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New Vents Spewing Lava Up To 100 Feet Into The Air Like A Fountain In Hawaii; The New U.S. Embassy Opens In Jerusalem; President Is Getting Ready On The Scheduled Summit With North Korean President Kim Jong-un; New Signs Of Strain Inside The Trump White House After The President Pushed Another Cabinet Member To Almost Quit; Six Days Ago Until The Royal Wedding; New Episode of PARTS UNKNOWN Premieres Tonight; Aired 7-8p ET

Aired May 13, 2018 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00] ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: If that eruption happens, anyone within 12 miles could be in danger of fallen ash and those closer could be hit by rocks the size of refrigerators, and all of this would take place with basically no warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have been warning everybody since the beginning about the possibility. I think they have been very broad about it. There's no warning. Like if it happens it's instant. So they did the best they can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: My next guest is on the ground in Hawaii and has taken incredible footage of these vents and lava flows.

Demian Barrios is joining us now.

Demian, you have got the gas mask ready, the hard hat ready. We see what appears to be steam rising in the background. Walk me through where you are and give me a better idea of what you're witnessing and experiencing there.

DAMIAN BARRIOS, PHOTOGRAPHER AND LAVA CHASER: So, I -- I'm on the HoHo, Hawaii which is on the east side of the big island and witnessing in my personal experience probably the most amazing volcanic activity I have ever seen in my life. We are having these fissure eruptions that started on the 3rd of May. So we are now into the tenth day of eruptions.

As you can see behind me, you can see some smoke coming up. I'm a few hundred yards from the most active fissure. I'm sure you can probably hear the sound on the audio. And, you know, we have been documenting and I have been chasing the lava since day one. And I'm a photographer so I'm out there on the ground taking photos and videos and also just the thrill of being in the volcano. This is an amazing historical event. We haven't had an eruption like this on the big island since 1955. CABRERA: Incredible. We also are showing some of the video you have

taken. It looks like you were really close to one of these fissures. What is it like to be so close?

BARRIOS: You know, sorry it chokes me up a little bit. I don't know how to describe it. It's a lot of emotion. It's raw power. The volcano is extremely, extremely immense and powerful. And obviously, these islands have been created by that force. And to stand there and to feel it and to listen to it and to feel the reverberations on your chest and to be able to look at it and smell it and even taste it, it it's a very, very humbling experience.

I'm an avid outside adventurist, photographer and, you know, self- proclaimed lava chaser. And so, to me it's super exciting. And having said that I do got to say much respect. And my heart goes out to all the homes and people who have lost homes and properties. But it is quite intense. We have definitely changing the landscape of the big island here forever.

CABRERA: The video that you have taken is in many way mesmerizing. How quickly could these flows turn and potentially become deadly?

BARRIOS: Well, you know, there obviously is a chance for danger. These flows are a little more unpredictable so they are fissure eruptions so they are happening in random locations and they are popping up without any warning. Most of the lava flows that we are used to seeing here on the big island are either (INAUDIBLE) or mostly (INAUDIBLE) flows. And those are a lot more mellow. There are a lot more predictable, although they can destroy homes. You know, they start flowing downslope. So it's very predictable where the lava is going to be next, where it's coming from and where you don't want to be. And in this case with these fissure eruptions, you know, they have been breaking out on this line and other than that they are completely random, so that makes them dangerous. They can be shooting lava anywhere up from a few feet, up until the ones we have here behind me and several hundred feet and they can get really, really big.

So it's definitely a little bit dangerous. I got my respirator for the gasses that are extremely noxious. And we have had some large- sized lava boulder landing and flying out of these vents over here. I think the biggest one that I have seen was, you know, about the quarter of the size of a VW bug.

CABRERA: Oh, my God.

BARRIOS: It is like huge flaming pieces of rock. You can hear the explosions. You can see them flying through the sky. There's been times where we have had to brace for impact and rocks have been raining down all around us. So it definitely, it can be quite dangerous. But, you know, we are experienced enough to know to keep a safe distance and keep away from where that debris is landing so we can safely continue to observe, document and, of course, bring this and share this to the world with you guys.

CABRERA: We are so grateful for you doing that, Demian. Thank you so much for joining us. Please, stay safe. And as we are reporting the worst may not be over here. Thanks again.

Let's go to bigger picture look now. CNN's Dianne Gallagher is live at CNN's World headquarters in Atlanta.

Dianne, help us get a better understanding of just how much damage could still be done.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really, Ana, that's the mystery question here. He hit on the part that so many authorities are telling people to prepare for, and that's the unexpected. They cannot really predict the randomness. And that's what makes this so frightening to the people who live on the big island right another now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[19:05:03] GALLAGHER (voice-over): The roar of molten rock exploding through the earth. New vents spewing lava up to 100 feet into the air like a fountain. The Hawaiian volcano observatory says an explosive eruption at the (INAUDIBLE) crater is possible, one that could shoot rocks and debris size of refrigerators into the air in any direction with ash plumes over a 12-mile area. New evacuations ordered as a 17th fissure opened up Sunday morning with steam and lava spatter activity on the Kalapana side of highway 132.

JOHN DAVIDSON, PUNA, HAWAII RESIDENT: The first thing that I noticed was I heard what sounded like a jet turbine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fissure 16.

GALLAGHER: The 16th fissure he walked in Saturday about a mile from the (INAUDIBLE) venture.

DAVIDSON: I didn't want to be here in case 60,000 gallons of some fracking material decided to go up.

GALLAGHER: John Davidson evacuated his home on Wednesday before plant employees have finished removing the flammable chemicals, but he returned to check on his property with the new fissures starting sizzling and spewing lava Saturday. These new fissures located east of the series of eruption that, as you can see from this helicopter footage ripped through neighborhood earlier this week, destroying nearly 30 homes and damaging almost 40 more, clouding the air with dangerous gases and fog.

DAVIDSON: It's like it's a hurricane where you think, OK, in three days it will be here and go, a forest fire. This is almost like a slow motion train wreck.

DAVIDSON: With more than 2,000 residents already under mandatory evacuation orders authorities are warning others to prepare to get out now because they can't predict where, when or how powerful Kilauea's next eruption will be.

(END VIDEOTAPE) DAVIDSON: So essentially vacation rentals in the lower Puna area have been asked to cease operations. They want to make sure that they can have as much water as possible and also make sure that it's just the residents that emergency responders may have to deal with when and if things continue to erupt in that area.

And Ana, it's important to point out that President Trump did declare the big island, that area affected by the Kilauea eruptions a disaster area. So once this ends, whenever it is, they will be able to use federal funds to help clean up and possibly rebuild.

CABRERA: It's so unpredictable and so unfamiliar for most of us.

Dianne Gallagher, thanks for keeping us updated on the situation.

And as she just said an explosion could happen at any time. Our meteorologist Tom Sater has been monitoring all the warning signs throughout the day.

Tom, what are scientists seeing that have them so concerned?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, besides the fissures that they are expecting will most likely continue. It's a drop in the lava lake in the main caldron. It is called the Calder (ph), the main chamber. If that lava drops all the way down to the ground table it could create a steam-driven massive and violent eruption, just like this picture in 1924.

Ironically it was in the month of May. This weighs eight tons. It was tossed over a mile. Some reports that many so of the boulders were about 14 tons, so, I mean, you're talking semi-tractor trailers.

But let's break it down. The main chamber, where we have had a lot of the activity, where they are watching the lava levels is a good 20, 25 miles away from some of the fissures that have been erupting. Now, we have had a lot of earthquakes and tremors in the region. They continue most around the summit and then on the east rift, and that's where we are seeing the pressure just can't handle it anymore. And the lava going from the chamber underground for that 20, 25 miles is finding its way to the surface.

It's not technically called the fissure unless it emits some lava. So we thought we had 18. We are actually hat 17 because it was just smoke but all of these green triangles are all the fissures. There is no rhyme or reason they have been popping up to the southwest and the last couple have been well up to the northeast, but this is Lalaya (ph) state where the homes are. And you can see evacuations on closed roads. But that activity so far away is telling us something. When these fissures are meeting this lava, it's actually draining the main chamber.

Take a look at this imagery that we have got from the USGS. This was filled with lava called a lava lake, but it's been dropping because those fissures are releasing it miles and miles away. Right now the problem is, and you look at the lava lake, the water table is down to 1,500 feet. Right now the lava has dropped to almost 1,200. Several hundred feet a day, Ana, so it doesn't have to go that much farther.

Now, even if it meets with that water it doesn't mean we are going to have a massive eruption. But, again, this is quite interesting. Because this 3D imagery is showing the base.

Quickly for you, just another way to explain it. When you take a look at the lava lake which was at the surface, it has been dropping rapidly. Here is your water level and when you get down to that area debris that finds its way inside that chamber is then steam driven out and around so it doesn't mean it's going to happen, but all the elements are there and it could possibly happen in the next few days. Could be weeks, could be months.

[19:10:02] CABRERA: Wow. Frightening and fascinating at the same time.

Thank you, Tom Sater. I appreciate it.

Coming up, the U.S. set to open its new embassy in Jerusalem as nearby Gaza braces for possible violence. We will get a live report from the region next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:14:19] CABRERA: One of President Trump's boldest and perhaps most controversial decisions becomes a reality tomorrow when the new U.S. embassy opens in Jerusalem. Right now Israel is celebrating this historic event and boosting troops at the Gaza border bracing for more backlash from Palestinian protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Donald Trump! Donald Trump!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: While President is not attending tomorrow's opening his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner will be there along with treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and GOP senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz.

Let's get straight to correspondent Ian Lee on the ground in Gaza.

Ian, I know, you have been speaking with those demonstrators. These demonstrations have been going on for week. What's different about the current situation?

[19:15:10] IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, it is all boiling down really to the next two days. You know, we had as you pointed out these demonstrations over the past seven weeks in which dozens of people have been kill. You know, the things with these protests though is that they have been building up to the embassy move and for the Palestinians they say that their goal tomorrow is to try to get as many people as possible out to these protest camps.

There's five of them up and down the border. And they say their goal is to cross over to the other side, to the Israeli side to lands they say they lost to Israel in the 1948 war. And they say that, you know, that is their goal, but as we have seen in the past few weeks, when they have tried to do that they have met with Israeli soldiers confronting them on the other side.

CABRERA: So how is Israel responding to come's upcoming protest?

LEE: So tomorrow is geared to being the largest day. So over 100,000 protesters is expected. You know, Israel says that they have three -- a three-tiered approach. First is they are going to warn protesters who get close to that border fence. They say stay away.

The second is they are going to use non-lethal means which is teargas, possibly rubber bullets and then if the protesters get even closer and Israel says if they try to harm any of that security barrier or attempt to harm any of the soldiers or try to make a run at it, they will say that's when they will use lethal force sparingly, but they will say that their worst case scenario is a large group of Palestinian protesters running across that border trying to go to any of the Israeli communities that are on the other side.

So, you know, you have this largest group of protesters. You have Israelis very concerned. You know-ins just a recipe for what we are expecting tomorrow to be a very bloody day, Ana.

CABRERA: I hope you are wrong, Ian Lee. It doesn't sound good. Thank you for keeping on top of it for us.

Coming up, President Trump touts his upcoming meeting with Kim Jong- un. What we are learning about his preparations ahead of the big day of their historic summit in June.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:52] CABRERA: With less than a month now to go before the scheduled summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-un, senior White House officials say the President is getting ready speaking with our Jake Tapper earlier. National security adviser John Bolton talked about what Trump is doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: His preparations have actually been extensive already. He is talking to a lot of different people, foreign leaders. He had an extensive conversation with Xi Jinping of China earlier this week. He is consulting with all of his advisers. I think his preparations are very intense. People have said, well, you can't prepare in such a short time for such a momentous meeting.

I had exactly the opposite reaction when I first heard about it. There's real utility in bringing these two leaders together, let them see each other and decide in our case whether he judge that Kim Jong- un has made a strategic decision to give up nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CABRERA: And that brings us to our weekend Presidential brief, a segment we bring you every Sunday night highlighting some of the most pressing national security information the President will need when he wakes up tomorrow.

And here to bring it to you CNN national security analyst and former national security council adviser Sam Vinograd. She spent two years helping prep for the President's daily brief in the Obama administration.

So Sam, we don't know if the President is watching. If he is though, what does he need to know as he gets ready for this June 12th summit?

SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, there's a lot of momentum going into this summit and I think that Kim is going to continue that because he is so keen to have Donald Trump just show up, but we can't wear rose-colored glasses. And I'm seeing a real pattern of North Korean red herrings emerge.

Last week North Korea told an international aviation administration they are not going to test missiles anymore. They are going to do unannounced tests. This isn't a concession. They say they want to open up their economy for development. That's pretty hard to do if planes think there's going to be missiles flying in the air. So this was self-serving.

And also, remember, they said they don't need missile tests anymore because they have achieved their capability so they are getting rid of something they don't need. They also said they are dismantling this nuclear test site and Donald Trump actually tweeted and said that this was a smart and gracious move.

Well, they are dismantling the site, again, because they don't need it. This isn't a concession. They are getting rid of it because they don't need to test anymore. There's also these reports that the site is damaged and that it may not even be workable. So I think the North Koreans are trying to PR-wise show that they are doing things that aren't actually steps towards denuclearization.

CABRERA: The timing always interesting. Of course, this deal or potential deal comes after we left another major deal or dealing with nuclear weapons with Iran. How do you think Iran is going to play this in the next week?

VINOGRAD: I think Iran is going to do a lot of role playing this week and try to play the victim. They are going to pursue a strategy that involves rallying around the flag, their flag. The regime took a lot of heat for signing the deal with the United States in the first place. So they are going to try to deflect blame for the fact that they got duped and the fact that the United States pulled out of the deal by trying to focus the blame on us. And we are going to see more inflammatory rhetoric come out from the regime. They will probably support more protests. And, again, try to put the responsibility on the U.S. rather than us -- rather than themselves.

I also think they are going to try to peel off our friends. Foreign minister Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran, he is going to Europe this week. And he is going to try to tell the Europeans that they need to get things sank waivers from us.

So we have a situation where our enemy is working with our friends against us. That's worrisome to me. And finally, Ana, I think they are going to promote their own version of fire and fury. They are going to use the fact that the United States in untrustworthy to try to potentially inspire more attacks against the United States because we fed their narrative that we are evil and unreliable.

[19:25:32] CABRERA: Israel and Iran also known to have very difficult relationship, to say the least. Do you think the Iran decision will have an impact on the security in Israel?

VINOGRAD: I do, particularly because Iran knows how hard Israel lobbied us to pull out of the deal, and as you mentioned Iran and Israel have a long-standing history of confrontation. We know that Iran for the first time launched direct attacks against Israel from Syria after they pulled -- after we pulled out of the deal, Israel responded and so we have seen that escalation.

There are other real serious security issues within Israel right now right before the embassy is reopened. We have domestic demonstrations planned for the day after the embassy reopening what is called (INAUDIBLE) or the catastrophe in Arabic. It marks when the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled after Israeli independence so we are expecting that set of demonstrations.

We have violence on the border with Gaza. And there are potentially other protests throughout the region after the embassy reopening. So my sense, Ana, is that this is a tinder box and we need to be on heightened alert.

CABRERA: Lots to watch. Thank you, Sam Vinograd. Good to see you.

Now, Indonesian police say a man and family of six carried out a string of suicide church bombings that killed seven other people Sunday. They say the father used a car bomb while his two sons ages 18 and 16 used a motorcycle in another attack. Even more horrific they say the mother and her two daughters age nine and 12 entered a third church wearing veils and with bombs strapped to their bodies.

Three men recently returned to the U.S. after being held in prison by the North Korean regime and are now free to go home. Doctors cleared Kim Dong-chul and Hak-Song and Tony Kim to leave the hospital. Today, the three men has been undergoing evaluation at the Walter Reid medical center since they touched down in the U.S. early Thursday morning.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, up next, the boss' temper erupts and another cabinet official thinks about saying she is done. A look back at the Trump official who have already said I quit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:31:53] CABRERA: New signs of strain inside the Trump White House after the President pushed another cabinet member to almost quit. A source tells CNN the President exploded at his homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen during a cabinet meeting this past week berating her for not doing enough to secure the southern border and for not finding a way to build the wall.

"The New York Times" reports that when the meeting ended Nielsen drafted a letter of resignation. As of now the letter remains tucked away in her dusk. She is hardly alone though. There have been plenty of Trump's cabinet who have threatened to resign and some who actually did.

CNN's Randi Kaye has the name and the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I have now decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matter relating in any way to the campaign for President of the United States.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever since attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from handling the Russia investigation, he has been in hot water with President Donald Trump. Sessions' answer resign which he has reportedly threatened to do a number of times.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am disappointed in the attorney general. He should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office.

KAYE: Chief of staff John Kelly reportedly also offering at times to walk away especially after he came under fire for his handling of domestic abuse allegations against then White House staff secretary Rob Porter. Kelly has offered to resign, a source told CNN, if the President wanted him to, though Kelly denies that.

JOHN KELLY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I am in this for the long haul. It is the most important thing I've ever done in my life.

KAYE: Health and human services secretary Tom Price also left his job after he came under fire for at least $400,000 in travel costs for chartered flights.

TRUMP: I will tell you personally I'm not happy about it.

KAYE: In his resignation letter Price wrote I regret that the recent events have created a distraction from these important objectives.

Chief strategist Steve Bannon was forced to resign about seven months into the administration. Bannon had given an interview about North Korea stating that there's no military solution to North Korea's nuclear threats. Forget it. Bannon also didn't agree with the firing of FBI director James Comey.

Later after Bannon gave a bombshell interview to author Michael Wolfe Trump tweeted that Wolfe used sloppy Steve Bannon who cried when he got fired and begged for his job.

Veteran affairs secretary David Shulkin resigned along with chief of staff Reince Priebus. Secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, reportedly considered resigning following news report last October that he called the President a moron.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: He said he has never once thought of resigning and that he supports the President as much today as he did the day he took this job.

KAYE: Just five months after that, Tillerson officially called it quits.

Among those who sources say have threatened to quit but are still hanging on, defense secretary James Mattis and FBI director Christopher Wray, though the President denies that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did Wray threaten to resign?

[19:35:03] TRUMP: No, he didn't at all. He did not even a little bit, no. And he is going to do a good job.

KAYE: Wray had reportedly threatened to resign after attorney general Jeff Sessions pressured him to make staffing changes in the FBI's senior ranks, though today he is still head of the FBI.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Joining us is CNN political commentator Scott Jennings. He is a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and Democratic strategist Basil Smikle.

So Scott, to you, first. How does an administration grapple with that kind of turnover and drama? Is it even possible to execute on policy?

SCOTT JENNINGS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, yes. Of course, it is. I mean, the Trump administration has executed on a great many policy fronts. They got a lot of balls in the air right now especially on foreign policy. So I don't think we have seen a slowdown of the President's agenda.

I think we also have to remember that every administration has people come and go and every President deserves to have their wishes carried out. I'm not surprised, frankly, that he is focused on the homeland security department because as we know President Trump's motivating, animating issue is immigration and bothered security.

What I am perpetually astonished by is the number of high-level leaks come out of this administration. The President has no expectation of privacy in the oval office. I mean, he has a candid, tense conversation with a cabinet secretary, and it immediately leaks that the conversation happened and when she may or may not have put in her desk in the aftermath. That is pretty astonishing. And I think it chills discourse in the oval office. So I'm not terribly surprised that the President is having tense back and forth with folks. But I have got to tell you, these leaks that come out of various offices do not help move his agenda forward.

CABRERA: Basil, are the leaks the biggest problem?

BASIL SMIKLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The leaks are not the biggest problem. If you remember reading "Lord of the Flies" as a kid and these young people running around ungovernable and in a constant state of chaos, that's what this is.

What is more concerning is that a lot of these individuals have been enabling the President's agenda which many of us find rather draconian particularly the head of homeland security on issues related to immigration. So I don't have tremendous sympathy for people who came into an administration knowing how chaotic it was going to be, thinking they could somehow tame this individual and are now experiencing this blowback and are more concerned about their legacy.

But it also reminds us of how important the institutions in our government are because if a report is true that the homeland security secretary was confronting the President on an issue over legality over whether something he wanted to do with legal or not, it reminds us of how sort of thin, that layer and barrier is between what the President is really encouraging and pushing his cabinet secretaries to do versus what they feel is the legal and right to do.

CABRERA: And coming to just the issue of the turnover, too. It isn't just a palace intrigue story. You got Kirstjen Nielsen reportedly drafted her letter of resignation as we discussed. But she oversees an agency about 20,000 people. We still have this vacancy at the VA. And of course, and that secretary would have to be dealing with a budget of about $180 billion.

I'm curious how you think Democrats can turn this in to perhaps a campaign message that might resonate with voters.

SMIKLE: I think the chaos point is very important. And I also think that when you have individuals that can't carry out their job, that means the President is doing a lot so we actually can put a lot of what -- a lot of what we don't like about the President's agenda on the President himself and then hold all of the Republicans that were running against all the way up and down the ballot to everything that the President is saying and doing and tweeting. And that you can't even go to the institutions that we have learned to trust and respect for any kind of resource because they are not managing their own positions, their own staff, or they are not even able to set policy within their agencies.

CABRERA: And Scott, turning to that embarrassing White House leak. You were talking about leaks earlier. It obviously got out this heinous joke about John McCain. We have heard very little from the White House about this incident. If one of your colleagues in the Bush White House had done that, how do you imagine President Bush would have responded?

JENNINGS: Well, he wouldn't have responded very well, of course. But I think we are all well aware of President Trump's history with senator McCain. There's no love lost there between either of them. So I wasn't surprised frankly at course of action they chose in the wake of the conversation that was had and that it got out.

Let me rebut something that Basil, though, if I might for a moment. I would be more than happy for the Democrats to run on palace intrigue, bureaucracy issues and inside baseball. I think what the President and the Republicans are going to run on are to words, peace and prosperity. Peace is breaking out on the Korean peninsula, unemployment is less than four percent. So I will leave the inside baseball to the Democrat campaigns. The President run on peace and prosperity. And I think you will see the Republicans doing much better in the Midterms. That's why the generic ballot is shrinking. And the President is rising right now.

I don't think an issue like bureaucracy and palace intrigue is going to move a needle for virtually any voter in this mid-term election.

[19:40:04] SMIKLE: Well, I would say honestly to your point that I don't think the Democrats are or should run on palace intrigue. I think you are right in that regard. But I think the sentiment about where this administration is, the fact that there are such draconian policies being promoted across the country, the fact that we have a President that can't stay on message, I think all of those things actually resonate with voters without us having to even talk about it. So we will talk about -- we will talk about prosperity. We will talk about the economy. And we will go back to those sort of big ideas, things like affordable college which a lot of states are focused and talking about now in terms of four-year and two-year community colleges and raising the minimum wage to $15. Those are the kinds of things that I think the Democrats will be talking about.

Palace intrigue, I think that's really built into the voter right now.

CABRERA: We have this comment that was made about John McCain that has gotten so much attention because the President, his press secretary, they have refused to condemn it or to apologize for it. It would be something that's a slam dunk so easy, move on, Scott. Does it matter that they haven't come out and said this is not acceptable? We heard Lindsey Graham this morning saying why can't they say this is not an administration that promotes that kind of thing?

JENNINGS: Sure it matters. I mean, it will be remembered by history. This will obviously be written into the annals of history about this administration as a flare-up that could have been controlled and wasn't. They have had a few of them.

But I'm not surprised. I mean, look. This President and his history with John McCain tells us all they need to know about how they feel about senator McCain. I would say in the Bush administration there was no love lost, of course, after the 2000 election between President Bush and senator McCain. But of course, they wound up working together on a great many things. That's not the way this particular President works. I think the voters knew that when they installed them. I wish they would apologize. And it would make -- I think it would make a lot of folks feel better about senator McCain's career which has been a life of public service.

CABRERA: To that point, Basil, this President and this administration, there has been a whole lot of things that have offended people, that people have said, wow, that could be the new low. This time we're hearing from the vice President saying this is the new low when it comes to decency we have hit rock bottom and yet do voters care?

SMIKLE: I think voters do care. But what concerns me is that based on what you said and what Scott said, we have heard a lot of this language since the 2016 campaign. My concern is that a lot of the language and the sentiment is becoming normalized in our culture and in our discourse and in our policies. And that's what's so concerning particularly if you look at the fact that the White House has not said anything about it which means that either they don't care or they don't think the country care. And if they are not setting the tone, then it's up to Democrats specifically, but I think it's up to sort of reasonable people broadly to say, you know what. You have to take a different tack. You have to either fire this person or find people that can set policy in a different tone because your silence is saying a lot right now.

CABRERA: Basil Smikle and Scott Jennings, good to have you both. Thank you so much.

SMIKLE: Thank you.

CABRERA: Coming up, just six days ago until the royal wedding. We are getting now a sneak peek inside the venue where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will say I do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:48] CABRERA: What is a royal wedding without a fairy tale location? It's less than a week away now, and in just six days Britain's Prince Harry and Hollywood actress Meghan Markle will exchange I dos at the historic Windsor castle.

And our own Max Foster is taking you behind the scenes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Windsor castle, home to kings and queens for nearly a thousand years. And within its grounds St. George's chapel where many members of the family have been baptized, married and, yes, buried.

When Meghan Markle is driven into these hallowed grounds packed with special guests, she will mark a new chapter in this most famous of family histories.

The car will come into what will be a quite eerily quiet cloister. It will stop here. And the first thing that will confront the bride is some 20 steps leading up to the chapel.

As Meghan Markle enters the church, the guests will turn around and see her at the west door beneath that spectacular stain glass window. This whole area will be filled with seats, 600 people in total. And while it looks vast and spacious, it's actually quite intimate at this level and quite a narrow aisle as we move up from the nave into the choir and a few more steps.

As she enters the choir, wherever she looks, she will see a nod to the knights of the guard, it is the highest chivalry in the land and the oldest in the world. High up on the ceiling a bust of Henry VIII who completed this church 500 years ago, flags represents all the current knights of (INAUDIBLE) including the best man there, Prince William, his flag and below him the seat where he would normally sit. So all of these plaques remember a knight.

A gray marble slab sunken into the aisle, another reminder of Henry VIII as Meghan Markle will literally walk over his grave towards her fiancee.

Past the royal family who will be seated on this side, the bride's family on the other side. And she will eventually settle up there by the step where she will meet Harry.

And with the words, I will, an American celebrity becomes British royalty.

Max Foster, CNN, Windsor, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[19:50:14] CABRERA: Coming up, Anthony Bourdain heads north to Newfoundland for what he calls a bro-tastic (ph) vacation. A preview of tonight's brand new "PARTS UNKNOWN" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:54:47] CABRERA: Welcome back. On tonight's new episode of "PARTS UNKNOWN," Anthony Bourdain packs the bags for Newfoundland to brave the island's local traditions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[19:55:02] ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN (voice-over): You know what I like to do on a sausage fest themed shell like this one? I like to get liquored up and throw axes at a target, hoping, of course, they don't bounced off and sink into my groin or somebody else's groin. I hate when that happens.

Have you done this before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. They throwing axe in the back of Joe beef until I realized it wasn't really safe.

BOURDAIN: All right. Try not to cut your own ear back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to draw back. Axe slowly over your head. Lean right in. When your arm is straight out parallel with the ground -- BOURDAIN: That's when you release?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it. Is there a William tell kind of story in Newfoundland with the cut of over the head and the father through the axe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not yet, not yet. Do it proud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, Fred.

BOURDAIN: Watch your head there. All right. So far we kind of suck. This is not encouraging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Try the double hand, yes. That was close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what I'm going to do? Put my ax in good use and cut that monster cheese.

BOURDAIN: Now you're talking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: I guess it keeps you humble.

I recently sat down with Tony Bourdain and learn more about this adventure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOURDAIN: Life in Newfoundland for many, many years was built entirely around fishing for cod. Cod was king.

CABRERA: I love cod.

BOURDAIN: And a few years ago due to overfishing, a while back, a complete moratorium was declared on fishing of cod. This absolutely devastated the economy and really had to really require some major, major changes.

I'm not an outdoorsy lumberjack sort of a guy. This is a sort of excessively bro-tastic bro-cation. I take two chef friends from Montreal, not from Newfoundland who are very enthusiastic about showing me this part of the country and introduced me to a chef friend of a really incredible restaurant in Newfoundland to introduce me to cod culture. There's some limited cod hunting permitted now. Hunting culture. I mean, this is a place we go to the supermarket and, you know, moose is available in many forms.

CABRERA: Wow.

BOURDAIN: It is not a backward place. It is quite a beautiful place. And among the many sights and I think what's people don't know this is a tiny island off the eastern coast of Newfoundland that's not essentially France. It is France. Meaning pay euros, French cars, French food, French people, French language. Just a short hop off the coast. Our own coastline. CABRERA: Amazing. And Newfoundland, I understand there's sort of a

shift happening there, though, where they are turning more inward, really, trying to get back to the roots to their own traditions, their own culture, own resources. Tell us a little bit more about this.

BOURDAIN: Well, I think that's a function of, you know, having to move away from cod but they still want to maintain their traditions. They are fiercely independent people. Very aware of the differences between them and other regions of Canada. The chef scene is kind of blowing up there a little bit. And I think that's had a lot to do with reawakening a pride of their own very different ingredients and traditions.

And I think, you know, we are seeing the beginning or the early days of a renaissance I hope. You know, again, a really beautiful, rugged part of the world that I don't think has been seen a lot of on American immediate why.

CABRERA: You talk about moose and you talk about cod, you eat a lot of fish and meat in this episode. What do you like more?

BOURDAIN: Wow, the fish there is really good. The cod --

CABRERA: Fresh.

BOURDAIN: After Uruguay I was ready for some fish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Tune in for brand new "PARTS UNKNOWN: Newfoundland " tonight AT 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

And finally tonight, a very happy mother's day to all of the moms out there and extra special mother's day wish to my mom, Judy, and my mother-in-law Anne. My mom is there on the left, of course, my lovely mother-in-law on the right. I mean this from the bottom of my heart, you both are incredible women and such role models to me. The best moms, best grandmothers. Thank you for the deep love, your support, the joy you provide for our whole family. Motherhood, I know, is a blessing but it is not always easy. And as a mother myself, I appreciate you both more than ever. More than words can really do justice. I love you. Happy mother's day.

That's going to it for me tonight. I'm Ana Cabrera. Have a great week.