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World Headlines; Trump White House; The Role Of A Lifetime; Chef With Most Michelin Stars Dies At 73 Years Old; Death Toll Rises to 91 After Indonesia Earthquake; Sanctions Re-Imposed on Iran; Trump Tower Meeting is Legal Says Donald Trump; CEO of Pepsi Stepping Down; Assassination Attempt on President Nicolas Maduro; Possible Second Meeting Between Trump And Kim Jong-Un; Meeting Of Separated Families in North and South Korea; New Road Safety Laws in Bangladesh After Large Student Protest. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 06, 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."

Deadly deja vu. A second deadly earthquake strikes Indonesia in a week.

Totally legal. Donald Trump makes an admission on the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son and a Russian lawyer.

And doling out the blame. Venezuelan government clamps down after the apparent assassination attempt on Nicolas Maduro.

And we begin in Indonesia where first responders are racing to evacuate hundreds of people after a massive earthquake. It was a 6.9 magnitude

quake. It has killed at least 91 people and has devastated parts of the country's idyllic islands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOU STOUT (voice-over): Death and devastation after the quake. Scores of people were inside this mosque in north Lombok when it collapsed during

Sunday's earthquake. It's one of many buildings on Lombok, Gili and Bali Islands that crumbled as the ground shook. The National Board For Disaster

Management says the rescuers desperately need heavy machinery as they're sifting through the rubble by hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The quake happened around 8:00 p.m. after evening prayer. Lombok people who lived near Mataram felt a very

big tremor. We anticipate there will be another quake. We don't know when it's going to happen, maybe in the morning or afternoon or night, so we

built this tent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: In a race to find survivors, people worked overnight and often in darkness on the Gili islands. At least one man was freed as volunteers

worked on getting a woman out. The islands are popular with tourists, and by morning, hundreds were waiting to be evacuated.

There were chaotic scenes as people tried to board boats, the only way off the island for such large crowds. And back on Lombok, the Indonesian Red

Cross is helping to rescue the injured. It's been only a week since the last strong earthquake hit and many people panicked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUSNI HUSNI, INDONESIAN RED CROSS: They ran out of house and they were trying to stay around the roadside because they were afraid of being under

the construction, knowing that, you know, a week before that they were also hit by a strong earthquake and they experienced quite, you know, damage

around the areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Even on the Island of Bali, further away from the epicenter of the quake, buildings collapsed from the tremors. But it is on Lombok where

the devastation is the most dire and the number of victims is expected to rise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on-camera): And joining me on the line is Tiffany Loh from the International Federation of the Red Cross. She is joining us from Lombok,

Indonesia. And Tiffany, thank you for joining us here on the program. As we saw in that report, the extent of the damage has become very clear today.

Thousands of buildings have been destroyed. How are you? How is the Red Cross helping the survivors?

TIFFANY LOH, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE RED CROSS via telephone): Hi, thank you for having me. So, the Indonesian Red Cross with support from

the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Society, they have been working since the last earthquake struck a week ago.

And of course with the most recent one, they redeployed to provide assistance and search and rescue, psychosocial support, emergency water a

well -- emergency water needs as well as shelter through the distribution of tarpaulins and health and hygiene kits.

LU STOUT: Yes, we're reporting hundreds of people have been injured as a result of this earthquake. Let's talk about them, you know, when hospital

buildings are damaged, when the power grid is damaged now, how are the injured being cared for?

LOH (via telephone): Correct. So, of course, the most seriously injured, they are still being provided care. There is still some access to health

care through the National Health Care System. However, what Indonesian Red Cross essentially are doing is they are supporting with more of the triage

of the -- how should I put this -- the less serious. So they provide first aid and emergency health care. From the roster, they have doctors and

nurses in addition to their regular day jobs are volunteering their hours after work to provide this help.

LU STOUT: And, you know, the scale of the devastation is so significant.

[08:05:02] It must be presenting quite a challenge for the Red Cross and other aid organizations. This was the second massive earthquake to hit

Indonesia in a week. These are back-to-back disasters. Power is out. Aftershocks are ongoing. Are you able to adequately respond to the need on

the ground?

LOH (via telephone): Correct. So there are still aftershocks even after the very first quake, so when the second one happened, of course, everyone

was much more traumatized. However, having said that, from the time that the first earthquake struck, PMI had already started deploying additional

resources from neighboring province branches to Lombok.

So this includes seven ambulances as well six water trucks with 10 additional water trucks already on the way before the second quake dropped.

So it's actually quite timely that they will be able to close the gap in terms of getting that assistance to the people as quickly as possible.

In addition, PMI managed to secure an air shipment of relief items, including mattresses and blankets as well as tarpaulins from its

headquarters in Lombok this morning, averaging about 26 metric tons worth of items -- of relief items for the people.

LU STOUT: It's good to hear. Tiffany Loh of the IFRC, thank you so much for joining us on the line and really, thank you to you and your team for

being there, the (inaudible) this earthquake in Lombok providing help. So many people need it right now.

Now, another story we're following this day, relations between Iran and the U.S., you know, after pulling out of the Iran deal in May giving companies

some 90 days to rundown the contracts with Tehran. The U.S. is now set to reinstate some sanctions in the country. Starting tomorrow, the sanctions

cover Iran's purchase of U.S. dollars as well as trade in gold, precious metals and automobiles.

And in November, U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil will take effect with Washington threatening financial measures against countries that import it.

These sanctions, they come after days of sporadic anti-government protest were recorded across Iran. Demonstrators, they are angry over the high cost

of living, they're angry over alleged corruption, water shortages and a host of other issues.

The president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, is set to appear before parliament toady to talk about the country's economy. Now, CNN is covering all angles

of the story from the economics to the political fallout. We have John Defterios standing by in London. We also have Fred Pleitgen in Moscow.

Both have reported extensively from Iran. And let's now begin with Fred. And first, Fred, about geopolitics and the diplomatic side of things, what

is the Trump administration trying to achieve here by reinstating the sanctions and will it force Iran back to talks?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a very good question, Kristie. I think at this point it certainly is very much

unclear. The Iranians so far have rejected the notion of sitting down with Trump administration. It was interesting of course, a couple days ago,

President Trump tweeted that he would be willing to sit down with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without any preconditions.

And that was quickly rebuffed by the Iranians saying that simply something that would not happen. Now, does that mean it won't happen anytime in the

future for instance, this economic pressure continues? Nobody really knows, but it certainly seems as though the U.S. administration is really trying

to pile pressure on the Iranian government.

And of course on the Iranian power structure in total, that being the military and the clergy especially to try to maybe bring them to the

negotiating table but especially to try and counter Iran, of course, in the Middle East especially.

It's unclear whether or not the administration will be successful with this, but we are seeing the Iranian economy in, really, in a lot of trouble

ever since the Trump administration has announced that it's going to leave the nuclear agreement and since some of those economic measures have been

taken in place.

As far as these new measures are concerned, it's not clear what sort of impact they're going to have. But certainly they are going to have a big

effect psychologically on many folks in Iran. We're seeing a lot of prices continuously go up and their currency being devalued a great deal, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, it will definitely affect consumer confidence, a number of other metrics as well. Let's go straight to John Defterios standing by in

London for that angle. And John, what do you think will be the economic impact of these waves of sanctions hitting Iran?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, I think the best indicator of the future is the plummeting of the Riyal that we've seen

since Donald Trump said he would indeed pull out of the nuclear agreement. It's better than a 50 percent fall since the spring, but it hasn't stopped,

Kristie. This is the interesting angle to it.

We saw a drop of better than 12 percent last week leading up to these so- called snap back sanctions. I agree with Fred here. I think the pressure is going to continue on President Hassan Rouhani as he goes before parliament

to answer questions of why he didn't prepare for these onset of these sanctions.

Inflation is rising so the costs of imported goods are going up. Unemployment including youth unemployment continues to rise and we've seen

protests throughout the country since late 2017 as a result of the water and power shortages that Fred was talking about.

[08:10:08] Now, to the sanctions, I think actually this first wave of this snap back sanctions will hit quite hard because it's the weight of the U.S.

federal reserve by trying to limit dollar trade for the Iranian government. That will filter through the banking system as well. They're targeting

precious metals, so in particular gold and copper. That will have an impact.

And many overlook the fact that Iran is a major player when it comes to industrial goods, particularly steel and the auto sector. They're trying to

limit access for the Iranian economy to parts and raw materials. So this, indeed, will hurt growth going forward. And as Fred noted here, the second

wave of sanctions targeting oil and gas and petro chemicals that kick in November will be kind of the death blow if in fact the Trump administration

is successful.

Iran is the number three exporter within the OPEC cartel right now, exporting about 2.5 million barrels a day. We could see a million barrels

of that come off. We do not see right away, at least, depending on the pressure from Washington, China, India and Russia pulling out of Iran for

the oil and gas sector. There is basically too much at stake.

But the European companies, because of their exposure to the U.S. economy and the U.S. banking sector, indeed will pull out despite all the pledges

and promises made by the European Union to the Iranian leadership.

LU STOUT: Iran's economy is going to get hit across the board from its currency to its commodities. What are going to be the ripple effects across

the region there in the Middle East? For that, let's go back to Fred Pleitgen standing by. And Fred, we know that America's European allies,

they feared that this move, that the reinstatement of these sanctions is going to increase instability across the Middle East. Will it?

PLEITGEN: Yes. Well, they have, Kristie, a major issue with the U.S. pulling out of the nuclear agreement in the first place. It was interesting

because I've been speaking to European officials and they say look, for them that agreement was less an economic agreement than one that's supposed

to ensure especially Europe safety.

They obviously wanted to see a denuclearized Iran. They believed that that was something that that agreement did put in place, and they do fear that

if there is instability in Iran and also if Iran totally goes out of the nuclear agreement, it is of course on paper, in place. And the Iranians

aren't adhering to it, that then there will be more instability.

Then of course, the big question is what happens if these protests continue? What if there is instability in Iran? The big question is what

would happen to the Middle Eastern region? I think at this point in time, it's probably too early to speak about major instability in Iran. It's

certainly not something that the Iranian population really wants to see.

They obviously would be looking at neighboring countries like for instance Iraq, like Afghanistan. They think they don't want a situation like that in

Iran. But certainly, the threat does continue and does grow increasingly bigger the more that these sanctions continue to bite, especially the ones

that John was talking about that are set to go in place November 4th, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Fred Pleitgen, live from Moscow. John Defterios, live from London. Big thank you to you both.

Now, closer to home. President Donald Trump has been tweeting again about the Mueller investigation into Russia's attack on the 2016 election. This

time he's been making comments on that now notorious meeting between his son Don, Jr. and a Russian lawyer in June of 2016.

Now, with more on that, I'm joined by CNN's Abby Phillip. She is near Mr. Trump's golf club in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, and Abby, thank you for

joining us. Did President Trump effectively admit in this tweet that that 2016 controversial Trump Tower meeting was never about Russian adoptions

but all about Hillary Clinton and getting dirt on her?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It certainly seems that way, Kristie. This is the first time that President Trump has really explicitly

said exactly what the meeting was about. He says in this tweet this was a meeting to get information on my opponent, which he called totally legal

and done all the time in politics, although he says it, quote, "went nowhere."

But that's, of course, not at all true. It is not totally legal to work with a foreign government to get dirt on your political opponents for the

purposes of a U.S. election. But this is really significant because even though in the past the president has talked about getting dirt on Hillary

Clinton in some ways as being kind of a side result of this meeting.

This tweet seems to pretty clearly lay out that the meeting's purpose, the explicit purpose, was not about adoptions, it wasn't about anything else

other than getting dirt on Clinton, and at a time that when we know that Robert Mueller is looking at this meeting pretty significantly, and we're

also hearing from sources that the president has growing concern about the legal exposure to his son, Don, Jr., this is a significant moment, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes. Significant moment is significant admission by tweet, no less. Abby Phillip reporting live from New Jersey. Thank you.

Now, let's take a look at the ever evolving claims about that Trump Tower meeting with the Russian lawyer. Now, on July 8, 2017, the "New York Times"

first reported on the meeting.

[08:15:02] Don, Jr. responded with a statement claiming it was mostly about Russian adoptions. One day later, however, the "Times" reported that the

president's son was promised dirt on Hillary Clinton prior to the meeting.

Two days after that, Don, Jr. released his e-mail exchanges with music publicist Rob Goldstone and liaison for pop star Emin Algarov and his

oligarch father, discussing dirt on Clinton. Now, President Trump denied knowing about the meeting beforehand.

On July 12th, multiple reports indicated that President Trump was involved in preparing Don, Jr.'s statement about Russian adoptions. The president's

lawyer, Jay Sekulow, however denied Mr. Trump had any involvement. On August 1st, the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, acknowledged

that the president had weighed in on Don, Jr.'s statement.

But in September, sources say that Don, Jr. told senate judiciary committee staffers that he did not recall details of the White House involvement and

the public response to that meeting. However, in January of this year, the president's lawyers told special counsel Robert Mueller in a letter that

Mr. Trump dictated the statement himself. CNN reported on that letter to Mr. Mueller in June.

Fast-forward to late last month, CNN reported that Michael Cohen is willing top tell the special counsel Mr. Trump did know about the 2016 Trump Tower

meeting in advance. And that brings us to Sunday's tweet. Mr. Trump admitting that the meeting was designed to get information on an opponent,

and once again claiming he, quote, "did not know about it."

You're watching "News Stream." Still to come, arrests in Venezuela after an apparent assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro. We'll show you

new footage that appears to show the drone attack.

Families in North and South Korea are waiting to see if their names are on a list, a list that would allow them to see relatives that they were

separated from during the Korean War. More on their agonizing wait, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: It's the beginning of a new week here in Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream." Now, one of the most well-known women

in the Fortune 500 landscape is stepping aside. After 12 years, Indra Nooyi the CEO of Pepsi will leave the post on October 3rd. Nooyi saw Pepsi sales

surge some 80 percent during her time in the top job.

She also took the company in a greener and more environmentally aware direction. Nooyi will remain as chairwoman of the board of directors until

early 2019. We are going to have much more on the changes coming to Pepsi on "CNN Money" that will kick off in about 40 minutes from now.

Venezuela says six people have been arrested in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro.

[08:20:00] They were accused of terrorism and assassination. The government says drones armed with explosives were flown toward Mr. Maduro as he was

speaking at a military parade on Saturday. He was not hurt in the attack. On Sunday this video was uploaded to social media. It purports to show one

of the drones exploding.

CNN has not been able to verify where or when the pictures were shot. Now, journalist Stefano Pozzebon is live for us in the Venezuela capital of

Caracas, and thank you so much for joining us here on the program. So many questions about this interesting incident that took place. We know that

arrests have been made of the far right. Venezuela has been blamed for this assassination attempt. Who is behind this attack?

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, exactly Kristie, so many questions and so many questions we would like to present to the attorney general of

Venezuela who will speak in about four hours' time to give us the latest update on the investigations, but if I just can go back to that footage of

the drone that we were able -- that CNN was able to confirm from speaking with the person who put the drone online.

That drone cost about $5,000, Kristie. How many people in Venezuela could buy and purchase such a drone? It's a very limited amount of people. And

even more, how many people could have flown it at a closed site military event? The president was speaking in front of the National Guard,

celebrating the anniversary of the foundation of the National Guard.

There is a very limited amount of people who could fly a drone. I personally would like to fly a drone here in Caracas and I cannot because

finding the authorizations is very, very hard. So the government is now blaming the Colombian government. He is blaming personally the Colombian

president, Juan Manuel Santos. And we expect, Kristie, that the attorney general should present some evidence as it will speak with the press in

just about four hours, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes. And just again to clarify to our viewers, CNN was not able to verify when or where that detonation of that drone took place, but the

video has been out there. It's raising a lot of questions, and we know that this reported drone attack unfolded on live television there in Venezuela.

What has been the reaction to this event there in the country?

POZZEBON: Yes, the reactions have been, as you can imagine, polarized and that is proof of how polarized the situation here in Venezuela is.

Supporters of Nicolas Maduro has been quick to rush to the defense of the president saying this was an assassination attempt, an attempted coup

against the president of Venezuela, while the opposition is raising some eyebrows and even thinking this could have been -- could well have been an

inside job.

But for normal people here in Caracas, Kristie, today they're waking up trying to queue for water, trying to queue for transport and food coupon.

The situation in Caracas, the economic crisis is so strong that normal, the average person cannot really on what happened to the president and is more

focused to getting to the end of the day or getting to the end of each week, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Daily life is still very difficult, very desperate for the people of Venezuela. Stefano, thank you so much for joining us

here. Hoping we're going to get some more answers. A lot of questions on the story. Take care.

Now, CNN -- we have contacted DJI, the manufacturer of the drones reportedly used in this apparent attack in Venezuela. In a statement, the

company told us this, quote, "DJI makes products purely for peaceful purposes, which is how the overwhelming majority of drone operators use

them, and we deplore any use of our products to bring harm to anyone. While some of the facts remain unclear, we are prepared to assist investigators

concerning any harmful misuse of our technology."

Now, could we be seeing another handshake like this one before the year is out? Now, a source familiar with the North Korean position on

denuclearization tells CNN that there is a, "strong possibility that Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump will have a second summit." Will Ripley joins me

now with more on this. And Will, what did the source tell you?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you listen to everything that's been said publicly between the U.S. And North Korea since the Singapore

summit, it has looked very discouraging, Kristie. I mean, even on the weekend, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was blasting nations like Russia

for potentially evading U.S. sanctions when it comes to North Korea, saying that countries need to keep up the maximum pressure.

North Korea responding calling U.S. action since the summit alarming and saying that, you know, they feel that progress won't be made because the

U.S. isn't fulfilling its end of the bargain when it came to the June 12th vaguely worded agreement pledging towards complete denuclearization of the

Korean Peninsula.

But this source is telling me that what the North Koreans feel is that the best person for them to negotiate with directly is President Donald Trump.

[08:25:03] And they think the best negotiator from the North Korean side is their leader, Kim Jong-un. So what this source says is that it's very

likely sometime later this year there will be a second summit between Trump and Kim. They point to recent exchange of letters between the two leaders,

the pleasantries exchanged.

Remember, President Trump juts tweeted a few days ago thanking Kim Jong-un for returning the apparent remains of U.S. service member, saying that he

received a letter and saying that he will see him soon. Was that a hint that they will be meeting? You know, the United Nations General Assembly is

on September 18th, picking off. Could that be a time in New York where the two leaders meet or could it be some other time?

One thing else this source tells me is that strong words from North Korea blasting the U.S., this source says it's actually all part of a negotiating

tactic, trying to put pressure on the Trump administration as they move towards the U.S. midterm elections in November. Trump wants a foreign

policy win. The North Koreans know that. They feel if Kim and Trump sit down, they can get an agreement that's more favorable to them and perhaps

in very short order before this midterm elections in November, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Interesting. Negotiating tactics and signals of a second summit. Will ripley, on the story for us. Will, thank you.

Now, families in both North Korea and South Korea, they are waiting to see if they have won something called the reunion lottery. For the first time

since 2015, about 100 people from each side will be allowed to visit with those family members separated by the Korean War. Paula Hancock is in Seoul

with the details.

PAULA HANCOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, 65 years after the end of the Korean War and the suffering is continuing. These are the people that

were split apart from their families either during or directly after the war. And in many cases, they have had absolutely no contact with them in

the decades that followed. In a very few cases, there have been some letters exchanged, maybe a phone call, but that is rare.

So what we're going to see on the 20th of August, two rounds of these family reunions where a fraction of those families that want to be reunited

will finally be able to meet. They will meet in the mountain resort of Kumgang, just across the border in North Korea.

And just to give you an idea of how slim the chances are of this families being picked in this lottery to meet their love ones one last time, there

were 57,000 people in South Korea alone that the authorities were trying to sift through and decide who should be allowed to go. Five hundred were

picked through a lottery system.

Also, they were looking at who was the eldest and who had the most urgent case and of course whether the family member that they wanted to meet was

close family member. They have narrowed this down now to just 93 people from South Korea who will be going to the North. They have to check who has

good enough health, who is able to travel to the North Korean mountain resort.

And of course they have to check with the North Korean side as well, whether their loved ones were still alive, whether they were healthy enough

to do this. So, 93 from South Korea from the 20th to 22nd of August, then from the 24th to the 26th of August, there will be North Koreans coming to

meet with their South Korean families as well -- 88 of them there.

So that is a tiny fraction of the families that would really like to be reunited one last time before they pass away. These are elderly people. The

majority are in their 80s and 90s. It will be an incredibly emotional time for those families that do get the chance to be reunited, but of course a

very bitter time for those who once again will not have won the lottery and not be meeting their loved ones this time around, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Paula Hancock there. Now, after a wave of student protests, Bangladesh is considering a tough new road safety law. It would impose

fines and jail time for reckless driving. The cabinet passed the measure on Monday and now heads to parliament for final approval.

Over the past week, protests by hundreds of students have brought the Bangladeshi capital to a standstill. The activists have been demanding

government action after a speeding bus ran over a group of children, killing two. On Sunday, the prime minister urged students to call off their

protest after tear gas was fired during clashes with police.

Now lately, the U.S. First Lady Melania Trump had been showcasing a more apparent independent streak. We got the details in her latest public break

away from her husband, coming up.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

The Indonesian government says the death toll after Sunday's earthquake has reached 98. Some 20,000 people are displaced. The 6.9-magnitude quake

brought panic on the resort islands of Bali and Lombok. Hundreds of tourists are waiting rescue right now.

The temperature records are being broken across Europe as the summer heatwave rolls on. In Portugal, the weather service says three of the four

highest ever nationwide average temperatures have been set in the past week.

Europe is speaking out in support of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as Washington reimpose its sanctions on Tehran. In a joint statement, the

European Commission and the three European powers that negotiated the deal say that they deeply regret Washington's move. The revived U.S. sanctions

target Iran's purchase of U.S. dollars and trade in gold as well as other precious metals.

Now, in an unusual move for most U.S. first ladies, Melania Trump has publicly contradicted her husband. This time, it was about NBA's superstar

Lebron James. The first lady praised James for his charity work less than a day after President Donald Trump insulted the athlete's intelligence. It

all started with this interview where CNN's Don Lemon asked James about how he feels about the American leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES LEBRON, AMERICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER: He's kind of used sport to kind of divide us.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Do you think he uses black athletes as a scapegoat?

LEBRON: At times. At times. And more often than not. I believe he uses anything that's popular to try to negate people from thinking about the

positive things that they can actually be doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The day after that interview, Donald Trump launched a Twitter attack against Lebron James saying this, "Lebron James was just interviewed

by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!"

Not less than 24 hours later, Melania's spokeswoman said that the first lady is supportive of Lebron James and his work with children. In a

statement to CNN, reads this, "it looks like Lebron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as he always has, the

First Lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today."

For more on the First Lady's apparent independent streak here, we go live to CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett. She joins us live from Chicago.

Kate, thank you so much for joining us here on the program. Interesting turn of events. Yet again, the First Lady has spoken out in support of

Lebron James in this instance. How do you interpret the statement that her spokeswoman just gave to us and what it reveals about Melania Trump?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I asked a question quite simply of her office. It wasn't necessarily a statement per se, that she

just tends to answer with brutal honesty and whether or not that jibes with what the president is saying or tweeting, certainly makes this some more

interesting and compelling first couple.

[08:35:00] Certainly Melania Trump has shown many times in the year and a half that I have been covering her that she says and does and will continue

to do whatever she feels is the right thing to do, whether or not people agree with her, whether or not that's the popular opinion or unpopular

opinion.

And sometimes that is siding with her husband, sometimes that is backing him upon things, and sometimes it sort of feels very different. I mean,

certainly, tackling a topic like social media, kindness with children which is what part of her "Be Best" platform is about, could be strikingly oppose

to the behavior her husband demonstrates online.

Now, whether that's done on purpose or whether that just makes her job a little bit more difficult is not necessarily for her to say. Simply she

said she understands people are going to criticize her for it, but she's going to do it, anyway.

Again, I think this Lebron statement just has to do with her -- like I said, doing it anyway. This is something she feels strongly about, school,

supporting kids. And certainly she's visited a lot of schools and this is just another opening for her to shine a light on better behavior.

LU STOUT: Yeah. As you point out, sometimes she sides with the president, sometimes she does not, and the most latest example of that is with this

Lebron James statement. You know, this is an example of her as First Lady breaking with President Trump. And she has, as you pointed out, done this

multiple times in the past.

So, when we look at the timeline, if we can call it that, since she's become First Lady, when she does choose to speak out, have you noticed a

pattern about how and when she chooses to do so?

BENNETT: Yeah, I mean, I think she definitely doesn't like having people speak for her. If you remember a few weeks ago, Rudy Giuliani, the

president's attorney, made a statement on television saying -- in a speech saying that the First Lady forgives her husband or she believes her husband

about his alleged affair.

Her spokesman sort of shot back and said, I don't think the First Lady has ever had any conversations with Rudy Giuliani, especially about her

marriage. She did the same when Ivana Trump, the president's first wife, wrote a book and went out saying, I'm the real First Lady. We heard from

Melania again there, too.

So she doesn't really like words put in her mouth for her. Most recently of course was the story that came out that the president was unhappy that

Melania had CNN on Air Force One. I asked her office about that. I said, is that a true story, did that actually happen? And the response I got ended

with saying from her spokeswoman, the First Lady can watch any channel she wants, by the way.

So certainly she doesn't like the perception of her life put in another way that is not in her own voice or not in her own --making her own choices.

And she said this before even as far back as the campaign. I'm my own person, I'm strong, I'm independent, he does his thing, I do my thing. So

this isn't necessarily new. It just feels new for a first couple to feel like they aren't always in sync, so to speak.

LU STOUT: Very well said. First Lady Melania Trump is also an independent woman. Kate Bennett, we thank you for your reporting. Take care.

You're watching "News Stream." Still ahead on the program, for one Hollywood actor, it appears to be the role of a lifetime. Why Steven Seagal

says he is humbled and honored by new Russian appointment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:39:59] LU STOUT: Welcome back. Steven Seagal once said bringing Russia and the U.S. together was one of his biggest goals. And now, he's

going to get that chance after receiving a special appointment from Russia's ministry of foreign affairs. Matthew Chance has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It may be his controlled application of extreme violence that endears Steven Seagal so

much to the Russian authorities. His direct to video movies like this one, "Driven to Kill," about a Russian mobster is certainly popular here.

STEVEN SEAGAL, ACTOR: (UNTRANSLATED).

CHANCE: The actor's latest role, though, as a diplomat seems strangely out of character. But the friendship between Seagal and Russia's real-life

tough guy, President Vladimir Putin, has been longstanding. The Russian leader himself a judo black belt, awarding the U.S. martial artist a

passport in 2016 after Seagal had relentlessly asked, according to Russian officials.

Seagal has also been an outspoken supporter of Russian policy like its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, even taking to the stage there in 2014

in a charity concert at which he hinted at his possible diplomatic role.

SEAGAL: My greatest desire is to bring Russia and America together. It always has been. And music is the language of the gods. It's the one

language that all people understand. It's the one language that bring all people together.

CHANCE: Bringing himself together with authoritarian leaders in the former Soviet Union seems to become something of a pastime. In recent years,

Seagal has been pictured eating carrots with President Lukashenko of Belarus, the last dictator in Europe. And hanging out with Ramzan Kadyrov,

the pro-Kremlin leader of Chechnya, accused by human rights groups of committing appalling abuses.

Seagal has been involved in facilitating U.S.-Russian contacts, too. Back in 2013, he said he played a role in bringing a U.S. congressional

delegation to Russia in the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombing carried out by Chechen brothers.

SEAGAL: I asked him for that meeting and I knew about that meeting before they do. That's the truth.

CHANCE: The Russian Foreign Ministry, like in Seagal's new role to that of a U.N. goodwill ambassador, adding that the martial artist turned actor

turned diplomat will receive no salary for his contribution.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And finally, the world's most decorated chef, Joel Robuchon, has passed away at the age of 73. The Frenchman was the world's most Michelin

star chef and ran restaurants on three continents. His spokesman says he has been suffering from cancer and passed away in Geneva. The Michelin guy

said that he was one of the greatest French chefs. He died this morning with his loved ones.

That is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is next.

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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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