all changed earlier this month when he received two new hands in the world's very first pediatric hand transplant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZION HARVEY, RECEIVED DOUBLE HAND TRANSPLANT: I want to say to you guys thank you for helping me do this. Thank you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Oh, so cute.
VAUSE: Yeah, the ground-breaking operation at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia required a team of 40 doctors and nurses.
ASHER: Zion is undergoing intense hand therapy several times a day to improve his hand function and he looks forward to returning home and, of course, finally tossing around that football.
VAUSE: If that didn't make you smile, you don't have a heart.
ASHER: Such a beautiful story.
VAUSE: And I don't normally have a heart.
(LAUGHTER)
ASHER: Thank you for watching everyone. I'm Zain Asher.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause.
Stay with us. Errol Barnett, behind the desk for the next hour.
ASHER: Hello.
VAUSE: You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:09] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: ISIS influence in the United States. Federal agents says this man from plotting to bomb a beach
