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Immigration Crisis In The United States; South Korean President Moon Goes To Moscow; New E-Mail Correspondents Obtained By CNN; Trump Administration's Zero Tolerance Policy; Handcuffs, Assaults, And Drugs Called 'Vitamins': Children Allege Grave Abuse At Migrant Detention Facilities; Wife Of Israel Prime Minister Charged With Fraud; Koko Dies In Her Sleep At Age 46; Impressions Of The World Cup's Opening Weektrade Wars; World Cup Action. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired June 22, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:09] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN, ANCHOR: Immigration, the crisis in the United States, many families still left in legal limbo. That despite the President's executive order to stop separating migrant children from their parents caught crossing the border illegally. Mr. Moon goes to Moscow. Why the South Korean President says Russia is key to the peace process in Pyongyang.
And later this hour, Argentina's stunning defeat at the World Cup. Live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta, we want to welcome our viewers around the world. I am George Howell. The CNN Newsroom starts right now. Around the world, good day to you, we begin with the Trump administration and its frequently changing position on the topic of immigration.
The U.S. President insists he's never been tougher on border security, but he seemed to undercut that very message, his own message Thursday about wanting to keep migrant families together. Our Jim Acosta tries to sort it all out for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It was a tale of two Trumps. While the first lady attempted to show sympathy visiting the children taken from their migrant parents at the border, the President was creating more confusion, telling his cabinet that his executive order aimed at ending the families' separations is limited.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP (R), UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I signed a very good executive order yesterday, but that's only limited. No matter how you cut it, it leads to separation ultimately.
ACOSTA: The President also trying to down-play the conditions inside the facility where the children are being held against their will.
TRUMP: We have a situation where some of these places they're really running them well. It's the nicest that people have seen.
ACOSTA: Mr. Trump was playing politics, accusing Democrats of seeking to turn the detention spaces into resorts. TRUMP: They want us to take care of bed space and resource and
personnel and take everybody and, you know, like let's run the most luxurious hotel in the world for everybody. But they don't want to give us the money.
ACOSTA: The President also falsely accused Democrats of sparking the crisis his administration started.
TRUMP: They've created it and they've let it happen, a massive child smuggling industry.
ACOSTA: Despite the searing images of suffering children seen around the world, the President sounded detached and bitter.
TRUMP: They walk through Mexico like they're watching through Central Park.
ACOSTA: The Democrats pushed back on the notion they're to blame.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a lie. So for the President to constantly say that we are against immigration reform that makes sense, that is humane, it's a lie. And in fact, he is the one who is creating chaos at every turn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard you have 58 children here, 55.
ACOSTA: Down at the border, the first lady toured one facility for the separated children that looked more like an elementary school and less lake the jail shown in some photos from the region. Mrs. Trump wanted to know how the children are coping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then when the children come here, what kind of state, you know physical and mental state when they come here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually when they get here, they're (Inaudible).
ACOSTA: And she asked how she could lend a hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I would also like to ask you how we can help reunite these children with their parents as quickly as possible.
ACOSTA: But it was the message on her back that created a stir. I really don't care. Do you -- was the question scrawled across her jacket as she left for Texas and as she returned to Washington. The first lady's office said in a statement there was no hidden message. Back at the White House as the President was discussing the plight of the children at the border, he pivoted to marvel over the size of his rally in Minnesota.
TRUMP: A lot of you were there. At least 15,000 people couldn't get into the arena.
ACOSTA: The same rally where he blasted the arena as nowhere near as elite as he is.
TRUMP: Why are they elite? I am richer than they are. I became President and they didn't.
ACOSTA: As for the jacket, the President posted a tweet claiming the first lady was taking a jab at the news media. But that doesn't make any sense as it directly contradicts what the first lady's office said earlier in the day, that it was just a jacket. Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: To talk more about this, let's bring in CNN Legal Analyst Areva Martin via Skype in Los Angeles, a pleasure to have you on the show with us. Let's start with this executive order effectively reversing the Trump administration's policy of separating families, promising now to keep these families together. But Areva, there is this challenge. There's the federal ruling that prohibits the government from keeping children in immigration detention centers for more than 20 days. It's called the Flores Agreement that which the Justice Department is trying to change. Where do you see this going?
[02:05:00] AREVA MARTIN, LEGAL ANALYST, CNN: Yes. George, you're correct. The Flores Agreement effectively prohibits Trump from doing exactly what that executive order attempts to do. There was an emergency filing today by attorneys in the Department of Justice, essentially asking the council of a federal court judge to revisit the Flores settlement agreement.
Essentially, they want the court to lift the 20 day ban on keeping families in family detention centers. And what's troubling about the government's filing today is they suggest that if the court doesn't rule in its favor, that they will have no choice but to resume the policy of separating parents from their children.
HOWELL: OK. So designed to really to challenge this ruling, let's say they succeed with that, then what's right then. Does it become several more weeks? Does it become more months, a year, or years? Is this a slippery slope?
MARTIN: Well, it's very clear, George that this is not going to be resolved by one court's decision. If the Trump administration's not successful, we should expect them to appeal the decision. And the advocates that were instrumental in having the Flores settlement enacted in the first place. We should expect them to vigorously oppose any attempts by the Trump administration to change the terms of the settlement agreement and to allow for families to be detained for more than 20 days. So this is a fight which there's not going to be a quick resolution to.
HOWELL: Areva, when you listen to what these officials have said about this policy of separating families, the statements have been as contradictory as up and down and yes and no. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American people don't like the idea we're separating families. We never really intended to do that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are smuggling a child then we will
prosecute you. And that child may be separated from you as required by law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So again, a head scratcher to say the least. But these contradictory statements aside, it comes down to this, the legal rights for people. And let's be clear, the limited legal rights for people who enter illegally or seeking asylum. Has the Trump administration violated rights of due process by separating children?
MARTIN: Well, it's very clear that they're not enforcing America law. And even though you enter this country illegally, once you are detained by ICE or border patrol officers, you are entitled to due process. That's what this country is built on. We're a country of laws, a Democratic country that says anyone that is put into our criminal justice system has the right to due process.
And they seem to be side-stepping those rights. And I want to go back to that contradictory statement, George. That was the Attorney General Jeff Sessions making the statement first that it wasn't his policy, wasn't intended to separate families from children, and then that clear statement that if you do violate what they call the federal laws prohibiting entry into the country you will be prosecuted.
We've also heard so many statements, one saying it wasn't a policy to begin with, that it's a policy that's somehow sanctioned by the bible. And I think these inconsistent statements are the reason we're seeing this played out so poorly. And clearly, no thought was given to what would happen if you know the Department of Justice changed its rules from prosecuting these cases as civil cases in immigration court to now prosecuting them in criminal courts as felony misdemeanors.
And that's what's causing the separation. So we should be really clear. There was a very clear change in policy in the way that families crossing the border illegally were treated by the United States government.
HOWELL: And also let's be clear, Areva, the President does have a broad authority when it comes to immigration, but several states say that they will sue the Trump administration over these forced family separations. From your legal perspective, is what the President doing here. Is it unlawful or within his purview?
MARTIN: I think the Trump administration and his policy that it's clearly a policy despite statements to the contrary. They face clear legal jeopardy. I cannot see courts upholding this policy of separating families from children. And we've seen not only states threaten to sue the Trump administration, but we're seeing lawyers offering their services to families, pro bono in some instances.
And we see cases being filed now by some of the parents that have been separated from their kids, and lawsuits being filed by kids who have been separated from their families. So we're going to see -- I suspect as a lawyer, we're going to see tons of lawsuits filed some by attorney generals in states across the country, some by advocacy groups, lawsuits by families, lawsuits by kids. I think the federal courts are going to be inundated with lawsuits challenging this policy.
[02:10:01] HOWELL: Areva Martin, thank you so much for your time. New e-mails obtained by CNN from U.S. border protection suggest the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy for undocumented migrants is effectively on hold. Field offices have now been told not to refer any parents over for prosecution who cross the border illegally with their children.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it is still waiting for guidance on how to reunite more than 2,300 children separated from their parents. Now, around the world, people have heard the haunting audio from earlier this week, children crying out for their mothers and their fathers. And fair to say, it has brought a lot of attention to this issue. Our Rosa Flores reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSA FLORES, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: I talked to Cindy Madrid for about 45 minutes. Now, this is the mother of the young child who became the voice of immigration separation after her recording was released to ProPublica. This woman is still in detention. She still hasn't talked to her daughter. She still hasn't seen her daughter, and she is paralyzed with pain. Take a listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)
FLORES: Cindy says that she and the other women became very excited, emotional when they watched President Trump sign the executive order Wednesday because they thought that something could change. But they were wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)
FLORES: Cindy shared with us the number that immigration gave her to communicate with her daughter. So during our interview, we dialed that number twice. And here's what we heard on the other end of the line. During our interview, the news broke that Melania Trump was visiting South Texas that she was at another detention facility talking to officials. So I asked Cindy about the first lady's visit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)
FLORES: Cindy's family says that they talked to her six-year-old daughter, and the little girl wants two things after she gets out of detention, to take a shower at her aunt's house and also to buy and eat as much cereal as she can, outside the detention center, Rosa Flores, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Rosa, thank you. And one can only imagine those children are still crying for their mothers and fathers tonight. Newsroom will return after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:15:00] HOWELL: The European Union is retaliating against President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum by imposing its own tariffs on U.S. products. Starting on Friday, more than $3 billion worth of U.S. goods will be taxed. That includes motorcycles, orange juice, bourbon, and peanut butter. The measures largely target products manufactured in states that voted for Mr. Trump, red states here in the United States.
E.U. officials say that if the trade disputes continue, they will expand tariffs to include more American products. In the meantime, the U.S. is also in the middle of a trade dispute with China, and German auto maker Daimler has already warned of the lower earning because of the fight. Our Anna Stewart has this report for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: (Inaudible) says that the trade spat between China and the United States is quote a decisive factor for its profit warning. Now Daimler has a Mercedes Benz plant in Alabama, from which it exports tens of thousands of SUVs to China. So of course, 25 percent tariffs going into China would be very costly for them. And it says can't simply pass on all of that cost to the consumer.
So its costs are going to rise, and it also predicts that sales will fall. And you can really read the frustration in the statement that they released today. And you can kind of understand why. This is German auto maker that has a plant in the United States. It employs thousands of American workers and it actually exports tens of thousands of cars.
It checks every box that the U.S. President would like from a foreign car maker. It really plays into the making America great again trade policy that he's gone for. However, some analysts today are a little bit more cynical, particularly questioning the timing here, because actually these tariffs aren't of course implemented yet. They won't be for another two weeks.
And two weeks is a very long time in the trade spat. We've had a lot of back and forth just in the last weeks, days even. So a lot could change in that time. There are other issues that Daimler faces, like falling sales in the last (Inaudible) America. It's got some vehicle recalls, which are pretty costly. And it's going to a very complicated and expensive changing of emission testing procedures, so all that will cost the car company as well.
One thing is clear, though, and that is that investors are not happy. Daimler stock was down over four percent today, and that actually spread to many other major European car makers. Anna Stewart, CNN Money, London.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Ana, thank you so much for the reporting. South Korea's leader is in Moscow at this hour to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They're set to address the denuclearization of North Korea. Not only what that means to the world but what it could also mean to be an economic benefit. CNN's Alexandra Field following the story live in Seoul, South Korea this hour. Alexandra, surely Russia is making it a point to be a voice in this conversation.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: And certainly on all fronts, George. I mean for a long time now, Russia has stood with China when it comes to North Korea. Russia had backed China's initial proposal to suspend those joint military training exercises between the U.S. and South Korea as something of a compromise. And obviously, we have seen President Trump recently agree to do that along with President Moon Jae-In here in South Korea.
So you already have Russia and China somewhat on the same page. Then even before President Trump and the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un came face-to-face in Singapore, Russia was again making sure its voice would be heard in whatever happened at that point. They actually dispatched their foreign minister who traveled to Pyongyang before that historic summit.
[02:20:05] And there was even an invitation given to Kim to come to Moscow, which could happen perhaps as early as the fall. And now you see that there's this cooperation certainly between Russia and South Korea. You've got President Moon in Russia. This is his third face to face meeting with Putin since taking office.
The two will meet later today, but this is the first state visit for Moon to Russia. This was an opportunity for him not to just talk about denuclearization and issues of security, but he also said that Russia has been a great support and has offered a lot of cooperation when it comes to what he described as the transformation of the Korean peninsula.
And he and talked about the possibilities for further economic cooperation in the future, saying that (Inaudible) denuclearization in North Korea. It would be time for greater increased economic cooperation between the two Koreas and Russia. He says that initial steps have already been taken in terms of doing research into electric grids, gas pipelines, and even railways, so certainly alluding to the possibility of even stronger ties between South Korea and Russia in the future now, George.
HOWELL: Alexandra Field on the story. Thank you for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you. In World Cup action, Argentina star Lionel Messi was under pressure to deliver after a lack luster opener. And he very decisively did not do that. Our World Sports' Kate Riley is here to tell us what happened here.
KATE RILEY, WORLD SPORTS CORRESPONDENT, CNN: George, I felt like I'm on set with last night, telling you about shocks and upsets. So tonight is no different, right? So yeah, you're not wrong. Lionel Messi and Argentina having an absolute nightmare at this World Cup oddly enough to Thursday's stunning defeat against Croatia.
The future of this tournament is in serious doubt, Argentina's front line looking woeful. They have major problems that (Inaudible) limited (Inaudible) moment, (Inaudible) for Croatia's opening goal. That was served up on a plate. He took it well as did Luka (Inaudible) for that second goal, an absolutely brilliant strike that he bent just inside the post. Argentina is now on the ropes.
Croatia finished them off, though, by exposing their inadequate defense once again. They were lining up to score, but it was even racketed with a 3-0 win there. And George, this is excruciating. This was a terrible experience for the Argentina fans in the (Inaudible) stadium there. You can see how he reacted to it all.
Argentina's players lost their performance was embarrassing, the result humiliating, and the emotions were pretty similar back home in the capital of Buenos Aires. A lot will now depend on that game between Iceland and Nigeria on Friday. Argentina must beat Nigeria in their final game. And they need favors on top of that because their minus three goal difference could indeed prove a huge handicap in the end.
HOWELL: All right. A bit of a lucky goal, but France now in the knock out round, their second win of the tournament.
RILEY: Yeah, lucky goals. That's what the French are known for so far this tournament. So we haven't seen spectacular goals from them. That's for sure. Well, France of course, one of the favorites of this tournament. They're qualified for the knockout stage, but they did so at the expense of Peru, who has now lost both their games by the score line of one nil, so they are out. Peru had been very well supported in Russia. It's their first World
Cup since 1982, and they were very unlucky to lose to this goal. (Inaudible) shot, took a wicked deflection, evading the goalie and in to (Inaudible). France has scored three times so far in Russia. All those goals have been rather lucky or soft goals as they say.
It's so hard when you go to a World Cup with these high expectations and it's all over before you've even played all your three games. These Peruvian fans really giving a good account of themselves, and the World Cup has been (Inaudible) involvement and elsewhere in group C a 1-1 draw between Denmark and Australia. It means that both sides still have a chance to go through.
This game ends tomorrow was lit up by a fantastic Danish goal after just seven minutes. It really was a brilliant strike by Christian Erikson. But check out the assist. It was deft. It was deadly and it sent Denmark on their way. George, you'll love this. It made their day. This is the reaction back home at a school in Denmark.
[02:24:52] Many of these children were dressed for the game and their excitement was infectious. However, they would have been disappointed in the end. Yeah, didn't want to be the bearer of bad news there, and Australia got back into it with a penalty seven minutes before halftime. It was another use of their video assistant referee, highlighting a handball that would have been really difficult to see in real time.
It was a good call though (Inaudible) buried the penalty to secure a 1-1 draw. Never in doubt, he has never missed a penalty in his career. So alive and kicking in this World Cup just about. All right, so have a look at this. You think these fans are passionate, George? Can they show some more passion?
HOWELL: Maybe not enough.
RILEY: Yeah. Try a bit harder. It only ended in a draw. Goodness knows what it's going to be like when Australia wins perhaps their next game, so more of this, perhaps.
HOWELL: Look, it's easy to get excited about this. Didn't you see John Vause, our colleague earlier dancing?
RILEY: Yeah, he was bumping away to our World Cup theme music, so whatever next.
HOWELL: That's not happening now. Look, here's the other thing. Three big games up ahead today, Brazil, they need a win.
RILEY: Yeah, they really do. And of course, they are the tournament's favorites. Going to have a look at what's on tap on Friday for you. Huge match like you said in group d. It's actually going to Nigeria and Iceland, would you believe. And if Iceland wins that, that makes things very interesting for Argentina after their loss earlier. (Inaudible) like you said, George, Neymar expected to play for Brazil against Costa Rica. Well, current group leaders Serbia say (Inaudible).
HOWELL: Kate Riley, thank you so much.
RILEY: Thank you, George.
HOWELL: All right. Still ahead here on CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta, how news coverage of family separations is changing the mind of some migrants heading to the United States. Plus, indictments against the Israeli prime minister's wife, why prosecutors are bringing criminal accusation against Sara Netanyahu, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Welcome back all around the world. You're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta. I am George Howell with the headlines we're following for you. This hour, a pro-ISIS cleric has been sentenced to death in Indonesia. Aman Abdurrahman is said to have incited five terror attacks, including a deadly 2016 bombing in Jakarta. Police say that his group was also behind the string of fatal suicide bombings that took place earlier this year.
The European Union is hitting America with tariffs that start on Friday. The goods include motorcycles, orange juice, bourbon, and peanut butter. It is retaliation after the U.S. imposed tariffs last month on steel and aluminum imported from Europe..
[02:30:00]
The Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy for undocumented immigrants it appears to have been curtailed at least for now. E- mails obtained by CNN show U.S. Customs and Border Protection directing field offices to stop referring parents for prosecution if they cross the border with their children. Many of those hoping to enter the United States are escaping drug gangs, escaping violence in Central America. At one camp along Mexico's border with Guatemala people say they've seen news reports of family separations and they are now rethinking their plans at least for now. CNN's Leyla Santiago has this report.
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Many of the immigrants we have talked to here in Tapachula, Mexico tell us they plan to change their journey north. We went to a shelter visited families there, and some of the mothers we talked to say they have seen the coverage coming out of the U.S.-Mexico border. They have seen the images of families being separated.
They have heard the cries of the children that have been broadcasted over and over as they asked for their parents, and they say that is enough to deter them for now. As we talked to them further they said they still have dreams and hopes and plans of getting to the United States. But for now, they're holding off. And they can't, they say, go to back to Central America for fear of being killed.
Many of them talk to us about gang violence. One woman from Honduras told us that not only were there threats on her family, but specifically there were threats on her children, and returning to Honduras would mean death.
So in the meantime, they wait. And when I talk to them about the news of President Trump signing an executive order to stop separating families on the U.S.-Mexico border, the two families I talked just seemed to be confused, didn't really know what to make of that or what that would mean for them, so here the uncertainties where these migrant families fleeing violence and poverty from Central America continues. Leyla Santiago, CNN Tapachula, Mexico.
HOWELL: Leyla, thank you. CNN has uncovered disturbing allegations against some facilities housing detained migrant children. They include abuse and putting them on drugs. CNN's Drew Griffin reports the claims date back to the Obama administration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Outlined in court filings, inspection reports, and witness statements the allegations range from unsanitary conditions to unair-conditioned rooms in hot Texas summers and dosing children with mood changing drugs allegedly disguised as vitamins. At the nonprofit Shiloh Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas, legal filings, "Immigrant children being held down for injections given multiple psychotropic medications against their will, some not even approved for use in children."
In one case, a boy was simultaneously placed on six psychotropic drugs and an independent psychologist found the boy had been misdiagnosed with psychotic disorder, but we didn't have any symptoms. Another child, 13, from El Salvador said in a witness statement, I did not want the injection. Two staff grabbed me and the doctor gave me the injection despite my objection, and left me there on the bed.
In other cases, its alleged children were force to take pills that staffers called vitamins given to them without their or their parent's consent. An 11-year-old girl said she was forced to take 10 pills a day saying, I would rather go back to Honduras and live on the streets than be at Shiloh. Shiloh would not comment. In 2014, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee called for the state to order the closure of the Shiloh Treatment Center, but it's still open and migrant children are still being sent there.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: If we have children endangered in the federal government custody, it is our responsibility to immediately begin investigation.
GRIFFIN: At the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center in Virginia which holds teens accused of being violent, one child wrote of physically being restrained and physically abused by staffers. They handcuffed me and put a white bag under my head. They took off all my clothes and put me into a restraint chair. They left me naked and attached to that chair for two and a half days. This punishment chair was described in at least five other declarations from children.
Shenandoah would not comment to CNN, but in court documents denied any assault of residents but did acknowledge staffers used an emergency restraint chair as a last step of progressive response to aggressive behavior. Some of the complaints and allegations stem from a long running lawsuit challenging the legality of the U.S. locking up or detaining any underage undocumented minors.
NEHA DESAI, SENIOR ATTORNEY, NATIONAL CENTER FOR YOUTH LAW: The care they received is shocking. What we have witnessed shocked my conscience, and I have to repeatedly remind myself that this is actually happening in our country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:35:13] GRIFFIN: Most of the problems cited at Shenandoah and other facilities did take place before the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy. But activist attorneys tell us that policy is only putting extra strain on an already flawed system. Drew Griffin, CNN Atlanta.
HOWELL: Drew, thank you for that report. And still ahead, we take you inside another facility where children are being detained without their parents. Workers there say the force separation is about the worst thing that can happen to a child. Plus, the First Lady of the United States travels to Texas to see detained immigrants for herself though wearing a jacket that, well, had some people scratching their heads. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: More than 2000 children are now trapped inside the U.S. immigration system with no clear way to get out. These thanks to President Trump's policy that separated them from their families at the Southern U.S. border. CNN visited one facility in the State of New York now taking care of some of these children. Our Jason Carroll filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY KOHOMBAN, PRESIDENT, CHILDREN'S VILLAGE: I am hurt by this policy because I know we are greater than this.
JASON CARROLL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jeremy Kohomban runs the Children's Village in Westchester. It's one of several facilities in and around New York City tasked with caring for children separated from their parents at the border, and it was the only facility in the area willing to open its doors to us.
KOHOMBAN: This kind of forced separation has permanent damage both on --
(CROSSTALK)
KOHOMBAN: -- psychological, the fear, the anxiety, the fear of the unknown, right? If this could happen to me, what else could happen to me?
CARROLL: He's talking about the 20 children he and his staff have been caring for since they arrived a few days ago. The youngest is 9 years old. The oldest is 17.
KOHOMBAN: Actually, the biggest concern that our children have had recently is about for their parents. It's not even about themselves. They're like is my mom OK, is my dad going to be OK? Where are they? What's happening? That's the anxiety.
CARROLL: Kohomban says he isn't able to give more details about the children in his care, but he was still able to give us a sense of what happens when children arrive here.
[02:40:05] KOHOMBAN: They come in here. We have nurses 24/7 and we have a team of doctors.
CARROLL: First up is medical exam. Many arrive with conditions such as lice and chickenpox. But the doctor here says it's their emotional damage that can be the toughest to treat.
DOUG WAITE, MEDICAL DOCTOR, CHILDREN'S VILLAGE: Believe me, it was just as indignant and outraged by our recent policies that hopefully are shifting removing kids from their parents because we know that this causes permanent trauma to the child and can affect their brain development especially the younger kids.
CARROLL: The children here stay in rooms that look much this. There is also a recreation center where play is encouraged.
EDWIN DALEON, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, CHILDREN'S VILLAGE: Children will cry, but if you bring fun to them, a fun spirits, sports, stuff that it just takes their mind off what's really going on in their lives. That's what we try to do best.
CARROLL: Most importantly, this facility has helped some of the children contact their parents.
KOHOMBAN: Their elated. They're relieved, and it's our first step to building trust. The begin to trust us. You know, I said we'll find your mom. We know where she is. Now, trust us for the next step. It's a difficult work to do when kids don't trust you. It's impossible to do.
CARROLL: For Kohomban, this is also personal. He's a first generation American from Sri Lanka. His goal now is to reunite these children with their families quickly. Do you think it could be weeks, months? Any sort of --
KOHOMBAN: It depends on, you know, it's hard to answer that question, but it's -- I believe the word I could use to best describe it is expediency is what it's all about. We don't want to keep kids away from families one minute longer than they already have been.
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, Westchester, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Jason, thanks. When news came out on Thursday that the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump was making a spontaneous trip to an immigration detention center in Texas, the message that someone in the president's inner circle cared about the fate of people, it was well received. But then the question came why did Ms. Trump decide to wear this jacket? Well, her office said that it's just a jacket saying that there was no hidden message, but it did raised questions. Listen to the exchange had with my colleague Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was no question intended to send a message. And the irony of this is that the message was -- had a code that has been so hard to crack that even the staff in the West Wing and I guess the East Wing, the first lady's staff have had mixed messages about what the coded message on her jacket could be.
I mean it would actually be comical if it weren't about the first lady completely stepping on the message that was supposed to be the one of the day, her going down and being the only person at the senior level from the Trump administration to see first-hand what is happening with some of the children. No, it wasn't one of the most, you know, one of the tender age facilities. But it certainly was and is one where there are children who are in need, illegal immigrants who were brought over. Many of them came -- most of them came over unaccompanied, but some of them about a handful of them were separated from their parents.
So one of the point I want to make is that just by way of knowing that this was a big deal inside the West Wing among the president and his staff, Melania Trump when she came back wearing that jacket again knowing on the plane full well that this was a big thing, came back and walked to the president's office, to the Oval Office along the colonnade which by all accounts does not happen. She doesn't go and visit the Oval Office when she get -- when she gets back. And Jeff Zeleny, our White House correspondent reports that she -- he heard from a source who saw her in the Oval Office right upon arrival with Kellyanne Conway and Mercedes Schlapp, and she was still wearing the jacket having a discussion.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Here's -- I mean it's -- the crisis management 101 to not distract from your core mission. I mean if you're on a journey of care, a visit to show you care to where a giant sign that says I don't care, it's -- I do not -- I mean I literally thought it was a joke. I thought someone had, you know, put that up on Twitter and sort of, you know, doctored it or photoshopped it.
[02:44:45] KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. But I think this is their core message that they don't care. That she would go down there and do this, it tells us everything that we need to know. I mean, she's officially the Marie Antoinette of this administration. It should just say, "Let them eat cake." That they literally the message she is sending that they just don't care about what's happening there.
And yes, it was -- it was -- I was in Washington this morning. Nobody's wearing jackets, first of all. Second of all, this is a woman who spends a lot of time very carefully picking out what she's going to wear. She's very fashionable, this was not an accident this was intentional.
So, I think, then the president tweets out well, it was all about the fake news which also just again shows that they don't care if that's what it was about because -- I'm sorry but it's a much bigger deal what's happening there on the border with people who really haven't broken the law, contrary to what we're being told they're seeking asylum that's not illegal.
There's no reason to be locking them up without their children. This is not how was handled in the past. So, I'm just going to take it at face value and just say, Melania doesn't care.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: All right. Now, to Israel. The wife of the prime minister of that nation, Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted, Thursday on charges of fraud and breach of trust. Prosecutors alleged Sara Netanyahu, misused state funds spending more than $100,000 on meals and private chefs. CNN's Ian Lee is following the story live in Jerusalem. This case, Ian, being called the meals ordering affair, tell us more.
IAN JAMES LEE, CNN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and just to break it down further, George. You have a $100,000 this is for private meals between 2009 and 2013. And in during that time, prosecutors also pointed it to two months in particularly. One, December 2011 when she spent over 65 -- $6500. In January 2012, where she spent over $7100.
I also saying that during this time, she spent allegedly of around $10,000 on private chefs also hired illegally. Wait service -- wait servers to work in the prime minister's residence trying to cover up what their real purpose is.
This is some serious charges it could -- she could serve up to eight years in prison, although, that is unlikely we are told. But the prime minister's wife, Sara Netanyahu is defending herself. She is saying through her lawyer that this is all false, this is hallucinatory that, that this food wasn't even for to her or her husband, that it was for staff working at the prime minister's office at the time.
And you may ask -- you know, why is all this illegal in the first place? Well, that's because according to Israeli law, if there isn't a cook at the residence that's when they can order outside food a lot of this food coming from some of the most expensive restaurants in Jerusalem. But the prosecution is saying that a cook was available at that time, and that's why this is illegal using state funds in this manner. George.
HOWELL: So again, the wife of the Israeli prime minister indicted, Thursday on these charges of fraud and breach of trust. We will, of course, continue to keep in touch with you, Ian, as you follow the story. Thank you.
Koko the gorilla famous for using sign language has died. There were skeptics, but her trainers say Koko understood 2,000 words in English. She was born in and trained at a zoo in San Francisco, eventually, becoming a celebrity.
With an unforgettable photo on the cover of National Geographic including her pet kitten. The Gorilla Foundation says Koko taught the world about emotional and -- emotional capacity and cognitive abilities of gorillas. She died in her sleep was 46 years old.
Still to come, we asked the Russian journalists and a British fan attending the World Cup. How well Russia is hosting the event? What we found may surprise you.
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[02:50:40] HOWELL: One week into the tournament, and the 2018 World Cup has already produced its share of shocks, stunning goals, and a colorful array of fans and atmosphere. Our Amanda Davies sat down with a Russian journalist and two English fans who cycled from London to the event to gauge how well the host nation is embracing the global festival of football.
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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: So how was the reality of traveling through Russia compared to the expectation? What kind of reception did you get from people and presumably you went through some places that aren't used to two British guys on a bike?
MITCH JONES, FAN OF THREE LIONS, CYCLED LONDON TO VOLGOGRAD: When we crossed into Russia, they didn't even know that I don't think -- I generally don't think they knew that place in the World Cup. JAMIE MARRIOTT, FAN OF THREE LIONS, CYCLED LONDON TO VOLGOGRAD: We crossed here through Belgorod sites, just northeast of Kharkov. And showing them -- there looking for a passport that said our visa. And I said, here's our visa with the fan I.D. and food plot. Know, they had no idea, had no idea.
JONES: They just kept flipping for our passports trying to find our visa, and we managed to catch the opening game, Russia V. Saudi Arabia. We thought we was going to pull in, and it will be absolutely bouncing wherever we went, but we walked in. We had two requests for the restaurant to put the World Cup on. And like they'd be Russian families coming in looking just eat food. Then they'd see that the football was on and they weren't even bothered.
DAVIES: And it's interesting, Robert, is that I was here last year for the Confederations Cup, and the mood then was very much -- we just want to get through this tournament. I think there been so many negative headlines and there was a lot of concern about it.
It seems now, it was changing at the start of the tournament but now here we are kind of 10 days in. And is the Russian perspective that there's now a whole lot more people excited about it, do you think?
ROBERT USTIAN, RUSSIA POLITICAL ANALYST: These World Cup turns to be like a cry from the depths of Russian people because they really felt that they are widely disrespected and wrongly presented at international arena. That's why they go out of themselves to show the best of the country. And that's why sometimes like, I see amazing things.
With yesterday on the bus, an English fan and a bit of a drunk guy from Russia, they had zero ability to speak because none of them speak Russian and English. They use Google Translate.
And this drunk Russian guy asked on a Google Translate where was that guy from? It said, England. And he said, "Oh, England." And that was the next, well, she stopped but she turned back and wrote that don't listen to the media come and visit us. I think these anecdotes are the best to show how these people wants to be a part of this global community.
DAVIES: Do you guys speak Russian?
MARRIOTT: No.
DAVIES: How was -- so how have you managed to communicate?
JONES: To like communicate in Russia at restaurants or whatever, we just had to mime I would even want chicken or a cows.
DAVIES: But it worked. The universal language.
MARRIOTT: Do you think of quite good at like miming and (INAUDIBLE) your lives quite good? Yes.
JONES: Oh, absolutely, yes. DAVIES: The view of Russians from the outside is that they're not necessarily the most smiley, warm people.
USTIAN: I think, Russians, they just want to hug.
DAVIES: Does it work?
JONES: Well, yes, yes --
MARRIOTT: Oh, I'm hugging that's -- yes, we prefer to that.
JONES: (INAUDIBLE), I getting impression that Russians they just want to -- they just want to hug, and to express themselves.
DAVIES: We've seen people walking around, lots of international fans having their photo taken with each other. And Russians are getting involved but it -- it's something of a culture shock in many ways.
USTIAN: Definitely, definitely.
DAVIES: Yes.
USTIAN: A money is important to give some statistics to what you have just said. Only 18 percent of Russians have ever traveled abroad. And you know, 15 percent, I'm sure of that 18 percent traveled just to Turkey or Egypt for their summer vacation.
Though these status has actually show us that these isn't a cultural shock. And you know, what I say what guys amazingly say here, yes. I call our people is walking iceberg. You know, I think they are really cold.
When you open your heart to somebody, while being called a bit closed, it's really something different that you feel.
[02:55:05] JONES: Yes, all Russian people have been classed, like (INAUDIBLE) class.
USTIAN: No, no, I think, no, no, we have horrible people here. Like I think, let's not generalize. You know, we are nine going, so one color opinions or not? Know we have problems in this country. I hope you never mean them, but as a Russians citizen, for me, it's a huge question.
What will be after the final whistle applause biggest danger? What will be the whole of the nation? What will be the racist mission? What will be homophobia issue here?
That's why, God, when you will be traveling safely and not just to your home country, we will be staying here, and we will see what is the legacy sure that Amanda has very nicely underlined? I do hope this will be a point of no return in terms of perceiving each other, Amanda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Amanda Davies, thank you so much for that reporting.
Before we move on to the next hour, consider this whopper of a mistake. Burger King Russia having to apologize for World Cup promotion. That promotion offered women the chance to win $47,000 along with free burgers for life that is if they became pregnant by a World Cup player.
The ad suggested Russia could benefit from some good football genes. There were plenty of complaints, as you can imagine on social media, Burger King Russia apologized and took that ad down as they rightfully should have.
Stay with us for CNN NEWSROOM. More news from around the world including the World Cup and a look at Friday's matchups. Also new news from around the world.
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HOWELL: Confusion over U.S. immigration policy. A day after the U.S. president's rare reversal. There is no clear plan on what to do with more than 2000 children already taken from their parents. On the Korean Peninsula, North and South Korea moving closer to allowing family reunions. We have the very latest sign of warming relations between those two foes.
Plus the surprising success of Russia's World Cup team. Now the tournament's lowest ranked team made it to the knockout stage. Live from CNN World headquarters in Atlanta, we want to welcome our viewers around the world. I'm George Howell, the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
