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New Day Saturday

Tougher Sanctions to be Imposed on Iran;; Plane Crash in Oahu Kills Nine; Sexual Assault Allegation Made Against Trump; I.C.E. Agents to Begin Rounding Up Illegals in Several Cities; "Apollo 11" Appears Tomorrow Night on CNN; Curtis Flowers to Get a Seventh Trial. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired June 22, 2019 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obliteration. President Trump saying war with Iran would end with obliteration.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not looking for war. And if there was, it would be obliteration like you've never seen before, but I'm not looking to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump issuing a strong denial against accusations he forced himself on author and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll at a department store more than 20 years ago.

E. JEAN CARROLL, AMERICAN JOURNALIST: I had a run-in with the president. I thought it was shocking, it was against my will.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A senior immigration official has confirmed that I.C.E., Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, is set to launch raids in 10 U.S. cities beginning this Sunday targeting about 2,000 people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New disturbing details emerging on the deteriorating conditions at the border; babies now taking care of babies.

(END VIDEO)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: It is always good to be with you on a Saturday morning. Good morning, I'm Victor Blackwell.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Hi everyone, I'm Jessica Dean in for Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: So a day after he called off a planned strike against Iran, President Trump says he's going a different route now, through sanctions.

DEAN: But after the president tweeted new sanctions were imposed on Iran Thursday night, two administration officials now tell CNN that's not true, but that they are planned for sometime over the next week. Meanwhile, we're learning more about the president's thinking about standing down on the planned strike. On Friday, Trump confirmed he called it off to save Iranian lives after he asked the general how many people could be killed if he went through with the strike.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: He came back and said, "Sir, approximately 150," and I thought about it for a second, and I said, "You know what, they shot down an unmanned drone, plane, whatever you want to call it, and here we are sitting with 150 dead people that would have taken place probably within a half hour after I said go ahead."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TRUMP: And I didn't like it. I didn't think it was proportionate.

(END VIDEO)

BLACKWELL: And we've got a team covering every angle of this story. CNN senior international correspondent Sam Kiley in the United Arab Emirates, CNN Dipilomatic Analyst Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby in Washington, and CNN White House Reporter Sarah Westwood.

DEAN: Let's get start with Sarah Westwood at the White House this morning. The president is headed to Camp David later today?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica, and this just after President Trump backed off of that plan to strike three Iranian targets militarily. He said in his words that he backed off because he thought the anticipated loss of life would make that a disproportionate response to Iran's downing of a U.S. drone. But keep in mind that this is after the president's team unanimously lined up behind the idea of striking Iran militarily. He had his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and his hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton all advocating for some kind of military response to Iran's latest provocation, but instead, administration officials tell CNN that the White House, the Trump Administration is moving to punish Iran economically, more so than militarily. Now they are talking about imposing even more sanctions on top of the existing sanctions regime. President Trump told "NBC News" yesterday that he doesn't want to go to war with Iran but if it came to that, Iran would face obliteration. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: I'm not looking for war and if there is it will be obliteration like you've never seen before but I'm not looking to do that, but you can't have a nuclear weapon. You want to talk good, otherwise you can have a bad economy for the next three years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No pre-conditions?

TRUMP: Not as far as I'm concerned, no pre-conditions.

(END VIDEO WESTWOOD: And that was President Trump on NBC. And new sanctions could be imposed against Iran as soon as next week according to administration officials. We saw on display President Trump's reluctance to wade into a military conflict in the Middle East. In fact his immediate reaction to the downing of that American drone was to suggest that perhaps this was an unintentional action by Iran.

Some saw that as a way of President Trump potentially giving Iran a way out of this and President Trump does face a drumbeat from democrats to de-escalate the situation with Iran as he weighs his options Jessica and Victor.

BLACKWELL: Sarah Westwood at the White House, thank you Sarah.

DEAN: Joining us to explain how the tensions are playing out in the Middle East, CNN International Correspondent Sam Kiley. How are things being received where you are, Sam?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just in the last hour or so, the Iranian news agency has said that the emeriti in Iran, the (inaudible) in Tehran has been summoned to the foreign ministry, at which the objections will be made from the Iranian side by the emiratis allowing the use of one of its airports by this global hawk drone to, in the view of the Iranians, penetrate their airspace. Now the Iranians have long complained about the presence of so many American forces in the Gulf.

There's nothing unusual about a drone flying out of emeriti airports. But what is problematic for the emeritis is that they have been very cautious through the recent increase in rhetoric between the United States and Iran, avoid blaming Iran, for example, for the six bombings of tankers here in the Gulf of Oman in the last few weeks. Just saying that they believe a state actor was behind it, but not naming Iran. Unlike United States and United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia who have pointed the finger and the reason for that is of course, here in the emirates, they sit directly opposite Iran. They're very, very close neighbors and they need to be able to cooperate over the use of these waterways so the emiratis can get their oil out.

DEAN: All right. Sam Kiley for us. Thanks so much.

BLACKWELL: Joining us from Washington, CNN diplomatic analyst and retired Rear Admiral John Kirby. Admiral, good morning to you.

RETIRED REAR ADIMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, CNN DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, you support the president's decision to pull back. You say it gives them space but the question is what now? A senior administration official says that they're now moving towards sanctions but the president says that he does not want war but military options are not off the table. He doesn't want to attack but if he would, it would obliterate Iran. Is there some identifiable plausible strategy you see from what we've heard from the president over the last 36 hours? KIRBY: No Victor, in fact I'd say there's been no plausible Iranian

strategy now for months. It's hard to tell where this administration really wants to go. You've got Bolton and Pompeo on one hand talking about regime change and that's a pretty big ask and a pretty big demand. Then you got the president who simply talks about getting the Iranians back to the table. That's part of a big problem here that we saw play out in miniature and real time in the last 24 - 36 hours is that there is no cohesive policy towards Iran and where they want to go in terms of a strategic end game. I think that's complicating and will complicate, quite frankly, any decisions now that the president has to make going forward.

BLACKWELL: So, you say that this decision to pull back from the strike gives the the president, gives the administration space.

KIRBY: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Space to do what? What are the options that would come short of escalating tensions with Iran?

KIRBY: Yes, I think it does give him space and I was really glad to see that he made that decision; it was a wise one. Now, he can take a breath, take a knee and look through the menu of options available to him to respond to the belligerence coming out of Iran. Look, I do think shooting down a drone should not come without consequence but it doesn't have to mean war.

He's got economic sanction which is you have been reporting that he's probably going to lay in here pretty soon. That's fine. He can go the diplomatic route. There are other thing in the military realm that he can do, that can show resolve, can demonstrate that the United States is going to stand with our partners in the region to allow the free flow of oil and the free use of airspace without being provocative. You could, perhaps, start an escorting mission for tankers or for aircraft in that airspace.

You could escort your reconnaissance aircraft with fighter aircraft. I mean, there are lots of things you can do, short of war. And those kinds of things, Victor, I think might be more comfortable for our allies and partners. In fact, they might even be willing to join in some of those missions because they're not provocative. He has an opportunity now having walked up to the brink of war and stepped back. To now have a meaningful conversation with our European allies who they have not tried to engage to bring on board with less provocative options.

BLACKWELL: There are some similarities between what we're seeing play out with Iran to what we saw play out with North Korea. You know fire and fury, I want to talk, I don't want war but my button is bigger than yours.

KIRBY: Yes.

BLACKWELL: You remember we heard that during 2017. But - but the ayatollah is not Kim Jong-un. (Inaudible) is not Kim Jong-un. Iran is not North Korea. Could the -- is there any part of the North Korea playbook to get to talks, not to the eventual end of getting them to abandon their nuclear enrichment or even ballistic missiles that works for Iran. Anything from the North Korean playbook that works with that country?

KIRBY: I'd be careful trying to compare the two. They're completely two different regimes run by two completely different autocrats. In fact, in Iran, it's a theocracy, it's a religious based. I'd be careful trying to - trying to pick and chose one or the other. But what I do think - I think the president's instincts to talk, they're good. Now he just has to find a way to get the - get the Iranis to the table and right now I don't see a way to do that in the year and a half that he has left in office. My gut is the Iranians are going to try to wait him out and we need to understand unlike Kim Jong-un which it's not only an autocratic government, it's led by one guy.

[08:10:00]

In Iran, it's not a monolithic -- yes, the supreme leader runs from a religious perspective, he runs the country but there is an elected government under President Rouhani, and there's great tension between the religious right and the civil elected government of Rouhani, the more moderate government and in some ways President Trump with all his bellicosity and his obliteration talk, all he's doing is doing the work of the (inaudible) for them. About a month ago Victor, a revolutionary guard commander, excuse me, said that he was calling for regime change in his own country. In other words, he wanted Rouhani out. So I think the Iranians, particularly Rouhani, are willing to sort of wait Trump out here for 18 months. I find it very difficult to see how he's going to get them to the table.

BLACKWELL: All right, we'll see what decision come from the the White House. A senior official says that sanctions are coming over the next week. We'll see if those are announced before the G20. Admiral Kirby, good to have you.

KIRBY: You bet.

DEAN: Still to come, a columnist is accusing President Trump of sexually assaulting her in the '90s. What she said happened and how President Trump is responding. That's ahead.

BLACKWELL: Plus, undocumented families brace for a showdown as I.C.E. gets ready to raid ten major U.S. cities.

DEAN: Also, happening overnight, a plane full of sky divers crashes killing all nine people on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the most tragic aircraft incident that we had.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:00] Blackwell: Tomorrow Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will begin rounding up undocumented families facing deportation orders. Ten cities, they're on the screen now, thousands of people are being targeted. The announcement is met with loud opposition from leaders of these cities. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now. Polo, tell us, these officials, the mayors in these cities have come out with some pretty strong statements, what have they said?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of opposition and outrage particularly in Los Angeles is right there where Mayor Eric Garcetti, who keep in mind here two years ago had signed a directive barring any city employee from using public resources to assist in federal immigration enforcement. He responded to the expected operation here, just yesterday the mayor saying the department personnel are reminded that the department does not participate or assist in any enforcement actions involving immigration status violation that are civil in nature. Mayor Garcetti has previously called President Trump's policies - immigration policy inhumane, disgraceful and also dangerous.

Here in New York 2020 president hopeful and Mayor Bill de Blasio also responding to this plan here to potentially deport up to 2,000 families writing, "The Trump Administration's over broad enforcements serves only to tear immigrant families apart, create an environment of fear and divide us as a nation. That's not how we operate in New York City."

Here in New York, according to information that was received by my colleague, Maria Santana, they can expect up to 160 or potentially 170 families to be targeted as part of this I.C.E. operation. Wider, though, sources also telling CNN that we could see the bulk of those deportations happening in the Atlanta area and the New Orleans area as well which is where many families, according to the source, did not show up for some of these immigration hearings. And who are these people?

It's important to keep in mind that these are people who have essentially received letters from the government, to not only self- report but also self-deport if they're cases did not succeed in an immigration court. So, these are people who have outstanding orders for removal. Previously, many of those were criminal undocumented immigrants.

However, a very significant shift here that we're seeing, particularly this week, which is now potentially calling for the deportation of families. The question that remains here, Victor, will will happen to mixed status families, for example, if it's an undocumented parent with a U.S.-born child. Sources saying in that case, that parent could potentially be monitored with an ankle bracelet until they're able to get their affairs in order for their child here. It certainly will lead to even more outrage because this does lead to the potential of more families being torn apart, starting tomorrow morning.

BLACKWELL: Plenty of questions. Plenty of questions, Polo Sandoval, thanks so much.

SANDOVAL: Thank you.

DEAN: Joining me now, immigration attorney Antonio Ramos. Thanks for being with us this morning, Antonio. We know that President Obama departed a high number of people during in his time in office. Some of the differences he refused to deport Dreamers and parents who were caring for children. How else were the deportations under President Obama's Administration different from these raids that we're seeing, or potentially going to see this weekend?

ANTONIO RAMOS, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: From the law enforcement perspective, thank you for the invitation, it's a little bit different because with President Obama, he chose to have priorities for deportation. Right now there are no priorities. Everybody is deportable according to I.C.E. but they have to show the fact that the choice for President Obama to do the border director for I.C.E. is the same choice that President Trump has today for the DHS as a director. So it's the same guy he has been working with this crisis for years.

The main difference is right now, that people that have been detained, they usually get deported, they will be removed immediately. When people get detained they get released and then to court and they get deported. Usually, they don't enforce the deportation. People have to go themselves. They have 30 days to leave. I think that's the main thing of the new memo, they're talking right now.

DEAN: It's that immediacy and I want to talk about children specifically because we're getting these reports about the children that are currently being held at the Customs and Border Patrol facilities down in Texas and a team of doctors and lawyers and advocates went down there. And one of them described as unconscionable conditions. These children are unable to bathe regularly, sick and don't have access to soap to wash their hands. We have been told that older children are responsible for caring for the younger ones and this is in America, at the hands of the American government. What is going on down there from your perspective and what can be done to better that situation?

[08:20:00]

RAMOS: Well, right now, I know there are several facilities that are taking the children, there are private contractors. They have several procedures to try to be good with these children, but what can say it can be a matter of time when they start being complaints about child abuse. When people are working with children, with unaccompanied children, they're very indefensible and it's very particular the type of care they need. That's what has been the whole crisis because in all this time I have kids that I've been representing that came with a father with a birth certificate and then they say that's not my father. They do a DNA and that's not even their father. So it's kind of a complicated thing but it's very, very difficult the situation and I feel that right now in Homestead, here in Florida, there was an issue with their molesting kids or something.

DEAN: And just to be clear, those allegations so far have not been brought up, but you're saying that you're afraid it could lead to something like that?

RAMOS: Yes, I think I saw some news report yesterday. And my assistant, she works over there and she has inside information.

DEAN: All right, Antonio Ramos for us. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

RAMOS: Thank you. Thank you for the invitation.

BLACKWELL: Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is blasting President Trump's handling of the escalating standoff with Iran as she calls his actions not only dangerous but haphazard. We'll hear what else she has to say.

DEAN: Plus, nearly two dozen democratic hopefuls in South Carolina for fried fish and some old fashioned campaigning. We're live in Columbia where their candidates are making their pitch to voters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A day after President Trump says he called off the strike on Iran, Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a democrat, says she is against any military action and called on Congress to reject any requests from the White House for an authorization of force.

SHELIA JACKSON LEE, (D) TEXAS: I have never in my tenure in the United States Congress heard that any kind of statement from any president that we were ten minutes away from a strike actually being issued and it was called off and when I say that, that is a dangerous policy and a dangerous solution and it shows the haphazardness of this administration and as well, the inconsistency between the president and the war hawks that he has hired to lead this government.

I denounce any war with Iraq - Iran and any potential strike with Iran because this is a self-created crisis because the president precipitously, without knowledge, ended the nuclear agreement that we had and put our allies in jeopardy and the United States in jeopardy. I expect that any action should now go to the United States Congress and I would ask my colleagues, as I am doing, to denounce any requests by the president for a resolution of war or the authority to go to war. He is not prepared.

The administration is not prepared. And they do not know that an ultimate strike of Iran will ultimately destabilize the entire community, as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, it will jeopardize the domestic security of this nation and our allies in the region will be in jeopardy and the president will have no answer.

BLACKWELL: So I also asked of the Congresswoman about the comments from former Vice President Joe Biden and working with segregationist senators. She did not call for him to apologize but she did offer what she would do if she were in his position. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JACKSON LEE: I can tell you the way I would handle it. I misspoke. The idea was that I want to make sure that I'm the person who can bring person together, that's okay, Mr. Vice President, and I can bring people together and obviously, using a known segregationist with language and words that is abhorrent to black people, African- Americans is not the right example. And therefore, I made a mistake. I misspoke. But it doesn't take away from my leadership. It doesn't take away from my ability to serve and it doesn't take away from my record.

(END VIDEO)

DEAN: Meantime, voters in South Carolina are getting a preview of next week's first presidential debate of 2020 hopefuls, each addressed crowds at Representative Jim Clyburn's fish fry. And today they're going to talk to the party faithful at the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is joining us now live from South Carolina. Jeff, we saw them all on stage last night and we know there's a lot of them but just that visual image of them all up there. Have you found that people in South Carolina are open to hearing from all of the different candidates or have they kind of made up their mind at this point?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Jessica, good morning, there's no question that democratic activists and voters here are open to seeing all of the candidates, the wide field of candidates and most of them don't know who some of the candidates are. That's why weekends like this are so important. You can see behind me here the activists and the supporters of some of these candidates, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden. The blimp behind me here, John Delaney; his supporters here, of course the former Maryland Congressman.

But Jessica, for all of the talk of Joe Biden being the front-runner, he is certainly driving this race. There is something going on beneath that is also very interesting and that is the fight between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders for the leader of the progressive flank of the party, if you will. Take a listen to what Senator Warren said last night when she urged supporters and voters here to dream big.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ELIZABETH WARREN, DEMOCRATIC 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that the time for small ideas is over. We need big structural change in this country, in this economy. And big structural change starts with big ideas.

(END VIDEO)

ZELENY: So, no question there, Senator Warren trying to make her case. She doesn't mention Joe Biden by name, but that of course is what she's talking about. She's saying this is not a moment for incremental change, she's saying it's a time for big ideas and of course she has been gaining a lot of attention because of her policy ideas, because of her plan to pay back college loans for some 95 percent of people who get student loans in America, so those plans and many others are resonating.

So, all of this, she'll be speaking later on here this morning at the democratic convention, along with 21 of her democratic rivals here, so, certainly a chance for voters to hear all of the candidates leading into the first debate next week. Jessica and victor.

DEAN: All right. Yes, we'll We'll see what they have to say, Jeff Zeleny in South Carolina for us, thanks so much.

BLACKWELL: Well the fire marshal says he's never seen anything like it. A plane carrying a group of sky divers in Hawaii crashes and burns on the runway killing everyone on board.

DEAN: Plus, new allegations of sexual misconduct against President Trump. This time from a columnist who says this happened to her in the '90s. What President Trump is saying about those allegations. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: "New York Magazine" has published allegations from advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in which she claims the president sexually assaulted her in the '90s.

DEAN: She makes those accusations in her forthcoming book "What Do We Need Men For?" which also accuses other men of inappropriate behavior. CNN's Jason Carroll filed this report last night.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump issuing a strong denial against accusations he forced himself on author and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll at a department store in Manhattan more than 20 years ago.

[08:35:00]

Carroll prays(ph) the allegations in a just-published "New York Magazine" article tied to the publication of her new book, "What Do We Need Men For?" A Modest Proposal." In an interview Friday with "NBC News," Carroll described the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

E. JEAN CARROLL, AMERICAN JOURNALIST: I had a run-in with the president in a dressing room in Bergdorf's. I fought. It was shocking. It was against my will.

(END VIDEO)

J. CARROLL: In the article she writes, "The moment the dressing room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall hitting my head quite badly and puts his mouth against my lips." She continues, "I am so shocked, I shove him back and start laughing again. He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall with a shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights."

However the president says, "I've never met this person in my life," adding, "shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves or to sell a book or carry out some sort of political agenda." He continues, "No pictures, no surveillance, no video, no reports, no sales attendants around. I would like to thank Bergdorf Goodman for confirming they have no video footage of any such incident because it never happened. False accusations diminish the severity of real assault." Trump then asked for help saying, "If anyone has information that the Democratic Party is working with Mrs. Carroll or "New York Magazine," please notify us as soon as possible. The world should know what's really going on. It's a disgrace and people should pay dearly for such false accusations."

Despite Trump's statement they never met, Carroll published a picture showing her chatting with Trump during a holiday party in the 1980s. And "New York Magazine" says they reached out to Carroll's two friends who corroborated what she did disclose about that attack at the time.

Trump says the story is made up and, quote, "should be sold in the fiction section." He was taped during a 2005 "Access Hollywood" interview saying he liked to grab women by their private parts, adding, "when you're a star, they let you do it." CNN has reached out to Carroll but she has yet to respond. Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

DEAN: CNN's Laura Coates spoke with Genevieve Smith, she's the features director who worked on the piece and she says she wanted to take this story seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

LAURA COATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did have any hesitation about publishing this account by E. Jean Carroll?

GENEVIEVE SMITH, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR AT "NEW YORK MAGAZINE": I don't know if I would call it hesitation, but it was obviously something that we thought about a lot, we looked at every angle; we did everything we could to corroborate the parts that were possible to corroborate. It certainly wasn't something we took lightly.

COATES: In what way did you corroborate the story or try to vet?

SMITH: So we did talk to the two women that she said she told at the time. They were able to corroborate that they do remember being told that at the time. They also provided details of the conversation that she hadn't written about that they remembered, and then we also reached out to Bergdorf to see if there was any possibility they had preserved tapes or anything from that time. They hadn't, which isn't a huge shock. But then the other thing is it's in light of many other similar accusations, and we did consider it in the timeline of those other accusations and it does come in a period of the mid-'90s where there are several accusations around the same time.

COATES: So why not publish the names of the women who corroborated her story?

SMITH: That's between E. Jean and her friends and it's their private decision and we know who they are. We talked to them and that's up to them.

COATES: Now of course, there are multiple accusation in this piece. Not just President Trump is one of the people who is named, she names a number of high-profile people as well. But would you have published this story had the lightning rod name of Donald Trump not been attached to it?

SMITH: I absolutely - I really think we would. I don't know if it would get the attention that it's getting, but it is a heart-wrenching and beautiful memoir that talks about her life in relation to men throughout her entire life. When she tells the story, it's contextualized among all these encounters that she's had from the time she was a child. So I certainly think it would be worth - worth publishing her account with or without this particular story.

(END VIDEO)

DEAN: E. Jean Carroll's book will be released July 2nd.

BLACKWELL: Still to come the award winning CNN film "Apollo 11" premieres tomorrow. It showcases never seen before film footage ahead of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The director joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Well, the Apollo 11 NASA mission that put a man on the moon for the first time is known worldwide as a crowning moment of human innovation and achievement.

DEAN: Now, as we approach the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing, the award-winning CNN film "Apollo 11" brings us a new look at the historic mission with breath-taking never before seen film footage. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've passed the six minute mark in our countdown for Apollo 11. Now 5 minutes, 52 seconds and counting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Booster flight...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... verify go to launch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CPS has verified go for launch.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: CTSC verify go to launch?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CTSC verified go to launch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Booster flight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SRL verified go for launch?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SRL verified go for launch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) verified go for launch? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible), go for launch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some 7.6 million pounds of thrust pushing the vehicle upward, a vehicle that weighs close to 6.5 million pounds.

(END VIDEO)

DEAN: Joining us now is the director of "Apollo 11," Todd Miller. Thanks so much for being with us.

TODD MILLER, DIRECTOR OF "APOLLO 11": Thanks for having he.

DEAN: We've got the 50th anniversary coming up, what else inspired to you take this on and what called to you about this particular subject?

MILLER: Well, I think it's obviously one of the most important things in human history. I think 1,000 years from now, we're going to look back on this time period and see just what an amazing accomplishment it truly was.

BLACKWELL: You know what makes this film so spectacular is that you look at the footage, I mean, that is so clear; 50 years on. How did you find it and how did you get to from what you found to what people will see tomorrow night?

MILLER: Well, it really started as a research project to just try to quantify exactly how much footage was within the NASA network and also at the national archives which is the end repository for government records, films, video, audio, et cetera, and in doing that research project, several months in, the supervisory archivist at the national archives found these reels. And it was just astonishing. When we had put it on our film scanner and saw the imagery for the first time, it just truly blew us away and it still does. Every time I see it, it just -- it gives me chills.

DEAN: Yes, it's incredible to watch. And you know the clip we just played, you saw the crowd just waiting with bated breath and everybody is so nervous. It really (inaudible) everyone. We've got President Trump saying he wants to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024 and then he wants to go to Mars. We also have these private space tourism companies that want to make space like a vacation destination. What do you think or maybe hope comes next for space exploration and do you think we can return back to where we kind of are all unified kind of watching this move forward?

MILLER: Yes, it's a tough business. You know, it's been 50 years since we've gone to the moon. I'm an optimist, personally. I think if, you know, so many people came together, just not in this country, but globally, came together to accomplish this amazing feat, I certainly think we can do that again. From a practical standpoint, the earth is not going to be here forever. That could happen a thousand - a million years from now, we don't know. But we're going to have to get out there if we want to survive. I think the lessons we learned during the Apollo project and certainly

on Apollo 11 will teach us how to get out there.

BLACKWELL: What do you hope audiences take from "Apollo 11" from watching your film?

MILLER: I think just that - that when a great number of us come together we can truly accomplish great things.

DEAN: It is - it is incredible to watch that. That is what strikes me about it is that everyone felt vested in a way, or so many people felt vested in a way. Now, would you ever go to the moon?

MILLER. Oh yes, sign me up.

DEAN: Take a camera, right?

MILLER: Yes, exactly, I want a large format film camera, old school style. Let's go.

BLACKWELL: It's a pricey vacation, but if you can get it, Todd Douglas Miller, thank you so much for being with us.

MILLER: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Great to have you. You can watch the CNN original film "Apollo 11" this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: All right a plane full of sky divers crashes and burns on the runway in Hawaii, while their loved ones were watching. We've got the latest and this breaking news over night in a moment.

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[08:50:00]

BLACKWELL: A small plane crashed during a skydiving excursion in Hawaii killing all nine people on board. Now, this was at the Dillingham Airfield in Oahu. Witnesses say the plane hit a fence line before bursting into flames right there on the runway. Officials have not released the names of the victims, and many of them had family at the airfield when the crash happened watching all of this happen. The FAA is investigating.

DEAN: Seven motorcyclists were killed overnight in New Hampshire after they collided with a pickup truck. Three other riders were injured. The pickup truck was going the opposite direction of the bikes bit investigators have not revealed the cause of that crash. Witnesses - drivers in the area jumped into action bringing blankets and first aid kits to help. New Hampshire's Governor tweeted this, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the first responders who answered the call."

State officials are on the scene and assisting as the situation develops. BLACKWELL: The Supreme Court says a man in Mississippi should get a new trial in a murder case. His name is Curtis Flowers, he's been tried six times for the same murder. The justices felt his conviction was tainted because prosecutors rejected potential black jurors. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote this, "The state's relentless determined effort to rid the jury of black individuals strongly suggests that the state wanted to try Flowers before a jury with as few black jurors as possible and ideally before and all-white jury."

Flowers was convicted for the 1996 murder of four people at a furniture store in Wynona, Mississippi.

Well a man in Michigan, ahh, Michigan man, found out that he has to share his $38 million jackpot with his ex-wife. Richard Delasko was in the middle of divorcing his wife when he won the mega millions back in 2013.

DEAN: Well it turns out a judge has ruled the winning ticket could be counted as a marital asset. As for an appeal, the lawyer for Delasko says he is considering his options.

BLACKWELL: OK, well he gets half of the ticket, that's still...

DEAN: Still a lot of money.

BLACKWELL: ... big payday.

DEAN: That's fair.

BLACKWELL: So finally a great story here. The life of a Florida toddler, it's changed dramatically. She is now able to hear her family for the first time.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beep, beep. Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to talk to the baby now, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi! I love you, hello! I love you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then Granny - Granny love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi Granny love you.

(END VIDEO)

DEAN: Aah, The Florida toddler has been deaf since birth until she received her cochlear implants at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg and one of the scientists there said that moment where you see her eyes pop open and she hears for the first time never gets old.

BLACKWELL: Good to see that. There is much more news straight ahead for you.

DEAN: Smerconish is next and we're back in an hour when we'll take you live to the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention. Kamala Harris, Senator Kamala Harris is the first of the major democratic candidates set to speak. We'll bring you that live. We'll see you again at the top of the 10:00 Eastern hour.

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