Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Over 150 Million People Threatened By Potentially "Deadly" Heat; Tensions Soar After Iran Seizes British-Flagged Oil Tanker; Salary Dispute Rocks The Sanders Campaign; Joe Biden Hits Key Caucus State Nevada; Protesters Read Puerto Rican Governor's Controversial Texts Out Loud, Ask Police To Join Them; Trump Claims He Was Unhappy With "Send Her Back" Chant Then Praises Crowd As "Incredible Patriots"; Trump Says He'll Vouch For Bail For U.S. Rapper Held In Sweden; Racist Rhetoric Fueled Mexican-American Massacre 100 Years Ago; Mike Pence Honors Buzz Aldrin, Astronauts On 50th Moonwalk Anniversary As Experts Focus On Mars Mission. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired July 20, 2019 - 13:00   ET

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


[13:00:00] SAVIDGE SAVIDGE, CNN HOST: People in cities like Chicago, Indianapolis and Philadelphia are doing whatever they can to stay cool. And excessive heat warnings are also applying in other places.

Even zoo workers are doing what they can to help animals beat the elements.

It parts of Michigan, it's even worse because it's going to feel like 106 degrees, an alarming level for more than 200,000 people who are still without power after severe storms hit the state last night.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is in New York where the city has hundreds of cooling centers open.

Polo, how hot is it?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pretty warm here, Martin. We spent time in one of the cooling centers yesterday. We saw many elderly New York residents returning to those places. Many of them said they have an air conditioner at home but to make it run constantly to try to stay cool, it can be very expensive. So they're turning to those places.

And in many places, they're turning to places like this. Look, these are scenes that are repeating themselves across the country in affected regions. When you just consider the numbers that at least 40 percent of the lower 48 are going to see at least 95-degree temperatures today in the shade. Factor in the sun and humidity, it can get extremely dangerous. So, again, these are the scenes we're looking at.

I bet you wish you were some of these kids here. That is one of the best ways of staying cool right now, aside from staying home and staying hydrated.

We have seen an impact on weekend events here in the New York area. For one, there was a massive festival planned in Manhattan. The mayor saying that is off.

And secondly, even some of the racing events near Saratoga Springs that were cancelled for the first time in 13 years specifically because of the heat.

Again, these are real impacts, real changes that we are seeing here.

When up hear from experts, they say it might even get hotter. When you look at last month, it was, according to climate experts, it was the hottest June ever recorded on the planet. July this year is giving it a run for its money -- Martin?

SAVIDGE: Polo Sandoval, try to stay cool. Appreciate it.

Let's break down how dangerous this heat can be. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me from the Weather Center.

Allison, explain why people in big cities may be more susceptible to extreme temperatures than rural areas.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEROLOGIST: It's not that both areas are not expected to stay hot the next days but it's all about that heat retention.

Here's how it works. Both of these places will get warm as the sun from the day begins to heat up both of those spaces. Here's the problem. When the heat comes back into these areas, it can't escape.

In the rural areas, at night, they tend to cool down. The heat can escape back into the atmosphere. But in the city locations, it's different. You've got mostly pavement and concrete. And that absorbs and retains that heat. So overnight, you aren't releasing the heart back out. That's means it gets to stay warmer, not just by a degree or two but by as much as up to 22 degrees warmer in city locations than we are noticing in the areas back -- more rural areas outside of the location.

Here's the thing. This is going to be a pretty widespread area. We're talking from New Mexico all the way up to Maine. You're talking over 80 percent of the country is expected to be seeing these temperatures that are going to be 90 degrees or higher.

Here's a look at the forecast high, 96 today in Chicago, 97 for St. Louis and Kansas City, 99, almost triple-digit temperatures, in D.C. That doesn't even factor in the humidity. When you do factor that in to get the heat index or feels-like temperature, Washington, D.C., will feel like 108, Chicago 103, same for Detroit, and even Kansas City will feel like it is 109.

Here's the thing. In some places, it's not just going to be today, it's going to be several days of these incredibly hot temperatures.

Chicago is expected to get a break starting tomorrow. That cold front will push down allowing those temperatures to cool down a little bit. Places like New York, Boston, you're going to have to wait until money to see relief. And in Washington, D.C., you're talking still with high temperatures in the 90. And the heat index well into the triple digits for at least the next three days.

We really don't see that big cool down, Martin, until we get to at least about Tuesday or Wednesday of the upcoming week at least for the eastern half of the country. But the western half, you'll notice, then they start to see their temperatures go up about the same time.

SAVIDGE: Allison Chinchar, thanks very much.

On international news, we're following developments in the Persian Gulf as tensions soar between Iran and the West. Britain warns there will be, quote, "serious consequences" after Iran captured a British- flagged oil tanker in the critical shipping area of the Strait of Hormuz.

Here you see new video of the moment that that tanker was seized by Iran's Navy.

Earlier this month, Britain seized an Iranian ship it said was involved in oil smuggling.

Just days ago, the U.S. claimed it destroyed an Iranian drone in the same area, a claim that is refuted by Iranian officials.

CNN International Correspondent, Matthew Chance, is in Abu Dhabi.

Matthew, what does Iran hope to gain out of seizing this ship?

[13:05:08] MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Clearly, Martin, Iran has been threatening for some weeks now to retaliate for the British capture of an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar in southern Europe at the mouth of the Mediterranean earlier this month.

Britain says the tanker was in violation of E.U. sanctions and intending to ship oil in violations of those sanctions to Syria. The Syrians have denied that. And they've been extremely angry and threatening to retaliate. They seem to have gone ahead and done that now.

In the Strait of Hormuz, this British-flagged oil tanker, the "Stena Impero," being boarded by Iranian forces, Revolutionary Guard forces.

Dramatic video has been released by the Iranian side of the vessel being surrounded by fast attack boats and a helicopter flying above. There's video from inside the helicopter with what appeared to be Iranian Special Forces descending by rope onto the deck of the "Stena Impero" and taking it into Iranian custody.

Within the past few hours, there's been a statement from the company that owns the oil tankers saying that all of the crew members are believed to be safe. There are no British individuals among the crew. They're from countries like India, the Philippines, and Russia also has crew members on board. These are very international undertakings.

But it is a huge point of contention between, first, the British and the Iranians. This is, in some ways, a bilateral dispute -- you could look at it that way -- between Britain and Iran.

There's going to be negotiations. The British say they want this to end diplomatically. Undoubtedly, those negotiations will involve the discussion of the future of both oil tankers, the one in Iranian hand and the one in British or Gibraltar's authorities hands as well.

But it all fits into a much broader context, as you mentioned, of escalating tensions in the region. And it's exactly this kind of start that could really set off more escalation and more violence in the weekend.

SAVIDGE: All right, Matthew Chance, thank you very much for breaking it down for us.

With me, are former Pentagon and State Department spokesman, retired Rear Admiral John Kirby, and Brett Bruen, the former director of global engagement for the White House under President Obama.

Admiral Kirby, let me start with you.

Is this direct retaliation on Iran's part, as Matthew pointed out, for the British action of seizing that ship in the Mediterranean?

JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY & DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Yes, I think Matthew's reporting is right. I think that's exactly what they're doing here. They said they were going to do it and so clearly their actions have now followed their words, their threats.

But I do think it is important to keep two things in mind, Martin. One, they feel more emboldened now after they have been able to act out in that region much more demonstrably, putting limpet mines, shooting down an American drone. Now they're enriching uranium in violation of the JCPOA. There's been no meaningful consequences for these actions. And so I think they feel emboldened.

And secondly, they are also trying to create, in my view, a bit of leverage with them against the Trump administration. They are clearly suffering under U.N.-led sanctions. They know their economy is crippled. This is their way of showing they still have power, they still have influence, and they can affect the free flow of oil in the Strait of Hormuz.

SAVIDGE: Brett, I'm curious, Britain has been a defender of Iran and the nuclear agreement, the one the U.S. abandoned. Does this move put that support in jeopardy?

BRETT BRUEN, FORMER DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT: I think what Iran is doing is very strategic. They know the presumptive next prime minister of the United Kingdom is perhaps one of the closest to Donald Trump amongst world leaders and someone who perhaps could add some pressure and push Trump towards a resolution.

I need to also say that what we're seeing play out in the Persian Gulf is the result of what the Trump administration calls a campaign of maximum pressure but with minimum planning involved. We just don't see a strategy backing this up. They simply have cornered Tehran into a position where it's now striking back, and it's doing so, I have to say, with great effectiveness.

SAVIDGE: And, Admiral, what is the possibility that Britain could use military force in response to this?

KIRBY: Well, I think as any nation state, sovereign state would, I think they want to reserve the right to do that. The foreign minister's language was pretty strong, leaning towards that possibility.

I don't think anyone in the U.K. desires to do that, first and foremost, or have that be the first response. I think everybody understands the need to try to de-escalate these tensions.

I think it was smart for the Brits to have a destroyer escort one of their tankers, as you saw last week. I think you're probably going to see more interest by the Brits in doing that.

[13:10:07] I think you're also going to see the American Navy step up its presence in and around the Strait of Hormuz more than it already is. I don't know if we'll see actual escorts, Martin, but I think you'll see a much more robust U.S. Navy presence in and around the southern gulf region.

SAVIDGE: Yes, but having been through that area many times, and there's not a lot of room for error, and I'm talking physically. There's not a lot of space for all of that shipping as well as the military hardware.

So, Brett, what does it take to de-escalate this now? Does Iran have to let that ship go?

BRUEN: First, I was in London this week speaking with folks at the foreign office and other diplomatic sources, and there's even before this incident and certainly now afterwards a lot of recriminations about why the U.K. was not doing more to protect its ships going through this space.

The point is how do we escalate? I think we're already seeing signs of that both with the British but also with Emmanuel Macron, in France, trying to appeal to Tehran to find out a solution.

I don't think it's actually that difficult. At the end of the day, what Trump wants is to put his imperator on this Iran deal. We need to make superficial changes and move forward.

SAVIDGE: One more, Brett. We're expecting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is going to speak shortly at a security conference in Colorado. You wrote recently that the State Department has, quote, "lost its swagger" under his leadership What did you mean by that?

BRUEN: He came with a lot of promises, almost a braggadocious brand of diplomacy. But over the course of the last year, we've not seen the results. Certainly, the State Department, my former colleagues in the foreign service, have gotten very little in terms of actual deliverables on those promises. But perhaps, for the American people, more concerning, we don't have

any wins that Mike Pompeo, for all of his bluster, has actually been able to rack up.

SAVIDGE: Admiral, we know that the "New York Times" at least is reporting that Iran's foreign minister said he would be willing to meet with U.S. lawmakers. This kind of seizures of ships here, is that really a way to begin negotiations? Is that really a way to prompt that kind of attitude?

KIRBY: I think it's going to be unlikely that people will be willing to meet with the Iranians from Western nations given the behavior that continues. So I think, if they're serious about wanting to have meaningful discussions, they're going to have to alter their behavior before anybody is going to be willing to give them the credibility they seek here at a negotiating team.

So, no, I think these actions by the Revolutionary Guard, whether they're fully coordinated with Tehran or not, are certainly not helping to get anyone back to the table or de-escalate the situation.

SAVIDGE: It's a dangerous game.

Admiral Kirby and Brett Bruen, thank you both for joining us.

KIRBY: You bet.

BRUEN: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Still ahead, presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, getting slammed over so-called poverty wages. Those are the wages he is allegedly paying his campaign team. How he's responding, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:57] Democratic presidential hopefuls are fanned out across the country today from Nevada to New Hampshire.

Senator Bernie Sanders is in Iowa trying to focus on senior issues, but a salary dispute within his campaign may be hurting his political message.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Ryan, has championed a $15 minimum wage, but some of his staffers are claiming they make much less than that. What is Sanders saying about it all?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right about that, Martin. There's no doubt this is not what Bernie Sanders wants to be talking about in Iowa this week. He's here, right behind me, hosting a roundtable on senior citizens issues and issues related to health care. That's what the focus of this campaign is. He does not want to be talking about this. It's an inescapable fact it's something he has to deal with. That's because a group of his field staffers, the lowest rung on the

campaign infrastructure, are upset because the original deal they negotiated with his union -- this is a union that went into negotiations and came out with a contract with the Sanders campaign. Historic, never happened before in the history of a presidential campaign.

They negotiated a 36,000 a year salary for the field staff. And based on a 40-hour week, that does get them at the $15 an hour mark. But as the campaign ramps up - take, for instance, today, Bernie Sanders has five different events in Iowa alone. That means more demands on their field staff. And when many of them are six days a week, 10-hour days, and you get up to 60 hours a week, the $15 salary is not meeting that threshold.

Some went to the press and leaked to the "Washington Post" their concerns about this.

It is part of an ongoing negotiation with the union, Union of Food and Commercial Workers. They're trying to work out these issues. They even, at one point, were offered a pay raise and they turned that down.

Now Sanders is saying he's proud of the contract his campaign negotiated. He's proud that a union is representing his staffers.

This is what he told the "Washington Post" in a statement. He said, "We have an historic contract agreement that provides unprecedented protections and benefits. Through that framework, we are committed to addressing concerns in good faith through the bargaining process."

Sanders said he's disappointed his field staff went to the press to air their concerns. They have a union and a they have a collective bargaining agreement. They can negotiate these issues behind closed doors without bringing them out into the light of the day.

Of course, Martin, this would be a headache for anyone dealing with a union but, in a presidential campaign, especially Bernie Sanders', who has made employee rights a hallmark of his campaign, and particularly that $15 an hour standard, it's made life very difficult for him during the campaign -- Martin?

SAVIDGE: Yes. Like you said, it's complicated.

Ryan Nobles, thank you very much, in Iowa.

Let's go to battleground state of Nevada, and an important place for Joe Biden's war chest.

CNN Political Reporter, Arlette Saenz, is in Las Vegas.

Arlette, CNN did its draw for the debate earlier this week. What did the vice president think of his place in the lineup?

[13:20:02] ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Joe Biden told me yesterday he's looking forward to this upcoming debate. I had the chance to ask him as he was leaving a tamale restaurant in east Los Angeles what he thought of the debate lineup and he said he's looking forward to it and he likes it.

But Biden will have about a week and a half to prepare for that second presidential debate that we're hosting. He's going to find himself in another rematch of Senator Kamala Harris. If you take a look at that lineup, he'll be right in the middle, between Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, two people who have been strongly critical of the former vice president, especially when it comes to issues of race.

The Biden campaign tells me they're fully aware most of the candidates are going to direct their fire at the former vice president but that he wants to make the clear, stark policy differences clear that he has with other candidates, particularly on the issue of health care.

That's something you've seen him really engage in over the past two weeks, trying to highlight that he does not believe that Medicare-for- All, which is supported by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, among others, he doesn't believe Medicare-for-All is the answer on health care.

The former vice president is going to be drilling into that debate prep in the coming two weeks -- Martin?

SAVIDGE: And what is Biden doing there in Las Vegas today?

SAENZ: Well, this is his second trip to Nevada. In just a few hours, Biden will be stopping by this union hall where there's going to be phone banking going on. This is the campaign's national day of action. They're phone banking and canvassing across the country.

And some volunteers will be setting up here over the next few hours. You'll see they have all of these files and papers for people to start making phone calls to voters. They'll make phone calls in English and Spanish as they really try to reach out to the Latino community here in Nevada.

And the former vice president will be making an appearance. And we'll see if he decides to make a few phone calls himself -- Martin?

SAVIDGE: I bet he will.

Arlette Saenz, thanks very much for that.

Still ahead, protesters in Puerto Rico call for the police to join their cause as they demand the governor resign. Is he on the verge of being impeached? We'll have a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:56] SAVIDGE: Protesters in Puerto Rico are taking a different approach today to pressure Governor Ricardo Rossello to resign. They're reading pages and pages of leaked private chats from Rossello's messenger group out loud. The messages contain misogynistic and homophobic exchanges between the governor and his cabinet, even expressing a desire to assassinate at least one female official.

Lawmakers have created a special committee to advise the House president on the impeachment process.

CNN Senior International Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, joins us in San Juan.

Nick, the governor's press secretary quit last night. But Rossello showing no signs he plans to do the same. What's going on?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPNDENT: Yes, it's extraordinary. Despite this constant pressure here, this is the scene. The protesters who were violent on Wednesday. They were here in substantial numbers, angry but peaceful.

This is what they're focusing their anger at, and that's the governor's mansion. They're divided from the people by the police here. It couldn't be a much more-stronger symbol than that.

You said the press secretary, the governor's press secretary resigned during the heat of the protests last night, saying she couldn't really endure the shame of being accused of corruption in front of her son. That was the reason she gave.

Governor Rossello is continuing unabashed practically since all the protesting began. Just in the last few minutes, issuing a statement denying an allegation of corruption against him that was published in the last few hours or so, saying it was despicable. Carrying on with business as usual. He says he's going to restore confidence in the people, saying the protests haven't gone unnoticed.

But I've got to tell you, this has a constant momentum here. The ingenuity of some of the songs we're hearing just in the last hour or so.

And you mentioned yourself, in front of Congress, they're reading out these 899 pages of leaked chat messages, some profane, some offensive, a startling reminding about how transparent that episode has made many Puerto Ricans of what they think are decades of corruption and mismanagement at the heart of the administration.

This has really sparked something, I think, really serious. A groundswell among many Puerto Ricans here. Wide swaths and they really have their protests. They don't obviously have a figure of leadership. So to a degree, lacking in a coherent manner.

We've seen Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic representative's carpool arriving here, calling for the governor to step aside for she says was years of corruption towards the Puerto Rican people.

But Monday is a key focus now. Organizers are hoping for a million people to swell into the streets of Puerto Rico, paralyzing parts of San Juan. We'll have to see if Governor Rossello leaves before that, before the people come to the streets. And how long he thinks he has in power before elections come in November next year -- Martin? SAVIDGE: Nick Paton Walsh, in the middle of street protests in San

Juan, Puerto Rico, just outside the governor's mansion. Thank you very much for that.

[13:29:20] Still ahead, President Trump says he doesn't care if his attacks on four sitting U.S. congresswomen are good or bad for politics. Now he's doubling down on his original attack, again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:33:13] SAVIDGE: President Trump is once again playing offense and defense as he tries to play both sides of a racist controversy. Critics and some allies expressed concern about his racist or the racist chants at one of his rallies.

The president somewhat distanced himself, claiming he was unhappy with that "send her back" chorus. But at the same time, he appears to be embracing it. The president calling the crowd "incredible patriots." He reiterated that sentiment today on Twitter.

CNN's Sarah Westwood has the very latest.

Sarah, what is the president saying now?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPODNENT: Well, Martin, President Trump is continuing to send mixed messages about that racist chant that broke out at his North Carolina rally on Wednesday night.

The president seeming to still try to distance himself from that chant but, at the same time, defending the crowd by saying it came from a place of patriotism.

On Twitter this morning he wrote, "As you can see, I did nothing to lead people on, nor was I particularly happy with their chant. Just a very big and patriotic crowd. They love the USA."

I want you to listen for yourself about what transpired at that North Carolina rally. The president seemed to indulge that chant, allowing it to proceed for 13 seconds. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Sources tell CNN that President Trump faced pressure from allies, lawmakers, aides, and even his daughter, Ivanka Trump, a senior adviser. They were concerned about that chant, that it could come to define a dark period in his campaign, perhaps in his presidency.

[13:35:02] That preceded the president's decision to disavow those chants on Thursday, even though as you mentioned, Martin, by Friday, he was back to describing that crowd as incredible patriots. Trump yesterday, as he was leaving the White House to head here to

Bedminster, said he did not know whether his continued attacks on the four Democratic House freshmen would be successful politically but it's something that he believes in. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know if it's good or bad politically. I don't care. But when people are speaking so badly, when they call our country garbage -- think of that. That's worse than "deplorable." When they call our country garbage, I don't care about politics. I don't care if it's good or bad about politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: And we should note that none of the women under fire have actually called America or Americans garbage. But Martin, President Trump does not seem to be ending his efforts to paint these congresswomen as anti-American any time soon.

SAVIDGE: Sarah, the president is also tweeting he spoke with Sweden's prime minister about American rapper, A$AP Rocky, being detained in that country. What is that all about?

WESTWOOD: Martin, President Trump is crediting his wife, first lady, Melania Trump, with bringing this to his attention. Also, he said he spoke about rapper, Kanye West, about A$AP Rocky's detention in Sweden.

A$AP Rocky has been detained earlier this month when he was accused of being involved in some kind of brawl in Sweden.

President Trump, on Twitter this morning, wrote that he had a productive conversation with the Swedish prime minister, received assurances that the A$AP Rocky, the rapper, would be treated fairly in the Swedish justice system. He said he would vouch for A$AP Rocky's bail, that he assured the Swedish prime minister that A$AP Rocky was not a flight risk. And said the two teams would be speaking sometime in the next 48 hours.

But Sweden has maintained the independence of their judicial system and that A$AP Rocky's case won't be swayed by politics or the involvement now of President Trump -- Martin?

SAVIDGE: Sarah Westwood, with the president in New Jersey, thank you.

Racist rhetoric paved the way for "The Massacre" of Mexican-Americans along the border 100 years ago. Their descendants now fear what could happen in 2019.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:23] SAVIDGE: Racist rhetoric targeting Mexican-Americans was all too common 100 years ago. And many migrants say they are seeing it again. Hundreds of Mexican-Americans were killed along the U.S.- Mexico border in what's called the massacre of 1915 at the hands of Texas Rangers.

Our own Rosa Flores spoke with a woman who lost two members of her family in that massacre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED DESCENDANT OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN "THE MASSACRE": My great grandfather and my great uncle came by to report some stolen horses. The Texas Rangers had been spending the night resting there. And they just camped out in their Model-T Ford and stuck their head out the window and shot him in the back.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Texas Rangers did this?

UNIDENTIFIED DESCENDANT OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN "THE MASSACRE": The Texas Rangers did this. Yes.

This is the tombstone to Antonio Lagordia (ph), who died, was murdered by the Texas Rangers when my great grandfather, Luis Guzman (ph), was murdered also.

The talk was always the Texas Rangers were the bad men. They were killing people for no reason at all. They just felt like they had the privilege in doing so.

(MUSIC)

FLORES: Who were the Texas Rangers targeting?

UNIDENTIFIED DESCENDANT OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN "THE MASSACRE": They were always looking for Mexican people. They called them robbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you hate us?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you're Mexicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we're Mexicans?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When Mexico sends their people, they're not sending their best.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go back to your Mexican country.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.

FLORES: When you think about the parallels of then and now, what stands out to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rhetoric. As historians who studied the history of processes of violence throughout these time periods, the lesson is the rhetoric needs to start. The violence can lead to tomorrow killings.

The marker is significant because this is sort of getting the state to finally recognize the killing of all of these individuals back in 1915.

FLORES: Give us an idea of the death toll we're talking about here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Possibly up to a thousand.

FLORES: Is anyone held accountable?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. There's no justice. I think many of us we would agree the state will not fully recognize it until they officially apologize.

FLORES: What was going on along the border at this time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have the surge in the Rangers, you have the surge in military, and then you have what are these paramilitary groups, these law and order groups get involved as well.

(CROSSTALK)

FLORES: Is that similar -- is that similar to the groups that we're seeing now coming to the valley --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

FLORES: -- from all over the country?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, in the sense that there are groups coming here to help law enforcement. They're not arbitrarily picking people up and executing them like they were back then.

FLORES: That's the deference? Big difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the big difference.

UNIDENTIFIED RANCHER: We're on my ranch. A lot of people want to know, why did we organize the Texas border volunteers to go out on all these trails. We have encountered thousands of people over the past 13 years and a lot of them get away. And a lot of them get away because the Border Patrol do not have the resources. They need more manpower. And that's what our border volunteers do. We fill a void for them.

[13:45:23] How we doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. Are you a U.S. citizen?

UNIDENTIFIED RANCHER: I am.

UNIDENTIFIED RANCHER: We don't try to catch anybody. We observe and report, just like a neighborhood watch dog group.

FLORES: You and I were talking about the history. You're familiar with the history a hundred years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED RANCHER: You know, I know that the Texas Rangers were pretty ruthless, but they helped tame these areas down.

FLORES: For these families, it's very important for Texas and Texans to acknowledge the history, that this happened, in their minds, it doesn't repeat again.

UNIDENTIFIED RANCHER: I don't see that happening. Most of us have empathy and a soft heart for these people that are fleeing the countries they're coming from.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Texas has made many mistakes. In talking about what happened a hundred years ago, and now is absolutely paramount to ensuring that it doesn't happen again. You can't shape the policy of tomorrow without remembering what happened yesterday.

FLORES: Because a hundred years ago, there was a lot of violence. I think it's safe to say, today, we're not seeing -- or at least shooting people in the back and letting them die on the side of the road.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's when I say we've made great strides. I think violence is one of the areas. I don't think we see the systemic violence of the Hispanic and/or immigrant community.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED DECENDENT OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN "THE MASSACRE": Those stories are real. They're touching. They're hurting.

Texas Rangers were sent out here to protect some of the people. But they didn't protect. They hurt some of the people. Like what happened to my great grandfather, Luis Guzman (ph), and to my great uncle, Antonio Lagordia (ph). They were killed unnecessarily.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Thanks to Rosa Flores for that reporting.

A milestone anniversary of a monumental feat. Fifty years ago today, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. CNN is live as one of the surviving astronauts is honored by Vice President Pence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:51:35] SAVIDGE: Fifty years ago today, 500 million people were glued to TV screens as two men walked on the moon for the very first time. It took 400,000 people to get them there.

Moments ago, Vice President Mike Pence honored Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and his fellow astronauts at Cape Canaveral with a standing ovation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We honor these men today and America will always honor our Apollo astronauts.

(APPLAUSE)

PENCE: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: But that was then. What happens now? For one group of experts, it is the mission to Mars.

CNN's Paul Vercammen has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1957, the Russians launched the first satellite into space and it rattles John Casani, then a young American aerospace engineer.

JOHN CASANI, AEROSPACE ENGINEER: Walking out after work it was like 4:30 or 5:00. Going down the steps we actually saw the doggone Sputnik going across the sky. That was sort of a devastating blow. I mean, we realized we were nowhere near that.

VERCAMMEN: So the United States began its ambitious quest to put a man on the moon. In California, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, they leaped into the unmanned Ranger and Surveyor programs.

ANNOUNCER: Surveyor did land on the moon and worked.

VERCAMMEN: They wanted answers on the surface.

CASANI: Would an astronaut sink 14 feet into talcum powder or would they stay on the surface? That was the purpose of the Ranger and Surveyor programs to demonstrate the moon surface was a reasonable place to put a spacecraft down.

VERCAMMEN: And the manned Apollo program would follow.

Now JPL is riveted on the red planet.

KATIE STACK MORGAN, DEPUTY SCIENTIST, MARS 2020: We look at the Ranger surveillance missions and learn from their reconnaissance of the moon and apply those lessons to reconning Mars, understanding it from an orbiter perspective.

VERCAMMEN: Eight times, JPL has landed unmanned craft on Mars, including Insight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lift off.

VERCAMMEN: And the Curiosity rover.

They're working here on a new six-wheel-drive wonder, the 2020 rover.

MORGAN: So these missions to Mars have a science focus. The robotic missions are learning about the geology of Mars and its potential for hosting life in the past. But each one of these missions makes a small contribution toward the goal of getting humans to Mars.

VERCAMMEN: Instruments on the 2020 rover include Sherlock, which will search for signs of microbial life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a replica of the Moxy instrument.

VERCAMMEN: And Moxy, testing how to turn the Mars atmosphere into vital oxygen astronauts can breathe and rocket fuel.

NEIL ARMSTRONG, FORMER ASTRONAUT: That is one small step for man.

VERCAMMEN: But first --

ARMSTRONG: One giant leap for mankind.

VERCAMMEN: -- the plan is to put humans back on the moon.

CASANI: People said, well, we've already done that. Yes, we've already done that but people didn't stay more than a day or two. What is really important is sustainability. Can we get to Mars or the moon or anyplace and stay on a more or less permanent basis? That's the challenge.

[13:55:09] VERCAMMEN (on camera): So the massive brains here at JPL predict that their heavy lifting, their unmanned missions will lead to putting an astronaut on Mars. When that happens, they want to remind everyone that they think they are, indeed, the center of the universe.

Back to you now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: One more great story of achievement. An Iowa man's final act is making the future brighter for 33 strangers. Dale Schroeder grew up poor, never married, and worked as a carpenter for 67 years at the same Des Moines business. Despite never having the opportunity to go to school himself, Dale was able to save up enough of his life savings to send 33 Iowans to college for free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE NELSEN, DALE SCHROEDER'S FRIEND: He wanted to help kids that were like him that probably wouldn't have an opportunity to go to college but for his gift. I said, how much are we talking about, Dale? He said, oh, just shy of $3 million. And I nearly fell out of my chair.

KIRA CONRAD, RECEIVED SCHOLARSHIP: For a man that would never meet me to give me basically a full ride to college, that's incredible. That doesn't happen.

NELSEN: All we ask is that you pay it forward. You can't pay it back. Because Dale's gone. But you can remember him and you can emulate him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: After paying the full $80,000 college tab for those 33 students, Dale's account finally just ran out of money.

Still ahead, a dangerous heat wave gripping more than half the country. It will feel like 110 degrees in some places this weekend. What's causing the blistering heat? And above all, how long is it going to last?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)