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President Trump Blames North Korean for Death of Otto Warmbier; Confusion Over What Happened To U.S. Navy Destroyer Off Japan's Coast; Two Attacks in Europe. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired June 20, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:08:30] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Welcome to News Stream.

Now, President Trump blames North Korea for the death of Otto Warmbier, the American student who spent more than a year in detention.

Two attacks in Europe as police are targeted in a car attack in Paris. While in London, authorities have identified the man who they believe

rammed a van into Muslims outside a mosque.

Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is condemning North Korea as a brutal regime following the death of American student Otto Warmbier.

Now, Warmbier was sent back to the U.S. in a persistent vegetative state after 17 months in detention in North Korea. And he died Monday.

The travel group that organized his North Korean trip, Young Pioneer Tours, says in light of Warmbrier's death it will not offer U.S. citizens trip to

North Korea any more as the risk is too high.

Now, Warmbier's parents say it was North Korea's awful, tortuous mistreatment that killed their son. Now, Paula Hancocks joins us from

Seoul with more. And Paula, such devastating loss for the Warmbier family and they need answers. So, what do we know? What happened to their son in

North Korea?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, Kristie, it's absolutely devastating for the family and it's very shocking

and surprising for many people who do follow North Korea very closely. This sharp condemnation is coming from all corners, really, for Pyongyang

after the death of Otto Warmbier.

We know he was arrested January of last year. We understand that he was then in a comma for at least 14 months whilst in Pyongyang, that nothing

was said to his family or to the United States, and there are some fears that we may never know exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: A tragic end to a North Korean holiday. Otto Warmbier's detention, his comatose release, his untimely death is hardening language

in Washington.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a brutal regime we'll be able to handle it.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, spoke of the barbaric nature of the North Korean dictatorship. U.S. Senator John McCain, a former prisoner

himself, said Otto Warmbier, an American citizen, was murdered by the Kim Jong-un regime.

Even those who follow North Korea closely were blindsided by the country hiding the student's coma for at least 14 months.

JOHN DELURY, YONSEI UNIVERISTY: It's actually shocking and appalling by North Korean standards. I think that's something that some people might

not appreciate. You know, this is way beyond the pale of what North Korea experts would expect in terms of their treatment of an American prison or

detainee.

HANCOCKS: But could the shock change policy? The U.S. has high level talks with China Wednesday in Washington, a scheduled diplomatic and security

dialogue that may see a harder line approach against North Korea, some observers say.

China is the main ally and trading partner of North Korea. Trump has consistently asked them to do more to contain Kim Jong-un and his nuclear

and missile program. Young Pioneer Tours, the budget tour group Otto Warmbier was traveling with when he was arrested, announced Tuesday it will

no longer accept American citizens for its tours.

Other tour groups are reviewing their options.

The State Department's guidance at this time remains a strong warning against travel to North Korea adding U.S. citizens are at serious risk of

arrest or long-term detention, but the expectation is growing, congress may push for a full ban.

Now at least 16 U.S. citizens have been detained over the past 10 years, according to the U.S.

State Department, three of them are still being which of course makes a strong U.S. response to what has happened to Otto Warmbier problematic.

Just last week, the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, when asked about those still in detention said it is a delicate situation. We're working on

it - Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and not just Secretary Tillerson, a number of very senior U.S. leaders have been voicing outrage over the death of the American

student, including President Trump. So, Paula, what could be the geopolitical repercussions of Warmbier's death?

[08:05:06] HANCOCKS: Well, the fact remains that the options open to the U.S. President Donald Trump today are exactly the same as the options that

were open to him yesterday. Nothing has changed in that regard. There is a possibility, according to some experts, that the U.S. could take a more

hardline approach to North Korea, which means they could try and put more pressure on China to in turn put more pressure on North Korea.

But that hasn't worked in the past when previous administrations have tried it. Of course, there are always sanctions, though sanctions as

unprecedented at this point. But it does, once again, depend on China to be able to implement them fully. So, we could see more pressure on China

from Washington.

But it's difficult to see exactly what could change, as I say, that the options are still the same

and many of them are unpalatable - Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, after such a heartbreaking loss for the Warmbier family.

Paula Hancocks reporting for us live. Thank you.

Now, Otto Warmbier was just one of four U.S. citizens detained in North Korea. And last year, CNN got to speak exclusively to Kim Dong-chul (ph),

a naturalized American businessman who was arrested in North Korea in 2015. He is now serving 10 years on espionage charges.

And when CNN spoke to him, he appeared to be in good health. Then earlier this year, University Professor Tony Kim was detained in Pyongyang, accused

of attempting to overthrow the government. He had been teaching at the Pyongyang University of Science

and Technology.

And then weeks later, his colleague, Professor Kim Hak-song was also arrested on suspicion of hostile acts.

Now, U.S. President Donald Trump says this administration is determined to stop regimes that don't respect the rule of law or basic human decency.

Joe Johns has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a brutal regime and we'll be able to handle it.

JIM JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump under pressure to take a harder line toward North Korea, amid outrage over the death of American

student Otto Warmbier. The 22-year-old was released last week from North Korean custody after spending 17 months in prison for trying to steal a

propaganda poster. Warmbier arrived in the U.S. with severe brain damage and in a coma.

TRUMP: He spent a year and a half in North Korea, a lot of bad things happened, but at least we got him home to be with his parents.

JOHNS: The President offering his deepest condolences in a statement and condemning the brutality of the North Korean regime. Secretary of State Rex

Tillerson stating that the U.S. holds North Korea accountable for Warmbier's unjust imprisonment. Republican senators John McCain and Marco

Rubio taking a tougher tone, with McCain stating plainly that Warmbier was murdered by the Kim Jong-un regime.

The international challenge coming as the President continues to confront the Russia investigation back at home. Two top Democrats in the House now

demanding documents related to General Michael Flynn's foreign work (ph) in a letter to Flynn's lawyers. Alleging that President Trump's fired national

security adviser failed to disclose a 2015 Middle East trip on security clearance forms, a trip reportedly related to a major nuclear energy deal

involving Russian.

Democrats also alleging he left key information about a 2015 Saudi Arabia trip off those forms. This after a key member of the Senate judiciary

committee made this stunning statement about Flynn on Monday.

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, (D) RHODE ISLAND: All the signals are suggesting that he's already cooperating with the FBI and may have been for some time.

JOHNS: That committee now agreeing to widen the scope of its Russia probe to include possible obstruction of justice.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, (D) SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Political interference with an ongoing investigation, regardless of what the

President's lawyer may say could make the president a target, a subject, a person of interest.

JOHNS: With the Russia investigation expanding, the White House continues to stonewall reporters, as Sean Spicer's future as press secretary remains

unclear.

JIM ACOSTA,CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White house is refusing to answer those questions on camera. My guess is because they want their evasive answers

not saved for posterity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Joe Johns joins us now from Washington with more.

And Joe, we heard from Jim Acosta then, and on Twitter he had that damning accusation about the White House press briefing saying that there is a

suppression of information going on at the White House. Your thoughts on all this.

JOHNS: Kristie, one thing is pretty clear, this administration does not like the idea of putting someone out there answering on camera questions

about obstruction of justice, questions about the Russia investigation, and that sometimes is what the briefings descend into. It's a daily drumbeat,

and that sometimes is what the briefings descend into. It's a daily drumbeat. And it's very difficult for the president's spokesperson,

particularly Sean Spicer, to weigh in with any accuracy when the president might come behind him and contradict him in a tweet.

So, it's a tough situation for them. And what we're hearing is that is certainly is likely, and we've been hearing for some time that Sean Spicer,

the press secretary, assumes a new role here at the White House. And they perhaps move someone else in, somehow or other reorganizing the media

operation. The question, of course, for transparency's sake, is whether we're going to have an opportunity to ask more questions of senior

administration officials about the news of the day. It's been a custom here for a long time. And certainly sad to see it go, if it's about to.

LU STOUT: Yeah, it seems that change is afoot in the White House briefing room.

Meanwhile, the Russia probe goes on, the Flynn investigation. Joe, what is the latest on that?

JOHNS: Well, there are several threads on that. The first is we're hearing from Capitol Hill that it appears Michael Flynn, the former

National Security Advisor, is now cooperating with federal authorities in their investigations. Of course, the questions is what does he know about

other people who may have been in the campaign with the now president and what may have happened there with regard to collusion coordination with

Russia, whatever you want to call it.

The second thread, I think, that's important to talk about this morning is Democrats on Capitol Hill now asking more questions about a pair of trips

overseas made by Michael Flynn during 2015 to the Middle East, the question there is whether he fully disclosed on security forms, as he's legally

obligated to do, as much information as he could about those trips - where he stayed, who he traveled with, who he contacted. It's not clear, at

least to Democrats, that he has fully disclosed the information he's required to do by law, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Got it. Joe Johns with the very latest on the probe. Thank you, Joe.

Now, the White House is dealing with another issue, escalating U.S.-Russian tensions over Syria in the fight against ISIS there.

Now, Moscow, which is aligned with the Syrian regime, now warns it may treat U.S. coalition aircraft as targets. The warning follows the downing

of a Syrian war plane by an American navy fighter. Russia has also stopped using a key communication channel crucial to avoiding conflict between U.S.

and Russian forces.

Now, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins me now with more from Amman, Jordan. And Jomana, how much of Russia's warning is rhetoric versus an actual threat?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think this is a question that everyone is asking right now. They want to see what Russia

does next. All these threats that we're hearing, is it posturing, are these - is it just threats, or are they going to follow through on these

threats?

Definitely you can see the coalition is taking this very seriously. Just today we are hearing from Australia saying that they are suspending their

operations over Syria. And also the U.S. U.S. officials said that they are repositioning their planes over Syrian air space to basically to avoid this

current threat. But at the same time, we have seen the coalition releasing in the past hour or so, their operations over the past 24 hours and they

have carried out more than a dozen air strikes on ISIS positions in Syria. So, it doesn't seem to have impacted their air strikes right now.

But everyone wants to see what happens next from the Russians. As you know, this is a in is a two-fold threat, one Russia is saying that it is

going to track and target any planes that cross into basically its area of operations west of the Euphrates River, and on the other hand, the other

part of their threats is that they are suspending that crucial de0confliction hotline that has been in place since 2015, that has been

used by the U.S.-led coalition and the Russians to avoid any sort of mid- air collision or avoid a scenario like the one that we saw unfold on Sunday.

We have heard this threat in the past, Krsitie, from the Russians back in April after that U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base following the

chemical attack in Khan Sheykuhn. They did say that they were suspending that deconfliction hotline, but it was reinstated shortly after that.

What we're hearing from U.S. officials in Washington is that they are using diplomatic channels, as well as military channels to make sure that that

line of communication is still open. It is crucial for both sides.

No one can afford to lose it or you will end up with a really catastrophic situation there.

[08:15:22] LU STOUT: Yeah, this is turning into an increasingly serious situation in an already complicated battlefield. Jomana Karadsheh

reporting live for us from Amman. Thank you.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up, Paris reacts to yet another attack. We'll be live in the French capital.

And London also opens a terrorism probe after Muslim worshipers were targeted as they left

evening Ramadan prayers. We have the latest in the police investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. You're watching News Stream.

Now, terrorism investigations are underway in Paris and London this Tuesday after attacks in both capital cities.

Now, police have identified 47-year-old Darren Osborne as the driver who plowed into worshippers leaving a North London mosque. One man died, nine

were sent to hospital. Police searched a residence in the Welsh capital Cardiff in connection with the incident.

And in Paris, the French Prime Minister says the armed driver who rammed into a police van and later died may have been on a watch list for terror

and radicalization.

Our Melissa Bell is in Paris. She joins us now. And Melissa, was the driver known already to counterterror investigators?

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kristie, he was. And a clearer, slightly clearer image is emerging of this man who drove his car

down the Champs Elysees yesterday armed with weapons.

But also sufficient quantities of explosives to blow up the car. It is an ongoing terror investigation, the autopsy results have not been revealed.

He is, thankfully, the only person to have lost his life in an attack that could have been far worse than it was had those explosives actually ignited

on the Champs Elysees yesterday afternoon.

We do know that he was known to security services. He was what the French called (inaudible), that mean that he was one of those many thousands of

people who was under active surveillance, because he was believed to have been radicalized.

He was also a member of a shooting club. This is a man who had a firearms license and weapons were not found not only, Kristie, in his car, but also

in his home. We've discovered over the course of the morning that the club to which he belonged had been questioned by police fairly recently. They'd

wanted to know if there was anything abnormal in his behavior. The club owner said - had replied that he had functioned in line with all the

requirements that the club put down.

So, it is a reminder really, once again, of the difficulties that authorities have not just in France, but in western democracies generally

of keeping an eye even on those individuals that they've identified as posing a threat. It is simply more than security services have the

resources to ensure.

[08:20:09] LU STOUT: Difficulty to keep track of potential threats and to secure police officers. They were again targeted in this attempted van

attack. They were targeted before in that shooting in April. So, what more needs to be done to secure the police?

BELL: That's right, Kristie, it is another reminder of this other problem of this issue which is that this an ever evolving threat. You know, here

in France, we saw over several years what we're now seeing in the United Kingdom, these attacks that target civilians. Here in France, that is

largely a thing of the past. It has been nearly a year since civilians were targeted the last five attacks. And in this many months, Kristie, has

really gone after security forces, so the representatives of the state, the representatives of authority.

Now, in one way that does spare the lives of many people because if you consider just here on the Champs Elysees where it might have happened

yesterday if the car had exploded, or what might have happened just few weeks ago ago when the Champs Elysees was also targeted when the attacker

didn't turn his Kalashnikov on the many hundreds of people milling around him, but instead on a police

van killing only one police officer. So in some ways this makes it less of a threat to the public, to the tourists that mill around Paris.

But it is a real headache for security forces. These are parts of Paris that are specifically policed in ever greater numbers as a result of this

state of emergency, a state of emergency that the government is now going to seek to extend until November.

It will have been in place, Kristie, nearly two years.

LU STOUT: Already two years. Melissa Bell reporting live from Paris for us. Thank you.

Now, I want to turn now to the shocking van attack on Muslim worshipers in North Londong. Police say that they are still investigating why a

pedestrian died. Nine people were sent to hospital.

Now, Ian Lee is in London. He joins us now live. And, Ian, the suspect has been named, but

why did he do it? What was his motive?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, Darren Osborne, police say, did this to attack Muslims. And we heard that from witnesses

yesterday who were able to apprehend him saying that when he told them that they deserved it, them being Muslim community, we don't know why. The

family say that they're shocked. They said that he has been dealing with some issues, but this isn't something they were expecting him to do or

wouldn't have thought him capable of doing, that's something that the police are going to be looking into when they question him to figure out

what was behind - why would a man from Cardiff in Wales rent a van and come all the way to London to carry out something like that.

And also how, Ian, has this deliberate attack on Muslim shaken not only the Muslim community, but all of London, this very vibrant and diverse world

city?

LEE: There's been a lot of solidarity here. And I just want to point out here a few things for you, just to show you. We have right now this

message, it says with love from a Jew to all Muslims.

We've had Christians come out here. We've had Sikhs come out here. We've had people of all different religions coming out to say this is an attack

against all of us, not just one community. We want to show that love will prevail, peace will prevail and that this is one strong community.

The night of the attack I was out there and I saw members of the Jewish community, leaders of

the Jewish community that came out and said, you know, these are our brothers, we wanted to be here

not only to show solidarity, but if they need any help, if anyone needs any help, they were there to help them, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a beautiful tributes there. Thank you for sharing that with us. Ian Lee reporting live from London. Take care.

Now meanwhile also in London people are voicing anger that many of the victims of the apartment bloc fire last week still have not been found or

identified.

At least 79 people are now dead or missing and presumed dead. And police say only five victims have been formally identified. And here you could

see the signs that people have put up in Kensington, West London for those missing.

Now, the police commander entered the charred Grenfell Tower over the weekend and said nothing could have prepared him for what he saw there.

Authorities are looking at how the tower was built, how it was managed as well as its fire safety measures.

Another key challenge that British leaders are facing: divorce talks with the EU. Now the rules for discussions are now set after a kickoff meeting

in Brussels. Negotiators agreed to start by addressing how much the UK owes the bloc as well as the rights of EU and UK citizens after Brexit.

The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland will also be discussed. The aim is to maintain peace in the once volatile area. Talks on trade

will be deferred to a later stage.

As source tells CNN that a deal could be reached this week between British Prime Minister Theresa May's party and the party known as the DUP.

Now from the political crisis to the Grenfell Tower fire and the recent terror attacks in London, Theresa May is finding herself under increasingly

pressure. Nic Robertson lays out what's at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:25:20] THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This morning, our country woke to news of another terrorist attack on the streets of our capital

city.

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN: On this big Brexit day, a terror attack. More pressure piled on the PM from the get go.

MAY: Today, we come together as we have done before to condemn this act.

ROBERTSON: As a top (ph) negotiator (inaudible) long-awaited talks in Brussels to get Britain out of the EU.

DAVID DAVIS, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION: We will do all we can to assure that we deliver deal that works in the best interest

of all citizens.

ROBERTSON: May was meeting those affected in an overnight attack on London's Finsbury Park Mosque.

MAY: Today's attack falls at a difficult time in the life of this city, following on from the attack on London Bridge two weeks ago, and of course

the unimaginable tragedy of Grenfell Tower last week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Theresa May!

ROBERTSON: Pressures on the PM have been mounting up. Her rapid outreach today speedy in contrast to the tower fire tragedy for which she was

heavily criticized. Back from the mosque, May greeting the new Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, later than anticipated in a meeting shorter about

an hour. Varadkar not happy with May's (inaudible) for power broker in parliament, Northern Ireland's DUP.

LEO VARADKAR, TAOISEACH, PRIME MINISTER OF IRELAND: On the issue of marriage equality, I had an opportunity to meet with Arlene Foster and the

DUP last week in Dublin. On that meeting, I expressed my very strong view that marriage equality shall be permitted in Northern Ireland. As you can

appreciate, Arlene Foster and the DUP have a different view on this matter.

ROBERTSON: Pressure on May too on Brexit, how it could affect Ireland's $1.3 billion a week business with the U.K.

MAY: It won't back comprehensive free trade agreement which enables us to have (inaudible) and frictionless borders possible to continue the trade

that has been so beneficial to us in the past.

ROBERTSON: May's hands have really been this full, some in her party feel clambering for her to step down. On this day, a principal rival for

leadership in Europe backing her on Brexit.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: In the long run, this will be good for the U.K and good for the rest of Europe.

ROBERTSON: Between now and that day, plenty of pressure on whomever is prime minister.

Nic Robertson, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Coming up, new questions over the collision between a U.S. Navy destroyer and a cargo ship off Japan. To figure out the timing of the

crash is critical for investigators, but there seems to be some conflicting information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:47] LU STOUT: Now we are learning new details about a deadly collision involving a U.S. Navy destroyer. The USS Fitzgerald and a huge

cargo ship collided Saturday off the Japanese coast. But there seems to be some confusion about the timing.

Now, let's bring in Alexandra Field from the Yokosuka naval base in Japan.

And Alex, a lot of conflicting information here. So what happened?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There really have not been any answers, not for the crew that was aboard that ship and not for the family

members of the sailors who were killed on board that ship.

Investigations have been announced. And we know that it could be months or years, even, some say, before those investigations conclude. But from

the outset, Kristie, we're learning that there are discrepancies in the account of what happened that night.

Initially, you had both the U.S. Navy and the Japanese coast guard saying that these two ships collided off the coast of Japan at about 2:20 in the

morning, the early morning hours of Saturday. But the Japanese coast guard has now said that they believe that the accident actually happened 50

minutes before that, closer to 1:30 in the morning. They say they originally said it happened at 2:20 because that's when they got a distress

call from the container ship that was involved in the collision. But tey now say that the crew on that ship waited to report the incident.

They say that isn't necessarily unusual. The crew could have been tied up with carrying out various emergency procedures and trying to navigate

through those busy waters. We know these are waters that 400 or 500 ships pass through every day.

But it is important that everyone gets on the same page when it comes to exactly when this crash happened. That's going to be a key piece of

information, of course, because we know that investigators from both the Japanese coast guard and the U.S. Navy will have to look precisely at the

movements of both of these ships in the minutes and in the hours before they collided to come to begin to understand how something like this could

have happened. And it has really left so many people confounded through talking about massive ships, Kristie. That destroyer about 500 feet long,

that container ship about 700 feet long.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and the deaths of seven American sailors.

So, what have you learned about the crew, the young men who were killed in this tragic accident?

FIELD: They are all being returned to the United States right now, the remains of these seven sailors who were initially declared missing. Their

bodies were then found in flooded sleeping compartments, those were the compartments that were below deck, we understand from the U.S. Navy that

those were the areas of the ship that were most heavily damaged by this collision. We know that the water was coming in at a pretty rapid rate.

The crew on board that ship has been credited with working quickly to stop the ship from sinking and bringing it back to port. The coast guard is

going to be leading an investigation into the casualties, trying to understand how it's possible that these seven sailors were not able to make

it out, but they have been identified by the navy. They range in age from just 19-years-old, Kristie, to 37. They come from all across the USA from

Maryland all the way to California and now their bodies are being sent home to their loved ones, loved ones who are certainly looking for answers from

these investigations that are really just beginning, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, they were a snapshot of the nation they serve. May they rest in peace.

Alexandra Field reporting live for us. Thank you, Alex.

Now, normally one runoff election in a single U.S. house district wouldn't grab much attention but all eyes are on this race, in the U.S. on the sixth

district race in the state of Georgia, seen by many as an early referendum on the Trump presidency.

Now the polls are open. And voters could flip a suburban Atlanta district that has been solidly Republican for decades. Kaylee Hartung reports on

the contentious and sometimes frightening contest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On this election day in Georgia's sixth district in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, neither campaign comfortable

with where they stand as this could be a race decided by just a few thousands votes come tonight. Early voting numbers give both camps reason

to be optimistic, though, that's because 140,000 people cast their ballots before today. That's more than double the number of voters who voted early

in April, and that includes 36,000 who didn't participate in that election. So, no comfort here. Optimism, yes, but also reason for both camps to be

tense as the vitriol in this campaign has picked up in the final days, including this attack ad.

CAMPAIGN AD ANNOUNCER: The unhinged left is endorsing and applauding shooting Republicans. When will it stop? It won't if Jon Ossoff wins on

Tuesday.

HARTUNG: Both candidates have denounced that ad from the Principled PAC, an organization that supports conservative leaders.

But it's not just the attacks on the airwaves that we've seen in the lead up to this election. Jon Ossoff traveling with a security detail, as he

says a number of threats against him have intensified. And Karen Handel and her neighbors receiving envelops in their mailboxes last week that included

a threatening letter and a white powdery substance. That substance turned out to just be baking soda. Karen Handel told me on that Thursday night,

she couldn't sleep with the image of men in hazmat suits in her home.

Stakes are high tonight in Georgia's sixth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, coming up right here on the program, U.S. President Trump's key advisor Jared Kushner speaks publicly. It is the first time many of us

have heard his voice. Hear it for yourself just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, the U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is giving us deeper insight into how the Trump administration feels about climate change. In an interview

with CNBC, Perry said that he does not believe carbon dioxide emissions are to blame for climate change.

When asked when he responded that the primary control knob for the temperature of the Earth than for climate is most likely the, quote, ocean

waters and the environment we live in. Now, he does acknowledge that humans are having an effect on the climate, but is skeptical about just how

much.

Now, in March, the Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt denied carbon dioxide as a primary contributor. His own agency as well as

NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the UN's panel on climate change. They all disagree.

Jared Kushner has been called the U.S. president's secretary of everything, but have you ever heard him speak? Now, Mr. Trump's son-in-law and senior

advisor spoke publicly on Monday. And Jeanne Moos was all ears.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He has been seen but not heard. Silently watching President Trump sign orders. Jared Kushner is

usually in the middle of the action but publicly mum.

[08:40:07] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, thank you very much.

MOOS: Sitting at the president's side, but never a peep out of him.

JOHN OLIVER, HOST, "LAST WEEK TONIGHT": Have you ever heard him speak? Seriously? What does his voice sound like?

MOOS: But we now know the president's son-in-law doesn't really sound like Gilbert Gottfried, because at a session with technology leaders Monday,

Jared Kushner finally used his vocal cords.

(On camera): So without further ado, drum roll please. We present the actual voice of Jared Kushner.

JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: The Department of Defense, for example, still uses eight-inch floppy disks.

MOOS (voice-over): No wonder nobody focused on what he was saying.

KUSHNER: The Trump administration got it done.

MOOS: "I don't believe it. This is like finding out mermaids have legs," tweeted someone stunned to find Kushner has a voice. Others drew parallels.

"Jared Kushner's voice sounds like a young Michael Cera."

MICHAEL CERA, ACTOR: Yes. I'm Mr. Manager.

MOOS: Kushner's silence was mocked on "SNL."

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: And I'll send in my little Kush-ball, Jared Kushner. I know you don't like talking but why don't you take it away? God, you're

such a cute little twink. And live from New York, it's "Saturday Night."

MOOS: Kushner is a guy with a Twitter account but no tweets. A cover story in "TIME" with no interview. He once tip-toed past his wife as she was

being interviewed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, Jared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There he is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Come on, Jared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, Jared, you can't just walk in and not say anything.

MOOS: The silence sidekick has finally found his voice.

KUSHNER: It's working and it's very exciting.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with Amanda Davies is next.

END