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North Korea Sent Remains of U.S. Soldiers; Michael Cohen Ready to Cooperate with Mueller's Team; Trump Threaten Turkey Over Pastor's Detention; Wildfires Took More Lives Including a Firefighter. Aired 3- 4a ET

Aired July 27, 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)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: After 65 years some families may finally be getting closure. North Korea handing over the possible remains of U.S. troops.

The U.S. president's former trusted attorney says Donald Trump knew in advance about the infamous Trump tower meeting with Russians back in 2016. We'll explain.

Also, Facebook suffering a massive fall in the stock market. The biggest one day drop for any company in history.

And a look at Imran Khan's rise to power. The former cricket star who could soon lead Pakistan.

Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, we want to welcome our viewers around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN Newsroom starts right now.

Around the world, good day to you.

In South Korea the mood was somber with a moment of closure that some U.S. families have waited for decades to see.

North Korea just handed over 55 cases. Those cases containing what is believed to be the remains of U.S. troops killed during the Korean War in the early 1950s. It took place at an airbase in South Korea on the 65th anniversary of the Korean Armistice.

The U.S. president tweeted, "The remains of American serviceman will soon be leaving North Korea and headed to the United States. After so many years this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong-un."

Following this story, CNN's Alexandra Field is live in Osan Air Base in South Korea. Alexandra, one can only imagine what this moment met for those families who been waiting for so long to see this.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So long so many years. And yet the commitment has always remained to bring every soldier home. There are thousands of families who believe that a loved one's remains are still in North Korea. This is a small handful. Fifty five percents of the remains that North Korea says belongs to U.S. service members. There will be a long process ahead now to verify that.

But the first steps have been taken. A cargo plane left Osan Air base, the U.S. air base here in South Korea traveled into Wonsan, North Korea, the boxes were loaded on to that plane. And when they were brought back here to the U.S. air base they were taken off one at a time and honor guard there to receive these remains.

Service members from this base and from bases across South Korea were invited to be here for this important and historic moment.

And George, the return of remains is something that has happened before but it hasn't happened in more than a decade. It's something that can only happen when there is dialogue between the countries. So this was considered to be a significant achievement of the Singapore summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un getting this agreement to return the remains.

HOWELL: And now, Alexandra, certainly we see the remains there. This image that so many families again have waited so long to see that the question it could in fact take time to identify the service members.

FIELD: That's right. The boxes were taken. They were put into vans, they will be taken to another hanger on this base. There will be preliminary investigation into what has been sent here.

In about a week, we will see a formal ceremony. The boxes remains will then be sent on to Hawaii and that's where a military lab will undertake the work here of doing the DNA and forensic analysis depending on the condition of the remains.

Again, we're talking about some 65 years later. This is a process that could take months to do that kind of work. The process of doing all the identification is something that could take years.

We've been talking about loved ones who were lost to war some 65 years ago, you know, for days, for weeks, for months, for years. It really counts to surviving family members and even the descendents of those veterans, they want some information, they want to know if their loved one was one of the few who has been returned now.

And they are hopeful that Kim in North Korea will stick to its word which was not just to return some of the remains that have already been recover but to continue to work to recover more of these remains, George.

HOWELL: Alexandra Field at Osan Air Base in South Korea. Thank you for the report.

Now to the U.S. President Donald Trump and the question what did the president know when did he know it. Mr. Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen is now offering the Mueller investigation of possible political bombshell.

Sources say that Cohen is prepared to testify that the then-candidate Donald Trump approved in advance of the 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a group of Russians including a lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. Now if this is true, it would directly contradict numerous denials from the president and others within his family, his legal team and the administration.

[03:05:01] Jim Sciutto picks up on the story.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Sources with knowledge tell myself, and Carl Bernstein that Michael Cohen claims that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower, in which Russians were expected to offer his campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Crucially, these sources say that Cohen is willing to make that assertion to the special counsel Robert Mueller. Cohen also alleges that he was present along with several others when Trump was informed of the Russians offer by Donald Trump, Jr.

By Cohen's account, Trump approved going ahead with the meeting with the Russians. We should note that our sources tell us that Cohen does not have evidence such as audio recordings to corroborate this claim and a source familiar with Cohen's House testimony said that he did not testify that Trump had advance knowledge during his appearance on the Hill.

Cohen's claims were also not mentioned in separate reports issued by both Republicans and Democrats on the House intelligence committee. We reach out to lawyers representing people involved. Alan Futerfas, an attorney for Donald Trump, Jr. he tells CNN that, quote, "Donald Trump, Jr. has been professional and responsible throughout the Mueller and congressional investigations. We were very confident of the accuracy and reliability of the information that has been provided by Mr. Trump Junior, and on his behalf." End quote.

We also contacted one of Cohen's attorneys, Lanny Davis. He declined to comment. And on CNN's air, Rudy Giuliani, the president's attorney he called Michael Cohen's credibility into question.

Jim Sciutto, Washington.

HOWELL: The president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani immediately then went on the attack trashing Cohen as a habitual liar with no credibility. Here's what he said earlier on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: This kind of part of the human condition, right, I mean, we all mistakes about people who try to be disloyal to us. You know, Benjamin Rush was disloyal to George Washington, the greatest president, right?

So, anybody can Brutus and Caesar. I mean, you can go back to ancient classical literature and you can find people who you think you trust and they turn out to be scavengers.

I saw the president when the president first found out that he had been taped and the president was completely shocked.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: I believe that.

GIULIANI: And, you know, he wasn't angry. You know, President Trump can get angry sometimes. He was disappointed almost like a father who's been betrayed by his son.

I don't see how he has any credibility. I mean, this is basically if he had a trial, and there won't be a trial here, but if he had a trial, you would say, which lie do you want to pick, you want to pick the first lie, the second lie, or maybe some new lie?

There's nobody that I know that notion that hasn't warned me that if his back is up against the wall, he'll lie like crazy because he's lied all his life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Michael Cohen is again under criminal investigation and that investigation moved deeper into President Trump's inner circle.

The Wall Street Journal reports one of Mr. Trump's closest business associate has been subpoenaed in that case. Allen Weisselberg is the longtime chief financial officer the CFO of the Trump organization. He is said to be the person who signed off on the Trump family business deals and has intimate knowledge of all of Mr. Trump's complicated finances.

One Democratic senator explained why Weisselberg could prove especially damaging to President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D) CONNECTICUT: It is a potential bombshell not only because Allen Weisselberg in effect has the keys to the Trump financial kingdom. He knows where all the bodies are buried but it shows clearly that the prosecutors here are in fact following the money.

And that is key, whether it's the deal's dealings and loans in Russia that may provide a motive. What does Putin have on Trump has been one of the most common questions asked in the wake of Helsinki. But also it shows that they are in fact knocking on the White House door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Conservative Republicans trying to shut down the Mueller investigation are facing opposition. A day after they introduce legislation to impeach the man overseeing that investigation, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein some heavy hitters are coming to his defense.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the he has the highest confidence in Rosenstein. And House Speaker Paul Ryan said he does not support impeachment. The vote is on hold until after the August recess.

A short time ago I spoke about all this with criminal defense attorney Troy Slaten. I asked him what the implications would be for the president if Cohen is telling the truth about the 2016 meeting in Trump Tower. Here's part of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TROY SLATEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: As far as whether or not the president knew in advance about the infamous Trump tower meeting where a Russian lawyer with reported ties to the Kremlin came to offer of dirt on Hillary Clinton in advance of the election really isn't a crime.

[03:10:04] It may be a political ill because the president, the president's lawyers, the White House press secretary have all said that the president didn't know anything about this.

The president's son, Donald Trump, Jr. testified before Congress to congressional committee in private that his dad knew nothing about it.

So, although this could be bad politically making the president look to be a liar. There's really no crime as it relates to that exactly.

HOWELL: Also Mr. Trump, apparently, shocked according to his attorney about the conversation he had with Michael Cohen. That was taped by his then attorney and it's now public.

All of this the president's current attorney says Cohen has no credibility and calls him a habitual liar. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: I don't see how he has any credibility. I mean, this is basically if he had a trial, and there won't be a trial here, but if he had a trial, you would say, which lie do you want to pick, you want to pick the first lie, the second lie, or maybe some new lie?

There's nobody that I know that notion that hasn't warned me that if his back is up against the wall, he'll lie like crazy because he's lied all his life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: All right. There is a great deal of irony for sure to Giuliani's statement given that the president has been caught numerous times twisting the facts himself. But is this a credibility issue for Cohen or is it more credibility issue for Mr. Trump?

SLATEN: Well, if prosecutors want to use up Michael Cohen's statements in some sort of prosecution against the president as far as obstructing justice or something like that, all of the witnesses, whether before FBI Director Comey or Michael Cohen himself, who really does have a credibility problem and that he was audio taping his client.

As an attorney myself, that that reeks of unethical behavior on behalf of a lawyer, but also we need to look back. And I would -- I think what Rudy Giuliani is referring to is when Michael Cohen testified before congressional committees he didn't mention anything about this. And so now to for him to say that the president knew about this

meeting and he is the only witness and guess what, there's no recording of this statement. It really does come down to a credibility argument for Michael Cohen.

HOWELL: The big question of whether the president obstructed justice. What might the special counsel be looking for in the president's many, many tweets and can those tweets come back to haunt him.

SLATEN: Well, anything that somebody says can always be used against you. And obviously the internet is forever, Twitter is forever. And when prosecutors have some sort of smoking gun, like if they had a recording or someone that said the president threatened me that if I testify then something bad would happen.

If they don't have any kind of smoking gun like that the prosecutors have to paint e the mosaic. They want to paint an overarching story about how the president little by little tried to impede the federal investigation. In this case, the special counsel's investigation.

But the critics of the special counsel argue well, if there was no attempt at colluding with Russia to affect the 2016 presidential election, then how can there be obstruction of justice over about a crime, an investigation into a crime that never happened.

HOWELL: Troy Slaten, live for us in Los Angeles. Thank you so much for your time and perspective today.

SLATEN: Thanks, George. Have a good night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: President Trump may be ready to address election security in the U.S. The White House says that he will meet with his national security team Friday to talk about the topic.

The meeting comes about a week and a half after the president yet again, appeared to double the doubt, rather, the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the U.S. election.

Experts believe America's November midterms could be targeted next.

Evangelical Christians are some of the president's biggest supporters and now he's going to bat for Christian pastor under house arrest in Turkey. On Thursday, he tweeted this. "The United States will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their longtime detainment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a great Christian, family man, and wonderful human being. He is suffering greatly. This innocent man of faith should be released immediately."

Turkey jailed Brunson in 2016 during a crackdown. His detention came after a failed coup attempt in that country. Turkey's foreign minister is firing back at President Trump with a tweet of his own. He is saying that his country won't tolerate threats from anyone.

Following the story, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live in Istanbul, Turkey. And Jomana, is there any more reaction from Turkey to the president's comments?

[03:14:57] JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, George, you need to look at this threat coming from one NATO country to another. That's quite serious. And despite the kind of response we're seeing from several Turkish officials we have yet to hear from President Erdogan, himself.

But various officials are firing back, saying that Turkey will not be threatened that this is not acceptable, that no one will dictate on Turkey what it does, it has independent courts. But at the same time there seem to be a bit concern while we hear this threats of sanctions in recent weeks from U.S. Congress that over the detention of U.S. citizens here, including Andrew Brunson.

There's also the issue that Turkey, this NATO country way acquiring S- 400 missile systems from Russia which U.S. lawmakers said was unacceptable. So now the threat is coming from the U.S. president who is seen as having a personal relationship with President Erdogan. It's also coming from Vice President Mike Pence.

So quite a dangerous development, quite serious for Turkey, and it really puts President Erdogan in a very tough position. How does he handle this now, how does he save face within Turkey without looking like he is caving in to U.S. threats, and at the same time avoid the serious threats of sanctions, George.

HOWELL: It is delicate walk for that nation's leader. Certainly, as Turkey does walk a fine line close to Russia and also closed to the United States.

KARADSHEH: Absolutely. And you know, Turkey, obviously a very close U.S. ally, the second largest army in NATO, close to the U.S. when it comes to the fight against terrorism, but if you look at the relationship between these two countries, George, it has been worsening over the recent years. Under President Obama they've had real disagreements.

For example, the United States support a Kurdish militia, the YPG in Syria was and remain quite a contentious issue for relations between the two countries. Then Turkey has several times asked the United States to extradite Fetullah Gulen, the cleric based in the United States who Turkey says was responsible for that failed coup attempt in 2016, something the United States has not done yet.

And in recent month and weeks, there was rising tension also over issues like the delay of the delivery of F-35 fighter jets. And then Turkey coming under a lot of criticism for turning to Russia, as you mentioned, closer ties and also for buying the S-400 missile system.

But I have to say, George, in recent weeks there were some signs that may be relations between two countries were on the way to improving. We've seen them, you know, the U.S. government, the Pentagon going ahead the F-35 delivery despite objections from Congress.

They agreed on a roadmap for the city of Mendes in northern Syria, and it did seem there was a lot of speculation when the trial of Andrew Brunson resumed on July 18 that he might be released. That did not happen, but a few days later we saw this move by a Turkish court, basically releasing him frm prison into house arrest, which U.S. officials say was not enough.

So there's a lot going on behind the scenes, George, and it will be quite interesting to see what happens in the coming hours and days when it comes to relations between these two countries at this point.

HOWELL: All right. Jomana Karadsheh, live for us. Thank you so much for the reporting.

Extreme weather from Greece to California to tell you about. Deadly wildfires causing destruction and displacement. The latest on both of these situations ahead.

Plus the impact of the dam collapse in Laos. It's now being felt in Cambodia, it's being called the worst disaster in decades.

CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta, Georgia is right back up after the break.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Greek authorities believe they now know what caused at least one of those deadly fires that broke up this week. A deputy minister says that satellite images and ground inspections indicate that arson was likely involved. More than 15 fires broke out on Monday. We understand 81 people died.

No evacuation order was given. Some people tried to escape in their cars or to reach shoreline, but strong winds and congested roads gave them very little chance.

Journalist Elinda Labropoulou has the very latest for us from Athens.

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: Well, bodies are still being counted and many remain missing in one of Greece's deadliest fires in decades, and among the deadliest in Europe in a century. The Greek government made an announcement that there are serious indications of arson in at least one of the Greek wildfires that have so far it killed over 80 people.

Nikos Toskas, the deputy minister for citizen protection said that there are serious indications of criminal acts in at least one fire and lots of fires appeared in a very short period of time, he said. And he also referred to a suspicious find in Mati, that's the area most affected by the wildfires.

This announcement at the same time was seen by many as the bid to minimize the political cost of the natural disaster that hit greater Athens. And one paper this morning put it, the government's response is hubris towards the victims.

So where we are now we seem to be just getting to the beginning of what we would call possibly the blame game. We have another minister the Defense Minister, Panos Kammenos, he was the first government official to visit the affected areas and he put the blame on illegal construction. Construction in the densely forested area, and basically, shortcoming of past administrations for handing out permits and for allowing this to take place.

And on the other side, we have the locals. The locals who were angry about what happened were saying the response mechanisms were not in place. Emergency mechanisms were not in place and that's why people were not evacuated in time.

HOWELL: Elinda Labropoulou there, again with the story of mistakes that were made in that situation.

Here in the United States, the State of California also dealing with wildfires. The Carr Fire has claimed its first fatality. A bulldozer operator who was fighting the fire.

Last week, a firefighter was killed in the Ferguson fire and thousands are still on the front lines trying to contain these out-of-control blazes.

Remembering a fallen hero. Braden Varney, 36 years old, California firefighter lost his life last week battling the Ferguson fire Yosemite National Park, Varney leaves behind his wife of seven years, a 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:25:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That man gave me everything my heart ever longed for. Even if we did without the rest of our lives together there's nothing more he could have given me to satisfy my deepest dreams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Varney was one among thousands of firefighters on the ground across the Western United States fighting wildfires. The destruction seen here is the Ferguson fire where Varney was killed.

Nearly 17,000 hectares destroyed in that fire. Thousands of people had to leave their homes behind even parts of the historic Yosemite National Park have been shut down as firefighters continue to fight trying to contain the spreading fires.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MACKENSEN, SPOKESMAN, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Obviously, like with anybody when it's hot like this you just have to move a lot slower. You can't go with the same temple as you would on cooler day. It's unusual for a crew member that working with a hand tool. They are going to go through to two three gallons of water a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: A closer look at this map and you see exactly how many fires are raging in California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look, everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: But some people captured the devastation on their cell phones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we are and this is the road, there's the fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Residents like Garth Schmack (Ph) posting this image to Instagram. Schmack had been mountain biking with a friend and couldn't get home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These guys deserve medals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Another resident captures the flames near her homes, praising firefighters for their selfless work, a dangerous line of work that cost one firefighter's life. His colleagues still pressing on putting their lives on the line each day.

In Cambodia, some 25,000 people are being evacuated after a dam collapsed in neighboring Laos. Cambodian officials say in some places the water there has risen 12 meters and there is no sign that it's receding.

Back in Laos, dozens of people have been killed and thousands have been left homeless.

In China, a dangerous and spectacular sight. A massive sandstorm rolled in like an invading army across the city in just minutes. Take a look. At that it blocked out the sun it knocked trees down. Police their use loudspeakers to warn drivers to hit the brakes. There are no reports of casualties despite what you see there.

A cricket star turned politician declares victory. The latest on Imran Khan rise to power at Pakistan's election ahead.

Also, the Trump administration says it has done its job. But still, many parents have not been reunited with their children after they were split apart at the U.S.-Mexico border.

We'll be back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [03:30:02] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers around the world, you are watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta. I'm George Howell with headlines we are following for you this hour. North Korea has handed over 55 cases of what is believed to be the remains of U.S. troops killed during the Korean War. It is the first handover like this in more than a decade. The ceremony coincided with the 65th Anniversary of Korean War (inaudible).

Sources tell CNN that former Trump attorney, Michael Cohen alleges Donald Trump knew in advance about the 2016 Trump tower meeting with Russians promising dirt on then candidate Hillary Clinton. The President and others have repeatedly denied Mr. Trump had any prior knowledge of it, but Cohen says he was present when then candidate Trump was told about the upcoming meeting by his son.

A Greek deputy minister says satellite images and ground inspections indicate that arson was involved in wildfires that killed more than 80 people. On Monday, more than 15 fires broke out on three fronts in southern Greece.

Now to the West bank, one of three Israelis in hospital after a stabbing attack has died. Israeli military spokesman says the assailant, a Palestinian teenager was shot and killed at the scene by a passerby who witnessed the attack.

In Pakistan. The election commission is expected to confirm former cricket star Imran Khan's victory in the coming hours. Early results indicate Khan's party has swept the power, he is already declared himself the victor. Our Nick Paton Walsh is following the story live in Islamabad. Nick, certainly popular in sport and now seeming to ride a wave of populism in this election.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly that is the case and we are in a weird period here. Frankly, in a way to described him in which he has the victory. It is heard that the result of the election commission have given him so far 119 seats in parliament, 137 needs for an outright majority, but frankly, (inaudible) that you can do to suggest it is not going to be the next Prime Minister and frankly, it is an extraordinary transformation for a man who came to fame as a global sporting icon. Use that celebrities to respond to socialites in London and also to convert himself into a conservative anti- American politician here. Who is promising ground route change in anticorruption measures, but faces an extraordinary sets of both foreign and domestic task ahead of him.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

PATON WALSH: A historic height and an extraordinary journey. Crickets star turns socialites, turn political firebrands, Imran Khan is close to becoming Pakistan's new Prime Minister after a bitterly fought election that's upturn Pakistan's tightly controlled political order. And casting the sporting icon as a sometimes anti-American force to change. Born into a wealthy family and the whole, Khan soon discovered his gifts as a fast bowler leading Pakistan to its first and only cricket World Cup victory in 1992. And Khan to become a national hero in a country where cricket is

always worshiped and politicians often reviles. He retired from the sport and after a spell as an international playboy. He married his first wife, wealthy London socialite Jumana Khan, the family man, he raised money for charities, one voting a Khan's hospital in his home city Lahore.

Back in the turmoil of injustice of 19 Pakistan his political ambition grew. Founding a new party, the Pakistan movement for justice, his central pitch, to end corruption among the countries ruling elite. Pakistani politics has few arm piles all rules and is often mob by violence and coups. He was briefly arrested in 2007 for criticizing military leader general (inaudible) in just a month later, a political rival, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on campaign trail. But still Khan kept his sight on the (inaudible) by 2013, he could marshal huge crowds and win the vote in one Pakistani province.

He remains a distant third. However, nationwide his conservatism grew as well. Religious panning American interference and favoring Pakistan's drastic and sometimes brutal laws. This year he wrote a populist wave from a scene to fight for equality and get tough on terror. His vision, he says is for a new Pakistan that means his critics don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What really he wants to do, he wants to change the system. But nobody knows exactly what kind of change would be big.

[03:35:00] PATON WALSH: His supporters think any change is good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATOR): We are supporting Imran Khan. Because he comes to stop corruption in Pakistan. We are hopeful that we will have a better future and our children will have a better future.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: this is the first time anyone has treated us as human being. But we have rights too. Somebody is finally saying we also need medicine and education and other things.

PATON WALSH: This is just the first innings only to form stable government pound the looming economic crisis, and navigate the powerful army who really decide the winners in Pakistani politics and still be unsure about this charismatic reformist outsider.

(END VIDEO)

PATON WALSH: Now the state is positivity in this apparent victory is the second time in Pakistan, that depends on history that power is being transferred between governments Democratically and peacefully and also to, it was the first time that the PPP or the PML and that competed against Imran Khan's party will not constitute the majority in parliament as we currently stand, That is momentous change, but Mr. Khan finds himself in a bit of a paradox really, he can't both be the force for change and anticorruption that he sold himself to the people as being whilst also keep the military happy. No one prevails in Pakistan and politics without their assistance necessary out of the same time they all the establishments that he is also berating about and many accused them in fact of assisting his victory part here to set a very complicated tough path ahead and being all things to all people. And of course the history of Pakistan is suggesting it is messy and often bloody road in politics ahead. I mean it has lots of financial immediate economic programs to deal with here. And still frankly needs the official results. George?

HOWELL: And we will have to wait for those official results. Nick Paton Walsh, live for us in Islamabad, thank you. A court-ordered deadline here in the United States has passed for the Trump administration to reunite parents and children separated at the U.S. border with Mexico. The government has reunited more than 1400 families, but more than 700 children. They are still in custody and it's not clear when or if they will be reunited with their families. Now, despite the numbers, the Trump administration says that it met the deadline and that the remaining families were in eligible either because of background checks that reveal problems or because they could not locate the people in time for the deadline. Our Diane Gallagher picks up the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dozens of demonstrators chanting yes we can in Spanish protesting how hundreds of family can't and won't be reunited. And now the deadline has passed, the stark reality is more than 900 other parents are going to have to keep waiting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of them are not going to be reunited anytime soon.

GALLAGHER: An attorney who works with migrant families tell CNN the process will be difficult with some parents already deported without their children as part of President Trump zero-tolerance policy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some people don't have email, phone numbers there in remote parts of country and some are not even literate. This is going to be challenge.

GALLAGHER: It is not easy even for families would then reunited, this man and his 11-year-old daughter were separated at the U.S. border for a month. They say the fled Honduras to seek asylum in the U.S.

He said I begged for her to forgive me. I said forgive me daughter, while I was crying forgive me and this reunification of a mother and her daughter from a video that CNN obtained from Raisis, a legal aid service for migrant describing how her daughter was taken away. Saying, a person put her in a car and told her that I did not love her that I did not want to see her and that the girl cried and cried and that I signed the deportation papers, but that I did not want to see her. Deportation papers that human rights activist Fernando Garcia says many of the migrants probably didn't even understand.

Despite hundreds of families reunited today, to him, it is not a victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today and good day then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is not a good day over all, because we had not been any regret of this administration.

GALLAGHER: And it is important to point out that the actual unification process is just one in a long list of steps that now have to happen for these families and it is all being done by a network of volunteers and organizations from getting them some temporary homes to stay into getting them to the city that they not go to, sometimes thousands of miles away in as little time as possible. Because many of these families will have ICE check in, in those cities thousands of miles away in as little as a week. Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Texas.

(END VIDEO)

HOWELL: Diane, thank you. Now earlier, I spoke with David Leopold. David, an immigration attorney representing a government watchdog group.

[03:40:03] He is outraged that hundreds of children are still separated from their families and he is voicing his concern on it. Here is a portion of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LEOPOLD, FORMER PRESIDENT FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION: I think what it needs to happen number one is on the government. The government has to bring this people back to parents that were deported. They can do that to the parole charity in the law. For example, one standing attorney to the Trump administration to bring back the parents that they deported away from their children. Number one.

And number two, look, this government, the Trump administration and United States government, we move armies across the world, we can certainly find these children and reunite again with their parents. It is absolutely unconscionable that we find ourselves in this situation, it is despicable. They are making their own deadline is what they are doing. They are trying to control the situation, they are not paying attention to what the judge wanted to do. They are slow walking and their missing each deadlines inexcusable. It is unconscionable and we think of the fact that they separate children, some of them toddlers from their parents with no tracking mechanism, George. No way to find these children after they were separated, they shove them in to a bureaucratic system that is design to kids that come alone without parents. There is no thought n how they are going to fix it in the end. So the Trump administration (inaudible) and I think that is what those judges are going to do. He has sown patience, but that patience is going to run out and I think there will be severe consequence for the administration officials that are not following the judge's order which is what we have so far.

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HOWELL: All right and now to China, police there quickly apprehended a 26-year-old suspected of setting off an explosive outside the U.S. embassy in the Chinese capital. Now this daytime blasted startled hundreds of people who are lined up for visas outside the compound of Beijing. Our Matt Rivers was on the scene just shortly after it happened and says the bomber was the only one hurt.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It actually was let off right there is still some scorch marks on the ground apparently he injured his hand quite badly, but amazingly, no one else in this vicinity was injured and that is pretty remarkable given what we can show you here. So that is the U.S. Embassy over my left shoulder right there, it is on that sidewalk where those people are walking right now at the time of this explosion hundreds of people were queued up, they were lined up waiting to get into the embassy, because that is where you go to apply for visas. Chinese citizens, other foreign nationals can come here and apply for visas as they do every single day to the United States. So none of them were injured. That is pretty miraculous.

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HOWELL: Keep in mind, Beijing is tightly policed and seldom has to deal with the security breach no motive has been suggested. Facebook is breaking records on Wall Street, but for all the wrong reasons, still had why the social media giants stock had its worst day ever. Plus, as Amazon breaks profit records. It is CEO grows richer and now some employees are asking for bigger piece of the pie, live in Atlanta you're watching Newsroom. Stay with us.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back. Wall Street has reacted to Facebook's new focus on user privacy and its report that revenue growth is expected to slow. The social media giants stock lost nearly $120 billion on Thursday as share prices plummeted 19 percent. It is the biggest single day loss for any public company ever. This comes after information on tens of millions of Facebook users ended up at data firms. CNN's John Voss spoke with one analyst who says the market price slump isn't the end of Facebook, just as long as the company focuses on what users care about.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can survive this on the biggest thing is though they still have to come fully clear on exactly how bad things were with Cambridge Analytica and anybody else surrounding that period. Now moving forward. The cat not do anything about it, so security is paramount to their future and they fully recognize that respect and moving forward to it. But you did notice that like the user numbers, not just the growth but with the user numbers in Europe were down and that is a direct result of all the noise around GDPR in the past couple months.

JOHN VOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, what to say reduces the day of reckoning there, everyone thought was coming from Facebook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is not. I mean, if you own the stock whether it's a neutral fund or directly --

VOSS: Do you but it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no I mean it is still price-earnings ratio of 19 so it is as high, I mean, not like you know what Amazon high, but it is still high, and this a lot of challenges ahead in clearing up this past mess and moving forward with security and making a safe place for people to be and enjoy each other's company.

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HOWELL: All right. And speaking of Amazon that company's fortune is soaring to new heights. The company reported a quarterly profit of 2 1/2 billion dollars and that is patting the pockets of the world's richest man. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezo's, but some of his employees say they would like to see a little bit about well, our Clare Sebastian has more on that.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was the other side of Amazon's best sales day to date, at a warehouse near Madrid around the thousand workers walk off the job. Containing the company should increase pay and vacation time. Those are some of the scenes (inaudible) in Germany.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not sure what to make off those report. We are very competitive wages and benefits.

SEBASTIAN: The strike didn't stop prying day from breaking records, sales rolled in and Amazon's stock hit new highs and CEO Jeff Bezos became the richest man in modern history. His wealth topping $152 billion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this one not so pathetic. It really would be laughable.

SEBASTIAN: In the U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders also takes a prime day for a live town hall on corporate inequality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pay is not only worth it.

SEBASTIAN: Dep King, a former Amazon employee was on the panel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not allowed to sit down, you are not allowed to talk to people.

SEBASTIAN: Teamwork in Amazon facility in Virginia last year, when he says he earned $13 an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was not in a god place mentally and the isolation of the job made it even worst. And I felt suicidal.

SEBASTIAN: After two months he says he had a breakdown and stop showing up. The company fired him for tardiness and denied his accession that employees can't speak to their colleagues. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not drones. You know, we are not mindless

bodies that are just swarming to do this task.

SEBASTIAN: In 2016, the Institute for local self-reliance compared Amazon's warehouse pay against other warehouse jobs in 11 U.S. metro areas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got average across this 11 metro areas. Amazon pays about 15 percent less than what workers are normally paid for warehouse jobs.

SEBASTIAN: Amazon told us number one priority is to show positive and safe working environment. The committee also told that it encourages employees to compare their pay and benefit to other retailers.

[03:50:03] The average hourly wage for a full-time associate enough and some incentives including cash stock and incentive bonuses is over $15 an hour. Amazon also tell us they added 130,000 new jobs last year. Still experts say it is all adding up to an image problem for the company.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone who advises major companies, I would tell them, hey, you know what, one of the richest companies in the world, your CEO is the richest person in the world. You can do something about this. Think about having the back of all the employees would do for the company for the stock for the morel for the brand itself.

SEBASTIAN: Amazon now employs more than half a million people worldwide. It seems more and more of their voices heard. Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO)

HOWELL: Clare, thank you. Most of North America swept through a heat wave while the high temperatures are unusual in some places it could become the new normal. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: The Northern Hemisphere is sweltering under some extreme temperatures, record heat waves are radiating across parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Some scientists say it's causing drought and unprecedented strings of wildfires. Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam, is here to tell us about it. Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, from wildfires in the U.S. to extreme heat across parts of Europe and throughout Japan. We outsourced cover in this particular weather broadcast, but let me start by sharing a little bit of information come out of California. This is an update on the car fire that is now approaching ready in California on the northern part of the state, 6 percent containment just shy of 30,000 acres of already been burned, but there had been confirmation of three injuries from firefighters trying to battle the blaze. Let me take you to another fire. This is the Cranston fire just outside of Los Angeles and some pretty dramatic video coming out about region. You can see just the smoke billowing into the sky and look at these flames well in excess of 30, 40 feet. It is just a really very dry timber box over the Western U.S. is a combination of all kinds whether features taking place there.

Dry conditions and triple digit heat. Now talking about that, we have over 88 active wildfires across the western U.S. That is one part of the world that has experience it, but we hop another consonant over to Europe and this is in central Sweden where we have had scorching wildfires burn much of the landscape across that region. What you were looking at right now is called a surface temperature anomaly map, this shows you where the hotspots have been located.

This is Scandinavia, you can see that red near Norway, Sweden and to Finland. That is where temperatures have been 5 to 10 degrees Celsius above average. Above where they should be this time of year and you can see just how dry it has been from space you're looking at a satellite image from May of 20 of this year. Look at how green and lush the landscape is. Fast forward to just a couple of days ago and look at all that drastically changes that shading of brown taking over from the U.K. right through Germany and France.

In fact, this is quite astounding. We have had only 8 1/2 percent of normal for Amsterdam, in terms of rainfall for the summer months. A similar values for Brussels and Copenhagen, but the worst is really coming out of London Heathrow airport. They have had 58 days since May 30th with only a millimeter of rain. Less than that in fact .4 millimeters of rain have been reported at London Heathrow since May 30. Incredible, temperatures there 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, below where they should be.

[03:55:10] We got a sharp contrast in our daytime highs this weekend. Look at how much square to cooldown on Saturday and Sunday, inclusion of air mass, of course, brings the chance of rain as well. Keep an eye the sky in London, chances of severe storms. I will take you in Japan. We got a typhoon that is looming. This is typhoon, Jongari, 165 km/h sustained winds in the center of the storm. It is expected to intensify within the next 24 hours before making landfall bringing plenty of rain and strong winds to mainland in Japan. So wow, it is an active weather pattern from Kyoto and Hiroshima and into portions of Tokyo, as well.

I want to end on a good note, because if you get the opportunity, step outside tonight. Go look up at the full moon roughly between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. local time for the Eastern sections of the African continent to the Middle East and to parts of India, you got a total lunar eclipse in the cards for you this evening. Hopefully you will get clear skies and by the way, this will be the last total lunar eclipse for several, several years across this part of the world. So if you get outside, take advantage of it. Have a visor.

HOWELL: Very cool. Derek, thank you.

VAN DAM: All right.

HOWELL: For our friends that are so (inaudible) right now in parts of the world. Take a look at this, this is a cool way to cool off, but you could perhaps stand under this 108 meter artificial waterfall it's on a new hotel and office building in China's Ouijo province, stream of water will be turned on for hour-long shows during special events. It uses rainwater pumped up from a tank at the base of the building. The artificial falls our reminder, the province already has the world's largest cluster of natural waterfalls. Just great to see there. Thanks for being with us. This is CNN Newsroom, with Derek Van Dam. I am George Howell, the news continues after the break.

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