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Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv; Concerns over Terrorist Threat Ahead of Euro 2016 Tournament; Will Rio be Ready? New York Times Editor Leaves Twitter over anti-Semitic Abuse; Disneyland Shanghai Set to Open. Aired 8- 9a ET

Aired June 09, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:13] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now, Israel takes immediate action after terrorists murder innocent diners in Tel Aviv. How the government is responding just ahead.

Now, France prepares for one of the world's biggest football tournaments. And and on the eve of Euro 2016, security threats still loom large.

And the wonderful world of Disney in China. Shanghai's very own fantasy kingdom is about to open its doors and CNN gets a peek inside.

We begin in Israel where the government is taking action after a terror attack in the heart of Tel Aviv. Now, four people were killed when gunmen

opened fire inside a popular food and shopping complex on Wednesday.

Now, the government's response has been swift. The Israeli army is sending hundreds of more troops to the West Bank. And Israel has suspended entry

permits for 83,000 Palestinians.

Now, the attack it was captured on surveillance camera. And a warning for you now, the footage is disturbing to watch.

Now, the red circles that you see in the footage, those were added by Israel's Channel 2, which provided they showed the two gunmen as the attack

unfolded.

You can see terrified diners, they are just running for their lives. Israel's security agency says

that the two suspects now in custody are both Palestinians from a village in the West Bank.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINSITER OF ISRAEL: This is a savage crime of murder, and terrorism in the heart of Tel Aviv. I think a larger tragedy

was avoided by the resolute action of the citizens, of the security people, police. We're going to take the necessary steps to attack the attackers,

and to defend those who need to be defended.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Tel Aviv. She joins us now live. And Oren, a day after the attack, the cafes, the restaurants there, they're

back open for business. I mean, describe the scene right now and also tell us more about how the Israeli government is responding.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you pointed out, these restaurants

opened up less than 12 hours after this terror attack and it's almost bizarre to say this, but there is a little bit of a festive atmosphere at

the Sarona market (ph) where all of this unfolded late last night.

I'll tell you that it started here behind me. This is Max Brenner. This where the attack started, this is where you saw that surveillance video

from, the two terror suspects that made their way from this restaurant to the other restaurant and then kept making their way this way. They were

arrested a short distance away after they split up.

The Tel viv mayor urged people not to let terror disturb their lives, disrupt their lives, and told people to come out. They have listened.

He also told them to not stop believing, to keep believing in peace. And they responded to that too. Ever since these restaurants opened up, we've

seen a number of people out here essentially going on with their lives. They commemorate. They memorialize and they move on. And, Kristie, that's

what we've seen here.

As for the Israeli response, it has come swiftly. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to attack the attackers. And the defense minister was

here a short while ago. He said words won't solve this.

We've already seen, as you mentioned, 83,000 Palestinian permits frozen -- that's for Palestinians to move from the West Bank through military check

points to Israel. So that, as of right now, will no longer be allowed. No word on how long that freeze can last.

Also as part of Ramadan, as part of the holy month Israel has generally eased the restrictions, the travel restrictions on Palestinians allowing

Gazans to pray in Jerusalem, allowing those in the West Bank to visit their families. They have frozen that as well. That is part of their response.

One last thing, they have also added two battalions -- two Israeli military battalions to the West

Bank -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Oren, although it appears to be back in business there seem to be back in

business, the market, the cafes, the restaurants behind you there in Tel Aviv, have you seen more security, more police units deployed throughout

the city?

LIEBERMANN: Well, we spent most of our day here, so I haven't seen much of the rest of the city, I'll tell you that the big security concern, of

course, especially after last night, was right here. And here, we have seen an increased security presence.

It's been months now that there has been a word that it simply wasn't secure enough here, especially compared to the places right around here.

We're not far from the ministry of defense, and a mall, a shopping mall connected to the ministry of defense, both of which have very tight

security, unlike, it seems, here. The Sorona Market (ph) is accessible from almost all sides. It's open even now. And I walked around, wasn't

checked at any point while walking here.

So security remains a concern here. And that is something the Israelis will have to answer if they intend to keep this open people coming here. I

want to talk about the other security aspect, and that's the question of how did two automatic weapons get from the West Bank through Israel

military checkpoint into Israel, that is a very serious concern that the Israelis will have to answer -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Oren Lierbermann reporting for us live from Tel Aviv. Thank you, Oren.

Now, this attack is also likely to raise another concern, a concern just mentioned by our correspondent, the weapons possibly moving from the West

Bank into Israel.

Now, Michael Oren is a member of the Israeli Knesset and the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. He is in Tel Aviv. He spoke to CNN about this

issue a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL OREN, ISRAELI KNESSET MEMBER: These are questions which the Israeli security forces are going to be examining very closely. It's not

the first time that Palestinians have succeed in smuggling weapons. We have a very long border with the West Bank. It cannot be hermetically

sealed, but we do -- our security forces usually do an outstanding good job in preventing such attacks.

Where I'm interviewing with you now is about a 20-minute walk from the Sorona (ph) site, but far beyond that, there was another terrorist attack

at a bar several months before.

So, again, not hermetically sealed, we have to draw lessons from what occurred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Well, Hamas is praising the attack, but the Islamist group did not claim responsibility.

And as Israel deals with the aftermath of that shocking attack in Tel Aviv, Iraq is reeling from a day that saw two suicide bombings, one targeted a

military camp north of Baghdad. Iraq's interior ministry says three soldiers were killed. And elsewhere, a car bomb exploded near a cinema in

the east of Baghdad killing at least 19 people. Dozens more are wounded.

And ISIS is claiming responsibility for both attacks.

Iraq is waging a battle against ISIS west of Baghdad of course in Fallujah. And Iraqi forces are now claiming a partial victory against the group in

Fallujah.

But as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports, tens of thousands of civilians, they remain trapped there . And they face a life or death situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iraqi officials announced today their forces were able to retake the first neighborhood in

Fallujah, Shuhada, which is in the southeastern corner of the city. They say they managed to battle their way in, driving out ISIS and raising the

Iraqi flag over government buildings. They say the focus of the current offensive is that southeastern part of the city, which is the closest to

the city center. They say they were able to retake Shuhada with minimal casualties, although officers I spoke with didn't give specific details on

casualties and fatalities. They say their biggest challenge so far has been the hundreds of improvised explosive devices laid by ISIS in this city.

Now, at this point, there's rising concern about the welfare of tens of thousands of civilians still stuck inside Fallujah. Estimates range

anywhere from 40,000 to 90,000, according to the United Nations.

Now, there's also concern about persistent reports that Iraqi paramilitary units are abusing and, in some cases, summarily executing some of the

civilians who are leaving the city. We have been told by Iraqi officials they have launched an investigation into the allegations and that whoever

is found guilty will be harshly punished.

Now Iraqi officials and Western diplomats say as many as anywhere between 1,000 to 3,000 militants remain in the city. Now, we were outside Shuhada

neighborhood yesterday and we did hear ISIS militants communicating with one another on the radio. Iraqi officials who monitor that radio traffic

around the clock say they have heard that orders had gone out to ISIS militants to shave off their beards and prepare to blend in with the

civilian population. At this point, Iraqi officials believe those ISIS militants left in Fallujah, particularly the non-Iraqis, are likely to

fight to the death.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, here on the screen next to me, you're looking at the face of a husband in mourning in Pakistan. His wife, you see a picture of her

here on his smart phone, she was killed in this horrifying act of violence. Police say that the couple had eloped, but the wife returned home thinking

that she could reconcile with her family. Instead, her mother and her brother tied her to a bed, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire.

She died on the spot.

Authorities say the mother later turned herself over while the brother is still on the run.

Now, crimes like these are not uncommon in Pakistan where women face brutal punishment for

behavior viewed as bringing dishonor to a family or village.

Now to learn more, just go to our Website CNN.com.

Now, Japan says that it is deeply concerned about a Chinese warship entering waters near a

disputed group of islands. Now, the vessel was detected close to the the Senkoku Islands, also known as the Diaoyu Islands. They are claimed by

both Beijing and Tokyo, but this is the first time a Chinese ship has been spotted there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOSHIHIE SUGA, JAPANESE CIVIL CABINET SECRETARY (through translator): We are deeply concerned that Chinese naval ships entered the waters contiguous

to our Senkoku Islands for the first time. And this behavior unilaterally escalated tensions.

We in coordination with the United States and the international community strongly demand China not repeat such behaviors that unilaterally heighten

tensions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And this is not the first incident in the East China Sea this week. You may remember on Tuesday officials said a U.S. military aircraft

was intercepted by a Chinese fighter jet in a so-called unsafe manner.

Now, in just about three hours from now, U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Bernie Sanders. Now, they are expected to talk about uniting the

Democratic Party. There are calls for Sanders to drop out of the presidential race now that Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic

nominee.

CNN's Athena Jones joins us now live from Washington with more on the story. And Athena, is this meeting all about putting the pressure on

Sanders to leave the race?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Krsitie. Well, this meeting is about party unity. We know from aides that the president is not going to

directly ask Senator Sanders to drop out. They're very sensitive about this. They want to make sure they don't alienate Senator Sanders' millions

of very enthusiastic supporters. And so the White House has said that Senator Sanders has more than earned the right to make this decision on his

own.

The president wants to hear Sanders out. And he wants to begin to move the senator toward

acceptance of Hillary Clinton as the nominee and that's of course a key and some would say necessary step toward party unity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: This morning, President Obama meeting with Bernie Sanders.

OBAMA: My hope is that over the next couple of weeks we're able to pull things together.

JONES: Increasing pressure on the Vermont senator to end his primary fight now that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee.

OBAMA: Bernie Sanders brought enormous energy and new ideas, and he pushed the party and challenged them. I thought it made Hillary a better

candidate.

JONES: The president is expected to congratulate Sanders, but also discuss his role as a unifying figure that can mobilize enthusiasm behind Clinton

as they look to take on Donald Trump.

OBAMA: The main role I'm going to be playing in the process is to remind the American people that this is a serious job. You know, this is not

reality TV.

SEN.BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The struggle continues.

JONES: As Sanders and his team vow to continue fighting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one is the nominee. The nominee elected at the convention.

JONES: The White House stressing patience with Sanders, consciously trying not to alienate his voters.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is clear we know who the nominee will be, but I think we should be a little graceful and give him

the opportunity to decide on his own.

JONES: The president's endorsement of Clinton could come as early as today. But Clinton is already going on a celebratory media blitz, trying to rally

Sanders supporters.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I really believe a lot of Senator Sanders supporters will join us in making sure Donald Trump

doesn't get anywhere near the White House.

JONES: Clinton also addressing the prospect of two women on the ticket.

CLINTON: I'm looking at the most qualified people, and that includes women, of course, because I want to be sure that whoever I pick could be president

immediately.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, Democrats see these endorsements as strategic. They want to reap as much

political gain as they can from having popular Democrats like the president and the vice president come out and publicly back Clinton. And so we're

likely to see something of a rollout period for these endorsements, not have it happen all at once. And we could see the president endorse Clinton

say, on social media, maybe even as soon as today. And he'll do that before he appears with her on a big stage, a big campaign style event.

That's not likely to happen until after Washington, D.C., until after Washington, D.C. votes next Tuesday -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Athena Jones report live from the White House. Thank you, Athena.

Now, millions of football fans are descending on France. The European championship it begins

in a day's time, but the excitement is overshadowed by the risk of terror attacks.

Also ahead, the Rio Olympic Games haven't started yet, but there's already a race surrounding the games. Organizers are under pressure to get all the

venues finished and soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:22] HAYES: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream. Now, let's take you to France. In a little more than 24

hours, the 2016 European football championship will be kicking off in Paris. This year, of course, the threat of terrorism is looming large.

Both the U.S. and the UK have issued travel advisories for citizens and France is employing tens of thousands of police and security forces to

protect millions of fans who are expected to show up.

Now, for more on the security situation the eve of the tournament let's go straight to World Sport's Alex Thomas. He's live for us from Paris. And,

Alex, we know that France is bracing for terror threats. How are the teams and the organizers taking all this in?

ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Extremely seriously and they have done for some

months, of course, Krsitie.

Hello from Paris. I'm outside the Stade de France, the national stadium, if you like. It's where the host, France, will kick off against Romania in

the opening game of Euro 2016 in a little more than 24 hours time, 9:00 in the evening local time here on Friday.

The action will be underway. And maybe then we'll start to talk less about the threats of terror

attacks, although the threat is very real. And authorities have got this difficult balancing act, Kristie, where they don't want to be seen to not

warning the public appropriately, at the same time they don't want to scare them.

But we do know that there is still a national state of emergency here in France that has been

extended. They kept extending the deadline to when they were going to stop that state of emergency after the second of the two terror attacks suffered

by the city during 2015. So that's going to last till the end of July. That's going to really help authorities police and secure this tournament

as best they can.

Summed up by France's interior minister who said that precautions would mean a 100 percent risk. But even with 100 percent precautions, which is

what they are taking, it doesn't mean there's a zero percent risk, hence all the warnings we've seen from various countries where they know fans

will be coming from the U.S., from England particularly, from other parts of Europe to see these 24 European nations try and lift the European

championship, a tournament that's watched around the world, Kristie.

Nonetheless, locally, when you speak to people, a, it doesn't feel like a city under siege. I've been to Paris many times. It doesn't feel much

different. There's maybe a slightly heavier police presence on the streets. But also (inaudible) are more concerned about the strikes

ongoing, particularly the rail strike that's having caused disruption and will continue to do so.

And also a new airstrike that's going to start on Saturday. And even UEFA, the organizers of this football tournament, are concerned that will maybe

stop refs getting to some of the matches on time, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, that coupled of course with the travel advisories that have been issued and the statements that there is no such thing as zero

percent risk in regards to this tournament.

Will there be less fans in the stadiums? Will some fans be too scared to go to the fan zones?

[08:20:20] THOMAS: It's really hard to judge in advance, Kristie. I've not seen hoards arriving, but then sometimes it's a bit like that when

you're covering these major tournaments. Here I am, the other side of a canal in front of the Stade de France, which is not technically even in

Paris. It's kind of the northern suburbs of Paris, if you like, in an area called San Denis.

It's not naturally where tourists or other visitors coming to Euro 2016 would gather, so it's hard to get a sense.

I've been at our Paris bureau, CNN's Paris bureau, which is on the Champs Elysees. That's as busy and bustling as normal. Shops and cafes. It's

been nice weather. After all the rain had recently, during the French Open tennis.

But it doesn't feel any different to how it would normally. Obviously, lots of international visitors come here, because it's a city of great

interest.

They are expecting over a million visitors, would you believe. We've not seen a hint of that. We'll have to see if the terror threats do keep them

away. B ut they are expecting 7 million to attend the fan zones where the matches will be screened on big screens, little alone the 2 million coming

to watch the matches. Organizers saying this week that it's 99 percent sold out, only around 8,000 tickets remaining, Kristie.

LU STOUT: yeah, it's a huge event taking place not just the stadium behind in San Denis, but all across the country.

Alex Thomas reporting live for us, many thanks indeed. Take care.

Now, the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are less than two months away, but a very important part

of the promised infrastructure is still missing and it's not scheduled to be completed until just days before the opening ceremony.

Our senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins me now live from Rio. And Nick, in terms of Olympic readiness, Brazil is cutting it

really, really close here.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I think people, if they weren't dealing with the ongoing potential impeachment of foreign

Prime Minister (sic) Dilma Rousseff and they weren't dealing with an economic crisis, and they weren't dealing with the outbreak of Zika, this

country is still trying to calculate the impact of. People will be concerned. But, yes, a timetable for getting the basic parts of the

transport network here ready to get Olympic guests from these beautiful venues potentially behind me here to the Olympic Park itself through the

country's -- the city's nightmare traffic is extraordinarily tight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rio has a big question without an answer ready just yet.

How do Olympic tourists get from their hotels here to the games across town without spending hours in this, some of the worst traffic in South America?

Well, this was meant to be the answer, an extension to the subway from the beaches almost to the Olympic Park.

But there's just one snag. They've just announced a new outdated opening time and that's only four days before the games begin. There's always going

to be some sort of last-minute rush but it's the sheer amount of political and economic upheaval that Brazil is experiencing that's got many concerned

that leaving such a vital part of the infrastructure as this down to last- minute preparations is simply cutting it too fine.

It was meant to be open in July and, without it, guests may spend a lot of the day in jams.

That's not going to happen, insists the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are completely sure that everything will be done in first of August. No problems for us. Of course, the schedule is tight, but

we have 8,000 people working during the days and during the nights. No problem at all.

WALSH: The sound of building is so loud that it's drowning you out, so we still have quite a bit more time to go. Right?

Until this is ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is in our schedule.

WALSH (voice-over): They said the same thing about the Olympic Park itself. But when we visited when there were 66 days to go, it didn't feel that

ready. It is strange to be able to walk straight in from there right into the edge of the Olympic Park here, what's supposed to be a pretty secure

zone in just a matter of weeks from now.

We're just going to walk down this way to the site of where previously there was one man holding out with his home.

Deeper and deeper we went, security sitting by to find the home now demolished, the owner taking a payout and moving.

An odd feeling, walking so freely around. This worker told us sometimes security are there and some days they are not.

Living just alongside and refusing to be moved are Sandra and Maria. They call themselves the resistance and they forced authorities to accept they

can stay on the land.

Sandra says she'll soon have all this packed away, ready for the new home the city is building her just next door. That's also on a tight schedule,

supposed to be ready, she says, 12 days before the games begin.

What does Maria think about security?

[11:25:14] MARIA DA PENHA, NEIGHBOR (through translator): It should be like that in every country. We were born to walk freely. I don't know why they

came up with so much security. A man doesn't make another one safe. Security comes from God.

WALSH (voice-over): You have to hope they won't be leaving it just up to Him, however, to get Rio ready in time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Now, Kristie, it's that sense of kind of relaxed climate and environment here that of course may hope will attract people to the games

as tourists, but also too pretty incompatible with the idea of the tight schedule they have for so many essential parts of the infrastructure to be

ready.

And when you drive from here towards the Olympic Park, when you can get frankly through the traffic you do see a lot of the parts of that transport

infrastructure still being under construction, holes still being dug, a sense of a city I think in a last minute rush, which would be easier to

understand were there not so many other crisis engulfing Brazil right now, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, another crisis would be the Zika outbreak. We know that Olympic medical experts downplaying that, but we know many fans and

athletes, they're not taking their chances. So, what is the real threat being posed by Zika?

WALSH: Well, Kristie, the hardest thing about Zika is the disparity between what some doctors are saying, over 100 of them saying perhaps the

games should be moved or delayed, because of the threat of Zika, to the game organizers themselves saying there's a chance in 1 million people the

1.8 people will be infected.

Look, a half million were meant to be coming to the games say that's .9 of a person, effectively nobody would end up getting Zika if you listen to the

game organizers. But the science is so inconclusive at this stage. Yes, 80 percent of people who catch the virus don't even don't get symptoms.

But as we saw ourselves in Recife, the impact on pregnant women, the microcephaly that

their children get after the virus is in the mother, it's such extraordinary in terms of the debilitating diseases it gives people, the

defects they have at birth, that it's causing many to debate their presence here including key athletes -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, I'm reminded of your report, the devastating impact of the Zika virus. Many thanks indeed for your your reporting. Joining us live

from Rio. Nick Paton Walsh.

Now, a Muslim prayer service for the boxing legend Muhammad Ali, that will start in about four hours. The service will be held in his hometown of

Louisville, Kentucky.

It's open to the public and 18,000 people are expected to attend. And then on Friday afternoon, a memorial service for Ali is scheduled with Bill

Clinton, Billy Crystal, and Bryant Gumble, all eulogizing the boxing champ.

And CNN will bring you that memorial for Muhammad Ali live from his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Our coverage starts at 1:45 a.m.

Saturday in Hong Kong right here on CNN.

Now, Disney is preparing for the opening of its first theme park in Mainland China. I'll be talking to CNN Bob Iger as open day draws near.

Also ahead, a New York Times editor was continually targeted by anti- Semitic trolls on Twitter. And now he says he's finally had enough.

(COMMERCIA LBREAK0

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:03] LU STOUT: Now, the first ever Disneyland in Mainland, China is opening its doors one week from now. And ahead of that, Matt Rivers got an

inside look of the Shanghai park where he met up with CEO Bob Iger and took a special ride on a roller coaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Over $5 billion invested and years of planning and construction have led to this, Shanghai Disneyland is the

largest foreign investment Disney has ever made.

BOB IGER, CEO, DISNEY: I feel great about it. It's a very excited. I can't wait to share it with the world.

RIVERS: Bob Iger is Disney's CEO. And has been in and out of China a lot lately, understandable given the scale of this project.

We sat down with him inside the famous castle here, the largest such castle at any Disney park in the world.

In fact, the park itself is enormous, some 960 acres filled with scenes unique to Shanghai, like Treasure Cove and the futuristic Tomorrowland.

IGER: This is a big dream coming true, and a lot of ambition to bring Disneyland to China.

RIVERS: And when inside there's no doubt you are in China. Popular songs are sung in Mandarin during a parade.

There's Chinese zodiac signs featuring Disney characters, a traditional Chinese tea house. We even bought dumplings for lunch.

It's all part of attracting the Chineese consumer, part of a rising middle class with money to spend.

How is that to what you're trying to do as a company in terms of delivering for your shareholders, being profitable 10, 20 years, 30 years down the

road?

IGER: I don't think that there's a global company that exists today that isn't looking to Asia, in

particular to China, for growth. As we look at the future of the Walt Disney company and being able to deliver a compelling growth for our

shareholders, China must be an important part of that growth strategy.

RIVERS: But doing business here is not easy. Disney Life, the company's online portal to movies and shows was shut down by the Chinese government

in April just months after launching.

Apple's digital books and movie service has been shuttered recently too.

How worried are you about the climate that is created by the governing authority here in terms of western media trying to come in and flourish

here?

IGER: Well, it's a challenging market, no question about it. One of the reasons, by the way, we decided to enter with this park really is because

we couldn't launch a channel here, for instance, but you know, we're aware of the realities of this marketplace, whether it's -- whether it's

culturally related or whether it's regulatory related.

We still believe, even with what's happened recently and with those challenges that we still have great opportunity to grow.

[08:35:04] RIVERS: Part of the way he'll try and do that is with rides like this. The Tron inspired roller coaster, what Disney calls a unique

coaster in the world. Iger he offered us a ride on a light cycle and so off we went.

The general public gets to have this much fun when the park opens next week.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Shanghai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Oh, I want to go on that too.

OK. Well, now, Thailand we know is celebrating 70 years since the King Bhumibol ascended to the throne. The 88-year-old is the world's longest

reigning monarch. The country's prime minister is set to lead a ceremony at the Grand Palace this hour to mark the occasion.

In addition to festivities celebrating the anniversary, Thais are being encouraged to wear yellow, a traditional royal color.

Now, you're watching News Stream, and still to come, harassment on Twitter is unfortuantely fairly common and Twitter tells users to report abusive

tweets, but a New York Times editor says Twitter does not care about the anti-Semitic trolls that were targeting him. And that story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, the New York Times deputy editor has hit a breaking point with Twitter trolls. John Wiseman now says he is sick of all the anti-Semitic tweets

that he is getting and frustrated by Twitter's initial response to the abuse.

Now, in his good-bye message he said he is leaving Twitter to the quote, racists, anti-Semites and the Bernie Brothers who attacked women reporters

yesterday. And he is moving over to Facebook.

Now, it looks like Twitter changed its initial stance toward the trolls. Our Brian Stelter joins me now with more on the story. And Brian, OK, John

Wiseman, this deputy editor of The New York Times, we know that he called out the trolls. He reported them. And before he left the platform,

Twitter did nothing about it. Why?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, he says that these accounts that he would report as abusive were not blocked, that's why he decided to quit

the platform, head over to Facebook instead.

But once he did that, and once there was press attention about that this time yesterday, some

of those accounts he reported were blocked, were shut down by Twitter, so it seems the company was belatedly responding to his concerns.

His concerns were rooted in an article he retweeted weeks ago about Donald Trump. It was a critical article about Trump, so these trolls seem to be

pro-Trump trolls.

But keep in mind, we see abuse and we see harassment on Twitter from many ugly corners of

the Internet from from pro-Bernie Sanders supporters, from andi-women people, misogynists, from sexists. In this case these were anti-Semitic

tweets, but we've seen many kinds of hateful and disturbing messages shared on Twitter, including terrorist tweets or terroristic messages either from

groups associated with ISIS or people that are sympathetic to ISIS.

So, Twitter has problems here on all sorts of fronts. And it has admitted it's been slow to respond in the past.

LU STOUT: Yeah, online abuse can come in many forms, it's definitely an issue for Twitter.

Wiseman says he's now moving to Facebook, but Brian is Facebook better? Is it a safer, friendlier platform than Twitter?

STELTER: Well, his argument is it is somewhat safer and friendlier because you have to use a real name, because you have to sign up with a real name,

so you're identified, so you can't be anonymous.

Now, there are some ways around that Facebook, and certainly I myself and many others have seen ugly messages posted on Facebook as well, but Twitter

does have a unique problem here because of the ease of use and because of its commitment of freedom of expression.

You know, this is a very, very complicated tight rope that Twitter and other social networking companies walk. They want to make sure they're

open and accessible to everyone and that you can have as much free expression as humanly possible on these sites and yet, obviously there are

come -- there are severe downsides and consequences that come with that.

I would argue that Twitter is probably having a hard time growing in part because of this harassment problem, because so many people know that

there's so much ugliness on the site.

CEO Jack Dorsey again last week acknowledged he knows it's a problem. He knows Twitter has been slow to combat it in the past. And he's trying

harder than ever to fix it.

[08:40:42] LU STOUT: Yeah, this is a new wrinkle in an old story about free speech, attention between that and of course online abuse and

harassment.

And Brian Stelter, we really appreciate your insight on this. Thank you so much. Take care. We'll talk again soon.

Now, it is a book series that mesmerized readers of all ages and left fans begging for more of Harry Potter and his magical world. And now JK

Rowling's followup play has debuted in London. And true to the spirit of her stories, Rowling hid secrets throughout this new tale.

Jonathan Mann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The magic is back. Harry Potter has moved from the page to the big screen and now to the stage.

Hundreds of lucky fans lined up in London to see the first showing of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" Tuesday.

The new play is based on an original story from Potter's creator, J.K. Rowling, set 19 years after her last book.

In the play, a grownup Harry is now a husband and father and working at the Ministry of Magic. Further details of the story, which is split into two

parts, are being kept under wraps and Rowling has even recorded a special message, requesting that audiences not spoil the story for others.

J.K. ROWLING, AUTHOR: To keep secrets and let audiences enjoy "Cursed Child" with all surprises that we've built into the story.

MANN (voice-over): No spoilers here but the preview reportedly got a standing ovation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): A whole different version of what everyone loves about the books. It's just incredible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forget the films, I mean, this is fantastic. I would definitely come to watch this.

MANN (voice-over): The play has attracted some controversy for casting an actress of color as Hermione; in the movies, Emma Watson, who is white,

played the same role.

Rowling has hit back at critics, saying she never specified the character's ethnicity in the books and audience members give the cast rave reviews.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel it's like how they should have been all along, Hermione particularly by as a woman of color is just groundbreaking and

amazing and she suits the role so, so well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like that they brought in a woman of color to play Hermione. I think that's a problem that people saw with the books was it

wasn't very diverse.

MANN (voice-over): The show officially opens on July 30th and will also be published as a book July 31st, which also happens to be Rowling's and Harry

Potter's birthday -- Jonathan Mann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And before we go, it is Dragon Boat Festival here in Hong Kong. And here you see boats racing as drummers and spectators cheer them on.

It is part of a centuries old tradition known in China as Duou (ph), commemorating a poet who drowned himself in a river.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. World Sport is next.

END