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Hala Gorani Tonight
300 Migrants Released After Mississippi Raids; Reports: Man Dies In Iraq After Trump Admin Deports Him; Fox News Host Says White Supremacy Is A "Hoax"; Putin's Rise From Unknown To World Leader; Abbey Road Anniversary; United Nations Report Issues Dire Warnings on State of the Planet; Trump Visits Shooting Survivors; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Announced Downgraded Kashmir Status Today. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired August 08, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:17] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR, HALA GORANI TONIGHT: Hello, everyone. Live from CN London, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, a warning to everyone on the planet: Eat less meat and stop abusing the earth. It comes from a major report on the climate crisis.
Also tonight, President Trump went to El Paso and praised medical staff for their response to the shooting. But video shows he then bragged about
crowd size at a rally.
And American authorities deported this Iraqi man back to a country he'd never lived in. And now, he's dead. I speak to his lawyer.
We begin, tonight, with a dire warning that affects every one of us. A new United Nations report says humans have damaged about three-quarters of ice-
free land on earth, and the degradation must be stopped or we face catastrophic global warming and a major threat to our food system as well.
Scientists say that we must immediately change the way we manage land and produce food by stopping the destruction of the soil with fertilizers. We
need to be planting more trees, and we need to be reducing food waste.
Let's get to our chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir. He's in Crescent, Iowa, where he's been talking to some of the very people who could help.
And that is, farmers on the ground.
What are farmers there telling us? What are you learning from being really in the heart of farm country in America, about the climate crisis we're all
facing?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, we've spent about a week here, talking to dozens of folks here. And you've got to
understand, the setting that we're living in now, farmers around the world are a tough breed.
But these are really tough times, especially here in the heartland thanks to the trade war, thanks to this just completely unpredictable weather and
record debt. The American Corn Growers Association, their annual meeting now has a suicide prevention seminar, just as an indication of how stressed
they are.
And on top of that comes this new report, over a hundred scientists from around the world, evaluating our land use, basically saying humanity is
chewing through the planet at an unsustainable rate. The Goldilocks climate that allows us to grow enough soybeans and corn to feed over 7
billion people, is going away at the current rate. Fertile land is becoming desert, water and soil instability.
But the good news is that unlike folks in the fossil fuel industry, farmers could be key warriors in this fight against the climate crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTIN JORDAN, IOWA FARMER: We had a very, very wet spring. And --
WEIR: Too much rain to plant.
JORDAN: Too much rain --
WEIR: Yes.
JORDAN: -- to plant.
WEIR (voice-over): Justin Jordan is among the millions of American farmers, living on an emotional rollercoaster that only seems to go down.
JORDAN: So this corn is -- is almost two feet shorter than it normally is.
WEIR (voice-over): Thanks to a bizarro spring, he's looking at a 30 percent drop in yield.
JORDAN: It's a kind of feeling of helplessness and stress, is what it kind of feels like.
WEIR: Yes.
JORDAN: So. But you just do what you can with what you have to work with.
WEIR (voice-over): At least he has a crop. Too many farmers lost everything to epic floods. And even the lucky ones are losing sleep over
fear of an early frost, and trade wars, and the highest farm debt in a generation.
And on top of it all, comes the latest alarming report from the IPCC, which finds that growing food from India to Iowa, will only get harder as the
climate gets harsher.
DR. EUGENE TAKLE, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, IOWA STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY: We're going to see, by mid-century by current projections, that our number
of days above 90 degrees is going to rise from about 17 days per year above 90 degrees in Des Moines. That'll be up more like 50 to 70.
WEIR (voice-over): The report finds that about three-quarters of the earth's ice-free surface has been paved, plowed or deforested. Great for
economies, horrible for nature's cycles. With all the diesel and fertilizer used to grow the modern meal, they say agriculture is to blame
for nearly a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.
WEIR: But here's the good news. Right now, every corn plant in this field is pulling carbon out of the sky, and putting it in the ground. And with
the right amount of innovation and financial motivation, a smart farmer can leave it there and still feed the world. Iowa could be one giant carbon
sink.
And unlike miners and drillers and frackers, they don't have to change careers in order to help save life as we know it.
JORDAN: Just listen to all the birds, too. Something you don't hear when you walk out in a corn field. I mean, there's just so much more -- like I
said, not only the plant biodiversity, but the wildlife diversity --
[14:05:03] WEIR: It's life. It's life.
JORDAN: Exactly, exactly.
WEIR (voice-over): Justin takes advantage of a federal program that pays him to let part of his fields go wild, which brings higher yields in the
long term.
Over in Nebraska, Brandon (ph) Honeycut (ph) is trying out cutting-edge science, funded by Bill Gates, that uses bacteria instead of synthetic
fertilizer, the stuff that creates ocean dead zones and red tides.
ERNIE SANDERS, VP OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, PIVOT BIO: That's all a petroleum-based kind of products industry that we live in. And the more we
can move to a more natural bacterial-based, I think that's better for all of us.
WEIR (voice-over): And even some conservatives like Ray Gaesser are joining this green revolution. Even though the Republican refuses to blame
a warming planet entirely on human habits.
WEIR: So how do you feel about big members of your party, even the president, casting doubt and skepticism into whether or not humans can even
help stop this?
RAY GAESSER, IOWA FARMER: Well, I think it's more about not having severe regulations, you know. I think one-size-fits-all regulations really does
not fit agriculture anywhere.
WEIR (voice-over): But like many Republican neighbors, he still embraces wind energy, cover crops and soil conservation.
GAESSER: Well, as we farm a little bit differently, as we sequester nutrients and carbon, you know, we're doing the right thing, you know? And
that's what it's about, is trying to do the right thing. We all want to do that.
WEIR: Absolutely.
GAESSER: And it shouldn't be political.
WEIR: Amen, brother.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEIR: It's a lovely but quaint sentiment, when you consider everything is political these days, especially the idea of climate change. It's the one
topic that polarizes more Americans than anywhere else, it's the one advanced country where this is still a debate.
So on the Democrat side, Elizabeth Warren is polling at the top in Iowa. May have something to do with the fact, she's the first candidate to come
out with a comprehensive farm plan, policies that would shift markets to try to encourage the kinds of innovations you saw there in the piece.
Dozens -- the other two dozen candidates will be Iowa this weekend for the state fair. It'll be interesting to see what kind of new ideas they have,
Hala. But the person who wins this state will be the one, probably, that has farmers at the table, trying to determine exactly the right plan for
sort of a Green Revolution 2.0.
GORANI: And people, when they hear these reports, they -- first of all, it sounds pretty academic for them. They might feel far-removed from what
scientists are telling us we should do. But is there anything you and I and people watching us can do, on an individual basis, to help? What can
be done incrementally, one person at a time, where people don't feel helpless?
WEIR: Well, it's one of those problems that, yes, it would be great to plant a tree in your backyard, to lean on your grocer or, you know, if you
order from Amazon.com, lean on them for their sustainability standards. Because at the rate we're going, we can't have an Amazon rainforest and an
Amazon.com. You've got to pick one at this point.
So the power of the consumer could go into that. But ultimately, this problem is so massive, it doesn't just take national policies, it's going
to take a global effort to -- you know, all of the -- all of the progress that was made with the Industrial Revolution could be undone and worse,
without a true universal effort to change our consumption habits.
It's going to be difficult. But it's interesting. Farmers, as Will Rogers once said, "You've got to be an optimist to be a farmer," otherwise you
wouldn't be one. These folks are ready. Even those who don't want to acknowledge that human habits are completely to blame. They know that if
they do these practices, it's a win-win. It's good for their business and it's good for anybody who likes food.
GORANI: And you've got to be an optimist to be an environmentalist these days as well. Some pretty sobering statistics. Thanks so much, Bill Weir
in Iowa, there, with that report on an important day, with the release of that report as well, telling us that we are really abusing the planet.
To El Paso now. Could the massacre there possibly have been avoided? CNN has some exclusive new information about a warning that was given to police
by none other than the suspected gunman's mother.
Lawyers for the family say she was concerned about her son owning an AK- type firearm. So she called authorities. And in fact, she called authorities just a few weeks ago. So this is, really, very significant new
information.
We'll be going live to El Paso for details in just a few minutes. But first, we're also learning more about President Donald Trump's visit to the
city. He met with doctors and first responders at a hospital yesterday. And despite his pledge to stay away from politics, he ended up bragging
about the crowd size at one of this rallies.
Let's get details from CNN White House reporter Sarah Westwood.
[14:10:01] Sarah, first of all, we have video and audio of what the president told some of these first responders in El Paso. Let's listen
first and then get to you at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look at this group of people. Can you believe this? Good-looking people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're (ph) fantastic.
TRUMP: I was here three months ago. We made a speech, and we had a -- what was the name of the arena? That place was --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: El Paso (ph) Coliseum.
TRUMP: -- packed, right?
That was some crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for all that (ph) you do. Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: And we had twice the number outside. And then you had this crazy Beto. Beto had, like, 400 people in a parking lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, Sarah, he just couldn't help himself there, trashing Beto O'Rourke once again, who's from El Paso, who's been there for the last few
days, trying to comfort people, and bragging about crowd size. Any response to some of the criticism from the White House today?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Hala, certainly the White House has tried to maintain this perception that the president's visit was
not political, that he had endeavored to stay above the fray throughout his time in both Dayton and El Paso.
For example, the White House, pushing back, trying to muddy the waters on some "Washington Post" reporting that the eight hospitalized survivors of
the El Paso shooting at the University Medical Center, did not want to visit with President Trump. "Washington Post," reporting that for some of
them, the reason was that they did not want to spend any time with Trump personally. For others, they just didn't want any visitors of any kind
while they were trying to recover.
But nonetheless, this video, taken at that same University Medical Center in El Paso, does show President Trump first praising medical personnel,
then recalling the last time that he was in that city.
He said it was three months ago -- it was actually six -- when he held a rally in El Paso, Texas. He talked about the size of the crowd inside the
arena, the size of the overflow crowd outside. And he compared those crows with the crowd that Beto O'Rourke drew to his competing protest rally that
same night.
Trump had also sparred with Beto O'Rourke, who is running for president in the Democratic primary, before he came to El Paso. He was telling Beto to,
quote, "Be quiet." Beto O'Rourke had requested that Trump not come to El Paso, had been heavily critical of the president's rhetoric. And he has
claimed that the president's rhetoric played a role in radicalizing the shooter who went on that rampage in Walmart.
So it was part of President Trump's overall struggle to stay above the political fray during these two trips, Hala. He was also critical of some
of the officials in Ohio, as he was flying from Ohio to El Paso, saying that they mischaracterized the nature of his visit to the hospital in
Dayton.
GORANI: All right. Sarah Westwood, thanks very much.
And once again, we will be going to El Paso for more on the investigation and on this CNN exclusive reporting, that the mother of the shooter
contacted authorities, saying she was worried.
Just across the border from El Paso, mourners in Mexico have begun burying their dead. Eight of the 22 people killed in the El Paso massacre were
Mexican citizens. CNN's Patrick Oppmann joins me now from Ciudad Juarez with more.
Set the scene, a very sad day, once again, across the border in Mexico, Patrick.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very much, a somber day. As, for the first time this afternoon, just a few hours from now, some of the first
funerals will begin to take place. Yesterday, we saw the bodies come across the border and Juarez, a city that is all too familiar with terrible
violence there, killings, sometimes several killings a day because of the drug cartels that have so much control in this border town. All the same,
this city has been shocked to its core by the shootings across the border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPPMANN (voice-over): Elsa Mendoza de la Mora made her final trip home to Mexico in a black hearse. Mendoza taught primary school here, in the
Mexican border town of Juarez. A colleague of Mendoza's told CNN she often went to the Walmart just across the river in El Paso, Texas, to buy school
supplies. They were a little less expensive there.
And that's where Elsa was when a gunman, allegedly fueled by white supremacist vitriol, opened fire, killing 22 people. Elsa was one of at
least eight Mexican citizens to be cut down in cold blood.
She had taught hundreds of children during her long career, a friend and fellow teacher told me. "She was a good teacher," she said. "What can I
say? For 30 years, she worked and was very giving and very dedicated."
OPPMANN (voice-over): Just down the road from Elsa's school, employees at this radio station are in mourning too. Their colleague, Ivan Manzano,
also lost his life in the El Paso shooting.
"He was a family man," she says. "Aside from work, his priority was his mother, his wife and his children. His little one, most of all because she
was the light in his eyes. She was his princess, his life, is what he would say."
[14:15:03] OPPMANN (voice-over): There aren't any memorials in Juarez to the victims of the El Paso shootings. Senseless and sudden killings have
long been part of life here.
OPPMANN: Juarez is no stranger to violence. Drug cartel killings have made this one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico. But just over there,
in the United States, El Paso has provided a sanctuary for many Mexicans. But following the Walmart shootings, many here wonder if anywhere is really
safe.
Anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiment in the U.S. are more visible than ever before, people here say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): "It's always been said that El Paso is more secure," she says. "But things need to change. They need to
change, especially with this."
OPPMANN: And one of the people attending Elsa Mendoza's funeral, Hala, is Beto O'Rourke, who is running for president and has been such a critic of
Donald Trump and Donald Trump's visit to El Paso. And we had the opportunity to meet him in El Paso this morning, cross the border with him.
He's in Juarez right now.
And I asked him how he felt about Donald Trump trashing him during a day that was meant to be for remembering the victims of this attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPPMANN: Were you surprised that President Trump spent so much time attacking you yesterday during a trip where he was supposed to be bringing
people together?
BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. It's the way he has always been. But what was really beautiful was the way that this community came
together yesterday. Again, from both sides of the border, expressing what makes us so special that we treat each other with respect and with dignity,
unlike the president. And really celebrate what's best about America. And it's what has made us such a safe, strong, successful community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPMANN: And Beto O'Rourke told me that his message to Mexicans is that no matter what side of the border you come from, no matter what passport you
hold, your life has meaning. And that is a message that is very welcome, right now, in Mexico. A Mexico that has been shaken by these attacks on
Mexican citizens, Mexican-Americans, an attack that apparently was targeting people because of their ethnicity and because of which country
they come from.
GORANI: Patrick Oppmann, thanks very much.
Let's go live to El Paso now, to learn more about the phone call made by the suspected gunman's mother, just weeks before the shooting. We're
joined by CNN's Ed Lavandera. And this is exclusive CNN reporting, that the mother of this gunman was worried that her son was up to no good.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- told by the lawyer representing the family of the 21-year-old gunman, that in just the -- in recent weeks, that
she had called police in the Dallas suburb where this gunman was living with his grandparents, before he drove some -- more than 600 miles in 10
hours, here to the town of El Paso in Far West Texas.
That the mother had called, sharing concern that her son owned this AK- style, assault-style firearm. And that she was worried about his maturity level and ability to handle and inexperience with that kind of gun.
TEXT: Killed in El Paso, TX Shooting: Jordan Anchondo, Andre Anchondo, Arturo Benavides, Arturo Benavides, Angie Englisbee, Sara Esther Regalado,
Adolfo Cerros Hernandez, Gloria Irma Marquez, David Johnson, Javier Amir Rodriguez, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, Jorge Calvillo Garcia, Elsa Mendoza de
la Mora, Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, Juan de Dios Velazquez Chaires, Leo Campos, Maribel Hernandez, Jorge Calvillo Garcia, Alexander Gerhard
Hoffman, Luis Alfonzo Juarez, Margie Reckard, Raul Flores, Maria Flores, Teresa Sanchez
LAVANDERA: The lawyer says that the mother was told that the man was able to legally own the gun, and it doesn't appear anything went much further
than that. We have reached out to the police department to find out more about that phone call. We have been told that the Allen police department,
that is the town where the gunman was living with his grandparents, that they do not have documentation of that call.
But, Hala, the lawyer also goes on to say that the mother did not make this call because the -- her son was showing volatile or violent behavior. In
the words of the lawyer, it wasn't like there were red flags or alarm bells sounding. So that is what the lawyer is telling us, but it does appear
that on some level, some sort of concern about her son owning this type of firearm was shared with police in the suburb north of Dallas, Texas --
Hala.
GORANI: And what more do we know about the investigation? Are we getting any more information from authorities at this stage?
LAVANDERA: No. I mean, we are still kind of in -- what we've learned initially about the motivation for this attack, and the concern about the
manifesto and the talk of this gunman being fearful of a Hispanic invasion of Texas.
The crime scene work continues, nearly a week after the shooting. In fact, the Walmart area here has been fenced off, and the chief of police, here in
El Paso, says that there is still forensic work -- and gruesome forensic work -- still ongoing inside the crime scene there, and that could take
another 20 days -- Hala.
GORANI: Ed Lavandera, live in El Paso. Thanks very much.
[14:19:55] Still to come tonight, as soldiers patrol the streets of Indian- administered Kashmir, India's prime minister reveals why his country changed decades of special status for the region. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: India's prime minister is defending his decision to assume more direct control over the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Narendra
Modi says it will free the state of, quote, "terrorism."
Now, the move set off outrage in Pakistan. Both nuclear-armed nations claim Kashmir, of course. India's actions prompted Pakistan to downgrade
diplomatic and trade ties. CNN's Nikhil Kumar has our update.
NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: This will make things better for Kashmiris. That, Hala, in a nutshell, was the message from Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, Thursday night, days after his government moved to tighten its grip on Indian-controlled Kashmir.
On Monday, Modi's government took away the region's special status under the Indian constitution, thereby stripping it of the power to set many of
its own laws.
It also downgraded Jammu and Kashmir state, which includes Indian- controlled Kashmir, to a union territory. This means that it will effectively be run directly by New Delhi. Indian states have much more
power to direct their internal affairs.
Speaking in Hindi, Modi defended all this by claiming that the downgrade was only temporary. He said local elections would be held, quote, "soon,"
and said the changes would bring about development and help end terrorism. He even made a direct appeal to Bollywood, asking filmmakers to consider
the mountains and valleys of what is one of the world's most heavily militarized regions, as settings for future projects.
Here's the thing. Even as he spoke to justify these steps, we're still waiting to get a full picture of what ordinary Kashmiris think of all this.
The reason? The Modi government has placed the territory under a massive security crackdown. For days, communications have been down and prominent
local politicians have been arrested.
Now, Kashmir's always on a finely-balanced knife edge. The territory is divided between Indian and Pakistani-controlled sections. Both countries
claim it in its entirety.
And Pakistan has been very critical of India's decision. Islamabad has scaled back its diplomatic ties with New Delhi. Pakistan's army has also
said it was willing to, quote, "Go to any extent to fight the new Indian policies."
It's all raised the geopolitical temperature here in South Asia, Hala, as people fear that New Delhi's moves could ultimately lead to another
confrontation between these two nuclear-armed rivals -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Nikhil Kumar, thanks very much, Nikhil.
Could Britain's Queen Elizabeth get dragged into the middle of a constitutional crisis? The prime minister, the new prime minister in this
country, Boris Johnson, has barely moved into 10 Downing Street, and there is already talk of ousting him.
When Parliament returns from its summer break next month, Johnson may face a motion of no confidence, all stemming from his insistence that the U.K.
is going to leave the European Union at the end of October, even without a deal, come what may.
[14:25:09] What does this all have to do with the queen, you ask? Bianca Nobilo joins me now.
So what does it have to do with the queen?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has to do with the queen because if this can't be resolved by Parliament -- by this, obviously, I mean Brexit -
- and with Parliament having a majority in opposition to no deal, but the prime minister of the day insisting that they would potentially go ahead
with no deal, then the leader of the opposition, Andrew McDonald, the shadow chancellor, have suggested that they may go to the queen if Boris
Johnson lost a confidence vote, and ask to form a government themselves.
There's also been discussion today because Boris Johnson hasn't ruled out the fact that he would stay in place if he lost that confidence vote. So
in theory, he could say, "We're going to leave without a deal." Then Jeremy Corbyn could table a motion of no confidence, Boris Johnson could
lose that vote, and then not necessarily stand down and resign --
GORANI: But --
NOBILO: -- which is the convention.
GORANI: But it is the convention. It's not written down anywhere.
NOBILO: It is.
GORANI: But so the top -- the shadow chancellor, who's the top Labour Party member, has said, "If Boris Johnson loses a vote of no confidence, I
will put Jeremy Corbyn in a black cab myself and have that black cab go to Buckingham Palace and ask the queen" -- whose authority, I believe, they've
questioned (INAUDIBLE) --
NOBILO: They have both. (INAUDIBLE), yes.
GORANI: -- right -- "to -- to allow us to form a government," right?
NOBILO: All very unorthodox. Because as you know, the queen is supposed to invite the would-be prime minister to form a government --
GORANI: You don't just barge in --
NOBILO: -- you don't --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: -- to Buckingham Palace --
NOBILO: -- tend to roll (ph) up in a cab and then say, you know --
GORANI: Yes.
NOBILO: -- would you give us a shot. But that's what they were suggesting. It was fairly tongue-in-cheek at the Edinburgh Festival, that
he said that. But it all just speaks to the fact that we're in such an unprecedented constitutional situation at the moment.
And it's interesting because way back when the referendum first happened, I spoke to a member of Parliament that I worked with on occasion, when I was
in Parliament myself. And he said to me, "This is going to come down to who has the best legal minds on their side."
And you know what, I think it will. Because at this time, you had those who want to see a no-deal Brexit, speaking about proroguing Parliament as a
way to allow the no-deal to go through.
Then you have those coming out in recent days, like Dominic Grieve, saying that they could cancel recess so that Parliament could intervene to prevent
that no-deal.
So you're getting this -- you're getting one suggestion, and then the other side --
GORANI: But is it --
NOBILO: -- will suggest the reverse.
GORANI: -- but this is -- sorry, but there was a democratic exercise in the form of a referendum. Leave won, OK? But also, part of the U.K.
democratic system is you have Parliament's will. And if Parliament in its majority is opposed to no-deal, how do you ram it through despite the fact
that a majority of M.P.s say they are opposed to it, have voted in favor of being opposed to it.
NOBILO: Yes, they have. And so the default, as we both know, in law, is that Britain will leave on the 31st of October. But as we saw in one of
the last attempts of Theresa May to pass her deal, when it failed, Yvette Cooper, a prominent member of the Labour Party, tabled the bill and passed
it so that it would force the prime minister to go and ask for an extension. They could do that again.
So there are ways in which Parliament can assert its control over the process. We've even seen the speaker, John Bercow, refer to archaic
precedents from 1604. So if they're prepared to look hard enough, they can find convention and precedent to buttress whatever argument they want to
make.
But the question will be, when it comes down to it, it is the government's prerogative to revoke, to ask for an extension. Because this is an
international treaty that we're talking about. So Parliament will need to force the government's hand in some way. And that's why this is such a
mess, Hala --
GORANI: Yes.
NOBILO: -- because you have the direct democratic result of the referendum. Then, you -- as you mentioned, you have Parliament being
opposed to no-deal, that conflict. And then if that can't be resolved, then all that's left in the sort of constitutional tree is the sovereign
right at the top.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much, Bianca Nobilo, with the very latest on that. It's going to be a busy summer and an even busier autumn as we
enter that period, leading up to October 31st. Thanks very much.
Still to come tonight, the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. We'll discuss the harsh reality of these deportations with one
heartbreaking case.
[14:29:16] Also ahead, a prominent television host is under fire for what he said about white supremacy. I'll talk to a former reporter at "Fox
News." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:51] HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: In the U.S. state of Mississippi, more than 300 migrants have been released by authorities
following raids Wednesday. That sweep rounded up almost 700 undocumented immigrants at food processing plants in several cities. Those who were
released include nursing and pregnant mothers. Local officials have said they're concerned about the children whose parents were taken away.
Dianne Gallagher joins me now from Jackson, Mississippi. And we saw some pretty heartbreaking scenes that I saw on social media parents arrested,
taken away. Kids crying. Set the scene a little bit for us. What happened on these raids?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So essentially what happened is in seven different plant locations, much like the one here behind me, in six
different places around Jackson, Mississippi, we're actually in Morton, which is about an hour 45 minutes away from Jackson.
In the morning, according to the people we've talked to, ICE officers, Department of Homeland Security officers came in and began asking people
for documentation, and then pushing people onto buses, taking them to, basically, a processing center and they're determining from there what
happens to them.
Here's the thing though, Hala, this happened early in the morning and went on throughout the day. It was the first day of school in the area these
children of all ages were in school, in daycare. They didn't know what was going on.
And even though officials said that they began contacting schools and different churches to let them know what was happening, you had children
who were stuck at school not knowing where their parents were. Children who had to have someone come pick them up from daycare. Daycare that
didn't want to release kids to people because they weren't their parents. So there was confusion and then there was fear. Because look, these kids
live in an immigrant community. They know what that means when you hear that your parents have been taken. They were crying.
There was a man who opened his gym up for all of these children in daycare and in school who didn't know where their parents were. They were waiting
for their guardians. There were videos of these children crying, begging cameras, telling them my dad is not a criminal.
There was a little girl out here just 12 years old who went up and asked the ICE officers if she could talk to her mother as they were loading her
onto a bus in this parking lot here. He took her over there. She cried, she talked to her mother. I spoke with her mother about an hour ago at
their home. They've been reunited. Her mother was let go in the middle of the night. They put her on a bus to a different city. Dropped her off at
a different plant location, where one of the raids had taken place and she had to call a family friend to come get her.
Again, we're hearing about most of these reunions happening with the exception of ICE officers, essentially saying if they have some other
criminal activity in their background or, of course, if they have final deportation orders. But this has been a harrowing experience for the
people who live around here. It is legitimately a record-breaking rate in this country right now, Hala.
And a lot of the people here just don't really know how to come to terms with what's going on. They still have a lot of questions. They're
standing out here right now. I'm watching family members as they wait, hoping that more buses show up. And every time a rumor comes around that
maybe another bus will come, you see the cars show up. You see these pained, exhausted faces come and get out of their vehicles. They were
waiting overnight because there was a rumor that another one would come at 5:00 in the morning.
[14:35:11] And I will tell you, no bus has come today. It is people waiting with empty hope. And you can tell they're starting to lose it.
And I apologize. I'm going to put a rain coat on. Obviously, it's changed a little bit here, the weather.
GORANI: The kids, by and large, I presume many of them are U.S. citizens, right? Those who are being --
GALLAGHER: Yes.
GORANI: -- separated from their parents, if their parents are taken away as a result of these raids.
GALLAGHER: Yes.
GORANI: Who takes care of them when the parents are away?
GALLAGHER: Well, it depends. And, you know, unfortunately, Hala, we've seen a lot of this here in the U.S. over the past year or so right now.
But in this case here in Morton, what happened was family members who either have-- who have work permits, who have permit at residency, family
members who are U.S. citizens, friends, and neighbors work together.
And in the case of what happened just up the road in Forest, Mississippi, a perfect stranger opened that gym up and said, look, bring the children
here. It's a central location. If you have a child that is lost. A child that walked home and came home to an empty house and didn't know what was
going on, bring them here. They went and people donated pizza and drinks and they tried to help them and entertain those children in that moment of
despair for them until they could find a proper guardian, until could they could find a proper relative to take care of them.
There were some people who talked to me about the fact that even here, there were people who had come here. They were dropping their children off
with like a loved one who would take them somewhere else. So their kids witnessed that much like that 12-year-old girl. Their parents being pushed
onto those buses. That's a different level of emotional trauma for those children.
But for the most part, the community came and took care of these children rather than them ending up in some sort of state custody or anything like
that.
GORANI: All right. Dianne Gallagher in Mississippi, thanks very much.
I want to bring you a story now that really highlights the harsh reality of some of these deportations. A man who spent most of his life in the U.S.
died this week after he was deported to Iraq in June.
Jimmy Aldaoud family believes he died because he couldn't obtain insulin to treat his diabetes. They say he was living on the streets of Baghdad.
Aldaoud was deported to Iraq as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
But here's the thing. He had never been to Iraq. He wasn't even born there. Reports say he was an Iraqi national who was born in Greece. But
he'd spent the vast majority of his life in the United States living in Detroit.
I want to show you this video now of Jimmy Aldaoud apparently speaking before his death from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY ALDAOUD, DIES IN IRAQ AFTER DEPORTATION TO IRAQ: They wouldn't even call my family, nothing. They just said, "You go to Iran." Saying your
best bet is to cooperate with us. That way, we're not going to chain you up or we'll put you on a commercial flight. I begged them. I said,
"Please. I've never seen that country. I've never been there."
However, they forced me. I'm here now, and I don't understand the language, anything. I've been sleeping in the street. I'm diabetic. I
take insulin shots. I've been throwing up, throwing up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, we're not sure when that video was filmed. It was shared on Facebook by Jimmy's immigration attorney, Edward Bajoka, and he joins me
now from Detroit. So when did you get the confirmation that jimmy Aldaoud had passed away?
EDWARD BAJOKA, JIMMY ALDAOUD'S IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: That was on Tuesday, two days ago.
GORANI: How did it -- how was he deported? What exactly happened to him that led to him being sent back to Iraq, a country he'd never been to?
BAJOKA: So Mr. Aldaoud, as you stated, was not born in Iraq, he was born in Greece. Greece, unlike the United States, does not confer birthright
citizenship on individuals who are born there. So he retained the citizenship of his father who was an Iraqi refugee. He later arrived with
his family as a refugee in the United States and lived here his entire life.
He had a couple of criminal convictions that led to him being placed into removal proceedings. His criminal history includes a home invasion for
having broken into his neighbor's house and stolen some tools out of his neighbor's garage. And disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.
Things that I would consider relatively minor.
Jimmy was a paranoid schizophrenic. He was bipolar. He suffered from severe anxiety and severe depression. And I believe that his criminal
history was all related to his mental health. The two oftentimes unfortunately go hand in hand.
GORANI: And that's why he ended up on the deportation list, right? Because Iraq started readmitting deportees a few years ago as part of a
deal with the Trump administration so they wouldn't be on the list of countries banned from entering the United States. And as a result, because
he had a criminal record, he was put on that list and then arrested and ultimately deported. That's what happened to him?
[14:40:07] BAJOKA: That's absolutely correct. And he was actually held from June 2017 until December 2018. He was released and only about five
months after that, six months after that was he picked up again by ICE, and physically, and forcefully, and against his will, deported to a country he
had never been.
GORANI: Did he have any options at that point? Did they give him any options?
BAJOKA: He was not given any options. He was basically told in a very threatening manner that you've got to come with us. And if you don't,
there is going to be consequences. And so he went along with them. They didn't just send him to Baghdad or to Erbil or to an area of Iraq where he
may have had a chance at being safe. They sent him to a town in the south of Iraq called Najaf.
And Mr. Aldaoud being a Chaldean Christian, already a member of a vulnerable ethnic minority in that country, was sent to a city where there
are absolutely no Chaldean Catholics, there's no presence there for anyone in that community. And it's arguably the most dangerous place that they
could have possibly sent him. They dropped him there --
GORANI: So I did -- yes, I did not know he was sent to Najaf. I presumed he'd been sent back to Baghdad. Was he in Najaf, in Southern Iraq, when he
died?
BAJOKA: So he was sent to Najaf, and the only way that his family found out was that an official at the airport took some pity on him and realized
that this man was in a really horrible situation. That official allowed him to make a call to his sister in the United States. His sister then
contacted me, and I contacted the ACLU. And the Heartland Alliance was also involved in getting him some on-the-ground resources to get him out of
Najaf and into Baghdad where he was still facing tremendous safety risk, but at least, he had a little -- there was a little more safety where he
was at, although not much more.
And so he got to Baghdad and he was simply unable to obtain the medication that he needed for his diabetes. He's a type one diabetic. And as
everyone knows, they need regular treatments, and they need insulin and he was unable to obtain that.
In fact, he told his sister he was even afraid to go to the hospital because he wasn't sure what would happen to him, given the fact that he was
clearly American and didn't speak any Arabic. And he had no one to go with him or help him. No contacts at all in that country.
GORANI: Edward Bajoka, the immigration attorney for Jimmy Aldaoud, who is that the Iraqi national who spent his entire life in the U.S., deported.
His family reporting that he died over there as a result of lack of medication. Thanks for joining us on CNN. We appreciate your time.
BAJOKA: Thank you for having me. Thank you.
GORANI: A prominent U.S. television host is taking some time off after facing a backlash over inflammatory remarks. Fox News' Tucker Carlson says
he'll head to the wilderness to fish with his son. This after he ignited a storm of controversy Tuesday. He said on his show that the problem of
white supremacy was, in fact, a hoax. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: The whole thing is a lie. If you were to assemble a list, a hierarchy of concerns, of problems this country faces,
where would white supremacy be on the list? Right up there with Russia, probably. It's actually not a real problem in America. The combined
membership of every white supremacist organization in this country would be able to fit inside a college football stadium?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, a Fox spokesman says Carlson's vacation was already in the works that it had nothing to do with this controversy. But there's a long
history of Fox News hosts abruptly taking time off after making controversial comments.
Carlson expresses his own conservative views on air as a Fox News host, and that's unlike the reporters on the ground, who keep their personal views to
themselves. I worked alongside many of them when I used to report overseas, especially in the Middle East.
Let's talk about the distinction and the culture at the network with a former Fox News reporter, Carl Cameron, is now the chief political
correspondent for Front Page Live, a progressive website.
But, Carl, you were 20 years a political correspondent at Fox News. And when you heard what Tucker Carlson said about white supremacy, what did you
think? What went through your mind?
CARL CAMERON, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, FRONT PAGE LIVE: Well, it's just not accurate. And he has not apologized for it, as far as I know.
But the idea that white supremacy doesn't exist or can be -- or the idea that there's something OK with a football field or a soccer stadium full of
white supremacists is also wrong. It's just -- it's not journalism. It is opinion making. It is entertainment.
[14:45:13] And unfortunately, it's an entertainment that can catch with a very sort of viralized American. It's horrible and it's not right and it's
good that he's on a vacation, whether it was intended or not.
GORANI: But it's entertainment but it's presented as news, and many people listening to these commentators in primetime take this as fact, right? You
make a distinction between the reporters and these commentators on Fox News. You yourself left. At some point, there was a breaking point for
you. Why did you leave Fox News?
CAMERON: I was the chief political correspondent and first chief White House correspondent for Fox News Channel. And for the time that I worked
there and my work, I was reporting facts. And made it very clear that there was not going to be a bias or an objectivity, and that is what most
of the news department actually does.
But the reality of cable television, across the country, and across the planet, is that these are, in most cases, profit-making business
organizations. And what Fox News Channel has done, over the years, is essentially shrink down the amount of news content and increased
dramatically the opinion. And sort of -- they're affectionately known as pundits which, -- it gives you the impression that there should be some
degree of expertise on issues. But the fact of the matter is pundit is an old Sanskrit word. I mean, it stands for learn in Hindu or learned scholar
and --
GORANI: But, Carl, can I jump in? This isn't new. There were some pretty -- there were some pretty controversial, as a charitable word here, views
expressed by these pundits, when you were chief correspondent -- chief political correspondent, the birther stuff. I mean, the morning show, in
particular, pushing some really dubious claims regarding Clinton, Hillary Clinton during the campaign.
Why was 2017 for you such a breaking point when this had been happening for years before?
CAMERON: Well, the election of Donald Trump and the interference from a foreign adversary and the presidency of Donald Trump was the end of my
career at Fox News Channel. And for all intents and purposes, being a political journalist on the road, I had spent effectively two and a half or
three years out of every four-year presidential cycle on the road chasing presidential candidates.
And I stand by my work and the news department. But the entertainment side of it, frankly, wasn't something that I had a heck of a lot of time or
interest in watching. And it changed dramatically in 2016.
GORANI: Yes. And would you say that management at Fox News promoted, pushed this, encourages this type of controversial rhetoric in their
primetime hours?
CAMERON: I would say that it's self-evident that Fox News Channel is a business that is promoting conservative ambition, conservative hopes and
some of them are exceedingly negative. And that has been a successful way of building their ratings and subsequently their revenue.
And the executives are obviously interested in both. There's a small number of journalists who do actually report straight news as you
acknowledged, but it is vastly outnumbered by entertainment, because that gets more eyeballs.
And the fact of the matter is, being entertained is not necessarily being informed, and that's a serious problem in journalism around the world, but
particularly in American cable.
GORANI: Thanks so much, Carl Cameron for joining us. We really appreciate your time on CNN.
CAMERON: Thank you.
GORANI: We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:56] GORANI: It was once both unknown and untested living his life in the shadows as a KGB spy. Now Vladimir Putin is one of the most
recognized leaders in the world. This week, marks 20 years -- 20 years since he first stepped on to the world stage.
CNN's Nathan Hodge looks back now at the Russian president's two decades in power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATHAN HODGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the question on everyone's mind at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2000.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is Mr. Putin?
HODGE: At the time, the world knew little about Vladimir Putin, the man who had unexpectedly become president on New Year's Eve 1999. Putin had
already drawn international attention, as former president Boris Yeltsin's prime Minister, with his tough talk on fighting domestic terrorists.
But little was known about the man or his closely guarded personal life. Putin, a Leningrad native, entered politics after a career in the KGB, the
feared Soviet secret police. He worked as a spy in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin wall.
His first appearances on the international stage were not polished. In an early interview with CNN's Larry King, the new president almost seemed to
smirk when asked about the tragic sinking of the Kursk, a Russian military submarine.
LARRY KING, AMERICAN TELEVISION HOST: You tell me what happened with the submarine?
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: I don't know. It sunk.
HODGE: The Kremlin PR machine, however, was intent on remaking him, state television portrayed him as a powerful leader, showing him in tightly
scripted appearances as Russia's commander-in-chief.
And there's a figure on the world's stage. Putin's image was carefully molded to portray him as the leader of resurgent country that it risen from
its knees after the humiliating collapse of the Soviet Union, and its loss of a superpower status. And Putin's public image had no room for
vulnerability, the Kremlin leader is portrayed in a range of guises, as a man's man, as a defender of animals, and above all, as an almost
sentimental patriot.
He's tough authoritarian image was even envied by other aspiring leaders. In 2013, Donald Trump wondered if Putin would become his, quote "best
friend."
To many Russians, Putin has become the embodiment of Russia's national prestige, but the question remains, what comes after him, after two decades
in power?
As thousands took to the street in Moscow in late July to call for free and fair elections, Putin was heading to the bottom of the sea in a
submersible. That, for some critics, was a symbol of a powerful leader out of touch with his people.
Nathan Hodge, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: When we return, the anniversary of one of the most famous album photo covers of all time. London celebrates the Beatles crossing abbey
road 50 years ago today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:47] GORANI: Well, today is the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic photos of all time. One of the best known album covers as well of
all time. You see it behind me. The Beatles crossing the road at Abbey Road in front of their studios.
Simon Cullen reported from where hundreds of people gathered at that famous crosswalk to mark the anniversary and re-create history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON CULLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This used to be a quiet suburban crosswalk in north London. Now, it's a heaving shrine
to the Beatles. Never more so than on the 50th anniversary of the band's Abbey Road photo shoot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me really happy to know that there are so many young people here and that they're still just as loved as they were 50
years on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an icon, isn't it? An icon of the cover.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not a lot of people remember the music and sing along to the music.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peace and love.
CULLEN: The album's cover has been copied by prime ministers, Beatles look-a likes, Olympic torch bearers, even Sir Paul McCartney himself
returned here last year. This time wearing sandals. No longer the bare- footed rocker in his 20s.
(SINGING)
BRUCE SPIZER, BEATLES EXPERT: Now, it's one of the most iconic covers. I think the thing people love about it is it's the simple thing that anybody
can do. We all cross the street. The Beatles are human just like us. They cross streets.
CULLEN (on-camera): The original photo shoot lasted about 15 minutes with the help of a local policeman to stop the traffic. These days fans spent
much longer here. It's a pilgrimage, part of the band's enduring legacy.
CULLEN (voice-over): And it's not just on anniversaries. It's year round. Tourists posing for photos with a little help from their friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day, six times a day.
CULLEN: But today, it's about celebration. Remembering an iconic record cover and band who continue to unite fans from all over the world.
Simon Cullen, CNN, Abbey Road, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: So this is actually on my way home. I avoid it, by the way, because it sometimes can take forever to get through that zebra crossing
because there are so many people taking pictures. If you visit London, let me recommend that you come in the off-season. Go early in the morning and
then get your picture. It is a little bit cliche, but it is really cool to have. And I did it myself. And I was glad I did.
Thanks for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. Do stay with CNN. There is a lot more coming ahead with all the day's business news. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS"
is coming up next. I'll see you next time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
