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Biden's Campaign Kickoff Rally; Flynn Revelations; Storms Threaten 70 Million People across Central U.S.; Ohio State University Knew Team Doctor Sexually Abused 177 Students; Immigration Fight Keeps Ailing Mother from Seeing Son; "Kids Off the Block Works for Chicago's Youth. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired May 18, 2019 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:16] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Good morning and welcome this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We re not more than 500 days away from election day 2020. But right now 10 of the 23 Democratic candidates are on the campaign trail hoping to separate themselves from the competition. Aand keep in mind this is less than half of the total number of Democrats running for president out on the campaign trail this weekend.

But the big focus today will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Democratic frontrunner, former vice president Joe Biden will hold his official kick off rally in just a few hours. Choosing Philadelphia -- that was a personal and strategic decision for Biden. It's where his campaign will also be based and where he hopes to turn his birth state blue and beat President Trump at his own game.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the rally just as it is about to get under way a few hours from now. So what will the message be from the former vice president today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: His Fred -- Joe Biden's message today is going to boil down to unity. And I want to read you a line from his upcoming speech. Biden will say "Some say Democrats don't want to hear about unity. That they are angry and the angrier you are, the better. That's what they are saying to have to do to win the Democratic nomination."

Biden will say "Well, I don't believe it I believe Democrats what to unify this nation. That's what we've always been about. Unity."

That message coming here in Philadelphia in just a few hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ: With the first three weeks of his 2020 run behind him Joe Biden turning to a new phase-in his campaign.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll be president for all America, not just the base. SAENZ: first a campaign headquarters and kick off rally in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a state Democrats lost to Donald Trump in 2016 and one where Biden sees an opening. A recent poll found Biden beating Trump in a head to head match up there by 11 points.

BIDEN: If I'm going to be able to beat Trump in 2020 it's going to happen here.

SAENZ: In the early weeks of his campaign Biden enjoying his stronger than expected front-runner status, topping national polls, lining up endorsements in key early states and raking in more money in the first 24 hours than any of his Democratic rivals.

He's taken his brand of politics to six states across the country. From an ice cream shop in Iowa to fielding voters' questions in a New Hampshire backyard.

BIDEN: Folks -- we can change this again. And the best way to change it, and I'm not joking, is to get Donald Trump out of that office.

SAENZ: Biden framing his campaign as a showdown with President Trump -- a move that's drawn the President's ire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you beat Joe Biden?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we beat him easily.

SAENZ: The former vice president also facing friendly fire from his Democratic opponents.

SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I disagree with him. That crime bill, that 1994 crime bill, it did contribute to mass incarceration in our country.

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I don't think that Joe is the most progressive candidate in this race.

SAENZ: Biden largely aiming to stay above the fray.

BIDEN: I will not speak ill of any of the Democratic candidates. I will not do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ: Now, Joe Biden is here in Philadelphia today. But come Monday President Trump is going to be bringing his own pitch to Pennsylvania voters in the state when he holds a campaign rally in Montoursville showing just how important Pennsylvania is going to be heading into 2020 -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette -- thank you so much.

All right. Among those on the trail this weekend -- Bernie Sanders. He's in his fourth state tour of the South. And he is just starting to speak just moments ago. Sanders trying to shore up support after a recent drop in polls following Biden's presidential announcement. Sanders, he's hoping to make a splash by rolling out some new policies.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is covering Senator Sanders in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he's speaking right now. Ryan, what will he be unrolling?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred -- what we're hearing from Bernie Sanders right now is a very comprehensive education plan. And the headline is going to be a call for an end to for-profit charter schools. This is something we reported yesterday. It is already receiving quite a bit of attention.

It's just one part of a ten-point agenda that Sanders is outlining right now in a plan that he's calling the Thurgood Marshal Plan for Education. And he's delivering the speech of course, on the same weekend at the 65th anniversary of the Brown versus Board of Education decision.

[11:05:01] Here are some other highlights in that plan in addition to that call for a ban on for-profit charter schools. He also wants to establish a floor of $60,000 a year for teacher salaries. He also wants to call for universal free school meals across the country and a $5 billion investment in expanding summer and after-school programs.

Another one important note about what he's talking about here today and a specific to African-American voters he wants to use the federal government to enforce the desegregation of public schools across the country. And that, of course, is something that African-American leaders have called for some time for the federal government to take a more active role in that process.

So Fred -- this is just one stop on a four-state swing for Bernie Sanders as he tries to really drive home some of these key issues that are very important to Democratic voters. Education being at the top of that list -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ryan Nobles -- thank you so much in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

With me now to discuss the campaign trail -- assistant editor for the "Washington Post", David Swerdlick; White House correspondent for Reuters, Jeff Mason. Good to see both of you.

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: I do want to ask you about Biden but first, while we're, you know, thinking freshly about Bernie Sanders and we heard from Ryan Nobles there -- David, that, you know, Bernie Sanders is talking about trying to eliminate for profit charter schools and at the same time he is also rolling out other ideas to appeal to African-American voters.

Talk to me about his strategy and why go for, you know, for-profit charter schools. We know education is really important to a lot of voters, but that's a really interesting specific.

SWERDLICK: It is. And good morning -- Fred.

So I think this is sort of an interesting and maybe even a little strange approach by Senator Sanders and his team. On the one hand it's good that one of the candidates is out there making education a forward plank in their platform, and I think voters want to talk about that more.

But when you're talking about an early primary state like South Carolina, which the Democratic primary electorate is largely African- American and making your case based on getting rid of charter schools, it can cut both ways against Sanders.

On the one hand there are African-American advocacy groups like the NAACP that have pushed this idea that the charter movement in part has done something to sort of segregate education, and they pushed back on it in Washington, D.C., now in South Carolina and other places.

On the other hand, charter schools is probably the one issue on which African-American voters skew closer to Republicans than other issues. On almost every issue African-Americans line up with Democrats; on charter schools, not so much.

So I think either Senator Sanders is taking a gamble here or he just thinks that this is the time to make himself stand out in this field in an early primary state.

WHITFIELD: And Jeff -- you know, standing out is top of mind for Bernie Sanders who has enjoyed, you know, near front-runner status, but now he's being bumped, you know, aside so to speak with Joe Biden now officially in the race and just hours from now having his rally. The first, you know, rally during his campaign.

So is this -- you know, Senator Sanders feeling Joe Biden nipping at his heels or upstaging him?

(CROSSTALKING)

JEFF MASON, CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Oh, I think so.

Yes, absolutely. I mean I think Senator Sanders needs to do something to distinguish himself from Joe Biden. All of the candidates on the Democratic side have reason to distinguish themselves from Joe Biden because his rollout over the last couple of weeks which is -- which has its kind of big climax today with the announcement has gone so well.

He's maintained his lead in the polls. There was a lot of speculation that once he actually jumped in that he would not be able to do that, but he has. And in some cases -- excuse me, in some cases he's made that lead even bigger.

So, yes, Democrats have a reason to try to show be it on policy, be it on politics, be it on ideas that they're a better candidate. And Joe Biden has sort of taken the high road. He said that he doesn't want to criticize the other people in the race. I think he's going to try and coast as long as he can on the momentum that he has. And we'll see how that affects the Bernie Sanders of the world, the Kamala Harris and the other ones.

WHITFIELD: And in addition to, you know, how these candidates stack up in the Democratic field, just take a look at this where Joe Biden up against President Trump, you know, shows Biden taking the lead in Pennsylvania which is where, you know, his rally will be taking place today.

Trump clinched this state over Hillary Clinton back in 2016 -- David. And Biden, you know, with this rally in Philadelphia, you know, the City of Brotherly Love, he's putting his campaign headquarters there ultimately. Might this spell trouble for President Trump who, you know, clearly is going to be making his own appearance in Pennsylvania next week?

SWERDLICK: Well, I think Vice President Biden and his team realized that Pennsylvania is key to a Democratic win in 2020. I think it might be a tad early for those numbers to really tell us whether Vice President Biden will be able to defeat President Trump.

[11:09:50] But those numbers that you showed, Fred, with Vice President Biden having basically twice as many voters in that poll -- 35 to 17 versus Senator Sanders suggests that he's in a position where he can dictate the narrative, at least until the debates start and the other candidates are going to have to sort of adjust around him.

Vice President has a 100 percent name ID. He's associated with President Obama who is still very popular among Democrats, and I think he's perceived as someone who can beat Trump as those numbers suggest and every other candidate is going to have an answer to why they can do better than the former vice president.

WHITFIELD: You know, and Jeff -- you know, the Obama White House -- I mean Senator Kamala Harris, you know, was fairly close, meaning friends with the Obama White House. And, you know, she's in this race. She's seeing, you know, while she's gained a lot of popularity since the announcement of her race and she kind of loses a few points in the polling.

And she is going head on with Joe Biden, you know, talking about the 1994 crime bill that he pushed while, you know, kind of delicately saying that, indeed, that law did contribute to mass incarceration in the country. So is this kind of an indicator of what's to come when it comes down to, you know, Harris versus Biden and really trying to stake claim?

MASON: Sure, I think so. I mean Senator Harris isn't running for second place. You know, all of the candidates who have said or jumped into the race are running for the nomination. And even with a strong front-runner like Joe Biden, they're going to have to find ways to sort of bring him down a little bit, bring themselves up.

And the one thing about Joe Biden is he has a long record. A lot of Democrats embrace, some of I they don't. And it's that latter category that people like Senator Harris and others in the field will be looking to sort of highlight and point out about the front-runner. WHITFIELD: It's a historic Democratic Party. You know, the real

diversity, women, you know, people of color. So, David -- you know, what does this say to you about, you know, still leading the pack are white men?

SWERDLICK: Well, again I think part of it is just that name ID. Senator Sanders ran last time, people know him. Vice president Biden was the vice president of the United States. And people know him.

You have that top tier of candidates though and I think all of them have a good shot going into debates right now. Senator Harris, Senator Warren, Mayor Buttigieg. Some of the other candidates are going to have to really use those debate spread to make themselves, A, better known; and B, make a case for why one of those top five shouldn't be the nominee. But I think among those top 5 you're going to see all of them have shot but Biden clearly has that advantage.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Swerdlick, Jeff Mason -- good to see you both. Thank you.

MASON: Thank you.

SWERDLICK: Thanks -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, President Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn said he had multiple contacts with the Trump administration and Congress during the investigation. But could this be new evidence of obstruction of justice?

[11:12:50] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

CNN has learned that while former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn was cooperating with the Mueller investigation he contacted at least one member of Congress to encourage him to keep up his criticism of the investigation. Flynn sent direct messages on Twitter to Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz after he criticized the Mueller probe in a television appearance telling Gaetz to, quote, "keep the pressure on".

CNN's Pamela Brown explains how the White House is reacting to news of Flynn's work with investigators.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Trump is responding to these latest revelations unsealed in court documents that Michael Flynn cooperated with Mueller's investigators in the obstruction probe. And the president is making the false claim that he was never warned about Flynn before bringing him on as his national security advisor.

President Trump on a Twitter tirade complaining again about the origins of the Russia investigation and repeating unfounded claims his campaign was spied on. Tweeting, quote, "Treason means long jail sentences and this was treason." Before taking issue with new details surrounding his former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Saying, quote, "It now seems general Flynn was under investigation long before it was common knowledge. If that was the case and with me being one of two people who would become president, why was I not told so that I could make a change?"

But that's not true. Several people including President Obama warned Trump about hiring Flynn when they met in the Oval Office according to a former Obama administration official. A couple of months later Acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn may have been compromised by the Russians.

SALLY YATES, FORMER ACTING SECRETARY GENERAL: I had two in person meetings and one phone call with the White House counsel about Mr. Flynn.

BROWN: Newly unsealed court documents offer more details about Flynn's cooperation with the special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, showing that Flynn was one of a select few people in the Trump campaign who were involved in discussions about whether or not to contact WikiLeaks regarding stolen Democratic Party e-mails.

Flynn also provided Mueller with multiple examples of people potentially attempting to influence his cooperation. A partially redacted court memo reads, quote, "Either he or his attorneys received communications from persons connected to the administration or Congress that could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation. The defendant even provided a voice mail recording of one such communication."

The Mueller report published that voice mail from the President's personal attorney to Flynn's attorney. "If there's information that implicates the President then we've got a national security issue, so you know, we need some kind of heads up."

Now, even though Michael Flynn provided evidence including the voice mail to Robert Mueller's team, the special counsel did not prosecute anyone on the President's legal team or anyone associated with Congress as part of the obstruction probe.

If Robert Mueller does testify, and we know there are negotiations going on between Capitol Hill and Robert Mueller and his team, this is likely a question that will be brought up.

But a source on one of the congressional committees telling CNN that Robert Mueller will likely not testify before the first week of June.

Pamela Brown, CNN -- the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in Michael Zeldin. He is a former federal prosecutor and was also Robert Mueller's special assistant at the Department of Justice. Good to see you.

MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGALA ANALYST: Hi -- Fred. [11:19:59] WHITFIELD: All right. So this revelation that Michael Flynn was encouraging open criticism while also cooperating, what kind of questions or concerns do you have about that?

ZELDIN: So it seems that Michael Flynn is both cooperating with Mueller and cooperating with Mueller's critics. Something that the judge who has to sentence him still I think will look on disfavorably.

Because remember during his sentencing they asked Flynn does he really accept this guilty plea or not because of some stuff filed in court papers. So we see the duality of Michael Flynn in this proceeding as well. That's troublesome.

WHITFIELD: So Similarities. Manafort who was allegedly cooperating but at the same time not completely and he ended up getting, you know, some pretty stiff sentencing that came his way.

So in your view is this, the behavior of Flynn, is this obstruction of justice?

ZELDIN: No, I don't think so. I don't think that Flynn speaking to Congressman Gaetz is obstructing justice. It just shows that Flynn was really, you know, sort of torn about his politics and his legal troubles. And he was trying to just play both sides of it simultaneously. Usually that doesn't happen. Usually you just focus on your legal troubles and let the politics fall aside.

WHITFIELD: And if Gaetz or any other member of Congress in some way acted in appropriately and was trying to stand in the way of what information Flynn was to provide, is that a charge that might be investigated?

ZELDIN: It would depend on the very specifics of what was said to him. If a member of Congress were to say, you know, we're concerned about what you're going to say and please change your story to conform to what the President's saying that could be witness tampering. If he just said we're with you, we're on your side, keep up the good work, that wouldn't. So it's very, you know, sort of language specific.

WHITFIELD: Attorney General Bill Barr has now said that he wants to investigate the investigators. And the former FBI director James Comey tweeted in response to that directly at Attorney General Bill Barr telling him to start acting like a leader of the Department of Justice and to, quote, stop sliming his own department. So is Barr likely to feel any kind of pressure to behave publicly, any differently?

ZELDIN: No. No.

WHITFIELD: I mean he is leading the Justice Department and the Justice Department is, you know, either going to investigate itself or like we hear from Chris Wray, the FBI director, stand firm that there is no spying and, you know, law enforcement officers have been acting properly.

ZELDIN: Right. So I don't think we'll see any change in Barr's behavior. I worked for Barr as I worked for Mueller and I think that he has a straight sense of what he wants to do, what he thinks is appropriate and he's acting according to that.

I don't think it's terribly inappropriate for him to ask for Durham, the prosecutor from Connecticut to give him a quick overview of what happened in the initiation of this investigation while at the same time the office of inspector general does a longer investigation.

So we'll just see how it goes.

WHITFIELD: Michael Zeldin -- thank you so much.

ZELDIN: Thanks -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Next, new video from a massive severe weather outbreak in the Midwest. Look at those images. Reports of more than 30 tornados across the Central U.S. as the country braces for more dangerous storms today.

[11:23:38] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Happening right now severe storms are firing up across the central U.S. putting more than 70 million people from Texas to Minnesota at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In front of us, a semi over on the road. Good night. Look at that. It just now knocked a semi over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Kansas last night storms knocked over that tractor- trailer. Storm chasers were able to help free the driver, and there were more than 30 tornado reports across the central U.S. yesterday.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is in the weather center. And Allison, you know, this is a very dangerous line of storms and it's not over, right?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, and it's going to be a multi-day event actually. So we saw the storms really initialize yesterday and they're continuing today. Just in an area a little bit further east.

Right now we have five states under tornado watches, including Texas, Oklahoma -- this is where some of the strongest storms are located. We've got very intense storms moving through Oklahoma city. And now they're starting to enter a little bit into the western suburbs of Dallas.

And this is going to be the concern. You've got a lot of lightning and notice these orange boxes. Those are all the severe thunderstorm warnings up and down that line of strong storm. It's about to impact Dallas within about the next hour or so. But that's not the only city that's expecting severe weather today. This is the main threat zone basically stretching from Texas all the way up to Minnesota.

The main threats are expected to be tornados, some of which could be very long-lived and very strong. We also expect damaging winds and very large hail. When we say very large, we mean in excess of tennis ball or even baseball size. That will total your car and cause quite a significant amount of damage.

Here's a look at the forecast as we go through the rest of the day. When you're talking about states like Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana -- it's mainly going to be a late afternoon and into the evening time line for this main threat.

Further off to the north similar time line for states like Iowa and even portions of Wisconsin and Minnesota. But we thought (ph) this is multi-day event.

Here's a look at the forecast threat zone for Saturday. Sunday we start to talk more like the Great Lakes region and then Monday a separate storm actually comes into play for the same area we're talking about today -- Texas, Oklahoma, portions of Kansas.

And unfortunately, Fred -- that storm is expected to be even stronger than the storm we're talking about today.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're all bracing. Allison Chinchar -- thank you so much. Keep us posted.

[11:29:50] All right. Still ahead, an independent report finds Ohio State University had knowledge that a university doctor preyed on 177 male athletes in his 20 years at that school. Details on what the investigation revealed straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An independent report finds Ohio State University had knowledge that a late doctor sexually abused students dating as far back as the late 70s. Dr. Richard Strauss, who committed suicide in 2005 is believed to have sexually abused at least 177 male students while he worked at Ohio State University.

The report also found that Ohio State personnel were aware of the complaints as early as 1979 but failed to adequately investigate the allegations.

CNN correspondent Polo Sandoval joining me now. So what else did this investigation find?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred -- we went through the whole report. It's disturbing but it also gives credence to these allegations that were brought forward by these former Ohio State University for decades. That they were sexually abused by one of their doctors at the school and that the school did nothing to prevent it from happening initially. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A message of deep regret and apologies coming from Ohio State University President Michael Drake. He said the independent report commissioned by OSU contained findings that were both shocking and painful to comprehend. The redacted document shows the school failed to investigate or act after being told Dr. Richard Strauss sexually abused male student athletes.

[11:35:02] The findings detail acts of sexual abuse believed to have been carried out against at least 177 students while Strauss worked at the school between 1978 and 1998.

BRIAN GARRETT, FORMER OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I could not get the image of the predator's face out of my head, him standing over me while he sexually assaulted me in that clinic.

SANDOVAL: Strauss was allowed to retire from the university in 1998, two years after sex allegations led to his firing from a student clinic and the university's athletic department.

He was never prosecuted and took his own life in 2005. His death left behind dozens of survivors encouraged to speak out in light of the recent investigation. In November some pleaded with university officials to institute change.

MIKE SCHYCK (PH), FORMER OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: The question isn't did this or did this not occur. It is irrefutable with hundreds of lives negatively affected. The real question becomes what would it say about OSU if it turned a blind eye again.

SANDOVAL: Another accuser, Michael DiSabato, reacted to the new findings, saying in part "Now the truth is being told. I feel vindicated, but I have mixed feelings. Although a weight has been lifted off my back, I am deeply saddened to hear the stories of so many others who suffered similar abuse by Dr. Strauss while Ohio State turned a blind eye."

The report found Strauss' behavior was an open secret to more than 50 staff members in Ohio State's athletic department. Not appearing in this redacted reporter, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan -- a former OSU assistant wrestling coach. Several victims have come forward with claims that he stayed silent about Strauss.

On Friday, Congressman Jordan's spokesperson wrote "Investigators concluded what we have said from the beginning -- Congressman Jordan never knew of any abuse." The report says investigators "could not conclusively determine each and every allegation made about a particular coach's knowledge."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: There are at least three groups of plaintiffs currently suing Ohio State University. The university saying that it is going through the mediation process. It's also working with the survivors in this case. Also Fred -- interestingly enough the university pushing for a full release of the report. You just saw it. Some of those pages have actual redacted portions because of a court order. The university itself wants a full report to actually be released to the public eventually.

WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval -- thank you so much.

The mother of that four-year-old girl missing for more than a week now still clings to hope that her daughter is alive.

Maleah Davis was last seen May 3rd. Her mother Brittany Bowens (ph) says she left her with her ex-fiance so that she could travel to her father's funeral. The fiance Derion Vence (ph) told police three men beat him up and then stole his car taking Maleah. The girl's mother says she never really believed that story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRITTANY BOWENS, MOTHER OF MALEAH DAVID: When I realized that he had been avoiding me are all the signs of a person that's guilty. He didn't want to communicate. His family wouldn't let me communicate.

I just couldn't understand. If you didn't do anything, why aren't you out here with me? Why aren't you out here? I didn't understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And despite days of searching in Texas Maleah still has not been located. Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward.

Coming up -- a Trump immigration roll back was deemed illegal, but correcting that has been slow, and that means a gravely ill mother may never see her son. Her story next.

[11:38:48] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A Washington, D.C. mother who is dealing with a slew of health issues has one last wish, to see her son just one more time. Margarita Cruz (ph) has an aggressive brain tumor and doctors say she could become blind or lose her life. But the Trump administration's policy on immigration, specifically a roll back of Obama era programs, is making her wish seem more like an impossible dream.

CNN's Rosa Flores shares the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All Margarita Cruz wants is to see her son one last time. But the Trump Administration's hard lined immigration policies have kept her from doing so. She lives in the D.C. area with her husband and three of her children. Her oldest is thousands of miles away.

MARGARITA CRUZ, IMMIGRANT MOTHER (graphics): I'm here waiting for you. FLORES: When she migrated to the U.S. from El Salvador 17 years ago, she left her son, Edwin, with her parents. Edwin was about to turn two.

FLORES: How did you say good-bye?

CRUZ: It was very hard for me.

FLORES: It pains her to say it, but she didn't say good-bye. The Cruzes obtained temporary legal status through a program called TPS, which allows them to be in the U.S. But if they leave the country, re-entry is not guaranteed.

Cruz talks to her son Edwin by video chat regularly but she feels her family is not complete. Many parents have paid a (INAUDIBLE) to smuggle their children into the United States. Did you ever think about doing that?

CRUZ: Yes. We thought about it.

FLORES: While the Cruzes said they contemplated the idea, they were determined to bring Edwin to the U.S. the legal way.

Starting in 2016, the Cruzes and thousands of other families took advantage of an Obama-era immigration program that required them to file paperwork to submit to medical and other tests, pay fees and the child had to wait in his or her native country.

Within a year, the Cruzes received notice saying their son had been approved to travel to reunite with them.

[11:45:02] CRUZ: Very happy.

FLORES: Her joy was short lived.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I Donald John Trump --

FLORES: Shortly after President Donald Trump took office, he shut down the program and parents say they were not notified.

What was it like for you to learn that you weren't going to see your son in person?

CRUZ: My world came crashing down.

FLORES: Cruz's world came crashing down. Advocacy organizations like CASA filed a lawsuit on behalf of 2,700 families who, like the Cruzes, had children already approved to travel to the U.S.

A judge ruled in their favor, saying the mass cancellation of the program was unlawful and ordered the government to continue processing the applications. The government settled with the migrant families and the reunification details are being ironed out.

GEORGE ESCOBAR, CASA: At the earliest date that the government has conceded to is late October of 2019. FLORES: For Cruz who is battling an aggressive brain tumor --

CRUZ: I've been told that I could go blind.

FLORES: -- and has been told she could go blind or worse, lose her life.

CRUZ: I'm not going to see my son ever again.

FLORES: Her final wish seems ever so far away.

Rosa Flores, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And coming up, an incredible woman making a real difference in the lives of teens escaping gun violence in Chicago. Meet Diane Latiker, one of CNN's "Champions for Change" next.

[11:46:42] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a story you have heard way too many times, a young person's life cut short because of gun violence on the streets of Chicago.

So far this year there had been 160 people killed in the city. The majority of those deaths are the result of gun violence and a majority of the victims are young, black and male.

That is exactly who Diane Latiker is trying to save in our "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" series. Our Kate Bolduan went to see just how big of an impact Diane is having.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When I first met Diane, the Supreme Court was about to hear a case, a landmark case having to do with Chicago's handgun ban.

DIANE LATIKER, FOUNDER, KIDS OFF THE BLOCK: If you would stay here two days, you realize our young people are looking backwards at every car because of drive-bys.

BOLDUAN: When Diane Latiker opened up her own home to start the nonprofit Kids Off the Block, she was fighting to stem the tide of gang activity in her neighborhood.

And I came here to Chicago to talk to some of the people who are most affected by gun violence. I mean I know how much my life has changed in the almost 10 years since we last met. I'm interested to see what's changed for Diane.

There she is.

How are you? I mean, you haven't aged a day.

LATIKER: So good to see you.

BOLDUAN: So good to see you.

LATIKER: I'm surprised that you're able to remember me.

BOLDUAN: Are you kidding? As I was saying, you leave a mark.

LATIKER: Want to go in?

BOLDUAN: I would love to.

Diane, Diane, Diane, Diane -- tell me again, why did you first open your doors?

LATIKER: I realized that they were failing in school and needed help. The gangs were trying to recruit the boys and stuff. And I'm like, me, what am I supposed to do? You know.

BOLDUAN: What did you do?

LATIKER: What do I do? But I sold the TV and bought some computers and started helping with homework. It's about a program like tutoring and mentoring, conventional stuff, but it's not about a program. I want to know each kid.

BOLDUAN: Have there been moments when you thought, that's it. I can't.

LATIKER: Every day, every day, I will wake up, I quit. I'm not doing this. And then somebody would call me, a kid or a young person walked in the door. And said if this door wasn't open, I would be dead or in jail.

BOLDUAN: Since 2003, thousands of kids have walked through this front door. Including Trey Orr (ph) --

LATIKER: Hey, Trey.

BOLDUAN: -- who has been getting the very same hug for almost that long.

What has she meant to you?

TREVIANCE ORR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER: A mother figure, definitely. Heart of gold, man.

BOLDUAN: What are you doing these days?

ORR: I graphic design.

BOLDUAN: Went to college?

ORR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Got a job?

ORR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: You can see the pride on Diane's face, but that disappears quickly when we drive through the neighborhood.

LATIKER: This is where four shootings happened in four days last week. And I knew the young people -- who did it and the young people who were shot.

BOLDUAN: Oh, my God.

LATIKER: Friday, one of the -- there's Tyrese. His brother was just killed. He was in my program.

BOLDUAN: I can see how another kid that age could so easily think, I have no future.

LATIKER: That's what they think. No hope. Can you blame them?

BOLDUAN: Returning to the memorial Diane started, it does feel impossible to blame them. Each brick represents a young life lost to gun violence.

How many are in there now?

LATIKER: 201.

BOLDUAN: So there are 201 when I came.

(CROSSTALK)

LATIKER: Almost 800 now.

BOLDUAN: How many are in there now, 800?

LATIKER: Seven something.

BOLDUAN: I never imagined it would be this big. I know that's naive to think.

LATIKER: I didn't either.

BOLDUAN: That makes me sad. Sorry.

Diane isn't alone in her fight to save this community.

DOMINIQUE DAILY, VOLUNTEER, KIDS OF THE BLOCK: I'm from Roseland. I happened to get my bachelor's degree. I had went on to get my master's degree. And I am working right inside the community that I'm coming from.

BOLDUAN: What is Diane's influence been on your life, you think?

DAILY: She has impacted my life tremendously. She has been a person to go to, a mentor. The most supportive person you could ever be around and be with.

BOLDUAN: You're in a doctoral program right now.

TASIA BRYSON, VOLUNTEER, KIDS OFF THE BLOCK: Yes.

BOLDUAN: How long have you been volunteering with Diane with Kids Off the Block?

BRYSON: It will be nine years in September.

DAILY: Eleven years. I started in 2008.

BOLDUAN: What are you teaching them?

[11:54:57] BRYSON: Making up songs about long division, doing crazy dances. Anything to get them involved, relating science to everything.

BOLDUAN: And soon, they'll have a lot more room to help a lot more kids.

LATIKER: First, it was a liquor store and then it was a restaurant. This is going to be the computer lab.

BOLDUAN: Diane is now turning this empty building next door to her home into a technology and entrepreneurial center.

LATIKER: I'm hoping it's open by -- when school starts in September.

BOLDUAN: This -- this is the future.

LATIKER: This is the future.

BOLDUAN: What does the future look like?

LATIKER: The future looks like young people thriving, getting new skills and coming back with success stories. Oh, my God, I could see the possibilities in here.

BOLDUAN: Got it all figured out. Now we have to swing some hammers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Diane -- an amazing inspiration. Our thanks to Kate Bolduan for bringing that reporting to us.

Tune in tonight to see more inspiring stories just like that. Watch CNN's hour-long special called "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE". That's tonight 8:00 Eastern time.

Still ahead, Joe Biden holds his campaign kick off rally in just about an hour from now. He is already in the lead. He's got a big lead over his Democratic rivals. Can he keep that momentum going?

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