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Trump Declares China Trade Talks Back on Track; Interview with former Senator Max Baucus; Trump Extremely Angry at Khashoggi Murder, Defends Saudi Ties; Buttigieg Attends Peace Walk as Racial Tensions Flare; Castro Visits Migrant Detention Center in Clint, Texas Today; Cellphone Photos and Rideshare Lead to Arrest Utah Murder; Celebrating LGBTQ Rights; Closing Arguments Soon for Seal Accused of War Crimes. Aired 11a -12p ET

Aired June 29, 2019 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR; Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Right now, President Trump is in South Korea and all eyes are on the DMZ to see if North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un will take President Trump up on his offer Kim for a quick meeting.

This wouldn't be your typical meeting between two world leaders with a formal invite and weeks of preparation. The President actually initiated the whole thing very casually on Twitter writing about his trip to South Korea saying this, "If Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the border DMZ just to shake his hand and say hello."

Before leaving the G-20, President Trump talked about his hopes for this trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I understand that we may be meeting with Chairman King -- Kim. And we'll find out. We spoke with the people. Kim Jong-un was very receptive. And he responded. And so we'll see because tomorrow we're going to the DMZ.

I said, while I'm there I'll shake his hand. We get along. There's been no nuclear tests. There's been no long-range ballistic tests. Gave us back our hostages, which was great. And a lot of good things are happening over there.

So I let him know we'll be there, and we'll see. I mean, I don't -- I can't tell you exactly, but they did respond very favorably.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us how you see all of this unfolding and if you do meet Kim Jong-un at the DMZ tomorrow, would you step across the border into North Korea?

TRUMP: Sure, I would. I would. I'd feel very comfortable doing that. I would have no problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it's possible that there would be a third one on one summit with --

TRUMP: Oh, sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Chairman Kim within this year?

TRUMP: Well, it might happen tomorrow.

We won't call it a summit. We'll call it a handshake if it does happen. I don't know that it will, but it could happen. I know I think he'd like to do it, and I wouldn't mind doing it at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You made this very public invitation to Kim Jong- un, would it be a bad sign if he doesn't show up?

TRUMP: No. Of course I thought of that because I know if he didn't everybody would say oh, he was stood up by Chairman Kim. No, I understood that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. We have two reporters standing by in Seoul, South Korea. We'll get to Will Ripley in just a moment.

So let's start with CNN's White House correspondent Abby Phillip. So Abby -- why does the President want to do this? What is his motivation for wanting to present this challenge via Twitter or shall we say invitation?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you put it, Fred -- it was very casual how he extended what would essentially be almost an unprecedented invitation that he's making to meet with Kim Jong-un in the DMZ, potentially stepping foot onto North Korean soil. But it is a reflection of the fact that this is a president who's trying to get these talks back started again.

They have been stalled for several months now since President Trump walked out of his last summit with Kim. In the interim, there have been no substantive talks between the North Koreans and the U.S. about denuclearization. There have been, however, these letters exchanged between the two leaders, one from Kim wishing President Trump a happy birthday. And another one reciprocated by President Trump just a few short days ago.

So President Trump is trying something I think a little bit risky here where he's saying meet me here if you see this. We know that according to the President, Kim has responded in some way but has not actually confirmed that he will be there.

This could be an opportunity in President Trump's mind for him to say let's just meet. Let's just reestablish one on one engagement, but it's not clear to me whether this will actually signal any sort of substantive restarting of those talks. And beyond that, if Kim doesn't show up, President Trump is going to have a visit to the DMZ which he has not done as president. But it's not clear to me that he will have achieved anything really beyond that -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Abby -- can you elaborate on what does it mean that Kim has responded in some way?

PHILLIP: Well, from the sounds of it, President Trump says that Kim is following him on Twitter, so it seems that the North Koreans have acknowledged that there has -- that President Trump made this invitation, but they haven't confirmed that he's actually going to be there.

So there's been some kind of official acknowledgment to the U.S. side saying we heard this message, but it's not clear, at least from what we know, if that has gone beyond just an acknowledgment of the receipt of the message to some kind of planning.

And, you know, Will can talk more about this, but it is an elaborate thing to get the President to the DMZ and then beyond that to establish some kind of mini-summit between the two world leaders. So if this happens, it will have to happen in a very, very short period of time.

WHITFIELD: Ok.

So Will Ripley now. So how spontaneous can a meeting of this magnitude be on the DMZ? Talk to us about the potential logistics that would be involved.

[11:35:03] WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's certainly a lot, Fred, that has to go into this. Even if it is just as simple as a two-minute meeting, a handshake, perhaps President Trump making history by being the first sitting U.S. President to step across the military demarcation line onto North Korean territory.

Just to do that, there are going to have to be hours of meetings going very late into the night here on the Korean Peninsula. And in fact, we got a bit of a hint perhaps when the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun was not seen at the dinner at the Blue House here in Seoul with South Korean's President Moon Jae-in.

Now Biegun is the one who would be involved in working level discussions with North Korean officials to try to hammer out exactly how this would all potentially would go down at the DMZ tomorrow.

And you know, in my own dealings with the North Koreans they will meet until 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 4:00 a.m., and then first thing in the morning they could call the whole thing off. Because really at the end of the day, it's going to be Kim Jong-un's decision whether or not he's willing to do this, whether he sees the benefits of standing alongside President Trump and whether he thinks that that's going to be something that is useful for him.

We know on the President's schedule there's a chunk of time in the early morning and a chunk of time in the late afternoon that he could use to fly to the DMZ for this visit and for this potential meet and greet. And look, they could be spontaneous and decide they want to step into one of the buildings there at the Panmunjom, the Peace Village and have a chat.

I mean, that could certainly be something that President Trump and Kim Jong-un decide to do on the fly. But in the lead up to that, just getting them to that moment, Fred -- there's going to be a lot of conversations happening.

WHITFIELD: All right -- Abby, Will. Thank you so much. I'm going to check back with you.

Meantime let me also bring in someone else to talk about this and talk about President Trump meeting with China's President Xi for more than an hour on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, and making this declaration afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I promise that for at least the time being we're not going to be lifting tariffs on China. We won't be adding an additional, you know, tremendous amount of -- we have, I guess, $350 billion left -- which could be taxed or could be tariffed and we're not doing that.

We're going to work with China on where we left off to see if we can make a deal. China's going to start -- they're going to be consulting with us, and they're going to start spending money even during the negotiation to our farmers, our great farmers in the Midwest.

He's a brilliant leader. He's a brilliant man, and you know better than I, he's probably considered to be one of the great leaders in 200 years in China. And we just have a very -- he's strong, he's tough, but he's good.

We have a very good relationship and I said, you know, we can't have it where the United States loses this kind of money for the privilege of building up China. It has to be a fair deal, and he understands that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that someone I want to bring in now Max Baucus -- he's on the phone. He's the former U.S. Ambassador to China ask a former Democratic Senator from Montana. All right, Senator and Ambassador -- thanks so much for being with me.

Before I ask you about China and what we just heard from the President, let me ask you about this potential meeting by way of an invite from the President of the United States via Twitter to Kim Jong-un of North Korea. Would it be wise in your view to have a meeting on the DMZ, if it comes to fruition?

MAX BAUCUS, FORMER MONTANA SENATOR (via telephone): Well, I think he's trying to raise our hopes and expectations. I think the President Trump and the leader, Chairman Xi love publicity. They like all this attention.

And frankly (INAUDIBLE) getting negotiations on both sides, trying to figure out a kind of solution. But (INAUDIBLE) I don't think it's going to amount to very much.

It's also important to remember that in the U.S.-North Korean negotiations (INAUDIBLE) we have to work -- as well.

WHITFIELD: Senator and ambassador -- I so respect your knowledge of this region and all that you bring to this conversation, but unfortunately we're having a terrible connection.

And it really is difficult to make out everything that you're saying. so we're going to try again at another juncture to kind of reestablish communication with you because I really do want to hear about your thoughts on China as well and again this possible meeting on the DMZ between the President of the United States and North Korean leader by way of an invitation coming from President Trump.

Max Baucus -- thank you so much. We'll try again.

All right. Still ahead -- President Trump says he is extremely angry over the death of "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi. But the President stops short of taking any action. Why he says the U.S./Saudi relationship must continue despite the journalist's murder.

[11:10:04] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Trump says he is extremely angry and very unhappy about the murder of "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi who was brutally killed inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey more than eight months ago.

U.S. sources say CIA concluded the Saudi Crown Prince authorized the attack. But Trump continues to defend his relationship with Mohammed bin Salman. He told reporters, however, that he did bring up the murder in his meeting with the Crown Prince .

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think it's horrible, or anybody else, by the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TRUMP: But I think it's horrible, and if you look, look into Saudi Arabia, you see what's happening. 13 people or so have been prosecuted. Others are being prosecuted.

They've taken it very, very seriously, and they will continue to. And I'd let everybody know I'm not -- I'm very unhappy about that whole event. But if you look at what's going on, and right now within Saudi Arabia they're prosecuting additional people. There's a lot of things happening. At the same time, I will also say -- and nobody said -- nobody so far has pointed directly a finger at the future king of Saudi Arabia. [11:14:58] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You mentioned that no one had pointed

the finger at him, but actually the CIA did, the intelligence communities.

TRUMP: I cannot comment on intelligence community. I'm just -- I'm not -- probably, I guess I'm allowed to do what I want to do in terms of that, right? We can declassify unlike Hillary Clinton. She decided to just give it out. We can declassify.

The truth is that I just don't want to talk about intelligence, but I will say this. A lot of people are being prosecuted, and they're taking it very seriously over there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about all this. With me now assistant editor for the "Washington Post", David Swerdlick; and the national political reporter for the "New York Times" Lisa Lerer. Good to see you both.

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So Lisa -- what is with the President? He seems to want to defend Saudi Arabia as best he can under the auspices that, you know, it's an important economic relationship. But then that, his words along with just seeing him standing side by side with the Crown Prince and kind of touching his back almost like reassurance of we're good, right? We still have a good relationship.

Why does the President feel he needs to do this?

LISA LERER, NEW YHORK TIMES: Well, he's certainly helping to rehabilitate Mohammed bin Salman's image on the world stage. He's palling around with him, he's having breakfast with him.

And I think it underscores this propensity not only with Saudi Arabia but with other world leaders that the President does seem more comfortable with autocratic leaders than with the traditional allies of the United States.

I mean you just have to look at who he's been meeting with during this trip abroad. Not only Saudi Arabia, but Putin from Russia, the Chinese president, the Brazilian president, the Indian president, Turkish president. These are leaders who are known for being fairly repressive at home. And that is who he is choosing to spend his time with.

So I think that does send a message about where he's more comfortable. And you know, what relationships he values.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And so David, you know, I know I can't ask you to get inside his head but then, I'm asking you get inside his head. I mean which is -- you know, what is the motivation here? Is it just simply the affinity, you know, of this autocratic type of ruling or is it something about business?

Is he looking way ahead past his presidency and looking for business opportunities? I mean, what could be the motivation here?

SWERDLICK: Yes. Good morning -- Fred. Add to that list that Lisa just had President Duterte in the Philippines and Kim Jong-un. President Trump develops these man crushes on autocratic leaders around the world as you say. And it's a combination of there is some kind of affinity there. I think two and a half years in, we have enough data to make that statement.

But also he does state over and over again that he wants to do business with Saudi Arabia, but in the process of bending over backwards to excuse the Crown Prince for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, he basically is showing weakness. And in that statement that he made, in that presser in Osaka it was bordering on the absurd.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Like I can't comment about intelligence community when that's what he does -- a lot.

SWERDLICK: That's right. He comments on everything, and he said no one's directly pointing the finger at him. The word directly doing so much work in that statement.

LERER: And he's -- I mean it's worth pointing out here, he's siding with a foreign leader over his own government. That's just not something that you have ever really seen.

WHITFIELD: On the world stage.

LERER: On the world stage, especially when you're -- when the President is abroad, typically, you know, the ideas that politics stop at the water's edge and you were representing not just your own personal views but America.

WHITFIELD: Here's another moment in which to analyze -- this key moment from the G-20 between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you tell Russia no to meddle in the 2020 election?

TRUMP: Yes, of course, I will.

Don't meddle in the election please. Don't, don't meddle in the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So you know, Lisa now it's kind of funny. It's in jest. I mean here we are in the precipice of the 2020 election. We know what the intelligence community, we know what the Bob Mueller, you know, report has said that the Russian meddling is ongoing. It continues to be a threat, and not even side by side as it appears that the President nor Putin, of course, are taking this seriously.

LERER: Right, I mean, we know that Russia meddled last time. We know that they hacked into at least two databases in Florida, two different Florida counties. We know that as you point out that that's still going on and that this is a real concern that could undermine, you know, potentially undermine the legitimacy of our elections.

But what people close to the President say is that he views this whole issue through the lens of his own -- the legitimacy of his own election. That he's not thinking about it in terms of the country, in terms of elections or even in terms of 2020. He's thinking about it in terms of what it means for him and whether he thinks it's a partisan led effort to undermine his own victory.

And so that's really what this is about for him. But it is a concerning thing, particularly as we move into this next presidential cycle.

[11:20:00] WHITFIELD: And this did get under the skin of the President from far away. Former president Jimmy Carter saying if Russian interference in the election was fully investigated, it would, quote, "show that Trump didn't actually win the election in 2016".

And then this is the response that was elicited into (ph) the President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday former president Jimmy Carter suggested that your presidency is illegitimate and that you only got the White House with help from Russia.

(CROSSTALKING)

TRUMP: Russia, Russia, Russia. Isn't it crazy?

Ok. Jimmy Carter, look, he's a nice man. He was a terrible president. He's Democrat. And it's a typical talking point.

Jimmy Carter, I was surprised that he would make a statement. I saw it. It was not a big thing, but I saw the statement, and it's, you know, a lot of Democrats like to make that statement.

He's been trashed within his own party. He's been badly trashed. I felt badly for him because you look over the years, his party has virtually -- he's like the forgotten president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So David -- how do you assess all that, especially when President Carter has extended, you know, offerings of assistance, whether it be North Korea or other matters. But then he, you know, really expressed himself, what he really did feel and this was the response from the sitting president?

SWERDLICK: Right, Fred -- so the fraternity of living presidents is small and elite, right, just six of them. Carter Clinton, Bush, Bush, Obama and Trump. And in this -- so whenever any of them are disagreeing, you're going

to get these sparks. And in this case on the one hand, President Carter is not afraid to speak his mind. On the other hand I think he took it a notch too far.

There's no evidence that's out there right now suggesting that any Russians influenced vote tallies. And so therefore to say President Trump is illegitimate I think is going pretty far out there.

On the other hand President Trump's response was also a little far out there because at one point he said, I don't think it was in that clip you played, that look, everybody knows by now -- this is President Trump talking -- that Russia had nothing to do with it. And that's not quite true either if you look at the Mueller report and if you look at the assessments of our intelligence community.

So I don't think this is going to go that far between Trump and Carter, but it does suggest that things are really, as you say, heating up as we get into the 2020 cycle. Because as Lisa said Trump does not like his election status being questioned.

WHITFIELD: So David -- you don't think it will go that far. But Lisa, do you think this is the end of that new spat that we're seeing unfolding?

LERER: Oh, between Carter and the President?

WHITFIELD: Correct.

LERER: I mean it depends if Jimmy Carter shoots back and how this goes on. But I mean, the President is known to bring people back up and back up. We know that he has a fairly thin skin. And we are in this heated political moment.

So you know, I would not be surprised if this is not the last we hear of this and certainly this idea, you know, even though he's in this re-election cycle, he spends a notable amount of time talking about his 2016 race. I don't expect that to end anytime soon.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lisa Lerer, David Swerdlick -- thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

SWERDLICK: Thanks -- Fred.

LERER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The issues that I haven't solved as a mayor are issues that America hasn't solved that no city has solved but where we've made progress. Sometimes it's three steps forward and two steps back.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Speaking of the race for the White House, Pete Buttigieg talks about the challenges of racial equality and why America is due for a reckoning.

[11:23:22] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

Democratic presidential candidate and Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been marching for peace today in his hometown of South Bend, Indiana where racial tensions are flaring.

Earlier this month, a white police officer shot and killed Eric Logan, an African-American man, during an investigation of car break-ins. The officer claims Logan was wielding a knife, but the officer's body cam was turned off.

At the recent Democratic debate, Buttigieg acknowledged that he, quote, "couldn't get it done" when it comes to his efforts to diversify the police force there.

Last night CNN's Don Lemon asked him what he meant by that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUTTIGIEGN: I was asked about the diversity of the South Bend police force. It's an example of an issue that we're wrestling with in South Bend and that a lot of cities are seeing. There is a gap in many diverse communities between the diversity of the community itself and the diversity --

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Did you mean -- I didn't mean to cut you off -- but did you mean I couldn't find qualified black officers or officers of color? I couldn't find a qualified chief of color, or what does that mean you couldn't get it done?

BUTTIGIEG: I couldn't get us to where the number of black officers on our department mirrors our community, and it's really important that that happen if we want to have the kind of trust between communities of color and the department that we need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is in South Bend where Eric Logan will be laid to rest today. So Vanessa -- Buttigieg is not going to be at the funeral, correct, but he was at the gathering today?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, that's right. Hi, Fredricka.

He is not at the funeral right now which is going on at the same time as this community event. The mayor participated in a walk with faith leaders, and he is now here at this community event where he spoke just moments ago.

There are officers in the South Bend Police Department, faith leaders and members of the community here, and this is the first time the mayor is back in town after that really tense town hall that he held just last weekend. But today is a different tone. It's a peaceful tone. People are saying I love you to one another, and there's a message of hope here, and that is the message that the mayor is trying to deliver himself. He spoke just moments ago, take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUTTIGIEG: We come together as a city to say that we are not going to go the way of those cities that fell apart, those cities that turned upon one another, those cities that couldn't find a way forward because South Bend is not that kind of place. I believe in South Bend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: Now some members of the community are saying, well, it's great the mayor is here right now, but Fred -- what has he been doing for the past eight years as members of the community have been raising concerns about the relationship between the South Bend Police Department and the community here.

[11:29:54] Now the mayor is expected to stay in South Bend until Tuesday, but then he is heading back on the campaign trail. So it will be interesting to see how the mayor plans to balance his job of healing this community and bridging the gap between the police department and the community here. And then also doing his job of trying to get out on the campaign trail and speak to voters.

This issue will definitely continue to stay with him over the next couple of weeks as he tries to balance both his day job and his job of running for president -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich -- thank you so much in South Bend.

All right. Still ahead, President Trump's planned deportation raids are back on after being postponed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: But yes, we will be removing large numbers of people. People have to understand, yes, the laws are --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a week?

TRUMP: Yes, starting in a week after, you know, it's sometime after July 4th.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Trump not at all backing down on his plans for immigration raids across ten U.S. cities. He says those raids will begin sometime after the next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Oh, yes, unless -- unless we do something pretty miraculous, but the Democrats it seems to me they want to have open borders. And for the life of me I cannot figure that out.

It's one thing because I want people to come into our country. I'm all for that. The only problem is that they have to come in through a process. They have to come in legally.

But yes, we will be removing large numbers of people. People have to understand, yes, the laws are --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a week?

[11:34:59] TRUMP: Yes, starting in a week after, you know, sometime after July 4th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So those cities include Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta. Several city leaders have said they will not assist federal authorities in those raids.

Meantime, 2020 Democrats are visiting immigration facilities across the country this weekend. Today Julian Castro is visiting a migrant detention center in Clint, Texas. That facility has been the center of controversy over what's been described as deplorable conditions for migrants. And Beto O'Rourke will host a rally outside that same facility tomorrow.

CNN national correspondent Natasha Chen is live outside that facility and what are you seeing?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred -- we're expecting Julian Castro in the next few hours to come here, but it's not clear if he will actually be admitted into the facility.

He did say that earlier this week he and other presidential candidates were denied entry into the Homestead facility. That's on the outskirts of Miami. So we're not sure what's going to happen here today.

And as you mentioned, Beto O'Rourke is having a rally outside this facility tomorrow. We're expecting a number of members of Congress here on Monday as well.

So you see this trickle of politicians coming here because of those reports of unhygienic poor conditions for the migrants being held. It's also caused outrage in the public. We've seen groups of various sizes coming to the outside of this facility all week, sometimes holding signs. Last night we saw them holding vigil lighting candles outside the fence here, even singing in Spanish across the fence to the children hoping those kids would be able to hear them. So it's really tugged on the heart strings of a lot of people who have seen those reports. Now I must say CNN crews have been allowed to tour this Clint facility as well as one in McAllen, Texas but with no cameras. Pen and paper only. And what our crews report back is that they did see there were resources for the migrants to wash up and get food to eat, but it's not a place our colleagues said that anyone would want to stay -- Fred.

So this is a very controversial subject, of course. Congress trying to deal with this and provide resources for the agencies here to provide for these migrants who are really not supposed to be held here for much longer than two or three days.

WHITFIELD: And Natasha -- do you have a clear understanding of the age range there at that facility?

It's unclear right now at this facility how young the youngest are, but we do know from the visit to the McAllen facility just a couple of days ago, our colleagues saw about six babies and toddlers, a tender age group, being cared for in a day care like setting by three coast guard members actually playing with them.

And then of course there were several hundred unaccompanied minors, several hundred single adults, but the vast majority in that McAllen facility were family units -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen -- thank you so much.

Expect some delays if you are flying in or out of the Newark International Airport in New Jersey today. The FAA says a United Airlines flight heading to Houston made an emergency landing at Newark shortly after takeoff. The crew reported a brake problem and then the plane blew two tires upon landing ending up in a field. Passengers got off the plane using the slides. No reports of injuries.

Flights were also delayed at Newark just two weeks ago when another United Airlines blew multiple tires while landing at that airport.

All right. Still ahead, how cell phone photos and a ride share helped police track down the man they say murdered a university of Utah student.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A Utah man is facing murder and aggravated kidnapping charges in the death of a college student. Police say they found evidence that the suspect murdered 23-year-old MacKenzie Lueck.

CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a dramatic and, police say, heartbreaking end to a nationwide mystery. The SWAT team in Salt Lake City arresting Ayoola Ajayi, the prime suspect in the disappearance of University of Utah student MacKenzie Lueck. MIKE BROWN, CHIEF OF POLICE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: We are

filing charges of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and desecration of a body in the homicide of MacKenzie Lueck.

TODD: Police say they believe Ajayi, a former Army IT specialist, killed MacKenzie Lueck sometime after picking her up at a park in North Salt Lake City at about 3:00 in the morning on June 17th.

Police say the 23-year-old student had just landed at the airport returning from her grandmother's funeral. They say she used the Lyft car service to take her from the airport to the park where the driver saw her get into Ajayi's car.

Police say phone records showed Lueck and the 31-year-old suspect had been in touch, texting just hours before she vanished, and that their phones placed them in the park within a minute of each other that morning.

BROWN: In an interview with him, he admitted to having text conversations with MacKenzie on June 16th at approximately 6:00 p.m. but nothing after that time.

TODD: Police say Ajayi denied having any personal contact with Lueck and denied knowing what she looked like, but authorities say he had photos of her in his possession.

SIM GILL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SALT LAKE COUNTY, UTAH: The way he communicated to us, saying that he didn't know who she was or that -- that just didn't seem -- ring true, given we knew what the nature of their contact was.

TODD: Police are not giving specifics of how Lueck died, but they searched Ajayi's house which is just a few miles from the park where they met earlier this week. Police then called him a person of interest.

Investigators say Ajayi gave away a mattress and a box spring shortly after Lueck disappeared. Police and neighbors also told CNN neighbors observed him burning something in his backyard with gasoline on the day Lueck went missing and again the day after.

TERESA DRAHEIM, NEIGHBOR OF AYOOLA AJAYI: The smell of gas was outrageous. And I thought maybe -- I was in my bedroom and I smelled it through my window and I thought maybe it was my motor home. And so I came outside to make sure, and there was this smell in the air that was just almost rancid. It was just really disgusting smelling.

[11:45:06] TODD: Police say when they dug up his backyard, they found burned items they believe belonged to MacKenzie Lueck, along with what they believe are Lueck's remains.

BROWN: Other charred material was located which has now been -- forensically has been determined to be female human tissue and is consistent with the DNA profile obtained through further forensic testing of personal items of MacKenzie Lueck. TODD: Police say they don't know if someone may have helped Ajayi,

and they're not saying how Lueck and Ajayi might have known each other before she met up with him in that park.

A former FBI profiler says there are gaps of information which are crucial in this case including what was going through this young woman's mind just before she disappeared. Police have said the Lyft driver indicated MacKenzie Lueck was not in distress when she switched cars.

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER AGENT AND PROFILER, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: The reason the victim would get into the car is going to be important, and that reason will probably evolve over time. They probably don't know the full extent of why she was confident enough to do that.

TODD: Police are also not saying what they believe the suspect's motive was. They do say they're looking into whether he acted alone or if he had help.

BRIAN TODD, CNN =-= CORRESPONDENT:

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This weekend marks 50 years since police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City touching off days of riots that are wildly credited as the start of the modern gay rights movement.

It happened in the early morning hours of June 28 1969. Patrons were inside the Stonewall doing gay dancing when police enforcing anti-gay laws burst in as they had done many times before. But this time something changed.

The patrons tired of being harassed fought back. What followed were six days of protests. And today the Stonewall Inn represents both a symbol of where the gay rights movement started and where it is today.

I'm joined now by the Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of the Trevor Project -- a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth. And he's also the 2019 grand marshal of the World Pride Parade, which happens tomorrow in New York City. Good to see you.

AMIT PALEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TREVOR PROJECT; Good to you see you.

WHITFIELD: So what does this feel like particularly when you, you know, when you see throughout Manhattan, you've got colors. You've got banners and flags saying proud. I mean that does that make you and others feel like, particularly this weekend?

PALEY: It's incredible to see so much support for LGBTQ people and to see the progress that they've made in the past 50 years since Stonewall. It's also really important that we remember how much work there is still to be done and how many young people and people all across the country are still in places where they can't be open about who they are, where they are suffering from discrimination and isolation. That's what we need to be thinking about as well even as we celebrate all the progress that had happened.

WHITFIELD: And how would you characterize the progress that has happened, what this 50-year mark really means?

Paley: There's been enormous strides in terms of legal acceptance of LGBTQ people there's also been a lot of cultural acceptance. We know that when the American people get to know LGBTQ people when they know their friends or families, teacher people in their faith communities, it changes the way they think about the broader community.

But we also have seen in the past two years a lot of rights taken away from people, especially transgender and nonbinary people.

WHITFIELD: And here you are, the CEO and director of the Trevor Project. What is the most important aspect of your organization that you also, you know, want to educate people about?

PALEY: Well, we want people to know how much young people are still struggling in this country. We just released a major research report that showed that 39 percent of LGBTQ youth in this country seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months. And that more than half of transgender and nonbinary young people seriously considered suicide.

So with all the struggles that are still going on, we want to make sure that we let all LGBTQ youth across the country and around the world know that they are beautiful the way that they are and that they are never alone.

WHITFIELD: And Amit -- congratulations on being the grand marshal. And what do you envision will happen?

PALEY: Well, it's going to be an incredible opportunity to bridge some of the elders of our community -- people who are on the frontlines fighting for our rights over so many years. Many of them parts of very marginalized communities in this country.

And to have that bridge between people fighting for decades and so many young people, the young people that we serve every day across this country I think is a really nice bridge between the generations, showing again both the progress but also hopefully people coming together across this country standing up for the rights of LGBTQ people everywhere.

WHITFIELD: All right. Amit Paley -- thank you so much.

PALEY: Thank you.

And still ahead, President Trump is hoping for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong un but will the dictator actually show up. And can the President get a deal out of him -- whether it be at this juncture or another. We're live next.

[11:53:49] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A U.S. Navy Seal accused of murdering an Iraqi prisoner could soon learn his fate as closing arguments are set to begin on Monday for Special Operations Chief Eddie Gallagher. Prosecutors say Gallagher stabbed an ISIS prisoner to death but his defense says that's not what happened.

Correspondent Dan Simon is following the story as closing arguments are set to begin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well a decorated Navy Seal, selfless war hero, and family man. That's the image that defense they would like the jury to have as it will soon begin deliberating the fate of platoon chief Eddie Gallagher.

Closing arguments are slated to begin on Monday in a case that pits a 40-year old against several of his young subordinates. The most serious allegation, that Gallagher stabbed an ISIS prisoner to death while deployed to Iraq in 2017

The jury heard dramatic accounts from both sides. At least two Seals say they witnessed the attack, but one of them Navy Seal Medic Cory Scott stunned the courtroom when he testified under immunity that he asphyxiated the ISIS. And that Gallagher was ultimately not responsible for the death.

Well, the prosecution says he's lying and Scott could now face a perjury charge but the bottom line is Gallagher's defense says these are all cooked up charges by disgruntled underlings who had an ax to grind over Gallagher aggressive leadership style.

They said this is not about murder motor but beauty. The defense had this to say after resting their case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter how much preparations we're going to take the weekend to prepared for closing. And Monday morning, after closing arguments, the jury will get this case and then we'll wait for the verdict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: The jury of seven military men will decide Gallagher's fate. Unlike civilian trials it does not have to be a unanimous verdict. It requires a two-thirds vote or five of the seven are government had put into this case. The one ting they can't get needed to convict.

But whatever the jury decides all of this has been unwelcome drama for one of America's most storied and respected military unit.

Dan Simon, CNN -- San Diego.

[11:59:59] WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.