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Mexican President Urges People To Attend "Unity Rallies"; FBI Assisting In Investigation Into Deaths Of Three Americans At Dominican Republic Resort; Judge Orders Kevin Spacey's Accuser To Turn Over Cell Phone; Pomp & Pageantry Mark The Queen's "Official" Birthday. Aired 8- 9p ET

Aired June 08, 2019 - 20:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

And we have breaking news right now, the first real meaningful test of where Democratic voters are leaning, as they look over and consider the more than 20 men and women who want to run against President Donald Trump. The CNN-Des Moines register poll and the results are in. This is no ordinary poll. This is the gold standard for Iowa polling.

And this is why it matters. In the last four U.S. presidential elections, when there was no Democratic incumbent running, the man or woman who won the Iowa Democratic caucuses went on to become the Democratic nominee. And, as you know, there is no Democrat in the White House today. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Kerry, Al Gore, no Democrat incumbent. They won the Iowa caucuses. They became the nominee.

Now, the results you're about to hear point to who Iowa's Democratic voters like most right now. What they like most in their candidates. And even how they feel about the idea of impeaching President Trump. This is big. The CNN-Des Moines register poll.

Let's go straight to Des Moines, Iowa. Our Political Director David Chalian is there. David, there is a lot of data in your hands right now. But we all want to know the big headline. More than 20 candidates jostling for the Democratic nomination. Who is leading?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. Ana Cabrera, let me just say, you set this up correctly. Let's get right to those numbers and just show the standings right now in the horse race here. You see Joe Biden leading the field in Iowa at 24 percent. Sanders follows at 16 percent. With Warren at 15. Buttigieg at 14. And Harris at seven percent there.

Just note, this is joe Biden with a lead. But it is not as big of a lead that we've seen in recent national polls. And then, you see a real bunched up between the other three, sort of, virtually tied for second place there, Sanders, Warren, and Buttigieg.

I do want to note here what this represents. This is likely Democratic caucus-goers. And the Iowa Democratic Party which runs the process here is changing their rules this cycle. They're allowing for both in-person attendance, the regular way we know about Iowa caucusing, but also for the first time they're allowing for virtual caucusing for those people that can't participate on that Monday night next February in their regularly scheduled in-person caucus.

And it is weighted. 90 percent of the result is going to be based on that in-person attendance, the traditional way. 10 percent of that final result is going to be ascribed to everyone that comes to participate virtually. This poll, this CNN-Des Moines register poll, accounts for those new rules and applies that weight. So, this is the likely Democratic caucus universe here. And you see here, Joe Biden out in front. And you see a bunched-up race for second place there.

We also asked about second choice and which candidates are out there, as you said, there are 23, that you're actively considering. And I think this is such a telling number, Ana. You see here, 61 percent for Biden, 61 percent for Warren, 56 Sanders, 52 Buttigieg, 52 Harris, and then Booker and O'Rourke. But you see those top five above 50 percent, that are either your first or second choice, or you're actively considering that person. That shows that Iowa Democrats are still very much shopping around for candidates.

And here is one potential warning sign for Joe Biden, in what is a good poll for Joe Biden. We checked in on, if you feel extremely enthusiastic for your candidate. And among those in-person caucus attendees, if you're a Biden backer, 29 percent of them say they are extremely enthusiastic. Compare that to the rest of the field, any other candidate is your first choice, not Joe Biden. 39 percent of those Iowa Democrats are extremely enthusiastic about that choice.

And that number goes even further up in that Buttigieg-Warren-Sanders second tier there. So, Joe Biden, just a bit of a warning sign that there may be an enthusiasm gap where his competitors may have a bit of an advantage there -- Ana.

CABRERA: And, David, what does the polling show us about what voters are looking for in these candidates?

CHALIAN: Right. So, when we gave voters a choice in this poll, the decision between choosing a Democratic nominee who has a strong chance to win, to defeat Donald Trump, and one that agrees with you and your positions, it's not even close. 65 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers say they want a candidate who has a strong chance to win. Only 31 percent say to share my issue positions.

[20:05:00] We also tested some other candidate qualities. We provided a longer list. And this is really interesting, and I think is going to be part of the conversation about what the Democrats are trying to sell to Iowans as they're campaigned here. Integrity is the top candidate quality, 56 percent looking for that. 40 percent looking for intelligence. 34 percent, leadership. And 25 percent, there's that electability fact again. And I also just want to note, since the conversation in Washington has been all about impeachment, and Nancy Pelosi may be feeling some pressure from her left flank on this. Take a look at these numbers. Among Iowa caucus-going Democrats, likely Iowa Democratic caucus- goers, Nancy Pelosi seems on the right side now. 42 percent say should -- that Congress should begin impeachment immediately. They would be shirking their responsibilities not to do so. But the plurality, 48 percent of these Democrats, say continue with the investigations but do not move to impeachment right now -- Ana.

CABRERA: And, David, we talked at the top just how important Iowa is. Now we know where the race stands in the state right now. There are 19 Democrats canvassing Iowa this weekend. 19 of these candidates. They're almost stepping on each other's feet. And the caucuses aren't even happening until next February.

Here just a taste of what they're up to today. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whoever the next nominee is for our party, every single one of us will do all we can to make sure that she or he is successful in defeating Donald Trump.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is about racial justice. It is about environmental justice. And it is about social justice.

JOHN DELANEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a great day, and it's a great day to celebrate. So, Dr. King told us that the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, when we are marching here today, we are standing on the shoulders of people who have come before us, who have fought for us, who have suffered for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: David, there can't be much these candidates haven't said or something similar, like what we just heard before. How do they stand out? Nineteen are there this weekend.

CHALIAN: Yes, it's such a good question. And I actually think this brand-new poll of ours indicates the challenge here. It is tough to break out. You're -- the great majority of these candidates don't even crack five percent in this poll. Only five candidates do crack that five percent threshold.

So, getting a breakthrough moment and trying to get some traction is proving extraordinarily difficult in this very crowded field. But that is precisely what these Democrats are going to look to do, the 19 who are showing up at the big Iowa Democratic Party fundraising and organizing event, the Hall of Fame event in Cedar Rapids tomorrow. They each get five minutes to speak and address the faithful. And believe me, if you want to look for something tomorrow, look for how each of those 19 Democrats running for President try to have a breakthrough moment before this very critical crowd.

CABRERA: All right, David Chalian in Des Moines, Iowa for us. Thank you, sir.

And be sure to tune in tomorrow. I'll have two of the Democrats who are duking it out for some face time in Iowa. With us here in the CNN Newsroom at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio joins us. And at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. What they are trying to do to stand out from the competition. The Democrats are spending their weekend, again, in Iowa, and we'll be right here with us live tomorrow night.

Just ahead, the president of Mexico is also celebrating this agreement this weekend, holding a unity rally in Tijuana. We'll go live there. But will border towns feel any relief from the immigration crisis at the border? I'll speak to the mayor of Mesa, Arizona.

And stunning new poll numbers from Texas. Democrats have always dreamed of turning the electoral giant blue. Why Texas could be a swing state in 2020. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

[20:14:57]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Let's take you back live to Iowa for just a quick moment. These are live images right now on the ground. You see the former Congressman Beto O'Rourke there speaking with constituents. And we -- or I should say voters, potentially. And then, we also have Bernie Sanders there who is speaking right now in Waterloo, Iowa. O'Rourke in Mason City. They'll all be speaking tomorrow night at a big dinner.

And we just gave you the results from our new CNN-Des Moines register poll which has Biden leading right now, Sanders, Warren, and Buttigieg all just behind him.

And now, I want to head south, because there's some other interesting polling we got this week. They say everything is bigger in Texas, and President Trump could have a Texas-size problem on his hands. Take a look at this new polling from Quinnipiac University. It shows if the election were held today, Joe Biden would beat President Trump by four points in what should be a reliably red state. Now, could this be an anomaly? It's just a single poll, right?

Well, there's also this. President Trump's approval rating in Texas is just 41 percent right now. And don't forget, Ted Cruz only beat Democrat Beto O'Rourke for the state Senate by two and a half points in 2018. Now, President Trump only beat Hillary Clinton there by nine points in 2016.

So, what's going on here? With us is CNN Senior Political Writer and Analyst, and polling extraordinaire, Harry Enten. Harry, what's behind this change?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: I mean, I think if the story of the 2016 election was that non-college white voters in the north started voting like non-college white voters in the south, the story of the 2020 election may be that college white voters in the south start voting like college white voters in the north.

And if you look at the suburbs of Dallas and Houston in 2018, what you saw were two Congressional seats that have historically been quite Republican, flipping over to the Democratic side. And I think that's, in large part, what's driving Joe Biden in leading that state right now over President Trump.

CABRERA: Do you expect Texas to be a swing state in 2020?

ENTEN: I'll put it this way, right. I think states, like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, might flip before Texas. But there is no doubt in my mind that a state like Texas could definitely be in play if the president continues to be as unpopular nationally as he is right now.

CABRERA: OK. So, you looked at the polling from Texas. You just mentioned Michigan and Pennsylvania. You say Trump would lose if they election were held today. But when you ask people if they think President Trump will win reelection, more people said yes than no. So, how do you explain that contradiction?

[20:15:00] ENTEN: Yes. I mean, you can see it right here in this poll, right, 54 percent of Americans think that Donald Trump will win; 41 percent think he will lose. I think way that you explain that is if you look back at the 2016 election, you had all those polls at the end showing Hillary Clinton leading. So, I think there's a course (ph) in the electorate that just doesn't trust the polling data, at this point. That think that Donald Trump somehow has this magical sauce in the air that he's flipping up and he'll be able to prove the polls, wrong again.

But what I will point out, was in 2018, the polls show that Republicans were going to lose the House. They did. The poll, right now, show Donald Trump is unpopular and Trump losing in the general election. If there were an election held here today, I do think Trump would lose. Of course, we're still more than a year out from such an election.

CABRERA: I'm still trying to envision sauce in the air that he's flipping up.

ENTEN: He's making a pizza pie, or maybe he's eating a taco salad, remember that?

CABRERA: All right. OK, pizza, pancakes. OK, that makes more sense. OK, back on track now.

ENTEN: Yes.

CABRERA: We have some new data as well showing how the Republican Party has seriously shifted recently.

ENTEN: Yes. CABRERA: Explain this for us.

ENTEN: Yes. So, take a look at this. And I think this is, in large part, driving what we see in Texas, right? Among whites without a college degree, right, they were just 49 percent of the Republican Party back in -- from 2010 to 2014.

But in 2019, they made up 59 percent of the party. Well, whites with a college degree, they were just -- they were 39 percent of the party between 2010 and 2014. They're just 29 percent of the party now. Non-whites are becoming a larger share of the country. They've stayed stable.

And I think this is the difference right now between the Democratic Party that's becoming better educated and more nonwhite, versus the Republican Party which is becoming much more whites without a college degree, almost going against trends nationally. And that allows Republicans to complete in some Midwestern states where those whites without a college degree make up a larger proportion than they do -- than they do nationally. And that was, thus, the electoral college splitting the popular votes as last time around.

But the fact is, with this trend going on right here and this one, that is the reason why Texas is in play. And you know what? Democrats will be more than welcome to, sort of, move along those Midwestern states the Republican (INAUDIBLE), if they couldn't, in fact, win Texas.

CABRERA: So, should Republicans be concerned about 2020, given this trend?

ENTEN: I think they should definitely be concerned about 2020, given this trend. Because, remember, it's the same trend we saw in 2018 which was Donald Trump being unpopular nationally. Being unpopular, whites with a college degree, and that drove massive Democratic gains and a House majority for them.

CABRERA: All right, Harry Enten, always good to see you.

ENTEN: Nice to see you as well.

CABRERA: Thank you very much.

ENTEN: Pizza pie is in the air.

CABRERA: Oh, yes. We're going to flip it to Tijuana right now and Mexico, where they're having a massive rally. Let's take the live images. We're told this was meant to be a celebration of the new agreement that has now at least put any tariff talk aside, for the moment. Remember, the president had threatened to impose five percent -- a five percent tariff on all imports.

We're going to go live to Tijuana and get more information about what's happening there on the ground right now when we come back. Stay with us.

[20:17:50]

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CABRERA: New this hour, President Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador spoke on the phone after negotiators from both nations reached a deal on immigration enforcement, averting new tariffs on Mexico. The Mexican president tweeting this. In Tijuana, I want to say the president of the U.S. didn't lift a clenched fist, rather his hand open and, frank, we reiterated our disposition to friendship, dialogue and collaboration for the good of our countries.

Obrador is expected to speak at a unity rally tonight. Meanwhile, the ink is still drying on that brand-new agreement signed between the governments of the U.S. and Mexico. And that means three things. One, Mexican officials are promising some very specific steps aimed at slowing down the flow of people crossing illegally into the U.S. I'm talking about military action and cracking down on human trafficking.

Two, the U.S. is promising to speed up and streamline the process for people seeking asylum. And three, the very urgent thing that was hanging over this entire standoff, import tariffs that President Trump was threatening to slap on Mexico, he's now taken that threat back.

But a new report reveals this deal may not have been as down to the wire as lawmakers thought. CNN's Boris Sanchez has more -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Ana, reporting in "The New York Times" indicates that portions of this agreement between the United States and Mexico were actually agreed to months before the president threatened tariffs against one of the United States' largest trading partners.

One key aspect of this agreement is this mobilization, this deployment of Mexican National Guard troops throughout Mexico. But with a specific focus on the southern border of that country, trying to prevent migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala from walking, getting through Mexico toward the United States.

Apparently, according to "The New York Times," that agreement was brokered in March by then DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Another aspect to this deal was that program in which Mexico will host undocumented immigrants who have illegally entered the United States, requesting asylum, offering them education and opportunities at jobs.

Apparently, that deal was brokered in December. This agreement suggests that that program would be expanded, though the details on just how it would be expanded are still ambiguous. "The Times" writes that it's unclear whether the president knew that these agreements were already in place or if this is simply a face-saving gesture, in light of the fact that tariffs were set to be enacted on Monday. The White House has declined to comment on this story.

But, publicly, the president is casting this as a victory, not only celebrating it on Twitter and thanking the Mexican president, but also through fundraising. This afternoon, the Trump campaign sent out a mass text message requesting donations from supporters and citing the president's bestseller "The Art of the Deal" -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Boris Sanchez at the White House, thank you.

On Mexico's side of the border, the threats of U.S. tariffs and now the retraction of those threats clearly impacting many lives of people there this weekend.

CNN's Paula Newton is in Tijuana, Mexico right now, where Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is hosting a unity rally. Paula, are people protesting these developments in this agreement or celebrating?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all. They are, actually, celebrating. But I have to say, if you speak to people around here, not many of them knows what it -- know what this deal is going to mean for them or for the migrants that they see in border communities like this, Ana.

[20:25:00] Now, as you pointed out, the president -- both presidents just got off the phone with each other. And that's quite an extraordinary comment from President Lopez Obrador, that I'm going to tell this crowd. A crowd, Ana, that is normally quite anti-Trump, that you did not come to us with a clenched fist but with an open and frank hand.

I have to say, Ana, that's not what they've been hearing here over the exact week. You know, the Mexican government has been saying, look, we will not confront President Trump, nor will we genuflect in front of him. It's going to be interesting to see over the next 90 days, as Boris was lining -- outlining there, how this deal is going to come together.

And the litmus test, Ana, is going to be if you actually see a decrease in the amount of Central Americans, and others, making their way to the U.S. border. At this point now, even some of the migrants we've spoken to today say, Ana, they don't really see it as a deterrent so far. Many of them really scratching their heads, not believing that they won't be let into the United States. That even if they have an asylum claim, that they will have to return en masse right here in communities like Tijuana.

What's going to be interesting here is to see if hardening that Mexican border to the south, something the Mexican government had been resisting all of these months, if it's actually going to have any kind of an effect.

And you can bet that the president who's about to take stage right now, the Mexican president, we'll be watching his national politics very closely. He says this is a humanitarian crisis. And he wants everyone to be very vigilant about taking care of those who struggle to make it through his country to get to a better life in the United States.

CABRERA: All right, Paula Newton, thank you for that report, and giving us a sense of what's happening there in Mexico. I want to bring in now the mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles, who serves as co-chair of the Immigration Reform Task Force and the U.S. Conference of mayors. Mayor Giles, I know you just returned this hour from a conference with other U.S. mayors in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The Mexican president spoke to all of you. What was his message?

MAYOR JOHN GILES (R), MESA, ARIZONA: You know, it was a great message. I was very impressed by President Lopez Obrador. It was a very conciliatory message. He made a point of saying that he did not want confrontation with the United States. And specifically said that he was anxious to remain -- for Mexico and the United States to remain friends. So, I thought it was a very peacemaker, a very conciliatory message to a group of Mexican mayors and American mayors.

CABRERA: There was this threat of tariffs hanging over everybody, both nations, for an entire week or so. Was there anxiety that this deal wasn't going to get done?

GILES: Oh, absolutely. The -- when the president spoke to us yesterday, it was prior to the announcement that there had been a deal struck. So, there was plenty of optimism. And particularly, given the very positive attitude that I thought that President Lopez Obrador was expressing.

But, nonetheless, there was a lot of anxiety in the room as well. I come from a border state. I come from a city that's two hours from the border. But, still, the economic impact of those tariffs on my city and our state would have been tremendous.

I had an opportunity also to talk to some of our fellow mayors across the border in Sonora (INAUDIBLE) and Nogales, and they were extremely anxious about the economic impact that would have occurred in their communities had those tariffs taken place.

CABRERA: We're hearing from Democrats saying the way the president handled this is not how you treat a neighbor and an ally. What do you say to that?

GILES: Well, I think, at this point, both sides of the border are celebrating. So, I love the fact that President Lopez Obrador has communicated to his country that this was something that was done in good faith on both sides.

And so, I'm glad to see that that's the attitude that both presidents are expressing. No one is running a victory lap. They're both saying that this was something that was done together. I think it's important that that's the way that this is messaged on both sides of the border.

CABRERA: I know migrants have been dropped off in your city after crossing the border. What have these last few months --

GILES: Absolutely.

CABRERA: -- been like there? GILES: Well, it's -- I wish it had only been the last few months.

This started, really in earnest, as a crisis back in October, is when I first began getting phone calls from the faith community in my city, saying that they had been contacted by ICE with this very desperate situation. Where they were going to be forced to let hundreds of asylum seekers out onto the street unless the faith community, the NGO community, stepped up and provided some assistance.

So, we have been in crisis mode, certainly in the border towns, but also in cities like Mesa for the last six plus months. So, we're also -- we're very relieved to see that, hopefully, this might be the beginning of the solution to that problem.

CABRERA: Let's talk about what could change because the numbers are stark. As you mentioned, it's an ongoing issue with these migrants coming across the border at record numbers, 144,000 that were encountered or arrested at the border just in the month of May. That is a record, at least in the past 13 years. The most they've seen in a single month.

I spoke with the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who served under both Democratic and Republican presidents, earlier this evening. And he was skeptical that this deal is going to make a difference at the border anytime soon.

[20:30:00] I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY DAVIDOW, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO, VENEZUELA: It's going to take a long time before it really comes into play. 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. Mexico says it's going to send 6,000 new National Guardsmen to the border. The National Guards of Mexico was an organization that's just starting, only a couple of months old.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Mayor Giles, what do you expect to this agreement to do? Because we know Mexico was already working on aspects of this including deporting more than 80,000 migrants since December, holding thousands of asylum seekers in Mexico already while they -- were awaiting adjudication of their cases here in the U.S.

MAYOR JOHN GILES (D-AZ): Well, I think it's a -- it's a beginning of addressing the root cause of this problem, which President Lopez Obrador made a point of discussing yesterday in our meeting. He said this is not a problem between the United States and Mexico. The root cause is the economic stress in Central America.

So -- and he pledged support of the Mexican people for addressing that. I think if the United States spends resources on that, that is the root cause, so that is a long term solution to this problem. I'm sure that the -- that the -- CABRERA: And on that, we know the U.S., in fact, has done the exact

opposite, they've pulled aid from those countries and financial resources from those Central American countries.

GILES: Well, hopefully we'll see a change in attitude. Hopefully, that's part of the agreement between Mexico and the United States, is to work together to address the economic crisis in Central America, because that is the crisis that is resulting in the humanitarian crisis with the asylum seekers.

And I'm sure it will take a while for that to be felt on the border. There's probably still a lot of Central Americans that are en route through Mexico or at the border as we speak.

So it's not -- the spigot is not going to be turned off quickly. And part of what I saw about this deal that I like is that they're going to reevaluate it as the days and weeks go on to see if the changes that they've agreed to are going to be impactful or not.

So I agree that the jury is still out on how quickly this is going to address the real humanitarian crisis that's occurring at the border, but also in cities like Mesa.

CABRERA: You just said you like that they're going to be evaluating and reevaluating this agreement. But when the president has talked about that, at least in his tweets, he makes it sound like the threat of tariffs is still dangling out there if there isn't immediate action.

GILES: Well, we certainly are not in favor of tariffs in Arizona. I mean, even our Republican congressional delegation are very nervous over the economic impact that would have in communities like Mesa and states like Arizona.

So I don't know that we're anxious to see that the threat of tariffs be raised again. But what I do like is that we now have an agreement with Mexico and we both agree that this is a humanitarian crisis that we need to focus our resources on. I'm delighted that Mexico is partnering with us in solving this problem, both at their southern border and at our southern border.

So it'll be interesting to see. I suspect the formula for solving this problem has not been fully baked yet and we're going to need to keep working on it.

CABRERA: Mesa, Arizona mayor, John Giles, good to have you with us. I appreciate your perspective.

GILES: Thank you.

CABRERA: Coming up, preliminary autopsy results are back revealing new details on how these three Americans died in the Dominican Republic. And now the FBI is helping in the investigation. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [20:35:21] CABRERA: The FBI is now assisting with toxicology testing for three Americans who died at the same resort in the Dominican Republic in within a five-day period.

Now, preliminary autopsy results reveal Edward Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Day had internal bleeding and excess fluid in their lungs. And Miranda Schaup-Werner, who checked in to that same resort the same day they did, had a heart attack.

Now, a Colorado couple is speaking out about how they became violently ill at that resort.

And as CNN's senior investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, reports, they believe what happened to them and the three Americans who 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.

GRIFFIN (on camera): What is your reaction?

KAYLYNN KNULL, ALLEGED POISONED VICTIM: 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 travelled 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 sixth 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 when we came back to the room, it actually hit us a lot stronger, and we smelled the smell of chemicals.

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 like called her in to see if she could come in. She walked maybe five, 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, ALLEGED POISONED VICTIM: It progressed over the rest of our trip and over the course of a couple weeks after.

GRIFFIN (on camera): A couple of weeks?

SCHWANDER: Yes. The abdominal, 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. Abdominal cramping was the worst. That was the hardest symptom to deal with. There was just so much pain.

[20:40:59] GRIFFIN (voice-over): Back in Colorado, Knull's physician diagnosed her with organophosphate poisoning. Schwander's doctors suspect the same thing. Heavily regulated and in some cases banned in the U.S., organophosphates are manmade 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's 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. Bahia Principe, the hotel chain where the three Americans died, has issued this statement slamming what it calls inaccurate and false information in the media and online and it claims, "Serious insults and threats are 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."

Academy Award winning actor, Kevin Spacey, wins a ruling in connection with allegations of groping against him. Why a judge is ordering Spacey's accuser to turn over his cellphone to Spacey's defense team. That story is next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[20:45:28] CABRERA: Welcome back. Actor Kevin Spacey who's facing allegations that he groped a young man in a Nantucket bar in 2016, just had a ruling that went his way. A Massachusetts district judge is granting a defense team request to examine the contents of the phone that belongs to Spacey's accuser. And Judge Thomas Barrett has ordered that that phone be turned over to state police by June 21st so that defense experts can conduct a full forensic imaging of what it contains.

Entertainment reporter, Chloe Melas is joining us with the latest. Chloe, you originally broke the story that actually led to Spacey getting fired from his Netflix show, "House of Cards." This is a separate case, but it sounds like this is a pretty big development for the defense. So, where does this case stand?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: It's a huge development. So, you know, Kevin Spacey pled not guilty to indecent assault and battery of this young man. He's the son of actually a news anchor. And really, Kevin Spacey's defense team has said from the beginning why did this young man and his mother wait more than a year to come forward and make these allegations against Kevin Spacey. And he allegedly, like you said, groped this young man at a bar where this boy was working.

Kevin Spacey's team claims that this young man, said that he was 21 years old, not 18. And they want the cellphone records, Ana. Because Kevin Spacey's defense team believes that there are incriminating text messages that the mother and the son have deleted that could actually debunk their allegations and really support Kevin Spacey's not guilty defense.

And so to finally have the cellphone records is big for the defense. But the judge did rule that they -- or do not have access to the mother's cellphone records which they also wanted.

CABRERA: OK. So Kevin Spacey obviously hasn't been out there in public, he's kind of been laying low for quite some time.

MELAS: Yes.

CABRERA: But he did show up at court this week. Is he saying anything about all this?

MELAS: So he showed up unexpectedly. Nobody was expecting Kevin Spacey to show up at court. His next hearing is going to be July 8th. And, you know, it was surprising to see him. He hasn't said much except he did post around Christmas time, a very strange video YouTube in character as his Netflix, former Netflix character.

But he has maintained his innocence. But really, he laid low for over a year. We couldn't find him. We couldn't get any statements from him. I reached out to his camp repeatedly and I couldn't find Kevin Spacey. It's like, where is Waldo? Like where is Kevin Spacey? But, you know, he is coming out swinging against these allegations. But there are also investigations into Kevin Spacey.

CABRERA: This isn't the only one. Remind us about the others.

MELAS: London, Los Angeles. And don't forget, you know, my investigation that I originally published right after actor Anthony Rapp came forward and accused Kevin Spacey of making an inappropriate approach towards him when he was a young teen.

You know, I had people on the set of "House of Cards" telling me that Kevin Spacey allegedly touched them inappropriately and I had one young man who remains anonymous to this day -- well, I know who he is, but we kept his name from the public. He claims that Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted him.

So it was after our investigation at CNN that led to him getting fired from Netflix's "House of Cards," and then it got him actually cut out of the Sony movie "All the Money in the World." And that was a huge deal for a film studio to cut Kevin Spacey out of that movie, recast it with Christopher Plummer and reshoot those scenes.

Kevin Spacey has a big uphill battle against him. And it's not just what's going on in Nantucket. It'll be interesting to see if this goes to trial. It'll be interesting to see if now that Kevin Spacey and his defense team have these phone records, will it really help them get these charges to completely go away?

But again, I will say the accuser and his mother, they have been holding out for months, and the prosecution holding out to not give these cellphone records over. And now Kevin Spacey's team, they have them.

CABRERA: All right. Thank you so much --

MELAS: Thank you.

Cabrera: -- Chloe Melas.

It's just your average everyday birthday celebration, if you happen to be the reigning monarch of England. Buckingham Palace turns up the royal pageantry to wish Queen Elizabeth II many happy returns.

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[20:50:29] CABRERA: California health officials have put out an alert for anyone who may have been at the Los Angeles International Airport over Memorial Day weekend. A person infected with measles traveled through that airport during the holiday and there are concerns others were exposed to this highly contagious virus. People who haven't been vaccinated and people with weakened immune systems are most at risk of catching this disease which can have serious and even lethal consequences.

Tomorrow night, be here to witness what happens when victims of violent crimes come face-to-face with their offenders in this week's episode of "The Redemption Project."

CNN's Van Jones talks to an expert who has seen firsthand the power of restorative justice.

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VAN JONES, CNN HOST: Talk to us about this cycle of violence that you see and how these healing dialogues can interrupt it. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People that feel injured go out and hurt others. And that's what restorative justice can interrupt. Until we deal with the pain in the soul, until we deal with this kind of trauma, we'll have hurt people that still have to find a release for that. And maybe not everybody is going to go out and shoot somebody, but that hurt will come out in other ways. It always does.

JONES: Christian is never coming out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has life without parole.

JONES: Life without possibility of parole. How do people in that situation find themselves wanting to do this type of work? I mean, there is zero upside for him in a practical legal sense.

[20:55:58] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Yes. It's pretty amazing. That is the choice that Christian has made. And many in prison make this choice. Even though they know that they are sentenced to die in prison, they come to the realization that they don't want to be that person that has hurt others. They want to discover who they really were intended to be.

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CABRERA: "The Redemption Project" airs tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Today in England, a special celebration honoring Queen Elizabeth. The Trooping the Colour is an annual event to celebrate the official birthday of the sitting monarch. There are parades, pomp, and a royal Air Force flyover.

Now, today wasn't actually the queen's birthday. She turned 93 back in April, but the weather tends to be better in June. And among the notable attendees, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. She made her first royal appearance since she and Prince Harry introduced their new son, Archie to the world four weeks ago.

That does it for me.

Up next, we are remembering the life and legacy of Anthony Bourdain one year after his death with back-to-back episodes of "Parts Unknown."

And be sure to tune in here tomorrow. Two of the democratic candidates for president will join us at 6:00 p.m. I'll be joined by New York mayor, Bill de Blasio. And at 8:00 p.m., former Colorado governor, John Hickenlooper, both live from Iowa as 19 Democrats are taking over the Hawkeye State this weekend.

I'm Ana Cabrera. Thanks again for being here. Have a great night.

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