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Rudy Giuliani, One Of Donald Trump's Lawyers Says The President Could Probably Pardon Himself If It Came To That, But He Doesn't Intend To; North Korea's Top Three Military Officials Have Been Replaced Just Over A Week Before The Trump-Kim Summit; How US Tariffs Might Take A Bite Out Of Beer Drinkers' Wallets. Aired: 2-3a ET
Aired June 04, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Can the US President be charged with a crime? Why Donald Trump's attorney say no. Also, a military shakeup in North Korea. The country's top three military officials have been replaced just over a week before the Trump-Kim summit. Plus this...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cost of a can of beer is directly tied to the price of aluminum, and one of the biggest consumers of aluminum in the world is right here in Golden, Colorado - the Miller Coors Corporation.
CHURCH: How US tariffs might take a bite out of beer drinkers' wallets. Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and from all around the world, I am Rosemary Church from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom."
So, let's start with the Russia investigation and some interesting questions about the limits of US Presidential powers. Rudy Giuliani, one of Donald Trump's lawyers says the President could probably pardon himself if it came to that, but he doesn't intend to.
Giuliani also told how first, "In no case can he be subpoenaed or indicted. I don't know how you can indict while he is in office no matter what it is. If the President shot James Comey, he would be impeached the next day. Impeach him, and then you can do whatever you want to do to him."
More now from CNN's Boris Sanchez.
(START VIDEO TAPE)
BORIS SANCHEZ, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Rudy Giuliani for the most part echoed some of what we saw in those letters published by the "New York Times" on Saturday that were sent from the White House legal team to the special counsel in January of this year.
Giuliani said that he likely would have changed some of it, but that he agrees with 80% of its premise, namely the idea that President Trump being the top law enforcement officer in the country could end any investigation he so chooses even one directed at him.
To clarify, Giuliani said that he perhaps wouldn't go that far, but he said that theoretically, it is clear in the Constitution that the President reserves that right. Further on the issue of pardons, Giuliani made the case that in theory, the President does have the authority to pardon himself, but on both counts, Giuliani said that the President likely wouldn't go that route.
Here is more from the former Mayor of New York City.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: ALLEN: He is not and he probably does, he has no intention of pardoning himself, but he probably - that doesn't say he can't. I mean, that's another really interesting Constitutional (inaudible) - can the President pardon himself?
I think the political ramifications of that would be tough. Pardoning other people is one thing, pardoning yourself is another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Giuliani also said that he would be prepared to challenge any subpoena coming from the special counsel in court, further, he argued that the President reserves the right to challenge the special counsel probe in court legally as illegitimate.
Boris Sanchez, CNN at the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now to talk more about this is CNN legal analyst and criminal defense lawyer, Mark Geragos and CNN political analyst and White House correspondent for the "New York Times" Michael Shear, good to have you both with us.
MARK GERAGOS, LEGAL ANALYST, CNN: Good to be here.
MICHAEL SHEAR, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Thank you.
CHURCH: Okay, so President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani told the "Huffington Post" that Mr. Trump could shoot former FBI Director James Comey and still not be indicted for it. And these are the actual words he used, "In no case can he be subpoenaed or indicated. I don't know how you can indict while he is in office no matter what it is. If he shot James Comey, he'd be impeached the next day. Impeach him and then you can do whatever you want to do to him." Mark Geragos, to you first, what does this tell you about Giuliani's understanding of Presidential powers? Is he right or is he wrong?
GERAGOS: Well, there is - I think he is engaging in a little rhetoric because, it is an open question as to whether you could force them to ready stand criminally at trial during their Presidency, but I think most people would agree that if a President were indicted during office, then all they would do is they could suspend the proceedings or keep the indictment still until after the President was out of office. That doesn't mean that they can't impeach him at the same time because
impeachment is the process by which you'd get him out of office. So, I understand what he was trying to say. I wouldn't say it was the most artful way of describing it, but that has been kind of the tour that Rudy has been on for the last month and a half.
CHURCH: Yes, it was most certainly and an unfortunate example, wasn't it. Michael Shear, what was your reaction to what Giuliani said about shooting James Comey?
SHEAR: Well, I think Mark is right. What Giuliani was brought on to be was a public relations pit bull, not a kind of a stellar legal mind. I mean, he is a lawyer, but the...
[02:05:16]
SHEAR: ... legal strategy is being done largely by other people. What Rudy Giuliani's mission is to sort of muddy up the waters in a public relations sense and you know, what we have seen from him from the time that he came on the scene representing Donald Trump about a month ago is that, he has basically done one - he made one made outrageous statement after another, and this is the sort of the height of that, the idea being to kind of whip up public opinion, not so much to lay out a sort of reasoned legal strategy.
CHURCH: It certainly got our attention, didn't it? And this is what Rudy Giuliani said when he was trying to explain why it is better that the President doesn't testify before the special counsel on the Russia investigation. Let's have a listen.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: I mean, this is the reason you don't let the President testify. You know, our recollection keeps changing or we are not even asked the question and somebody makes an assumption. In my case, I made an assumption then we correct it, and I got it right out as soon as it happened.
I think that's what happened here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So, Mark, what's your legal view of what Giuliani said there, a changing recollection, a sufficient justification for not letting a President testify?
GERAGOS: Look, this is an area that I would agree on with him on. Anybody who practices criminal defense, anybody who does - the defense of criminal cases will tell you that it is a rare case where you would let your client go in and testify. It just is too fraught with being charged with. And especially, we always use - when you're talking about this in perjury trial.
No matter what your client is going to say, if the client does not say exactly what the prosecutor thinks is the truth, then they expose themselves to perjury or obstruction or having their words manipulated because it gives them stinging from the same kind of speed of music that the prosecutor has.
So, in that instance, I would agree. I mean, you would have to be hard pressed to have somebody allow their client, let alone the President go ahead and testify. I think Bill Clinton's Exhibit A as to why you wouldn't do it.
CHURCH: Michael Shear, do you agree?
SHEAR: Well, I mean, I am not a lawyer. That makes a sense from a legal perspective. I think from a political perspective, that doesn't - that hasn't been the way politics has been practiced in this country for a long time. We expect our political leaders to answer the questions that are put to them, there has been a real sense, I think - and Bill Clinton's willingness ultimately to testify was testimony to the fact that there has been a sense that political leaders can't dodge the public completely.
They can't simply refuse to answer questions when they are seriously pissed. Now, I think Donald Trump has been testing norms since the beginning of his campaign, much less coming into the White House. I mean, he shatters them. He looks at historical trends and historical assumptions and then does the opposite.
And so, you know, Mark is probably right. The lawyers were telling him, obviously, Giuliani is saying, you know, we're telling him not to do this, and it's probably the safest thing from a legal perspective and I think what we don't know is what will the public do if there were to be a real big fight between Mueller and the President over him coming in to testify and the President simply refused, what will the public assume that means?
I don't think we know what they will think and how they will react.
CHURCH: Yes, and according - yes go on...
GERAGOS: I think that's a brilliant point because the first thing I thought of when I heard that Rudy Giuliani was saying this today was Trump famously saying that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and his base wouldn't care.
And so, I think he operates from that. I think that there is in fact, Rudy probably in his mind was harkening back to that, but the base wouldn't care that - and I think it's a very interesting point that he does break norms and in this case, you know, there is always the tension in this high profile cases, having lived some of these, I will tell you that there is always a political or a PR strategy and that's a lot of times, tension with a legal strategy.
In this case, the two actually may kind of be able to mellow and be counterintuitive to whatever the historical perspective.
CHURCH: Thank you so much, Mark Geragos and Michael Shear. Appreciate it.
SHEAR: Thank you.
GERAGOS: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, just eight days before President Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un is set to meet face to face in Singapore, North Korea is shaking up its military leadership. The country's top three military officials are out. Their replacements, younger, staunch Kim loyalists who also are said to have experienced interacting with foreign delegations.
Now, this comes as preparations are in full swing for the June 12th summit, the first time a sitting US President will meet with a North Korean leader.
[02:10:16]
CHURCH: And CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson is in Seoul, South Korea. He joins us now live. Good to see you, Nic. So, let's start with this latest development. The replacement of these three top North Korean military officials by Kim Jong-un ahead of the June 12th summit. What might this signal do you think?
NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: So, as the defense chief, it's the head of the army and head of the army's political bureau. These are obviously very influential positions. The head of the political bureau for the people - the Korean People's Army is an influential position in and of itself because it is concerned directly with the finances that are connected to the military that the military has overview on, which includes a lot of business interest.
However, what does this mean at the moment? It's not clear as these newer appointees we're being told are Kim loyalists and one might reason - we assume that it is firming up his power base, but we've known that's been pretty strong for some time and he's had to reshuffle the military not so long back as well.
So, I think you know, if we look at this - if we really step back from it, you know, the conclusion that perhaps, the best one to draw is that Kim is changing his position a little, however that said, you know, when he decided or said that he was ready to accept a meeting with President Asad of Syria, you know, he was sort of sticking to his - you know, sticking to a position of a recalcitrant leader if you will, that doesn't go along with the rest of the world.
So, the message when he goes to see President Trump in a little over a week's time doesn't necessarily mean that he is reshaping you know, his key personnel behind him for some significant shift of character and of strategy. No, because he is making - he is giving other signals that would indicate otherwise.
So, it is very difficult to try to sort of over analyze this without more information. It may become apparent in the coming days, but it's certainly, there is an indication that there is change underway, whether it be left or right, it's not clear.
CHURCH: Right, and Nic, President Trump of course, initially talked up this summit with notions of walking away with a historic deal. Now, he is playing down those expectations. So, what is the most that can come out of this summit and why is Defense Secretary Mattis reminding everyone that US troops will remain in South Korea. Is that to Mr. Trump's benefit or to calm nerves in South Korea and Japan?
ROBERTSON: It certainly does seem to a degree to calm nerves in South Korea and Japan, and perhaps more so in Japan. Japan's Defense Minister, the conference that Secretary Mattis was attending in Singapore over the weekend expressed concern that President Trump was saying that he won't use the language that he calls, you know, extreme pressure which is the language he used around the sanctions on North Korea, and there was concern particularly again, coming from the Japanese Defense Minister that Kim Jong-un hasn't put anything on the table.
He hasn't made a commitment for denuclearization or about chemical weapons, biological weapons, ballistic missiles and to get him therefore, to get a meeting with President Trump, you know, the view from Japan, a staunch ally of the United States is this really raises questions about what can be achieved and that was their concern.
So, Secretary Mattis was saying, "Look, you know, trust is what is key to our common security - South Korea, Japan, the United States and the region - we need to build that trust. We need to be open and transparent with each other, but it is in that strength and our trust and our common security bond, we are not reducing our troops." That you know, our diplomats can do their job, so if you will, in military terms is providing sort of taut cover for President Trump saying that they are not going to reduce the troops on the Korean peninsula, that would have significantly worried the Japanese. Secretary Mattis playing the hand here that he is making sure everything on his side is clear for President Trump to come in and do what is his intent with Kim Jong-un. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Right, our reporter there. Nic Robertson, bringing us up to date on the situation where it is nearly 3:15 in the afternoon there in Seoul. Many thanks to you, Nic.
Graham Ong-Webb joins us now from Singapore. He is a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Good to have you with us.
GRAHAM ONG-WEBB, RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE S. RAJARATNAM SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Thank you.
CHURCH: Now, as we mentioned you are in Singapore. That of course is where all the action takes in just over a week from now. What is the most that can be achieved in this first face to face meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un?
ONG-WEBB: Well, yes, you're quite right. There is a lot of anticipation building up in Singapore being the host of this summit, this very important summit, very high stakes and I think observers here in this country and in the region...
[02:15:16] ONG-WEBB: ... have a very low bar in terms of the expectation coming
out of the summit. This is an unprecedented historical event. We have a sitting US President, President Donald Trump, Mr. Kim Jong-un meeting. Two heads of state meeting eye to eye for the first time over this ongoing crisis, decades long crisis.
And the bar is set pretty low because I think for many of us, we think that just the two of them building rapport, striking it off and really establishing a working relationship would in and of itself be a huge success coming off the summit. I mean, never mind all the other declarations or agreements that we expect in the summit, but these two important people in the room have to get along with each other in order to negotiate the terms of denuclearization.
CHURCH: But is that more success for Kim Jong-un because he, his father and his grandfather have been wanting to sit down with a US President for so long. Now, they are getting that opportunity, but it doesn't appear that they are having to give very much up for that?
ONG-WEBB: Well, quite right, and this what concerns many of us. That the fundamental goals of Kim Jong-un's regime, Mr. Kim Jong-un himself are actually quite different from the goal set out by the Trump administration and all of the other stakeholders involved in this particular issue.
The goals for the DPRK really are quite simple. It is about getting that handshake in the room with the leader of the world's sole superpower and getting lots of cache, a lot of legitimacy from that. Mind you, Mr. Kim Jong-un has had to work quite hard to earn his place as the leader of the DPRK. It is easy to overlook that fact, it wasn't just handed to him. He had to earn it over the last few years, less than a decade after coming into power in 2011. He is two steps away from this hereditary rule from Kim Il-sung.
And so, he has had to build his place in the history of the DPRK, and so shaking hands with President Donald Trump is going to build a lot of legitimacy, consolidate his power in the eyes of his own people, which will allow him to rule over the DPRK going forward for some time to come.
CHURCH: But will he give anything up and will he really venture into the realm of this concept of denuclearization which of course means, one thing for the United States and another thing for North Korea?
ONG-WEBB: Well, I would argue that he has to and I think he knows this, and this is where I think we get into the sticky areas of this whole event about what exactly the DPRK, Mr. Kim Jong-un, the kind of concessions that they are going to make when they meet with President Donald Trump on the 12th of June. I mean, something tangible clearly has to come out from this meeting.
It is not certain what this tangibility is going to be, but I think some concessions have to be made, and coming back to the point about the three top military officials, you know, being replaced by younger generals, that could be a positive sign, still too early to say, I agree with the correspondent that you had on, but I think more needs to be done.
So, one is expecting that he will address directly the issue of denuclearization, what that is going to look like, and also the verifiability of that as well, in order for any lasting view to be in place, the DPRK clearly will have to abide by this notion of verification and irreversibility.
CHURCH: Graham Ong-Webb, thank you so much for sharing your analysis with us. We do appreciate it and we will all be watching very closely on June 12th to see what does come out of this summit.
Well, a deadly volcano erupts in Guatemala for the second time this year sending thick clouds of smoke high into the sky and we will have the latest on the destruction there.
And US industries are not the only ones who will feel the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs, next how consumers will be affected. Be back in a moment.
[02:20:14]
KATE RILEY, SPORTS CORRESPONDENT, CNN: I am Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines after being out of the football for 98 days, it took Neymar just 25 minutes on his return to net a goal for Brazil, and what a goal it was for the 26-year-old who had been sidelined since February after having surgery on an injured foot. No sign of any rough tear as Brazil would beat Croatia 2-0 in a friendly at Liverpool.
At the French Open in Paris, it was a day to remember for Novak Djokovic as the Serbian equal Roger Federer's milestone of reaching nine straight quarterfinals at Roland-Garros. The former world number one did it by sweeping Fernando Verdasco, Djokovic advanced to his 40th grand slam quarterfinals winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
And it's that time of year in the NHL Stanley Cup finals and this is edition is not disappointing. The Vegas Golden Knights are playing in their very first season and at the start of their campaign, they were 500-1 to win the Ice Hockey's biggest prize while the Knights fell two one behind in that series with the Washington Capital who themselves are looking to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 44 years, the captain, Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin is more than playing his part with a stunning top shelf goal on route to a 3-1 win in DC.
His 14th in the playoffs, game four is Monday night, that is for World Sports headlines. I am Kate Riley.
CHURCH: One of Central America's most active volcanoes has stopped erupting, but ash from the Fuego volcano is still in the air affecting nearby communities around the summit. At least 25 people were killed during the nearly 17-hour eruption.
Black smoke was sent into the sky Sunday drifting all the way to the capital, Guatemala City, some 40 kilometers or 25 miles away. Nearly two million people are being affected and officials warn new eruptions are still possible. Evacuations and rescue efforts are underway. More than 3,000 people
have been forced from their homes. So, let's get more now on all of this. We will go to our meteorologist, Ivan Cabrera. Ivan, at least 25 people dead. I mean, this I just horrendous and it's not over yet for people because there is a possibility of more eruptions.
IVAN CABRERA, METEOROLOGIST, CNN: Yes, unfortunately, that's right, so we'll continue, Rosemary, good to see you and unlike the Kilauea volcano situation there, that has been ongoing for a month. It's been a slow moving disaster. This was a violent sudden and deadly event.
What happened was that the volcano essentially blew its top here, and that happened through the afternoon, and then what we call the pyroclastic flow, very dangerous mixture of essentially volcanic ash, we have the lava fragments that come out of that as well and deadly gasses as well.
And the issue here, the movement of it, right, it moves that 700 kilometers per hour basically the speed of an airliner here and so, there is not much time to get people out of the way and I will show you why that was going to be very difficult anyway, because right at the foot of the volcano, we have numerous villages here. We'll slide into Guatemala and show you what is happening.
There is the Fuego volcano, which by the way there are three of them around, but this is the one that blew today. Look at El Rodeo, that is the area that was primarily hit and that pyroclastic flow just came right down and there was just no time...
[02:25:16]
CABRERA: ... to warn people to get out of the way and that's where we lost 25 lives earlier today. Numerous injuries by the way, and those of course are going to be burn injuries as a result of that flow that came down, which as far as the temperature, it was a thousand degrees Celsius here.
So, terrible stuff, but it is a one-step event, right, and so that is already happening. I think now the issue over the next few days will be the ash that continues to fall as a result of that, and so that is going to be problematic for folks across the area.
As far as how far it went up into the atmosphere, it went 10 kilometers up, so that is an indication of quite an explosive eruption there and the soot, it's just heartbreaking to see folks running around unlike Kilauea, right, full of soot and of course, those are the lucky ones that were able to get out of the way.
But, the forecast I am concerned about a bit, because if we get rain on top of that ash, what we can create are called lahars, which are basically slower moving and less deadly, but they are mudflows nevertheless, and there are still villages that would be impacted here. So, we are in that season in Guatemala now. We are getting this pop up thunder storms, tropical rains through the afternoons, and Rosemary, that will be the case as we head to Monday, Tuesday and into Wednesday. Although this event, this is still an ongoing search and rescue here
and hopefully, we will find more folks down there in Guatemala.
CHURCH: Yes, absolutely a terrifying situation for those people. Ivan Cabrera thanks so much. We will join you again, next hour, and of course, Ivan mentioned there the other erupting volcano, one that has been wreaking havoc on Hawaii's big island for a month now, at last count, nine people are now stranded with no power, no water and no way out after lava flows cut off their final escape routes.
Scott McLean has the latest now.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It is a single volcanic fissure actually not far from here that is feeding a massive lava flow stretching for miles, almost all the way to the ocean. In between, there are entire neighborhoods that are in danger. It has already stranded about a dozen or so people who refused to evacuate when authorities did one final sweep warning people that their final escape route, their final highway out of there was about to get cut off.
There is no power. No water, no cell service, no landlines inside that isolated zone and so, authorities are going through by helicopter looking for any sign of distress. They have already rescued three people already.
Meanwhile, at the summit of Kilauea, experts have measured 500 earthquakes in just the 24-hour period. That's about one earthquake every three minutes, but experts also say we shouldn't read too much into this. What we might pay attention to is the fact that there have been very few explosions over the past couple of days.
That either means that Kilauea is dying down or there is a much bigger explosion brewing in the future. Scott McLean, CNN, Oahu, Hawaii.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CHURCH: We will take a short break here, but still to come, even President Trump supporters are worried about his trade policies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I love what the President has done in most cases, but the tariff is basically a tax on people who use aluminum.
CHURCH: How the steel and aluminum import tariffs could impact industries and US consumers. We'll be back for that. Thank you so much.
[02:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:32:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi everyone. Welcome back to my viewers here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. Let's update you now on the main stories we've been following. Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani says the U.S. President does not intend to pardon himself in the Russia investigation but probably have the power to do so. Giuliani also told House folks that the powers of the presidency absorbed us. Mr. Trump could have shot former FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office and still wouldn't be indicted.
Days before U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has set to meet in Singapore, North Korea's top three military officials have been ousted. All three appear to have been replaced by younger Kim loyalist, part of an ongoing transformation of the country's political and military establishment since Kim took power in 2011.
Israel has retaliated striking militant targets in Gaza on Sunday. That was after the Israeli military said Gaza militants fired projectiles at Israel. The confrontation appears to end and unofficial and very brief ceasefire agreed to by Hamas and Islamic Jihad but not confirmed by Israel.
Finance ministers from six countries are speaking with one voice against the U.S. decisions were imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The officials from the group of seven sent a rare message to President Trump expressing unanimous concerns and disappointment in the trade action. The U.S. insists the imports are a national security threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The idea that the Canadian steel that's in military vehicles in the United States, the Canadian aluminum that makes your fighter jets is somehow now a threat. The idea that we are somehow a national security threat to the United States is quite frankly insulting an unacceptable.
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Mr. Trudeau, I think he's overreacting, I don't want to get in the middle of that as a fine friend and ally of the United States, nobody denies that. But the point is we have to protect ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And Beijing is warning Washington that all the progress that's been made in recent trade talks will be wiped out if the President follows through on his latest terror threat on Chinese exports. The White House isn't backing down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER NAVARRO, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL TRADE COUNCIL: They take our technology, Maria. Everybody knows they steal it, but they also force the transfer of it. They evade our export controls and they're coming over here, Chinese state-own enterprise, coming over here with bags full of money and buying up places like Silicon Valley. So, that's the relationship with China that structurally needs to change. We love to have a peaceful and friendly relationship with China but we also are standing firm on the idea. [02:35:00] And the President is the leader on this.
MARIA BARTIROMO, ANCHOR, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: How far are you willing to go?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now from Beijing with more on the trade talks. So, Matt, how close the China and the U.S. would trade war right now or is this all ballast, what's going on?
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's what we don't know. What we don't know, Rosemary is what substantively, if anything, was agreed upon over the two days that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the U.S. allegations spent here in Beijing over the weekend. We didn't hear any details from the U.S. side before they left to go back to Washington, D.C. on Sunday night. The only -- the only statement that was put out was from the Chinese side through a state media outlet Xinhua and that was extremely vague, what the Chinese said is that there was substance in progress made on some issues but they didn't go on a detail on what that was. The real takeaway I think, Rosemary, from the statement put out by Xinhua would be that China is not going to hold to any economic agreement that have been agreed to between the Chinese and the Americans if the Americans go forward with these $50 billion in tariffs.
And that's a huge deal because what the Americans have said which you heard people like Peter Navarro arguing and that those tariffs need to go forward. And so the list of goods that could potentially be targeted would be announced on June 15th. They go into effect shortly thereafter. And if that does go forward and we have had no indication from the White House that it isn't going to go forward, then it's unclear what Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross could have possibly accomplished here in Beijing. If the Chinese are holding fast to their position that they're not going to negotiate under the threat of tariffs, and the -- and the Americans go forward with the tariffs, I don't really see how you can come up with any potential outcome other than the beginning of a potential trade war.
CHURCH: Yes. It's got many uneasy across the globe as they watch you, this will play out. Matt Rivers joining us from Beijing, it is 2:37 in the afternoon. Many thanks to you. Well, the increase cost of steel and aluminum will end up hitting the wallets of U.S. consumers and there won't be any relief when they reach for a beer. Ryan Noble shows us why.
RYAN NOBLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just as summer is set to kickoff, one of America's biggest beer maker's warning their prices could be on the rise. The cost of a can of beer is directly tied to the price of aluminum. And one of the biggest consumers of aluminum in the world is right here on Golden, Colorado, the MillerCoors Corporation. The producer of some of the most iconic beer brands in America.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER COORS, DIRECTOR, MOLSON COORS: Now, that's a really old can. NOBLE: Peter Coors' uncle pioneer of the use of the aluminum can more than 60 years ago.
COORS: Which was new technology obviously, the first time it had ever been done in the industry.
NOBLE: Today, more than 65 percent of their product is sold in these cans. Many of them produced in the largest can plant in the world. It generates 13 million cans a day. While the overall cost of aluminum has only bumped up a small amount. An American industry surcharge called the Midwest Premium, an added cost to the price to account for shipping and storing aluminum to Midwest cities spiked close to 140 percent. That spike is directly tied to tariff announcement, a frustration for Coors, a Republican who held a fundraiser for Trump.
COORS: And I love what the President's done in most cases, but the tariff is basically a tax on people who use aluminum.
NOBLE: But Philip Luck, an economist at the University of Colorado Denver, believes it is the tariffs themselves that will inevitably lead to higher beer prices.
PHILIP LUCK, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER: The main problem here, again, is the uncertainty generated by these tariffs.
NOBLE: Coors says half of their customers make $50,000 or less, according to Luck when it comes to beer, this policy could hurt working class Americans the most.
LUCK: You could definitely make the argument that imposing these types of tariffs is going to hurt exactly the types of people you claim to want to be helping.
NOBLE: Jim Phillips is a union carpenter. He prefers beer in a can, in part because it's cheap.
JIM PHILIPS, UNION CARPENTER: Well, I'm not happy. I'm not going to be happy about it.
NOBLE: Phillips believes if beer drinkers recognize the price hike and connect it to President Trump, it could lead some to reevaluate their vote.
PHILIPS: By midterm election, we'll see how it goes, what he does. You know, does he stick with this plan of the tariff?
NOBLE: But Chris Johnson, the manager of the Candlelight Tavern in Denver, believes those in search of refreshment may not even notice the price going up.
CHRIS JOHNSON, MANAGER, CANDLELIGHT TAVERN: Obviously, the economy is good, so people don't complain about it as much.
NOBLE: Pete Coors is hoping it doesn't come to that. He says he's spoken to both Vice President Mike Pence and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross about his concerns regarding the Midwest Premium. At this point, there are no plans for the administration to intervene.
CHURCH: Well, President Trump heads to Quebec on Friday for the G7 Summit where the issues of trade and tariffs will likely take center stage. And then it will be onto Singapore for his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un.
[02:40:00] CNN's Will Ripley takes a closer look at how the small city state was picked to host this historic meeting.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to Singapore, known for its mythical mascot, the Merlion. Half fish, half lion. And soon, something even more surreal. Some are calling it the meeting of the century. The first ever summit between the sitting U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Teens from Washington and Pyongyang are on the ground with only days to figure out a long list of logistical challenges, everything from the venue, infrastructure and security to who will cover the costs given North Korea as a cash draft country. Of all the sites officials floated, Singapore is not the most adventurous like Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia nor the most diplomatic like Geneva or Stockholm. It's not even the most symbolic place considered like Panmunjom on the Korean demilitarized zone.
So, why choose this small city state for one of the biggest geopolitical meetings of our time? For one, location. Singapore is just close enough for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to fly relatively easily from Pyongyang. It's also one of Washington's closest Asian security and trading partners, making it friendly turf for President Trump.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLE: The U.S. and North Korea both have embassies here. In fact, North Korea moved to this new building a couple of years ago. They also both trade here, although North Korean trade is currently suspended over sanctions. Singapore also has a growing reputation as a hub for regional diplomacy. It hosted this major security form over the weekend. Perhaps attracted to both Kim and Trump, Singapore does not tolerate rowdy protest that disrupt public order. Rowdy press conference don't happen here either. Singapore is a tourism hotspot, known for chill crab and a striking skyline. But most importantly for the U.S., it's neutral ground. All of it making Singapore perhaps the most conventional choice for two of the world's most unconventional leaders. Will Ripley, CNN, Singapore.
CHURCH: U.S. first lady Melania Trump will not going to the Singapore Summit or to the G7 gathering in Quebec for that matter but she is expected to take part in a White House event Monday honoring families or U.S. service members killed in action. This will be the first time Mrs. Trump has participated in an official event since May 10th but it is worth noting Monday's reception is closed to the press. Now, on May 14th, she checked into the Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment of was called a benign kidney condition. She remained there for five days before returning to the White House. A medic killed in Gaza had told her family her medical vest no protection. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SABREEN AL-NAJJAR, MOTHER OF RAZAN AL-NAJJAR (via translator): I want justice for Razan. Here is her weapon. I want the world to know this is the weapon or Razan al-Najjar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Coming up, you will hear some of the last words of the young woman killed while trying to help others. Plus, pride and pain of Stoneman Douglas' graduation ceremony, graduating seniors honored the Parkland classmates who weren't there to wear a cap and gown with them.
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[02:46:41] CHURCH: The stability of a crucial U.S. ally, Jordan is on the line as the kingdom faces its largest protests in years. This has been the same for the last five days, thousands angry of austerity measures and demanding the prime minister's resignation. King Abdullah, has asked to meet with the prime minister on Monday.
And we are learning more about a young Palestinian nurse killed in Gaza, on Friday, while trying to help injured protesters. Her body was carried through the street, Saturday, as thousands honored the woman who dedicated her life to saving others. Our Ian Lee has a story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IAN JAMES LEE, CNN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: A young medic's final moments. Razan Al Najar raises help on injured Palestinian protester, hands raised in the air.
International law protects medics. But minutes later, an Israeli sniper killed the 21-year-old, east of Khan Younis. Her friends struggled but failed to save her life, a bullet wound to the chest.
She died just hundreds of meters from her neighborhood. Now, adorned with her smiling image. We meet Razan's father, Ashraf. He takes us inside their home. Her mother, Sabreen, clutches her daughter's blood soak vest. The sorrow weighs heavily.
She tells me they were scared for Razan, but that she alleviated their fears telling them she felt obliged to help and was clearly wearing a medical vest. Ashraf and Sabreen, now want accountability for their daughter's death.
I want justice for Razan, here is her weapon. I want the world to know, this is the weapon of Razan Al-Najar.
Razan works the frontlines during the weekly protest near the Israel- Gaza border fence. Just last month, she explained to the New York Times why she risks her life.
Israel's military says it's investigating Al-Najar's death, adding the idea constantly works to draw operational lessons and reduce the number of casualties in the area of the Gaza Strip security fence.
Medical workers protested outside a U.N. office in Gaza City. All believe Israeli snipers are deliberately targeting them. The charge, the Israeli military denies.
Razan Al-Najar is the second medic killed by an Israeli sniper according to the Palestinian ministry of health. More than 200 were also injured, many wearing vests like this.
Rasha and Abdulaziz were with Razan when she died. They tell me, they'll remember her for her bravery. They will more than ever continue where she left off. Ian Lee, CNN, Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:50:11] CHURCH: A tragic story of a remarkable young woman there. For almost four months after a shooting at their high school, Stoneman Douglas seniors graduate without four classmates. How they were honored at the ceremony?
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IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera, checking in across North America. And the U.S. will stern up here with the warmth that are setting up across the Southeastern there at U.S. A very persistent area, low pressure has been across amid Atlantic. So, places like D.C., Philadelphia, and even further ramp to the north have been impacted with some rain activity that is finally going to get a kick to the east, so we'll see improving weather conditions there. It will remain hot and dry across the Southwest.
As far as the temperatures including Montreal stains of the teams, likewise for New England that's a little bit, at least, for the next 24 hours will be monitoring the area there was some rainfall further south as I mentioned, sunshine and it remains pretty quiet across the Southwest, so this time of the year, it should be doing that and it should be getting hotter end to this.
Now, look at New York, if you going to spending some of the time there, temperature is finally rebounding. This is a much improved as far as we're we been. So we're looking at load at mid-20s.
A bit of a dip with the front moving through on Wednesday. And now we'll get back at the 20s, and then, it remains nice and warm down at the south. But here, we have to factor under humidity. So when you see temperatures in the upper 20s to 30s, you factor in the humidity or feel closer to the upper 30s to near 40 degrees. Keep that in mind.
At the Caribbean, Central America, looking pretty good. We'll have temperatures generally in the 30s if for the afternoon, and we'll have, of course, of those puff up afternoon and evening storms, as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: It is the day high school students look forward to for four years. But for the seniors who survived February's mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, some on those graduation ceremony was bittersweet. Liane Morejon, reports from our affiliate station, WPLG.
LIANE MOREJON, GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER, WPLG: Seniors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School filling into the BB&T Center in Sunrise for the graduation, Sunday afternoon.
Pump in circumstance, mark by a harsh reality that members of the 2018 graduating class and MSD staff are noticeably absent. Meadow Pollack, Nicholas Dworet, Carmen Schentrup, and Joaquin Oliver, all seniors were killed in the February 14th shooting at their school.
Joaquin's parents attended the graduation receiving their son's diploma. His mother wearing a shirt that said, "This should be my son."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:55:06] HUNTER POLLACK, BROTHER OF MEADOW POLLACK: For all in the club never wants to be it
MOREJON: For Meadow Pollack's father, it was just too hard to be there.
POLLACK: And they're hurt of the not see his daughter graduate.
MOREJON: But Meadow's older brother, Hunter, along his cousins and Meadow's longtime boyfriend, accepted a commemorative shadow box.
POLLACK: And it's something we're going to hang off and treasure for the rest of our lives.
MOREJON: Into well earned diploma on her behalf.
POLLACK: He was very weak as he was looking forward to graduation for a long time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accepting for Carmen Schentrup --
MOREJON: Carmen Schentrup and Nick Dworet love ones did the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accepting for Coach Aaron Feis.
MOREJON: The three staff members who didn't survive were also remembered. MSD drama students performed their original song, Shine
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON, NBC: Today, are graduating from high school.
MOREJON: And then, a surprise as Tonight show host, Jimmy Fallon, deliver the commencement speech.
FALLON: Choose to move forward, don't let anything stop. MOREJON: In the last four months, many Stoneman Douglas students have become outspoken activist. Students organizing the massive March For Our Lives, demanding tougher gun laws. The Pollacks' spearheading Meadow's movement for school safety.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: To heartbreaking to be. And the student's parents and faculty celebrated graduation, they could not forget the four students who weren't there to accept diplomas. Meadow Pollack, Nicholas Dworet, Carmen Schentrup, and Joaquin Oliver.
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