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Battle against ISIS in Mosul nears end; Kurdish refugee in Japan; Donald Trump, Jr. admits meeting a female Russian lawyer; Tillerson in Qatar; Fire at Camden Market in London; Paris and Los Angeles bid to host Olympics; London High Court decide on Charlie Gard's case; Senate back on the health care bill.8-9a ET

Aired July 07, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00] JOINED IN PROGRESS

ANNA COREN, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: Hello, I'm Anna Coren in Hongkong. Welcome to "News Stream." Well, CNN goes inside western Mosul as only

pockets of ISIS resistance remain in what was once the stronghold in Iraq.

Donald Trump Jr., admits he met a Russian lawyer during the presidential campaign but his father knew nothing about it.

And why refugees struggle to find acceptance in Japan which rejects almost every asylum application it gets.

For three years, it was the largest ISIS stronghold in Iraq, but now it looks like Mosul is closer than ever to be being free from terrorist rule.

The Iraqis prime minister walked through the city declaring victory but also saying pockets of resistance remain. Still the mood is celebratory for

troops who have fought for months to reach this point. Mosul is Iraq's largest metropolis after Baghdad.

CNN's Nick Payton Walsh is the only western journalist in the part of Mosul known as the old city. Intense fighting is still going on there and he was

embedded with the Iraqi troops.

NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: About 100 yards until they hit the symbolic river that runs through the heart of Mosul.

What was once the capital in Iraq of ISIS caliphate, now reduced to a tiny number of buildings simply and snipers picking up the tiny remnants of

ISIS. Many of them have been emerging from the rubble seemingly wanting to give themselves up.

Today's forces are led by Brigadier General Assadi (ph) from the Iraqi Special Forces, American trained, American equipment and we've seen

ourselves from a vast amount of air strikes that have come in here to support this advance. Startling to see the rubble around us here, the

devastation of this city, but they are so close to their final goal here.

Talk of political announcements being made possibly from this particular area. But minute by minute, ISIS appear to be running out of ammunition,

handing themselves in, fear is filled of potentially human shields trapped inside there. The occasional snipers rounds fired at them here but the

territory is so small now and so they're here together and that is the point in which the declared their victory. Nick Paytn Walsh, about 100

yards from the Tigris River in the old city of Mosul, Iraq.

COREN: Well the fighting to retake Mosul has driven hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes. Many are living in displacement camps with

the need for clean water, food and medicine. We have links on our website to organizations working on the ground. Just go to CNN.com/impact.

Well some of the people fleeing conflict in the Middle East are seeking safety in Japan. Immigration is a controversial topic there. While the

country donates billions of dollars to international refugee programs, it rejects almost every asylum application it gets. CNN's Will Ripley met

Kurds living in limbo outside Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A rare taste of Kurdish hospitality in Japan. This family of refugees welcomes us into their home -- their home at

least for now. About 2,000 ethnic Kurds live in Japan most seeking refuge from sectarian violence.

This family fled the Turkish-Syrian border more than a decade ago. They've learned Japanese, local customs and live quietly in a small Kurdish enclave

north of Tokyo. But they don't have a permanent home. Japan can deport them at any time because of a strict policy that only gives refugee status to a

select few and leaves everyone else in limbo.

Misut Gul (ph) has been living temporarily in Japan for 11 years. He re- applies at the immigration bureau every two months. When he tried to re- apply in December, something he's done more than 60 times, immigration workers told him he was being deported.

His requests for refugee status finally denied. Locked in detention for five months, Gul (ph) became seriously ill. Officers took him to the

hospital in shackles.

It sounds to me like you're describing a prison. Did you feel like you were in prison?

Yes, it is he says. I was living faithfully and honestly, following Japanese laws. I believe I'd be accepted but I ended up being detained.

Gul (ph) is appealing his deportation order. He says even this life is better than what he'd faced back home.

[08:05:00] Japan's justice ministry says nearly 11,000 people applied for asylum last year, a record. The immigration bureau accepted just 28

refugees.

The government tells CNN people abuse the system that many seeking refugee status are actually economic migrants and that Japan is the world's third

largest economy already donates billions of dollars to refugee programs.

But this homogenous insular society is fiercely reluctant to take in migrants. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan needs to focus on restarting

its economy before considering changes to its refugee policy.

Is Japan's immigration system designed to grind people down to make them want to leave?

"From my 35 years of experience in immigration, I would say Japan wants to send them back," says Hidenori Sakanaka

The former head of Tokyo's immigration bureau is trying to change the system.

"The time has come for us to accept more refugee and immigrants," he says. Not one Turkish Kurd has ever been granted refugee status in Japan.

Instead, they get temporary permits, renewed every few months. Many cannot work legally, don't qualify for health care and can't even leave their city

without permission

What's it like to live without residency here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This means you are not officially not exist in here.

RIPLEY: You just don't exist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that is the main problem.

RIPLEY: A constant state of uncertainty even for students like the 19- year-old Ramazan Durzon (ph). His parents brought him here as a child.

"I dream about having a future in Japan," he says. "But If I am deported, everything I learned, everything I built here will disappear." In Japan, he

and other refugees find safe harbor but no home. Their lives, their futures in limbo. Will Ripley, CNN, Kawaguchi, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: We're shifting now to an admission by the eldest son of U.S. president Donald Trump. He says he met with a Russian lawyer after being

promised information about Hillary Clinton and that individuals connected to Russia were funding her Democratic National Committee. CNN's Suzanne

Malveaux has the details.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The "New York Times" reporting that Donald Trump Jr. was promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton

before agreeing to meet with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin at Trump Tower on June 9th, two weeks before his father became the Republican

nominee.

Trump Jr. admitting on a statement that potentially helpful information was a pretext for the meeting, but insisting that nothing meaningful was

provided, noting the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee an

supporting Ms. Clinton. Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense.

The president's son insisting that his father knew nothing about the meeting. A statement reiterated by Trump's legal team.

REINCE PRIEBUS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: It was a nothing meeting.

MALVEAUX: In Donald Jr.'s initial statement released Saturday, he gave a different explanation for the meeting, explaining that they primarly

discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children and making no mention of Hillary Clinton. Both statements noting that the president's

son-in-law, Jared Kushner and then campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, were also in attendance.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: I think we're going to want to question everyone that was at the meeting about what was discussed.

MALVEAUX: This is as President Trump is facing scrutiny over his response to Russia's election hacks after meeting with Russian President Vladimir

Putin. Trump walking back a tweet about forming an impenetrable cyber security unit with Russia to guard against the threat.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I am sure that Vladimir Putin could be of an enormous assistance in that effort since he's doing the hacking.

MALVEAUX: Facing backlash, President Trump reversing course 12 hours later, tweeting, "the fact that President Putin and I discussed a cyber

unit doesn't mean I think it can happen. It can't but a ceasefire can and did."

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It's not the dumbest idea I've ever heard but it's pretty close.

MALVEAUX: President Trump insisting on Sunday that he strongly pressed President Putin about Russian meddling during Friday's meeting. But not

indicating if he accepted Putin's vehement denial, saying only, "I've already given my opinion."

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it was Russia but I think it was probably other people and to our countries and I see nothing

wrong with that statement. Nobody really knows.

MALBVEAUX: This is after the Russian foreign minister said Friday that President Trump heard and accepts Putin's denial, a claim that president's

aides denied on Sunday after initially declining to answer questions about the matter during a gaggle aboard Air Force One.

PRIEBUS: The president absolutely

[08:10:00] did not believe the denial of President Putin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well now Suzanne Malveaux now joins us from the White House, and Suzanne obviously a lot to discuss. Let's start with Donald Trump Jr.

changing his story over the weekend, that's why he met with this Russian lawyer, how is this going down Washington D.C.?

MALVEAUX: Well, Anna, there is a lot of criticisms and a lot of skepticisms about this, that the fact that the story had change or at least

the emphasis behind that meeting, that story changing just within a day or so. We have heard from numerous lawmakers, Democrats and some Republicans

who are really wondering whether or not this damages in fact the president's credibility and his team's credibility when it comes to whether

or not there was close associations or ties with these Russian officials and what was behind it.

We have heard from the Democrat who is the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, saying that he wants to talk to all of

those people who were in that meeting with that particular Russian lawyer. So don't be surprised if we do see some formal request going to those

members. We'll see if that actually happens or not, but there is a lot of curiosity about this.

Also, the White House hitting back very hard this morning, Kellyanne Conway an adviser, close adviser to the president, saying a couple of things.

First of all, pleading ignorance saying that Don Jr. didn't even know the name of this woman, this female lawyer who he was meeting with prior.

Secondly, making the point that the White House or at least not the White House but Don Jr. has made it right and that they have added to the

disclosure forms these statements that they fill out, adding these additional conversations that they've had with this particular Russian

lawyers so that that box has been checked so to speak.

And then finally, she's down playing this, this morning, saying look, there is no real significance coming out of these meetings, nothing that really

happened. No information that was useful to them that rather -- that this was something that came up in the beginning of the conversation, quickly

turn to the issue of Russian adoption and going on to say look, we have all these different kinds of meetings and some of them are not fruitful or

helpful.

So, that is the line that the White House is taking this morning and trying to explain this. But there are still a lot of questions and it really does

go to the heart of some of those federal investigation just how close were the Trump's team to some of these Russian officials or Russian actors if

you will and just how willing were they to cooperate with them, potentially collude with them to benefit Donald Trump.

COREN: Yes, questions investigators will no doubt be looking into. Suzanne Malveaux, good to see you. Thank you for that.

Well for the Russia perspective on the story, let's turn to our Matthew Chance in Moscow. Matthew, tell us, what is the reaction to these latest

scandal involving Russians and the Trump camp.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of this meeting in Trump Tower with Donald Trump, Jr., the Russians are trying

to distance themselves from it as much as possible. We spoke to the Kremlin's spokesperson earlier on today within the last hour and we said,

look, was this woman, this lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was she sent by the Kremlin to advocate the repeal of the Magnistky Act, which was the act

which was imposed by the United States to punish people involved in a massive tax fraud here.

And Dmitry Peskov who's the spokesperson for the Kremlin said, look, we don't even know who this person is. We certainly didn't send her and we

can't monitor the meeting that Russian lawyers have both in Russia and abroad. And so the Kremlin is trying as much as they can to distance

themselves from this. And so that's the situation here and again, the Russians dismissing these continuing allegations of collusions as absurd

and as nonsense, Anna.

COREN: Well, the Russians trying to distance themselves and is this lawyer. She told the "New York Times" the she wasn't there doing business on behalf

of the Kremlin and yet she has very close ties to the Kremlin. What more do we know about her?

CHANCE: She certainly has close ties to companies that do big business in this country and in fact she's been the lawyer for a company that has been

based in Cypress, a Russian company that's based in Cypress that's been implicated in trying to launder the proceeds of the Magnitsky fraud -- $230

million were allegedly taken as part of that fraud by corrupt Russian officials.

And this company she represented was trying allegedly to launder it. So, it may be in that capacity that she went to New York and

[08:15:00] lobbied for the repeal of this law because it would have affected her clients directly rather than the Kremlin. It just happens that

her client and the Kremlin have a similar aim and a similar interest in this act being lifted. But certainly, she's been linked -- she's a high

profile lawyer here in Russia and she's been linked with repeated attacks on this Magnitsky Act and she's become quite a prominent advocate for the

repeal, for the drive to repeal the act by the United States.

COREN: Matthew Chance in Moscow, we appreciate the insight. Thank you.

Meanwhile, the top U.S. diplomat heads to Kuwait to play peacemaker in Qatar's dispute with its neighbors. Rex Tillerson stopped in Istanbul to

meet the Turkish president who has criticized the isolation. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the move a death sentence on Qatar.

And there's another conflict on Tillerson's agenda. Violence in eastern Ukraine. He met with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko in Kiev and said

Russia must do more to aid the fighting.

The latest twist in the case of a terminally ill infant as the British high court is set to hear that a new medical option that could prolong his life.

Stay with us.

And it's the competition before the competition. Paris and Los Angeles are making their final Olympic bids. Paris lost to London in 2012, but can it

prove that it has what it takes to host in 2024. That's ahead.

(OMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: A beautiful evening here in Hong Kong as we look out over Victoria Harbor. Welcome back to "News Stream."

Well a huge fire broke out over night in London's popular tourist attraction Camden Market. Emergency services say they have put out the

flames but a crew remains on the scene to make sure it doesn't reignite. Phil Black has more.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities said the emergency calls started coming in around midnight local time, and there were lots of them

because the fire was so visible across a wide area. Images and videos posted to social media give a sense of just how dramatic it looked on the

nighttime London skylight.

The authorities responded with some force around 70 firefighters, 10 fire engines. They battled the fire for about three hours before declaring that

it was out and then working through the morning to ensure there were no issues with any of the smoldering ruins and showing there was no risk the

fire could take hold once again.

Crucially, there were no reported injuries as a result of this fire. Camden Market is without a doubt one of London's best known market areas. It's

very busy during the day but at that time of the night, there would have been very few people around. The human cost here will be in the businesses

and livelihood that are affected as a result of the damage that has been caused.

[08:20:00] There was another large fire, bigger than this, in this same area back in 2008. It took many months for the businesses in this area to

recover from the fire on that occasion. The authorities here say it's too early to know precisely what the cause of this fire was. Phil Black. CNN,

London.

COREN: Well, Paris wants to host the Olympics and in 2024 it may have a chance if it conveys its only competitor, Los Angeles. Well the city has

been spending tens of millions of dollars on elaborate shows and promotional events to convince the International Olympic Committee that

Paris has the infrastructure, finances and enthusiasm to host the games. Just today, both committees will make their final bid of presentations.

Well the French president Emmanuel Macron is throwing his weight behind the Paris bid. Melissa Bell is in Paris with much more, and Melissa, what are

Paris' chances of winning the bid?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: They're actually looking pretty strong, Anna. Of course, we're going to have to wait not just until

tomorrow. This will be a crucial phase happening in (INAUDIBLE) for the two delegations. We're going to have to wait until September to find out

whether or not Paris has been successful.

But there is a sense that it is really leading in the odds. There was a short while ago some mixed signals about whether they felt they had in fact

already lost the fight and not a statement then putting out saying that they continued to consider itself from the running. But clearly Paris

believes it has a good shot at this. And Emmanuel Macron leaves today to head to Los Angeles really to throw his weight behind that bid hoping that

the fresh, relatively freshly elected French president can really work his magic over the coming days.

COREN: Melissa, it has been 100 years since Paris hosted the games so, it seems likely or timely I should say that it goes to them. But, I have to

say security must be an issue that perhaps could hamper the bid.

BELL: Clearly security will be an issue in France and it could remain in a state of emergency for the time being, will be until autumn. So there are

particular set of security concerns that will have to be considered certainly. One of the facts that you mentioned a moment ago, Anna, was

enthusiasm. That's one of the crucial things that perhaps give the lady (ph) advantage.

More people in L.A. backed the L.A. bid that do (INAUDIBLE), enhance those efforts in the part prison (ph) authorities and of course the last few

weeks, the sun was entirely taken over for a while. All kinds of different activities people could take in, take part and start (ph) drawn up support

for this bid.

Clearly though, on France's side is that date, 2024 will be the 100th anniversary of the last time the games were held here and Parisians clearly

hoping the delegation at least that might help swing those deciding this in their favor.

COREN: Melissa Bell, joining us from Paris. Thank you.

Well the British High Court's will hear a new evidence today in the case of the terminally ill infant Charlie Gard. His parents are seeking permission

to take their son to the United States for medical care. It comes after a group of doctors say there is an experimental treatment that might help

prolong the Charlie's life.

Erin McLaughlin joins us from outside the High Court in London. Tell us, the family had exhausted all legal avenues in the U.K. but then late last

week, the Great Ormond Street Hospital asked England's High Court to review the case, why the change in heart?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the hospital says that there has been a claim of new evidence put forward by two international hospitals not

saying the nature of the evidence put forward or the hospitals involved, but clearly they're thinking that this claim is significant enough to want

the high court to weigh in on this matter.

At the same time though, the hospital is saying that it is not changing its views on this case and a statement that it put out saying, "our doctors

have explored every medical treatment including experimental nucleoside therapies. Independent medical experts agreed with our clinical team that

this treatment would be unjustified. Not only that, but they and it would be futile and would prolong Charlie's suffering... our view has not

changed. We believe it is right to seek the High Court's view in light of the claimed new evidence."

And its preliminary hearing that we expect to begin here at the Royal Courts of Justice in some 30 minutes time really comes as the hospital is

under increasing international pressure even thought really it's not up to the hospital to decide this case. At this point, this is a legal matter.

Nevertheless, over the weekend, the parents of Charlie Gard delivered a petition signed by over 350,000 people calling for Charlie to be able to

travel to the United States for treatments. Take a listen to what Charlie Gard's mother had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONNIE YATES, CHARLIE GARD'S MOTHER: He's our son. He's our flesh and blood. We feel that we have the right as parents to decide to give him a

chance of life. For medication, it's just all medicine,

[08:25:00] no known negative side effects, you know, there is nothing to lose. He deserves the chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP]

BELL: And Charlie Gard's parents have received support and help from outside organizations especially coming from the United States. A pro-life

organization has helped the family organized that petition that delivered over the weekend. Also U.S. lawmakers weighing in, two Republicans expected

to propose legislation that will grant Charlie Gard and his family permanent residency status inside the U.S.

Although British legal experts tell me that that would have absolutely no bearing on this case but it does give you the sense, Anna, of the kind of

international interests we are seeing and what happens to this baby.

COREN: Absolute worldwide attention on this case and we can only try and imagine what those parents must be going through. Erin McLaughlin, joining

us from London. Thank you for the update.

Still ahead on "News Stream," President Trump's eldest son admits to meeting a Russian lawyer to get information on Hillary Clinton. We'll hear

from members of both presidential campaigns. That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Welcome back. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. You are watching "News Stream." This is you world headlines. U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest

son says he did meet with a Russian lawyer after being told there was damaging information about opponent Hillary Clinton and allegations Russia

was funding the Democrats.

Well, Donald trump, Jr. says the meeting produced nothing meaningful. A Kremlin spokesman says Moscow was not aware of the meeting.

Iraq says Mosul is almost free of ISIS three years since it came under terrorist control. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the city and

declared victory, but also said pockets of resistance remain. A CNN team was there in the last few hours and witnessed intense fighting in one

section of the city.

The British High Court will hear new evidence today in the case of terminally ill infant Charlie Gard. His parents are seeking permission to

take him to the United States to try an experimental treatment that could prolong his life. The court previously ruled against further treatment.

A top Vatican official has returned to his native Australia to defend himself against sexual abuse charges. Cardinal George Pell has rejected the

allegations. He is due to appear in court on July 26th where a full charge list is expected to be released.

Well let's return now to that meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer during last year presidential campaign.

[08:30:00] CNN's "New Day" Chris Cuomo spoke to Jason Miller, the former senior communication adviser for then candidate Trump and Robby Mook,

Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBBY MOOK, FORMER HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: The person that they were meeting with was not just anybody. This was an operative of the

Kremlin, someone who was advocating -- not just there to talk about the info (ph) on Hillary but advocating to repeal sanctions and other measures

that had been put in place against Russian business people who were implicated in killing a journalist.

So this was a very serious conversation beyond the involvement in the campaign. And what's disturbing to me right now is that we're seeing so

much behavior from the White House that is cozy and friendly to Russia. This has policy implications right now and I think that the Congress needs

to step up immediately and take measures to make sure that there is no one in the White House -- I would highlight Jared Kushner, for example, who is

acting in a friendly manner towards Russia because of influence from meetings like this one.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN NEW DAY SHOW HOST: All right, so the push back for you is, one, this was before the e-mail dump and all of the notoriety about

Russian collusion was happening in terms of how high they should have been on the radar. Two, there is nothing wrong with even meeting with people

from other countries, as you well know Robby, it happens all the time.

And the third aspect of push back would be that it wound up being a non- event, that there was no information and the woman was dismissed, this female lawyer and that's why nothing was really made of the meeting

originally. Your take on note.

MOOK: Well, that's what they telling us. I mean again, the problem here is nobody in the Trump administrations at this point is credible. The

president's story is constantly changing. Don Jr.'s story on this particular meeting changed repeatedly. And as you mentioned, the timing of

this meeting is very interesting because only a few days later, the first dump of e-mails came from (INAUDIBLE) website against the DNC.

So, look, I think there remain an enormous number of questions here and we need to investigate. But again, Congress has got to step in. Our national

security is at stake right now. We cannot trust the administration to stand up for our interest anymore.

CUOMO: All right, Jason, you're shaking your head in the negative. The problem for you in defending here is Don Jr. changed his story. He said

multiple times to the media I never met with anybody. This is all fake news. I don't even know any Russians. This is silly. That can't be true and

we know that from his own mouth. He now admitted to this meeting in two different ways. The first time it was just about adoption and the second

time, he acknowledged himself that this was about meeting with somebody with Russian connections who said she had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

JASON MILLER, FORMER SENIOR COMMUNICATION ADVISER TO TRUMP: Well Chris, I think there are a couple of important things to point out here. I mean

number one, the identity or the background of this person who sat down with Don Jr. wasn't put forward before the meeting so they didn't know exactly

who they were sitting down with.

And so I think some of the media reports and some of the ways this is being presented by many people on the other side of the isle is that this was

made very clear that this is someone who had ties with foreign entities and didn't know exactly what they were doing. And so --

CUOMO: Right, but you're stating that as a fact, Jason. You are stating the fact that Don Jr. didn't know who he's meeting with as a fact. We don't

known that as a fact. And he also has changed his story about what the meeting was about. So credibility is an issue.

MILER: Well Chris, no one has said anything contrary to this. I think it's important to point out here that every single campaign that anyone has ever

been around since back when they campaigned and (INAUDIBLE) --

CUOMO: They meet with people with dirt.

MILLER: There've been operatives (ph) and people from --

CUOMO: Right, absolutely but not usually if they come from a foreign state, hostile state actor like Russia. So why did he change his story if

it was so simple?

MILLER: Chris, that was not made clear beforehand, before they sat down.

CUOMO: That's the speculation. We don't know that as fact.

(CROSSTALK)

MILLER: But we don't know that that is the case. And again, the information that they were given -- they weren't given the person's

identity. It wasn't clear who exactly they were sitting down with. And when they do sit down, and let's get to the substance of this for a moment

because this is very important. This person sat down and started talking nonsense about how the Russians were supposedly funding the DNC and Hillary

Clinton's campaign. That's probably one of the most absurd things I've ever heard --

CUOMO: Then why did Don Jr. Change his story?

MILLER: Well, as far as his first answer on this, he gave a more detailed explanation about what the -- more of the substance of the first meeting

was --

CUOMO: His first answer was I never met with anybody. Russians, never. Those were his first answers. Then it was oh yes, I met this one but it was

about adoption, then it was oh, and she had dirt on Hillary Clinton. Why so many different stories?

MILLER: Well, I don't think it is a whole bunch of different stories. I mean, Don Jr.

[08:35:00] never sat down with someone who is a representative of the Russian government who was coming -- that presented themselves as I'm here

from another government and I'm trying to interfere in the elections, that's never been the case.

I think Don Jr. has been completely forthright in that. In his first answer when he talked about what the main substance of the meeting was, yes, the

lawyer in question went into the Magnitsky Act and Russian adoptions, and then we got a more full answer yesterday, and I agree they probably could

have presented that a little more cleanly.

But again, the fact that someone's coming forward with information about an opposing campaign, it would be insane to not at least go and send someone

to sit down with them to figure out what they were talking about. I mean, Robby, I'm sure his campaign was deluged on a daily basis with people

saying I have information, I want to attack President Trump, and they got and say that somehow there is, you know, some scurrilous or untoward

activity because you sat down to listen to what someone might have to say about your opponent, is absolutely silly and I think it's a double standard

and I think people need to cover the whole picture here.

CUOMO: Robby Mook, final word.

MOOK: Chris, if they weren't vetting who they were meeting with on topic this sensitive, it's really scary to think what's going on at the White

House right now. Our national security is at stakes here. Congress has got to step up and make sure there is nobody who is up to anything like this in

the White House right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, that was CNN's Chris Coumo talking to Jason Miller and Robby Mook.

The U.S. Senate is returning from a holiday recess and Republicans are expected to get right back to work trying to salvage their health care

bill. U.S. politics reporter MJ Lee is joins us now from CNN New York. And MJ, Republican Senator John McCain has described the health care bill as

dead. It certainly doesn't sound promising.

MJ LEE, U.S. POLITICS REPORTER: No, not promising at all. What happened over the July 4th recess is that things actually got a lot more difficult

for Senate Republicans to move this bill through the Senate. We now have about 10 Senate Republicans who have publicly said that they cannot support

this bill. So, for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, this is a very, very tough needle for him to thread.

What we saw was that members went home, back home to their home states and heard an ear full frankly from their constituents and now are feeling like

perhaps this is not a political risk worth taking. So when John McCain goes out there and says that this bill may as well be dead, he is sort of

thinking about the worst case scenario here that Republicans cannot get this bill through the Senate.

And that when that decision is made, that they will eventually have to work with Democrats to repair Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, because a lot

of Democrats and Republicans are in agreement that this is a law that is not working right now.

COREN: MJ, this recess was supposed to allow for deal making. What does the stalemate say about the deep divisions within the Republican Party?

LEE: Yes, well this is something that we saw over in the U.S. House of Representatives as well. As you know, earlier this year, the house was also

considering a health care bill and they ran into a lot of the same troubles that the Senate is now confronting, sort of the moderates and conservatives

in the Senate simply do not agree on the fundamentals of what the health care law and the health care system in this country should look like.

So a lot of moderates are basically saying that the repeals that are being considered in this law are simply too drastic whereas the conservatives on

the other hand are saying that the repeal efforts are not really going far enough to get rid of Obamacare and the major components of Obamacare.

So again, this is going to be a very tough task for someone like Mitch McConnell to say how do I bring the two sides together and get to a bill

that gets enough of the votes -- 50 votes he needs to get this bill through the Senate. And right now, he is very far short of that magic number to get

this bill through the Senate.

COREN: OK, MJ Lee, joining us from New York. Thank you.

Coming up, for the last 20 years, J.K. Rowling's bringing magic to millions around the world. Well CNN's Christiane Amanpour sat down exclusively with

the famous author to find out how she's helping children right now, that's next.

[08:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: J.K. Rowling is pursuing her own passion when it comes to providing a better life for children. The British author who brought us he Harry

Potter series says she wants to help children through her charity, Lumos. She's talked about that with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive

interview.

(BEGIN VIDE CLIP)

J.K. ROWLING, CREATOR, HARRY POTTER: Our ambition is to end child institutionalization by 2050. That's the ambition and --

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: All over the world?

ROWLING: All over the world, global.

AMANPOUR: How many kids are we talking about?

ROWLING: We estimate there are 8 million children in institutions worldwide, but that might be a low guess. And we know that around a million

children disappear in Europe every year.

AMANPOUR: Why Lumos?

ROWLING: Well, it's the spell in Harry Potter. It's a light giving spell so, the metaphor is (INAUDIBLE).

AMANPOUR: Harry Potter is an orphan --

ROWLING: Harry Potter is an orphan.

AMANPUR: -- so it's kind of obvious that you're doing this, is it?

ROWLING: It wasn't obvious to me at the time, but to be very candid, I think my worst fear, my personal worst fear is powerlessness and small

spaces. And I think that just the idea that these children were being kept to pen (ph) like this was horrific to me.

But then, so although I didn't think that's like Harry in his cupboard, I suppose why did I put Harry in the cupboard because this is my fear of

being trapped and being powerless, just powerless to get out of that space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, tune in to see all of Christiane Amanpour's exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling at 7:00 p.m. in London, 2:00 p.m. in New York,

only on CNN.

Well that is "News Stream." I'm Anna Coren. Thanks so much for your company. Don't go anywhere, "World Sports" with Alex Thomas is coming up

next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:10] (WORLD SPORTS)

END