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Trump to Meet with Putin at G-20 Summit; Trump Suggests Repeal Obamacare, Replace Later; At Least 17 Shot Inside Little Rock Nightclub; Interview with Representative Gregory Meeks; Mitch McConnell Had the Worst Week in Washington; Feds Help Crack Down on Spread of Illegal Guns; Missing Grad Student Feared Dead; Trump Says Patience with North Korea is Over; Medicaid Cuts Threaten Rural U.S. Hospitals; Trump Headed to Paris With Love and Bear Hugs? Aired 9-10a ET

Aired July 01, 2017 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, aren't you up early. 9:00, actually on a Saturday morning, at least here in the East. I'm Christi Paul. We're so grateful to have you.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good morning to you. Well, they missed the deadline and now the president is adding new complications as Senate Republicans search for compromise on the plan to replace Obamacare.

Lawmakers are back ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, but aides are still working hard aiming to have a revised bill ready after the recess.

President Trump meantime is starting the weekend at his New Jersey golf club. CNN White House reporter Kaitlan Collins is live from Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Kaitlan, what's on the president's agenda today?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president like you said is spending the weekend here at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. He'll travel to Washington briefly tonight to attend a rally at the Kennedy Center for veterans. And then he will return here tonight.

He'll likely spend the rest of his weekend preparing for his foreign trip later this week. He's making a stop in Poland and then Germany where he will attend the G-20 Summit. He's expected to meet with multiple world leaders while there, but the one that everyone has their eye on is the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This is the first time that Trump has with him since he took office in January. And everyone is wondering if he will ask him about Russian meddling in the election. White House officials say that no agenda has been set yet and that it's not clear if they will have a bilateral meeting or just a simple pull-aside during the summit.

BLACKWELL: There is a lot to talk about there.

Let's turn to health care. The president telling lawmakers via Twitter repeal Obamacare now, if they can't pass this bill, and then replace it later. But that does not correspond with what the president promised earlier?

COLLINS: No, it doesn't. Senate Republicans as you know have been negotiating a health care bill for the last few weeks now. And Donald Trump really threw a wrench in that yesterday when he tweeted that maybe we should just repeal it now and replace it at a later date.

Now the reason that this is so shocking is because the president is the one who suggested repealing it and replacing it immediately. Back in January during a "60 Minutes" interview he said there wouldn't even be a two-day period between the repeal and replace. But Senator Ben Sass went on TV yesterday morning and said that he thinks we should repeal it and replace it with a year period in between there.

That contrasted what Donald Trump said. So senators like -- majority leader like Mitch McConnell has quite a headache now to deal with since he's been trying to negotiate with other Republicans in the Senate.

Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said yesterday that the president has not changed his mind about held care and that they're still going to move forward with the Senate bill but they want to have other options just in case. So it sounds like they're working on pursuing a plan B here.

But the president has been inconsistent with his health care policy. Back in May, he cheered the House bill to replace the Affordable Health Care Act but then later denounced it as mean.

BLACKWELL: All right. Kaitlan Collins for us there in Bridgewater, New Jersey, thanks so much.

PAUL: CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott and "Washington Post" bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun-Times" Lynn Sweet.

Great to have you with us -- there you go, Lynn, I see you. We're going to get them Lynn back in a minute here but I want to listen together to Senator Ben Sasse because he's quietly been talking to the White House about just repealing Obamacare as Kaitlan just mentioned. Let's listen to Sasse in his own words here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BEN SASSE (R), NEBRASKA: If we don't get this resolved by the Monday of the next week, July 10th, if there isn't a combined repeal and replace plan, I'm writing a letter to the president this morning urging us to call on us to separate them.

If we can't do them together, let's do as much repeal as we can and then let's have the president ask us to cancel our August state work period and stay here and then work on replace separate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK, so, Eugene, this is what's interesting when he says there will be a one-year transition. If there's a one-year transition or a holding period, does that not give Republicans one year to change everything up, essentially?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's certainly what the Senator Sasse is arguing and hopefully he thinks the president is buying into that because we saw the support that the president put forward to the idea on Twitter on Friday. However, there are other Republican lawmakers including Representative Kissinger from Illinois who is concerned that that could leave some people even beyond that year with no coverage.

If you can remember, in the past, lawmakers have said we're going to have something accomplished by year, and we're not able to honor that. And so the question becomes will they be able to find a solution in a year to a problem they've been working on for more than eight years. And many people expected them to already have an answer for.

PAUL: Yes. So, Lynn, when we think about what people are most concerned with, we're talking about numbers in the 18 million to 34 million range of people who would lose health care.

How much trust, how much confidence is there, that if they repealed it, they would truly go back and replace it later? Or if that replacement would just kind of fade away?

[09:05:04] LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Well, key to any Republican plan, even one that may emerge later this summer will be handing states a lot more power than they have now to determine the rules of coverage. So I would say that unless you have a good idea from the governor of your state of what the intentions are, you have no confidence going forward what the insurance landscape will be in the future.

And if you repeal and not replace, then you throw the private markets into turmoil because insurance companies need certainty to make those plans and figure out how they are going to proceed. So you could have a grace period from Washington, but the reality is, when you talk about numbers, about health insurance, the most important numbers is much smaller. It's usually about you and your family. Especially if you have special needs. Especially if right now you are on Medicaid.

Especially if a loved one of yours who once was in the middle class and once was doing OK, but now they're older, their resources have run out, and they're in a nursing home, and Medicaid, that program where the state and federal partner to pay the bills of the medically needy. You may now find that your loved one, your grandma, or, you know, if you're a little older, mom or dad in a nursing home, you can't pay the bills.

So when you ask about trust, I would say, given how sprawling the health care system and the potential of states having a big say now, there's just no reason, without some fact base which we don't have, why would anyone necessarily be able to chart the future in this uncertain time?

PAUL: So, Eugene, she's talking about numbers here. It's not just numbers of health care. We look ahead at the crux of what the president voted on and that was -- or was elected on, and that was his tax reform. That's what they want to take up next.

How do you reconcile or come up with a tax reform plan if you haven't reconciled health care? Because don't you need the savings from the health care to help determine what will happen in tax reform?

SCOTT: Well, that was originally part of the plan that the president put forward early in his entry into the Oval Office. But right now, obviously, lawmakers are trying to figure out how to just deal with this issue first, repealing Obamacare. If they cannot agree as to how to do that in a way that benefits most Americans, according to what the president campaigned on, it will be very difficult to get tax reform passed before the end of this year.

Certainly lawmakers are going to try to work on it. But whether they'll be able to try to do that by the end of the summer which is what Senator Sasse is hoping will happen is just not clear right now.

PAUL: I want to look ahead to the week of G-20 this week. Of course a lot of people are watching whatever may transpire between President Trump and President Putin. They are expected to meet face-to-face, Lynn.

What do you expect? Is there going to be a consequence for this president if he does not take a tougher stance with President Putin?

SWEET: My guess it's in neither leader's interest to have a confrontation at the G-20. By that, I mean to talk about the Russia collusion investigations going on, with the special prosecutor and the court congressional committee. So they will have many other things to talk about. And I am guessing that the Trump comfort zone is more in talking with Putin in areas where they think they could work together. But this is a big elephant in the room and it may just stay there.

PAUL: All right, Lynn Sweet, Eugene Scott, always appreciate you both. Thank you.

SWEET: And thank you.

BLACKWELL: We have more for you now in the breaking news in Little Rock, Arkansas. Police there are investigating a shooting that happened inside a nightclub. This all started early this morning at the Power Ultra Lounge. Watch and listen.

And all those shots, 17 people were hit, we're told, by police. More were injured in the rush to the doors to get out. No one was killed, but there is one person at least in stable condition now. That's an upgrade from serious at a local hospital.

We have from our affiliate in Little Rock, reporter Price McKeon who's there on the scene. Price, what else can you tell us about what police are investigating

there? Do they know yet a possible motive? We know that they've said that this is not terror-related.

PRICE MCKEON, KARK-TV REPORTER: They did say that, Victor. But what else they say is they're really still investigating trying to figure out exactly what happened. For people that aren't familiar with Little Rock, we're pretty much right in the heart of downtown Little Rock. Less than two miles away from the capital.

I'm going to step out so you can get a look at what's going on right now.

[09:10:02] Crime scene investigators have been out here since this all happened around 2:30 this morning. Police say that 17 people were shot when there was some type of dispute inside this club. They said that a group from Memphis was performing here and that's when gunfire erupted. They said seventeen people were shot. They said there were even more injuries because some people got injured as they were trying to exit the building.

We heard video, we've seen video on Facebook counting more than 20 gunshots, what we could hear. We've been watching as crime scene investigators are collecting evidence. The police chief says again it is not -- they don't believe it's terror-related. They have people at hospitals all around Little Rock. They even have one victim, they said, at a North Little Rock Hospital which is the city right next to Little Rock.

So victims are out there. Detectives are on the ground right now investigating, questioning people, trying to get more answers.

BLACKWELL: All right. And again do they have the shooter in custody?

MCKEON: They don't have the shooter. They don't have a description for us. They don't have a motive for us. We are working to get those answers but right now they said they are just still in the very beginning of this investigation. They're still trying to count exactly how many victims there are because right now they said 17 they know were shot then there are even some more. And they can't even give us those numbers about how many were injured leaving the building.

BLACKWELL: All right. Price McKeon for us there from Little Rock affiliate KARK. Thanks so much.

PAUL: Police say a disgruntled doctor went on a shooting rampage of a New York City hospital which is a hospital where he used to work.

(INAUDIBLE) killed a doctor and wounded six others before he then killed himself. The incident had hospital workers barricading themselves, as you can imagine, in rooms. They were ducking behind desks and doors.

According to authorities the former doctor had some sort of a troubled past. But officials are still investigating his motives and whether he knew any of those victims personally.

BLACKWELL: President Trump will be meeting with Vladimir Putin next week at the G-20 Summit. And here's a big question, what will they discuss? We'll ask a lawmaker next.

PAUL: Also, President Trump said he's following through on a campaign promise sending federal agents into Chicago to help crack down on illegal weapons there.

BLACKWELL: And finally an arrest in the case of the missing grad student but the news from investigators is not all good. What they're telling family members, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:40] BLACKWELL: Next week, President Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sideline of the G-20 Summit in Hamburg. There are no details yet of the format of the meeting or what will be discussed.

Let's talk about it now. Joining me now Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York. He's a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, good morning.

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY), FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: All right. So H.R. McMaster, National Security adviser, says, and I wrote this down here. "There is no specific agenda. It's whatever the president wants to talk about."

I can't imagine they'll send the president into this meeting without some talking points, without an agenda. What would you have him talking about with Vladimir Putin?

MEEKS: Well, very definitely, he needs to be talking about Russia's intrusion into our democratic process. The cyber attempts, getting into e-mails, et cetera. Russia's aggression in the Ukraine. So there's a whole host. Russia's lack of human rights for many in Russia. So I think he should start with, of course, the intrusion into our democratic process. But also have subject matter talking about the aggression that Russia has had in Ukraine as well as some of the human rights and leaks to the press in Russia.

BLACKWELL: You suggested he should talk about Russia's intrusion and meddling in the 2016 election. The president hasn't 100 percent bought into that. What's your degree of confidence that that will come up?

MEEKS: Well, I don't have. You asked me what I would talk about.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MEEKS: I'm not saying that's what this president will talk about. We clearly saw that when the prime minister from Russia was in the White House, with the ambassador, that he was having a good time. And what he was talking about was giving away American secrets.

So I am extremely concerned about what this president will talk about or whether he will talk about anything of substance at all with reference to Russia. Unlike, you know, say, the new president of France, President Macron, who very clearly criticized Putin about Russia's involvement in the French elections and in other European elections.

This is a threat to the very democracy that we have here in America and around the world. And I would hope that our president will say something, but I have no confidence that he will.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's turn to North Korea now, the president in the Rose Garden with the president of South Korea, talked about strategic patience with North Korea. And here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed. Many years. And it's failed. And frankly that patience is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now the first time we've heard this from this administration clearly a rhetorical shift from the Obama administration. But practically, what does that mean? What does the end of this strategic patience look like from your perspective?

MEEKS: I was going to ask you because I have no clue what that means. Listen, clearly, it's a difficult situation in North Korea. My thought pattern would be that we've got to be in lockstep with our allies there in South Korea and in Japan. I think that there has to be more increased pressure on China. I think that we need to have some talks in the regard of pressure. I should say, put on North Korea in a very similar way that we did with Iran, in getting that nuclear agreement done.

[09:20:02] I know some people talk about that we had six-party talks in the past. If you go back, look, that we had an agreement. There was something that went on in the transition between the Clinton administration and the Bush administration and the North Koreans pulled out. But if we had, I think we need those talks where there is a verifiable opportunity to get on the ground and get all the information that's necessary from the North Koreans in the same manner that we're doing in Iran.

But clearly what the president is talking about, I have no clue what his policy is and what that statement meant. And nor has anybody indicated that they know what it is.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn to health care quickly before we let you go. Senate Republicans missed the self-imposed deadline to pass this bill by the July 4th break. If they come back and cannot pass it, there are some Senate Republican, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, who says that it's time now to work with the Democrats. Is there an area here, an overlap, if the negotiations begin with

Republicans, that you are willing to negotiate? Some ground you're willing to give to improve the Affordable Care Act?

MEEKS: Absolutely. I think Democrats have said all along, there is no perfect bill. And as opposed to coming with the rhetoric that president said that this would be easy during the campaign, and within the first 48 hours or so this will be done.

Look, before the Affordable Care Act, people were not talking about preexisting conditions, they were not talking about, you know, the cap. What we were having -- they were not talking about children being on their parents' medical coverage to the age of 26. So are there areas that we could work together and improve? Absolutely, there are areas.

BLACKWELL: What are they? What are they?

MEEKS: The major complaint about the Affordable Care Act is in some areas bringing the cost down. Bringing the cost down overall for insurance and for pharmaceutical drugs so that it is affordable. And there's ways that we can do that.

What the president has done was basically undermine that by making sure that individuals, for example, younger people where we're advertising to get more folks to sign up, which helps bring the cost down. You know, the truth of the matter is, I think for the president, this is really not about health care for him. It's about tax. And it's about making sure that those in his class receive tremendous tax cuts at the expense of individuals who would lose, based upon the CBO, 22 million people would lose their health care.

Middle class Americans who need Medicare, Medicaid, for their seniors who may be in affordable living, assisted living facilities.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MEEKS: They would not be able to afford it. So -- but, yes. In answer to your question, absolutely, I think Democrats would be looking to help improve and fix some of the issues within the Affordable Care Act. But not repeal it.

BLACKWELL: All right. Congressman Gregory Meeks, good to have you this morning.

MEEKS: Always good to be with you.

BLACKWELL: All right -- Christi.

PAUL: Yes, every week, CNN's Chris Cillizza picks a person he believes had the worst week in Washington. This week, the person who gets that distinction, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. This is what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: With Mitch McConnell, you're right, it's always a busy week. Donald Trump could have won certainly but I went with Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate. And I'll tell you why, Victor.

Mitch McConnell set this past week as the hard and fast deadline to pass health care reform through the Senate. Then he decided there weren't the votes and he had to postpone it which he very much did not want to do. Now this is a guy who people say is a legislative mastermind but he didn't really show it this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN's Chris Cillizza cuts through the political spin and gets to the point of all that's happening in Washington. To subscribe, go to "The Point with Chris Cillizza." That's on CNN.com.

BLACKWELL: Well, the feds are now in Chicago to help crack down on illegal weapons in the city. Is that President Trump following through on a promise or carrying out the plans of the last administration?

PAUL: Also police arrest a man they say kidnapped a Chinese grad student. But investigators are still worried because they don't know where that missing woman is. The latest on the search and what family members are saying this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:26] PAUL: So good to have you with us, 28 minutes past the hour. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good morning to you.

I want to you listen to this dramatic recording of the moment right before a plane crashed on one of the busiest highways in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 297. Mayday, mayday. I lost my right engine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You can hear the panic there in the pilot's voice. So this was a call after his plane's engine gave out midair. We're told the pilot was trying to land this Cessna 310 at an Orange County airport but didn't make it. The plane crashed and exploded there on the freeway, the 405. Others on the freeway ran to help.

The pilot only clipped one vehicle on the way down. That driver just suffered just minor injuries. The pilot and passenger of the plane, they survived the crash. They were taken to the hospital.

PAUL: Listen to these number, 320 people have been murdered so far this year alone in Chicago. That is on par with last year, when the city was on its way to a record shattering 760 murders for the year. One person who has been watching and promising change, of course, is President Trump. Look at this.

OK. We'll get that for you in a minute. But right now federal agents are in Chicago. They're helping stop the spread of illegal weapons in the city and target repeat gun offenders. And President Trump said, listen, this is him delivering on a campaign promise. He did say that he would send in federal help to the city of Chicago.

CNN national correspondent Ryan Young joining us live from that city.

Ryan, what are you hearing there this morning?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, this is a big conversation that's been had since the last administration, so when you talk to the police department, they said they don't care which administration gives them the help, they do want some help.

[09:30:08] There is some good news here in Chicago. Crime is down about 14 percent here. But of course the police department does not want to go too far and celebrate that just yet because they realize they've got to make some movements in terms of some of these communities.

I will tell you, though, there's a new ATF strike force that has 20 members that's going to be joining state patrol officers and police officers. They're going to work in a secret location and they're going to go after those illegal guns.

Of course, if you think about this, L.A. and New York combined don't collect as many guns as Chicago does. And they're trying to get those off the streets. Yesterday, we were talking to the organized crime leader. They were saying they'll do whatever they can to make a change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN NAVARRO, DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE: These discussions with the superintendent have gone back actually to November. So we've had two administrations that the superintendent has been dealing with in terms of getting extra assistance from ATF.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, you've got to think about it this way. When you talk to people in the community they do want help from the federal government. They want to see changes. Of course, when you have so many young people being shot and killed in the streets, they want to see changes not only with illegal guns but also with gangs here in Chicago.

Just last night, you had eight people shot. Two people killed in the city. They're adding 1300 officers to the streets in the next period because this is the Fourth of July weekend which is normally very busy in terms of shootings and murders and they're trying to stop this and see what happens next.

PAUL: My goodness. All right. Ryan Young, we appreciate it so much, thank you. BLACKWELL: Authorities in Illinois, they fear that a missing Chinese

grad student is dead and they've arrested a man they believed kidnapped her. FBI investigators say that Yingying Zhang disappeared June 9th from the campus at the University of Illinois.

PAUL: Surveillance video caught her getting into a car driven by the suspect. Take a look at this. That suspect has been charged in her disappearance, by the way. Investigators also say the suspect visited Web sites about kidnapping and allegedly confessed.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Kaylee Hartung is following the story for us.

And Kaylee, what leads investigator to believe that she's dead?

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a really stunning development late last night. A 27-year-old man living in Champagne, Illinois, was arrested for her kidnapping. And Brendt Christensen had been under surveillance for about two weeks by authorities and he was caught on audio recording explaining to someone, we don't know who, how he kidnapped Yingying, that he brought her back to his apartment and held her against her will.

Now Christensen under surveillance to begin with because he was tied to the black Saturn Aster that you saw in that surveillance video that she was seen getting into on June 9th. Not many of those in the area registered to residents there. So police really brought in everyone who owns that vehicle and were able to zero in on him. Once they got a hold of his phone, they were able to do a forensic search that led them to find he had visited Web sites and forums like abduction 101, a perfect abduction fantasy and planning a kidnapping.

Now we don't know what was said on that audio recording where he explained how he kidnapped Yingying. But it did lead the FBI to say based on this, this being that audio recording and other facts uncovered during the investigation of this matter, law enforcement does not believe that Yingying Zhang is still alive.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks, Kaylee, for following this and keep us updated.

PAUL: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right.

Police right now are looking for the person responsible for death in a road rage incident. This was a recent high school graduate. We've got a sketch here of the suspect. The incident happened Wednesday afternoon, it was just west of Philadelphia. Police say surveillance video shows the moment the suspect who was in that red truck shot the young woman in the head. The car veered off the road, crashed into a tree.

The victim, 18-year-old Bianca Roberson. Her family says that she was heading to Jacksonville University in two weeks to start her freshman year. Police are now offering a $5,000 reward for any information. President Trump and South Korea's president meeting in Washington.

But they have different messages on North Korea. We'll ask our North Korea expert more about that and the impact after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:38:23] TRUMP: The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed. Many years. And it's failed. And, frankly, that patience is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Well, the U.S. and South Korea seem to be sending mixed messages about North Korea. President Donald Trump, of course, warning that Washington's patience is over, as you heard there. But South Korea's President Moon is urging open dialogue saying, quote, "President Trump and I will not pursue a hostile policy against North Korea. We have no intention to attack North Korea. We do not wish to see the regime replaced or collapsed."

Sue Mi Terry, former CIA North Korea analyst and White House official, with us now. She met with North Korean officials in Sweden recently as well in the last few weeks.

So, Sue, thank you for being with us. You described that meeting with North Korean officials as being a very pessimistic picture. Why did you characterize it as such?

SUE MI TERRY, FORMER CIA NORTH KOREA ANALYST: Well, because we the Americans were trying to figure out if there's any room for flexibility. And the North Koreans were adamant insisting that there's no room for flexibility, that they are not going to be turn to talks if we want to talk about denuclearization.

They're not willing to give up nuclear weapons. They're very close to perfecting their nuclear arsenal, completing their nuclear program. And there's just -- there's no desire for talks on that. All they want to talk about is peace treaty which is an entirely different issue.

PAUL: You just said something that's really interesting, that they're close to developing a nuclear weapon.

[09:40:02] Do we know how capable they are or what their capabilities are truly? Do you think the U.S. really has a good gauge of what they're capable of doing?

TERRY: Well, we don't know for sure exactly where they are, but we do know there are nuclear power. We do know that they have missiles that are able to reach Japan, South Korea, our interests in the Pacific, Guam, Hawaii. They just have not tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, a nuclear tipped ICBM that could reach New York or Washington which is their final goal because they see it as the deterrent against the United States. The only way for them to survive. PAUL: So you talk about how they could reach Japan, they could reach

South Korea. What do you make of the different messages being sent out from President Trump and President Moon? And any collaboration that could happen there when it comes to trying to rein North Korea's program -- nuclear program in?

TERRY: Well, President Moon and President Trump are going to have a fundamentally different approach in dealing with North Korea. But Mr. Moon, President Moon came to Washington and tried to show that there's no daylight between Washington and Seoul in dealing with the North, but, of course, there is.

So I think President Moon by saying that military option is off the table, we're not going to pursue aggressive approach, we're not seeking regime change, he's just talking about the extreme end that we're not going to do but I think there's going to be a divergent in their approach because President Trump is all pressing North Korea, all about maximum pressure through financial sanctions and other pressure means. And President Moon wants more open approach, potential dialogue and engagement with North Korea.

PAUL: Do you think that direct dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea is even possible?

TERRY: Well, if you want to talk about denuclearization, I think that's off the table. I think it's very unrealistic for us to think that North Korea will return to the talks now to talk about denuclearization. Perhaps in the future, but I think it's a very unlikely scenario.

PAUL: All right. Sue Mi Terry, appreciate your insight so much. Thanks for being here.

TERRY: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: The efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare will obviously impact some Americans more than others. Next, we'll show you how changes in the law or repeal of the law could hurt small town hospitals.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:46:46] BLACKWELL: Efforts by the GOP to repeal and replace Obamacare could be endangering some Americans.

PAUL: Yes. A loll of small towns have lost hospitals due to shrinking budgets and cuts to Medicaid could make the problem even worse.

Here's Nick Valencia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in Richland, Georgia, just two hours south of Atlanta, it's a different world from the big city. Access to basic services, including a hospital, is not a guarantee.

ALLURI RAJU, PHYSICIAN: I'm the only physician in 30-mile radius.

VALENCIA: Dr. Alluri Raju has been the only doctor in town since the nearest hospital, Stewart Webster Hospital, shut down in 2013. Nearly 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2010. And now hundreds more are at risk. To add insult to injury, the facility was shuttered with little warning.

RAJU: Gave us a notice on Monday and we closed the hospital by Friday.

VALENCIA (on camera): What was that like?

RAJU: It was very devastating and very sad.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Dr. Raju, who was the chief of staff at the hospital, is now in high demand.

RAJU: I see about 22, 25 patients a day.

VALENCIA (on camera): And you're the only doctor here?

RAJU: I work full time, Monday through Friday.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Raju says most of his patients are elderly. And that 95 percent of his patients are now on Medicare or Medicaid. Under the new health care Senate bill, these subsidies would shrivel, putting the only doctor in town at risk of closing, too.

RAJU: If there is Medicaid cuts, it's going to really impact.

VALENCIA (on camera): How bad?

RAJU: Very bad.

VALENCIA (voice-over): With the nearest hospital now at least a 45- minute drive away, residents of Richland live in a medical desert.

It makes the jobs of Ed Lynch and his small crew of EMTs even harder. His two ambulances service an area larger than Los Angeles. They receive an average of 1200 calls per year.

ED LYNCH, EMT: They can be hung up at a hospital three, four hours before they get a bed. And then if we get a call, we can go hours without coverage.

VALENCIA: Since the hospital shut down, they've become mobile emergency rooms.

LYNCH: Rural Georgia is dying. There used to be hospitals literally in the whole state.

VALENCIA: It's more than just an inconvenience for Richland resident Anna Lord Barrett. With no hospital close by and Dr. Raju unavailable, she had to call an ambulance when she caught the flu. ANNA LORD BARRETT, RICHLAND, GEORGIA, RESIDENT: It would have been so

much simpler just to get fluids right here and come home, which is what I needed. But it took all night long.

VALENCIA: But without a hospital, others who have suffered from something more serious haven't been so lucky.

LYNCH: I can remember when having to ventilate somebody. I've seen people I know all of my life die. And, you know, we can't save everybody. But it's nice to save the ones that we can.

VALENCIA (on camera): Rural residents are in a public health crisis. Small-town hospitals like this one are closing all across America. But especially in the southeast. Here in Georgia, the state has identified up to 50 other small town hospitals in danger of closing their doors.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Richland, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Nick, thank you.

New developments in the deadly traffic accident involving tennis star Venus Williams.

Coy Wire, what are you learning?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning to you, Christi.

Just days before she plays her first match at Wimbledon, Venus Williams publicly offered condolences on Facebook to the family of the 78-year-old man who lost his life.

[09:50:04] Details after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, tennis star Venus Williams is facing a wrongful death lawsuit now for her involvement in that car crash that killed a 78- year-old man.

BLACKWELL: Coy Wire is here now with more.

This happened sometime ago but now we're just learning about it.

WIRE: Yes. Last month. Exactly. Good morning to you, Christi and Victor.

Venus Williams is being sued by the woman whose husband died in the traffic accident involving Venus Williams and the police say Williams was at fault for that accident. She told police in South Florida she was stopped in the median of an intersection because of traffic in front of her. [09:55:02] She says when she pulled forward to cross the intersection,

Mrs. Barson says that she didn't see Venus' car, they T-boned -- this car T-boned Venus' vehicle and Mrs. Parsons was injured and her husband was -- was killed in this accident.

According to the lawsuit, Jerome Barson suffered massive internal bleeding, a fractured spine and more. Two weeks after the accident he died in the hospital on his wife's 68th birthday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL STEINGER, BARSON FAMILY ATTORNEY: The family is under an enormous amount of stress and their loss is overwhelming. This was the love of Linda's life. As you said they had been married for more than 35 years, three children, 13 grandchildren, they were planning a family cruise the following week, a Disney cruise with all the grandchildren. They are absolutely devastated. This has really impacted their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Last night, Venus posted on Facebook, quote, "I am devastated and heartbroken by this accident. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerome Barson and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers," unquote.

Williams is scheduled to play in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday.

We're going to change gears now and get you some big news yesterday from the NBA. Steph Curry became the highest paid player in league history. He has won two titles over the past three years for the Warriors. Two league MVPs for himself during that time span so that meant big dollars. $201 million over five years, that works out to be about $110,000 per day every day for the next five years. So that's not a bad deal. He made $44 million over the last four years combined.

All right. We're going to end on one story here. One of the top soccer players in the world, Lionel Messi got married. And one news outlet is calling it the wedding of the century. Barcelona star married his childhood sweetheart Antonella Racusa. The two have known each other since they were just 5 years old.

This was in their hometown in Argentina. A star-studded event. They had Shakira singing there at the ceremony and it was such a big deal that they had big screens outside of the hotel casino where they had this.

PAUL: My gosh.

WIRE: So that fans could watch this celebration.

PAUL: That's pressure for a good dress, I can say that right now.

(LAUGHTER) PAUL: Thank you, Coy.

WIRE: Exactly. You're welcome.

PAUL: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So this month President Trump will visit Paris to celebrate Bastille Day with French President Emmanuel Macron. Now the last time these two powerhouses met, maybe you remember, it was a little awkward.

PAUL: Yes. Some people going, are they going to hug it out this time? Going to be that lingering handshake?

CNN's Jeannie Moos takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Guess who's coming to Paris?

President Trump accepted an invitation to celebrate the French national holiday, Bastille Day. I guess the White House wasn't put off by what the new French president said after the U.S. pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: Make our planet great again.

MOOS: Maybe the two leaders will opt --

TRUMP: Congratulations. Good job.

MOOS: -- to make their handshake great again. The first one was described as white knuckle.

MACRON: Thank you very much.

MOOS (on camera): Yes, thanks a lot. That handshake left President Trump's fingers flexing for freedom.

(Voice-over): President Macron later called it a moment of truth, saying, "You have to show you won't make small, even symbolic concessions." Though later that day, Macron was on the receiving end of President Trump's alpha male grab and yank shake.

Another world leader, India's Prime Minister Modi.

TRUMP: A true friend.

MOOS: Found another way to foil the aggressive handshake. Visiting the White House this week, he hugged President Trump, not once, not twice, but three times. His technique was to offer a hand, pull the president into a hug, then employ a lingering double hand hold.

(On camera): Now lest you think that this was an exclusive bromance, you should know that India's prime minister is famous for his hugs. (Voice-over): He's hugged everyone from President Obama to Mark

Zuckerberg to less than cuddly Vladimir Putin. He used a full body press when he hugged France's former president.

The gesture prompted one fan to tweet, "Find you someone who will hug you like Indian PM Modi. Just hugged President Trump."

Upon saying goodbye, he rested his head on the president's left shoulder, then on his right shoulder. He also has an odd habit of tugging on children's ears. But he better not try that on President Trump.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: More news coming at you here.

BLACKWELL: All right. Next hour starts now.

PAUL: 9:59 is the time on a Saturday morning and we're so grateful to have your company as always. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: All right. I'm Victor Blackwell. And now it is 10:00. There we go. All right. CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.