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One-On-One Interview With Rep. Ted Yoho (R), Florida; National Security Advisor, John Bolton, Issuing A Strong Warning To Iran Today; Shooting At A South Bend Bar Left A 27-Year-Old Man Dead And As Many As 10 Others Hurt; Oregon Democratic Governor Ordered Troopers To Track Down Republican State Lawmakers; Hot Air Balloon Crashes Into A Crowd Of People. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired June 23, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:00:18] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
We begin with a tense standoff between the United States and Iran. New sanctions against Tehran are set to go into effect tomorrow. President Trump says they are in response to Iran shooting down an unmanned multimillion dollar U.S. drone and he believes the sanctions will drive Iran to the bargaining table. President Trump initially ordered a retaliation strike but then called it off just minutes before it was set to lap. Here is how he is characterizing the United States response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know we have done very massive sanctions. We are increasing the sanctions now. But the response is always going to be very strong. I built up a lot of capital. I have had a lot of people that aren't Trump fans saying I don't believe -- a lot said we're going to be in World War III. We are doing great in Korea. We are doing great in a lot of different places. We knocked out the caliphate in Syria. we knocked out 100 percent.
CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: Hundred percent?
TRUMP: No, the caliphate, the land, the area, is 100 percent.
TODD: Fair enough.
TRUMP: They are stone cold crazy and they will walk no a store and they will be wired up for bombs and they will blow. It's a horrible thing. So I would never say that. I don't want to do what other presidents have done or other people have done saying we want because you don't win so conclusively. I would love to have the day where we can win --.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's check in with CNN White House Correspondent, Boris Sanchez.
So what else are you hearing from the President today?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred.
Yes, President Trump making a rare appearance on one of the Sunday morning talk shows. The President bragging about how U.S. sanctions on Iran have crippled their economy and made them desperate. The President says that he believes that with these sanctions that he promised to put in place tomorrow Iran will walk to negotiate.
And he says he is ready to sit down and talk with them. He says he doesn't want war even though he acknowledges some in his administration wanted to be more aggressive with the Iranian regime. He specifically mentioned his National Security Adviser, John Bolton. Listen to what the President said to NBC News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Do you feel like you were being pushed into military action against Iran by any of your advisers?
TRUMP: I have two groups of people. I have defense and hawks.
TODD: You have some serious hawks.
TRUMP: I have some hawks -- yes, John Bolton is absolutely a hawk. If it was up to him, he would take on the whole world at one time. But that doesn't matter because I want both sides. You know, some people said why did you put -- you know, I was against going into Iraq for years and years. And before it ever happened I was against going into Iraq and some people said, I don't know, I was totally against. I was a private citizen. It never made sense to me. I was against going into the Middle East. Chuck, we spent $7 trillion in the Middle East right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, Fred, we should point out it's still debatable as to whether the President was against the war in Iraq. There's some reporting out there that indicates that he supported it initially. We should also point out that in this interview the President didn't dismiss any potential military action against Iran. He said there were many targets the United States could aim for in Iran. And he said that if there is a confrontation quote "it will be obliteration like you have never seen before." Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Boris Sanchez, thank you so much at the White House.
All right. With me now to discuss further, Republican Congressman Ted Yoho from Florida. He is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Good to see you. So do you agree with the President that these sanctions or more sanctions will bring Iran to the negotiating table? REP. TED YOHO (R), FLORIDA: Yes, I really do. I think the pressure
that you have seen has caused the reaction that Iran is doing, and it's because of the economic pressure they feel, so they're striking out. And I think President Trump is right on for pulling out of the JCPOA to get rid of that terrible deal that was negotiated under the Obama administration with President Obama and John Kerry to put that pressure back on.
And the rest of the world said, no, it's not the right thing to do. But what we are seeing now is Germany, the UK, and other countries really see Iran for the bad players that they are and the mayhem they are causing around the world through their proxy groups whether it's Hezbollah or the Houthis or the Iranian revolutionary guard.
WHITFIELD: So what is the strategy and bringing them to the negotiating table to negotiate what if the nuke deal was not enough and this administration walked away from it? What is being presented to Iran to incentivize them to engage in a new deal?
YOHO: Sure. Let me go back to the JCPOA. That was a deal that --
WHITFIELD: You don't have to because you already said. But just answer that question.
YOHO: Well, it wouldn't have prevented the Iranians from getting a nuclear weapon.
WHITFIELD: But for a year they were compliant. So what would be offered that would be different? How do you incentivize Iran?
[14:05:05] YOHO: The economic pressure that they feel not just through us but through the other allies that we have that see what Iran is doing with the four tankers that they destroyed in may and the two this month, the rest of the allies are going to say, you know, they are bad players. They are the leading state's --
WHITFIELD: But all of that may be a consequence of the walking away from the first nuke deal. So --
YOHO: No, no, no --
WHITFIELD: If this administration is saying we want to see you back at the table, what would that discussion be like? What is being negotiating?
YOHO: I think this is a great time to come to the table. And I think if they realize that they can't go down the nuclear path, which I agree with President Trump, and then focus on their economy -- and I thought what President Trump said yesterday was let's help Iran make Iran great again.
That's focusing on the Iranian people and getting away from the terrorist activity or the radical stuff since in 1979 when the Ayatollahs came into power and focus on building a strong Iran, a strong Iranian economy where they are incorporated in the 21st century. WHITFIELD: What is the they you are advocating?
YOHO: Keeping the sanctions on until Iran is ready to negotiate.
WHITFIELD: And then what, negotiating for what?
YOHO: Find out what their need is so we can do infrastructure developments, the developing economy. And then from the economy develop trade. And then for strong trading partners there is going to be less conflicts.
And so, President Trump is doing exactly the right thing especially by not going in there and bombing over a piece of equipment. I would send them a bill for that and I would sue them in court over that and then take it to the world court and, again, it shows Iran was the one responsible for that.
They have already claims they shot down the drone. And the rest of the world is, again, looking at the tankers they have destroyed, looking at the drove they have destroyed. They say you guys cant continue to go on this.
WHITFIELD: Except the international community is looking at what precipitated that. And if Iran in some way was either, a, one philosophy is trying to get attention, the other was response to being put in a corner because, you know, the administration walked away from the deal.
YOHO: Right. From the history is going to look at that that America by pulling out of the JCPOA and putting these restrictions on them, did they precipitate that? But we had nothing to do with what they are doing in Yemen, with what they are doing in Syria, with what they are doing in South America.
And if you look back over the course of decades, you know, you can look at the Khobar towers, you can look at what they have done in Beirut, bombing in Argentina where they killed 85 people at a Jewish synagogue that they haven't been held accountable for. So this is not something that's an isolated incidence. This is something that the Iranian regime has done since the '70s. And it is time to -- I would love to see the Iranian people stand up --
WHITFIELD: So all of this is payback for all of that, you are saying?
YOHO: No, it's not payback. It's just who Iran is. And I think it's time we change that page in history and get away from the radical clerics that are running Iran and let somebody have a stabilized government that we can work with.
WHITFIELD: OK. So congressman, let me as you this, you know. I want to ask you about the murder of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Listen to this exchange with President Trump on "Meet the Press" about that matter, still unresolved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TODD: The United Nations said they would like the United States to order the FBI to investigate Jamal Khashoggi's death and possibly MBS involvement in it. Will you allow the FBI to do that?
TRUMP: I think it's been heavily investigated --
TODD: By who?
TRUMP: By everybody. I mean, I have seen so many different reports.
TODD: What about the FBI?
TRUMP: Here is where I am. Are you ready? Iran has killed many, many people a day. Other countries in the Middle East, this is a hostile place. This is a vicious, hostile place. If you are going to look Saudi Arabia, look at Iran, and look at other counties, I won't mention names, and take a look at what's happening. And then you are outside of the Middle East and you take a look at what's happening with countries, OK. And I only say they spend $400 billion to $450 billion over a period of time, all money, all jobs, buying equipment --
TODD: That's the price. As long as they keep buying, we'll overlook this behavior?
TRUMP: No, no. I'm not like a fool. We don't want to do business with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So Congressman, the killing of Khashoggi was also vicious and hostile.
YOHO: Terrible.
WHITFIELD: So do you think the FBI should be investigating?
YOHO: No, I don't. It happened on Turkey's soil. I think the Turkish intelligence service ought to investigate it.
WHITFIELD: A columnist for an American newspaper --
YOHO: Well, you have a good point there. They should weigh into it, and I think the person behind this should be held accountable. And if it's the leader of that country, MBS, he should be held accountable for that. I would allow the Saudis to do what they have to do to hold people accountable.
[14:10:07] WHITFIELD: You trust Saudi Arabia to hold people accountable?
YOHO: Well, I trust the Turkish government to do their investigation. You brought up a great point. He was an American resident here. And so maybe the FBI can help them somewhat. But whoever goes back to, yes, I think the world community should say this is unacceptable behavior when you start going after the free press this is something I know you in journalism are extremely concerned with.
WHITFIELD: Every American should be.
Congressman Ted Yoho, thank you.
YOHO: Have a great day.
WHITFIELD: You, too.
All right. Still ahead, Iran fires back at Trump's national security adviser calling out John Bolton as part of the President's "B" team pushing him to go to war. The latest from Tehran next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:14:36] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. National Security Adviser, John Bolton issuing a strong warning to Iran today just days after President Trump called off a retaliatory strike on Iran for shooting down a U.S. military unmanned drone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should mistake U.S. prudence and discretion for weakness. No one has granted them a hunting license in the Middle East. As President Trump said on Friday, our military is rebuilt, new and ready to go. By far the best in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:15:16] WHITFIELD: Bolton speaking from Jerusalem where during a meeting with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu he said military options against Iran remain on the table. A top Iranian quickly fired back calling Bolton part of Trump's "B" team and that is pushing the President towards war.
Bill Richardson is a former Democratic governor of New Mexico and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the Clinton administration.
Ambassador, thanks so much for being with me.
BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: So, first, let me get your reaction to Iran calling Bolton and Netanyahu part of Trump's "b" team, accusing them of pushing the President towards war with Iran.
RICHARDSON: Well, you know, Iran has behaved inappropriately helping terrorists. They have this unprovoked attack whether it was in international water so I'm not going to defend Iran. I do think the Trump administration don't have a strategy. We don't know what they want to do next. It's a day-to-day strategy and we need to develop it.
WHITFIELD: Sorry. My conversation with Congressman Yoho says, yes, is there was a strategy to get to Iran economically. I mean, you know, really strangulation economically and that will bring them to the table. But then when I pressed the question then what, get to the table and then what is the U.S. trying to entice Iran with next? What do you believe is the potential end game? Why would this administration want to see Iran at the table? What will they be negotiating about?
RICHARDSON: Well, what I would do -- what I would do is in the security council, with our NATO allies, I mean, the problem is we don't have any allies. Germany is mad at us. Britain is mad at us. France, because we pulled out of the Iran agreement. We shouldn't have. They were complying. But at the same time I think that Iran agreement did not do enough to Iran on their help with Yemen, their help in with Syria, imprisoning Americans, massive human rights violations.
I think the sanctions have been working. The Iran economy is in trouble. But what we need to do short term is de-escalate. We need some secret talks with Iran to de-escalate and may be reach an agreement. We don't want them to have nuclear weapons. But that is long term and I don't see it happening right away.
WHITFIELD: To de-escalate do you see that any talks will have to involve a third party? And, if so, who? Which country might that third party be?
WHITFIELD: Those third party countries like Oman has helped us on Middle East geopolitical issues. Qatar might help. Perhaps the United Nations. Maybe our European allies but they are mad at us. Germany that trade enormously with Iran, France, Macron, the Brits, Russia and China, for instance, Fredricka.
Eighty percent of the oil going to Asia is through the straits of Hormuz. China should help us. We should have vessels patrolling tankers to avoid the bombing of tankers of this vital resources oil that goes throughout the world. We need some short-term steps to de- escalate, secret talks. An international coalition to proceed with protecting those vessels.
And then, thirdly, I'm OK with the sanctions with the cyber sanctions but we don't have a military strike. We have thousands of troops in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Syria. We don't want to put them in harm's way. The American people don't want a war in the Middle East.
WHITFIELD: And so, real quick before I let you go. The President said yesterday he is not a hawk, he's not a dove, but he is a man with common sense. Do you see this, you know, I guess indicative of a strategy of a man being led by common sense?
RICHARDSON: Well, first of all, I was in the cabinet, the national security cabinet. If he was going to have military strikes, he would have known when he made that decision that there are going to be casualties. Apparently he did not know, so it's a scrambled national security policy decision making. At the same time I commend him for not proceeding with a military strike. That would have been very unwise. WHITFIELD: All right. Ambassador Bill Richardson, thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
All right. Straight ahead, Presidential candidate, Mayor Pete Buttigieg under fire for racial tensions in his hometown. Can he balance a run for national office and concerns in his own police department? CNN's exclusive reporting next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:23:51] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. As Mayor Pete Buttigieg takes a break from his presidential campaign to address issues in his city of South Bend, Indiana, his troubles back home just might have gotten worse.
An early morning shooting at a South Bend bar left a 27-year-old man dead and as many as ten others hurt. Police say the suspect is still at-large. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear. Buttigieg will comment on the shooting in about an hour from now at a scheduled town hall where he is also expected to address a police involved shooting in South Bend one week ago, separate from what happened today.
In that incident, a white police officer killed a black man who was allegedly breaking into cars with a knife in hand. The shooting has highlighted escalating racial tensions in the community and forced the mayor to leave the campaign trail to deal with all that's unfolding.
Jason Carroll is in South Bend and CNN Politics Reporter, Dan Merica has exclusive CNN reporting on concerns involving the South Bend, Indiana police force.
So Jason, let me first begin with you and the scheduled town hall and what is at the, you know, root of so much emotion.
[14:25:07] JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of emotion and a lot of questions, Fredricka, I think from a number of people here in this community, namely why the officers who were involved in that particular didn't have their body cams turned on. Buttigieg has since ordered the officers to turn on their body cams.
But this is really just the tip of the iceberg of what's happening here in this community of South Bend where you have got a community that does not trust the department that it's supposed to be serving, allegations of excessive force, allegations members of the department have been using racially insensitive language and also you have a department that doesn't reflect the community that it serves.
You have got a community of South Bend that's what some 40 percent people of color but you have a department that's predominantly white. So all of this came to a head really on Friday and that's when you had Buttigieg involved in this march. He was confronted by members of the community. He was confronted by the woman whose son was killed by officers and here is what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In front of all these cameras that black lives matter?
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Did you just ask me if black lives matter?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We want to hear you say it.
BUTTIGIEG: Of course black lives matter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been here all my life. And you Are not doing a thing about me or my son or none of these people out here. It's time for you to do something. If you can't do it, I'm tired of talking and hearing your lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Now the Buttigieg camp says that when he was basically talking to the woman there, he was not saying that he was not asking for her vote. He was basically trying to say he wasn't there as a candidate campaigning for president, he was there as a mayor trying to address the concerns for the community, and that's what he will be doing here later today when this gets under way, this town hall at just about 3:30 -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: OK, Jason.
So let me bring in Dan Merica because separately you and your colleague, Vanessa (INAUDIBLE) have taken a closer look into the police department in South Bend. And what did you discover?
DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes. My colleague Vanessa and I were interested in how the mayor has handled the police department for his eight years. And in part the mayor himself had written it was something he knew going in that he would have to struggle with, that it was going to be an issue he faced.
And what we discovered is all that we have seen playing out over the last week, all of the tension, the racial tension we have seen play out on the streets of South Bend has really been bubbling both below and above the surface for the last eight years for the length of Mayor Buttigieg's time as mayor. And we really honed in on three different areas.
The first is leadership changes at the department. The mayor very well documented at this point relieved and initially asked the first African-American police chief he inherited to resign and then demoted him for a very complicated and contentious case over tapes recorded of phone calls in the department.
He then subsequently named two white officers to lead the department and that soured some in the community and soured some former officers we spoke to who said that they think their chances for rising above the ranks stopped once those new heads came in to lead the force.
Also as Jason mentioned, the force began to dwindled in diversity from 2012 to 2019 to today. In 2014 when we got documents from local press reports, the force was 10 percent African-American and today that number is five percent. That's a pretty stiff to climb. And is noticed by the community protesting who are complaining about diversity on the force.
And lastly the fact there are some violent officers or allegations of violence from officers on the force. And much of that has been aired out over the last week to the point that mane of these activists know these officers by name. They have called for their ouster. One of those officers is (INAUDIBLE). We have document this in a piece that he is at. A series of cases against him, allegations against him that have made him the focal point of attention in South Bend among these activists.
I actually asked Mayor Buttigieg in South Carolina yesterday about all of this, about whether he believes that the men he appointed to lead the department have done an effective job. Take a listen to what he said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUTTIGIEG: I think there's a lot of good work and I think there is a lot of good work yet to go. And so, we are going to be assessing all the steps that brought us to this point and all the things that we haven't gotten to where they need to be. And that is going to be a major challenge that the department faces. There have been issues throughout my tenure.
We have taken a lot of steps that have I think served us well as a community. But obviously, when something like this can happen, when some of the questions they are being ask are there. We have not done enough. We have not gone far enough. We have not managed to decisively solve this incredibly challenging problem and will be on our agenda as long as I'm mayor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:30:07] MERICA: Fred, what remains to be seen though, is now he is a presidential candidate. How does all of this impact that presidential campaign?
WHITFIELD: Now is he accepting blame or even is the community blaming him for say the decline of the diversity within the police department, that his leadership -- there's a correlation between his leadership and that decline?
MERICA: He has admitted multiple times that it is something that he has failed as mayor not being able to recruit enough black officers to the South Bend police department. He notes that it's a nationwide problem and he has said he has tried to work on the issue. But it is something that it is noticed by people in South Bend, that the police department does not reflect the community.
This is a really unique position for Pete Buttigieg. He kind of caught momentum early this year and has been on a trajectory that's really unseen in this presidential cycle to date. Really, unabated growth frankly in his campaign and his popularity. This is the first time where you really see a national test for this mayor of 100,000 persons city who is asking to be president of the United States based on what he has succeeded and what he has done in that city, in South Bend. That is why this is such a crucial moment for Buttigieg's campaign, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK. Dan Merica, thank you so much.
Of course there is a scheduled town hall meeting and perhaps now especially because he is running for president more eyes will be on his handling of matters at the town hall and what it is people there in South Bend have to say. We will, of course, take it as it happens live.
Thanks to Dan and Jason.
All right. Still ahead, CNN takes Vice President Mike Pence to task over the climate emergency.
Meantime, the search is on for Republican lawmakers who fled their state rather than vote on a climate bill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:37] WHITFIELD: Today the Trump administration once again is refusing to acknowledge that climate change is a real threat. This morning Vice President Mike Pence dodged CNN's Jake Tapper about the idea of a human induced climate emergency.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think it's a threat manmade climate emergency is a threat?
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the answer to that is going to be based upon the science.
TAPPER: Well, the science says yes. I'm asking you what you think.
PENCE: Well, there's many in the science --
TAPPER: The science community in your own administration at NOAA, at the DNI, they all say it's a threat. But you won't for some reason.
PENCE: Look. What we have said is that we are not going to raise utility rates. Remember what President Obama said?
TAPPER: But it's not a threat.
PENCE: He said his climate change plans. He said it is necessarily going to cause utility rates to skyrocket and that would force us into these green technologies. Now you have Democrats all running for president that are running on a green new deal that would break this economy --
TAPPER: So you don't think it's a threat is what I'm saying? You don't think it is a threat.
PENCE: I think we are making great progress reducing carbon emissions. America has the cleanest air and water in the world.
TAPPER: It's not true. We don't have the cleanest air and water in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Meantime, the Oregon state legislature canceled its Saturday session so police could investigate threats made during a stalemate between the state's Democrats and Republicans over a climate bill. CNN affiliate KOIN reports the cancellation comes over concerns of militia groups gathering at the state capital. Republican lawmakers who oppose a climate bill abandoned their responsibilities to vote and left the state of Oregon. And the Democratic governor ordered state police to round them up.
Here is CNN's Sara Sidner.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. This is wild. But the governor so frustrated with the fact that the Republican senators have decided to keep their promise and walk out stopping all business inside of the capitol. She has decided to send the state police after them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER COURTNEY (D), OREGON STATE SENATE: I am asking at the highest law enforcement branch in the state of Oregon go out and find my fellow legislators.
SIDNER (voice-over): Politics have gotten so ugly in Oregon the Democratic governor has now ordered troopers to track down Republican state lawmakers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are rogue. They need to get back. They need to do their jobs.
SIDNER: It all came to a head Wednesday with the warning from the governor saying she contacted state police after Republican senator said they would walk out of the legislature to block a vote on a landmark climate bill aimed at dramatically lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any of you are offended, that's fine.
SIDNER: One of those senators responded to the governor's warning with a threat of his own.
RYAN BOQUIST (R), OREGON STATE SENATE: This is what I told the superintendent. Send come heavily armed. I'm not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It is that simple.
SIDNER: Thursday all 11 Republicans made good on the promise to walk out attacking the Senate president before leaving. BOQUIST: We are at the 11th hour. If you don't think these boots are
for walking, you are flat wrong, Mr. President. And you send the state police to get me, hell is coming for you personally.
SIDNER: The governor followed through as well in an extraordinary move last night, she ordered the state police to bring them back to work.
It is an extraordinary move, would you agree?
GOV. KATE BROWN (D), OREGON: Absolutely. But I would also argue that the challenges we face as a state and a nation around tackling climate change also require extraordinary circumstances.
SIDNER: The wife of one of the Republican senators told CNN the senators went out of state to Idaho.
BROWN: This is an embarrassment to the state of Oregon.
SIDNER: The underlying reason for the standoff, Democrats have a super majority, which means they can pass legislation without a vote from a single Republican. But in order to do any of the people's business they need at least two Republican senators to be in attendance for a quorum.
State police say they will politely ask senators to return and accompany them if need be. But if they can't find two senators to agree they would need permission from their superintendents to use handcuffs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: The legislation session here ends on June 30th. If they cannot convince two Republican senators to show up here to the capitol it means that all of the people's work will not be finished. But the governor has promised if that happens she will call for a special session -- Fred.
[14:40:01] WHITFIELD: Sara Sidner, thank you so much.
All right. Still ahead, a hot air balloon crashes into a crowd of people right there sending dozens of people diving out of harm's way. So how did this happen?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:44:29] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. NASA's "APOLLO 11" mission that put humankind on the moon for the first time was a crowning achievement of human ambition, innovation and intellect. We have only memories of grainy footage to remember that momentous day in 1969. Well, tonight as we approach the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing the award winning new CNN film "APOLLO 11" brings us a breathtaking new look at the historic mission. Here is a preview. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [14:45:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We choose to go to the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Apollo main control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We choose to go to the moon. And do things not because they are easy but because they are hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ignition sequence starts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Houston. Loud and clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give us a good one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The enormity of this event is something that only history will be able to judge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good luck and Godspeed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "APOLLO 11" has been given the mission to taking men to the moon, landing them there, and bringing them safely back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful, just beautiful. Magnificent ride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It's going to be an exciting view.
I want to bring in right now former astronaut, Cady Coleman. Cady Coleman is a veteran of two missions, right. And you also spent time in the international space station.
And so, you know, I wonder for you. You were, what, roughly about eight years old when this mission was taking place. Do you remember the excitement and the anxiety about this event?
CADY COLEMAN, FORMER ASTRONAUT: Being that little I won't say that I remember that. I remember the excitement and all the adults around just could not believe this was happening. The joke in our family is that my mom woke up my brother and not me, although we were in the same place so I was up anyway. And just to see that and just see real people and just being able to know that this was happening. This happened with real, real people. And that's what's so exciting about celebrating the anniversary.
WHITFIELD: And at what point were you inspired to be an astronaut? Because I mean, you and I are close in age. And I remember it was always a family event to be able to watch a launch or a landing or anything about, you know, an undertaking, a mission that NASA was about to encounter. And it was an inspiration, you know, to all of us. But for you, what was the inspiration that you would become an astronaut with NASA?
COLEMAN: Put it two things. One is growing up with a dad who was the chief of salvage and diving in the Navy and in-charge of like the (INAUDIBLE) program building the Madual (ph) when it first slip under the seaside. So I think I grew up thinking that exploration was normal. But I really never occurred to me until I was in college and Sally Ride, the first America female astronaut came and spoke. And I remember the classroom. I remember looking at her and just thinking, you know, I could identify with that person. Maybe I could try to do that.
And that's actually what is almost slightly terrifying about celebrating the 50th anniversary of "Apollo" is I worry that, you know, there are so many images that don't speak to basically the whole world that we need to bring together in order to take these big steps together.
WHITFIELD: And what do you expect these images that people will be seeing sometimes for the first time in this hour program this evening or for some folks that will be kind of conjuring up memories of, you know, yester year? What are you hoping might be provoked from this documentary?
COLEMAN: That it makes this real to people. The fact that it happening before and it is happening now and it can happen again. People really need to see tangible -- and understand what it felt like and who the people were. And this documentary does that. I mean, it's a beautiful wonderful thing which for me has some memories of looking back at places, you know, I have walked out of the same doorway that Mercury, Gemini and Apollo folks did.
But I think for everyone out there it makes it more real and that is so important. Because -- I mean, not just for space exploration but for all of the problems that we are trying to solve down here. We need people to believe and be inspired and realize that their talents are needed to be brought to the table.
WHITFIELD: How much do you miss or even reflect on that moment of walking in and out of the same door that you just referred or even what it was to be stationed on the international space station?
COLEMAN: Well, I spent six months up there and I will tell you one of my colleagues said it best (INAUDIBLE). He said, you know, if I could have brought my family up there, there really is no reason to come home. And I loved living up there. And that's what's exciting about going back to the moon. And you to stay is that these are all places that belong to us. We just haven't been yet.
WHITFIELD: Cady Coleman, thank you so much.
COLEMAN: Thank you. I can't wait to watch.
WHITFIELD: Me too. And so appreciate your reflections.
All right. Be sure to tune in the award-winning CNN film, the "APOLLO 11" premieres tonight at 9:00 only on CNN.
All right. Next, a hot air debacle. Video capturing the moment a balloon crashes through the trees and plows right into a crowd of people. What happened next coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:53:31] WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories, hundreds of people attended the private service for Maleah Davis this weekend in Houston. The four-year-old's body was found last month in Arkansas. Her mother's ex-fiance is charged in connection with her death. But the service was all about Maleah's life and the things that she loved. Her colorful casket was decorated with a my little pony theme.
Investigators in South Carolina believe an alligator may have killed a man near Charleston. Authorities found the man's body in a pond in (INAUDIBLE) island. Police say the body had bite marks consistent with an alligator attack. Autopsy results are pending.
And just in, Indian recovery teams have retrieved the bodies of seven climbers who vanished last month in the Himalayas. Authorities said they will search for an eighth body tomorrow. It is believed the climbers, including two Americans, four Britains and one Australian were killed in an avalanche. Indian authorities say the climbers did not have permission to climb the 21,000-foot mountain.
And a pretty scary moment at a bicentennial celebration in Hannibal, Missouri last night. A hot air balloon crashed through some trees after a botched landing and knocked over several people on the ground as you see there. One young girl was hurt.
CNN's Natasha Chen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Families at the Hannibal, Missouri, bicentennial celebration captured the moments a hot air balloon took off after 6:00 p.m. local time. Following initial oohs and aahs you can tell in this video people quickly realized something wasn't right.
[14:55:10] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's coming in hot.
CHEN: Now look at the balloonist in the basket. That person is waving at people to get out of the way as it descends. That's when the person taking the video said she dropped her phone and barely got out of the way with her kids before the balloon crashed.
The bicentennial event committee told us an experienced balloonist was attempting to land when the hot air balloon grazed a tree tipping the basket. The committee said one girl suffered minor injuries. Another person at the event told our a affiliate the basket hit the ground right behind him and ran over his mother. Other than a small cut on her finger he said his mother is fine.
Natasha Chen, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Still ahead, President Trump on track to issue additional sanctions against Iran claiming it will drive the country to the bargaining table. Can the President avoid a war?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:59:39] WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
All right. We begin with the tense standoff between the United States and Iran. New sanctions against Tehran are set to go into effect tomorrow. President Trump says they are in response to Iran shooting down an unmanned multimillion dollar U.S. drone and he believes the sanctions will drive Iran to the bargaining table.
President Trump ordered a retaliation strike but then called it off just minutes before it was set to happen. Here is how he is characterizing the United States' response.
