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Trump Claims Immigrants in Detention Centers "Very Happy"; Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein Accused of Sex Trafficking Minors; Dems Investigating Allegations Mike Pompeo Misused Security Detail. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 07, 2019 - 20:00   ET

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

[20:00:04] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with us tonight.

Deflect has turned into deny. While traveling back to the White House, the president argued that migrants at detention facilities, the migrants reportedly going on showers, sleeping on concrete floors, packed into overcrowded, in some cases standing room only cell. The ones seen in these pictures released by the president's own administration are in much better shape than they were in their home countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE: And in all cases if you look, people that came from unbelievable poverty, that had no water, they had no anything, where they came from, those are people that are very happy with what is going on because relatively speaking, they are in much better shape right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Because they're very happy.

CNN White House correspondent Boris Sanchez is live in New Jersey where the president has spent the weekend at his golf club.

Boris, it seems like we're coming full circle here.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Ana. The president essentially calling this reporting in "The New York Times" a hoax. This reporting really eye-opening indicating that there are awful conditions in some of these migrant facilities including ones many which house minors. Rampant reports of disease and hunger and just unhygienic conditions.

The president saying that he believes "The New York Times" is working hand in hand with Democrats to plant these stories to embarrass him. As you heard there, the president says he believes that many of these migrants are happy. Notably, he also said that officials have told him that the people running these facilities are doing an excellent job. We should point out that Kevin McLellan and Ken Cuccinelli, two top

administration officials on immigration, have denied the reporting in "The Times" as well, though they have acknowledged that because of the increased flow of migrant families, that has strained resources in order to bring these people their needed day-to-day requirements.

The president blamed that on Democrats, suggesting that their inability to close loopholes in Congress has caused these conditions at the facilities. The president was also asked if he would visit one of these facilities himself. He did not answer the question directly, Ana. Instead saying that he wanted to invite the press to go to one of these facilities to document conditions there in order to disprove the reporting in "The New York Times" -- Ana.

CABRERA: Boris Sanchez -- Boris, thank you.

And here are a few lines from that "New York Times" story President Trump referenced there as fake. It reads, quote, "Outbreaks of scabies, shingles and chickenpox were spreading among the hundreds of children who are being held in cramped cells, agents said. The stench of the children's dirty clothing was so strong it spread to agents' own clothing. People in town would scrunch their noses when they left work. The children cried constantly. One girl seemed likely enough to try to kill herself that the agents made her sleep on a cot in front of them so they could watch her as they were processing new arrivals."

I've tweeted a link to this very powerful piece if you want read it in its entirety. And with us now is Washington correspondent for "New York" magazine, Olivia Nuzzi, and CNN senior political analyst, Ryan Lizza.

First, the president, deflected, saying the conditions at the border are Obama's fault. Now he is denying the conditions even exist.

Ryan, where does the buck stop?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you have the worst possible confluence of events making this crisis worse and worse. One is increase in asylum seekers coming from Central America. Right? So the existing facilities are dealing with more people than they've ever dealt with before. And you have an administration that wants to, frankly, create conditions that are not in any way appealing. You know, as some people have pointed out, the cruelty is the purpose here. They want conditions to be poor at these places to deter asylum seekers.

I think that's pretty -- you know, there's been some debate about whether that's true or not. As far as I can tell, it's absolutely the administration's policy. And then -- and then you have a Congress that wants to do something about this. You know, more money, fix these facilities. But no ability for Trump and Congress to get along and push anything through. And so the awful status quo is just not getting fixed at all.

And to answer your original question, the buck stops with the president. He is the president. He more than anyone else is responsible for immigration. And, you know, rather than denying the conditions in these places or arguing that they're better than where these people are coming from, he should be, you know, doing something about it. You know, international law, we have an obligation to protect these asylum seekers.

CABRERA: Olivia, for weeks we've been reporting on these horrifying conditions at the border. We saw that heartbreaking picture of a father and his 2-year-old daughter washed up on the banks of the Rio Grande. And yet President Trump just hit his highest approval rating since taking office.

[20:05:05] Is this proof the president's deflect and deny strategy may be working?

OLIVIA NUZZI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't know if it's proof of that. I don't know if you can look at one poll or even two polls or three polls and make a judgement like that. But I do think that sometimes people who are polled, voters are able to compartmentalize and perhaps that's what's going on here. They might be feeling OK with the economy or some other aspect of the president's agenda and are able to just focus on that rather than on the horrors at the border.

But, you know, as Ryan pointed out, maybe the conditions are not the intended effect that the president wants. Right? But we do know that at least when it came to child separation, family separation policies, those were designed specifically to deter people from coming here. I mean, I think it was Jeff Sessions and former chief of staff John Kelly who at DHS previously on the record that they thought that this would deter people from coming here.

But if you look at the rates of people who are coming here seeking refuge, then it disputes the idea that this is working. So if that was the intended effect of these kind of inhumane policies, I think that you look at the numbers of people who are flooding into the country and trying to seek asylum as proof that it's not working. And if the president were interested in finding effective solutions to the immigration problem, he might look at the facts and then change his mind. But he doesn't seem to be very interested in that.

CABRERA: I want to pivot to the leaked cables from the British ambassador to the U.S. They show that he called Trump inept, insecure and incompetent. The president hit back earlier today. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The ambassador has not served the U.K. well. I can tell you that. We're not big fans of that man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Ryan, it doesn't seem like the president thinks very highly of the ambassador. Does it matter, though, what the U.K. ambassador thinks?

LIZZA: Not anymore. I guess it doesn't anymore. I'm sure, you know, I doubt -- he may not have even known who he is before this leak.

Look, the ambassador is -- he is a pretty big deal in Washington. In the U.K. system, the ambassador to the U.S. is usually someone at the height of their, you know, diplomatic service. It's a very, you know, important position. It's given to, you know, sort of the best -- their best diplomats. You know, the U.K. embassy in Washington is a place that entertains quite a bit. I have seen plenty of Trump officials at events at the U.K. ambassador's residence in Washington. So never got a sense that they weren't big fans.

It does matter, though. Look, if the -- you know, you're sent here by a foreign country to sort of cozy up to the administration and, you know, get as much information as you can to serve your government. So, you know, if his relationship is permanently damaged with the White House and with the Trump administration, you know, that will be a problem for the U.K. They want someone who's going to be friends with everyone in D.C. So -- but, you know, we have had this before.

If I remember correctly, there was a leak of something that the -- one of the previous ambassadors said about Obama that was a little spicy and caused a little bit of a rift back then. And frankly, he is not the first person to call Trump insecure and inept.

CABRERA: Yes. Inept, insecure and incompetent.

Olivia, are the depictions of the president in these memos recognizable?

(LAUGHTER)

NUZZI: You're trying to get me in trouble. Of course, they're recognizable.

CABRERA: Do I ask?

NUZZI: Of course, they're recognizable. I don't think that anyone who has been, you know, awake for the last four years or so that Donald Trump has been wading into American politics would dispute those characterizations. I think maybe not inept. But even his supporters might agree with some of the critical analysis of him from other people who don't like him.

But I think that Donald Trump is probably going to forget about this and move on to his next enemy pretty soon. He might, you know, somewhere in his mind file this away and bring it up on stage sometime in the future as proof of, you know, a deep state, some kind of conspiracy against him among Washington's elite. But I think that this will be pretty short lived and he'll find a new enemy very quickly.

CABRERA: Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza, good to have you, guys. Thanks.

LIZZA: Thanks, Ana.

NUZZI: Thank you. CABRERA: A billionaire has just been arrested on charges of child sex

trafficking. And a reporter who has covered the accusations for years says other powerful people are probably sweating right now.

Plus, the U.S. women's soccer team is coming home with a brand-new trophy. But how about more money? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:13:29] CABRERA: Tonight, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein is sitting in jail accused of sex trafficking underage girls. Epstein is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. That's when this new indictment is expected to be unsealed. And according to the "Daily Beast," prosecutors allege that Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage girls in a scheme that involved paying them cash for, quote- unquote, "massages" and then molesting or sexually abusing them. Epstein's lawyer has not responded to CNN's request for comment.

If all this sounds familiar, it's because Epstein has been here before. In 2008 he pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges. He served 13 months in prison. He avoided a possible federal life sentence after securing a non-prosecution deal with federal prosecutors in Miami. Now one of the prosecutors at that time was President Trump's current Labor secretary, Alex Acosta. He has denied any wrongdoing.

"The Miami Herald" has been reporting on allegations against Epstein for years. Investigative reporter Julie Brown says this new indictment likely has powerful people incredibly worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE BROWN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, THE MIAMI HERALD: There's probably quite a few important people, powerful people who are sweating it out right now. We'll have to wait and see whether Epstein is going to name names or what kind of information he is going to try to trade in order to, you know, maybe get out of this in some way or lower his culpability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson.

Joey, other lawyers have noted that this case is now being charged by the Public Corruption Unit.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

[20:15:03] CABRERA: Not the Sex Trafficking Unit. What do you make of that?

JACKSON: I make of it a number of things. First of all, I make of the fact that he got out of that -- Mr. Epstein -- the 2008 charges, entirely unusual. Now you mentioned, of course, and I'll get back to specifically your question. But you mentioned that he served the state prison sentence. We should remind everyone that he was on work release. And so you go from at that point, Ana, a prosecution that could end you in life and you are on this work release program where you're going to jail. But really --

CABRERA: And remember that was after dozens of allegations.

JACKSON: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's troubling. And so to the issue of public corruption, I think -- and the reason I mention that to you, it begs the question, how he got that deal in the first instance. That is, non-prosecution agreements, which are essentially deferred prosecution, you know what, we're going to set conditions, you fulfill those conditions, we'll look the other way, like what happened here, inasmuch as it went to the state. They do happen.

Not in instances where, to your point, you have dozens of allegations against you and you have charges. And so if it did happen, you want to know why it happened. Was it predicated upon the billions that you earned? Because certainly, most of the clients, certainly my clients, are not afforded those courtesies. And if it was afforded a courtesy here, you want to know about the U.S. attorney at the time who is now, to your point, the Labor secretary, what was this all about?

Was there an offer to you in exchange for this sweetheart deal? Specifically what happened and how it happened when it happened? What were the circumstances? And I think if they find it very troubling, which is why they're looking at that, then there's also the possibility that other officials could be involved. We don't know that. But I think the core of the issue is how this happened in the first instance.

CABRERA: What do you think we might learn tomorrow when Epstein is in court?

JACKSON: I think we'll learn quite a bit because remember, Ana, at that point, the indictment will be unsealed. And at this point we don't know. We can only speculate as to the contents. We do know the specific charges, the sex trafficking charges. Apparently that's going to be one. The conspiracy because you don't sex traffic yourself generally. There are other people who are working with you, to facilitate this, to aid you, to abet you, to get you whoever you are looking for in order to engage in this commercial sexual activity.

So I think we're going to learn the conspiracy, who was involved in that conspiracy, what the specific allegations are. Are they an undoing of the non-prosecution agreement? Remember a federal judge evaluated it earlier this year and said, no, no, no, no, that non- prosecution agreement was unlawful for a number of reasons, mostly because the alleged accusers were not notified. And so is it predicated upon the old charges? Is it new charges? Are there other types of victims who were involved? So we're going to learn quite a bit, including, very important point, whether he is going to remain in and the federal government ask for him to be detained pending prosecution or whether he is able to post some type of bail to be out even though he's a billionaire.

CABRERA: So he has these new charges. But these aren't necessarily, you know, fresh or recent crimes. According to our reporting, the alleged crimes were committed between 2002 and 2005. Does that make it harder to prosecute?

JACKSON: Well, let's talk about a couple of things. The first thing is we should note that there's no statute of limitations, OK, on this particular offense. There's no statute of limitations so you can go back to whenever. The second thing is, as the reporting has been to that time frame, Ana, I'm curious to know whether there are other issues involved now or other people involved now or more recent charges now. That we'll see and it'll be made clear.

CABRERA: Like maybe it's victims that weren't part of the first --

JACKSON: Exactly.

CABRERA: -- case.

JACKSON: That's what I'm going to be looking to see. And I think that the issue is, in terms of whether it's harder to, look, I think they are very motivated victims here, or alleged victims at this point. And I think you don't forget what happened. And if it's of this magnitude -- again only allegations, presumption of innocence applies, for sure. But if they are allegations to this magnitude, I don't care if it was 1992, you know, to your point, is it hard to prosecute, if you were an underage girl being trafficked like this, you're going to know chapter and verse how it happened, when it happened, who was involved, who solicited you and what specifically was the conduct.

And so I don't think it makes it hard to prove. I'm looking for more charges of recent vintage to see what prosecutors have now.

CABRERA: And I want to go back to, again, this what has been called a deal of a lifetime, that Labor Secretary Alex Acosta gave Epstein.

JACKSON: And that's an understatement, by the way. Yes.

CABRERA: Would it be in the public interest for Congress to investigate Acosta's handling of this case?

JACKSON: You know, I think that certainly all -- everything is on the table. I have to tell you, Ana, while deferred prosecutions or non- prosecution agreements are not unusual, in a case of this magnitude, they are highly unusual, if you know what I'm saying. OK? I'm not suggesting prosecutors don't offer them. What I am suggesting to you, at the outset you mentioned, if there are dozens of victims and there are -- they are being transported in violation of federal law, and let's be clear --

CABRERA: And remember at the time, it's a 53-page indictment.

JACKSON: Absolutely. Which means, right, to your point that there are specifics.

CABRERA: That talk about evidence.

JACKSON: Evidence in chapter and verse exactly what happened. And so in cases of this magnitude, it doesn't happen. And if it did happen, we should learn why. And if Congress is the investigatory body to find out, then let Congress investigate.

CABRERA: Joey Jackson, good to see you, my friend.

JACKSON: Always.

CABRERA: Thank you.

JACKSON: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: House Democrats are looking into allegations that Mike Pompeo and his family have misused taxpayer funded security.

[20:20:02] Up next, what the secretary of State allegedly has his security team doing that makes them feel like, quote, "Uber Eats with guns."

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Special agents or personal butlers? Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is being accused of having his taxpayer funded security detail pick up his Chinese food and walk his dog.

CNN's Michelle Kosinski has more on the whistleblower allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Multiple congressional aides tell CNN a whistleblower alleges to Democrats on a key House committee that on multiple occasions diplomatic security special agents were asked to run personal errands. In one instance, picking up Chinese food for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he was not in the car.

The whistleblower said it led to complaints the security team was treated like, quote, "Uber Eats with guns." Another time picking up the Pompeo dog from the groomer. The secretary has discussed his fondness for the pets during congressional testimony.

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I have a soft spot for my Golden Retrievers.

KOSINSKI: And according to a document provided to the committee and shown to CNN, agents were told to pick up Pompeo's adult son at Washington's Union Station.

According to D.S. protocol, the secretary should be in the car during these kinds of trips. And D.S. should be doing them only if there's some threat that would necessitate it. The State Department did not deny that these trips took place.

[20:25:03] But a D.S. special agent in charge insisted that, "At no point during my service did he or any member of his family ask me or any member of my team to act in a way that would be inconsistent with our professional obligation to protect the secretary." It's not clear whether these alleged tasks were initiated by Pompeo

himself or someone on his staff without his knowledge. But the whistleblower told congressional investigators that there's a culture right now at D.S. to try to please Pompeo and not make him angry.

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: These are not the kinds of people that go around complaining. They do their jobs and they do them proudly and they do them quietly. And so that you have somebody who felt so strongly about this that they decided to go to Congress, I think that has to be taken seriously.

KOSINSKI: Congressional investigators are also seeking to understand why Pompeo's wife Susan has her own security detail. This is usual, according to a former senior D.S. official who said that if security was granted to a secretary's spouse in the past, it was just for short periods time and only after a threat assessment for that person was done within an intelligence division of diplomatic security.

The whistleblower told congressional investigators that multiple agents understood that the normal procedure was not followed and that they were warned not to use her call sign, which is "Shocker," over the radio because they, quote, "know it's not kosher." Something a State Department spokesperson calls absolutely and definitively not true.

The spokesperson tells CNN only that an initial threat assessment was done for Susan Pompeo in July 2018. A special agent in charge defended the assignment. "Today the security threats against Secretary Pompeo and his family are unfortunately very real. The Diplomatic Security Service is proud to protect the Pompeo family from those who would harm the secretary of State and the United States."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: That was Michelle Kosinski reporting. Thank you.

And congratulations to the U.S. women's soccer team. They are bringing home the World Cup. It's only their fourth time doing so no big deal. So are they finally going to get paid the same as their male counterparts? That conversation is next.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[20:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: They took on the world and won. Today's stunning Wold Cup title victory against the Netherlands proved team USA is the most dominant women's soccer team in a generation. And the athletes say they deserve to get paid as much as their male counterparts.

Now, just moments after today's historic victory, Nike had an ad with a clear message, ready to go. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe that we will make our voices heard and T.V. shows will be talking about us every single day and not just once every four years, and that women will conquer more than just the soccer field like breaking every single glass ceiling and having their faces carved on Mount Rushmore. And that we'll keep fighting not just to make history, but to change it forever.

CROWD: I believe that we will win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in Christine Brennan, CNN Sports Analyst and USA Today Columnist. Christine, you saw that Nike ad. You saw this historic win today. What's the impact of today's historic World Cup victory on the pay equity fight for these victorious players?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: And that is the next chapter in this story, a story that has riveted the nation and many parts of the world as well. I think almost anyone who hears the name and the words, women's soccer, Ana, knows that there is a battle for equal pay.

And that is already a huge victory for the team as they go to the bargaining table. You couldn't have scripted it better if you had a strategy to try to get to a bargaining table to start to negotiate with U.S. soccer. This would be exactly it. Win it. Win it in grand style. Have the nation talking about it for four weeks.

But Nike, doing what Nike does, stirring the pot, out there automatically, right away, with this -- with this provocative ad that is all about girl power, all about women having equality.

So Nike, in many ways, is kind of the precursor here for the story that's going to come in the next few weeks, that I guarantee will probably be the best covered sports negotiation for an Olympic sport, or an international sport that we will have ever seen.

CABRERA: And aside from their back-to-back World Cup victories, we also know ratings for the World Cup are on track to break records. Pair that with the fact that the U.S. women's national team jersey is the number one Nike seller, in a single season, for men or women, Christine, I mean, that's huge.

BRENNAN: And the Wall Street Journal reported a couple weeks ago, Ana, that actually game revenue, the women are now more than the men over the last three years within the United States. Keep in mind also that U.S. soccer is a not for profit, so the idea is to encourage young people to play the sport. That is all a part of the Olympic umbrella in the United States.

And for example, there are federations, there are national governing bodies that where women are the stars, and have been the stars for years, like figure skating or gymnastics, where they pay men equal to women, to encourage young boys and men to take up the sport, especially the sport like figure skating. So, look at the reverse here. Obviously, women have been catching up. Clearly, the U.S. women are the best in the world, far better than our U.S. men on the world stage. And yet, here's soccer, not fitting the bill there, not paying equally.

CABRERA: Yes.

BRENNAN: And because it's a not for profit, I think its argument is really difficult, especially now with this unbelievable interest in this team and the terrific performance that they had on the field of play.

CABRERA: I want to move past the pay equity issue. But I do want to point out just how large the pay disparity is. According to the New York Times, each team player will earn about $250,000 for winning today's World Cup victory. And yet, if the U.S. men's team had won their World Cup, players would earn about $1.1 million each, so that, I mean, that really spells out how far apart the pay is, right now.

Let me move to President Trump's reaction. He congratulated the team on their win. But he's now taking this, sort of, we'll-see approach on any potential White House invite for the four-time world champs. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you invite the women's team to the White House, the soccer team?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Haven't really thought about it. We will look at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Haven't really thought about it. We'll look at that. Christine, what's your take on how the President is handling the U.S. women's soccer team in today's historic win?

BRENNAN: Ana, he is the only person on the planet who hasn't thought about it, because it's been one of the most discussed topics involving this team, because, once again, the U.S. women's soccer team takes us to all these fascinating conversations.

[20:35:10] And his battle with Megan Rapinoe, who said she wasn't going to go to the White House, she apologized for using an expletive, after the fact. She said she's not going. Alex Morgan says she's not going. Ali Krieger said she's not going today, when asked about this.

The U.S. coach, Jill Ellis, said well, I'm not so sure we're going to get invited. I would be very surprised to see this team at the White House. They have obviously staked out this space that I think is very understandable for women, and for women, in the case of Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger, happened to be women who are openly gay.

So, you throw that into the mix and because Congress, AOC, and others apparently are inviting or talking about inviting the women to come to Congress, you could almost see the scene, can't you, Ana?

Over 100 women in Congress and, of course, 25 women in the U.S. senate, and that scene in the Capitol -- in the Capitol would be extraordinary. I can't imagine how Donald Trump would react to that. But I'm sure we'll get a chance to talk about it.

CABRERA: Oh, I'm sure we will, Christine Brennan, good to have you, and what a fun -- what a fun day for women and for the World Cup and for soccer, girl power, loving this. Thank you.

BRENNAN: Thank you.

CABRERA: We have an --- we have an ominous update now in the search for two Americans who disappeared in Barbados. We'll bring you the details, next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: An Illinois town swallowed by a wall of water when the Mississippi River flooded is now experiencing an unusual rebirth of sorts. The residents decided to move their entire town to a safer spot. With more protection in case the Mississippi River floods again.

And with record flooding in the region this year, some are starting to wonder if the climate crisis is to blame. CNN's Stephanie Elam reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the defining image of the great flood of 1993, a home washing away in Southern Illinois.

DENNIS KNOBLOCH, FORMER MAYOR OF VALMEYER, ILLINOIS: I didn't think that we would ever flood.

ELAM: Nearby, Valmeyer, Illinois, virtually disappeared under 16 feet of water.

KNOBLOCH: Standing here on the driveway, I can remember teaching the kids to ride their bikes, a lot of family memories.

ELAM: Most of the homes, the school, the churches, all swallowed by a wall of water that spilled over the town's levee and lingered for months.

KNOBLOCH: Everybody was, kind of, like, punched in the stomach.

ELAM: Almost immediately, Dennis Knobloch, who was mayor at the time, and most of the nearly 1,000 people in the town, decided to do something drastic. Erase the community that was their home for generations.

KNOBLOCH: I saw how the people suffered in '93. I didn't want to see future generations have to go through that.

ELAM: Fleeing the wrath of the mighty Mississippi, Valmeyer moved onto a bluff, just a couple of miles behind it.

HOWARD HEAVNER, MAYOR OF VALMEYER, ILLINOIS: We have the opportunity to grow here, where in the old town, we did not.

ELAM: After leaving the flood plain, Valmeyer found ways to prosper, developing a quarry underneath the bluff into a warehouse, now used by the national archives to store records, and turning the old town from ghost town into corn fields, that are earning the town, money.

This is the Mississippi River, the source of livelihood and anxiety for the village of Valmeyer, swollen passed its banks, the river just broke a record set in '93, of 104 days above flood stage at St. Louis. I'm walking along the levee that protects the town from those rising floodwaters.

But as you can see, on the other side, the water is hard to tame, as the floodwaters have found their way underneath the levee, and are seeping into the town.

HEAVNER: The river is going down now. But you never really know when it's going to go all the way down.

ELAM: After the record-breaking flooding in the Midwest this year, other communities are looking to Valmeyer as a template. Researchers are studying its progress.

NICHOLAS PINTER, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS: A third of U.S. communities will face increased risk of flooding by the middle of the century. Worldwide, the numbers are really big. On the order of 100 million people, it's estimated, are going to be displaced by rising sea levels, alone, by the end of the century.

ELAM: Is climate change affecting Valmeyer? There's no consensus here. They just knew they needed to change to survive.

You still feel better at night sleeping knowing you are not down here?

KNOBLOCH: I don't have to look over my shoulder and wonder if the river is sneaking up on me. That's for sure.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Valmeyer, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: From the first silent film to the block busters of today, the history of American cinema is sometimes beautiful, occasionally controversial, but always inspiring. Tonight, our brand new CNN Original Series "THE MOVIES" will delve into the stories behind the films you love.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON HOWARD, FILMMAKER: There is still something about being told a story. A movie is something that's been really handcrafted, to Mozaic, that's been carefully pieced together. It just creates this opportunity to totally lose yourself.

MARTIN SCORSESE, FILMMAKER: These images live in our consciousness. It stays in our minds, why music is recalled in our heads, those images replay. And we live our lives by them.

JULIA ROBERTS, ACTRESS: It brings all the elements of all of our senses together. There's really nothing else like it.

JON FAVREAU, ACTOR AND DIRECTOR: Even though you are doing something incredibly personal, and in many ways, incredibly selfish, because you're doing something you love so much and it gets out there in the world, and it could change people's trajectories.

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: When you can go somewhere that you can pretty much guarantee you are going to be able to set your worries aside for that period of time, it's like a drug. It's like a drug.

HOLLY HUNTER, ACTRESS: It's just a direct conduit, straight into your soul.

MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR: I grew up wanting to be the movies. It was all about the movies.

BAZ LUHRMANN, ACTOR: Since the dawn of man, we like to get around a fireplace and commune in story together, so we can feel for a few hours that we're human together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[20:45:12] CABRERA: "THE MOVIES" premieres just minutes from now at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: People who rode out the very strong California earthquakes over the past few days, even earthquake veterans thought this might be the big one. The ground in the desert around Ridgecrest hasn't stopped rumbling and rattling for several days. Thousands of aftershocks have followed two massive tremors, Thursday and Friday.

And even though it wasn't technically the big one, a lot of scientists predict it's probably not that far away. CNN's Alexandra Field is in Ridgecrest, California, where both of these most recent earthquakes did the most damage. Alexandra, people who live there, expects earthquakes, and aren't easily surprised by them. But these were two very powerful jolts back-to-back. Are people there, scared?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and they knew that the possibility the second would be even larger than the first existed, but the chances were slim, so that was stunning. And yes, these aftershocks which kept coming by the hundreds have sparked some anxiety among the people who live here.

You can see how intense, how powerful that 7.1 were when you check out this drone footage of the fault rupture lines running through the desert. But really, look, this goes beyond this community because this is a warning to people across Southern California, again, about the reality that they live with.

You've got a noted seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones now saying that people in this part of the state should expect to see a magnitude six or greater earthquake every few years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LUCY JONES, SEISMOLOGIST: We've actually gone 20 years without one. So we have had the quietest 20 years in the history of Southern California. That's unlikely to continue on the long run. Geology keeps on moving. The plates are still going on. And we should be expecting a higher rate. And when it happens, near people, it is going to be a lot worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:50:11] FIELD: After all this community has gone through in the past couple of days, it is truly amazing that there has been no loss of life, no buildings flattened. California's governor did come to see and assess some of the damage. He underscored the state's commitment to ruling out and fully implementing a state-wide earthquake alert system.

Again, there are people here on this community, very much on the lookout and aware of the fact that they will still be facing hundreds of aftershocks yet to come. Ana?

CABRERA: Wow. Alexandra Field, thank you for that update.

The families of two Americans who disappeared in Barbados are looking for answers to what happened to them. And now, there is an ominous clue. Oscar Suarez and Magdalena Devil haven't been seen since June 24th. But now, a jet ski, believed to be the one they were renting, when they went missing, has been found off the coast of the island of Guadeloupe, but still no sign of the couple.

The coast guard in Barbados has stopped looking for the pair after the U.S. withdrew aircraft help in the search last weekend.

Police in Central Florida are warning residents to watch out for a deadly pack of dogs. Listen to this. They believe a 45-year-old man was taking a shortcut through some woods in Lake Placid near Orlando, when a pack of dogs attacked and killed him. Police say the man's body had more than 100 bites.

Traps have now been set up. So far, several dogs have been captured. Police say they're going to use DNA tests to confirm if they are the ones responsible. Quick break, we'll be right back. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) CABRERA: OK. We're so excited here at CNN, in just a few minutes, the premiere of our long-awaited Original Series, "THE MOVIES." And we're starting with arguably the weirdest and most wonderful decade for movies, the 80s. Fast Times, E.T., and of course, Beetlejuice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM BURTON, DIRECTOR, BEETLEJUICE: I was never scared by any horror movie, ever, because I always liked them too much. Do you know what I mean? I mean, things that scared me, it was like going to school or, you know, seeing my relatives.

ROB ZOMBIE, DIRECTOR, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS: I love Tim Burton because he is the best thing you can be as a director. He's completely unique. You start noticing the black and white stripes on things and just the vibe, and you feel like, oh really, I got something here with this guy.

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR, BEETLEJUICE: With the Beetlejuice and his basic idea was that the living people would be scary and the dead people would be kind of banal.

BURTON: I was really lucky early on in my career to work with people that had come from comedy, that were good at improving (INAUDIBLE) so, there's a whole different energy when people are there and that there may be some (INAUDIBLE) things, but then it just goes off, you know, and just riffing, and you start getting into it. He was great at that, just -- he's like a pressure cooker.

MICHAEL KEATON, ACTOR, BEETLEJUICE: You like it?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Oh, memories, memories. CNN's Brooke Baldwin joins us at the very heart of this totally awesome premiere event, the CNN video store in New York. Brooke, I see -- you guys have some mood lighting going on there now.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Do we? A little bit. Well, everyone is getting pretty stoked to watch the -- at the top of the hour, and the CNN "MOVIE" premiere. I did listen really closely, though, to your top five, and look what I found, one of the top five movies that Ana Cabrera could watch forever.

By the way, exactly, double VHS. Remember, it was that long?

CABRERA: Yes, baby.

BALDWIN: So, I just want to just find that for you.

CABRERA: I still have the VHS DVD-like, player that --

BALDWIN: Do you?

CABRERA: -- we use at my house, just saying.

BALDWIN: Hold on to that. You know what I'm saying? So --

CABRERA: If it's not broke, don't fix it, rught?

BALDWIN: -- the fun must come to -- yes. The fun must come to an end a little bit here, at the CNN video store. We have been here -- I think this is our eighth hour, hanging out with everyone, talking movies. We've had the 80s power hour, we've had the 90s power hour, we've talked 2000s.

So, my friends, I don't know if you recognize who these folks are. We've already spoken with Akeem today, from Coming to America. So, as we sit down to watch the movies, Akeem, give me your line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm looking for my queen.

BALDWIN: The King of Zamunda looking for his queen. Love that movie and the (INAUDIBLE) very nice.

Austin Powers, what's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, baby, yes.

BALDWIN: I like those teeth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And Cher, like, whatever, from Clueless.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, as if.

BALDWIN: It's pretty good. We all have our drinks, so we settled. Austin, are you handing me some --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Popcorn?

BALDWIN: Got me some popcorn. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: We've got our drinks, candy, and we're just going to hang out for the next 30 seconds. We're about to watch CNN "THE MOVIES." The premiere starts in a matter of seconds. And Ana, it's all about the 80s.

CABRERA: I see -- I see you are already digging into the popcorn, Brooke. Do you take candy with you when you go to the movies? What's your favorite?

BALDWIN: I like to do the mix, if possible, of a little chocolate raisinet with the popcorn.

CABRERA: Little sweet, little salty.

BALDWIN: Little combination.

CABRERA: Little chewy, little crunchy. BALDWIN: You know, sweet and salty, all goes down together, delicious.

CABRERA: I'm right there with you. Although, I've got to say --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot wait.

CABRERA: Me too.

BALDWIN: You've got to say, what's that?

CABRERA: All right, and on that note, because our viewers are waiting, and it's up in about 20 seconds. I'll say goodbye. Brooke, thank you, thanks to your friends who are there with you. Stay right there. We have the CNN Original Series "THE MOVIES" next, here on CNN.

That does it for me. Thank you for being with us this weekend. I'm Ana Cabrera. Have a great night.