Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Another Victim of Novichok in U.K.; Families Reunited to their Loved Ones; Weather Hinders Rescue Operation in Thailand; Maduro Warns Military About Possible U.S. Aggression; U.K. Calls Emergency Cabinet Meeting; Second Novichok Case In England Possibly An Accident; Pompeo Returns To Pyongyang; Questions Over Inaction Amid Alleged Sexual Assault; Congressman Jim Jordan Under Scrutiny; Montreal's Heat Wave Appeal. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 05, 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, CNN HOST: The U.K. government to hold an emergency security meeting after a British couple was poisoned with Novichok. The same nerve agent used on a former Russian spy and his daughter just months ago.

President Donald Trump asked advisors about a possible invasion of Venezuela. President Maduro is not taking it lightly telling his armed forces to not lower their guard.

And in Thailand a race against the weather to get the teenage soccer team out of the cave before more monsoon rains hit.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN Newsroom.

The U.K. government has called an emergency cabinet meeting. The subject to determine what should be done about the couple in England who was poisoned by a deadly nerve agent. Police say there is nothing to suggest that Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgis were specifically targeted. They were found unconscious and are in critical condition.

Tests reveal they were exposed to Novichok the same substance that almost killed a Russian double agent and his daughter back in March. As well, the couple recently visited Salisbury, the site of the attack on the Russian spy.

Well, here with the latest from Amesbury, England is CNN's Erin McLaughlin. Erin, what more are investigators learning about this incident involving the nerve agent, Novichok, and do they have any idea how this couple came into contact with it?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If they do at this point, Rosemary, authorities are not saying, answering that question just how they came into contact with Novichok is a subject of a massive counterterrorism investigation involving some hundred personnel. Authorities trying to piece together a timeline of where this couple

was and when. We know that they were in Salisbury the Friday night before they fell ill. A number of locations have been cordoned off in Salisbury in connection with this exposure, but key questions to this investigation, key facts still have to be established.

We know that it was Novichok, but we don't know if it was the same batch that was used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal. We know that they were in the area of where the Skripals had been found unconscious, but authorities say they do not believe that this couple visited any of the sites that were decontaminated in connection with the Skripal investigation.

And again, this could take some time. Keep in mind that when the Skripals were poisoned, it took authorities weeks to figure out the source of that poisoning. In the end they believe that most likely it was the door knob of the Skripals home that was the source of their poisoning.

U.K. authorities have blamed Russia for that attack. Something that Russia denies, but at this point in the investigation, authorities have not been able to directly link what happened to the Skripals to what happened to this couple.

CHURCH: And, Erin, what more do we know about the condition of these two people and, of course, their prognosis?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, currently they are in hospital, the same hospital that was used to treat Sergei and Yulia Skripal. They are in critical condition. They were with their friend, Sam Hobson, when they fell ill. Dawn Sturgis fell ill Saturday morning at around 10.15. Charlie Rowley didn't fall ill until later in the afternoon at around 3.30. Take a listen to what Sam Hobson had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM HOBSON, FRIEND OF TWO POISON VICTIMS: He was sweating and dribbling, and he couldn't speak to me. He was making funny noises, and he was rocking backwards and forwards. There was no response. He didn't even know I was there. It was look like he was in another world. He was hallucinating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: And that is a horrifying account, Rosemary, and plenty of people are concerned. At this point, though, authorities say that the risk to the public remains low. They are urging anyone who is at any of the sites that have been now cordoned off here in Amesbury and Salisbury and to wash their clothes, but, again, many people here concerned about how this happened.

CHURCH: Yes. Understandably, as well. We still don't know so very much about this. Erin McLaughlin, bringing us to date from Amesbury in England, just after 8 in the morning. Many thanks.

[03:05:05] Well, the nerve agent Novichok is considered one of the deadliest chemical weapons ever made. It's more dangerous and sophisticated than the better known poison sarin. The Soviet Union developed this drug secretly during the Cold War in the 1980s to counter U.S. chemical weapon defenses.

It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, making it easier to take undetected through airports, seaports, and even the mail.

So let's talk more about this with CNN intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer. He is a former CIA operative. Thank you so much for being with us.

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Bob, all we know at this point is that the man and woman found unconscious Saturday in Amesbury, England were exposed to the same military grade nerve agent used to poison former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia back in March in a nearby town. What do you make of all this, and how do you think they came in contact with Novichok?

BAER: Well, I, first of all, Rosemary, I doubt that they were targeted. I think it's very clear at this point that the Russian government the KGB went after Skripal considered him a traitor. These people as far as we know so far are completely innocent of any intelligence connections.

So what's probably happened is they accidentally came across either a container that carried Novichok or a place that was prepared. I think the Novichok used against Skripal was a binary agent. It had to be mixed somewhere.

Was it at a hotel room? Was it locked over in a car? It's very hard to tell at this point because it only takes 13 grams of Novichok to kill somebody, and that's not very much. So, just a small exposure. Either the skin or ingested it, breathed it, or swallowed it is enough to make these people sick.

Now, once they recover and I hope they do, they'll be able to tell people, tell the police where they were exposed. Possibly exposed. And this, by the way, may break open the case because if it was a hotel room, you can find out who stayed in that hotel room and possibly trace them.

CHURCH: Interesting. OK. So you don't think they were targeted. The couple has been identified as Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgis, both British nationals in their 40s, and both in critical condition right now. Would you expect then given you don't think they were targeted that this was just an isolated incident?

The problem is if, as you say, I mean, this is -- is it possible that other areas have been contaminated and the other people could possibly be affected?

BAER: Absolutely. There's the half life on Novichok is fairly long. If it's been exposed to rain or water, it will dissipate and no longer be lethal, but if it's been stored somewhere or there are more containers of it -- I mean, look, this was a very sloppy assassination attempt, and the people who carried it out seemingly didn't care who they killed, you know, in the course of it.

CHURCH: Who do you think -- do you think Russia was involved, or do you think this is possibly a former spy gone rogue? I mean, do you think this is -- that Russia is behind this?

BAER: I think absolutely the Russians are behind it. It's very complicated nerve agent. As I said, you have to mix it. You have to know what you are doing. You know, you hear some people -- some Russians say, well, maybe Russian spies are framing Vladimir Putin, but that's way too complicated for a conspiracy.

I think the fact is I think they went after Skripal because they want to send a message that anybody that betrays Vladimir Putin, they're going to come after him wherever he is, and at the don't care whatever means they have to. It was a political message.

So, I think -- you know, Rosemary, the Russians are not cooperating on this. They are not opening their laboratories to let us examine this nerve agent, which would tell us a lot. So they're not -- they're dragging their feet.

CHURCH: Right.

BAER: Now it's implausible that this attack o Skripal was carried out by some rogue element. It just makes no sense. Too complicated.

CHURCH: Bob Baer, thank you so very much.

Well, across the United States the skies were lit up with fireworks Wednesday night for the big Independence Day celebrations. Of course, one of the biggest Fourth of July shows each year is in Washington where crowds packed the national mall for a dazzling display over the U.S. Capitol.

[03:10:02] Well, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania watched the fireworks from the White House balcony. Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump praised the U.S. Armed Forces saying, quote, "American liberty has been earned through the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of American patriots."

And we are learning that President Trump talked with advisors last year about invading Venezuela. He also raised the subject with a number of Latin American leaders. Venezuela's president said his country will defend its right to peace and told the armed forces to not lower their guard.

Our Kaitlan Collins has more now on that and a decision that could come very soon on Mr. Trump's choice for the Supreme Court.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump's stunning top aides when he suggested invading Venezuela during a closed door meeting. Sources telling CNN Trump raise the idea last summer while discussing diplomatic sanctions. Dumbfounded aides quickly explaining how the idea could backfire, but Trump continued to push it in the following days refusing to take military action off the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have many options for Venezuela. By the way, I'm not going to rule out a military option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Back at the White House Trump weighing his options to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court as he closes in on his pick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I spent the last three days interviewing and thinking about Supreme Court justices, and I think you'll be very impressed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Sources telling CNN he is expected to make a final decision tomorrow or Friday after interviewing seven potential nominees this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We hit a home run there, and we're going to hit a home run here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: On the short list two candidates who are now getting backlash from critics, facing claims one isn't conservative enough, while the other is too far to the right. Brett Kavanaugh is one of those two. A federal appeals court judge favored by White House counsel, Don McGahn, facing skepticism from social conservatives for his votes on health care and ties to the Bush White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT KAVANAUGH, U.S. APPEALS COURT JUDGE: Sir, thank you for the privilege of working here, and thank you for the honor of nominating me to the court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Judge Amy Coney Barrett is the other. If nominated, she would be the first woman put on the Supreme Court by a Republican president since 1981.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will send to the Senate the nomination of Judge Sandra Day O'Connor.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: She faces a tough confirmation battle from Democrats who say her Catholic faith plays too big a role in her view of the law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Do you have a long history of believing that your religious believes should prevail? That dogma lives loudly within you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: Leslie Vinjamuri is head of the U.S. and the Americas program at Chatham House, the Royal institute of international affairs and senior lecturer in international relations at the University of London. Thank you so much for joining us.

LESLIE VINJAMURI, SENIOR LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Thank you.

CHURCH: So we have a lot to cover. Let's start with reports that President Trump in August raised the possibility of the U.S. invading Venezuela, one of his senior officials says he was just thinking out loud, but this has Venezuela and a number of other South American nations on edge. What are the possible ramifications of a U.S. president talking about an invasion like this?

VINJAMURI: Well, I think it is another sign of a president who tends to, as they say, shoot from the hip and say things without thinking in a measured or deliberate way. There wouldn't be support from within his -- there's no sense that there's any broader support within the U.S. this current administration for an invasion, but the way that this reads in Central America and South America, obviously it's not good given the history of U.S. interventions.

Certainly, in Central America. It's been a long time in going back to that form of engagement. It doesn't take much from a U.S. president to ignite very negative sentiments that still exist across the region. So very toxic language, but hard to imagine that it's actually backed up by any serious thinking or serious planning, but it certainly undermined a number of norms and doesn't do this president or the United States any good in terms of a relationship that isn't going particularly well.

U.S. engagement with Latin America has not been - has not been good under this particular president.

CHURCH: All right. Let's turn now to the imminent announcement of a replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. President Trump is looking for the right person, and some reports suggest it's playing out like a political campaign, but how tough will it be for him to get his pick approved, and will he have Republicans, like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski on board for that?

[03:14:57] VINJAMURI: Well, I think this is the key question because, of course, Murkowski and Collins are the two senators that Democrats, should they oppose the choice, which seems likely, although of course we don't know who their choice will be, will hope to try to move.

This is the most significant thing that the president will be doing probably in his first four years in many ways for American public life. It's a very dividing line in the United States. Whoever is chosen is going to shine a light on the divide, the partisanship, the polarization in America, the key issues that are coming to the court that will -- that this person will have a significant influence over. We know, right?

Abortion rights, gay rights, health care in America. So the mobilization will be very significant, but I would guess that the president has a very strong opportunity and chance of getting his pick through before the midterm elections.

CHURCH: All right. Leslie Vinjamuri, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you so much for your analysis. I always appreciate it.

VINJAMURI: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, thousands of tourists had to be turned away on Independence Day when a protest shut down New York's Liberty Island. A small group of people were protesting immigration policy when one of them climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty. She stayed up there for nearly three hours until officers with ropes and a harness brought her down and took her into custody. At least seven other protesters were arrested as well.

Up next, bringing families back together. One legal step forward and one controversial process for the families separated at the southern U.S. border.

One, Thailand's most revered monk's visits rescue workers to pray for the 12 boys and their coach trapped in the flooded cave. Why the window to rescue them may be closing fast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Don Riddell with your CNN world sports headlines.

It's been a rest day at the World Cup, so attention in the football world has turned to transfer rumors. Media reports suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo could be on his way to Juventus next season with the Italian champion is offering $117 million for the Portuguese star.

Ronaldo is Real Madrid's all-time record scorer, and a four-time Champions League winner with Real and he would be welcome by many top clubs in Europe. They already like him Juve (Ph). Remember how they all applauded his stunning overhead kick in Turin early this year.

If that's true, if Ronaldo is on his way out, then it would certainly add credence to the report that the young French star Kylian Mbappe is heading towards the Spanish capital, but Real Madrid have dismissed reports that they have bid what would be a world record $316 million for the PSG man they say it's completely false. [03:20:06] On day three of Wimbledon, two of tennis's biggest names

safely made it through to the third round as Roger Federer and Serena Williams both won, but a lot of seeds have been tumbling out in the women's draw.

Caroline Wozniacki was the 11th seed to depart the scene. The Australian Open champion was beaten in three sets by Ekaterina Makarova. The result was a particular surprise. Only last week Wozniacki won the grass court warm-up tournament in Eastbourne.

That is a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, DNA testing is underway to help reunite children who were separated from their parents at the U.S. border. A federal official says it's a move to guard against trafficking by smugglers who claim to be parents, but critics question whether consent is being given for data that could be used for surveillance.

Meantime, Miguel Marques reports on the first legal step towards bringing families back together.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So for the first time since a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reunify families that had been separated at the border, we have some indication that in large numbers those families may be reunified soon.

An immigration lawyer here in the Rio Grande Valley says that nine of her clients have now been granted bond. This is the first step towards the long process of getting their children back. These are clients who had been previously denied bond.

This is also a lawyer who represents some 210 families that are separated. She -- her law firm and other volunteer lawyers that work with her. It is a legal step, but it is a huge step for them because they were able to pass their -- what they call their asylum credible fear test which means they have a credible reason to be seeking asylum in the U.S.

That's been judged by ICE, and ICE officials on the Fourth of July working approving those bonds for those individuals. Here's how the lawyer says one of her clients reacted when she heard the news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: When you told your clients you have bond, what was the response?

JODI GOODWIN, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: One of them fell down on her knees and just cried. She couldn't believe it.

MARQUEZ: And who is her child or children?

GOODWIN: She has a son that is 15 years old, and he is in New York.

MARQUEZ: So they are going to have -- for these people after all of this, the journey has really just begun.

GOODWIN: Right. But for them this is a major bright spot to be able to know that not only did they finally pass their credible fear interviews, but now they've been given the opportunity to be able to pay a bond, to be released from detention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, keep in mind, this is one step of many. They have to make bond. These are nine individuals who are in detention here in South Texas. Their kids, some of them have one, some of them have several kids, they are 3scattered across the United States. These individuals have to make bond first anywhere between 1,500 and $2,500.

Not a huge amount of money, but an enormous amount of money for them. They then have to get out of detention. They have to figure out where their kids are and work with Health and Human Services then that is taking care of their kids to get verified and get their kids back and then get to the place where they can actually be reunited. All of this could take weeks.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Harlingen, Texas.

CHURCH: The governor in Chiang Rai, Thailand says weather is the biggest concern right now in rescuing a youth soccer team trapped in a flooded cave. Monsoon rains are expected to pick up over the next few days, and that could re-flood areas where the water has already been pumped out.

Rescue crews are searching for air vents in the hills above the cave where they might be able to pull those boys out.

CNN's Dave McKenzie is in northern Thailand. He joins us now live. David, as we've heard, weather conditions are controlling the outcome of this rescue effort, and one of the options is having the boys wear oxygen masks and being led by divers through that narrow cave system, but there are intense dangers involved. What is the latest on that option, on that effort?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the main option at this stage. Of course, they would love to get the boys out, Rosemary, that have been stuck in there for days and days. This football team out of the cave through some kind of air vent or chimney, but it might not be realistic.

[03:24:55] So, they are sending a dive team back and forth all day. We've seen them. There's an ambulance here. It would presumably be part of the final rescue operation, should they bring the boys out, and they've been testing their systems here for days now, Rosemary, on how exactly they're going to do it.

Just earlier we saw the Australian specialist team catching up just behind me. Now, you look at the gear that they are using, it's highly specialized. Their Nitrox diving equipment to get to these boys. And you wonder just how is it going to be possible to get these young -- these young kids through these narrow gaps in areas where they have almost no visibility, if not no visibility at all.

Some of them can't swim. Maybe all of them. It's an incredibly challenging rescue attempt that is going on now, but for now they seem to get all the pieces in place, Rosemary, before they make that push to actually get the boys out.

While they are relatively safe in there, they don't want to rush this process. They are pumping out more than a million liters of water per hour out of this cave system to try and lessen the level water in these passages narrow passages. So possibly they could crawl or walk some of their way out.

But at this stage the biggest worries I think for authorities is the weather. The weather reports suggest that the rain will come soon, possibly even as soon as this afternoon local time, and then it will keep coming, and you could see those waters rise again potentially even cutting those boys off. Rosemary?

CHURCH: It is harrowing thinking about it. These young boys are trying on these masks. They are trying to practice, but none of them can actually swim. So it is difficult enough for these professionals, never mind these young boys.

I want to just go back to that point about the air vents because this is they're working on this at the same time. You mentioned that they haven't really come up with anything so far, but they are looking. How do they find air vents? How do they go about that sort of operation?

MCKENZIE: Well, you might be able to hear the helicopter up above me. They have been using choppers to try and see from an aerial search whether they can see openings to the cave. But they've got also 20 to 30 teams of their cave specialists out there in the hill behind me looking for other entrances, trying to explore those entrances into the cave system, whether they lead anywhere.

The difficulty is, though, even if they find an opening, does it lead to those boys and where they are very specifically? This is a huge cavern system. Some experts say it's unrealistic to think that you could actually find a vent or a chimney given the circumstances. It would take a huge coincidence to find it, but, you know, that could happen.

No one thought these boys would be alive when a pair of British divers found them after so many hours of being missing. So that hope has turned into resolve, I think, by the Thai authorities, the Americans, Australians and other Asian nations here to try and use all the expertise and human ingenuity to get these kids out.

CHURCH: It is a daunting task, indeed. But they are doing all they can to make sure these young boys get out and get out safely. David McKenzie joining us there, live from northern Thailand where it is 2:30 in the afternoon. Many thanks.

Well, more to come here on CNN Newsroom. Another Novichok poisoning in the United Kingdom months after a former Russian spy was attacked with the nerve agent. We are live in Moscow. That is next. And pressure on the U.S. secretary of state to accomplish more than

just smiles and handshakes on his third trip to North Korea. We're back in a moment.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM HOST: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church. Let's update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour.

Venezuelan's President told his country's armed forces Wednesday to not lower their guard after reports surface President Trump raised the possibility of the U.S. invading Venezuela. Officials said Mr. Trump made the remarks last August, but was only thinking out loud.

An immigration rights group is slamming the U.S. government for using DNA testing as part of the process to reunite separated migrant families. A federal official says it's meant to guard against trafficking by smugglers who claim to be parents. Critics claim it's just a cover for collecting of sensitive data on migrant children.

The U.K. government has called an emergency cabinet meeting to determine what should be done about the couple in England who was poison by a deadly nerve agent. Police say there is nothing to suggest they were specifically targeted. Tests reveal they were exposed to the same substance that almost killed a Russian double agent and his daughter back in March.

CNN's Matthew Chance is with us now from Moscow. Matthew, good to see you again. What has been the reaction there in Russia to this latest nerve agent poisoning in Britain, and, of course, the link being made to the March attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, as of yet we haven't received any official reaction, but already Russian media has been speculating about this. One report on Russia today, which, calls itself R.T. It's a prominent Russian television and internet channel, which is often used to disperse propaganda on behalf of the Russian government. Says that, analyst tell them that this is just what the United Kingdom which is hell bent on vilifying Russia wanted. And so, that is an indication of the kind of analysis I think we're going to be getting from state media and from Russian officials indeed when they start to react to this.

Sort of casting it in the same way that they cast the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal back in March as something that Russia did not do, as something that was pat orchestrated by the British government or others, as a diversionary tactic, first of all, to make Russia look bad, and also as a diversion from other domestic political issues inside the united kingdom.

There's no sense in which Russia has showed any indication that it's prepared to accept responsibility for any of these attacks of the Skripal's or the latest poisoning that has been identified in United Kingdom. But, of course, in much of the international community is not convinced by those Russian denials. [03:35:04] Remember, the United States expelled 60 diplomats after the

March poisoning of the Skripal's in retaliation for this, and at least 20 European countries and ten countries outside the European Union, including Britain and the United States, expelled diplomats as a result as well. And you know, the fact that there are more people now who have been poison with Novichok, which is deemed by the British authority to have come from a Russian laboratory and of military grade, will only inflame sentiments once again.

And of course, it is because of the timing. It's going to make these very important meetings that we're on the cusp of right now. There's a NATO summit going to be held on the 11th and 12th of July, where Russia is already a big issue. This is going to make it an even bigger one. As discussions get under way of how to deal with the Russian threat. It's going to make the meeting that Donald Trump, the U.S. president, is going to have in Britain shortly after that summit much more kind of fueled with anti-Russian fire as well. And of course, it makes that discussion that summit is going to be held between Trump and Putin in Helsinki. Something that is going to be much more complicated as well. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. We're watching that very closely. Matthew Chance joining us live from Moscow where it is 10:36 in the morning, many thanks.

Well, the U.S. Secretary of State is making his third trip to North Korea. Mike Pompeo left joint base Andrews in Maryland just a short time ago, in fact, and he will press for details on how Kim Jong-un plans to eliminate the country's nuclear arsenal. Pompeo's visit comes as U.S. intelligence officials cast doubt on Kim's true intentions. Our Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea. She joins us now live. Good to see so you, Paula. So in the wake of U.S. intelligence reports revealing Kim is not serious about dismantling his nuclear program, the pressure is mounting on Secretary Pompeo to come up with results. What might come out of his meeting with Kim?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we're hearing from sources telling CNN Washington that Secretary Pompeo is well aware that he needs to comeback with something more concrete, showing some kind of path forward for denuclearization. Now, we did hear last week, an intelligence official saying that they were going to present North Korea with a plan, a detailed list of the tasks they needed to carry out in order to start this denuclearization process.

That could well be, what we could expect. We know that there was a letter handed between the U.S. delegations to the North Korean delegation on Sunday. They were meeting in the (inaudible) in the DMZ between North and South Korea. We don't know the concepts of that letter, but certainly that could be potentially this list of what we heard if called specific asks of the North Koreans.

So, clearly there is going to be some pressure on Secretary Pompeo. It's his third trip to North Korea. He will be meeting Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, according to the Trump administration. There have been some criticisms that very little appears to have happened since that summit between the two leaders in Singapore. Rosemary. CHURCH: All right. Our Paula Hancocks joining us live from Seoul, in

South Korea. Many thanks to you.

Well, a Berlin wall has fallen. And the Cuban missile crisis is history, and many nuclear fall-outs shelters are gathering dust. But there's one place where the cold war is alive and well. CNN Patrick Oppmann is there.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don't be fooled by the stunning beauty of these waters. This is one of the last and longest running fault lines of the cold war. On one side of the bay is the town of Caimanera, Cuban, territory. On the other, the U.S. Guantanamo Bay navy base. Ever since the Cuban revolution, thousands of troops stand at the ready. Cuban and U.S. snipers watch each other from guard towers. And countless mines had been laid to keep the U.S. from invading from Cubans from retaking the base.

The sign when you enter the town says it all. This is the first trench of the Cuban revolution. This is one of the most tightly restricted places in all of Cuba. Even Cubans here, need a special pass to come and visit the town. The only reason we're here is after years of asking the Cuban government, they finally relented and allowed a group of foreign journalists to come and make a quick visit.

Those restrictions were put in place to keep Cubans from trying to go to the U.S. from sneaking into the base. Or as the Cuban government has long claimed, to prevent Asian provocative tours from in sighting a war between the two countries. When outsiders do venture in, they draw a crowd. Many of the town's 11,000 residents, like (inaudible), say they support their government, but complain they live in perhaps the post isolated corner of an already isolated island.

[03:40:00] This today, as a young Cuban from Caimanera, I fall in love with someone who is not from here, she says, I have to ask permission for them to be able to come here, and there is nowhere else like that in all of Cuba.

The base occupies 45 square miles of land, illegally the Cuban government said. A deal signed after the 1898 U.S. invasion, supporting Cuba in the Spanish-American war. It states that both countries have to agree on any changes to the status of the base. Every year the U.S. pays Cuba $4,085 rent. Every year the Cuban government refuses to cash the check.

In movies like "A few good men, the base was a symbol cold war brinkmanship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4,000 Cubans who are trained to kill me.

OPPMANN: Then 2002, the base earned notoriety for something else. The alleged mistreatment of terror suspects sent there to await trial. President Obama promise to close the prison. But he was unable to get Congress to go along the plan. President Trump says he may send more detainees there. Cuban officials are frustrated that the debate is over closing the prison, not the whole base.

We are not asking for my favors, says this government official for the province where the base is located, but what we are asking for is that they turnover what is ours. And for the residence of Caimanera, the base is a constant reminder of what could be.

The enemy over there impedes us, Obla says. Over there is a beautiful natural geography, and it's prohibited to us. Frozen in time by lingering cold war tensions, life hardly moves here at all. A lazy game of dominoes, a newspaper read on the front porch, plenty of time still to kill before the people who live here will be able to rejoin the outside world. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Caimanera, Cuba.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: Student athletes and alleged sexual assault. Coming up, a U.S. Congressman under fire for not speaking out. We will unravel the details. We are back in a moment.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A powerful U.S. Congressman is under scrutiny not for what he did, but for what some say he didn't do? Ohio Republican Jim Jordan allegedly did not speak up when he was a wrestling coach some years ago as student athletes under his tutelage were allegedly sexually assaulted. Our Jean Casarez has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN PRIMETIME JUSTICE SHOW GUEST HOST: Congressman Jim Jordan is now acknowledging publicly that he had no knowledge at all of any alleged sexual abuse from the team doctor at Ohio State University in the Department of Athletics towards male students when they went in to his examination room. Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach during some of the time the Dr. Richard Strauss was at the University.

The allegations are that Strauss would treat students in the examination room for their injuries at the same time molest them. At this point there is a massive investigation. It is independent within Ohio. But looking at 14 different sports at the University, including wrestling and that is where Jim Jordan enters. I spoke with a former wrestling there, Michael DeSabato, and he says that he was a victim, but he also says that everyone in the wrestling department at that time, including Jim Jordan, knew what was happening. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DESABATO, FORMER OHIO STATE WRESTLER: I was close to both Jim and Coach (inaudible). We talked openly within our locker room about Strauss in particular. That he was a serial groper. I can tell you right now he is not telling the truth. Because he did know. He has knowledge. He was there. Over eight years. It's impossible to ignore the training environment. It was deviant, chaotic.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CASAREZ: Congressman Jordan says he did know Dr. Richard Strauss and

that the way the showers were situated at Ohio State was that it was really public in nature. Other professors would shower in there. He knows Dr. Richard Strauss showered in there as well as student athletes. But he says he has spoken with other coaches and they didn't know that any alleged abuse was taking place either. Listen to what Jim Jordan himself had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP JIM JORDAN, BENGHAZI COMMITTEE MEMBER: Mike Russell Forest was -- you know, was are a friend, but something has changed. You know, things he said are just not true. We knew of no abuse. Never heard of abuse. If we had, we would have reported it, and if, in fact -- if, in fact, there's problems, we want justice for the people who were victims, obviously, and as we said, we're happy to talk with the folks who are doing the investigation, but nothing -- I mean, things they said about me were just flat out not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Congressman Jordan does say that he has gotten numerous emails from this former wrestler. He designates them as strange, and at that point his office is most likely going to contact the capital police so they are aware. The Ohio State University legal counsel has told CNN that they have reached out to Congressman Jordan by e-mail, by phone, asking him for an interview, to cooperate in this investigation. They haven't heard from him. But Congressman Jordan says our office has scanned all of our communications. We don't see anything from this legal office. We ask them, send it them to us. What you say you sent, send it to us. And we are definitely willing to cooperate and help this investigation in any way we can. Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: A deadly heat wave in Eastern Canada, and now urgent appeals for the people of Montreal to make sure their neighbors were OK. We're back with that in just a moment.

[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Extremely hot summer-like weather being felt across both coasts of the United States. We will highlight both of those situations in for just a moment, but we also have some relief coming in the form of a cold front traveling from Canada. First the heat wave along the East Coast. This is covering millions of people, especially across New England. We have a heat advisory across this region. This is a continuation of the extreme heat that they've been feeling the past several days. Now across the southwestern United States, we have heat building across parts of Nevada into Southern California, and into Arizona.

We have heat advisories and watches across this region. So, all in all, over 80 million Americans impacted by either advisories, warnings, or watches in terms of extreme heat. Now, temperatures on Thursday will be hot near Los Angeles, but it warms up from there. New York, top 33 degrees. 32 for Atlanta. The next several days shows that a gradual cooling trend across the northeast, but not before more hot weather starts to move in towards the second part of next week.

Here's your seven-day forecast for New York City. 26 degrees by Saturday. Very comfortable compared to where we had been. Look at Los Angeles, skyrocketing temperatures. The upper 30s as we head into the weekend. A gradual cooling trend expected for the second half of next week. 32 for Kingston, Jamaica.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: A scorching heat wave in the Eastern U.S. and Canada is being blamed for the deaths of at least 18 people since Sunday. In Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec, officials say, all the victims lived alone, and none had air conditioning. They are urging people to beat the heat at swimming pools, air conditioned buildings, and at Montreal's 19 cooling stations. They're also asking anyone to check on neighbors and family members who might be at risk. So, let's bring in our meteorologist Derek Van Dam to take a look at this and, of course, when is relief coming from this heat wave?

VAN DAM: We've got 24 more hours, and then we finally start to feel a change in the temperature and a change in the humidity. This heat wave Rosemary has been going on since the end of June. So, this is a prolonged heat wave event. This is really difficult for especially people with medical conditions or the elderly who are locked inside their homes perhaps without any air conditioning, unable to perhaps take care of themselves. That is why they're asking and pleading for residents of Canada to go to neighbors, check on them, knock on their doors, because when you have prolonged heat like this, there is just no way to really to make sure that everybody is OK, because a lot of times people just don't have the ability to cool themselves down when it's gone on for five, six, seven days at a time.

We've got a heat dome that is built in across the East Coast into Quebec. This has allowed for temperatures to sort of 10 degrees Celsius above where they should be this time of year. Roughly 15 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. So, there are warning signs for heat exhaustion, heat stroke. Heat stroke of course can lead to illness or death, which is the worst case scenario here, unfortunately. We're reporting 18 deaths out of this, but there is a couple of reasons why it was so particularly bad in Montreal.

We have urban heat island effect similar to any other cities, lack of vegetation, and an expansive area of concrete. That building kind of absorbs the heat from the sunshine, and it can allow for temperatures to be roughly one to three degrees Celsius or three to five degrees Fahrenheit above where they would be in a rural area outside of that urban heat island.

[03:55:08] Now, temperatures today are going to be equally as hot as they were yesterday. So, no relief in sight, but we have to wait again. Like I mentioned, 24 more hours before we see the changes. So, here it is, Montreal, 93 today, but oh, 74 tomorrow. I'll take that middle to lower 20s in Celsius. That is a very comfortable temperature. You also feel a big difference in the humidity levels. What it feels like on your skin as you step outside. Much more comfortable, you won't be sweating profusely.

Now the heat wave continues for the East Coast today. We have over 80 million Americans who are under a heat advisory, watches, or warnings, and look at this. That includes parts of the Southwest. This is really setting up for the weekend. Los Angeles, Las Vegas, to Phoenix, heat warnings, extreme heat warnings. The heat is really going to build over this area. Triple digits into the weekend. That is why those warnings are in place and it is going to be dry as well while we are still ongoing, our drought across this region. So the potential for wildfires exists across that area as well. So, anyone who has medical conditions, no access to air conditioning, no access to pools, maybe you want to give them a phone call and check up on the elderly. Very important information in this time.

CHURCH: Very good point. Very good tip. Thank you so much. Derek, I appreciate it.

And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. Early start is next for our viewers here in the United States. For everyone else stay tuned for more news with Hannah Vaughan Jones in London. Have a great day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)