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Heat Wave Hits Large Areas Of U.S.; British Government Warns Iran To Release Captured Oil Tanker And Crew; President Trump Continues Criticism Of Representative Ilhan Omar; President Trump Comments He Spoke With Swedish Prime Minister About American Rapper Being Held In Sweden; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) Joins Protestors In Puerto Rico Calling For Resignation Of Governor; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) Is Interviewed About Democrats' Preparations For Questioning Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller Before Congress; Retired Astronaut Scott Kelly Is Interviewed About Commemorations For 50th Anniversary Of Moon Landing. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired July 20, 2019 - 14:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:34] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield. Right now, more than half the country is battling a scorching heat wave spanning from New Mexico to Maine. Take a look at this so-called heat dome. More than 150 million people facing an extreme heat threat with sweltering heat indices topping out at 110 degrees.

At least one death has been attributed to the brutal temperatures. On Thursday former NFL player Mitch Petrus died of heat stroke in Arkansas. And check this out. The heat is so intense in Oklahoma that even a highway can't hold up to it.

But we'll begin with CNN's Polo Sandoval. He's in New York. And Polo, how is the city dealing with the heat there?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Martin. Good afternoon as we stay cool here in Queens, New York. And you want to know how some folks are staying cool, you can look directly behind me where folks have been coming to the iconic Unisphere fountain in Flushing, Queens, trying to find a way of staying cool.

Obviously, people here are having a good time, but the message is quite serious coming from authorities. If you just consider what we are expected to see across much of the country, at least 40 percent of residents in the lower 48 expecting at least 95 degrees or hotter. That's 95 degrees in the shade. Factor in the sun. Factor in the humidity, and you do have those dangerously hot conditions here.

In New York people are being advised to stay indoors in the air conditioning, or, perhaps, turn to some of the area cooling centers that have been established, particularly for children and the elderly, some of the most vulnerable sections of the population here.

We're already feeling, as we get misted by this water, we're certainly feeling some of the impacts here by the heat. There have been multiple events that have been canceled because of the heat, some running events even in Saratoga Springs. Horse races there called off because it's too hot for the first time in 13 years. So in the northeast, it's even too hot for the horses, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Polo Sandoval, thank you very much for that. It will feel like 106 degrees in parts of Michigan today as crews there work to restore power for hundreds of thousands of people across the state. Severe storms Friday night left more than 200,000 people without electricity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was selling, and the next thing my neighbors came in and said there's a storm coming, there's a storm coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden, the wind just, bam, just hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And in Chicago you can see people are doing whatever they can to cool off in this scorching heat. National Correspondent Natasha Chen is in Chicago with more on the conditions there.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Martin, there are emergency alerts like this all over town, warning people of the excessive heat. But we still see plenty of people out and about. There are about 80 outdoor events planned in Chicago over the weekend.

There is a Craft Beer Festival, a Pitchfork Music Festival, and the Cubs game. And so people are definitely out and about. The mayor is telling them to check on each other. She says city departments will also be doing welfare checks. She herself is going to be visiting a senior center today.

She said they want to avoid the tragedy of 24 years ago when more than 700 people in the poorest neighborhoods of Chicago died during a similar heat wave. This time around they've got cooling centers, extended hours for those. Libraries and police stations also designated cooling centers, and no one will be turned away, she says. Metro regional rail service says they had to slow down the trains around her by about 10 miles per hour, something they have to do when the temperature reaches 95 degrees. They said this is due to heat related stress on the tracks.

SAVIDGE: And that's Natasha Chen with the view from Chicago.

So what is causing this incredible heat? For that let's bring in CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. And Allison, let's begin by explaining what a heat dome is and how it works.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. It is summer, you expect it to be hot. But this is a little bit extreme. This takes it a little bit further. What we've been experiencing is what's called a heat dome.

Typically, what we are seeing is, we have dominant high pressure over the eastern half of the country. High pressure typically suppresses air, meaning it pushes it back down toward the ground. But hot air rises. We all know this growing up as children. So as the heat is trying to rise, the high pressure is pushing it back down, effectively trapping it in this sort of dome.

It has nowhere to go. That obviously causes problems during the day because the temperatures are so hot. But it also causes problems at night. And the reason for that is because if it can't escape during the day, it also can't escape at night.

[14:05:00] And again, that's going to be one of the key elements here with this particular heat wave we're talking about because, again, look at some of these temperatures. Over 90 cities have the potential to break record low temperatures tonight, meaning that the overnight low temperatures are going to be the warmest they've ever been on record for this day in these cities.

Again, and it's a widespread area, as you can see here. Again, these heat advisories, these excessive heat watches and warnings extend from New Mexico all the way up to Maine. Again, this is a pretty wide area.

It's not just the temperatures, albeit those are very hot, 97 for the high today in St. Louis, 98 for Oklahoma City and Dallas, nearing 100 degrees for the high temperature, itself, in D.C. But you also have to factor in the humidity, because that is going to play a big role. When you do that heat index or the feels-like temperature jumps to triple digits, Martin, for cities like Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, as well as many, many others.

SAVIDGE: All right, Allison, thanks for the explanation, appreciate it.

We are monitoring developments in the Persian Gulf as well as tensions are soaring between Iran and the West. Britain is warning that there will be, quote, serious consequences after Iran captured a British flagged oil tanker in the critical shipping area of the Strait of Hormuz.

There you see new video of the moment the tanker was seized by Iran's Navy. Earlier this month Britain took part of an Iranian super tanker off its territory of Gibraltar, saying that it was suspected of smuggling oil to Syria. And then just days ago the U.S. claimed that it had destroyed an Iranian drone in the same area, a claim that has been refuted by Iranian officials.

Senior International Correspondent, Matthew Chance is in Abu Dhabi. What Matthew, just what does Iran hope to get out of seizing this ship?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, I think it is an act of retaliation to the seizure of that Iranian super tanker by the British authorities off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month. They vowed to retaliate for that.

They've not gone ahead and done that, and they've made a big show of it, as well, by releasing those images on Iranian state television showing the fast attack craft, the Revolutionary Guard surrounding that British flagged tanker, the Stena Impero, and also for images of what appear to be Iranian special forces lowering down themselves from a helicopter hovering above the ship by rope on to the deck of the tanker to take control of it.

Also, the language that the Iranians have used very much mirrors the kind of language that has been used by British officials when they seized the Iranian tanker, saying that it was carrying out an illegal act, saying only due process will eventually result in the release of the ship, exactly the phrase used by the British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt when he spoke about what should happen to the Iranian tanker. But of course, it also gives Iran a negotiating chip.

They want that tanker back that's been seized by the British. Now they have got a very powerful, potent negotiating chip of their own. They can essentially say to the Brits, look, you give us back our tanker. We'll give you back yours.

SAVIDGE: And do you think that's going to be effective?

CHANCE: I think it could well be effective. The British have already said they don't want this to be a military confrontation. They want to settle it by diplomatic means. That's what they want of course. Britain is going through a political crisis of its own at the moment, a change of prime minister imminent, the Brexit crisis pending. The last thing they want is to be drawn into a conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

But when you look at the sort of volatile backdrop that is playing out in the Persian Gulf region at the moment, the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, the shooting down of drones by both sides, the attacks against oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region allegedly by Iran according to U.S. officials, you can see how this kind of incident could easily ignite something much bigger, Martin.

SAVIDGE: That's always the danger. Matthew Chance in Abu Dhabi, thank you for that.

President Trump, meanwhile, is in reverse mode. Now he's claiming, again, that he was unhappy with the "send her back" chants at his rally, but he is doubling down on his attacks against four Democratic congresswomen.

Plus, the Democrats' aggressive strategy to question Robert Mueller just days before his blockbuster hearing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:13:03] SAVIDGE: Now to President Trump on the attack again just a day after denouncing racist rally chants. The president is doubling down on his original attack on four Democratic congresswomen, and he is refusing to apologize for his tweet, which prompted all of it. CNN's Abby Phillip has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you take that tweet back?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know what I'm unhappy with? I'm unhappy with the fact a congresswoman can hate our country.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Just one day after distancing himself from his supporters' "send her back" chant, President Trump now refusing to take back the words he wrote that prompted it.

TRUMP: I'm unhappy with the fact that a congresswoman can say anti- Semitic things.

PHILLIP: The president's defiance capping a week of controversy that started on Sunday morning with his racist attack, telling four congresswomen of color to go back to the places from which they came.

REP. ILHAN OMAR, (D-MN): This is the agenda of white nationalists.

PHILLIP: The president was emboldened as outrage exploded on the left, but Republican lawmakers were slow to comment. Two days after the tweets went out, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell eventually offering tepid criticism.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I think I've just said, I think everybody ought to tone down their rhetoric.

PHILLIP: By Wednesday Trump had turned the attacks into a scripted campaign strategy.

TRUMP: She looks down with contempt on the hardworking Americans, saying that ignorance is pervasive in many parts of this country. And obviously and importantly, Omar has a history of launching vicious, anti-Semitic screeds.

PHILLIP: His supporters responding with a chant formed from his own words.

CROWD: Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!

PHILLIP: That scene apparently crossing a line for Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who voiced their discomfort with the chants to Vice President Mike Pence.

[14:15:02] And sources say his daughter, Ivanka Trump, also expressed her concerns to the president. By Thursday, Trump disavowed the chants by falsely claiming he tried to stop it.

TRUMP: I did, and I started speaking very quickly. But it started up rather fast.

PHILLIP: Twenty-four hours later the president now attempting to move the debate to more comfortable territory, crowd size.

TRUMP: Those people in North Carolina, that stadium was packed. It was a record crowd. And I could have filled it 10 times, as you know. Those are incredible people. Those are incredible patriots.

PHILLIP: After Congresswoman Omar did go back to her home state of Minnesota, Trump falsely accusing her of staging the event.

President Trump also seemed to deny that his daughter Ivanka Trump and first lady Melania Trump advised him on whether or not those chants at his rally this week were acceptable. He said they didn't advise him, but they did speak to him about it.

He was also asked whether or not it would be acceptable for Melania Trump to face chants of "send her back" given Melania was not born in the United States. The president didn't answer that question but said the first lady also, like he does, despises the comments by those four Democratic congresswomen that he has been trying to raise attention to all week.

Abby Phillip, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And CNN's Boris Sanchez is following the president this weekend. He's in New Jersey. And Boris, just what is the president tweeting about today on this?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Martin. Yes, President Trump essentially saying that the supporters who were chanting "send her back" at his rally on Wednesday night in North Carolina were great American patriots. The president here really trying to have it both ways, because in that tweet he says he wasn't particularly happy with the chant, but if you look at the tweet, he is actually retweeting someone who is praising that chant, not to mention those chants were actually something that echoed what President Trump said just a few days ago, or rather tweeted out about a week ago about these four progressive congresswomen.

The president also being a bit contradictory about whether this is politically advantageous for him. A couple days ago he said that he believed he was winning this political fight. Last night before departing for Bedminster for the weekend here in New Jersey, the president was asked about it again. He says that he is not doing this to win or to lose but rather because he has to. I want you to listen to why.

(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)

SANCHEZ: Notably, Martin, there is no indication in the public record that any of these four progressive congresswomen have called the United States or Americans garbage. But the president wants to make them -- he wants to paint them to be extreme. He wants to elevate them and make them the face of the Democratic Party, thereby painting the Democratic Party as too extreme going into 2020, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Boris, I want to ask you about this. The president is also tweeting today that he spoke with Sweden's prime minister about American rapper A$AP Rocky who is being detained in that country. What is that all about?

SANCHEZ: Yes, that's right. The rapper A$AP Rocky has been detained in Sweden for some weeks. This dates back to a brawl and assault investigation that took place last month. Prosecutors there do not want to give him bail. Today President Trump tweeted out that he spoke with the prime minister of Sweden, and that he was assured that president Trump would receive fair treatment.

At one point in the tweet the president even guaranteeing A$AP Rocky's bail. A spokesperson for the Swedish prime minister has basically told CNN that their office would not get involved in this investigation because they couldn't and they wouldn't. It would be politically and legally inappropriate for them to do so. The president was apparently informed of A$AP Rocky's situation by First Lady Melania Trump, and tweeted out that he has also had conversations with Kanye West about this, Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right, Boris Sanchez, thanks very much, following the president.

Still ahead, protesters in Puerto Rico have the governor's house surrounded as they call for his resignation. But he remains defiant and nowhere to be found as he faces the possibility of impeachment. We'll take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: From protesters to presidential candidates, the message is the same. Puerto Rico's governor should resign. After days of demonstrations, organizers are now taking a different approach. They are reading pages and pages of leaked, private chats from Governor Ricardo Rossello's messenger group out loud.

They message contain misogynistic and homophobic exchange between the governor and his cabinet, even express a desire to assassinate at least one female official. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in San Juan. I also know that you are there with one of those presidential hopefuls, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I am joined by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of the second Congressional district of Hawaii who arrived here just recently and has called for the resignation of Governor Rossello. Could I ask you, Congresswoman, what brought you here, what put you on the plane?

REP. TULSI GABBARD, (D-HI): To stand in solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico who have been suffering and struggling under this very corrupt government for far too long. They are saying enough is enough. I join them in calling for this governor's resignation so they can then begin to find a leader who will truly listen to their concerns and work for their interests.

WALSH: How would that work, though? Because you have a complicated situation here, a protest movement with intense momentum. We saw bits of violence on Wednesday, and no obvious leader, and a secession structure for Governor Rossello, frankly, that's a bit unclear and may draw on the same political elite these people are really angry about. How would it work?

GABBARD: I think first of all what is really incredible here is you see people are gathered by the thousands every single day, singing and making sure their voices are heard and really uniting around this singular call for the governor to resign, because it is a symbol of the kind of corruption that exists across his administration.

[14:25:02] They've been dealing with so much -- millions of dollars being taken out of funds that are meant to go directly to the people, struggles for hurricane Maria and so forth. They're saying enough is enough. This is a very important first step, a unifying call to action by Puerto Ricans saying this governor must resign so they can begin the path forward to the kind of good governance that the people of Puerto Rico deserve.

WALSH: Understood, but you've seen yourself what a power vacuum looks like when you served in Iraq. You can't obviously call for change here without knowing what is next. Are you concerned that you might see increased instability if the Governor Rossello just steps aside and there was no one to take his place?

GABBARD: They do have a secession. The most important thing is that a corrupt governor steps down. He has failed the people of Puerto Rico and allow for their constitution to work through this process. You can say this is messy, but this is democracy in action. I served in Iraq with some National Guardsmen and women from Puerto Rico, and we see people who are great patriots.

They love their country. They love Puerto Rico. They love their people. And we're seeing that love displayed through here in this singing and dancing. They're speaking up for each other because they are sick and tired of seeing family members suffering and even dying when they didn't have to as we saw throughout hurricane Maria and the aftermath.

WALSH: Is there anything that you've seen in what you've seen in that chat group that you believe is worthy of an impeachment process of the governor here?

GABBARD: I've talked with a lot of the activists here. They're not looking for a long, drawn out impeachment process. They want this governor to resign immediately so they can begin the healing process, and this positive path forward that will require engagement by people across Puerto Rico to have a government that's working for their interests, working for the interests of the people.

WALSH: President Trump, the man you are looking to unseat as the Democratic candidate, has talked about the governor being under siege. He has been critical of the mayor and the spending here, but he hasn't actually called for a resignation at all. Are you worried that you're potentially turning this, an issue that is apolitical for many Puerto Ricans here, into both part of the Democratic presidential race and potentially 2020 as well? Are you distracting from what the people need, which is change?

GABBARD: Not at all. I am here to stand with the people of Puerto Rico and to lift up their voices, because what they are doing here in calling out a corrupt government that's more interested in serving the rich and powerful rather than serving the people, I am doing what I can to lift this up to the national conversation, and calling on leaders in the United States of America to stand with the people of Puerto Rico against corruption and for the people.

You're right. This is not about partisan politics. We are seeing bipartisan calls to action from people here in Puerto Rico against the corruption across their government. That's the same kind of call to action we need to support here and that we need to support in the United States government as well.

WALSH: Understood. Democratic candidate and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard here at an incredibly noisy San Juan protest, smaller, but showing real momentum building here against Governor Rossello. Back to you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much. And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:49] SAVIDGE: Congress is gearing up for what will be a critical week on Capitol Hill. After three months of waiting, Robert Mueller will finally testify about his bombshell report. The former special counsel is set to meet with two House committees this week.

That'll be the Judiciary and Intelligence Committee. CNN is learning more about how the Democrats are game-planning their line of questioning to maximize the limited time with Mueller. The Judiciary Committee is expected to tackle volume two of the Mueller report. Their focus -- five instances of potential obstruction of justice by the president.

Here with me now is one of the members of that committee, Texas Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. And Congresswoman, thank you very much for joining us today.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, (D-TX): Martin, thank you so very much for having me. Hello to all of your viewers on this wonderful 50th commemoration, if I might say sitting in Houston, of Apollo 11. Congratulations to all of my fellow Houstonians and Americans for an exciting, historical moment, and a moment for our future. I'm just excited.

And I must add to that, the freedom of A$AP. I am a member of the Judiciary Committee. You're getting ready to ask me questions of justice, and I hope Sweden listens to the fact that he should be released because his rights have been denied, and he should have his rights preserved.

SAVIDGE: I'll get to that in just a moment. Let's start by talking about the Mueller report. We know that it was of course released in April. It's 448 pages, and most of it now has been unredacted. So what is it that you hope to learn next week that hasn't already been made public?

LEE: Well, I think the most important element of this is for the voice of Robert Mueller to be heard truthfully and under oath, capturing the two volumes, volume one and volume two, for the American people, and laying out a block by block story of the 10 obstruction of justice issues that really are the crux of the final sentence that Bob Mueller wrote in volume two, which is, if I could have exonerated the president, I would have. And the question of whether or not the president, if the president had not been the president, whether or not he could be indicted. I think those are telling moments for the American people.

And so we will lay out questioning that will really call on Mr. Mueller to indicate what he wrote, his feelings about what he wrote, if he edifies his answers. And how complete, how rigid, how strong that report is. I think Mr. Mueller believes it is a very strong and solid report. He directed the Congress to do our job. He gave it over to the Congress. And he would not have done so if he had not felt that he had presented in this 22-month investigation a very solid report.

SAVIDGE: It's no secret, of course, that Robert Mueller is a reluctant witness. He is only testifying, he says, because of a subpoena. He has stated in the past that he does not intend to answer questions beyond the contents of the report. And I'm wondering whether this could all prove to be a great disappointment for Democrats.

[14:35:00] LEE: Absolutely not. Let's hope for Republicans that they don't make a mockery of this very somber and serious hearing. Let's hope that they don't try to probe and kick and malign Director Mueller but ask serious questions. We have been investigating wrongdoings of this administration now for almost a year ourselves. And we are focused on facts. We're not focused on drama. We're not focused on excitement. And what we intend to do is methodically draw from Mr. Mueller the hard facts of this report.

We know most of the American people have not read this report. It's two volumes. But I can tell you that it is filled with, of course, over 150 moments of contact of this campaign, of Mr. Trump, in the first volume with Russian operatives. That is certainly absurd and not what we're used to at presidential campaigns. The American people need to know that, and those questions will be heard in the open arena.

And then of course they will focus on these obstruction of justice matters, in particularly asking Jeff Sessions to un-recuse himself. I think in Mr. Mueller saying it, people will understand a little better. Telling McGahn to lie, his special counsel, of course. Although Hope Hicks will not be in the room, we know now that, just as an aside, when we were questioning her and said she knew nothing about payments on the matter of his encounters with a number of women, now we find out that that was the case.

So we expect that with Mr. Mueller we may find out things because of his own answering of his accord. We delayed this because he wanted to prepare more. I think that's a good sign.

SAVIDGE: Let me interrupt you, and I apologize for doing so, Congresswoman.

LEE: Not at all.

SAVIDGE: But I do want to ask you about some of the rhetoric that we have seen this week in Washington. We've all seen President Trump's tweets telling freshman members of your party to go back to where they came from. We've heard the chants at a rally in North Carolina, "send her back." What is your reaction? What do you make of all of this?

LEE: Not at all, Martin. And I will just conclude by simply saying we expect this hearing to be fair and for the American people to hear the facts. And that's not what we're hearing from President Trump. We're not hearing the facts.

I usually don't say this, but I'm really sick and tired of the presidency being maligned and distorted by words and leadership that are not befitting of the United States of America or the people of the United States. I'm in my district, and I've been to a number of events before I've spoken to you, and I've said to the people there, we are good people in America. We do good things.

And to talk about these outstanding members of Congress who have been dual elected by their constituents and particularly women of color in one instance, an African-American woman, we have been maligned as others, and certainly one who is an immigrant who is a naturalized citizen, outstanding member of New York's delegation, outstanding member of the Massachusetts delegation, it is a point where we need to put up a red Stop sign. Enough is enough.

And although words are protected by the First Amendment, I would simply say that the misconduct of the president continues on and on, and this behavior is misconduct. Why do I call it misconduct? Because you're endangering people, you're inciting things, you're calling people to shout out, "send her back, send her back." We know what happened when one of his potential officers in the White House said to jail her up, or jail her up. That individual is near a jail at this point. You just don't play with that.

And so as members of Congress, we have denounced it on the record, on the floor of the House, with Republican members doing it. We've had senators denounce it. They need to pass a resolution. But I think the American people have to say to this president, enough is enough. You can talk about the economy all you want, all you want. But we are in danger internationally. We're in danger with Iran because you decided to break up the Iran nuclear agreement. Everything that's going on in this administration is endangering the American people, and enough is enough. And I just simply hope that the good people of America, the good

people, will stand together and say, this is unacceptable. No matter how much you disagree with someone's speech and someone's position, that they do have the right to speak in different tones.

You don't have the right, however, as a commander-in-chief to attack people, to endanger people, to call people names because of their ethnicity, their religion, their race, their sex, their orientation. You don't have that right. And certainly, as one who has experienced discrimination, Martin, I simply say, he does not have that right.

SAVIDGE: Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us today. And we do congratulate the people of Houston and all those involved in this momentous anniversary we celebrate with space. Thank you for joining us.

LEE: Exciting. Thank you, sir.

SAVIDGE: CNN will have special coverage of the Mueller hearings. That'll be Wednesday starting at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time. And as we were just discussing, 50 years ago today Apollo 11 did something out of this world by landing a man on the moon. But does NASA have what it takes to do it again? We'll ask the man who spent a year on the International Space Station. Astronaut Scott Kelly is with us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: We are following developments in the Persian Gulf where a British flagged tanker was seized by Iran's Navy, and then just moments ago John Rood, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, addressed the growing crisis. National Security Reporter Kylie Atwood is at the security conference where John Rood is speaking. And what's the message you're hearing?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, that's right. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood just spoke here in Aspen at the security conference, and said that he is worried about miscalculation with Iran. And he said that the risk for that miscalculation by the Iranians in the region is high. Let's just take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:45:13] JOHN ROOD, UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY: I do worry about the risk of a miscalculation. Iran has taken a number of provocative steps, a number of serious military steps in the past few weeks. The potential for miscalculation is high, I think, on the Iranians' part. They are taking steps as they did with the seizure of the vessel from the U.K. This kind of friction in a small waterway starts to increase the possibility of unintended conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: We are also hearing right now from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who is traveling in Ecuador. And he kept open the possibility for diplomacy with Iran in remarks that he made just moments ago, saying that there are no preconditions for those talks, that the U.S. would still engage in those talks. And we're going to have more on that as those comments are just coming out right now.

SAVIDGE: All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you very much for that. We appreciate it.

And there is much more ahead in the NEWSROOM. But first, here is this week's Turning Points.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KECHI OKWUCHI, SINGER: Music is something that has always been there for me, even before I opened my eyes after the accident. The accident happened on December 10th, 2005. I was 16-years-old, and I was a senior in high school in Nigeria. There were 109 of us total, including the flight crew. About 15, 20 minutes into descending, I remember this loud, scraping sound. My next vivid memory is opening my eyes in a hospital bed in South Africa five weeks later. I had third-degree burns over 65 percent of my body. I was one of two survivors.

(SINGING)

OKWUCHI: Music was part of my healing journey. My voice somehow had gotten better, like it changed significantly. I was just happy that I had this one good thing really that had come out of this horrible tragedy.

(SINGING)

OKWUCHI: "America's Got Talent" has been one of the most amazing things that ever happened to me in my life.

(SINGING)

OKWUCHI: I get to see places that I would never have if not for singing. Before the accident I was very into my looks. Now that I look different, I could still sing Kechi, and that was when I realized my scars do not define who I am. I'm definitely living proof there is life after trauma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:51:30] SAVIDGE: Fifty years ago today a human being walked on the moon for the very first time. Neil Armstrong uttered those famous words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins all flew on the Apollo 11 mission, and today all of NASA is celebrating.

And joining me now is retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly who spent an entire year in space. And I imagine you were what, kindergarten maybe at that time? Just what exactly do you remember and what do you feel today? SCOTT KELLY, RETIRED ASTRONAUT: Yes, I was five-years-old, and I

remember my parents waking me up and bringing me down for those first steps on the moon. And it was a historic event even then. I recognized as a five-year-old the significance, and my opinion has not changed even today.

SAVIDGE: Anybody alive at that time, of course, realized you were witnessing history at that very moment. I was one of them, too.

So Buzz Aldrin, I'm sure you know, has been critical of the space program, saying that he's disappointed by the lack of missions and why we haven't made it back to the moon. What are your feelings on that?

KELLY: I think space flight shouldn't be partisan. And it seems like every time we get a new president, we get a new plan. The new president decides the old plan was no good, argues for a new plan. And NASA can do some incredible things if we're allowed to do it. We proved over the course of nine years that we could go to the moon. But that was over three different presidencies, three presidents from both political parties, and NASA was given the consistency to do what they were asked to do.

Now we have a president that has not only changed the previous plan but is also arguing publicly with the NASA administrator about his own plan, which is not the way to accomplish something that is incredibly challenging. Space flight, right, is deadly serious business. It is about human exploration, it's about discovery. It's not about glamour.

SAVIDGE: So where would you like to see us go next? What do you think is the next step logically for space exploration?

KELLY: I think if we had unlimited funds, I think going back to the moon is a good way to learn to go to Mars. But we don't. And I don't think my opinion of whether we should go to the moon first or straight to Mars is really that important. What I would like to see some day is that we get an administration that just allows us to do what we're asked to do and doesn't come in and change up the plans, because this stuff takes a long time. It takes, you know, more than four years, often more than eight years. And if you keep changing the plan, you're never going to accomplish anything.

SAVIDGE: The difficulties of going to the moon versus going to Mars are significantly vast in between. And I'm wondering is the moon a logical step to advance to Mars? Or do you think you can just go straight to Mars?

KELLY: Well, I think both of those are options. I think if we had unlimited funding, if we had an unlimited amount of time, which maybe we do, who knows? But going to the moon first is a great place to learn how to go to Mars.

[14:55:07] It's three days versus 200 days. It's a sixth of the earth's gravity versus a third. That makes things easier. It has no atmosphere versus a little bit of atmosphere on Mars. In some ways that can help you. So it does seem like it was put there to practice to go to Mars. But if we can only choose one, if we can only afford one, maybe you can make the argument that going direct to Mars is the way to go.

SAVIDGE: And can I ask you just to reflect on, as that five-year-old who got to watch men walk on the moon and then who spent so much time in space themselves, , that must have been a great juxtaposition to go from watching to participating in space.

KELLY: When I was watching that as a five-year-old I was inspired even then. And I had absolutely no idea I would ever have the privilege of not only spending a year in space, but getting to be a NASA astronaut, getting to fly in space four times. It has absolutely been a dream of mine. And I hope that kids today can have similar inspiration from NASA and similar dreams.

SAVIDGE: Through you, we all hope the very same thing. Scott Kelly, thanks very much for joining us on this momentous day.

And don't miss a special presentation of the CNN film "Apollo 11." That's tonight at 9:00 only on CNN.

In the meantime, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield. The news continues with Ana Cabrera right after this short break. Have a great day.

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