Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

North Korea Fulfills Pledge; Michael Cohen Claims Trump Knew Trump Tower Meeting; Deadly Wildfire In Northern California; President Trump Asks For Assistance To Secure Brunson's Release; Pakistan Election Commission Expected To Confirm Imran Khan's Victory; Faulty Construction Caused Collapse Of A Massive Dam In Laos; Authorities In Greece Indications Arson Caused At Least One Of The Deadly Wildfires; World Headlines; Amazon's Inequality Problem; Strong U.S. Q2 GDP; The Challenge of Extending Your Lifespan; Look To The Sky. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired July 27, 2018 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:00] KRISTIE LOU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

War remains handed over. North Korea fulfills the pledge made to Donald Trump.

Michael Cohen's big claims. Sources tell CNN Donald Trump former attorney says then candidate Trump knew about the Trump's (inaudible) meeting with

Russians.

And, a roll of flames. A wildfire in northern California turns deadly as firefighters try to contain it.

North Korea is making good on promise that leader Kim Jong-un made to Donald Trump in Singapore, returning what are said to be the remains of

U.S. troops killed during the Korean War. North Korean officials handed over 55 cases in South Korea and President Trump is calling the return a

great moment for many families and has thanked Mr. Kim.

South Korea is also welcoming it as a humanitarian move that can help heal the pain of Korean War veterans. Our Will Ripley is in Seoul with more on

the story. He joins U.S. now. And Will, what does the return the remains? What does it mean to diplomatically and especially for the families who

have waited decades for this to happen?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, the families are the ones who we should always keep the top of our minds and many of them have been

waiting for true closure. There are still more than 5,000 Americans believed to be missing and buried somewhere in North Korea. These are

service members who fought in the Korean War.

They died part of the -- some three million people who were believed to have died in that horrific three-year conflict that caused so many lives on

this Korean Peninsula and yet the two Koreas ended up divided roughly in the same spot along the 38th parallel.

You cannot deny the history of the day that this has happened, the first repatriation, more than a decade occurring on July 27th, the day that the

Korean War armistice was signed, the day that people thought would lead to peace, but as history have shown, lead to something -- something else.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, to clear the entire Korean problem and bring about world peace.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Any hope for peace after the 1953 Armistice gave way to a bitter cold war. Sixty-five years later, the communist North and

Democratic South are still divided along the 38th parallel. Very few people cross the DMZ, dead or alive.

Korean War dead are no exception. Some three million people were killed including tens of thousands of Americans. Thousands of those U.S. troops

are believed to be buried in mass graves, some just miles from the South but impossibly out of reach for their families. Ruth Hebert came to the DMZ

searching for her father, First Lieutenant Karle Seydel. The Colorado Marine died on December 7, 1950.

RUTH HEBERT, DAUGTHER OF FALLEN SERVICEMAN IN NORTH KOREA: My mother here, she he had two little babies when he was killed so, it was very hard. My

brother was 13 days old when my father left.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Grief made harder by the fact families may never have closure. North Korea has returned the remains of just 340 U.S. service

members since 1990.

The search for the missing dead abruptly ended more than a decade ago as nuclear tensions escalated, repatriation efforts stopped. But this year's

Korean detente revived the hopes of military families. After the historic Singapore Summit, President Trump declared missing Korean War remains would

soon be handed over possibly in days. More than six weeks later, Ruth Hebert is still waiting for news about her father.

HEBERT: His bones are still here in the North with so many that died there that they were not able to recover but our hearts are really comforted and

strengthened being here.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Strength and hope for closure, hope for a final end to the never ending Korean War.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): It is likely to take months or even years, Kristie, before families like Ruth Hebert's will learn if their loved ones, those

who were killed in the Korean War were one of those 55 sets of remains handed over at Osan Air Base here in South Korea. Diplomatically, this is a

confidence building measure on the part of the North Koreans who have been engaged in some very difficult negotiations over denuclearization with the

United States.

[08:05:06] We know that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's latest trip to Pyongyang ended with very little results, both sides frustrated. Perhaps

this will move things in a more positive direction, but just the fact that it took six weeks, more than six weeks for this to happen when many in the

Trump administration thought it might be a matter of days before the handover took place, underscores the difficulty and the length of time that

it's going to take the U.S. and North Korea especially when they start negotiating far more contentious issues, Kristie.

LU STOUT: The return of the remains is a confidence building measure. It is also one of the commitments that was agreed to during that summit in

Singapore between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. On the North Korean's side, what did the North Koreans expect to receive in return?

RIPLEY: The North Koreans feel that they have already done a lot, you know, the repatriation that happened today to dismantling their Sohae

satellite launch facility, blowing up the Pungngye-ri nuclear site which we witnessed a couple of months ago. And now they think it's time for the U.S.

to deliver.

They want the U.S. to move more quickly on a peace treaty, a formal end to the Korean War and they think that the U.S. should push for that and they

are frustrated that it hasn't happened according to a source of mine who is familiar with the North Korean position on these negotiations. And they

also want incremental sanctions relief, a step-by-step kind of process where they get something from the United States in turn for giving

something with denuclearization.

Of course, the U.S. have said that maximum pressure is going to continue until North Korea gives up all of their nuclear weapons. The North Koreans

have really stopped at that, you know, you heard the statement after Secretary Pompeo left Pyongyang, accusing the U.S. of being almost gangster

like in their demands.

LU STOUT: Will Ripley reporting live from Seoul. Thank you Will. U.S. President Donald Trump on twitter just moments ago denied what could be a

potential bombshell in the Russia investigation. The sources say the president's former attorney, Michael Cohen, claims then candidate Donald

Trump knew and approved of the 2016 meeting at Trump Tower. That is a meeting where Russians were expected offer dirt on Hillary Clinton.

President Trump now saying on twitter he did not know of that meeting in this tweets. Jim Sciutto has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sources tell myself and Carl Bernstein that President Trump's long time

lawyer, Michael Cohen, is willing to tell Special Counsel Robert Mueller that then candidate Trump knew in advance about his campaign's June 2016

Trump Tower meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton and that he signed off on it. This account directly contradicting the repeated

denials from President Trump, his lawyers and allies.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SCHMIDT: Did you know at the time that they had the meeting?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I didn't know anything about the meeting.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

JAY SEKULOW, DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: He was not aware of the meeting. He did not attend the meeting and was only informed about the e-mails very

recently by his counsel.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Do you tell your father anything about this?

DONALD TRUMP, JR, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: No. It was such a nothing. There is nothing to tell.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Sources tell us that Cohen alleges that he was there when Donald Trump, Jr. told his father about the meeting, but does not have

evidence such as an audio recording to corroborate the claim. President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, flatly denying Cohen's account in an

interview with CNN and attacking Cohen's credibility.

RUDY GIULIANI, DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: He didn't know about it. I know that. I've been over this in great detail. I've talked to the corroborating

witnesses. There's no way you're going to bring down the president of the United States on the testimony uncorroborated by a proven liar.

CIUTTO (voice-over): A source familiar with Cohen's testimony says that he did not tell the House Intelligence Committee that Trump had admitted

knowledge of the meeting. And Donald Trump, Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee last year that he would not have wasted his father's time with

it. Trump, Jr.'s attorney standing by his testimony saying they are confident in the accuracy and reliability of the information they provided.

The Trump Tower meeting has long been at the center of questions over potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. When news of the

meeting first broke, Donald Trump, Jr. initially said that the focus was primarily on Russian adoptions.

Days later, Trump, Jr. publicly released e-mails from publicist Rob Goldstone who set up the meeting showing that in fact it was proposed, "to

provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary" as part of Russia and its government

support for Trump. Trump, Jr. replied to the e-mail within minutes, "If it's what you say, I love it."

Four days later and two days before the Trump Tower meeting, then candidate Trump said that he'd be revealing information about Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I am going to give a major speech on probably Monday of next week and we're going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place

with the Clintons. I think you're going to find it very informative and very, very important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:10:06] SCIUTTO (voice-over): That speech never happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Another key detail of the story is that Michael Cohen claims that he was not the only person in the room when Donald Trump, Jr., he says,

told Donald Trump, Sr. about the upcoming meeting with the Russians and what they were offering. That could provide investigators with other

witnesses to question to possibly corroborate Cohen's story, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Jim Sciutto reporting there. Thank you. Now, the U.S. president's own words may also prove problematic in the Russia probe. The

"New York Times" reports that Robert Moeller is reviewing Mr. Trump's twitter feed as part of the investigation into possible obstruction of

justice. The special counsel is reportedly focused on the president's twitter attacks on the U.S. attorney general, Jeff sessions, as well as

fired FBI director James Comey.

The "Times" says this, "Mr. Moeller is examining whether the actions add up to attempts to obstruct the investigation by both intimidating witnesses

and pressuring senior law enforcement officials to tamp down the inquiry." President Trump has taken to twitter to threaten Turkey over the detention

of an American pastor.

Now, Mr. Trump had tweeted this, "The United States will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their longtime detainment a Pastor Andrew Brunson."

Now, Turkey's Foreign Minister has shot (ph) back saying that his country will never tolerate threats from anybody.

An Israeli official has meanwhile confirmed to CNN that President Trump had asked for assistance from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to

secure Brunson's release. Now, our correspondent Jomana Karadsheh has more from this (inaudible), Jomana, a lot of new lines in the story. We're now

hearing that the U.S. asked Israel for help with the release of the American Pastor Andrew Brunson. What have you learned?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, the story originally reported by the "Washington Post" this morning, basically reporting that

President Trump asked Prime Minister Netanyahu in a phone call for his assistance to help secure the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson here in

Turkey. Now, an Israeli official, as you mentioned, confirmed that that request was

made but did not go into details or provide details of that conversation that according to the "Washington Post" took place on July 14th. Now, what

"The Post" is reporting, they asked -- is that President Trump asked Israel to release a Turkish woman, a 27-year-old who was detained in Israel facing

charges of supporting Hamas. In exchange, Turkey would release Andrew Brunson.

Now, what we've heard from the -- what happened was that she was released on -- according to her lawyer she was released between the 11th and 12th of

July. She left Israel on the 15th of July following that phone call, but Turkish official here, Kristie, have denied this. They are calling this

report completely baseless and far from reality according to the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry and another Turkish official saying they have no

intention of getting involved in the country's independent judiciary as they call them.

LU STOUT: And Jomana, tell us more about Andrew Brunson. Who is he and why was he detained in Turkey?

KARADSHEH: This pastor originally from North Carolina. He has been living in Turkey for more than 20 years. Following that failed coup attempt in

July of 2016, thousands of people who were detained in the crackdown that followed one of those people was Andrew Brunson who lived in the city of

Izmir in Turkey.

And he was accused of links to what Turkey considers to be terrorist groups, the Kurdish militant group, the PKK in addition to the Gulen

movement that Turkey accuses of being behind the failed coup attempt, in addition to espionage. And he's facing 35 years in jail. Now, his trial has

been going on since April. U.S. officials including President Trump have repeatedly asked Turkey to release him.

Some U.S. lawmakers have attended the trial, have described it as a kangaroo court and saying that the charges against him and all the

accusations were a, "compilation of nonsensical conspiracy theories" and he is described by officials including President Trump as being held hostage

by Turkey because last year we heard President Erdowan hinting that he was open to the possibility of a swap, releasing Brunson in exchange for

Fhetullah Gulen who is living in exile in the United States.

[08:15:08] And Turkeys has repeatedly asked for his extradition because of the accusations of his links to the failed coup attempt saying he was

behind it, but that has not happened and Kristie, Brunson has really become one of the key issues when it comes to the U.S.-Turkey relationship that

was deteriorating over the past few years.

Recently, there were signs it was improving and speculation that Brunson would be released, but that did not happen on July 18th with his trial. And

a couple of days later we saw a Turkish court basically move him from prison to house arrest. We have yet to hear reaction from President Erdogan

to all of these and the stress from the U.S., Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Jomana Karadsheh, live in Istanbul across all the threads in the story. Thank you very much indeed. Take care.

Now in Pakistan, official results haven't yet been announced but the country's election commission is expected to confirm Imran Khan's victory

in Wednesday's general election. Now, the cricket start turned politician has already declared he will be the country's next prime minister following

an election that has been marked by violence as was claims of vote rigging.

Now Khan is believed to be the favored candidate of Pakistan's powerful military. Nick Paton Walsh is live in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad. He

joins us now, and Nick, Imran Khan all along, even in that address last night, live, he promised a new Pakistan. Will Pakistan change under Imran

Khan? Can he solve the nation's problems?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well that's the sales pitch certainly and as you say, a new Pakistan is sort of what he was

been promising. The electorate view him as a force against corruption for a change and obviously, yes. It is the second time in Pakistan independent

history there has been a peaceful democratic change of government has always been held by the walls of the ruling party, the PML-N or the PPP,

another opposition party.

This is the first time that a third party, the PTI, which is run by Mr. Khan has taken control of the government. I say that but that isn't a

hundred percent official. The latest results with 97 percent of the seats and vote counted have him on 115. He needs 137 to be able to have his own

working majority in parliament. There are still some more to be counted and there are quite a lot of independents floating out there. So (inaudible) is

pretty much exclusively on his side to be able to get the majority that he needs.

There are couples of issues there that have come along. Many people are criticizing the pace of the vote counting, very slow. And the E.U.

parliament or the European Parliament's observer mission here, they've been looking at the votes, have refer to how that do systematic moves to limits

the appeal and the progress of the current ruling party, that's the PML-N.

They've been marred in corruption accusations and also accusations too that the army has conspired to keep them and other opponents of Mr. Khan of the

television and effectively giving him as much media coverage as possible. Now of course, that puts him in a complicated position because clearly it

seems he is the military's favorite. Nobody prevails really in a Pakistani election without some kind of accomodation with the security establishment

here that runs much of the economy, kind of the (inaudible) in the country.

But he sold himself as a new way of life here so, quite how he manages to thread those two particular complicated past we'll see in the months ahead,

but clearly at this point, nobody really doubts he is going to be the next prime minister. The question really is what is his first move with the

economic issues the country is facing and its variety of foreign policy issues too, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Nick Paton Walsh reporting live from Islamabad. Thank you. You're watching "News Stream." Still to come (inaudible) here in

the program, a government official in Laos is pointing the finger of blame of the deadly collapse of that massive dam. We'll have more on that story.

Also ahead, a tragedy compounded. Evidence points to arson and at least one of the deadly fires in Greece.

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream." Now Laos now says it was faulty construction that caused the

collapse of a massive dam killing at least 26 people. A government minister says the company behind the dam will have to take full responsibility. More

than 130 people are still missing and neighboring Cambodia is evacuating an estimated 25,000 as the flooding spills over the border.

The billion-dollar hydroelectric dam was partially funded by South Korea and the South Korean engineering company was involved in the construction.

And South Korea has dispatched a disaster relief team, and joining me now is its medical director, Donghwan Roh. And Dr. Roh, thank you so much for

joining us here in the program, and first I must ask you, why does South Korea feel compelled to be part of this relief effort?

DONGHWAN ROH, DIRECTOR, KDRMT MEDICAL TEAM: Hi, I'm Dr. Roh, KDRT medical team director. I think the Korean government is dispatching Korean disaster

relief team to Laos because Korea and Laos is good kind of companionship and the disaster is originated from the construction company, Korean

construction company and the dam collapsed out of flooding is related with a Korean company so the Korean government should actually (inaudible) help

the Laos people.

LU STOUT: So that's why your medical teams are there on the ground in Laos. What is the situation like there? We know that the scale f this

disaster is huge but according to your team, how great is the need? How many people need help?

ROH: I heard that the Laos situation is (inaudible), is still learning and the flooding -- flood situation takes long time to water down from the

village and I have heard that there is more than six villages are underwater are there are more reports settlers (ph) are made for the

displaced persons. Over 6,000 people moved to (inaudible) improved lives.

And they are -- they need to secure the freshwater and some at the risk of waterborne disease because of (inaudible) sanitization is very poor and

they also need some many -- some basic accommodations like clothing, black panties (ph) and freshwater and foods and medical help.

LU STOUT: They need medical help. They need fresh water, food. They need accommodation.

ROH: Yes.

LU STOUT: How is your organization helping? How are you providing relief in the flood zone in Laos?

ROH: Okay, tomorrow, we are (inaudible) will send some relief goods like blankets and clothing and some things -- some type of accommodations to

Laos and on Sunday morning, our KDRT medical team will dispatch -- will be dispatched to Laos including me and the (inaudible) team medical personnel

and the five assistant team will settle at the province (inaudible) and near the (inaudible) side district.

[08:25:04] We have already dispatched three delegates to locate a suitable campsite at the disaster area and we have connected one house center. And I

heard that there is no big hospital around there and there is little (inaudible) so we are going to open a medical office to see the patients.

And also we are cooperating with the provincial hospital to do some practice there.

LU STOUT: All right, Dr. Donghwan, we'll leave that up, but thank you so much for joining us here on the program. Best of luck to you and especially

your team on the ground in Laos as they help survivors there in the flood zone. Take care.

Now, authorities in Greece, they say that there are serious indications that arson caused at least one of the deadly wildfires that have killed 80

people there this week. You are looking at the devastation left behind by more than 15 fires which broke out in the countryside near the capital of

Athens on Monday.

A deputy minister says that there is evidence at least one fire was deliberately set. The mayor of the municipality also admits that mistakes

were made in the response to the crisis.

Meanwhile in the U.S., California's governor has declared a state of emergency to help northern communities deal with out-of-control wildfires.

This fire intensified overnight killing one person and prompting several evacuations from a hospital. Officials say a vehicles mechanical failure

caused the blaze.

Our CNN correspondent Dan Simon is in Redding, California. He joins us now, and Dan, this fire is extremely dangerous. It's moving fast. It has already

claimed one life. What have you seen?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi Kristie. Yes, it just exploded overnight. We are in the Lake Redding (ph) Estates subdivision in the town

of Redding, California. You can see this home behind me there are many homes in this one subdivision that had been destroyed. Quite frankly,

firefighters don't know how many homes precisely have been destroyed.

Officially, the tally is at 15 but they know it will be a lot more than that. Now, this grew so quickly that residents really just had a few

minutes to collect whatever belongings they could and then hit the road and try to get to safety. We can tell you, Kristie, that one person has died as

a result of this fire. A bulldozer operator who is trying to combat the flames and at least three firefighters has also been injured and we are

told that some civilians have been injured as well.

And then also at the nearby hospital, we can tell you that some babies had to be evacuated from the neonatal intensive care unit just as a matter of

precaution because, of course, it can be very dangerous if in fact the hospital, you know, was under threat. At this point, the hospital does seem

to be okay but they did want to remove those babies as a matter of precaution.

Now, this fire broke out on Monday, Kristie, and you talked about it. It was some type of issue with a car, a mechanical failure that created the

spark and was on the outskirts of town and firefighters thought maybe they had a handle on it, but then the winds just really ticked up. It's very,

very hot here during today. About 110 degrees is expected to be that today. So (inaudible), who is of course, really have a battle on their hands,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Well, and just apocalyptic scene behind you, heartbreaking as all. These were people's homes. Dan Simon, reporting live from Redding,

California. Thank you so much. And to you and the crew, take care.

You're watching "News Stream." Still to come right here on the program ater the break, we've been looking into Amazon as quarterly profit topping $2

billion the first time ever making its CEO even richer but not all Amazon employees are feeling the benefits. We'll tell you why, next.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

U.S. President Donald Trump is calling it a great moment for many families. North Korea has handed over 55 cases of what is believed to be remains of

U.S. troops killed during the Korean War. The transfer coincided with the 65th anniversary of the Korean War armistice.

Sources tell CNN the U.S. president's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is willing to testify that Donald Trump knew in advance about the June 2016

meeting in Trump Tower. That's the meeting where the Russians were expected to offer dirt on Hillary Clinton. Mr. Trump took to Twitter a short a time

ago to again deny his knowledge of the meeting.

Facebook just had the worst day for any company in stock market history. On Thursday shares plummeted a whopping 19 percent, wiping out $119 billion in

market value. The drop came after the tech giant announced it would spend billions on user privacy and security cutting into profits for years.

Meanwhile, we have Amazon, its profit has topped $2 billion for the very first time in its history. That news sending shares spiking after hours.

The expected earnings marks third -- a third consecutive quarter of more than $1 billion in profit.

Now, the rise in Amazon share price, it means that the richest man in the world at the moment, CEO Jeff Bezos, is now even richer. But some Amazon

workers are complaining that they are not feeling the benefits. Clare Sebastian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was the other side of Amazon's best sales day to date. At a warehouse near Madrid, around a

thousand workers walked off the job, complaining the company should increase pay and vacation time. There were similar scenes at facilities in

Germany.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure what to make of those reports. We offered very competitive wages and benefits.

SEBASTIAN: The strikes didn't stop Prime Day from breaking records. As sales rolled in, Amazon's stock hit new highs and CEO Jeff Bezos became the

richest man in modern history, his wealth topping $152 billion.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (R), VERMONT: If these were not so pathetic, it really would be laughable.

SEBASTIAN: Over in the U.S., Senator Bernie Sanders also picked Prime Day for a live town hall on corporate inequality.

SETH KING, FORMER AMAZON EMPLOYEE: The pay is not only not worth it --

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

KING: You are not allowed to sit down. You are not allowed to talk to people.

SEBASTIAN: King worked at an Amazon facility in Virginia last year where he says he earns $13 an hour.

KING: I was not in a good place mentally, and isolation of the job made it even worse. And I felt suicidal.

SEBASTIAN: After two months, he says he had a breakdown and stopped showing up. The company fired him to tardiness and denied his assertion

that employees can't speak to their colleagues.

KING: People are not drones, you know. We are not mindless bodies that are just swarming to like 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.

STACY MITCHELL, INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL SELF-RELIANCE: We found that on average across these 11 metro areas, Amazon pays about 15 percent less than

what workers are normally paid for warehouse jobs.

SEBASTIAN: Amazon told us, "Our number one priority is to ensure positive and safe working environments." The company also told us it encourages

employees to compare their pay and benefit to other retailers.

[08:34:57] "The average hourly wage for a full-time associate in our fulfillment centers including cash, stocks and incentive bonuses is over

$15 an hour." Amazon also told 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: As 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 what having the backing of all the employees would do for the

company, for the stock, for the morale, for the brand itself.

SEBASTIAN: Amazon now employs more than half a million people worldwide. It seems more and more want their voices heard.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Happening just a few hours from now, star gazers are about to witness the longest lunar eclipse or 'blood moon' of the century. Just

ahead, when you can see it and where on earth you can get the best view.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. This just in the U.S. GDP, the figures are out showing that the economy in the U.S. grew by 4.1 percent in the second

quarter. That's growing at the fastest pace since 2014. We are going to have more on than in the next hour with CNNMoney.

Now, our health, it depends on diet, exercise and genes among other things, but how long are you going to live? I spoke earlier to CNN's chief medical

correspondent about his new series. It is called "Live Longer with Dr. Sanjay Gupta." And he hears from one man who is particularly health

conscious.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: His name is Gesepi Riva (ph). He is 47 years old. He is an executive at a company that is actually

headquarted in Italy, but he is living in the United States now. And he is a busy guy.

You know, sounds familiar, right? He is traveling a lot. It is tough for him to get exercise when he is on the road, tough to eat right. He does a

lot of meetings. He is living a life I think a lot of people live. And so it has become challenging for him.

He was born and raised in Italy. About 20 years ago, moved to the United States. When he moved to the United States, he saw a decline in his health.

United States ranks 43rd in the world when it comes to lifespan.

Singapore and Japan are right at the top of the list. But this is a guy who cares deeply about his health. In fact, I asked him about this, Kristie. I

asked him how he would rank his own health. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I consider myself healthy from a general standpoint of view. But more from (INAUDIBLE) I'm not sick than really being healthy.

Healthy state of mind, state of the body. So in that respect, I'm from zero to 10, I am a five.

GUPTA: Five. Is it important to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is very important. It's quality of life.

GUPTA: Is it the most important thing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the most important thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So, Kristie, you might be surprised that he only gives himself a five. And there in lies the challenge, I think for a lot of people. People

say it's important. In fact, they say it is the most important thing in their lives.

And yet significant percent of the people still would give themselves a pretty low score when it comes to evaluating their own health. They

recognize the value of it but they are not putting the energy into it. And that's really why we want to show his story.

LU STOUT (on camera): Yeah. And that's something you're addressing in this new series. The factor is that affect your lifespan.

[08:40:02] What are these factors? What can we do about them?

GUPTA: Well, you know, the big factors are the big factors. You know, diet, exercise, rest, things like that. But when it comes to diet, you

know, people have all these sorts of different notions about what they should be eating.

The reality is that if you look at, for example, Gesepi's (ph) life. In Italy, you know, eating his diet, you know, 20 years ago versus eating a

similar diet here in the United States, what has changed? Even if the foods are the same, the processing has changed, the refining has changed.

So, eating a lot of those processed foods does seem to shorten your lifespan. You know, whether it is the additional chemicals or the lack of

other nutrients, not entirely sure.

When it comes to exercise, there are sweet spots. You know, if you look at the longest lived cultures around the world, it is not that they are

necessarily intensely active. It's that they are sort of continuously active.

The human body wasn't designed to be intensely active for an hour a day and then sit or lie for 23 hours a day. You are designed to be sort of more

continuously active. So, even adding 20 minutes of natural activity a day can increase your life expectancy by a couple of years.

Getting enough rest, you know, most of us don't get enough rest, too much artificial light, devices, whatever it might be. Some of the longest lived

cultures, they sleep eight to nine hours a night regularly.

So these are some of the big factors. What we saw with Gesepi's (ph) life, again, he surrounds himself with people who are like minded that want to

live a long live, that are very active. He just need to sort of insert himself more into that culture.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Dr. Sanjay Gupta there. Now, it is not just about living longer, it is about living better. So, watch the premiere of "Live Longer with Dr.

Sanjay Gupta." It is happening Saturday, 7:30 p.m. in Hong Kong.

And finally, news for sky gazers out there. The longest total lunar eclipse of the century is going to happen Friday evening into Saturday. That's when

the earth gets in between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the moon.

Here in Hong Kong, you can see the full effect around four o'clock in the morning on Saturday. If you're in the Middle East, you're expected to have

the best view. In Abu Dhabi, the full eclipse will happen around midnight local time. And North America, sorry, you're not going to be able to see it

at all.

That's "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. We got "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END