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Mother Nature's Wrath Leaves People Homeless; Shinzo Abe Wants Reassurance from President Trump; Grandmother's Life Sentence Commuted by Trump; Football Games Cancelled Out of Safety Concerns; ; E.U. Announces Billion In Tariffs On U.S. Goods; Plastic And Pollution Encroaching On Antarctica; Boxer Gives Knock-Out Punch To Former Gang Life; Swaziland And Taiwan Stand Tall Against China; CNN's Exclusive First Ride In Flying Car. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 07, 2018 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, HOST, CNN: Heartbreak in Guatemala, families are still searching for loved ones days after a deadly volcano buried entire towns under ash.
An emotional homecoming. President Trump commutes the sentence of a great grandmother who thought she would spend the rest of her life behind bars.
And Antarctica is one of the most isolated pristine places on earth, but the continent still can't escape the threat of pollution.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN Newsroom.
The Guatemala government says 99 people are dead, victims of the Fuego volcano, and nearly twice that many are missing. Entire villages and towns were wiped out when the volcano erupted on Sunday. It happened in just minutes.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann has this look at the devastation and what has been left behind.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Teresa tells us the name of her family, either lost or killed after the Fuego erupted. The list is long, 18 names long. Too long seemingly for any one person to bear.
The volcano next to the small town of San Miguel Los Lotes where Teresa has lived most of her life gave little warning before lashing out at her and her neighbors. More than 90 are dead. Nearly another 200 missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you think you were going to die?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (trough translator): Yes, I thought my children were going to lose me as I couldn't run. But my children kept saying, mom, come on, run, mom, let's go, but I just couldn't run.
OPPMANN: Miraculously, Teresa and a handful of family members escaped. But she says most of her family, her father, five siblings, their spouses and children, a granddaughter, are still unaccounted for.
This 52-year-old grandmother says she's racked with guilt that she survive and so many her family may not have. We make our way into her Teresa's town where the volcano's fury smashed life here into a million pieces.
Clothes hang unattended on wash lines. Chickens sprout from their cages. The town has become for so many of its residents, an unmarked grave.
This really gives some perspective on how devastating the volcanic explosion was here. This is the roof of a house. The entire house is buried in ash. This down here is a front door. I can still feel the heat coming off this ash which is fused completely solid. And then here at the entrance of door is someone's shoe. We have no idea who it belongs to and if they got out in time.
Rescue workers are still searching for survivors. But as more time passes, they're losing hope. Teresa refuses to give up hers. She like so my others here still has to wait to find out just how much the volcano has taken from her.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, San Miguel, Los Lotes, Guatemala.
CHURCH: And our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with more on how the weather is actually making things worse now. Pedram?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, METEOROLOGIST, CNN: Yes, certainly not going to be helping out, Rosemary, And you know this is the time of year we look at very carefully, the months of May, June and July, the wet season upon us across portions of Central America.
And you take a look, certainly a lot going on offshore. We do have a tropical storm Aletta and notice the cloud field associated with this kind of string right along Southern Mexico, eventually right over Guatemala. We have a 90 percent chance over the next several this would be a tropical storm, but also forming south of Guatemala, plenty of moisture to go around across this region.
And typically around this part of the world, not only do we have the Caribbean Sea bringing moisture into place but also the Pacific Ocean that really bringing moisture into place.
So, the mountains over Guatemala really pose a threat there for heavy rainfall across this region this time of year.
Climatological norms you notice the wettest month of the year it is upon us here, the month of June. And certainly, not going to be an easy go across this portion of the world.
So we take a look at the forecast over the next several days, the temperatures as climatologically normal as you would expect it, 24 to 17, that is exactly where we should be for this time of year.
[03:05:00] But 100 percent chance of thunderstorms each and every single day. That's the main concern. And not just because of course there's ongoing search operations across this region, potentially rescue operations that are being undertaken around the area.
But the heavy rainfall plays a role in what has happened already across the landscape. We do have a lot of pyroclastic flow across this region, a lot of volcanic ash deposited across the landscape.
Once you bring the water down on top of this you create what is known as lahar, and lahar an Indonesian term for taking rock material and deposits from a volcano, putting water into this, that essentially creates a cement-like consistency of moving a mud flows across this landscape.
Once they stopped in an area they harden, they become impossible to penetrate. When they're on the move, they're as destructive as it gets.
And unfortunately, that is going to be the case here with heavy rainfall across some of these valleys and certainly a lot of people already have been impacted by it, but now any sort of additional people on the ground working in this area would have to evacuate if something like this were to play out over the next several days because of the rainfall, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes. That is not good at all. Pedram, thank you so much for keeping us to date on the situation there.
And these images give you a sense of the scale of devastation in Guatemala. On the left, you see a hotel near the base of the Fuego volcano before the eruption. And on the right you can see the same hotel after the volcano erupted.
With the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un just days away, Japan wants to make sure the U.S. is looking out for its interests as well. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to meet President Trump in Washington. He says he wants to coordinate on the nuclear issue, missiles, and most importantly, Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.
And joining us now from Seoul, South Korea, CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. Good to see you again, Nic. So what's worrying Japan's Prime Minister Abe the most when it comes to the June 12 summit in Singapore? And how likely is it that President Trump will have Japan's best interest in mind when he sits down with Kim Jong-un?
NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: Sure, this is going to be a seventh meeting with President Trump and perhaps until President Trump put the aluminum and steel tariffs on Japan as he did with several countries. Shinzo Abe have thought the relationship was going well.
But what he's seen now with President Trump trying to get into this meeting with Kim Jong-un and succeeding is that Japan's strategic, regional security interests really are perhaps being overlooked. Japan has said several times that they think President Trump shouldn't sit down with the North Korean leader until there's a commitment from the leader on denuclearization.
There would be concern on Japan's part about what this could mean, about the type of deal, about the type of discussion. Now would President Trump just focus on ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles that Kim Jong-un has developed that can reach the United States? Perhaps he removes those from the arsenal in North Korea.
But would that therefore leave shorter range missiles that could still hit Japan? There would be concerns about U.S. troop presence in the region in South Korea and in Japan. Would be impacted by a deal that President Trump make?
So part of the picture here for Shinzo Abe is, is the United States as committed to Japan's security. And very much we heard from, you know, the United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis over the weekend, reiterating that bond, that trust between Japan and the United States is key to their shared, strategic security interests in the region.
Shinzo Abe maybe trying to probe a bit to figure out, is that as good as it sounds or is President Trump inconsistent on that?
CHURCH: Yes. We'll see next week, I guess. And Nic, President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani has been talking publicly about the summit and he claims Kim Jong-un got down on his hands and knees and begged for the summit to be rescheduled after it was canceled initially. We don't know of course if this actually happened, but either way, how's North Korea likely to respond to this?
ROBERTSON: Sure, Rudy Giuliani went on to say that this is precisely how you'd want Kim Jong-un coming to a summit with President Trump and the position of him. That's not how Kim Jong-un sees himself, it's not how he wants to portray this meeting to the North Korean people.
He wants to be seen as coming as an equal on the world stage meeting in this hugely important meeting with an American president. So, you know, one can only imagine that that rhetoric from Rudy Giuliani is not going to sit well in Pyongyang right now. We haven't heard a response from the North Koreans about it so far.
It does sort of strike a tone that's very similar, particularly for the North Koreans that we heard from President Trump's national security adviser John Bolton where he suggested Kim Jong-un take the Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader method of dealing with the nuclear weapons.
[03:10:05] That didn't go down well. That what caused this sort of rift in the first place. That's when President Trump said that he was going to cancel the meeting.
But what we do know publicly, Rudy Giuliani says that Kim Jong-un came crawling on his knees to have that summit put back on. What we know that happened publicly, as the vice foreign minister wrote a letter that says they were happy that President Trump was trying to do things that other American presidents hadn't done with North Korea, and that they were ready and willing to have a meeting. That doesn't really seem to tally up with what Rudy Giuliani is talking about. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes. We'll be watching to see North Korea's response, of course. Many thanks to Nic Robertson, reporting from Seoul in South Korea, where it's 4.10 p.m.
Well, the president's meeting with reality TV star Kim Kardashian has resulted in a commutation for an Alabama great grandmother who had serving a life sentence for nonviolent drug offenses.
Our Pamela Brown reports.
PAMELA BROWN, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: President Trump considering dozens of new pardons. That as he commutes the life sentence of Alice Johnson, a first-time drug offender who served 21 years of a life sentence on charges of cocaine possession.
That decision following a personal Oval Office request from reality TV star Kim Kardashian-West. Sources say chief of staff John Kelly and White House counsel Don McGahn advocated against it. Also on the list, lifestyle guru and businesswoman, Martha Stewart. Though a source familiar says the president has cooled on that idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA STEWART, BUSINESSWOMAN: We're going to make a scrumptious meatloaf sandwich which is Donald's favorite sandwich.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've never had meatloaf this good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Stewart was found guilty of lying to investigators about suspicious stock trades. And former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is also on the list. He was on The Apprentice with Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Governor, I have great respect for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: He was convicted on 17 corruption charges and impeached for trying to sell a U.S. Senate seat. And last week, Trump pardoned conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza who pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
The president tweeted saying he has the absolute right to pardon himself. And his willingness to ignore Justice Department guidelines on issuing pardons has some Democrats worried he'll use it to help allies caught up in the investigation into Russian campaign meddling in 2016.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED LIEU, (D) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: The pardon process is supposed to be based on justice and to vindicate the societal values of forgiveness and mercy. Unfortunately, the president has perverted the pardon process, and now it seems like he's pardoning people based on their celebrity status, or because a celebrity talked to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: As he did when he pardoned campaign supporter and controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio last year for his criminal contempt conviction. And with the president headed to Canada for the G7 on Friday, the White House is playing down report that relations are souring over new U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: I have no doubt that the United States and Canada will remain firm friends and allies, whatever short-term disagreements may occur.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seriously? Do you really believe that Canada, that your NATO allies represent a national security threat to you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: However, CNN has learned that Mr. Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clashed on a phone call late last month. Trudeau calling out the president for using national security to justify the tariffs. Mr. Trump replied, "didn't you guys, burn down the White house?" A reference to the war of 1812.
However, CNN is told that Trudeau did not find the comment funny, and worth noting it was the British who burned down the White House, not Canada.
Trump today also visiting FEMA headquarters to discuss hurricane preparedness, but first given an update on first lady Melania Trump's help and her first public appearance since going a medical procedure several weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're very little rough edge but she's doing great and we're very proud of her. She's done a fantastic job as first lady. The people love you. The people of our country loves you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Trump also he praised on several cabinet members for their performance in last year's hurricane season, including EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, who is still under fire for lavish government spending and alleged ethics violations, including asking a government staffer to buy him a used mattress from Trump's D.C. hotel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Administrator Scott Pruitt, thank you, Scott, very much. EPA is doing really, really well. And you know, somebody has to say that about you a little bit. You know that, Scott.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: One person not getting praise tonight, Attorney General Jeff Sessions who Trump all but ignored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, thank you, Jeff. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers joins me now from New York with more on this. Good to have you with us.
JENNIFER RODGERS, LEGAL ANALYST, CNN: Thanks. Good to be here.
[03:14:58] CHURCH: So let's bring up those images again of Alice Johnson being released from prison after President Trump commuted her life sentence with her family and friends greeting her there after 21 years behind bars.
It is worth noting that prosecutors had previously suggested to former President Barack Obama that she not be released and so she remained in prison. Why do you think President Trump decided to commute her life sentence this time?
RODGERS: Well, it's obviously hard to say what he was thinking, but we do know he had a visit in the White House from Kim Kardashian-West, and that Miss West pleaded the case of Miss Johnson to him.
So, you know, he seems to be someone who acts quickly, sometimes impulsively. And if someone he knows and like makes the case for a woman, for being wrongfully convicted, he seemed to have listened, at least in this instance.
CHURCH: And of course, Johnson was a first-time non-violent drug offender. Did a life sentence fit the crime in that instance?
RODGERS: You know, I haven't seen anyone say that they think it did. I mean, virtually everyone or literally everyone I've seen comment on this has said that this was too harsh a punishment, you know.
Yes, she was part of a drug organization and so she was properly convicted of crimes but that life without parole certainly was too harsh a sentence here. So no one is quibbling with the result of her ending her prison sentence early, especially since she had such extraordinary rehabilitation.
I think people are just concerned as I'm concerned about the lack of process here. You know, there's a reason that there's a pardon process. And while that process may be too lengthy and may need fixing, there's still some benefits to going through it and not just having pardons and commutations off the cuff.
CHURCH: Right. And I did want to ask you how often this happens, that a person of color particularly who has committed a non-violent crime gets a very long sentenced, and how many other people who haven't been fortunate enough to have a celebrity push their case are still behind bars fighting for justice.
RODGERS: Well, there's no question that there are some very, very lengthy sentences out there that the justice system in many ways is discriminatory against people of color. President Obama commuted the sentences of many, many people who were in prison for very long periods of time because of drug crimes before his time as president was over.
So, there's certainly work to be done there. I just think that what would be a better thing to do would be to fix the pardon process so that these claims can be adjudicated more quickly, you can get them system, but that they still receive full consideration, including having the prosecutors weigh in.
It sounds like previously the prosecutors oppose the release of Miss Johnson. Now I don't know whether they would have done so again, or whether President Trump would have gone with them or against them, but it seems to me there's still some benefit in the process here.
But if we can get it working more swiftly, then we'll see more people released with justification, which will be a good thing.
CHURCH: Right. And why do you think we're still seeing these very long sentences that don't seem to fit the crime?
RODGERS: Well, some are due to the laws. They are mandatory minimum sentences out there for certain kinds of crimes. But really, you know, judges have a lot of discretion in sentencing. And they're supposed to consider not just the crime but the person in front of them and that gives judges a lot of leeway to say that a particular person needs to serve a longer sentence for some reason.
And you know, there's no question that there have been many studies done to say that black defendants receive longer sentences. And so, you know, there's a problem there in the justice system. The problem is how do you balance this notion of judicial discretion with wanting to treat people as individuals? You know, you kind of want both of those things and yet they clash in some instances.
So there's a structural problem here and we definitely need to work harder on it.
CHURCH: So what would be the solution be here?
RODGERS: Well, I mean, look, maybe, you know, again, judicial discretion but some parameters and some ways for those sentences to be commuted or pardons to be given when it makes sense. I mean, maybe a pardon process that swifter, that presidents can consider these pardons more readily, certainly at the state level we don't have the same delay and lengthy process that we do with the federal level. You know, many states do this more quickly.
So, you know, I think it's a combination of things. Also just the knowledge that these sentences are being given disproportionately to people of color, I would hope would show judges that they need to be thinking hard about whether they're actually giving sentences that need to be given, or whether they're have some sort of unconscious bias going on in their sentencing as well.
CHURCH: Jennifer Rodgers, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.
RODGERS: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, President hosted his first Iftar dinner at the White House on Wednesday. It is the meal Muslims have at sundown to break fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
[03:19:57] The White House said the dinner would be for the diplomatic community. And that sparked criticism from American Muslims who said bossiness leaders, scholars, and activists should be invited as well.
Antarctica is a land of astonishing beauty few ever get to see. Yet deep beneath its surface lies a potential global crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sense that the Antarctic is pristine is deceptive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Even Antarctica is at risk from human impacts that are damaging our planet. But it also may hold the key to our survival. We will take you there later this hour to see why the battle to preserve the icy continent is so critical.
Plus, why an exhibition soccer match between Argentina and Israel was abruptly canceled. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: The head of Argentina's Football Association is apologizing to Israeli fans for cancelling Saturday's exhibition match in Jerusalem. He says it was meant as a snub but it was done out of safety concerns for the team.
CNN's Phil Black has the details.
PHIL BLACK, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: The Palestinian Football Association lobbied aggressively for this match not to happen. Its chief called on fans around the world to burn Lionel Messi images and his national jersey. Israeli official say that was incitement to violence.
And now Argentina's Football Association has confirmed the side will not travel to Israel because of threats and concerns about the team's safety.
Palestinians argued Argentina and Messi were being used by Israel to whitewash what they see as the state's crimes and to legitimize its policies. And they said, holding the game in Jerusalem, a city claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital was especially provocative.
So while Israeli football fans were thrilled by the possibility of seeing Messi and his team mates play here, Palestinians, many of whom also worship Messi as a superstar of the game were distress by the idea of their hero playing what they believed would be a one-sided role in this intractable conflict.
Israeli government says some people took that opposition much further, directly threatening violence against Messi and other players and their families.
CHURCH: Phil Black reporting there.
[03:24:51] And the canceled match in Jerusalem was meant as a warm-up to the World Cup which gets underway in Russia next week. It's the biggest sporting event the country has hosted since the Winter Olympics in Sochi. And officials say they are ready. But it hasn't silence Russia's critics who say the tournament should be boycotted.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: The flags and banners are up in Moscow is sending a clear message, Russia is ready and excited for the World Cup to begin. The head of the parliamentary committee for sports telling me everything is ready to go.
"We want this World Cup to be a celebration of the whole world, and we want to use the tournament's legacy to develop sports in our country," he says. "The way we will host the Cup will be the gold standard for such event by every measure."
But internationally, the World Cup vice seem somewhat tainted by Russia's recent altercations with western nations. Both the Netherlands and Australia recently officially blamed Russia for the 2014 shoot down of a civilian airliner.
And Britain and other western countries kicked out dozens of Russian diplomats for the poisoning for the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter using the military grade nerve agent Novichok in the middle of an English town.
Russia vehemently denies it was behind either of the incidents. The recent diplomatic turmoil between Russia and the west has cause some western politicians to call for a boycott of the World Cup here, even as most teams are in their final preparation for the tournament.
But that seems unlikely. Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the head of football's governing body, FIFA, Gianni Infantino, recently visited several World Cup venues. The FIFA boss has said Russia is ready to host the event. Even as rights groups criticize a crackdown on anti-Putin protests and free speech in recent months.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All these thousands of fans who are going to be here for the opening on June 14th they will be might seeing trust of how beautiful Moscow is. Moscow is ready to welcome the fans. Ironically, however, the World Cup is happening here in Russia at the worse crimes human rights.
PLEITGEN: But Russian politician Mikhail Degtyarev warn against politicizing the biggest event in world sports.
"We in Russia always say that sports and politics must separated," he says. "Sports must unite people, not divide them and if there are tensions amongst politicians, they must put them aside."
And the Kremlin hopes those tensions will remain on the sidelines at least until the final whistle is blown at the 2018 World Cup.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And still ahead, pollution at the bottom of the world. CNN's Arwa Damon takes us to Antarctica where scientists are hoping to preserve one of the world's best remaining buffers to climate change.
And the lava flow from Hawaii's Kilauea shows no sign of letting up. It has literally wiped a 400-year-old lake off the map.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. I am Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we had been following.
When the Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted hot ash quickly covered villages. 99 people are believed to have been killed, twice as many and missing. Rescuers are digging through rock and ash looking for survivors.
The European Union has announced more than $3 billion in tariffs on American products retaliation for U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Among the items on denim, bourbon, motorcycles, peanut butter and cigarettes. The new tariffs are to take effect next month.
At least 17 people have been killed and 90 wounded in an explosion is the Sadr city in Eastern Baghdad. Iraq's Interior ministry says a weapons cache was blown up causing Wednesday's blast. Security forces are investigating.
Antarctica is about as far from civilization as you can get. But as we prepare to mark World Ocean's day on Friday, it's becoming disturbingly clear that plastics and pollution have finally reach, this pristine environment. CNN's Arwa Damon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
ARWA DAMON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Nature sets the rules out here, with its wild winds freezing waters and freezing temperatures. We're off the coast of the western Antarctica Peninsula on the last leg of three month long Greenpeace expedition to raise awareness about the need to create ocean sanctuaries and fishing buffer zones within these waters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Antarctic is a cooling area that mitigates the effects of climate change. And what happens here is having in fact on the climate. The ocean currents are driven by the cold waters of the Antarctic.
DAMON: These entire region from its water to its seabed to its wildlife is central to the battle against our planet's dangerously changing climate. Because it is (inaudible) for the carbon sink, a place where carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere is helped, making the planet habitable. And that is more crucial now with this amazing eco-system than ever before.
Scientist say rising global temperatures are causing Antarctica to lose about 183 billion tons of ice each year. The largest decline in sea ice in 1,500 years. This is the awesome sight of a well feeding frenzy on krill. And beneath the surface lies so much more.
Krill is a keystone species, holding the entire Antarctic food chain together, but krill is in all-time low, in part because of rising ocean temperatures and melting ice. If the krill continues to decline it could be a problem not only for the Antarctic, but for the entire planet. Because scientists are discovering that this shrimp-like crustacean actually helped capture carbon dioxide emissions. The main culprit behind warming waters and rising sea levels.
Here's how it works, algae absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Krill feeds on the carbon algae and as they fill up, they sink to the bottom, where they rain down their carbon rich fecal matter into the icy Antarctic Ocean's depth. There, since cold water holds more carbon than warm. Carbon can be stored in the liquid defreeze from millennia. And scientist have now discovered that krill swim to and deposit their fecal pallets in even deeper depths than previously anticipated, which means they trap even more carbon than previously thought. A lot more. The extra depth this tiny creatures swim into the Antarctic is believed to offset the carbon emissions of the entire United Kingdom and benefit other parts of the eco-system in the process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we know that the carbon sinks and goes to the bottom where there is like a very, very diverse community, so that they are able to use to capture this carbon and they use it, or sometimes they make it available for other organisms.
[03:35:00] DAMON: So you're basically saying that the actual organisms that live on the ocean floor are in and of themselves also a carbon storage facility? To a certain degree?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Basically that is the way it works. DAMON: But the sense of the Antarctic is pristine, it is deceptive.
It is already being threatened by us. Dr. Marcelo Gonzalez shows us what they found in some of the Antarctic clams that they tested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can observe this material, they are wet material -- plastic and also we call them fibers.
DAMON: And so this was found --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was found in the intestines of the Antarctic clam.
DAMON: And if this is what scientists are finding here, imagine what there could be in oceans and seas closer to our dining tables. The microplastic found could be due to the human presence in the Antarctica, but Dr. Gonzales suspects that they originated in other oceans, other continents. But further testing still needs to be done.
Greenpeace also tested for micro plastics and found elements in most samples they have tested. And that is not the only toxic material in this remote region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just take a walk around this little bay, find us a place that is untouched for the last weeks, at least.
DAMON: There going to take snow sample to be tested for PFAS, Poly floral Alco substances, PFAS chemicals used as stain and water repellant coating in things like outdoor gear. They're not biodegradable. Which means that once release they stay in the environment forever. Greenpeace has been testing snow in remote areas for the last few years for traces of these toxic compounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We already found it in snow samples of China. We found it in snow samples in Russia, in Europe, and would be really outrageous if it would be already here in the Antarctic.
DAMON: Sadly, it is. And some of the freshly fallen snow samples suggests the presence of these chemicals don't come from local sources, but were carried by the atmosphere.
It's so beautiful and quiet, you almost don't even want to speak above a whisper. And there's two whales right there. That is absolutely unbelievable. See them?
Nature here gives off a deceptive illusion of indestructibility. It's not. That is why Greenpeace is fiercely advocating for action at the source, but also for the creation of large-scale marine reserves, to give the eco-system here a fighting chance. Scientists are only just beginning to understand the scope of the Antarctic's role at the carbon sink and buffer against climate change. There is still time to protect it, not just for the beauty of its majestic creatures, but also because it could protect all of us. Arwa Damon, CNN, the Antarctic.
(END VIDEO) CHURCH: And students around the world will celebrate World Ocean's
Day on Friday by enjoying a lunch without plastic. The best efforts will be featured on CNN's live blog. You can learn more at cnn.com/zero plastic lunch.
And there's just no let out in Hawaii as the Kilauea volcano continues to threaten communities on the big island. It shot a plume of ash three kilometers into the sky. It's yet another indication that the volcano is still active and unpredictable. CNN's Dan Simon is there.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Things continue to be surreal here on the big island. This is highway 130, you can see the check point behind me. This road ultimately leads to the part of the volcano that is currently spewing lava. Specifically it is called fissure number 8. Now to put things in context, you have 24 of these fissures that have broken out over the past month. Only one of them is currently spewing lava. And with that, you get that dramatic fountain at time that is reaching 200 feet into the air, and with that you get this dramatic lava river.
And on Monday night this absolutely swallowed up two communities called Kapoho and Vacation Land. Now, it is called Vacation Land for a reason, because most of those homes are second homes, but we did speak to an individual who lives there full-time. This is what he had to say. Take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house was 16 feet above, on peers, on top of four feet above sea level, and yet the lava walls as high as my house was, on top of that. And you really can't survive that kind of wave coming at you.
SIMON: And you can see that gentleman seems to be taking things in stride. I think that is pretty much the attitude of the overall community. They just don't know when this is going to stop. You have several thousand people who are currently under evacuation order. Two shelters have opened up in the area. One of them is completely full.
Scientists say this has gone on far longer than they could he envisioned. And there's still a danger with the summit itself with the volcano, where you've seen all of these earthquake that have broken out over the past month.
[03:40:10] The number is just absolutely staggering 12,000 earthquakes and of course the danger also remains with laze, that is where the lava meets the water and you get this toxic cloud that can happen as a result and of course, residents have to be on a lookout for that. Dan Simon, CNN, on the big island of Hawaii.
(END VIDEO)
CHURCH: And after a short break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You would have done anything for him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To save your son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: It was once destined or he was once destine to become a statistic of London gang violence, now he is a rising star of the boxing world and hopes to show others a better way forward.
Plus, the odd couple of diplomacy. Taiwan finds a steadfast ally in Africa. Back in a moment.
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CHURCH: A huge blaze tore across the roof of a London hotel in the affluent knight's bridge district. Nearly 300 people were evacuated from the Mandarin Oriental. No one was injured. It happened just days after the hotel announced its multimillion dollar renovation project was complete.
Well, gang violence in London is believed to have claimed more than 60 lives this year, but one young man literally fought his way out of the streets to become an inspiring role model. CNN's Erin McLaughlin has his story.
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ISAAC CHAMBERLAIN, BRITISH PROFESSIONAL BOXER: I want to show some greatness. That is the type of drive that I have. In the gym, practicing perfection.
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isaac Chamberlain knows what it takes to be great.
Perhaps, you never expect this kind of discipline from a kid whose story is born on poverty and violence. The kind of gang violence now engulfing London. Authorities don't know what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The number of killings in the British capital has surged past 50.
MCLAUGHLIN: It' a world Chamberlain knows too well.
What if boxing was not there for you?
CHAMBERLAIN: I honestly don't know. Because there was a time when I was young, when I started to steal away, you know, to gangs and stuff like that.
[03:45:00] MCLAUGHLIN: But Chamberlain took a different turn. His mom Linda tells us as a kid, he was often in trouble with the police.
LINDA CHAMBERLAIN, MOTHER OF ISAAC CHAMBERLAIN: One police officer came to my home and locked the door and said to me, your son is in hospital. I was like, what!
MCLAUGHLIN: He was in hospital, 10 years old, his face swollen from a street fight. Linda say the police told her she needed to get her son of the streets and into something like boxing.
You would have done anything for him?
L. CHAMBERLAIN: Anything.
MCLAUGHLIN: To save your son.
L. CHAMBERLAIN: Yes.
MCLAUGHLIN: She tells us boxing is his destiny.
I. CHAMBERLAIN: I came into the gym and I smelled the sweat of the gym and the people punching and the smelly glove and I just fell in love with it. The coach is here in my gym. The coach is always saying you can be (inaudible) until you can do something and I was like, wow, these guys really believe in me. I never heard those words of encouragement.
MCLAUGHLIN: He takes us back to Brixton. Back to his childhood. To a neighborhood (inaudible) by gang warfare. Many of his friends would go on to prison, some die young.
I. CHAMBERLAIN: We sued to play football from this green post here. That green post.
MCLAUGHLIN: These are unforgiving back then?
I. CHAMBERLAIN: Yes. Definitely. Gang raid, like a drugs raid for police on this block. They were like, get down! Guns everywhere. It was nuts.
MCLAUGHLIN: At time Brixton became (inaudible), trendy even. But the gangs are still here.
How does it make you feel seeing what's happening in London right now?
I. CHAMBERLAIN: There's a lack of care. Somebody's not doing something. To help these kids. Can you see this closed down place here?
MCLAUGHLIN: Yes.
I. CHAMBERLAIN: I think that was it.
MCLAUGHLIN: So, this used to be a job center and now --
I. CHAMBERLAIN: Now, it's just closed down.
MCLAUGHLIN: It is closed down. Does that concern you?
I. CHAMBERLAIN: You're closing down the things that can help all along. MCLAUGHLIN: You think they're closing down the solution?
I. CHAMBERLAIN: Kind a, yes.
MCLAUGHLIN: The solution for Isaac was boxing. He is now a rising star. Recently he fought before over 20,000 people at London's O2 Arena. When kids see you, and they see you box, what do you think they see?
I. CHAMBERLAIN: Someone that not become a product of their environment. Somebody who has worked hard to get where he is and I hope I'm inspiring so many people like that is what the kids need, so they can say, yes, he is just like me, you know, he speaks just like me, act just like me and look where he is, you know, I can do the same thing.
MCLAUGHLIN: Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Brixton, London.
(END VIDEO)
CHURCH: And he is inspiring. Great story there. Well, China is trying to isolate Taiwan even more, and it's doing it in Africa. Taiwan now has only one diplomatic ally in Africa, the tiny country of Swaziland. It's a monarchy where the leader spends lavishly on himself. And from the king's private jet to a number of municipal projects, Taiwan is standing tall in Swaziland. Our David McKenzie is there.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Single file they march towards the evening prayer. Swaziland's future generation, receiving a nightly dose of ancient Buddhist tradition. Many are orphans, all come from very little. Now given a chance to dream big. Thanks to this care center's Taiwanese founder. And what do you think of the friendship between Swaziland and Taiwan?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a good friendship.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For us, this is a rare trip into this isolated kingdom. Swaziland's major diplomatic partner, Taiwan, also knows a thing or two about isolation. China sees it as a renegade province, not a country. Pressuring African states to give up on Taiwan and give in to what Taiwan's leader has called diplomacy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATOR): We hope to see that Swaziland will return to the big family of China-Africa friendship.
MCKENZIE: But Burkina Faso having cut ties with Taiwan, this is Swaziland, population 1.4 million, is the last country in Africa standing up to China, population 1.4 billion.
Nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great to meet you. Welcome to the embassy of the Republic China, Taiwan. MCKENZIE: Thank you very much. So is Taiwan's last ambassador
nervous?
You're the last one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the only one. I wouldn't say the last one. Every night I fall asleep within just one minute. That is how comfortable I am as far as our bilateral relationship is concerned.
MCKENZIE: In the kingdom, signs are everywhere, from the major government, hospital being rebuilt with Taiwanese funding, to this.
[03:50:04] The King built this new terminal building in the east of the country. He named it after himself. It's funded by the Taiwanese and on the runway.
A former Taiwanese airliner converted into one of the world's largest personal planes.
Here, it's good to be the king. The thing is this place is a monarchy, and factors absolute monarchy on what the king says goes. While no one denies China's sway in Africa.
If the foreign minister of China would give you a ring, would you answer his call?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, yes. We are not yet ready to divorce, to turn our back against Taiwan. That one rest with the king, yes.
MCKENZIE: The big man himself?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is very close to his people and --
MCKENZIE: (inaudible) subjects, diplomatic relations, no matter with whom, will always mean very little. What kind of country is Swaziland?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swaziland is -- I would say its beautiful country for people that don't know. We can't actually voice ourselves out there. So if you can bear it, then that means that we are useless, we are just useless tools in a business workshop.
MCKENZIE: A workshop thrust onto the world stage, thanks to one very special relationship. David McKenzie, CNN, Swaziland.
(END VIDEO)
CHURCH: And still to come, why sit in traffic when you can zoom right over it? A new flying vehicle aims to make that dream a reality. We're back in a moment.
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CHURCH: OK. So if you've ever dreamed of zooming around in your own flying car that could soon become a reality. The Kitty Hawk flyer is on its way to the sky, the Silicon Valley startup funded by Google co- founder Larry Page, gave CNN's Rachel Crane an exclusive first ride in its flying car.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. So this was definitely one of the crazier experiences of my career. But what is this thing? And why am I flying it? I'm at a secret facility in Lake Las Vegas, the training center for company Kitty Hawk.
SEBASTIAN THRUN, CEO, KITTY HAWK: The mission of Kitty Hawk is to get everybody to fly every day. And eventually to get rid of traffic
That is the Kitty Hawk's CEO, Sebastian Thrun. And what he is basically describing is making the Jetsons flying cars a reality.
THRUN: Now it's a long step from flying like that, this is a recreation of the (inaudible) by far distant future I can see maybe we take something similar like this and fly into New York from Manhattan.
CRANE: Flyer is Kitty Hawk's first commercial vehicle. Todd Reichert is company's lead engineer.
TODD REICHERT, LEAD ENGINEER, KITTY HAWK: You basically have 12 moving parts.
CRANE: OK. Where are those moving parts?
REICHERT: 10 motors.
CRANE: Right.
REICHERT: And two control sticks. And that is it.
CRANE: Pretty simple.
While operating it may be simple, incorporating vehicles like this into our everyday commutes. That is going to be a whole lot more complicated. For now, Kitty Hawk's playing it safe. Their engineers wouldn't let me fly over land or faster than 6 miles per hour. And trust me, I wanted to. But Kitty Hawk says the vehicle is capable of going much faster.
[03:55:03] REICHERT: Physically, I think it's very conceivable that a vehicle like this might fall at some point 50, 60, may be even 100 miles per hour.
CRANE: Even with conservative safety restrictions, I still had a blast. And I have to say, they made it ready idiot prove, to fly this thing, you don't need a pilot's license. And if you take your hands off the control, it just hovers in place.
THRUN: This is transformational in terms of how accessible we can make flight.
CRANE: But in order for it to be truly transformational, people have to be willing to fly them. When most people think about flying cars, they're actually pretty scared and also very intrigued. THRUN: The number one most important thing other than safety is a
societal acceptance. Will people will be willing to fly on these devices, live next to a device like this that flies in a neighborhood and so on.
CRANE: The public acceptance is just one hurdle. Flyers battery only lasts about 20 minutes, so for now its applications are limited. Kitty Hawk's mission is to eradicate traffic. You can't do that with a recreational vehicle.
REICHERT: We're on sort of story arc from recreation to exploration to transportation. And we will have to evolve one way.
CRANE: That was awesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Rachel Crane having a lot of fun there.
A Virginia National guardsman is now facing felony charges including driving under the influence of drugs after leaving base in an armored personnel carrier. The 29-year-old apparently took off during training exercises Tuesday. Then led police on a low-speed pursuit down state roads and a major highway. It ended two hours later in the state's capital. Luckily the chase ended with no accidents and without anyone getting hurt.
A San Diego Padres baseball fan has social media on fire with thousands of comments and even a few marriage proposals. Her claim to fame came Tuesday night in the form of a foul ball struck by an Atlanta Braves player, the ball went high up into the stands, bounced behind Gabby Demarco then landed right in her beer. After a quick celebration, she wowed the crowd by chugging the beer prompting a frenzy of praise on Twitter. And thanks for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter, we love to hear from you. The news continues now with Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching CNN. Have a great day.
