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North Korea Hints It May Resume Nuclear Tests; No Charges For Officer Accused of Killing Eric Garner; British Police Bust Huge Slavery Operation; "Hope For Justice" Helped U.K. Police Bust Slavery Operation; How Your Child's Screen Time Can Lead To Depression. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 17, 2019 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Republicans break ranks to vote with the Democrats and the president is not backing down.

Plus entire communities shaken as deadly monsoons take away people's homes and farmland across parts of South Asia.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't breathe.

NEWTON (voice-over): The last words of Eric Garner echo once again as the U.S. attorney general decides not to bring federal charges against the officer responsible for his death.

Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN NEWSROOM. (MUSIC PLAYING)

NEWTON: So in the aftermath of Trump's racist tweets, the House of Representatives held the debate that underscored the deeply partisan and, of course, racial divisions and U.S. politics at the moment.

The House eventually decided to condemn the president's tweets targeting four minority lawmakers but the vote fell along the partisan lines, party lines with the resolution saying, quote, it "strongly condemns president Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color by saying that our fellow Americans who are immigrants and those who may look to the president like immigrants should go back to other countries."

Now in a tweet after the vote, Mr. Trump praised the Republican Party's unity against resolution.

Jim Acosta reports that the president has refused to back away from his remarks and continues to dismiss the four congresswomen he targeted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After his racist tweets aimed at four Democratic women of color in Congress, telling them to go back where they came from, President Trump is offering no apologies.

TRUMP: It is up to them. They can do what they want. They can leave, they can stay. But they should love our country. And they should work for the good of our country.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president appears to be relishing the racial firestorm he touched off, insisting those tweets were not racist.

"I don't have a racist bone in my body." And he added that lawmakers who make up the so-called squad could get lost and tweeting, "Our country is free and beautiful and very successful and if you hate our country or are not happy here, you can leave."

One squad member, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, fired back, "You're right, Mr. President, you don't have a racist bone in your body, you have a racist mind in your head and a racist heart in your chest."

Aides to the president are getting testy over tweets as White House counsel Kellyanne Conway asking one reporter for his ethnicity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To which countries was he referring?

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: What is your ethnicity?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is that relevant?

CONWAY: No, because I'm asking a question. My ancestors are from Ireland and Italy. He's tired. A lot of us are sick and tired of this country -- of America coming last, to people who swore an oath of office. Sick and tired of our military being denigrated. Sick and tired of the Customs and Border Patrol protection people I was with who are overwhelming Hispanic, by the way --

ACOSTA (voice-over): Conway later tweeted this was meant with no disrespect. We're all from somewhere else originally.

But earlier in the day, Conway took her own jabs at the squad, describing the lawmakers as dark.

CONWAY: They represent a dark underbelly in this country of people who are not respecting our troops, are not giving them the resources and the respect that they deserve and they voted against the military aid --

ACOSTA (voice-over): At a cabinet meeting HUD secretary Ben Carson praised the president as doing God's work.

BEN CARSON, HUD SECRETARY: Would you rather have a non-politician whose speech is unfiltered, who gets a lot of stuff done or somebody with a silver tongue that gets nothing done?

But as I've told you before, I think God is using it.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Most Republican lawmakers don't seem troubled by the tweets.

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): I don't think they're racist. I've said that many times over the last 48 hours. They are probably divisive. I think if you broke down America on the tweets right now, the people that absolutely despise the president or are offended by the tweets and the people that support the president don't have a problem with the tweets.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Democrats say it is another example of the GOP excusing Mr. Trump's offensive rhetoric.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If there is anything sadder than having a racist, bigoted president, it is seeing the collapse of the Republican Party.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president tried to make light of his battle with the squad, joking reporters can leave the country, too.

TRUMP: If the press wants to stay, you can. If you'd like to leave, it is like I said the other day, I don't mind. If you want to leave. That is your option. You could leave any time you want.

ACOSTA: The president also defended the administration detention facilities down on the border, objecting to lawmakers calling them concentration camps and also said the detention facilities are well run but that is not the assessment --

[02:05:00]

ACOSTA: -- in a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.

That report quoted a senior official at one of those facilities who described the overcrowded conditions as a, quote, "ticking time bomb" -- Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So only four Republican House members voted for the resolution, 19 Republican lawmakers did criticize the president's tweets, most avoided labeling them as racist though and called them inappropriate, destructive and divisive.

Ben Ferguson joins me now from Houston. Ben, it really has been a divisive few days and it continues, it really has been quite painful to watch, quite frankly.

In terms of the president who continually says, no, I'm not a racist, my comments weren't racist.

What I want to ask you about, what does he mean when he says many people agree with me?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I know that there are many people who agree with the president, that if you don't like this country and you are not proud of this country and you don't like what America is, then don't -- you can leave, no one is stopping you.

The way he put it in his tweet, I think a lot of people disagreed with the way he put it, the principle was we are not going to sit here and I think America is not a great country, we are going to make sure that we defend this country, we don't look at the attackers, for example, as this quota for said these people who have committed 9/11.

We look at them as terrorists and we will condemn the actual terrorist.

So I think that is the point the president is making, I don't think the way he worded was correct, the premise of what he was trying to say, if you are not part of this country then maybe you should not be representing it in Congress.

If you are not part of this nation and don't like it, then you can go somewhere else. I think that is the point he was making and the way he worded was not the right way.

NEWTON: I think he worded exactly the way he wanted to, he did not pull back on the comments at all and, as he said, as he pointed out that many people agree with me, what does he mean by that?

Do you think this is a winning strategy for 2020, by definition that many Americans do believe that, if you criticize America in the way that those Democratic congresswomen have, then, yes, the president has a right to tell you to go back from where you came, even though that happens to be different parts of the United States.

FERGUSON: Yet, three out of the four people are American and one is from outside the country, that's why it was the wrong way to put it but when a member of Congress was talking about this today, she said, look, we are dealing with people that are socialists and want to turn America into a socialist country, I will stand for the president nine backing him, I am one of those that stands behind those president, I don't want this becoming a socialist country.

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: But those are conversations about policy and ideology, not about skin color, at the end of the day, it does not seem the president will pull back.

Why does he believe -- because he clearly does believe that this is a winning strategy for 2020, two points out --

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: I don't think he thinks it is a winning strategy, his point with the president, he is talking clearly about where we're going with his country, what these four women stand for it is very different from what the president stands for.

And that is why you saw him not backing down and even doubled down on this comment. He is not one to apologize, we have seen that consistently for the past three years.

And he says I will go to the max with any one of these -- this squad and what they call themselves, I don't want America to be socialist, they do, I want this to be a free country and they don't. I think we should have secure borders and they want to have open borders, they want people to come from any country legally and not have a penalty for that.

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: Ben, you're Trumpsplaining, explain into audience, what is the president tapping into because he is tapping into agreements that many people say is races but at the end of the day he is tapping into something, is he literally just tapping into racism?

I hate to be that blunt about it but is he playing on the racism as a winning strategy for 2020?

FERGUSON: I don't think it is a winning strategy, I don't think he's tapping into racism as I said in the beginning, the way he pointed tweet was not the way to do it and then he had enough substance to fight on these actual issues with the words I came out of the squad's mouth, they issue cities brought up time and time again.

I think he was an artful no way he did it but if you think that running on a quote racist platform and races words, it is not --

[02:10:00]

FERGUSON: -- and that is why I don't think the president is doing that and that is not what people see him as president, that is why he's said many people stand behind him.

NEWTON: I guess he goes down to that argument, a lot of people in the Republican Party do not agree that the tweets were racist, then we will be talking about this I have a feeling for a big time to come.

FERGUSON: It's going to be a very intense election, that is for sure.

NEWTON: And we are still a long ways away from it, Ben, thanks, we appreciate it.

FERGUSON: Thanks for having me.

NEWTON: Ben was coming to us from Houston and the perspective from Texas is a really one, the president won that state by 9 percent in 2016. So now we will have Dallas, where CNN Randi Kaye is speaking to Republican voters, who say, you know, they are totally behind the president, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How many of you don't think what the president said was racist, raise your hand?

(voice-over): These eight Republican women from Dallas don't see anything wrong with President Trump telling four Democratic congressman to go back where they came from.

DENA MILLER, REPUBLICAN: He was saying that if they hate America so much because we are seeing out of them, we're hearing out of them is that they hate America. If it's so bad, there is a lot of places they can go.

SHARON BOLAN, REPUBLICAN: I'm a brown-skinned woman. I am a legal immigrant. I agree with him

KAYE (on camera): You don't think that's racist to say it?

BOLAN: No, not at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a demonstration of how their ideology spills over. Even though they are American now so to speak, they are not acting American.

GIAN O'BRIANT, REPUBLICAN: I'm glad that the president said what he said because all they are doing is they are inciting hatred and division and that's not what our country is about. We -- it is not about that at all.

KAYE: Isn't that what the president does out with some of his own comments, his own racist comments?

O'BRIANT: But he didn't say anything about color.

CAMI DEAN, REPUBLICAN: We know the president is not racist. He loves people from likes Hispanics and white people all across the board.

KAYE: Let me just share with you the definition of racism from Merriam-Webster dictionary. A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produced an inherent superiority of a particular race.

Base on that definition, do you not think what the president has been saying --

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIANT: No, he dated a black woman for two years. Two of his wives are immigrants. He is not a xenophobic racist.

MILLER: First, the black billionaire is endorsing President Trump. O'BRIANT: Yes.

MILLER: How can you call him racist?

KAYE: So these congresswomen, who said they ran for Congress, ran for office because they explicitly love this country, you're saying that's a lie?

MILLER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they say.

MILLER: Yes, that is a lie.

KAYE: You're saying they hate this country?

MILLER: Yes.

KATHLEEN LIEBERMAN, REPUBLICAN: Do you ever (INAUDIBLE), it's claiming that they're very manipulative to accuse as a -- instead of extracting the truth.

KAYE: It's a tactic.

LIEBERMAN: Because when you say, you know, don't you think he's racist? You're accusing us. You're accusing him.

KAYE: I'm asking. I'm not accusing. I'm asking you what you think.

LIEBERMAN: But you're being tough. OK, it's no relevant. It has nothing to do with the real issue. It has nothing to do with the premises of issues here.

KAYE: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And whenever someone --

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: The color of the four.

PEACHES MCGUIRE COATES, REPUBLICAN: Why do you keep bringing that up?

KAYE: Do you thing it's just a coincidence that these four congresswomen that the President is going after, none of them are white?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is for --

O'BRIANT: They're going after him.

COATES: It's the ideology.

MILLER: Exactly.

COATES: I don't think it matters. O'BRIANT: Yes.

COATES: But it's idiotic, what they're saying. So, it doesn't matter whether they're white, man, woman, brown, yellow, anything.

MILLER: I wish that there was a white one that they -- I'm wondering, if they're not racist, how come they haven't befriended one of their white female congresswomen colleagues and let her join --

O'BRIANT: Because they won't.

MILLER: They don't like white people, come on. They're racist.

KAYE: How many of you still plan to vote for President Trump?

O'BRIANT: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Retired U.S. Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens has died, he was nominated to the court just after the Watergate scanner, he retired in 2010 and he was a leader of the liberal justices.

Stevens voted to reaffirm Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and dissented on that very controversial Citizens United opinion that said corporations' political spending is a form of protected speech. Stevens was 99 years old.

Devastation in South Asia as floods claimed the lives and homes in several countries, that's next on NEWSROOM.

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[02:15:00]

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NEWTON: The European Commission is getting a new leader, Germany's outgoing defense minister is to be its next president. Ursula van der Leyen is the first woman to win the post after receiving European Parliament support to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker. She was confirmed by just nine votes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: My work will be with the pro European parties to work for stable majorities. You know that before I was in the game, it was also difficult to find a stable platform majority. But to proceed in this work I think is of high importance and crucial

for the success we will have as commissioner with the parliament and with the council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The 60 year old doctor and mother of seven is to take up the most important role in Brussels on November 1st.

And Christine Lagarde is quitting the IMF as she prepares to take over the European Central Bank. The former French finance been head of the International Monetary Fund since 2011. In October, she is expected to become the ECB's first female leader responsible for the euro and monetary policy throughout the Eurozone.

President Trump is sending a message to Turkey, he says the U.S. won't sell Ankara American F-35 fighter jets after it bought a missile system from Russia. Mr. Trump signaled he is reluctant to impose sanctions on Turkey as required by the U.S. law over the Russian equipment.

The U.S. president blames the Obama administration for what he called a tough situation.

Parts of South Asia are still reeling from monsoon rains and floods that have swept away people and homes, millions of residents in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are affected by the devastation. More than 100 people have lost their lives in evacuations in some areas are ongoing.

Farmlands have been inundated with water, livestock has been lost, some people have said they have lost everything.

Joining me now from New Delhi, Nikhil Kumar.

We have been watching this now for several days, I think the main issue is are going to be respite from this anytime soon?

NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Paula, the rains over the last few days was the worst that we have seen over the weekend, those rains have reduced, waters are receding in certain states.

In India we have been hearing the same and in Nepal but this is far from the end of it because it is only the first phase of these rains, which in many parts of this subcontinent were delayed.

So we have seen some of this over the last few days but still has a long way to play out, as the monsoon works away across the region and into July and August.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KUMAR (voice-over): Villages destroyed --

[02:20:00] KUMAR (voice-over): -- entire homes swept away and scores killed. This is the aftermath of devastating floods that killed over hundred people in South Asia. The death toll that is likely to rise with more missing and feared dead.

In Pakistani controlled Kashmir, locals were forced to flee destruction that is ravaged their community. An all too familiar story across the region in annual monsoon rains cause havoc, displacing hundreds of thousands.

In southeastern Nepal, the worst hit districts almost entirely submerged, in India's eastern state, more than 700 villages were swamped with water. Over 1 million people have been displaced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It has been devastating, the water has entered our houses, destroying our belongings.

KUMAR: Meanwhile in Bangladesh thousands have been forced from their homes, their heavy rains didn't spare some 900,000 refugees, living in makeshift camps in southeastern Bangladesh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The embankment broke so quickly before you realized what happened, we ran toward children and instantly our houses were destroyed by floodwater. We plan on recovering our belongs. When the water recedes, you will see all or houses covered in mud.

KUMAR (voice-over): All across this vast region, release agencies are scrambling to save lives. Beyond the cost in human life or the economic challenges, vast tracts of agricultural land has been run by over water and precious livestock swept away and killed.

Many countless livelihoods and this is far from over, more heavy downpour is expected across the region as the monsoon winds its way around southeast. This is a long term problem affecting millions in the region. And the climate crisis throws out ever sharper extreme weather, from devastating heat waves to floods.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KUMAR: So, Paula, as you can see, this still has some time to play out as this monsoon season unfolds for the rest of July and August, then there's a longer term issue, we have been talking to experts in recent days and weeks and they tell us that the climate crisis has made variations, extreme variations much more likely across this region.

And so just a few weeks ago, we were talking about devastating heat waves that maybe alone killed 130 people and now we are talking about flooding across the region, so this is a multilayered story that still has some time to play.

NEWTON: Unfortunately, very difficult to cope with those extremes and before I let you go, we have been covering a breaking story in the last 24 hours, there is a building collapsed in Mumbai, which did get the most rain it had seen in a decade. Is there any indication yet whether the building collapses related to

the rains and is rescue operations still ongoing?

KUMAR: Well, Paula, the rescue operation is still ongoing any went throughout the night, so far 12 people have died as a result of the collapse in the building, it was four floors, 100 year old building . Ten people have been injured but rescuers are still on the scene, it is still very crowded section of the city getting to the site has been quite hard for people, the lanes are very narrow.

So they are moving heavy equipment, they have been working as hard as they can to be able to do that. And authorities so far have just said that this was an old building that they pointed out was meant to be redeveloped.

The local state authority said yesterday night that it was meant to be redeveloped intended not happen and investigation is unfolding. But it is cause a lot of anger because what we have seen by again and again stories of the structural problems where lives have been lost in 2017.

A three story building collapsed and saw 33 people killed and we hear stories quite often when there is heavy rain for example of bridges collapsing, walkways collapsing and there is anger about that.

People are asking how is it that the beating heart of this rising economy, that the infrastructure there is so horrible that people -- regularly we hear people getting caught and killed. So as this unfolds, some tough questions are being asked of the authority.

NEWTON: One thing we know is that they will be tireless in that rescue operation as they have during other tragedies, Nikhil, thank you very much, really appreciate our update.

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[02:25:00]

NEWTON: Now coming up, Eric Garner's last words sparked a movement and now activists are out in force after the Justice Department made a shocking decision in this case.

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NEWTON: Welcome back, I'm Paula Newton and we are going to update you now on the top news.

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[02:30:00]

Five years ago, Eric Garner died after a violent confrontation with a New York police officer. His last words, I can't breathe, became a rallying cry in attempt to hold police accountable for killing an unarmed black man, and, once again, it's echoing through the streets of New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And you're hearing those words again because the U.S. Justice Department has decided not to bring federal charges against the officer accused of fatality choking Garner, saying that they couldn't prove he acted willfully in Garner's death. CNN's Miguel Marquez looks back on how Eric Garner's death sparked an entire movement. I want to warn you, though, this report does contain graphic content.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC GARNER, DIED IN A CHOKEHOLD BY NYPD OFFICER: I can't breathe.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly five years to the day that Eric Garner died while being taken into police custody, Attorney General William Barr himself made the decision not to bring Civil Rights charges against the white NYPD officer accused of choking the 43-year-old African-American man to death. His final words, I can't breathe.

GARNER: I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

GWEN CARR, MOTHER OF ERIC GARNER: Five years ago, my son said I can't breathe, 11 times. And today, we can't breathe.

MARQUEZ: Garner's family frustrated that the police officer Daniel Pantaleo remains on the job, pending an NYPD review of a case that started in the Obama administration, was handled by for attorneys general, the Civil Rights division pushing for prosecution.

Attorney General Barr eventually citing with the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who believed they could not win a conviction.

RICHARD DONOGHUE, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Even if we can prove that Officer Pantaleo's hold of Mr. Garner constituted unreasonable force, we would still have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Pantaleo acted willfully in violation of law.

GARNER: I didn't sell anything.

MARQUEZ: Garner, who was allegedly selling loose cigarettes outside a beauty supply store on New York Staten Island, was confronted by Officer Pantaleo on July 17th, 2014. Pantaleo says he was attempting a takedown move on Garner whose family contends it was an illegal chokehold that began the chain of events leading to Mr. Garner's death.

CARR: All the officers who were involved in my son's death that day, need to be off the force. The streets of New York City are not safe with them walking around.

MARQUEZ: The video shows Pantaleo holding Garner by the neck for about seven seconds. In a police hearing, the New York medical examiner testified it was Officer Pantaleo's actions which caused Mr. Garner to suffer an asthma attack, leading to his death.

DONOGHUE: Mr. Garner stated, I can't breathe. But I would point out that he made this statement only after he fell to the sidewalk, and after Officer Pantaleo released his grip from Mr. Garner's neck.

CROWD: I can't breathe.

MARQUEZ: Mr. Garner's death became part of a nationwide rallying cry for African Americans as cases of questionable police action against black civilians multiplied. New York City settled with the Garner family in 2015, with a payment of $5.9 million. Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Retired Los Angeles police sergeant, Cheryl Dorsey, joins me now from Riverside, California, she's also the author of Black and Blue, I mean, this really shocked a lot of people today. The reaction from the family, of course, was quite emotional.

But, you know, there are also evoked troubling questions for many Americans, and it's that video, right? It's that video, what would the attorney general, Bill Barr, see in that video, apparently he reviewed it several times, but he decided that there still wasn't any evidence to prosecute, why?

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED POLICE SERGEANT, LOS ANGELES (via Skype): Well, listen, there's plenty of evidence, and I've said for many, many months and years, actually, that this current administration has no appetite much like the NYPD to hold Officer Pantaleo accountable for using a prohibited chokehold.

Listen, if you don't believe that there's sufficient evidence to find this officer, guilty, let's go to court and let's see. But, unless and until police department's police chiefs and commissioners are willing to admit that there's a problem, and we know that there is one, then officers like Pantaleo, will live to offend again, and that's why five years later, nearly, he's still on the payroll of the NYPD.

[02:35:11] Great deference is given to what a police officer says. And so, for that reason, juries, much like the ones in Staten Island, decided not to indict this officer. And administratively, when this civilian review board is done, he will still remain on the job, is my belief.

NEWTON: Yes, that's the whole thing. This case continues but certainly not in the way that the family wants it to continue. You know, obviously, this was, kind of, the genesis of the Black Lives Matter movement, but the record of prosecuting police and this type of incidents is not good at all.

There are quite a few prominent cases, but I have to tell you, the one that always sticks with me is Tamir Rice, right, 12 years old, shot dead by Officer Tim Loehmann, within seconds of that police officer arriving in a Cleveland Park, I mean, the boy was holding a pellet gun.

So, the officer was never prosecuted. I mean, have we had a discussion about the policies here and how it's evolved since then? Have you seen any change?

DORSEY: Well, no, we haven't seen any change, and there are things that have happened certainly since Tamir Rice, I mean, just most recently, in the NYPD, an officer -- a probationary officer shot and killed Akai Gurley and he was given probation.

And so, this is not unique to NYPD. This happens across the nation. Officers are given a slap on the hand. They're given the gift of resignation. And police departments throw buckets of money, taxpayer money, at the families. They do nothing to change policy. And the officers often times live to offend again, either on that department or another one.

NEWTON: Cheryl, as a former police officer, though, I mean, what do you think has to be done?

DORSEY: Well listen, you need to -- there are a lot of things, there's not one approach, you need to vote, right? Voting and not voting has consequences. And listen, for folks who didn't vote in that last presidential election, you wound up with a guy in office, who would put an A.G. in office, who doesn't have an appetite or desire to make sure the black folks get justice. So, you're going to have to vote.

NEWTON: I'll get to the A.G. in a moment, but if we talk a little bit about police training, police tactics, do you think something still has to change in that vein?

DORSEY: Listen, police officers know what they can and can't do, and police chiefs, you know what you can and can't do by way of not holding you accountable when you violate policy, and in some instance, is law.

And so, if you're not happy with the kind of service that you're receiving, then sheriffs or elected officials, every police chiefs serves at the pleasure of a mayor. Folks need to get engaged and get involved in actively demanding that their rights are adhered to.

NEWTON: In terms of the A.G., William Barr, he personally decided that this would not go forward, but this was a very divisive case, very contentious for the Justice Department. It went all the way back to disagreements within the Obama administration. Why, why do you think it was so contentious? And I remind you, yes, it is this administration, but it was the Obama administration as well.

DORSEY: Well, it started there, right? This has been a long involved process, there's no appetite, great deference, as I said, is given to what an officer says and by and large, juries, police chiefs, they minimize and mitigate bad behavior, they cuddle officers, they circle the wagon.

And listen, you can find a number of reasons to not indict if that's what you choose to do. We saw with our own eyes, Pantaleo used a prohibited chokehold. You hear Eric Garner saying, I can't breathe. There was no reason for that officer to choke him to death, other than, they wanted to punish him.

It wasn't about gaining compliance, it wasn't about controlling, it was about punishing Eric Garner because he didn't turn around in a timely fashion and summit to being handcuffed. And so until you put people in positions of power, chiefs, commissioners, and sheriffs who think differently about black lives, this is going to continue.

NEWTON: And I know that you said that the way to rectify this is to vote, but I think in terms of taking power to the streets, do you believe we will see more protests, given that it is the anniversary of Eric Garner's death and that still, as Miguel Marquez said, that police officer is still working, still being paid by the New York Police Department.

DORSEY: Well, yes, we're going to continue to see protests, and then, you know, we have short-term memory, in a few weeks and months, you know, this will be a forgotten thing until it happens again, because its cyclical and it seems to happen over and over again, and we get all excited, and we march, and we lay across freeways and stop traffic, and nothing changes.

Chiefs throw buckets of money at the family, they don't change policy, they don't hold the officers accountable, and it's business as usual.

NEWTON: Well, certainly, the families are hoping that they get some kind of accountability one way or the other, a lot of these cases are still winding their way through the courts, Cheryl, thanks so much.

DORSEY: Thanks for having me.

[02:40:03] NEWTON: Now, British police take down a huge modern day slavery network, just ahead, we'll take a ride with the man who helped break up this operation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Police in Britain has dismantled the country's largest modern-day slavery network. A gang of eight people made millions of dollars by trafficking hundreds of victims from Poland and putting them to work in England, taking any money they earned. Phil Black spent some time with one of the men who brought the gang to justice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL FREELANCE REPORTER: Peter's retro flat cap isn't a fashion choice. It's protection, a partial disguise, we can't show his face or mention his full name.

There are people who want to hurt you?

PETER, WORKS FOR ANTI-SLAVERY CHARITY, HOPE FOR JUSTICE: Yes.

BLACK: Peter's job is freeing slaves.

TEXT: I have been involved in 286 rescues.

BLACK: That has made enemies and inspired threats.

TEXT: They want me to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.

BLACK: Peter is giving us a tour of Birmingham's dark underbelly, in the U.K.'s second largest city, on regular looking roads inside ordinary looking houses. He helps uncover appalling hidden crimes, building trust with victims, moving them to safety. His stories are about real people, enslaved, exploited, controlled with unimaginable violence.

TEXT: A young female, was tied up because she refused to do what the traffickers asked her to do, which is being involved in prostitution. She was tied up with a barbed wire, and some parts of her body were been put on fire.

BLACK: But one case stands out for its extraordinary scale.

This is where some of those people were rescued?

TEXT: Yes, the first victims.

BLACK: The first people, Peter, ever rescued, eventually led police to break up the U.K.'s biggest known modern slavery operation.

[02:45:00] These gang members all came from Poland, so did their victims. They targeted people with few options and convince them to travel to the U.K. for a better life. But this was the reality when they arrived -- filthy slum-like conditions, threats, violence, forced labor for almost no pay.

The victims were put to work for unsuspecting businesses while the gang collected wages through bank accounts they control. Police believe, they made millions of pounds. Gang members brazenly and foolishly flaunted their wealth. One bought a Bentley.

Peter and his colleagues at the antislavery charity Hope for Justice. Worked the case from their secret operations room. Together, they and the police identified 92 victims, but the gang is suspected of trafficking hundreds more.

PETER: I'm afraid that still, so many people believe that slavery was ended 250 years ago and doesn't exist anymore. BLACK: Peter takes us to a center that helps hundreds of homeless people in Birmingham every day. He says this is where many former slaves end up after their captors can no longer make money from them. This center has identified 45 slavery victims in the last year alone.

So this recent prosecution, this gang, it's not a one-off?

PETER: No. There are more gangs who are still operating. We won the battle, but the war is not over yet.

BLACK: British authorities believe slavery is a booming trade across the country, likely involving tens of thousands of victims. Peter, says he'll continue working, defying threats, helping to free scared, vulnerable people one at a time.

PETER: Victims --

BLACK: Phil Black, CNN, Birmingham, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, Ben Cooley is the CEO of Hope for Justice the group that Phil just introduced us to there, and who helped dismantle this slavery operation.

We spoke earlier about the work his organization is doing to try and help free so many of the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN COOLEY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, HOPE FOR JUSTICE: We employ people that reach out to vulnerable communities. And this case came to light because of that one of our investigators and community outreach workers identified two victims in this case. And then, we further did a further investigation and found 49 more which then led to now hundreds of individuals that have been identified in this case with partnership with West Midlands Police, which is as you right -- they described as the largest case in British history.

NEWTON: And what was so alarming about this, Ben, was the fact that they seem to prey on the most vulnerable in Poland. Was that, in fact, highly premeditated on their part?

COOLEY: Yes, it's highly intentional actually. Traffickers recruit or look for vulnerable -- vulnerability at these individuals who were homeless, and often, had just come out of prison, wanting a job, a better life, and they came to Britain for that. Little did they know that they would be living in squalor, held as prisoners, some of them had their arms broken as punishment. Some of them were stripped naked as humiliation, not paid, and it living in squalor. Some of them described actually, having no running water and having to use local canals to wash.

NEWTON: And what has happened to these victims now?

COOLEY: Well, we've supported them. Since 2015, we found them housing welfare, and we've linked them with job vocational training. We have supported them with trauma-informed care, access to -- and support through the criminal proceedings. And, you know, long is the road for recovery for victims of trauma, and victims of modern-day slavery. It is a long uphill battle.

NEWTON: And we here at CNN, obviously, having covered the Freedom Project, though the insidious nature of these kinds of crimes. And yet, Ben, I have to tell you, I've covered this in not just poor countries around the world, but highly developed economies like in the U.K. Why is that? Why are these crimes still allowed to go on and perpetuate this modern-day slavery?

COOLEY: I think this case was particularly shocking because of the well-known brands that these modern-day slaves were working in. And I think, it calls us to all act, to do something whether that's the public looking out and spotting the signs whether that's authorities are doing more and allocating more resource, or whether it's businesses and taking seriously, slavery in their supply chains.

Not just in the developing world, but here within the Western world as well. There is so much more to be done to address the issue of modern-day slavery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:49:57] NEWTON: And our thanks to Ben there. We invite you to learn more about Hope for Justice's work to dismantle the U.K.'s slavery network and other CNN Freedom Project initiatives at cnn.com/freedom.

OK, young people who spend too much time on social media or watching T.V. are at an increased risk of depression. That's according to a new study. We asked the clinical psychologist what's behind the findings.

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NEWTON: Too much time scrolling through social media and watching television can lead to symptoms of depression in young people. That's according to a new research study. It found that for every additional hour young people spend on social media or watching T.V., the severity of depressive symptoms they experience increases.

Clinical psychologist Patricia Conrod joins me now from Montreal. She's a psychiatry professor at the University of Montreal. And led the study we are discussing and a lot to discuss here.

I mean, I certainly caught the attention of many people. Why do you believe in terms of this study that it happened to mirror anecdotally what many people have found in their own lives?

PATRICIA CONROD, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL: Yes, that's always a good thing to hear when you're a scientist. But, yes, so, this study is reporting on some effects that many people have observed there -- in their own lives. But I have also been reported in the literature about what we're using is a very unique study, it's a longitudinal study, and a unique data set to really probe this question as far as we can using observational data.

So, we used a sample of 4,000 adolescents who are followed every year from the seventh grade through to the 11th grade, and they self- reported on their mental health as well as a number of health risk behaviors including how much time they spend per day in front of the screen.

NEWTON: And the bottom line is the correlation is there.

CONROD: The bottom line is the correlation is there but not for all types of screen time, and that was I think what was most surprising. So, we found very robust relationships and time bearing relationships between television watching, social media use, and depression, but not between video gaming, and other forms of computer use and depression.

And so, we try to explain why it is that these two forms of screen time are more related to depression, and what was interesting is that you couldn't explain it through simply a displacement hypothesis that you just the more time you spend in front of a screen, the less time you're out doing other types of activities such as physical activity which we know is related to mood and depression.

So, there wasn't much evidence of that. It really -- it really appeared to be -- you know there's something that is common to television watching and social media that is linked to depression.

And what was circulating in the scientific literature is this idea of this upward social comparison hypothesis. So, one feature that these two types of screen timeshares that they present the world, particularly, to young people in a more favorable way than reality. They kind of -- you know, present very glossy, exciting, portrayals of young people in their lives.

And the, of course, upward social comparison, the fact, is that people actually leave, you know, go away from these two forms of media feeling quite bad about themselves.

So, we actually tested that by testing again if you know saw increases in screen time in a given year would you see decreases in self-esteem.

[02:55:09] NEWTON: Right.

CONROD: And would that explain the increases in depression and that's indeed what we found.

NEWTON: Wow. That is really a mind-blowing because, as I said, anecdotally a lot of us have seen it, and there are words for it, right? People call it things like Insta-envy because you do have that comparative look at your life, what you believe the reality is on your screen. Whether it's T.V. or social media.

In terms of a simple answer here, because, of course, the idea is prevention, what do you recommend? Do you just recommend less screen time for everyone, period?

CONROD: Well, if you could achieve that, that would be wonderful. But, I mean, I think there are also some studies suggesting that various forms of screen time are also beneficial to young people and to people in general.

So, I think -- I think the message from this study is that it's not just about the screen time, it's about the content. And perhaps, we -- and considering how much time young people spend in front of screens and interacting on social media, I think that it's important to educate them on, and help them kind of navigate them -- their lives through social media.

Having them be a bit more aware of the fact that they're being exposed to realities that might be a bit biased towards highly exciting and thrilling potentially overly positives lifestyles that really aren't reflective of the average teenager.

NEWTON: Right. And maybe, obviously, easier to rationalize and understand in adulthood but not so easy in adolescence. A really important work here and we appreciate it. And if you want, go to cnn.com, there's a story there and the study certainly, I'm sure, will motivate more research.

Thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

CONROD: Thank you.

NEWTON: And thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Paula Newton, I will be right back in a few moments after this short break. You're watching CNN.

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[02:59:57] NEWTON: Sending a message to the president. U.S. lawmakers passed a resolution condemning Donald Trump's racist comments.

Puerto Rican police versus crowds of protesters. It's been like that for days as demonstrators in San Juan demand the governor leave office immediately.

END