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Hala Gorani Tonight
Record-Breaking Heat In Europe; Jeremy Corbyn Holds Rally On Last Day Of Parliament; Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) Is Interviewed About The Mueller Hearing; A$AP Rocky To Stand Trial In Sweden On Assault Charge; Puerto Rican Governor Resigning After Days Of Protests; Seoul: North Korea Fired New Type Of Short-Range Missile; Syrians Starving Near U.S. Military Base; Israeli Football Team Owner Taking On Racist Fans. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 25, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:25] HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, parts of Europe have never been hotter as the continent swelters under an intense heat wave. We'll be live in London and Paris, hitting
record high temperatures there.
Also tonight, Boris Johnson lays out his vision to the House of Commons, calling for a turbo-charged no-deal Brexit response. What does that mean?
And as the fallout from Robert Mueller's testimony continues, I speak to one of the congressmen who grilled the former special counsel.
It doesn't matter where you are in Europe today, almost everyone is talking about the same thing: the heat. A scorching heat wave has brought
temperatures never before seen since records began in Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands. And Paris broke a record when the
thermometer topped 42 degrees Celsius today. That's 107 degrees if you work in Fahrenheit.
Climate scientists say July is shaping up to be the hottest month ever on the planet since records began, at least since those records started being
kept in the 1880s.
CNN's Jim Bittermann is braving the heat in Paris. And there are concerns with Notre Dame's roof. We'll get to that in a moment.
Salma Abdelaziz is on the ground in London.
You're near Trafalgar Square. I understand it rained a little bit for a few minutes, which would have been -- brought some measure of relief.
What's the situation now like in London, Salma?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Hala. After the hot, there has to come the storm. So we just had a big downpour. We have a few kids
behind us, still trying to play in the pool here and keep cool. The sun is back out, so we are seeing those temperatures again.
And right now is the time that people are commuting back home, and that's where a lot of the concern comes in. The public was told, actually, to
stay at home today, if they could avoid.
Because those train carriages are going to be hot, packed. There's very little ventilation across the country. Commuters were saying they were
spending hours on these carriages will little water.
TEXT: All-Time Heart Record, United Kingdom: August 2003, 38.5 degrees; July 2015, 36.7 degrees. Cambridge, 38.1 degrees.
A lot of that is due to the fact -- because these temperatures are rising, the trains actually have to move at a slower pace, half as fast as they
usually do, so that the train tracks don't buckle. So we're seeing this all across the country.
Of course, the biggest concern is for the young and the elderly. Most people in the U.K., most people in London don't have air conditioning in
their homes. So they come to parks, public spaces like this one, to try to keep cool.
And while it's all fun and games, this is a very serious concern for the country because the fear is, is that these temperatures will continue to
climb, not just this year but on and on through the coming years.
But all we can do for right now, Hala, is just stay cool.
GORANI: Yes. That's all we can do. It's difficult in some cases, as you mentioned. If you're commuting, if you're in a bus, if you're in a train,
if you're elderly as well. We're going to get to some of these dangers in a moment.
But Jim Bittermann, you're in Paris, hitting record highs as well there. And there are concerns for Notre Dame, the roof of Notre Dame. Explain
why.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, exactly. So the architect, the chief architect who's in charge of the reconstruction of
Notre Dame -- and it's still a very fragile reconstruction, in fact it hasn't actually begun, but -- he's worried about the vaulted ceiling in the
church of Notre Dame.
Not the roof. The roof, a lot of the roof is all --
GORANI: All right. We just lost the shot there, with Jim Bittermann, live in Paris. But Jim was talking about the roof of Notre Dame after that
terrible fire. Of course, that there are issues with how structurally sound it is. And this heat is putting a lot of pressure on what is left of
that structure in Notre Dame. And it's a question of underpinning some of these beams. We'll get back to Jim as soon as we can.
Tom Sater, I want to get to you. it feels like you've heard this heat wave story before. It's because Europe was scorched by another one just last
month. They're becoming more and more frequent.
TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
GORANI: Talk to us a little bit about where we are now and what the forecast is.
SATER: If we can hang in there, Hala, through the night and into tomorrow morning, I think things are going to be a lot better. Remember, last week
in the U.S., 500 temperature records were broken.
It wasn't the all-time high for the U.K. or London, but it was the warmest July temperatures. Many may remember in the U.K., the infamous 1976 heat
wave. Those numbers don't even crack the top 10 anymore.
Hey, let's go back the year 1500 for Europe. These are your five hottest summers. No doubt, 2019 could be the top or very top of the list.
TEXT: Europe's Hottest Summers Since Year 1500: 2018, 2016, 2010, 2003, 2002
SATER: But let's go back to last month's heat wave. All of these areas -- Andorra, France, breaking records. Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein,
37.1.
TEXT: Andorra, 28 June, 2019: 39.4 degrees. France, 28 June, 2019: 45.9 degrees. Switzerland, 27 June, 2019: 37.0 degrees. Luxembourg, 26 June,
2019: 36.8 degrees. Liechtenstein, 30 June, 2019: 37.1 degrees.
[14:05:03] SATER: The list goes on and on. Germany, Czech Republic and Poland, only to be shattered yesterday.
TEXT: Germany, 30 June, 2019: 39.6 degrees. Czech Republic, 26 June, 2019: 38.9 degrees. Poland, 26 June, 2019: 38.2 degrees.
SATER: Yesterday, France had 145 locales break July records, 85 all-time records. And of course, Paris breaking their record, which is a -- you
know. Gosh, it feels like 109 Fahrenheit. That's at, you know, 42.1.
TEXT: Hottest Day on Record, 24 July, 2019: Netherlands, 39.3 degrees. Belgium, 39.9 degrees. Germany, 40.5 degrees.
SATER: Yesterday, 39.3. Belgium, 39.9 and Germany -- only to be shattered again today. First time Netherlands and Belgium have ever topped 40
degrees.
TEXT: Hottest Day on Record, 25 July, 2019: Netherlands, 40.4 degrees. Belgium, 40.7 degrees. Germany, 42.6 degrees.
SATER: Now, it does get better. Take a look. Thirty in Paris tomorrow. Saturday, you're at 23. And the same goes for many other areas.
London, you've missed your all-time record by 0.2 degrees Celsius, mainly because of the cloud cover associated with this rain. The problem is, when
you get that kind of heat, you're really going to see tremendous thunderstorms with damaging winds.
Thirty-four in London. Paris, 37 currently. Things, I promise, do get better for everyone. The problem is, though, the heat now surges, Hala, up
towards Scandinavia. Remember last year in Sweden, the fires, we've got 100 large wildfires in Siberia, Canada, Alaska. Firefighters are still on
alert down in parts of Portugal because the heat will continue there. Hang in there, it will get better.
GORANI: All right. Tom Sater, thanks very much.
But it'll happen again. That, we can pretty much be sure of. Scientists say this hot, hot summer can be blamed on climate change. Joining me now
is someone who studies how governments can fight climate change, adapt to the new reality. Michal Nachmany is the policy officer for the Grantham
Research Institute.
So these are becoming more and more frequent, these heat waves.
MICHAL NACHMANY, CLIMATE POLICY ANALYST, GRANTHAM RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Yes. They're becoming more frequent, they're also becoming more intense. And
what else they're becoming is on the way to being the new normal.
The Met Office in the U.K. says today that if we continue at this track, we are on the way to having this kind of summer, every other summer by mid-
century.
GORANI: Yes.
NACHMANY: So this is not an extreme weather event. I mean, it is an extreme --
GORANI: Yes.
NACHMANY: -- weather event, but this is not some isolated event. We're going to be living this as the new normal.
GORANI: This is -- could be our new normal. I saw some research that was published in the press a few days ago, that London could have the same
climate as Barcelona by 2050. We have to adapt the way we live in these cities that are not used to these high temperatures.
NACHMANY: Absolutely. First of all, cities tend to suffer more because of the urban heat island effect. He is trapped, it bounces off surfaces, off
roads, off glass surfaces. It doesn't have enough green spaces. So temperatures in cities are two to three degrees higher, potentially, than
outside of cities. Half of the world's population today lives in cities and works in cities, so that means a lot for them.
We have to adapt our homes. We have to adapt our workspaces. We have to adapt our commutes in order to be able to survive those. And I mean
literally survive, because these are causing excess deaths that are preventable.
GORANI: Especially among those who are more vulnerable among us. The elderly, I remember a heat wave in France about 10 years ago -- in Paris, I
should say, about 10 years ago, where hundreds of elderly people died because, you know, people weren't necessarily checking in on them, and not
aware that this could be extremely dangerous for them.
NACHMANY: Absolutely. Last year -- only last year in London, just under 500 deaths. And if you go back to the 2003 heat wave across Europe, that
was a 50,000-death toll from the series of heat waves.
GORANI: So what do we need to do?
NACHMANY: Well, first of all, we need to start adapting and planning for this. Because this is not going away. So we need to make sure that we can
open the windows in our homes, that our commutes are -- routes are air conditioned, that our workspaces are adapted. We need to make sure that
our health systems are ready because more illnesses occur during these times.
We also need to take care of our most vulnerable by making sure our social structures and processes --
GORANI: Yes.
NACHMANY: -- are in place. Do we regularly check in with our neighbors, with our elderly relatives? And so on.
GORANI: Especially in cities, where that doesn't happen very often, where people often live alone. Whether they're old or not, in fact, it's more
common for people to live alone in cities.
Is any of this reversible? I mean, if humanity takes action now, decisively? Can we start reversing these effects?
NACHMANY: That's a very good question. So there's a lag between the emissions that have already been emitted and the --
GORANI: Yes.
NACHMANY: -- effects of them. So we are definitely going towards an intensifying period of extreme weather events, even if we halted everything
now.
But in order to make sure that this is as bad as it gets, we need to start reversing our emissions right now. The U.K. and other countries have
already set net-zero emission targets and so on, we need to start acting on them now, change our energy structures, the way we consume, the way we
travel and so on.
GORANI: When you communicate with governments and policymakers, and you say all this to them, and you say, "This isn't a drill, this is an
emergency," are they listening? Are they taking you seriously?
NACHMANY: I think there is definitely movement in the right direction. But definitely not in the right pace.
GORANI: Yes.
NACHMANY: so the U.K. has declared a climate emergency, another few countries have declared climate emergency. The policies are not there in
place yet to start doing this at the real pace that we need to be acting (ph) --
GORANI: Yes. And you can't do it alone. One country can't do it alone. It's a global problem.
NACHMANY: This is a group exercise.
GORANI: Michal Nachmany, thanks so much for joining us. Really appreciate your time on the program.
NACHMANY: Thank you.
GORANI: The U.K. is feeling the heat politically as well, after an overnight slash-and-burn saw 17 of 22 of Theresa May's cabinet members
replaced. And while you can get rid of old staff, you can -- you can't get rid of old issues.
[14:10:11] In his first speech to Parliament as prime minister, Boris Johnson said he wants to, quote, "turbocharge preparations for Brexit,"
saying he's committed to getting out on October 31st, with or without a deal. Anna Stewart joins us now, live from London's Parliament Square.
How was that speech greeted in Parliament? And there's a protest behind you. Tell us about that as well.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes. Well, I'll just explain what's happening behind me because it's kind of hard to hear you, Hala. We got Jeremy
Corbyn, the leader of the opposition party. He called this rally outside Parliament to call for a general election. He thinks, of course, that
Boris Johnson shouldn't be the prime minister. He thinks that the vote should be put to the people.
However, I think this is fairly interesting, given today, this Labour leader did have an opportunity to table a motion of no confidence in the
government, to potentially spark an election, of course, if he won it. But he didn't, which means he has to wait all the way until September, when
they all come back from their summer recess. Today was the last day M.P.s sat in Parliament.
As to Boris Johnson's first speech in Parliament as prime minister, well, I'd say largely, it wasn't that surprising. He says that, as usual, he
will take the U.K. out of the E.U., 31st of October, deal or no deal. He wants a deal, but he said he's going to turbocharge no-deal preparations to
ensure they are ready. And I think that has some in the E.U. fairly concerned -- Hala.
GORANI: As far as Theresa May is concerned, it looks like she's taking her post-premiership in stride. She was pictured enjoying a gin and tonic, I
understand, at a cricket match with other dismissed members of government. Let's put that picture up. What is the future -- what does the future hold
for Theresa May?
STEWART: Well, that remains to be seen. She said yesterday, as she was leaving, that she would remain an M.P. She'll go to the back bench, she'll
probably watch on with great interest. But for now, as you say, she's taking some time off. Quite rightly, given the last few months and years
that she's had. She looked fairly happy, I'd say, at the cricket at Lord's.
I think as a backbench, she'll be very interesting to see, whether she's a rebellious one. She hasn't been in the past. She's always been very
supportive of whichever government she works for, although she's largely been a cabinet minister of late, so it will be a first, really, for her to
be such a well-known backbench M.P.
But we know her position, of course, on Brexit. We know that she does not want a no-deal. So if Boris Johnson pushes towards that way, you wonder
how many Tory rebels, including, maybe, the former prime minister, could be there to defeat him on that -- Hala.
GORANI: And I wonder, what is Labour's strategy? Because in their minds - - and I spoke to several Labour M.P.s over the last few days -- they want a general election because they seem to think that if they get an election,
they'll win. But that's far from certain, isn't it?
STEWART: I think it's very uncertain. And I think they're very worried that they certainly wouldn't win a confidence vote at this stage in
Parliament. Because if they thought that, then they could have got general (ph) election, they could have done that today. They had the opportunity.
The other opposition party, the Liberal Democrats, said that they wanted Labour to do this. They would have supported that, but they didn't.
I think Labour do want a general election, if you listened to Jeremy Corbyn behind me, he's certainly calling for one. Trouble is, will that happen
now? Unlikely. I think the summer recess will be filled with political noise from both sides of the divide.
But if we approach the October 31st deadline -- if we approach that and a no-deal is looking likely, that is when we're more likely to see a
confidence motion table. Because at that stage, you may see rebellious Tory M.P.s deciding to vote with Labour, with the opposition. And that
would spark a general election.
The current government won't be calling one before Brexit, at least that's what Boris Johnson always maintained during his campaign -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Anna Stewart, thanks very much.
[14:13:10] A lot more to come. The dust is settling after Robert Mueller's long-awaited testimony on Capitol Hill. The question now is, what happens
next? We'll look at the fallout and speak with a congressman who's calling for impeachment proceedings against President Trump to begin. We'll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: All right. Let's talk more about the highly anticipated testimony by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Capitol Hill yesterday. "They're
doing it as we sit here." That is one of his warnings from yesterday, about Russia's continuing interference in U.S. elections. And it was one
of the biggest takeaways from his testimony on Capitol Hill.
But President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans are not talking about that today. Instead, they're saying, essentially, "Case closed" on the
former special counsel's report. That's what Republicans want.
Mr. Trump is claiming victory despite Mueller knocking down his claim that he was totally exonerated on obstruction of justice allegations. In fact,
Mueller said the Trump campaign welcomed Russian election help and then lied to cover it up. But he also stressed that a sitting president cannot
be indicted, and that's why he did not pursue that track.
Mueller stuck mostly to his report, but did reveal a few new things, including this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): Director Mueller, isn't it fair to say that the president's written answers were not only inadequate and incomplete,
because he didn't answer many of your questions, but where he did, his answers showed that he wasn't always being truthful?
ROBERT MUELLER, FORMER U.S. SPECIAL COUNSEL: There -- I would say, generally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's talk more about the fallout from Mueller's testimony. I'm joined by CNN Political Commentator, David Swerdlick. He's an assistant
editor at "The Washington Post."
What was your biggest takeaway from these hearings, David?
DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Good afternoon, Hala. So I think that was Congresswoman Demings from Florida, that you were just
playing there. I don't have a monitor here. She's the former Orlando police chief. She got Mueller to say, essentially, that the president had
not always been truthful.
You had Congressman Nadler getting the president -- getting Special Counsel Mueller to say, essentially, that he had not exonerated the president.
There were a number of other highlights from the point of view of Democrats -- the questioning of Congressman Johnson from Georgia, the questioning of
Congressman Schiff.
But, big picture, I think the reason you have the president and the administration today saying, "Case closed, let's move on, nothing to see
here," is because Democrats and Special Counsel Mueller struggled to tie it all together, to connect the dots how -- whatever metaphor you want to use,
to create a narrative that was going to grab ahold of the attention of Americans, who maybe only know spotty details from the report or who
haven't read the report.
And that's why I think we are here today, where we were a day and a half or two days ago, with Democrats having some solid evidence in the report that
they can work with, but not momentum going downhill for impeachment hearings.
GORANI: You mean that Democrats were hoping for kind of fireworks, big headlines, a forceful condemnation of the president by Robert Mueller,
maybe even something not in the original report, and they didn't get that?
SWERDLICK: I don't think that they were hoping for something not in the original report. And I don't even think they were hoping for fireworks.
Special Counsel Mueller, a Vietnam -- decorated Vietnam hero, former FBI director, career prosecutor and civil servant, is famously stoic, famously
not --
[14:20:10] GORANI: Right.
SWERDLICK: -- flamboyant. But -- so that was expected. But I do think Democrats were hoping that, as several of them said, going into the
hearings, the movie, if you will, would be better than the book. It turned out that the movie really wasn't that much different than the book. A lot
of dry facts, which Democrats worked all day to lay out, and got some of them laid out. But didn't --
GORANI: Yes.
SWERDLICK: -- get the story they wanted, that was going to sort of compel the public and other members of Congress who are already not on board with
impeachment, to say, "Wow, we've really got to impeach."
One more quick point, Hala. And that is --
GORANI: Yes.
SWERDLICK: -- to remember that, of course, Republicans are not behind any impeachment effort. But even a majority of the majority in the House, a
majority of Democrats in the House, have not yet signed on to impeachment, even if they think there was wrongdoing by the president and his team.
GORANI: So I guess the question is, what happens next here. Because this is it. This was the highly anticipated --
SWERDLICK: Right.
GORANI: -- testimony by Robert Mueller. Where do we go from here? More Democrats are now calling for the start of impeachment proceedings -- I'll
be speaking to one of these congresspeople in a moment -- what should we expect there?
SWERDLICK: Well, from my point of view, I think Democrats should try to get more of the actual witnesses rather than the prosecutors, to testify in
open committee.
One witness who they've not heard from who they've had trouble subpoenaing is former White House Counsel Don McGahn, who in the report, it is said, he
was told -- or he essentially testified in the report, that he was told or signaled or somehow other communicated by the president, that he wanted him
to get rid of Special Counsel Mueller before the investigation was completed. Mueller ratified that finding yesterday, but I think Democrats
would be strengthened by hearing from McGahn.
One other witness that's less talked about is Mark Corallo. He was a spokesperson for the president's private legal team, who has some knowledge
about the back-and-forth between the president and his son, Donald Trump Jr., over the initial written response that came out after the -- it was
unearthed that Donald Trump Jr. had met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort in Trump Tower in June 2016. We haven't heard from
Corallo yet in open hearing. I wonder why not.
GORANI: Now, let's talk overall 2020 strategy.
SWERDLICK: Sure.
GORANI: Is this -- how does this register with voters? These hearings, and Democrats focusing a lot on the report into Russian interference, on
these hearings with Robert Mueller. Does it move the needle in their favor? Because their ultimate goal is defeating Donald Trump next year.
SWERDLICK: Right. So, Hala, I didn't check the most recent polling before coming on-air with you today. But polling over the last weeks and months
has shown that the American public is mixed on this.
There are stronger poll numbers favoring the idea that Congress should continue to do oversight, continue to hold hearings, continue to look into
whether or not wrongdoing was done. Polling is not as strong on moving forward with formal impeachment hearings.
My assessment from yesterday is that the needle didn't really move one way or another. I think opinions are pretty baked in. People who think that
the president and his campaign and the administration have not been forthcoming, have done things that, whether or not criminal, were not
appropriate related to their 2016 campaign, people still think that.
People who are on the president's side in this, I still think are on the president's side.
Speaker Pelosi has steadfastly refused -- she hasn't ruled out impeachment, but she has refused to move forward with it. She is unequivocally the
leader in the House up to now. There are a lot of reasons for that. And her caucus mostly is sticking with her.
One of the obvious reasons given is that Democrats don't want a replay of 1999, when Republicans --
GORANI: Right.
SWERDLICK: -- controlled the House, impeached President Clinton. It didn't go well for them in the following election. But there are other
reasons --
GORANI: Sure.
SWERDLICK: -- behind the scenes. But that is a logjam right now.
GORANI: David Swerdlick, they don't want to make him a martyr. That could be one of the things. David Swerdlick of "The Washington Post" --
SWERDLICK: They don't want to make him a martyr. And I think Pelosi believes her -- their best chances of holding onto the House are to protect
Democrats in vulnerable districts who might not want to be forced to take a vote on impeachment.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much. David Swerdlick.
SWERDLICK: Thanks, Hala.
GORANI: Well, another lawmaker who questioned Mueller is calling for impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Democrat Andre Carson
says the very future of American democracy is at stake. And he's joining me now from Capitol Hill.
We're seen all over the world, Congressman Carson. And thanks for being with us.
REP. ANDRE CARSON (D-IN): Thank you.
GORANI: A lot of people followed the Mueller testimony on Capitol Hill yesterday on CNN International. Correct me if I'm wrong. I believe you're
the 94th congressperson supporting the start of impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Is that the case? And if so, why do you think this would
be beneficial politically to your party now?
CARSON: Well, I think this is a very important discussion that we -- that must take place. I think that we're seeing a rapid shift in our
environment, where people are really questioning the motives of President Trump. They're really asking, "Is he fit to represent us as commander in
chief?"
And so I think we have to take this road. I think that the Mueller hearings really reaffirmed what we already knew in terms of Russia's
encroachment upon our electoral process. The president and his cronies, their deliberate attempt to thwart an investigation.
And so -- and so the public is weary. They're tired. They're fatigued. And so I think that supporting this inquiry is a step in the right
direction.
GORANI: You asked some pointed questions to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. I want to play some of what you asked him, yesterday on Capitol
Hill, for our viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARSON: Would you agree, sir, that the sharing of private campaign information in exchange for money represents a particular kind of
corruption, one that presents a national security risk to our country, sir?
MUELLER: I'm not going to opine on that. I don't have the expertise in that arena, to really opine.
CARSON: Well, I can tell you that in my years of experience as a law enforcement officer and as a member of Congress, fortunate to serve on the
Intel Committee, I know enough to say yes.
Trading political secrets for money with a foreign adversary can corrupt. And it can leave you open to blackmail. And it certainly represents a
betrayal of the values underpinning our democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: What did you make of Special Counsel Mueller's response to your question? Is this basically a national security threat to the United
States?
CARSON: Well, certainly. I mean, obviously. I mean, this has been known for years. This is a part of the Russian playbook. I think it's something
we should take very seriously. Many members of Congress, many law enforcement agencies are meeting with state and local officials about this
very concern.
Blockchain has come up as a result. Cloud storage has come up as a result. And so all of us, in our different municipalities and bailiwicks, are
trying to navigate election security. And it's a question that we're trying to wrestle with as we speak.
GORANI: Do you think that the United States is not doing what it needs to be doing, based on what happened in 2016, to protect itself from further
attacks? Because it seems like for me, the biggest takeaway of what Robert Mueller said yesterday was, sounding the alarm again and again and again.
And saying, "It didn't just happen a few years ago. It is happening right now."
Is the United States, are lawmakers taking this seriously enough?
CARSON: Oh, I think so. I think lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are taking it very seriously. It's important because it impacts their
districts, it impacts their constituents. And I think it would be a slap in the face to our constituents and to the American people, to not take
this matter very seriously.
GORANI: All right. There were bills in the Senate, I understand, that were blocked by the Republican majority, that would have protected the
electoral system further?
CARSON: Well, we're going to keep trying. I think like any piece of legislation, sometimes there are successes, sometimes there are failures,
unfortunately. But if it's a good piece of legislation and we make the case before the American people and urge voters to contact their members of
Congress or even senators, to persuade them to support a critical piece of legislation like protecting our electoral process, I think we'll see some
headwinds.
GORANI: Donald Trump, the U.S. president, had this to say about the Mueller testimony -- and then I'll get you to react, Congressman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The performance was obviously not very good. He had a lot of problems. But what he showed
more than anything else, is that this whole thing has been three years of embarrassment and waste of time for our country. And you know what? The
Democrats thought they could win an election like this, I think they hurt themselves very badly for 2020.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: There are some pundits -- I'm sure you saw the analysis, or the post-game, as it's called -- that said of the Democrats, that they didn't
help themselves with these hearings, that they perhaps were hoping for more of a big headline that would convince the American people that there was
interference, and potentially even obstruction, and they didn't get it.
And so that this really didn't serve your purposes politically. How do you respond to that?
CARSON: I disagree. I think the hearing served its purpose. It was to reaffirm that the Russians did in fact attempt to infiltrate our electoral
process and influence the elections. And President Trump and his team, they tried to halt and disturb an investigation.
[14:30:05] And so the hearing was very clear. It was very helpful. And I think it serves its purpose. Now, we have a responsibility to move
forward.
GORANI: And moving forward with impeachment proceedings inquiry?
CARSON: It's a discussion that we're having within the caucus. I mean, there are different ideological and philosophical views as it relates to
impeachment. I think many members of Congress, very seriously, think that we should focus on other things right now, infrastructure, national
security, education, those are important things. And I think our constituents are saying infrastructure and jobs before they say
impeachment.
GORANI: Andre Carson, thanks so much for joining us. Democratic congressman --
CARSON: What an honor.
GORANI: -- from Indiana. Thanks so much. Member of the House Intelligence Committee as well who questioned Mueller, as we mentioned.
Still to come tonight, President Trump vowed to guarantee his bail, but an American rapper detained in Sweden will not be going anywhere until his
trial, at least. The latest on A$AP Rocky, ahead. A report from Sweden.
Plus, mission accomplished for the people of Puerto Rico. After weeks of protests against their governor, Ricardo Rossello says he will be stepping
down. We're live in San Juan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The American rapper who U.S. president, Donald Trump, urged Sweden to free, and even vowed to guarantee his bail, is now charged with assault.
And he's facing trial in that country. Swedish prosecutors say A$AP Rocky will remain in custody until his trial begins on Tuesday. Melissa bell is
in Stockholm. And we warn you, some images in her report are or could be considered disturbing. Melissa?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was the worst possible news for A$AP Rocky this morning. After more than three weeks spent in
detention here on the grounds that the Swedish judiciary believed that he was a flight risk. He learned today that the Swedish prosecutor in charge
of his case believed that he and two members of his entourage had committed a crime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BELL (voice-over): 30-year-old American rapper, A$AP Rocky, has been charged with assault in Sweden. The country's public prosecutor says these
images of a street fight on June 30th, first posted by TMZ and widely circulated on the internet, are part of the evidence against A$AP Rocky.
As are these pictures just released today in court documents. According to the prosecutor, the stills taken from surveillance cameras show A$AP Rocky
and two members of his entourage assaulting a man by kicking him and beating him with a glass bottle.
[14:35:00] The 30-year-old rapper whose real name is Rakim Mayers was deemed a flight risk and has been in custody since July 3rd. His lawyer
has maintained that his client was defending himself after being assaulted and that he is innocent and acted in self-defense.
Among the 552 pages of court documents released today, images of the victim, Mustafa Jafari's injuries. Jafari is an Afghan national who moved
to Sweden in 2016.
The investigation into his role in the brawl was dropped on Monday, according to the Swedish prosecutor. Jafari's lawyer says his client is
pleased with the outcome, but traumatized by the events.
MAGNUS STROMBERG, ATTORNEY TO MUSTAFA JAFARI: This is very difficult for him. When it comes to the injuries, there has been a lot of pain. When it
comes to mental condition, this has been immensely stressful. Yes, problems to sleep. So it's very, very difficult for him.
BELL: Today, the prosecutor said he'd based his findings on videos already widely circulated. Others not yet seen. As well as surveillance, CCTV
footage and witness statements.
The prosecution says that a bottle was used to beat the victim, although police didn't find any DNA evidence on it.
Over the weekend, U.S. president, Donald Trump, got involved tweeting that he'd called the Swedish prime minister and offering to vouch for A$AP's
bail on Twitter, although Sweden doesn't have a bail system.
The Swedish prime minister told the American president that the government wouldn't interfere in the independent judicial process. We asked A$AP's
lawyer what the rapper had made of that.
SLOBODAN JOVICIC, ATTORNEY FOR A$AP ROCKY: He's in a place where he's totally isolated and gets the info that he has. And I think it's better
for him to come out and explain about his feelings. I mean, now, he's just in a place where he's very, very thankful for everyone that's (INAUDIBLE)
BELL: A$AP Rocky's lawyer says that his client is trying to keep busy in jail answering the many letters he's received as he awaits a trial that
will begin on Tuesday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BELL: A$AP Rocky's lawyer saying that the American rapper will now be looking to the trial next week to try and clear his name and get home as
quickly as he can. Hala?
GORANI: All right. Melissa, thanks very much. Melissa in Stockholm.
So protests turned to celebration in Puerto Rico. The embattled governor, Ricardo Rossello, said he would step down after more than a week of
demonstrations calling for his resignation and after he said he wouldn't. The streets of San Juan erupted into a big party following the announcement
which came close to midnight.
Thousands have jammed the streets of San Juan in protest for days after leaked text messages between the governor and his inner circle showed
homophobic and misogynistic insults. Rafael Romo has more on the resignation from San Juan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It took 15 days from the moment Governor Rossello apologized to Puerto Ricans for
participating in a private chat that contained remarks that were considered racist, homophobic, and deeply offensive to the Puerto Rican people, to the
resignation announcement just before midnight.
And people here in Puerto Rico celebrated in a very loud way, banging on pots. They had drums. They were very, very happy. They had protested
every single day for 12 days. Demanding that the governor resigned immediately. Finally, he listened to them. And now the transition process
begins.
Presumably, secretary of justice, Wanda Vazquez, is going to be sworn in as governor, but the resignation is not immediate. It's going to take effect
on August the 2nd at 5:00 in the afternoon. The governor said that he needed some time to finish some issues on which he was working on.
So in the meantime, he remains governor. And since the governor's secretary of state resigned, and some other members of his cabinet have
already done so, it was very clear that the government was very much being abandoned by members of his cabinet and some of his aides. And was going
to be no longer possible for him to govern effectively. And so the decision finally came on Tuesday just before midnight.
Now, people are going to march again. And they say that instead of being a strike, as they had initially called it, is going to be a celebration March
in the streets of San Juan today.
Rafael Romo, CNN, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: South Korea is raising the alarm over its neighbor to the North. Just weeks after the American president stepped foot -- set foot inside
North Korea, the South Korean military says North Korea test fired two projectiles. Seoul says they are a new type of short-range ballistic
missile and they are warning they pose a military threat.
CNN Pentagon Reporter, Ryan Browne, joins me now. What do we know about these projectiles that South Korea says were lobbed at them?
[14:40:57] RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: Well, Hala, the Defense Department says that they resemble -- defense officials here are telling us
it resembles the missiles that North Korea fired back in May. And that these are short-range ballistic missiles that traveled several hundred
kilometers and had an altitude that was typical of this type of ballistic missile.
Now they're still analyzing exactly what the type of missile is. They haven't gone as far as -- the U.S. has not gone as far as South Korea to
describe it as a new threat. Saying that it resembles what North Korea has used in the past.
But we're hearing a very muted reaction from the United States to this launch. Even in May, the U.S. was much more vocal about what North Korea
did. We've had no comment from any senior officials, even though national security adviser, John Bolton, was actually in South Korea on Wednesday.
We haven't heard much about this launch officially from the U.S.
In fact, President Trump was here at the Pentagon today. There was made no mention of the Korea situation. So a very muted response from the U.S. to
this latest launch. At least publicly.
GORANI: And why is it publicly muted? Is it to sort of preserve the diplomatic relationship between Kim Jong-un and the president after their
DMZ meeting a few weeks ago?
BROWNE: Well, that's what many believe. President Trump actually went so far back in May to say that those launches weren't a violation of U.N.
restrictions, which was actually disputed by his own national security adviser and his own then secretary of defense. So President Trump has gone
out of his way to downplay any North Korean action in order to create some diplomatic space for negotiations.
And also to kind of -- he has long talked about this decline in North Korean nuclear and missile testing as evidence of success of his diplomatic
outreach. So it's possible that he's attempting to keep that narrative going, despite this most recent launch.
GORANI: But at the Pentagon, and away from the cameras, is there concern?
BROWNE: There is always concern. They keep a close eye on North Korea. There is increased monitoring going on. They're assessing the situation.
You know, they did this launch in May. They've seen activity, defense officials tell CNN that they've seen North Korea move things around here
and there.
They tend to be on the smaller scale. They haven't seen that nuclear testing, they haven't seen those ICBM, those longer-range missile testing
go on. So there is some solace in that, but they are keeping a close eye on the situation.
GORANI: Ryan Browne at the Pentagon, thanks very much.
Tunisia will observe seven days of mourning for its first democratically elected leader. The Tunisian president, Beji Caid Essebsi, died early
Thursday, hours after being taken to a military hospital. He was 92. He was hospitalized briefly last month with a -- what was described as a
severe illness.
Essebsi became prime minister in 2011 after the country's longtime ruler was ousted in the region's Arab Spring uprising. The first country to rise
up against its dictator. He helped draft a new constitution guaranteeing democratic rights, and he was elected president in 2014.
A new development in the disturbing story of multimillionaire, Jeffrey Epstein. Law enforcement sources tell CNN, Epstein has been injured in a
New York jail where he's awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Sources say Epstein was found with marks on his neck. But that is not
clear if that was self-inflicted or if he was attacked. The sources say Epstein told authorities he was beaten up and he is now on suicide watch.
Epstein's case has attracted attention because he's been friends with the very rich and the very famous, including Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and
members of Britain's royal family.
Still to come, despite reports that Syria's rebels are almost defeated, the violence and suffering continues. And in some places, it is actually away
from the headlines getting far, far worse. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:06] GORANI: The U.N. High Commissioner for refugees says the worst Mediterranean tragedy of the year has just occurred. Around 150 migrants
are feared dead after their boat sank off the coast of Libya. Women and children are believed to be among those missing. The International
Organization for Migration says 145 people, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea have been returned to Libya.
Now, to the civil war in Syria and the growing humanitarian crisis there. We don't talk about it as much on the news every day. But it is getting so
much worse in some parts of the country. The Syrian government and its Russian allies have been conducting air strikes on Idlib, the rebel-held
province in northern Syria. And civilian targets are being repeatedly hit.
The British charity, Save the Children, says more children have died in Idlib in the last four weeks than in all of last year.
And in southern Syria, as if that weren't enough, thousands of displaced civilians are going with almost no food, water, or medicine. Some of them
starving. Even though a U.S. military outpost is just 10 miles away. But it's not helping.
CNN's Political Analyst, Josh Rogin, and Washington Post columnist has been looking into that. Talk to us about what's going on with these people.
These displaced people in Syria who don't have enough food, water or medicine to survive.
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There are about 30,000 innocent civilians living in the Rukban, internally displaced persons camp, 10 miles
from the Tanf U.S. military base in southeast Syria. They had been struggling, but getting by, based on intermittent U.N. aid convoys. But
the Russian government and the Assad regime stopped allowing those aid convoys months ago.
And for complicated reasons, the U.S. government won't feed them. So they're literally starving to death in the desert. No food, medicine or
water, no schools, no clinics. The elderly and the young are the most vulnerable. They're begging on Facebook and Twitter for help. They want
to be transported to non-Assad held areas or fed. And right now, neither of those things are happening, and they're suffering greatly.
GORANI: Why won't the U.S. help?
ROGIN: I talked to Jim Jeffrey, the U.S. Special Representative for Syria about this last weekend. He said that the U.S. government is still trying
to work the diplomatic channel with Russia and that if the U.S. government starts feeding these people, it will be acknowledging responsibility for
the well-being. A responsibility they may not be able to fulfill.
To me, that sounds like a recipe for continued starvation of these people because, essentially, as long as the Assad regime holds the key to them
eating, there's a lot of incentive for the Assad regime never to let them eat.
Now, the U.S. government and Jeffrey, are right in the sense the U.S. military presence in Syria is not assured. It's possible we may not be
able to feed them later, but there a lot of people in Washington feel like that's no excuse not to feed them right now.
GORANI: What are they saying? You say a lot of them are calling for help on social media. What types of messages are they -- are they putting out?
ROGIN: So they've started a campaign. They're cut off from the world. There's no roads out of the camp. But they've started a social media
campaign called the Voice of Rukban to plead for any and all assistance. They would love to be moved to the north or east to Iraq or simply to be
given the food and water to survive.
What they say is that they're watching their children dying, and they can't do anything about it. What they're saying is that they're grateful to be
under the protection of U.S. forces because it keeps the Assad regime, ISIS and Iranian troops at bay, and they don't want to be starved into the
decision of going back to Assad-held areas where they will surely be conscripted, detained, or killed.
But they are on their last legs. And if we don't feed them soon, they will surely not be saying much for much longer.
[14:50:02] GORANI: How long has it been since they've received a food shipment?
ROGIN: The last aid convoy was in February. People on the ground say it was enough to feed about 10,000 people for a few days. That's six months
ago, and there's still 30,000 people there. There used to be smuggling routes but those have largely been cut off by Assad, Russian, and Iranian
forces.
They live inside this security zone that surrounds the Tanf base. And the soldiers that help Americans fight ISIS in the area are recruited from the
camp. So the U.S. aided soldiers get to eat, but their family and friends are left to starve. It's an untenable situation that's getting worse by
the day.
GORANI: All right. We'll continue to keep our eye on this story. Thanks, Josh Rogin, for bringing it to our attention. You've published an article
about this on -- in the Washington Post. Thanks so much.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The owner of an Israeli football team is calling out some of its own fans for racism. A group of hardcore supporters of Beitar Jerusalem
say they don't want any Arabs or Muslims on their squad, an attitude that this owner is trying to wipe out. And also there is a focus on one
particular player. And Michael Holmes has our report from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's a piano-playing high-tech millionaire who decided to take on racist soccer
fans by buying the team. Beitar Jerusalem is one of Israel's top clubs. The only one never to sign an Arab Muslim player and one with a history of
racism from a vocal segment of its fan base.
MOSHE HOGEG, OWNER, BEITAR JERUSALEM: I'm here to build a stone club, and advanced club, a competitive club that is winning titles with football, but
at the same time, to take bad thing and take racism and cut it out of Beitar Jerusalem.
HOLMES: Moshe Hogeg has his work cut out for him. Beitar Jerusalem has been infamous for a small group of hardcore supporters called La Familia.
Best known for their chants of "Death to Arabs."
HOGEG: They're racist. And that's a big problem. And this small group affected the name of the hundreds of thousands of amazing Beitar fans that
are not racist at all.
HOLMES: The fan record has improved. Two racist chants recorded in 2018 down from 17 the season prior. That's according to the NGO, the New Israel
Fund. But it's a new season, and with it, a new challenge. The signing of a player named Ali Mohamed. Soon, La Familia's chants against their own
player came.
"Mohamed is dead" is what they're saying. "Ali is dead."
HOLMES (on-camera): Now, here's the thing. Not that it should matter, of course, but Ali Mohamed is neither Arab nor is he Muslim. He's from Niger
and he says he's a devout Christian. But because his name sounds Muslim, that's enough for some fans to want to change his name just so they don't
have to say Mohamed.
[14:55:58] HOLMES (voice-over): The racist element is a minority, and at the club's first preseason practice, the "Mohamed is dead" and "Ali is
dead" chants were drowned out by other fans. Moshe Hogeg says he's suing fans who cross the line.
HOGEG: I don't go to the police. I just send -- I file a lawsuit of anywhere between a million shekel that is equivalent to let's say -- let's
say $300,000 and up to half a million dollars. On damaging trying -- or damaging the reputation of the club.
HOLMES: Hogeg says lawyers have sent warning letters to three fans demanding an apology. The Beitar owner says if they don't come, he will
file the lawsuits.
Ali Mohamed won't talk about fan racism. He wants his football to do the talking. And this happened when we tried to get La Familia members to talk
on camera.
At this practice, La Familia members were present but overwhelmed by other fans making it clear Ali Mohamed is welcome at Beitar Jerusalem.
HOLMES (on-camera): What do you think of the fans?
ALI MOHAMED, BEITAR JERUSALEM FOOTBALL PLAYER: Amazing. You can see for yourself. It's amazing. I didn't expect this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ali, Ali.
HOLMES: Moshe Hogeg admits it's been a tough fight and it's not yet won. He even contemplated selling the club, but he hasn't. Instead, he waits
for one moment that will make his fight worthwhile.
HOGEG: When Mohamed will score a goal, you will hear the whole stadium cheering for him. I think it will be an historic moment for this club and
an important one.
(CROWD CHANTING)
HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Some people swim the English Channel, others prefer to sail. But one French inventor wanted to do it by hoverboard. You may remember this
man. Franky Zapata. He hovered over the July 14th parade in Paris.
Well, he attempted to make the crossing between France and Britain on a jet-powered hoverboard. The same one he used in Paris. But he crashed
during a refueling pit stop, 17 kilometers from the finish. He wasn't hurt. Zapata had been attempting to set a record, but definitely had his
doubters. He himself said there was only about a 30 percent chance that his attempt would succeed.
Thanks for watching tonight. I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see you next time. Stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
