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Top Mexican Officials to Meet with U.S. over Tariffs; U.S. Iran Tensions; Investigating Why Gunman Killed Longtime Colleagues; 25-year Anniversary of "Runaway Train" Music Video; Relevance of "The Handmaid's Tale" in the U.S.; The Rules of Royal Engagement; Trump To Arrive In Britain Soon For Three Day Visit; Sudan Security Forces Attempt To Break-up Sit In Protest; Boeing: Some 737 Planes May Have Defective Parts; Aerial Search Resumes For Himalaya Hikers; Trump To Arrive In Britain Soon For Three-Day Visit. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 03, 2019 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:00] CYRIL VANIER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Rolling out the red carpet, Donald Trump lands in the U.K. in a few hours for a state visit. On the agenda today, a state banquet with the Queen. More trouble for Boeing, the planemaker says some of its 737 aircraft may have defective parts.

Listening to this song might save a child. 25 years after Soul Asylum's Runaway Train helped bring home missing children, the band's frontman gives us his take on the remake. We're live from the CNN center here in Atlanta. I'm Cyril Vanier. It is great to have you with us.

It's in just a few hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in the U.K. for a state visit. Before leaving, President Trump once again ignored diplomatic norms and weighed in on British politics in a series of newspaper interviews. He advocated Britain take a tougher stand on Brexit and praised some of Mrs. May's possible successors.

He called -- he called former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson an excellent contender for Prime Minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well I may meet with him. He's been a friend of mine. He's been very nice. I have a very good relationship with him. I have a very good relationship with Nigel Farage, with many people over there and we'll see what happens, but I may meet with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Mr. Trump's first day in London is packed with ceremonial events, a private lunch with the Queen, then tea with Prince Charles and finally a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. That's all in a day. Then on Tuesday, President Trump will meet with Mrs. May and business leaders. As with his last visit though. not everyone will welcome him with open

arms. Large protests are expected and London's current mayor a frequent critic it must be said, call the president one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR, LONDON: I don't think we should be rolling out the red carpet. I don't think this should be a state visit. And why do I say that? I think a close ally is akin to a best friend. And the thing about a best friend is, of course, you stand shoulder to shoulder with them at times of adversity, but you got to call them out where you think they're wrong.

And there are so many things but President Donald Trump's policies that the antithesis of a values in London plus our values as a country.

VANIER: CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is at Buckingham Palace in London. Nick, Prime Minister May worked very hard to make this state visit happen. Tell us about the significance of an official state visit.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Sure. What Theresa May was the first foreign leader to go and congratulate President Trump just after his inauguration a couple of years ago, and she immediately there on that first visit made the offer of a state visit. It was important to her then because Britain was negotiating its way out of the European Union.

She wanted to have a good strong trading partner in the future to sort of make up any economic shortfall that might come from being out of the European Union, and that's remained a top issue. It didn't stop President Trump when he visited here last summer making some of the similar comments so that it that is made this time that he thought Boris Johnson will make a good Prime Minister, that Theresa may had not negotiated properly or as well as she could have done with the European Union.

In fact he said he had advised her to take a tougher line and is advising her to do that again or her replacement to do that again right now. When he did arrive and after making those comments, he did make it up with Theresa May, so when they have that visit together Tuesday Theresa May can expect some perhaps warmer words from him again if the last summer's visits to be replicated.

But it is, of course, the importance of a strong relationship between the two countries and the opportunity to do better and stronger business with the United States in the future once Britain leaves the European Union of which President Trump is a very big and strong proponent, Cyril.

VANIER: Yes. In fact, Trump had a lot to say about British politics before he came. How is that perceived?

ROBERTSON: It's perceived as meddling, it's perceived as interfering, although his ambassador here in a talk show Sunday morning said that President Trump wasn't trying to influence the outcome of the Conservative Party's beginning of picking a new replacement for Theresa May, that that wasn't his intention. But I think is widely read here as you know, President Trump feels that he's got things in common with Boris Johnson, that they have a good relationship.

Boris Johnson has always been complimentary and in many occasions when Boris Johnson was foreign secretary, he was sort of explain the British public in some ways newspaper articles about what he thought President Trump was doing and the reasons behind some of his decision- making. So there is a friendship there and that certainly is something that people here understand.

Whether or not Boris Johnson who is a front-runner right now becomes Theresa May's replacement is unclear. President Trump you know, indicated that he was supportive of some of the other candidates. He generally seems to be supportive of those who are supportive of him on top.

Of that list, it's Nigel Farage who's not in the running to be the next prime minister. He is of course leader of the Brexit party that did well in the European elections, and President Trump has said that he thinks Nigel Farage should be part of Britain's negotiating team of the European Union.

That looks like a very outside bet at the moment but it is a disruptive influence if you will into British politics at this time.

[01:05:59] VANIER: Nic Robertson reporting live from London. Nic, thank you very much. And let's bring in CNN European Affairs Commentator Dominic Thomas. Dominic, last hour you were telling us how the U.S. president brings his worldview to Britain. Explain that.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, I think that when you look at the ways in which you know, President Trump sees the U.K. and understands the U.K., of course he's got his advisers around him, but his interlocutors are precisely people like Nigel Farage who's a Fox News commentator and a former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, who subsequently was resurrected by this single issue that has defined his political career which has Brexit and now heads the Brexit party.

One of his interlocutors is also Boris Johnson. And both the Sunday Times and the Sun Newspaper that recently interviewed President Trump are owned by Rupert Murdoch, the same person who owns Fox News. So in many ways, his understanding of the whole Brexit situation and the whole Brexit argument is mediated through these particular outlets and it is extremely skewed and manipulative in terms of the ways in which this argument is represented.

VANIER: How much politics is actually going to get done during this visit because after all, Theresa May at this stage is little more than a caretaker Prime Minister.

THOMAS: Yes. I mean, it has brought an extraordinary situation because of course, every U.S. president visits the United Kingdom. It is a privileged and historic partner. But not every U.S. president gets to go there on an official state visit. President Obama did and George W. Bush did. And the fact that he's arriving in this particular moment where the only reason really Theresa May is still standing is to get through this particular trip and visit.

And she will be stepping down at the end of the week, at a moment of tremendous political uncertainty in the United Kingdom, and at a time when it is the Conservative Party that are picking a new leader and therefore a new prime minister because they currently control the political landscape, and at a time when the British population is not being asked to weigh in on this particular issue. So it's a very difficult moment.

VANIER: There's also an important historical aspect to this visit that we shouldn't forget which you know, which are the D-day commemorations taking place actually in multiple countries.

THOMAS: That is absolutely correct. And it was from Portsmouth in at this time all the way back in 1944, 75 years ago, that the move to a D-day in Normandy and was triggered by the Supreme Allied leader Eisenhower. So it reinforces this incredible Atlantic relationship between the United States and United Kingdom, a relationship that will outlast the Trump presidency and the present Brexit saga that is still unfolding in the United Kingdom.

And it's also, of course, all the more relevant because here we are 75 years out from that event and it is likely to be the last major international commemoration of this event at which some of these wartime heroes were present. Of course, heroes that liberated Europe in the face of some of these disquieting and political events that of course are in many ways shaping conversations in Europe today. So an important historic event, Cyril.

VANIER: And we've seen this before where European leaders use history, historical landmark historical dates or commemorations to try and pull Mr. Trump a little closer to them and try and remind him how much in common the U.S. and these European countries have, and it hasn't really worked so far.

THOMAS: No it hasn't. And in fact, it's been used as a band-aid to cover up the embarrassing you know, aspects of it. And many of these leaders have come under tremendous criticism for the ways in which they have tried to reach out to this important ally. Emmanuel Macron of course, being the most obvious example of that.

And it seems that President Trump has increasingly and as his presidency has progressed focus less on those particular relationships and turned instead to other leaders such as the new Indian president, the Brazilian president, and also turned away from U.S. politics at this difficult moment towards focusing on international crises whether it's China, Iran and so on.

And so he's not always been very respectful in those historical lessons, have been lost on President Trump, unfortunately.

[01:10:29] VANIER: All right, Dominic Thomas speaking to us from Los Angeles today. Dominic, thank you very much. India is racing to find a team of climbers missing in the Himalayas. We'll have the very latest on the search live from New Delhi when we come back.

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(WORLD SPORTS)

VANIER: We are tracking breaking news out of Sudan. Security forces there have reportedly launched a violent crackdown trying to break up a sit-in outside the defense ministry in Khartoum. The opposition Sudanese Professionals Association says live bullets and excessive force were used. This video appears to show chaos, people running in the streets amid gunshots. We'll bring you more on this story soon as we get more details.

[01:15:00] Boeing is facing yet another problem as it tries to get its grounded 737 Max fleet back in the air. The company says some of its 737s, including many of the Max planes, may have faulty parts on their wings that could fail prematurely or crack.

All right, here's the part, it is known as a leading-edge slat track. U.S. aviation officials say that the plane could be damaged in flight if it failed. Airlines have been ordered to inspect and repair it within 10 days. The 737 Max was grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes in less than five months. Let's bring in CNN Business Anchor, Richard Quest. Richard, how dangerous is this?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: I think you have to put this into due prospective. Airlines and aircrafts are exceptionally complicated pieces of business. And the manufacturers are perpetually putting out air-worthy directives, fix this, change that, we've discovered this isn't right, look at the other.

Now, this issue with the slat is serious, but it has nothing, let me repeat, it has nothing to do with the issue that we're talking about with the 737 Max. It's nothing to do with MCAS. It's nothing to do with certification. It's nothing to do with the relationships.

What Boeing has discovered is a fault in the manufacturing and whilst it is unpleasant, whilst it is undesirable, it is not uncommon. This happen all the time. It is pure circumstance that it is now related to the 737 NGs, the next generations, and the like.

I think there's a real danger here, that the hysteria, the legitimate concerns over the 737 Max, this becomes disproportionately hysterical because of the 737 involvement.

VANIER: Well, Richard, I'm glad you clarified that, and I'm glad you made that point, because I think, many viewers, and it was also my case, when I saw this piece of latest news concerning Boeing, will wonder if there's a connection. And that's where -- that's the first place your mind goes, right? Is there a connection? But you made a point that it's not.

QUEST: None. VANIER: And Boeing can't stay out of the headlines lately for all the wrong reasons.

QUEST: That is the more important point. The issue here, is not this slat track business with the 737s, many of these planes are much older. The issue here is now one of trust, as it relates to Boeing. It's trust into what they've told the regulators. It's trust to what the regulators are going to do with that information.

Who -- it's a classic case of who knew what, where, when and why, and how long have they known about this? Now, that, that, can be directly linked to the 737 Max, in the old days, you know, I'm not talking about a few months ago, or a few weeks ago, you would get this report, and you would think, well, this is this, we know all the details.

Now, because of Max, because of the way we are dribbling out and getting information on the safety of the aircraft of the 737 Max, people are legitimately, and entitled to say, Boeing, have you told us all we need to know about this slats track issue? Is there more to come out? Do we know -- in short, I can sum it up in a sentence, can we trust you, Boeing, for what you have told us about this issue?

VANIER: I wonder, Richard, have you managed to get a sense of how airlines, and airline bosses are reacting to the spate of negative news about Boeing aircraft, because after all, they're the ones flying the aircraft?

QUEST: Yes. But you have to put this into the context of the airlines who have decades-worth of relationships with both Boeing and Airbus, and will continue to have decades-worth of relationships. It's not like, you, going out to buy a car, that you suddenly don't like, or you suddenly don't think is right.

And you decide you no longer want Ford, you're going to go to Chrysler. And you -- maybe Chrysler's not right for you, so you'll go to G.M.

There are only two major manufacturers of large, wide-bodied and narrow-bodied planes, and that is Boeing and Airbus. And between the two of them, you're going to have to have a relationship between them, so the airlines that I have been talking to here, recognize that.

It's far more sophisticated than just simply saying, we do not trust Boeing. It's a case of well, Boeing has always been good to us. What do we now need to do? What do I need to understand, about the regulatory process? The big issue here, at the moment, talking to the airlines.

Frankly, the big issue is what happens if the United States FAA, certifies the plane a safe to fly, but the Europeans, EASA or the CAC from China, say it's not, they want more tests. Can we have a situation, where the 737 flies in some jurisdictions and not in others?

[01:20:10] Frankly, if we do end up with that situation, the industry has got nobody to blame but itself, but that's the big issue at the moment, that is what people are talking about, to make sure the regulators speak with one voice.

VANIER: Yes. And, you know, Richard, what you're saying reminds me of a quote by the top officials at the FAA, a few months ago, when they were summoned to the Congress here, in the U.S., after the Boeing crashes, where they said, clearly, global confidence in the FAA, as the gold standard of aviation has been shaken, Richard, thank you very much for your invaluable perspective on all of this.

QUEST: It's not just -- hang on -- hang on.

VANIER: Yes.

QUEST: Global confidence in the FAA, as the global standard, the gold standard is more than shaken, it's tarnished, and it's going to take a lot. First of all, they didn't ground when others have. Secondly, the relationship between the two has caused some serious questions.

And third, this continuing drip, drip, drip of information, which has led to a completely lack of trust, so yes, I would say, if anything, the FAA has far more problems to worry about than Boeing.

VANIER: All right, Richard, great to speak to you today. Thank you so much for your insights. Appreciate it.

Indian Air Force helicopters are back in the air, at this hour, searching for eight climbers, missing on a Himalayan peak. The climbers were part of a 12-person expedition on Nanda Devi East, one of India's highest mountains.

Authorities say they are still hopeful that they can find them alive. The missing, include four Britains, two Americans, an Australian, and an Indian. They were reported missing after only four of their group made it back to base camp, more than a week ago.

Those 14 members were taken off the mountain. Officials say they've been given medical exams to make sure they are healthy. The helicopters didn't find any signs of the climbers during an initial search on Sunday, but officials say they did spot something disturbing. CNN's Nikhil Kumar is live for us in New Delhi. Nikhil?

NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Cyril, that's right. They spotted signs of avalanches in the areas. So, we've been hearing for a few days now, people have been speculating as to what might have led to these climbers going missing.

An official this morning confirmed that the helicopters that went up yesterday, two helicopters went up from the Indian Air Force from a station nearby, and they run multiple missions, doing aerials of it, trying to spot the climbers, but they spotted -- they did not spot the climbers, but they spotted signs of an avalanche.

They're gone back in, again, this morning, they are in the air, as I speak, trying to, again, find out where these climbers are. And they're doing these so that they can direct the ground team that are already at the base camp, to go around the mountain and go after wherever they spot the -- they spot the climbers. Three ground teams reached the base camp. On Saturday, a fourth one was heading up with additional supplies, to join those other three teams, but they're all waiting for directions from these aerial surveys. The officials this morning have told us that if the initial surveys aren't successful, they are going to try and go back up again later today.

Yesterday, of course, they were only able to go up in the morning. They couldn't go up later in the afternoon, and that was because of bad weather in the area. It was very windy, it was very rainy, and so they had to cancel the mission last night.

So, today, everyone has their fingers crossed that hopefully, these choppers will be able to spot something this morning, and that if not, that the weather will allow them to go back up later in the day. Cyril?

VANIER: All right. Nikhil Kumar with all the latest on the search for the party there, thank you very much, Nikhil Kumar, live from New Delhi.

Weather conditions have been hampering those search efforts, so Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us with more on that, Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Cyril. Yes, you know, the window is very narrow. We've talked about this before, across this region, weather certainly does not stay very good for very long, and anytime you work your way above 7, above 8,000 meters, really, humans are not meant to, really, walk around, let alone try to climb at those altitudes.

And you take a look, we know May, the peak season for climbing, but, of course, we work our way until the month of June. You think to yourself, that's just a couple of days, it doesn't really do much when it comes to changing the weather pattern. Well, not so, the case.

Poor weather dramatically moves in across this region because the monsoon begins their onset across the state of (INAUDIBLE) well to the south and you'll see moisture come in. And, again, at these altitudes, when you bring in moisture from the south within a couple of weeks here, we're talking about significant bouts of not wind, but also heavy snow at such altitudes.

So, the perspective across this region, from the Himalayas, you take it up, say K2, into Nanda Devi East, where the current search is being taken place. And then work your way further towards Everest, and you see the area here where the Himalayans are located.

But, again, the death zone at these altitudes above 8,000 meters, I'm talking about just 30 percent oxygen of what is found at sea level. So, the dangerous situations continue. You take a look at the forecast across the area.

Every single afternoon, you'll begin to see the moisture onset across the area of some heavy snowfall, so the trend has begun to shift here when it comes to see an inclement weather. [01:25:04] In the next 24 hours, we have some dry weather, at least, going into Tuesday, beyond that, it's doesn't look very good at these altitudes, taps well below zero Celsius and, of course, heavy snowfall, into the forecast from Wednesday, Thursday and beyond that, as well.

But, take you back towards the United States because a big weather story across this region, as well, to tell you about. And we're talking about 50 centimeters of rainfall in a matter of a few weeks across portions of the Midwestern United States. A very persistent wet pattern here has been in place.

The severe weather has been a big story, 500 reports of tornadoes, in a 30-day span, which only four other times in history, have been observed. But really, the rain now, becoming the biggest story here, Cyril, and when you take a look at it, we're talking nearly 300 gauges that are reporting significant flooding.

And this is a wide-reaching area, from the northern to your -- all the way towards the Gulf Coast states, so, a big story for us friends across the U.S. Cyril?

VANIER: Pedram Javaheri joining us from the CNN Weather Center. Thank you.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

VANIER: And a not so vicious war of words is happening between the U.S. and its southern neighbor. U.S. President Donald Trump calls Mexico, an abuser, but we'll show you the way Mexico's president is responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:29:41] CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Cyril Vanier.

Let's look at your top stories this hour.

U.S. President Donald Trump is on his way to the United Kingdom for a three-day state visit. Before he left, he broke with protocol by weighing on British politics. Mr. Trump suggested outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May should refuse to pay the divorce payment to the E.U. and he said Boris Johnson would be an excellent successor to Mrs. May.

Security forces in Sudan have reportedly launched a violent crackdown trying to break up a sit-in outside the Defense Ministry in the capital Khartoum. This video appears to show chaos, people running on the streets amid gunshots. The opposition Sudanese Professionals Association says soldiers are using excessive force including live bullets.

The White House is losing its chief economist. President Trump says Kevin Hassett will be stepping down as chair of Council Economic Advisers. Hassett tells CNN he was not asked to leave, and that it's good for the council to bring in fresh people and fresh ideas. A flurry of meetings between the U.S. and Mexico is set to begin in

the coming hours to try to head off punishing trade tariffs. Mexico's secretaries of the Economy and Foreign Affairs will meet with their U.S. counterparts this week. This comes days before the White House plans to slap levies on all Mexican imports. President Trump says the tariffs are meant to jolt Mexico into doing something and to doing more about illegal immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have to stop the illegal flow, the flow of drugs, of immigrants, illegal immigrants. People that have not gone through the process. We have people, we want people to come into our country, but they have to come in legally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Despite the tough talk from Mr. Trump, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is taking a more diplomatic tone. He wrote in a tweet, "Let's promise that nothing and no one will set separate our beautiful and sacred friendship."

Mr. Trump's acting chief of staff said he doesn't think the tariffs will cause hardship to U.S. consumers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, WHITE HOUSE ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF: He's absolutely deadly serious. I fully expect these tariffs to go on to at least the 5 percent level on June 10th. The President is deadly serious about fixing the situation at the southern border. That's the economic orthodoxy that when tariffs go up, consumer prices go up.

But the proof is in the pudding. There is no inflation. Prices have not gone up. We put tariffs on China. We're putting tariffs on Mexico. And inflation is still under control.

That's because that old-fashioned economic orthodoxy doesn't not work, when it's relatively easy to substitute other goods.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: But America's largest pro business group the U.S. Chamber of Commerce disputes. Writing in a statement, "Imposing tariffs on goods from Mexico is exactly the wrong move. These tariffs will be paid by American families and businesses without doing a thing to solve a very real problems at the border."

Iran foreign ministry is accusing the U.S. of playing with words, and says it must change its approach before Iran will consider a meeting. On Sunday the top U.S. diplomat offered once again to hold talks. But he seemed to contradict himself about whether there would be preconditions.

Here was Mike Pompeo in Switzerland. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are certainly prepared to have that conversation when the Iranians conclude that they want to behave like a normal nation.

We are prepared to engage in conversation with no preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them. But the American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic Republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Pompeo also said the U.S. was watching to see if Iran complied with the Iran nuclear deal. The U.S. has withdrawn from that deal.

Days after 12 people were killed in a workplace shooting in the U.S. state of Virginia, the gunmen's colleagues remain in shock. Many of them say that the shooter was not somebody that they expect to be violent. Remember him as a nice person, before the rampage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH SCOTT, CO-WORKER: DeWayne was a very nice person, he was quiet, he was non assuming. He was pleasant to be around. When I last saw him, which was just before this incident happened, he wished me to have a good weekend.

The whole department up there is very close, we have a lot of celebrations together. We all celebrate victories for each other. There was absolutely no sign.

Even when I talked to him just before it happened, there was no sign that this was would happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: The gunman a 40-year-old city engineer, was killed in a shootout with police. Investigators are trying to find out all they can about him, and why he did this.

CNN's Miguel Marquez has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What may be most disturbing about the situation is that we do not understand yet what the motive was, or is. We know that he tendered his resignation by e-mail the morning that this horrific shooting took place. That the city manager saying that he was in good standing with his department. That there were no disciplinary actions pending against him.

[01:34:57] That there is no sign of this -- friends, colleagues, everyone that CNN has spoken to. Every account that I have seen from other reporters was that he was a quiet, unassuming nice guy. And now, a growing memorial. One of a couple around town that is just

growing bigger and bigger. People remain in the hospital, critically injured from this shooting. The police chief went into more detail about what happened when the detectives who heard about this went in to confront him.

JAMES CERVERA, VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE CHIEF: The suspect was firing. He was moving. They were returning fire, and at one point the suspect was firing through the door and through the while at the officers. And then the firing stopped.

They eventually breached the door, and when they breached the door, the suspect was then alive and was taken into custody, and the first aid was immediately rendered to him.

MARQUEZ: This memorial has been growing now for some time, and there are now 12 crosses, their names of each of the victims, their pictures, and people are signing the crosses, people coming here for a little bit of connection essentially, dropping off flowers, taking a knee, saying a prayer, and hoping that this community can get beyond this. Virginia Beach, Virginia, now on the grim list of U.S. cities, that have suffered this sort of violence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Miguel Marquez reporting from Virginia Beach.

A music video with a mission. One that resonates 25 years later. How a new version of a 90s hit is trying to save missing children. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

VANIER: This is the music video for Soul Asylum's hit "Runaway Train". It was a worldwide phenomenon in the 90s. It helped find missing children.

The band partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to show pictures of missing kids from all across the U.S. Also in some European countries.

[01:39:54] Every time a child in that video was found, the video was re-cut and re-released with new faces. The organization says 21 missing children were recovered because of the video. And now, 25 years after its release, there is a new version.

(MUSIC)

VANIER: That's the new some. It's online at RunawayTrain25.com. You can see it. And when you watch the video, the site detects where you are. It uses your location, and it pulls up photos of children missing in your area. That's why the children you're seeing there went missing in Atlanta, Georgia. Because we watched it from the CNN Center in Atlanta. The hope is that this new technology, at this song's emotional punch will help recover more kids than ever.

Dave Pirner -- the man behind the original song joins me now. Dave -- you are the lead singer and front man for Soul Asylum. Thank you so much for joining us. We're really happy to be able to have this conversation with you.

You are in Minneapolis, Minnesota right now. Tell me first, how you feel about the remarkable journey that this song that your work has had, and this effort to find missing children that now has a new incarnation 25 years on.

DAVE PIRNER, SOUL ASYLUM: Well, there's been so few times in music where like planets align. But somehow, it happened for this video. And we wanted to make an impact with the video, because there is so much of them. I don't know -- videos are just vacuous. They don't seem to have anything to offer.

So being that this is 25 years later, and the technology has now sort of caught up, we started talking about missing children on milk cartons, and that was sort of the state of the art.

So you know, they didn't have amber alerts, people did not even talk about the expression "child trafficking" and things like that. So, it is --

(CROSSTALKING)

PIRNER: -- you know, a tragic, tragic problem. And to still be, you know, involved and still be a part of it is amazing. Meeting early from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children was very eye- opening for me. I got very sort of emotionally involved. And I sat down with the director Tony Kaye (ph), and he started talking about milk cartons. A little bit of a spammer, but he is a visual genius, you know.

So he kind of got this idea rolling, of getting real kids and putting them in the video, and I said wow. That is -- that could work.

VANIER: Just a side note -- but your words, the song when you wrote, you didn't write it about missing children. You wrote it about depression if I'm not mistaken.

PIRNER: Yes. That's pretty much what it's is about.

VANIER: And, and eventually those words and that song got repurposed, for something totally different.

PIRNER: That is true. I mean, I think the sentiments is pretty intact, in the way that it is, I don't know, it's just a song, this feeling of certain amount of sadness, and people really connect to. There is nothing wrong with that.

It is just, it's not a song about dancing. And it's not a song about having sex. You know, it is a different kind of emotion. VANIER: Some of the kids -- children in the video, in your video had

been missing for months, some for years. And look, you had tremendous success at actually finding children. The Website for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says that that video, helped find 21 missing children.

And the hope obviously, is that the new version, the one that is just been done will be able to have the same success in terms of finding missing children. I want to play another bit of it for you.

(MUSIC)

VANIER: So two things here, and the most important one is how technology actually changes the search for missing children. The thing is, depending on where you watch this video on the Internet, it is going to feed faces of missing children in your areas.

[01:44:59] So we obviously looked at this from the CNN Center -- we're here in Atlanta, Georgia. And it is bringing up faces of children that are missing in Atlanta, Georgia.

And frankly, it changes the whole dynamic of watching this. Because these are faces of children who went missing a month ago or three weeks ago in your area. It just makes the whole thing a lot more urgent.

PIRNER: Very close to home. No pun intended, but the technology should work as far as I'm concerned. Because people, you know, I got involved with personal stories of colleagues lost, and of course Jacob Wireling (ph) who recently discovered. I mean he's not alive but he was missing forever. And he's a Minnesota kid. And like I'm getting emotional just talking about it.

But yes. This is going to work. I feel really positive about this idea, and you know I'm still getting used to the way that remake of the song sounds. But you know, it is pretty cool.

I mean, God -- if I am just a little, tiny, tiny part of recovering a child, it's wow. I mean just imagine, the day you see your kid again.

I guess what I was trying to say is, I did not have a kid when I wrote the song. So, you know, watching my child since the song was written grow up, you are super over protective of that child. And you worry about predators, and crazy people all over the place it means (INAUDIBLE)--

VANIER: Did you speak to the artist who made this cover?

PIRNER: I did not. I got it on my phone, and it caught off. I got admitted into it, like about, right where he got it off. I did not know how the rest of it was going to go, but it was very like, what is going on?

VANIER: Yes, actual music -- from a musical standpoint, how do you feel about the cover? PIRNER: When I finally heard the rest of the song I was like, oh I

get this. They just did a modern version of it. It pulls elements from hip hop, and he's clearly using these new artists, who I was not familiar with. I did look up the girl, what is her name?

VANIER: Skylar Grey.

PIRNER: Skylar Grey, yes. And I was like, wow she is cool. She has a cool tattoo. And so, I mean it is fun to hear other people's interpretation. I enjoyed it. It is really cool.

VANIER: Dave Pirner -- look, it was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for your work and the part that you have played in finding missing children, back then and again today. Thank you so much.

PIRNER: Thank you -- Cyril. Take it easy.

VANIER: We will be right back.

[01:48:14] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: Is art imitating life? A star and producer of the TV series, "The Handmaid's Tale" Stein tells CNN that they feel the U.S. is turning into the kind of dystopia that their show portrays.

The series depicts a near future in which a fascist regime called Gilead replaces the U.S. government. Under that regime women have virtually no rights.

Here is the show's executive producer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WARREN LITTLEFIELD, EXECUTIVE PROUDCER "THE HANDMAID'S TALE": We are in a very slippery slope to Gilead add right now. And I think that's what Anne and I are feeling that certainly what we feel when we do the show.

We went to Washington this year for the show. We shot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And, it was chilling, because as we were trying to do content that is about human rights and protecting women's rights over the Rose Garden, they were talking about eliminating them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: And they cite a series of controversial laws restricting abortion passed in recent weeks as an example of women's rights being stripped across the U.S.

And as U.S. President Trump flies to Great Britain for a state visit, we want to note that there are a number of rules to follow when meeting members of the royal family. And they can baffle commoners as well as heads of states.

Max Foster looks back at some awkward moments. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We met with the Queen, who is absolutely a terrific person.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is one last thing that I should mention that I love about Great Britain. And that is the Queen. And so I'm very much looking forward to --

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: It is my honor to offer toast to your majesty, head of the commonwealth and Queen of Canada.

ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND OTHER COMMONWEALTH REALMS: Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister of Canada, for making me feel so old.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meeting the Queen, a moment that's memorable for most. There's a clear royal etiquette to follow when you're introduced.

RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: A man would make a dignified short bow. A lady has the option of curtseying. If the Queen proffers her hand, you should take it, but you should not initiate contact.

FOSTER (voice-over): However, these rules often get lost in the moment. This woman, Alice Frazier, made headlines in 1991 when she hugged her majesty during a trip to Washington, D.C.

But politicians and celebrities are amongst the worst offenders. In 1992, Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating put his arm around the woman who is his head of state.

[01:55:00[ In 2007, Hollywood royalty, Mickey Rooney, kissed her hand. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands also went for a kiss. Whilst the Queen of fashion Vogue's Anna Wintour caused a stir when she didn't remove her glasses.

And then there are the U.S. presidents. Poor timing by President Obama led to this awkward musical miscue.

OBAMA: The vitality of the special relationship between our peoples and in the words of Shakespeare, to this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, to the Queen.

FOSTER: Michelle touching the sovereign. George W. even winked at her. And then this, who goes first? The world awaits the next U.S. state visit.

Max Foster, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: All right, that does it for us. Except for one thing -- one thing we want to add before we go. We want to say good bye to one of our audio designers John -- known to everyone here, as Bumpy. Bumpy we wish you the very best. He's retiring after more than 30 years and CNN. And take it from me he is absolute the person you want to hear in your ear piece when you walk on to the studio.

I'm Cyril Vanier, another hour of news up next. Stay with us.

[01:56:44] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END