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2020 Democrats Descend on Key Early State of Iowa; Trump Takes Back Tariff Threat Against Mexico after Deal Reached; Deplorable Conditions Found Inside 4 ICE Migrant Facilities; One Hour on the Border: U.S. Agents Pick Up Dozens of Migrants; Colorado Couple Says They Were Sick at Same Dominican Republican Resort Where 3 Americans Died; FBI Assisting with Toxicology Tests of 3 Americans Who Died at Dominican Republic Resort. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 08, 2019 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:23] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera, in New York.

Throw a rock anywhere in Iowa today and you have a good chance of hitting a Democratic presidential candidate. Nineteen of them are barn-storming the country's first caucus state this weekend.

The marquee event is tomorrow night in Cedar Rapids, the Iowa Democratic Party's Hall of Fame Dinner. And each candidate will get a chance to speak for a few minutes.

So this is tangible proof of Iowa's clout when it comes to picking the nominee because, recent history shows, as goes Iowa, so goes the Democratic Party. In the last four Democratic elections where there was no incumbent running, the Iowa caucus winner went on to become the nominee, Al Gore 2000, John Kerry 2004, Barack Obama 2008, and Hillary Clinton just three years ago. So that helps explain why 19 of the candidates are there this weekend.

Guess who is not there. Joe Biden.

Leyla Santiago joins us from Des Moines.

And, Leyla, it must be like herding cats trying to follow the action in Iowa this weekend. What stands out to you so far, and how are Iowans dealing with the barrage of candidates and cameras?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Listen, here, it's sort of this mix of PRIDE and politics, among those who are here for a very vibrant celebration for PRIDE Fest. When I'm talking to a lot of them, no surprise here, a very liberal crowd/ That tells us that they want someone who cares about the LBGTQ community's rights and cares about abortion rights.

And, right now, as we speak, the candidates are actually having a forum, where eight candidates have 10 minutes to make their pitch to try to get some support from these Iowa voters and really show the strength of their campaign. Listen, listen to what Mayor Pete Buttigieg told the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, (D), SOUTH BEND MAYOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The good news I have for you is that I don't even view us as having opponents so much as competitors. You would be surprised how often we are in dialogue with each other, different candidates. As these cattle calls pick up, we're going to get to know each other better and better. We might as well carpool, some of these.

(LAUGHTER)

I think you have 19 of us tomorrow. So what we need to make sure is that also our respected supporters are remembering that a day will come when we are all on the same page and we got to have that solidarity. And we can plant the seeds for it right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTIAGO: So what are we hearing them talk about? We heard former Congressman Beto O'Rourke talk about marriage equality. You just heard from Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Sort of an interesting moment we watched as Kirsten Gillibrand walked in and gave someone some sunscreen, and said, I will protect you as a mother and I will protect you if I'm president of the United States. So really, watching these candidates connect with this audience.

You mentioned Joe Biden is not here. According to his campaign, he had a family commitment that was scheduled quite a long time ago. How that plays out for him, we will have to wait and see.

But you know, worth mentioning that. tonight. we will get a better look at where these candidates stand, as "The Des Moines Register" and CNN poll comes out, looking specifically at Iowa, which you mentioned off the top, Ana, is such a prized state. And the timing is important, because we're just a few weeks ahead from the first debate.

CABRERA: And we are looking live right now at Bernie Sanders. Just giving our viewers a little flavor of what is happening there on the ground where we're hearing from Leyla today.

Leyla, we'll talk to you soon. Thank you for that update.

Now to the new deal between the United States and Mexico. And it means President Trump is putting away the threat of a trade war that he had been holding over Mexico's head for the past week.

The president is tweeting this today, "The economic tariffs on Mexico," he said, "would go into effect on Monday, are now off the table, and that Mexico is promising to take measures aimed at slowing or stopping illegal immigration across the border."

CNN senior diplomatic correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, is here with us now.

Michelle, what exactly is in the agreement?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Breaking this down a little bit, Mexico will send its National Guard troops, about 6,000 of them, to the border with Guatemala as well as throughout the country. That is a significant increase.

But let's see how much that changes the numbers at the U.S. border, which, as we know, has been more than 130,000 a month for a while. So some high numbers there.

Also, Mexico is going to do more to break up its very elaborate and established human trafficking network. This is a big act. And this is going to take some time. It is unclear that is going to affect the numbers right away but clearly that needed to be done.

[15:05:03] Also, Mexico is going to take in all of the people who make it to the U.S. border and seek asylum, and Mexico says it will take care of them. It will give them a work permit, education, and health care. And, you know, the U.S. is already doing that, on a somewhat smaller scale, so that is going to be an expansion of that.

In return, the U.S. also agreed to some stuff. It is going to speed up the asylum process. And it has agreed to contribute to development programs and assistance, to not just Central America, where Trump recently cut off funding, he's going to help southern Mexico, too. So the U.S. had to give up some things.

But I think the big piece missing is what the White House really wanted, was for Mexico to agree to be a safe country, which is a legal designation, so that everybody passing through on the way to the U.S. was going to have to apply for asylum there, instead. That was going to be the first stopover.

Mexico has pushed back against this for some time. And it did not cave in last night.

So that's a big piece missing. That would have significantly affected numbers at the border. But let's see if these things that were agreed to serve as, at the very least, a deterrent for the time being -- Ana?

CABRERA: Both sides are saying they gave and took.

KOSINSKI: Yes.

CABRERA: So they are both cheering on this deal, as a true negotiation.

Michelle Kosinski, I appreciate that reporting.

This deal struck after an all-day negotiating session Friday -- I think it was 11-plus hours, by our count -- it is designed to push back a wave of migrants crossing into the United States.

CNN's Gary Tuchman traveled to the southern the border and what he saw in the course of just 60 minutes is unforgettable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIOINAL CORRESPONDENT: What we witnessed and what you're about to see was chaotic, depressing, emotional and sad.

We spent part of the afternoon with agents from U.S. Border Patrol in the van with them as they patrolled the border near El Paso, Texas. And what we saw in a 60-minute span was them apprehend eight different family units, 25 people, most of them children.

Every five or 10 minutes, people were coming out of the Rio Grande.

The first person we saw was Juana. She was emaciated, 25 years old, with a six-year-old son and nine-month-old baby on her back. There were all thirsty and sick. She said she was very poor and had to come from Guatemala and had no money left and no means. She said she heard in her town that people had gotten to the United States as long as they brought children with them. But they got here safe. She was apprehended.

We also met Sandy, from Honduras. She didn't come with any children. She is about to have a child. She's eight and a half months pregnant. And she came from Honduras in three weeks, taking buses and trains and walking to get to the United States. She says that her husband and brother were killed by gang members. She was afraid it would happen to here, too, that she had to leave and had to come here.

And then we met a man who brought his two sons. And after he was apprehended by Border Patrol, he started crying.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TUCHMAN: He has tears of happiness, he said, that he made it with his sons. Very happy.

TUCHMAN: And we saw that for many of the people, crying out of a sense of relief, crying out of happiness when they arrived and they realized they were no longer on the journey.

Something very notable. The Rio Grande is what separates Texas from Mexico. The middle of the Rio Grande is the border. Here it is relatively dry and people are able to walk across it on rocks. When they walked across the river, they saw the huge 18-foot fence, which is about 1,000 feet to the north of the river. All of them said they had to figure out a way to get over the fence.

The Border Patrol said, no, you're already in the United States. You crossed the river. They were greatly relieved. So this fence does nothing to stop people from entering the land of the United States.

One thing I can tell you, is the Border Patrol agents we worked with are very professional. They're very considerate. They're ambassadors to this country and they do a great job being ambassadors to these people who have gone through an awful lot.

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in El Paso, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Joining us now, Jeffrey Davidow. He served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. He also once headed the State Department's efforts in Latin America.

Ambassador Davidow, thanks for joining us.

JEFFREY DAVIDOW, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO: Pleasure to be here, Ana.

CABRERA: You just saw or heard about the heartbreaking images that we brought to everybody in Gary's piece. In one hour, eight different families, 25 people, most of them children, coming across the Rio Grande, sick, hungry, desperate.

And now we have this new deal, part of which includes Mexico stepping up patrols at their southern border in exchange for the U.S. agreeing to speed up hearings for asylum claims. Is that going to prevent images like we just saw?

DAVIDOW: I'm sorry, what was the last thing you said? I couldn't hear you.

CABRERA: Do you think that will prevent the images we just saw?

DAVIDOW: Perhaps eventually, but not in the near term. This new agreement that was just signed yesterday has so many moving parts. It's going to take a long time before it really comes play.

[15:10:03] The United States is going to have to expand this program of stay in Mexico. We need more immigration judges, we need more Border Patrol, we need more finances.

And Mexico says it is going to send 6,000 new National Guardsmen to the border. The National Guard of Mexico is an organization that is just starting, only a couple of months old.

So all of these moving pieces are going to have to fit together. So I think we're going to see some of those images for the foreseeable future.

CABRERA: Here was the tweet from the president earlier this morning. He writes, "Mexico will try very hard. And if they do that, this will be a very successful agreement for both the United States and Mexico."

Do you think Mexico will be able to deliver on their end?

DAVIDOW: I think it is going to be complicated for Mexico. As I said, the administration in Mexico, the people who have to do this job, are not used to doing it. The country has a system where the public administration is fairly weak to begin.

So I think it is going to take a lot of effort on the part of Mexico, a lot of cooperation with the United States, and greater efforts on our part to get this done.

CABRERA: Who gave up more, Mexico or the U.S., in this agreement?

DAVIDOW: Hard to say. I would say probably Mexico. Mexico, I think, was under the gun, the president's threat on the tariffs, which was taken by Mexico as a real bullying action on his part, really put them in a difficult place.

But I think it is important to note that Mexico has been moving in this direction for the last couple of months. They had been stopping some people on the border. They had been giving more attention to this. So we will see what happens.

CABRERA: I want to show you some other images that came out this week, showing what the Homeland Security watchdog called "egregious conditions" at four different facilities housing migrants.

This was in 2018. They did the unannounced inspections. They found unsanitary bathrooms with mold, peeling paint, unusable toilets. There were food concerns with open packages of raw chicken leaking blood on refrigeration units. They found moldy bread. And they said they were concerned about nooses in detainee cells where they found braided bed sheets hanging from vents.

That's how people coming into America are being greeted.

DAVIDOW: That's just reprehensible. It is embarrassing.

I think, as your last clip showed, the Border Patrol people are trying to do a good job. They're just overwhelmed. We need to put more resources down there. We need more financing. We need more immigration judges.

Those people who are in our custody have to be treated in a humane way. And I'm afraid we're not doing that. If this were happening in another country, we would be right to criticize them.

CABRERA: Before we go, CNN has a new report detailing how multiple U.S. embassies were denied permission by the Trump administration to fly rainbow PRIDE flags from their flag poles to commemorate PRIDE month even though we're told this is routine for years. What's your reaction to that?

DAVIDOW: Well, I don't -- when I was an ambassador, if I had wanted to do that, I would have done it and then not asked permission. I think the mistake was asking permission.

CABRERA: Should they have said, don't do it?

DAVIDOW: Really.

CABRERA: But I'm saying, the fact that they did ask permission and the answer was, no, don't do it, does that make sense to you?

DAVIDOW: No, not at all. Not at all. I don't know who made that decision. I think part of the problem is that what's happened in the State

Department in Washington, is that, through the actions of the Trump administration, a lot of the very most competent people have left and you're getting decisions from the state accident, State Department, from the National Security Council that just don't make any sensor.

CABRERA: Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, I appreciate your perspective. Thank you for joining us.

DAVIDOW: Thank you.

[15:14:42] CABRERA: Three Americans dying within five days in a popular resort in the Dominican Republic. And now, another couple says they got sick at that same resort last year. Their story is next.

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CABRERA: The FBI is now assisting with toxicology testing for three Americans who died at the same resort in the Dominican Republic within a five-day period.

Preliminary autopsy results reveal Edward Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Day had internal bleeding and excess fluid in their lungs, pulmonary edema. There was also Amanda Schaup-Werner. She checked into the resort the same day that couple did. She had a heart attack.

And now a Colorado couple is speaking out about how they became violently ill at the same resort.

And as CNN senior investigative reporter, Drew Griffin, reports, they believe what happened to them and the three Americans who just died is no coincidence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kaylynn Knull reached out to CNN almost immediately after learning three Americans just died at the same resort in the Dominican Republic where she believes she was poisoned along with her boyfriend.

(on camera): What is your reaction?

KAYLYNN KNULL, SAYS SHE WAS POISONED AT BAHIA PRINCIPE RESORT: Blood boiling. It's too coincidental with the symptoms that we had for me to even begin to stay quiet about it.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): One year ago this month, the Colorado couple traveled to the all=inclusive Grand Bahia Principe Resort La Romana. And for the first few days it seemed a vacation of a lifetime, but on the 6th day, Knull became ill.

KNULL: I woke up with a headache one morning. We had gone to breakfast to see if I could get some water, get some juice, try some food, feel better. And then when we came back to the room, it actually hit us a lot stronger. And we smelt the smell of chemicals. [15:20:02] GRIFFIN: She got progressively worse, then her boyfriend, Tom Schwander, started feeling it too. They say they were sweating, drooling, dizzy, nauseous. It wouldn't go away. Neither would the smell in their hotel room.

KNULL: We saw a housekeeper outside and we called her in to see if she could come in. She walked maybe five or six feet into the room and turned around and said I'm not doing that. And then got on her walkie- talkie to the front desk and said something is going on with this room. She refused to come in and clean it.

GRIFFIN: Kaylynn and Tom had seen someone spraying plants near the air conditioner outside their room. They assumed it was pesticide, but the hotel wouldn't say what it was. They switched rooms twice. It didn't help.

TOM SCHWANDER, SAYS HE WAS POISONED AT BAHIA PRINCIPE RESORT: It progressed over the rest our trip and then over the course of a couple of weeks after.

GRIFFIN (on camera): A couple of weeks?

SCHWANDER: Yes. The abdominal cramping and the G.I. upset lasted for a few weeks.

GRIFFIN: And you said drooling?

SCHWANDER: Yes, drooling.

GRIFFIN: Sweat?

SCHWANDER: Bad sweat, tearing.

GRIFFIN: Dizzy?

SCHWANDER: Dizzy, nauseous, yes. And the abdominal cramping was the worst. That was the hardest symptom to deal with. There's just so much pain.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Back in Colorado, Knull's physician diagnosed her with organo-phosphate poisoning. Schwander's doctors suspect the same thing.

Heavily regulated and, in some cases, banned in the U.S., organo- phosphate are man-made chemicals found in insecticides. Exposure can cause increased saliva, tear production, diarrhea, nausea, sweating, confusion and death.

The couple says they still have occasional symptoms and they are most concerned about their future health.

Even after filing a lawsuit, they still do not know what exactly poisoned them.

KNULL: Honestly, all I wanted was the chemical name. That is all I ever wanted. I could care less about the money if I can save my own life later. And him, too. It's what happened to him, what happened to me. What is it that we can do at this point?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: That was Drew Griffin reporting.

Now Bahia Principe, the hotel chain where the three Americans died, has issued a statement, slamming what it calls inaccurate and false information, in the media and online. And it and claims, "Serious insults and threats are now being made to its employees and their families and it cannot remain on the sidelines." The hotel chain goes on to say that it "works daily to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for its customers and employees."

Now I want to bring in Anthony Roman, the president of Roman & Associates, an international investigation and intelligence firm.

Anthony, we have all of these mysterious deaths and we don't have yet the official cause of death in these three cases.

But based on what we just saw in Drew's piece, if you're investigating here, wouldn't the number-one thing you would be looking at here be possible insecticide spread through the air conditioning system?

ANTHONY ROMAN, PRESIDENT, A.C. ROMAN & ASSOCIATES, INC: It would be one of the leading things we would look at. But we would look at a potpourri of information. What their medical condition was. Did they suffer from any chronic conditions? Were they drinking heavily the evening before? What else may they have been exposed to? Were they using illicit drugs themselves? What was it the cause of foul play? All of those things would have to play into it.

But, the signs and symptoms of organo-phosphate poisoning are there, and the answers are going to be in the postmortem examination, the autopsy examination. Tissue samples will be taken.

CABRERA: Will that be known then in the toxicology reports?

ROMAN: Absolutely. Yes. All of that is done during the postmortem. Tissue samples. Blood samples. Fluid samples from the liver, the brain, the heart.

But all of the symptoms that have been complained about, and the heart attack suffered by one of the deceased are all known to be byproducts of organo-phosphates. We don't know if that is the cause but it would be one of our leading suspicions.

CABRERA: We know one of the women had a heart condition, also had a heart attack, according to the coroner in this case.

ROMAN: That's right.

CABRERA: We also know the Pennsylvania couple had medications in their room, as well. So these are pieces of the investigation.

But if I'm a tourist, thinking about going to the Dominican Republic, right now, this is obviously something I'm thinking about, I'm concerned about. This is the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, 6.5 million tourists visited just last year.

If people are watching there, about to head there on vacation, what are the types of questions they should be asking of their resort?

ROMAN: Well, when you are traveling on any vacation, you should have your usual guard up, just like you do at home, just like when you're traveling in the evening in Manhattan, or Los Angeles, and Chicago.

When we go on vacation, we tend to put all our worries behind. We tend not to be as concerned about crime or problems or risks that we can run into. We should keep those defenses up and still have a wonderful time but protect ourselves.

[15:25:09] So the Dominican Republic is really no more dangerous than any other Caribbean destination.

Yes. Outside of the tourist areas, there are some areas that have high crime rates. And you can look those up and see where they are, and ask the local help, what areas I should stay away from. Stay in tourist areas. Stay in small groups. And when you go it a club, guard your drink from date-rape drugs. Common-sense rules always help.

CABRERA: Would you be asking, do you use certain chemicals on the property, how do you clean the rooms, whether, what's the security like, are those questions you would ask of the resort in this case?

ROMAN: You're likely not to get very straightforward answers in the Caribbean.

CABRERA: Yes.

ROMAN: But you could expect, in any tropical location around the world, they are likely using organo-phosphates. If that gets into the ventilation system, if it gets airborne because of the trade winds and it lands on the outside buffet because it is carelessly used, then you are going to have a problem and you're going to have guests exposed to it.

If you happen to walk into a room and there's a very bad odor, that is not a place to stay, because an organo-phosphate, if it is breathed in, it is toxic and becomes part of your blood stream and can do damages to your nerves, your heart, your brain, your liver.

CABRERA: That's scary.

Now, to flip the rules here. If you were advising the company in how they proceed after these deaths and all of the publicity that has entailed, what would you tell them? What would be your advice in terms of ensuring safety of their guests? And also managing, you know, the confidence of the public and potential tourists?

ROMAN: Sure, there are standard public relations but, more importantly, risk management procedures to be followed in these cases. Whoever handles chemicals, organo-phosphates, the chlorine used in the pool, they should be certified by the manufacturer in the safe use and safe mixture of those chemicals. They should not be applied near ventilation systems. They should not be applied on windy days.

So all of these things, if you're a tourist, you can watch out for. And you could well be aware that if there's a problem with it, you'll know it. There's a really strong odor to that stuff.

CABRERA: Good to know.

Anthony Roman, appreciate you coming in. Thank you.

ROMAN: My pleasure.

CABRERA: A family is demanding answers after a former Army paratrooper died in police custody and his body was returned missing several organs. Why the family says the police are refusing to cooperate, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:29] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: The heartache a New York family began feeling more than a year ago is still fresh. That's because no one has told them why a loved one coming to see them died in police custody. What the family knows is that he served in the Army. And they don't accept what little authorities have told them so far.

Polo Sandoval is following the case for us.

Polo, this wasn't a traffic stop or 911 call that went bad.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At some point, Everett Palmer Jr ended up in custody, being detained by York County officials back in April of 2018. According to investigators, he had to be restrained.

At the time, investigators saying that the coroner's report showed that his manner of death would be undetermined. They also found traces of methamphetamine in his system.

Now the initial autopsy by the York County Coroner's Office again says that there seems to be a process that is being followed.

His family, however, concerned that they don't have all of the answers that they want, they turned to a pathologist who conducted an examination of his own and that is when it was determined or at least that pathology determined that the brain, heart and throat were nowhere to be found. So the family had many questions and eventually got a hold of authorities.

We did hear from the York County Coroner's Office, who has an explanation to all of this, saying there's a process that is being followed. And because there were traces of drugs that were found in his system, then certain policies have to be followed. In this case, these organs have to be, in their own words, retained for further study.

Something that is important to point out here is that, according to the coroner's office, the removal of the throat is typical, especially because they want to make sure that there was no kind of component that caused asphyxia. But when it comes to the brain, they also continue to have that in their custody as they continue to -- with this investigation.

What's important, though, here, according to the coroner's office, is these kinds of investigations could last up to three years to actually follow through, which means the relatives of Mr. Palmer may not have the answers they seek for at least another year and a half.

The coroner is saying that she, too, wants the truth to get out. However, they also do not want to rush the investigation.

When you hear from Mr. Palmer's family, they say they still want more of the reports, they want the surveillance video of the cell, because the question of what happened in that cell is not just a question, Ana, but it is the question that the Palmers are still trying to get an answer to.

CABRERA: Polo Sandoval, thank you.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Ana.

Democrats on the campaign trail. Nineteen of them, in Iowa, today. But in Washington, we're learning new details about just how divisive the question of impeachment is inside the party. And how the Judiciary chair is trying to sway Speaker Pelosi to start impeachment proceedings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:48] CABRERA: Will they or won't they? We all know Democrats are split on impeachment. That's obvious. But we're getting an idea how divisive this topic has become for the party privately.

We learned, behind the scenes, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler is trying to convince Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch impeachment proceedings. Nadler argues that doing so will help centralize the various sprawling investigations and would make it easier to talk about negative findings on the House floor. But Pelosi has not been persuaded, at least not yet.

And during a private meeting this week, she reportedly said this: "I don't want to see Trump impeached. I want to see him in prison."

I want to bring in congressional reporter for "Politico," Melanie Zanona.

Melanie, how much pressure is Nancy Pelosi really under? According to our count, there are 59 Democrats who publicly support it and 177 against it or have no position. What are those numbers privately?

MELANIE ZANONA, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, POLITICO: So Nancy Pelosi is certainly feeling the heat from not only members but also some of her top committee chairmen, including Jerry Nadler.

And i think something significant that we learned last week was that the majority whip, Jim Clyburn, said on this program on CNN, that he thinks it is inevitable. And he, of course, is the chief whip count, so he probably has a better sense of the actual count of impeachment better than anyone. So maybe it is more than 50 members.

But, look, at the end of the day, this is still a minority view within the caucus. Those calls are certainly growing. And we did see 12 Democrats jump on the impeachment bandwagon just last week, actually, after Mueller came out publicly for the first time.

And these next two months are really going to be critical. A lot of members say they want to see a resolution before the August recess. And if Trump defies a court order, you could see many more Dems jump on that bandwagon publicly.

CABRERA: I want you to listen to new sound we just got in. This is Hillary Clinton weighing in on the Mueller report. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't want to be a downer, but I will say this. If you take the time to read the Mueller report, actually read it, which all of us in this auditorium are more than capable of doing, you come to two inescapable conclusions.

The first is that Russia conducted a sweeping and systemic interference in our election. The second is that obstruction of justice occurred.

Now, you cannot read the report, chapter and verse, fact after fact, without reaching those conclusions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:40:32] CABRERA: So I'm just curious, do you think that is her saying impeach now? And what sway, if any, does she have in this matter?

ZANONA: Well, she's certainly getting closer to towing that line, but I don't think she has as much sway as some of the 2020 candidates who have come out in support of impeachment, including two new ones last week, including Cory Booker.

And we have seen, of course, Elizabeth Warren has been pounding the impeachment drum. I think she's pulling a lot of these candidates to the left on a number of issues, including impeachment. And that is making it more and more difficult for Nancy Pelosi to really hold the line.

But you are seeing Pelosi throw a number of these little bones to the liberal plank of her caucus. Right? I mean, this upcoming week, the House will be voting on a resolution to give committees more power to directly enforce subpoenas in court.

Jerry Nadler will be issuing a subpoena in two weeks to bring in Mueller to testify. And Pelosi has been ramping up her own rhetoric, both publicly and

privately, as a way to sort of hold the line and hold off impeachment calls as long as possible.

But again, it is a question of how much longer she can last and if she can stick it out through the August recess.

CABRERA: That comment that she reportedly told her Democratic members, in private, that, you know, don't impeach, I want to see him in prison, that led the president to now give her a nickname, Nervous Nancy.

ZANONA: Right, Nervous Nancy.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Nervous Nancy, is that a fitting nickname for her?

ZANONA: It is kind of ironic, because Nancy Pelosi, of all things, doesn't really sweat and doesn't get nervous. But I think it does maybe speak to the fact that she is feeling the heat and feeling the pressure from her members.

What I will say about the attacks that President Trump has launched on Nancy Pelosi, it has the effect of unifying her caucus behind her.

If you remember, before she became speaker, she had an infamous showdown with the president in the White House where she strutted out afterward with her sunglasses and red jacket. After that, it was no more longer a question whether or not she has the support as speaker. Everyone rallied behind her.

And now we're seeing the same thing this week. Even Maxine Waters, one of the most vocal proponents of impeachment, one of the committee chairs, came out for Nancy Pelosi on Twitter after the attacks.

So Trump seems to be having the opposite affect he intended within the Democratic caucus.

CABRERA: Melanie Zanona, good to have us with us. Thank you.

ZANONA: Thanks for having me.

CABRERA: Farmers in the American heartland are being hit hard this year by near historic floods. And that, coupled with the present trade war, has many worried about their livelihood. We will talk to some farmers, next.

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[15:46:57] CABRERA: First, it was President Trump's trade war with China and now it is near historic flooding. Farmers in Missouri are in crisis. They are struggling to make ends meet.

CNN's Dan Simon spoke to a worried Missouri farmer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Where are we at this exact moment?

ADAM JONES, FARMER: We are directly over my field, which I was going to plant soybeans in this year.

SIMON (voice-over): Adam Jones is a fourth-generation family farmer. His fields, which would normally be sprouting corn and soybeans, have turned into lakes.

(on camera): It is pretty amazing, to think you might be in a tractor and today you're in a boat.

JONES: Yes. And in four feet of water. So halfway up the grill of the tractor.

SIMON: Yes, pretty surreal.

(voice-over): And the latest round of flooding, Jones says, has diminished any hope of a viable crop for hundreds of farmers, many who have already been reeling from President Trump's trade war with China.

JONES: We're not going to make any money this year.

SIMON: Located in small town of Old Monroe, north of St. Louis, Jones says the tariffs had already cut into his bottom line, with China slashing its purchase of American soybeans. Though, farmers have been promised government assistance. He doesn't know how much he might receive, and the notion of a bailout wears on his pride.

JONES: Farmers don't want a bailout. We don't want government money. We just want a free market. Most farmers are still supporting President Trump, but I think it is wearing out.

The flooding is obviously more difficult. The tariffs might be more frustrating, because somebody has control over the tariffs.

SIMON: For now, his immediate concern is trying to save the house built by his grandparents. These pumps and a homemade flood wall have mainly kept it dry.

He says the water won't fully recede until July. Too late, he says, for any planting.

JONES: You don't get your food from the grocery store. I mean, you get it from the grocery store, but we're out here working our tails off to grow it for you. And we're having a pretty tough time.

SIMON: Yet, he says most farmers wouldn't have it any other way.

JONES: Farming is a passion. It's what I love. We don't farm for money. It is what I love. I mean, my dad does it, he did it, my grandpa did it, my great grandpa did it, right here on this land. I'm fourth generation on this farm. And I take pride in that. And I just have a passion for agriculture. Unfortunately. SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, Old Monroe, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Now, listen to this next one. This past Memorial Day, a black couple visiting a Minneapolis campground for a picnic allegedly had a gun pulled on them by a campground manager, who told them to leave because they didn't have a reservation. That manager has been fired.

But instances like these are all too familiar for people of color around the country.

This is an issue our W. Kamau Bell is explored in this week's all-new episode of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA" about what it's like living while black. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Always had the sense that, you know, you were treated as not quite American as everyone else. When you're a child, you begin to internalize that.

[15:50:08] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trust me, we had it good by comparison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father was a practicing doctor here for a long time. Our mother was a teacher. He was a serviceman. He volunteered, you know, and he was in the Air Force.

He just tells the story about coming up to Milwaukee, stopping in a restaurant, and when he came back out to the car, it was with our mom.

You were a baby --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- in his arms. And he was just accosted by this gang of young white kids. He thought, if they didn't have you in his arms as a baby, they would have beaten him and my mother.

He talks about when he got a house. On the phone, it was all good. And when they would check in, it was like, who was moving in here.

He would talk often, he would end up on this board, and he was like, I'm the first black man on this board, and I was the first man on this committee. And he wasn't bragging in any way. He was just talking about his experience. And I was like, wow, isn't that amazing that you did that.

It wasn't amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when you're black, and particularly black in Milwaukee, if you did something, you became that first person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you led by example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Don't miss the new episode of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA," tomorrow night at 10:00 Eastern and Pacific, right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Today, in England, a special celebration honoring Queen Elizabeth. The trooping the color is an annual event to celebrate the official birthday of the sitting monarch. There are parades, pomp, a Royal Air Force fly-over.

[15:55:02] Now, it wasn't her actual birthday today. She actually turned 93 in April. But the weather tends to be much better in June. So here they go.

And among the notable attendees, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. She made her first public royal appearance since she and Prince Harry introduced their son, Archie, to the world four weeks ago.

Now let me tell you about this "CNN Hero." He was just 20 years old when he was wrongly convicted. He was locked up in Texas in a prison for 15 years. Now that he's been fully exonerated, Richard Miles is using his freedom to help other prisoners change their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD MILES, CNN HERO: My mom would always tell me, when you look out the window, don't look at the bars, look at the sky. I could change my perception within the place of incarceration.

At the end of the day, be confident in your change.

The idea really started from inside. People get out and they come right back in. I said, if I ever get out, man, I'm going to start a program and we're help people.

Acknowledgement, transparency and forgiveness, these are the three essential things we need when we're coming back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: To hear more of his incredible story and see how he helps change parolee's lives, go to CNNheroes.com.

Stunning new photos of what a government report calls dangerous overcrowding at a migrant border camp, next.

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