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President Tweets: No More DACA Deal; Oklahoma Teachers Work Numerous Jobs To Make Ends Meet; U.S. Debuts New Fighter Jets In U.S.- South Korea Annual Exercises; How Will Kim Jong-un's Surprise China Visit Impact Upcoming Talks; Sheriff's Car Hits Woman At Sacramento Shooting Protest; Putin Test Fires Satan Two Missile; Roseanne Renewed For Second Season. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 01, 2018 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello on this Easter Sunday, you're in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. It's so great to have you with us.

Two declarations from the President of the Unites States today, expressing two very different sentiments, happy Easter and no more DACA deal.

Those words from the President tweeted out this morning shortly before he and the First Lady went to church in Florida. His message in all caps seems to indicate that he's finished negotiating with Democrats on reaching a deal to help protect undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

White House Correspondent Boris Sanchez joins us near the President has stayed in South Florida. Boris, the President has gone back and forth in his support of DACA, and he promises to kill it, then he tweets he's happy with it, then like today he's back to killing it again. What are you hearing about this particular statement?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Ana. Yes, lawmakers, a certain number of them are not too happy about this. I also heard from a source at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, they are not thrilled about this statement either.

It brings up a number of questions where the President stands on the issue, not only of immigration because he said so many contradictory things specifically about DREAMers.

But also his position on NAFTA, threatening to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement if Mexico doesn't do more to curtail immigration from Central America, and in his words, drugs flowing into the United States.

It's a threat that he's made multiple times. We really haven't seen any sort of changes come from Mexico because of these threats, so it's interesting to see the President go back to them.

Further, we should point out that the President is calling the DACA deal dead, weeks after several iterations of DACA deals stalled and fell apart in Congress.

One of them had protections for DREAMers that would last three years in exchange for $25 billion what the President wanted for funding on the border wall.

Ultimately that deal did not go through. The President had more to say about this before walking into Easter service here at West Palm Beach earlier this morning. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mexico has got to help us at the border. If they are not going to help us at the border, it's a very sad thing between two countries.

Mexico has got to up us at the border, and a lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA, and we're going to have to really see.

They had a great chance. The democrats blew it. They had a great, great chance. But we'll have to take a look. But Mexico has got to help us at the border. They flow right through Mexico, and they send them to the United States. It can't happen that way anymore. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Two quick points there, Ana, the President keeps saying that Mexico has to help us when it comes to immigration, but he is not saying what he had been saying for years about Mexico paying for the border wall.

That comes on the heels of a report last week that the President had consulted with the Secretary of Defense James Mattis about having military funding being dedicated for the construction of the border wall.

And further, this idea that immigrants are coming to the United States now to take advantage of DACA, really not clear what the President means by that, because anyone who would arrive in the United States today, and set aside personal eligibility rules, wouldn't be applicable for DACA because the President ended that program back in September, Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Boris Sanchez for us in West Palm Beach, Florida. By the way, I like your Easter colors that you're wearing as well. Happy Easter, my friend.

Let's bring in our panel, Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun- Times Lynn Sweet, and CNN Political Commentator and Republican Strategist Alice Stewart. Ladies, thanks for being with us on Easter. Happy Easter to you both.

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Hi, Ana.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Ana. CABRERA: Lynn, let me start with you. One minute the President is wishing the nation a Happy Easter on Twitter, and then the very next, he is railing on Democrats, the Mexican government, he is throwing a grenade on DACA. Where is this coming from?

SWEET: Well, it's coming -- one literal answer may be that he was inspired by a report dealing with immigration on Fox News. But let's get to the bigger picture, where it's coming from is his inability to even take one holiday off from creating chaos.

And by the way, adding stress to the DREAMers who -- and their families real people who might have wanted to try to have a holiday weekend in peace.

I mean, the United States, this is a big holiday weekend, everyone knows that with Passover, and Easter, and to be unnecessarily provocative just shows -- I think it's coming from a place inside the President where he can't stop and think will these series of tweets help advance my agenda. We know that it appeals to his base.

[17:05:01] But will it really advance the agenda. It seems he could perhaps have both, but when he fires off all these grenades, Alice and Ana, it just makes it harder.

CABRERA: All right. Alice, that's a good point. I mean, where does the President want this to end up is the big question. When the President says no more DACA deal in all caps, that seems to be an awfully long way from that so-called bill of love he once spoke about.

STEWART: Certainly. And, Ana, I think in the President's mind, I would love to have a reprieve from politics on this day, but I would imagine the President's mind -- those two tweets that you showed at the top of the show in his mind, they are similar.

Happy Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the other tweet is about the resurrection of his call for a tougher border security. And look, this isn't anything he hasn't said before.

He's been very clear with regard to -- while, majority of American people do want protections for DREAMers, the President has been clear, he's fine with making that concession to provide protections for DREAMers.

But he wants it with the assurances that Democrats will help to fund this wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for. So he's being quite clear that DACA is off the table if we don't make some agreements on the border protection.

CABRERA: But hasn't he -- hasn't he dismissed potential deals that would have given him just that in the past?

STEWART: Sure, yes, he has. And also, furtherance to what we heard at the top of the show, the latest calls against Mexico we're hearing about this caravan of people coming through Mexico into the United States, and he's pushing back again on mexico for not securing the border, and keeping people out of our country. This is his way of saying, look, Mexico, if you don't help us to

secure the border on your side, we're going to do away with NAFTA, and the financial benefits you get from that.

And at the same time, he is telling Democrats, look, if you don't help to fund this border wall, then we're going to take DACA off the table.

So he's being quite clear on something that -- he said this many times this is just the latest iteration of his call for if you want some concessions on DACA, we have to talk about securing the border.

CABRERA: I do want to switch to another topic. But before we do it, I just think it's worth noting that the people who are currently marching in Mexico, this is like an annual pilgrimage, it's not like these are folks who are coming to the border, and trying to bust through it necessarily.

But let me move on to another topic that I think is important to talk about, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was on our air today, and the White House says he resigned, but here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Were you fired or did you resign?

DAVID SHULKIN, FORMER VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: Well, Jake, I came to run the Department of Veteran Affairs because I'm committed to veterans, and I'm committed to fighting for them. And I would not resign because I'm committed to making sure this job was seen through to the very end.

TAPPER: So, you were fired?

SHULKIN: I did not resign.

TAPPER: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, Lynn, he's not exactly going away quietly, and yet, in the same interview, he was careful not to criticize the President directly. What do you make of this?

SWEET: I make of it that he didn't want to provide anyone with a sound byte saying I was fired because that wouldn't probably be useful to him, and he seems pretty media savvy on this one.

He doesn't direct Trump directly because he can be more effective by attacking the people around him saying well, I'm not -- we're leaving the President alone, but to people around him that were trying to force policies at the VA that would not be good for veterans.

So this is very much a strategic messaging point, and I'm not speaking to the accuracy of it because I guess there has been some debate on that. But that's what you saw in this interview with Jake, and yes, he's outspoken. Yes he's said in the op-ed, he suggested that privatization was at the

core of his dismissal, not any flap about his travel. So, he was on multiple -- he's making the media rounds, and there's a kind of rule in politics that, Alice, might know about that you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. This might be an example of why that is a rule in politics.

CABRERA: Alice, there's another book out about this administration, the Trump White House changing the rules of the game, the author claiming that the President's counselor and former Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway is the number one leaker in Trump's White House. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD KESSLER, AUTHOR, THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE: CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME: While I was interviewing Kellyanne at the White House, she forgot that she was on the record, and she started lashing into Reince Priebus, and she said the most mean cutting, and obviously untrue things about Reince, and I didn't include them in the book because they were so unfair.

I know that White House aides have seen texts that she has sent to other journalists, dissing her colleagues, leaking material, and so if you wonder, you know, why there's so many leaks out of the White House, one reason is that Kellyanne is the number one leaker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:10:01] CABRERA: So, Alice, we know the President and Kellyanne Conway are very close. But her name has been brought up as perhaps Hope Hicks' successor, whether it's true or not, now that it's out there, how is it going to go over with the President?

STEWART: Well, look, Kellyanne is a friend of mine. I speak with her as well as a lot of people at the White House on a regular basis. And the President has full confidence in her.

Ana, you've been around long enough to know the reason why people leak. One reason, they want to look like a big shot to reporters, and number two, they want to take someone down. And, Lynn, talks to them all the time.

Those are key reasons a lot of times people leak. First of all, Kellyanne is a big shot, she doesn't need to prove herself in that way to reporters, and it's not in her nature to go behind people's their back and take them down.

So clearly, you know, this author may have felt like she was providing more information than others, but that's not in her nature to leak information, and be disparaging to other people.

And she doesn't have anything to prove. And my understanding, the President has full confidence in her, and this isn't going to alter her standing in the White House in any way.

CABRERA: Lynn, here's what Conway has said about White House leaks in the past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: If people are running to the media to leak, and not providing the information to the proper authorities, that can -- that should concern all of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's dangerous.

CONWAY: It's not a partisan issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kellyanne, that's dangerous.

CONWAY: It's dangerous stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's dangerous.

CONWAY: It's not a partisan issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Lynn, what's your reaction to this idea that she could be behind some of it?

SWEET: Well, I think you would have to have a lot more information. Usually, reporters don't want to reveal information about sources one way or the other because -- you know, this author or is done with his book, and I guess he has no need now to talk to Kellyanne Conway again.

And I'm not saying a reporter protects people, but I want people out there to know that there is -- if you have something to say or some information, the reporter knows it, and writes it, and just from a professional perspective from my account, I see no one who really talks about leakers who gets good leaks, which is what I'm trying to do right now.

CABRERA: All right, Alice Stewart and Lynn Sweet, we'll let it -- we'll let it go there. Thank you both.

STEWART: Thanks, Ana.

SWEET: Thank you.

CABRERA: Coming up, schools are expected to be closed tomorrow in Oklahoma as teachers plan to walk off the job. Some say they need to work as many as six jobs to make ends meet. Why they say it isn't just about the money, next.

[17:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Public school teachers all across the country are making their voices heard outside the classroom. More than Kentucky Counties were forced to closed schools Friday after educators called out sick or requested substitutes over a bill that overhauls their state pension. Oklahoma teachers are also planning a walkout and rally at the state capitol tomorrow. Lawmakers there already approved a pay raise, but teachers say it's not enough.

Teacher Laurissa Kovacs posted this picture, a broken chair, she calls a cheek pincher. She plans to walk out tomorrow because she believes teachers must push lawmakers for more education funding.

CNN's Bill Weir has been looking into what's really going on. And he finds many Oklahoma educators are forced to work numerous jobs, some even take handouts just to make ends meet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONNA ROSS, OKLAHOMA TEACHER: Drum roll.

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For Donna Ross, the goal is to fill her classroom with such energy that the kids never suspect that she works two other jobs to survive.

ROSS: I've been up since 5:00 this morning.

WEIR: She drives for Uber, and caters weddings because a master's degree, and 20 years experience barely brings a living wage in Oklahoma.

MICHAEL TURNER, SPECIAL ED TEACHER AND VETERAN: You can see where my net pay was less than 1200. I was being liberal, but...

WEIR: You're just over $1,000.

TURNER: Correct.

WEIR: And that's for...

TURNER: That's one month.

WEIR: That's a month? The most desperate, sell blood and some like this former Marine and Special Ed Teacher rely on church soup kitchens to eat.

TURNER: I've helped at food banks. I've helped deliver food. I've helped do all of those things. I honestly never thought I would be on the receiving end. I have to swallow my pride a lot, and I hate asking for help.

WEIR: This state has long been the state with the deepest cuts to education. But something about the West Virginia strike helped turn Oklahoma anger to action.

ALBERTO MOREJON, 8TH GRADE TEACHER: I mean I got on Facebook and typed in Oklahoma walkout -- teacher walkout, and nothing popped up, and I was like, why not be the guy that makes the group. And now it has 72,000 people.

WEIR: It just started with you sending to a couple of teacher friends.

MOREJON: I started to a couple of teacher friends, and they start inviting other teacher friends, and the next thing you know, I mean, it just exploded.

WEIR: Wow.

MOREJON: I mean, you don't get -- you don't get 72,000 people in a group in three weeks if there's not a problem.

WEIR: Just the threat of a walkout was enough to force the first new taxes here in 28 years. Enough to give teachers an average rate of 6,000 bucks, but it's a fraction of their demand. So they are still walking but for how long? And how will this affect Arizona where teachers there are staging the next red state revolt?

The difference between a strike and walkout is you're not defying the school. The superintendent is behind you, but could it turn into a strike if things got nasty?

MOREJON: A lot of the superintendents say that they support teachers and they support what teachers want to do. So I feel like as long as teachers want to stay out to fight for what we're fighting for, I think there will be lots of support.

WEIR: But teachers are not the only frustrated public servants in Oklahoma, state troopers have to ration gasoline, prisons are overcrowded, social workers are strapped, but at the same time, oil drillers and gas frackers enjoy the most generous sweet heart subsidies of any state in the country.

[17:20:01] JAMEE COMBS, MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELOR: At one time our light bulbs were every other light bulb in the building.

WEIR: Really? Meanwhile, in Inola, classes are crowded, they are on four they a week, and the math teacher mows lawns.

TIM COMBS, MATH TEACHER: We do better at this, than we do the school teaching as far as the money goes.

WEIR: Is that right? You make more with cutting lawns.

T. COMBS: Yes.

WEIR: Do you service the lawns of your students?

J. COMBS: Yes.

T. COMBS: Yes, every now and then we will.

CROWD: It is a way of life.

WEIR: It's a similar reality for Ms. Ross who would like to do more teaching than driving, and spotted waiting tables by one of her fourth graders, and was mortified. ROSS: He just said that, Ms. Ross, you really work hard. You work a

lot of places, don't you? He said you must be rich? And I said, I sure am.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Our thanks to Bill Weir for that piece. Coming up, the United States and South Korea are kicking off military drills right now. In the past, North Korea has responded with missile tests, so what's Kim Jong-un doing this time? We'll discuss next.

[17:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The U.S. and South Korea are holding joint military drills, the annual war games delayed this year for the Winter Olympics involve more than 20,000 U.S. troops and 300,000 South Korean forces.

The drills come amid a bit of a thaw, really, on the Korean Peninsula. In just 26 days, North Korea's Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are set to hold a historic summit ahead of Kim Jong-un's planned meeting with President Trump.

But right now, the annual joint drills are sending a message of power. As CNN's Ivan Watson reports the U.S. is showing up with its newest, most expensive war planes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Projecting power into the Asia- Pacific. The U.S. military deploying its newest war machines in this vast and prosperous region.

The Navy and the Marines invited journalists to see the new F-35B Lightning to onboard the USS Wasp. Commanders say they're making history with this war plane's first maritime deployment.

U.S. MARINE CAPT. ROBERT REDDY, PILOT, F-35B LIGHTNING: It is the first time we had a fifth generations stealth firing capability, deployed as part of marine area and task force on ship and it really like -- kind of helps in our rapid deployment.

WATSON: But with a projected price tag of nearly $1 trillion over the lifetime of this stealth fighter program, the F-35 is the world's most expensive weapon system.

A recent Pentagon report listed that as of October 2017, there were 263 unresolved high priority performance deficiencies, but the top commander here insists, the warplane is now combat ready.

REAR ADMIRAL BRAD COOPER, USS WASP: These deficiencies to this aircraft that we had deployed out here had all been resolved. They are full up and ready to execute combat missions if called upon.

WATSON: The F-35 is just part of the enormous arsenal the U.S. has deployed here. We're landing on the USS Dewey. It's a U.S. Navy destroyer that's part of the first line of defense, U.S. and its allies here at the Asia-Pacific region.

This guided missile destroyer bristles with offensive and defensive weapons. This 50 caliber barrel machine gun is the last line of defense for this warship.

But the destroyer is also equipped with the Aegis Weapon System, it can detect ballistic missiles launched from countries like North Korea, and then rapidly share that information with other warships.

In 2017, North Korea launched 23 missiles with two flying over Japan, but even though Pyongyang also threatened to target the U.S. island of Guam. The Navy never used it Aegis Missile Defense System to shoot down any of North Korea's missiles.

REDDY: There wasn't a determination that there was a specific threat on any specific population, but more importantly, I think the capability does exist with the platform to defend against ballistic missile attack.

WATSON: The USS WASP and its F-35s are headed to South Korea soon to participate in joint military drills. This year, Washington is downplaying these annual war games, now that President Trump plans a historic face-to-face meeting with North Korea's leader.

If this experiment to diplomacy fails, however, the U.S. military is making clear it's prepared to use force to protect the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific. Ivan Watson, CNN, with the U.S. Navy in the Philippine Sea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: A lot to talk about regarding North Korea. Joining us now, Balbina Hwang, former State Department Senior Adviser and Jonathan Cristol, a fellow at the World Policy Institute.

So, Balbina, last year, Kim Jong-un fired off four ballistic missiles in response to the joint drills, but the back drop here is different this time. Would you be surprised if North Korea did nothing this time around?

BALBINA HWANG, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Well, no, not at all. And I think we have to remember that actually these joint military exercises are really the nominal reason or the cause frankly of North Korea's missile launches.

[17:30:00] It's always the excuse that North Korea has used, but they are really not the cause for North Korea's missile development. They really are an annual exercise, and they really are for defense, and deterrence purposes on the part of the United States and South Korea.

CABRERA: So, Jonathan, given that Kim Jong-un has said he's not going to do anything during the drills this year to set the stage for the upcoming meeting with President Trump, does it give the U.S. the upper hand to some degree?

JONATHAN CRISTOL, FELLOW, WORLD POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, I'm not sure if it gives us the upper hand, but I think that it is a good thing that we are continuing to do this, and I think that Kim Jong-un realizes that there is -- there was little to no chance that we weren't going to go through with this, or that South Korea would ask us not to.

It's also these exercises -- these are the largest, but we have many joint exercises with South Korea that happen throughout the year, more than 60 actually in a given year. And so I think that he was very shrewd to make it clear that this would not get in the way of diplomacy.

CABRERA: I guess you could in some ways say well, Kim Jong-un is not firing off missiles, he is doing some maneuvering, Balbina, because we covered this week the secret meeting in China between Kim Jong-un and the Chinese leader. Do you think there was some posturing happening with that?

HWANG: Well, most certainly there is. And I think it's important to remember that first of all, North Korea has nothing to gain by actually indeed creating any kind of provocation, and also, let's be very clear, let's not give North Korea any credit for not doing anything.

You know, this is where we are, we're to the point that we're actually giving North Korea credit for not doing what it was supposed to not be doing, despite numerous sanctions, and numerous decades, and numerous agreements that it already...

CABRERA: But it never stopped them before, right? So there is -- there's been a change.

HWANG: Exactly. Well, that's exactly the point. And so again, we are to this point where we're now actually praising North Korea for not doing all of this. So again, we have reached the stage where giving North Korea credit for things that it's already promised that it wasn't supposed to do.

CABRERA: Jonathan, we know -- sorry, go ahead.

HWANG: I was going to say, but in fact it is a posturing on numerous other levels, and I think we ought to be very careful that North Korea is playing multiple games here, and it's not just about trying to make one deal with the United States.

CABRERA: We've talked a lot about how China is such a crucial player in this region, and Jonathan, with the meeting that happened this week, how do you see that impacting potentially the upcoming meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un?

CRISTOL: Well, I think that, you know, in -- it took us all by surprise when this meeting happened, but in hindsight which of course is 20/20, it probably shouldn't have. I think, the idea that Kim Jong-un would meet with his enemies before he meets with a friend, I think is probably a bit far fetched.

And I think that there probably was at the very least some sharing of strategy, maybe some discussion of how can we take this opportunity where Trump is willing to meet with Kim Jong-un to potentially crack the U.S.-South Korean alliance.

And that's something that is in the shared interest of China and North Korea. Of course, the shared interest of everyone in the region is preventing a U.S. preventive war against North Korea.

But the sort of number two goal is very much opposed. The South Koreans being to keep the U.S. there, and the North Koreans and China have to keep the U.S. out. So I think there's a lot of strategizing about how best to accomplish that.

CABRERA: Balbina, you talk about not really giving credit, or maybe not giving an inch to Kim Jong-un. There were new U.S. sanctions imposed on North Korea just this past week. What is the message sent to King Jong-un with that action?

HWANG: Well, I hope it's the correct message which is that the United States is going to enter into any sort of meeting with North Korea in the strongest position possible into any sort of meeting.

And I hope that I didn't misunderstand, Jonathan, incorrectly, I hope you weren't saying that everybody including the United States that the one goal that we don't -- that we want to avoid is this -- that the U.S. has a preventive war.

I'm not so sure -- you know, it's not about preventing the United States from striking North Korea first. I really think that people are focused on the wrong goal here. Look, we all want to avoid war.

And I don't think anybody in the United States wants to start a war for the sake of war. I think the point is that nobody wants North Korea to go and become a dangerous nuclear weapon state. But if -- you know, the war is going to start because of North Korea, not because of the United States.

CABRERA: Here's what Republican Senator Lindsey Graham had to say about the incoming in National Security Adviser John Bolton to North Korea position.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I would be very cautious about the terms and conditions of this meeting.

[17:35:03] And this is why I like John Bolton as National Security Adviser. He's a very healthy skepticism in North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So we all know Bolton as we have discussed since his nomination to be the new secretary of state, he does have a reputation of being more hawkish, and has advocated these bloody nose strikes with North Korea.

But it's interesting because what we hear, Lindsey Graham picking up on he's skeptical about North Korea's intentions in this meeting, Jonathan, but yet -- let me just really quick finish, Because the President seems to have confidence that this is going to result in something tangible.

CRISTOL: Yes, well, I think we should absolutely be skeptical about North Korea. North Korea has a history of breaking every agreement they sign. They are bad actors in almost every way.

But I -- just to go back quickly to before, I also think that they are unlikely to just provoke a war with the South and with the United States out of nowhere. I think they can be contained, and they can be deterred.

So I do think that there's concern in South Korea as well as in North Korea and China that the U.S. will launch a preventive strike.

As opposed to a preemptive strike, obviously if the North were about to attack, we should attack them, and I think that Trump's maximum pressure policy is a good one, and has achieved some results.

But I think that Bolton coming in does make me a bit anxious that the talks coming up could be used if they fail as an excuse to go to the military option.

CABRERA: All right, got to leave it there, guys. Thank you so much. Balbina Hwang and Jonathan Cristol, I really appreciate it. Thanks for spending part of the holiday weekend with us.

HWANG: Thank you.

CABRERA: We'll be right back.

[17:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Welcome back. Tensions are escalating between protesters and police over the shooting death of an unarmed balck man in California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

CROWD: Justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do we want it?

CROWD: Now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

CROWD: Justice.

CABRERA: These protesters marched again last night demanding justice for 22-year-old Stephon Clark. The outrage now intensifying after a demonstrator was struck and injured by a sheriff's deputy's car who then drove away, and it was caught on camera. Just a warning here, some may find this video disturbing. Here is CNN's Ryan Young.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, the protests of Stephon Clark have been loud but peaceful. Last night, for the first time, we saw something a most horrific outrage between the anger of protesters and law enforcement trying to keep the peace.

There were sheriff's deputies who were coming down this lane here and protesters started interacting with them. Sheriff's deputies say they felt like their car was being rocked back and forth, and the back window was broken.

Protesters say that's not what happened. They believe that a woman tried to step in front of the car and stop deputies from driving through. But there's video showing that interaction where a woman seems to be bumped down to the ground.

You can hear protesters screaming, and yelling, and saying stop, stop, stop. The sheriff's deputy car kept moving on. Now we know that the highway patrol will be looking into that incident. But that only seemed to anger protesters, and over the next two hours what we saw was just people yelling towards law enforcement, and they arrived in riot gear.

This is the first time we've seen sort of that tipping point where the anger, and making sure their voices were heard, and idea that something could kind of seem like it was going to go wrong.

There was a helicopter overhead screaming that it was now time to disburse. The crowd wasn't going anywhere for several hours. We do know now that the California Highway Patrol is going to be investigating this situation.

As you look back at the street now, it's completely open. But down here for a while we saw that standoff between officers and the protesters. Look this has been going on for over a week, where protesters have been able to walk through the streets, and sort of like just yell as much as they want to.

But we haven't seen any damage. Last night was the first time where we saw that standoff with the riot gear, and the anger that was sort of boiling over. This is six miles from downtown, so a different agency was involved. Not sure if there is going to be any more planned protest tonight. But we'll have to watch and see. Ana.

CABRERA: Indeed, thank you so much, Ryan Young for us. Now Russia has just test fired its most advanced nuclear missile. Yet, this one can supposedly carry enough nuclear power to wipe out the State of Texas. So just how concerned are U.S. officials? That's next. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

[17:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Russia claims it successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying so much nuclear power, it could wipe out Texas.

Moscow released this video of it being test fired. NATO calls this missile the Satan Two, and it is just one of the new weapon systems that Vladimir Putin claims is invincible. CNN's Brian Todd has more on just how concerned U.S. officials are by this new threat. Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, we're told that U.S. officials, intelligence analyst are watching the development of Vladimir Putin's latest, updated missile very closely. This is fire power that Putin has been crowing about for weeks, and now his missile threat to the U.S. has taken another step forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: It is powerful, provocative, and now it's on public display. Vladimir Putin's latest threat to America is this intercontinental ballistic missile, officially called the Sarmat, but nicknamed by western officials the Satan Two for its deadly force. The missile's test firing was rolled out by Russia in high-definition.

[17:50:00] Putin says, it has virtually no limitations on distance, capable of reaching the United States.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through a translator): It is capable of attacking targets via both the North and South Pole. Sarmat is a formidable weapon. No system, not even perspective missile defense systems are an obstacle for it due to its characteristics.

TODD: The Russians say, this missile can carry as many as 16 nuclear warheads, enough to wipe out Texas. This dramatic test firing, which experts say was meant to send a signal to the U.S., comes on the heels of Putin's grandiose presentation of other Russian weapons systems a few weeks ago.

Including a cruise missile, which can fly low to the ground, weave around obstacles, and enemy radar, and is powered by a nuclear engine on board.

As well as this unmanned underwater drone launched from a submarine, it could carry a nuclear warhead directly to an enemy sitting.

U.S. officials tell CNN, they have doubts that many of these weapons are near operational. But experts say the Russians will get there. And for Putin, there's a bigger game of foot. What's his motivation here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got two audiences. First is always his domestic audience to show Russians and to show the rest of the elite that Russia's still a great military power. The other audience is always a conversation with the United States to show us that he's a force to be reckoned with.

TODD: As he flexes his military muscle, Putin is now in an all- out diplomatic brawl with the U.S. and its allies over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England. The Kremlin denies Britain's the claims that Putin is behind the

attack. But after the Trump administration, along with several European countries kicked out dozens of Russian diplomats, Putin is retaliating, expelling western diplomats from Russia.

And according to Politico, Russia's new ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, has complained in a letter to Republican Senator Orrin Hatch that he can't get meetings with anyone in the Trump White House, with cabinet secretaries, or members of Congress. If that's true, why would Antonov be shut out?

JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: No doubt, if I'm in the administration, the last person I want to see on calendar is the ambassador from Russia to the United States, at least right now.

And if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it in a way that it is incredibly transparent, lots of people in the room, and I'm going to be somewhat protected. Number two, I think it very much is in response to the poisoning in the U.K. and the evidence that Russia was behind it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: But now the White House is saying that the Ambassador Antonov's claim is not true. A White House official telling CNN that they've always been very responsive to Antonov.

That he's met several times with senior National Security Council officials throughout the year, and that they've encouraged others in the U.S. government to meet with him. This official points out that access the U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman has not been granted in Moscow. Ana.

CABRERA: Brian Todd, thank you. Up next, the Roseanne reboot has seen record ratings. And some say the revival is giving a voice to Trump's base while breathing life into the star's right-wing conspiracy theories.

[17:52:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The rebooted Roseanne sitcom was just renewed for a second season by ABC, but Roseanne herself is under new fire for promoting right-wing fringe conspiracy theories. CNN's Brynn Gingras has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSEANNE BARR, COMEDIAN: Thank you for making America great again.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Roseanne revival drew more viewers in the demo than any comedy on television since 2014, which means more eyeballs on the show's lead who is no stranger to politics and controversy.

BARR: To start curing this world, I am officially announcing that I am running for President of the United States of America, as well as Prime Minister of Israel. This is a two fer. GINGRAS: Roseanne Barr is a trump supporter who seems to already be

taking a page from the President's playbook and causing controversy on Twitter.

This week, Barr faced backlash for tweeting a doctored image of a Parkland student activist David Hogg, accusing him of giving the Nazi salute at Saturday's March For Our Lives rally. But it wasn't a far leap from past posts, when Barr was focused on spreading right-wing conspiracies.

Like this one just last November engaging a deep state conspiracy, or post election one of Barr's tweets backed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which stated some Democrats including Hillary Clinton were part of a sex trafficking ring in the basement of a Washington pizza restaurant.

Barr also spread the conspiracy that there was a cover-up surrounding the death of DNC staffer Seth Rich. Barr's Twitter account has since been scrubbed of these tweets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I didn't mean to imply you're some right-wing jackass. I should have tried to understand why you voted the crazy way that you did.

GINGRAS: But the star's posts aren't stunning her fans who tuned in heavily for the reboot's premiere with major viewership in red states. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, which sided with Trump in 2016, one in five households watched. And the President took notice, even calling Barr personally to congratulate her.

TRUMP: Look at Roseanne, I called her yesterday. Look at her ratings. I got a call from Mark Burnett who did The Apprentice. He is a great guy. And he said Donald, I called just to say hello and to tell you, did you see Roseanne's ratings? I said, Mark, how big were they? They were unbelievable. Over 18 million people, and it was about us.

GINGRAS: For Roseanne, both on screen and off, the feelings for the President are mutual.

BARR: Trump offended half Americans, and she offended the other half. So that's great for sitcoms. We are lucky to have him as a president.