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Trump: We Need "Meaningful Background Checks"; White House Wants More Immigration Raids; Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Activists Hold Sit-in at Airport; Gun Massacres Have America on Edge; Democrats Try to Win Supporters at Iowa State Fair; Trump Administration Reverses Environmental Policy. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 10, 2019 - 03:00   ET

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

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CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): President Trump says the U.S. needs meaningful gun background checks. Many wonder if he will actually do anything differently now.

Plus, fear in America. We will look at a nation on edge after two more mass shootings.

And, later a three-day sit-in at the Hong Kong airport as protesters spend another weekend voicing their demand for change.

We are live in the CNN Center here in Atlanta. I'm Cyril Vanier. It is great to have you with us.

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VANIER: In the aftermath of several recent mass shootings, one in Texas, another in Ohio and one in California days before that, the U.S. president is offering vague assurances that something will be done to improve background checks on gun purchases.

President Trump has said similar things before after other mass shootings but little has happened. CNN's Pamela Brown has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to take the guns out of the hands of crazy, demented, sick people.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump claiming he will do something on gun control.

TRUMP: I think we could get something really good done. I think we can have some really meaningful background checks.

BROWN: But it is not clear what.

TRUMP: I think that the Republicans are going to be great and lead the charge, along with the Democrats. I spoke yesterday to Nancy Pelosi. We had a great talk. I spoke to Chuck Schumer. We had a great talk.

BROWN: The president says he has a commitment to take up background checks from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been under pressure from Democrats to bring the Senate back from its five-week recess and even facing protesters at his Kentucky home.

TRUMP: He's totally on board.

BROWN: But McConnell's spokesman today saying the senator leader hasn't endorsed anything, adding the Senate won't come back early and saying McConnell has only promised to let the Senate discuss background check and red flag warning legislation when it returns.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Those are two items that for sure will be front and center as we see what we can come together on and pass.

BROWN: The president also talking with the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre, tweeting today that: "Their very strong views can be fully represented and respected."

TRUMP: I have a great relationship with the NRA. They're really good people. They're great patriots. They love our country. They love our country so much. And, frankly, I really think they're going to get there also.

BROWN: In a statement, LaPierre warning lawmakers: "The NRA opposes any legislation that unfairly infringes upon the rights of law-abiding citizens."

And while some analysts believe a bruising leadership battle inside of the NRA weakened its influence in Washington, Trump says he will take their calls and wants their support in 2020.

TRUMP: I think in the end Wayne and the NRA will either be there or maybe will be a little bit more neutral. And that would be OK, too. BROWN: After LaPierre warned Trump earlier this week his base

wouldn't like background checks, the president today said this about his supporters:

TRUMP: I think my base relies very much on common sense and they rely on me in terms of telling them what is happening.

BROWN: The president was asked how his pledges this time around are any different from after the Parkland shooting, when he made promises and did not follow through. Well, the president said he never said then what he is saying now.

But after the Parkland shooting, he did support expanding background checks, only to back down under pressure from the NRA -- Pamela Brown, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VANIER: The alleged gunman in last weekend's murderous rampage in El Paso, Texas, apparently told police he was targeting "Mexicans." That and other new details are contained in the arrest affidavit, the sworn document by police about the facts of the case. It states the 21- year-old suspect told police, quote, "I'm the shooter."

The affidavit also reveals why he drove 11 hours from his home near Dallas to carry out the attack. It says that he told police he thought his family and friends wouldn't know that he was responsible if he did it far from his home.

Twenty-two people died in the carnage, including eight Mexican nationals, 24 others were hurt. The widow of one victim whose funeral was in Mexico on Friday had a message for the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSA MARIA VALDES, WIDOW (through translator): I would ask Mr. Trump to not laugh again when someone says to kill us. He laughed, together with everyone else, and that's not right. We aren't animals to be hunted in the street, as if we were animals.

So what can we expect?

What respect do we have?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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VANIER: Daniel Strauss joins me. He is a reporter --

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VANIER: -- at "Politico."

Daniel, Donald Trump says he wants background checks. But listen to Donald Trump in February of 2018 in the wake of the Parkland shooting and listen to him now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to be very strong on background checks. We will be doing very strong background checks.

We want to be very powerful, very strong on background checks.

We certainly have to strengthen background checks. Everybody agrees with that.

We're not talking about anything specific. I can tell you, there's tremendous goodwill for meaningful -- I'm talking about meaningful -- add that word -- meaningful background checks so that sick and demented people don't carry around guns.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VANIER: Except that it doesn't sound very meaningful coming from this president because he has promised it before and he hasn't delivered.

So is there any reason to believe that he'll make good on his promise this time?

DANIEL STRAUSS, "POLITICO": There is -- look, there is a lot more enthusiasm across the political spectrum on Capitol Hill right now for some kind of movement, some kind of response to the most recent shootings than there were six or eight months ago.

But President Trump himself as well has been -- has shifted around on this. Moments in the past, he's said, yes, I'm for background checks. And then he's gotten pressure from the NRA and other voices on Capitol Hill, who are opposed to new gun laws and he has sort of pulled back a little here.

So it's hard to tell. We're going have to really wait and see how much this latest push sticks and what about -- what lawmakers in the Republican leadership are saying in the coming days. We're seeing --

VANIER: But what has changed?

What gives you reason to believe that what lawmakers didn't do before they would do now?

STRAUSS: Well, there is an actual discussion going on about doing something on both sides among Republicans and Democrats, where in the past, the past few months, there has sort of been a one-sided debate between Democrats saying we need background checks. We need something. And Republicans kind of not really giving an alternative in sort of legislative form.

Now they're saying they support red flag laws. So there's an interest at least among Republicans and Democrats to do something and maybe Trump will finally be able to say look, background checks are the way to go. Republicans, members of my party, you guys want to do something, this is the most feasible thing.

VANIER: And the last time Donald Trump said he wanted background checks -- shortly after he said that very publicly and he had his cameras film with the meeting with both sides of the aisle and then the NRA got in his ear. And then his tune changed.

Is that something that might happen again?

STRAUSS: I mean, look, the president himself is saying right now that he wants the NRA at the table. He wants to listen to them. He wants their voice in this conversation. At the same time, though, the NRA itself has been undergoing a great deal of changes and has, it seems, lost some of its power.

VANIER: Are they as powerful as they used to be?

STRAUSS: Well, it's changing. It's starting to look like they may be losing some of their power on Capitol Hill as more of these shootings happen.

There is less sway they seem to have. So this particular episode might be the big test and the big indicator they're -- the NRA does not have as much sway among lawmakers as they used to.

VANIER: Also, you say the winds might be shifting in Congress. And Mitch McConnell, the Senate leader, did say, well, we're going have a debate. We're going to have a debate next month.

So he's not bringing people out of recess. He's not bringing people back to talk about this, much less vote on it now. He just says we will talk about it in a month's time or so.

STRAUSS: That's why skeptics of immediate gun legislation are given pause here, because we've heard this before. We've heard promises -- two weeks, maybe a month, maybe two -- and this will happen.

And it's just discussion. It's not the immediate response that proponents of new gun laws would like to see, which is calling Congress back right now and putting some kind of bill on the floor immediately.

That's what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats want to do. They want to see a Senate vote on the bill that their chamber passed. But the fact that that hasn't happened or doesn't seem to be happening in the coming days suggests that maybe we won't see any new gun legislation any time soon.

VANIER: All right, Daniel Strauss coming to us from "Politico," pleasure speaking to you. Thank you.

STRAUSS: Thanks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: A senior immigration official tells CNN the White House wants more workplace raids like the ones this week in Mississippi that detained 680 workers suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

The source says immigration field offices have been told to identify at least two locations in their regions to conduct possible raids. President Trump said he was very pleased with the Mississippi operation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want people to know that if they come into the United States --

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TRUMP: -- illegally, they're getting out. They're going to be brought out. And this serves as a very good deterrent. When people see what they saw yesterday and like they will see for a long time, they know that they're not staying here.

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VANIER: For the people caught up in the sweep, however, it was a traumatic experience, especially for the children, who didn't understand why one or both parents were suddenly gone.

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MARLENY LOPEZ, 14, DETAINEE'S DAUGHTER: They don't have their parents at all. They're upset, they're scared. They're like little kids. They're like elementary. Like I'm in high school maybe I can understand a little bit more but elementary kids they are like they don't know anything.

RANDY GARCIA, 12, DETAINEE'S SON: He said to my mom, take care of the kids because the immigration has now captured me. I started praying to God to let them go. I hope you come back. That God protects you.

LOPEZ: She didn't do nothing wrong. She isn't a criminal. Hispanic people, they don't come here to hurt or injure anybody. They come here to make a better future for their kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: At last reports, of the 680 people detained in Wednesday's raids, more than half remain in custody.

To the Korean Peninsula now where Seoul says Pyongyang fired another round of projectiles into the sea earlier on Saturday. A U.S. official says they were short-range ballistic missiles, similar to other recent launches by North Korea. For more on, this I am joined by CNN's Ivan Watson. He is reporting on Hong Kong -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Cyril, the two missiles were launched around dawn this morning from North Korea, splashing into the sea, identified as short-range ballistic missiles.

What is striking here is that this is the fifth time that North Korea has fired salvos of these short-range ballistic missiles in about 2.5 weeks.

If you look at the timeline, it is quite busy; not only this morning but also earlier in the morning on August 6th, on August 2nd, on July 31st, on July 25th. Now years ago, before they engaged in face to face diplomacy, President Trump used to deride the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, calling him Little Rocket Man.

But hours before this most recent launch took place on Saturday morning, President Trump was instead celebrating the fact that he received another, as he put it, "very beautiful letter" from Kim Jong- un. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He really wrote a beautiful three-page -- right from top to bottom, in a really beautiful letter. He gave me a great letter. I would love to give it to you but I don't think it would be appropriate. But it was a very personal letter. It was a great letter. He talked about what he's doing. He's not happy with the testing. It's a very small testing that he did. But he wasn't happy with the testing. He put that in the letter.

But he also sees a great future for North Korea. And so we'll see how it all works out.

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WATSON: Now apparently, when President Trump was saying testing, he is referring to what are believed to be another series of joint U.S.- South Korean military drills that typically take place this time of year.

And after the short-range ballistic missile launches a few days ago on August 6th, the North Koreans put out a very strongly worded statement from the foreign ministry, denouncing the military exercises, saying they were in violation of the spirit of diplomacy that President Trump and Kim Jong-un have engaged in and saying that they want to put a stop to this and justifying the missile launches as a response to the joint military exercises.

The Trump administration has been downplaying the missile launches. President Trump has been on record himself saying they don't really bother him but they certainly alarm South Korea, which typically scrambles these kinds of nationalistic Security Council meetings in response to them, saying that they are not helping any effort at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and moving forward with diplomacy.

President Trump is not bothered by them but it is clear that each missile launch that North Korea carries out is within range to be able to hit the South Korean capital. So they are of concern to the South Korean allies of the U.S. -- Cyril.

VANIER: Ivan Watson reporting live from Hong Kong. Thank you very much.

Frustration is simmering in Hong Kong and, despite growing threats from China, the protesters are not going anywhere. We are live from Hong Kong International Airport next.

Plus, the streets of eastern China turn to rivers as a deadly typhoon makes landfall. We will have the latest on the death toll when we come back.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) VANIER: The political upheaval in Hong Kong is stretching into its

10th straight weekend. Hundreds of people are occupying Hong Kong International Airport on the second day of a three-day sit-in. It has been a peaceful, if crowded demonstration.

Protesters are determined to let travelers know about their grievances with the city's pro-Beijing government. Ben Wedeman is at Hong Kong International Airport.

Ben, what is it looking like?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cyril, what we are seeing is a fairly impressive turnout for the second day of sit-in at Hong Kong International Airport, the eighth biggest in the world. About three hours ago there may have been 150 people here and now almost the entire arrivals hall is full of people and they seem to keep on coming.

So definitely this does appear to be, for the second day in a row, the largest protest event here in Hong Kong.

Now there is an added complication to this. The Chinese civil aviation authority has informed Cathay Pacific, the official flag carrier airline for Hong Kong, that, from now on, no crew members flying to Mainland China who have participated --

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WEDEMAN: -- or supported the pro-democracy protests will be able to fly to Mainland China and that, as of midnight tonight, Cathay Pacific must submit the names of all crew members that it intends to put on flights to Mainland China. They have to be approved before the flight is given clearance to fly to Mainland China.

So this is really a shot across the bow for the corporate giants here in Hong Kong. But that does not seem to have impacted the determination of people here to carry on with these protests, now in their 10th consecutive weekend -- Cyril.

VANIER: And Ben, one notable thing is, since they started the sit-in at the airport, this has been entirely peaceful, which was not a given, based on some of the scenes that we saw in previous weeks of protesting. There were serious clashes with police.

WEDEMAN: Yes, actually, let me show you what they are doing here, is that people are coming out, the travelers are not being harassed in any way. What they are doing is they are handing out pamphlets like this.

Dear travelers, there is an apology for the disturbance but there is an explanation in here for why they are carrying out these protests. And so the intention is not to disrupt operations here. I think the protesters are very aware that, if there were any sort of disruption to the activities of the airport, that the authorities would respond in a somewhat different manner. But as long as it is peaceful and does not interfere with the

operations, it carries on like this. Now we did see on Monday, this past Monday, there was a general strike where more than 2,000 ground personnel did not show up for work, where more than 100 incoming and outgoing flights were canceled. That was a different sort of thing.

But this is clearly an attempt to send a message to people coming into Hong Kong, who may have seen the many travel advisories put out by countries like the U.S. and the U.K., they stress that there is no danger to people coming here and they are more than welcome.

I was looking at a pamphlet yesterday that was being handed out to tourists, saying, do not be afraid. But if you go near any of these protests, you should leave as soon as the police show up, because they are likely to fire tear gas -- Cyril.

VANIER: Ben Wedeman, reporting from Hong Kong International Airport. Thank you very much.

We stay in Asia. In China now, the powerful typhoon Lekima has claimed at least 13 lives after it made landfall on the eastern coast. Another 16 people are said to be missing.

The storm battered the region with winds of 110 miles or 175 kilometers per hour when it hit. That is equivalent to a category 2 hurricane. The downpour also flooded the streets of some coastal areas.

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VANIER: America on edge: after back-to-back mass shootings in the, U.S. the fear now being felt across the country, we will talk about that when we come back, plus why America's Environmental Protection Agency reversed course and approved of the building of a mine in a protected Alaska salmon habitat. Exclusive details on that coming up.

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Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. Here are your headlines this hour.

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VANIER: And since last weekend's mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, America has been on edge. We were telling you before the break, across the country there is anxiety, the prospect of another rampage. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in El Paso with more on the fear and fallout of the shootings that killed at least 31 people. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Not in my hometown." The accused racist terrorist in El Paso is telling investigators he chose the border city instead of Allen, Texas, where he's from, some 10 hours away, because he believed if he pulled off his deadly attack in another city, his family and friends wouldn't know it was him.

Three sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN Patrick Crusius expressed shame at the idea of doing it near his home.

Throughout the country, the El Paso gunman's actions has already put people on edge. This 20-year old is now facing a terror threat charge, striking fear inside a Springfield, Missouri, Walmart after walking through the store dressed like this.

LT. MIKE LUCAS, SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT: There were people hiding outside behind the barriers and businesses sand it was pretty chaotic.

LAVANDERA: It's the latest example of angst and anxiety across America, from Times Square in New York, where a motorcycle backfiring sent people running, to a mall in Utah where a sign crashing to the ground had shoppers scrambling to safety.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't know what was going on until somebody went in to tell us we feed to leave the place. So we just jump basically ran.

LAVANDERA: A Costco in California was evacuated after reports of a possible gunman inside. All of these incidents and others like it just this week.

And while protesters plead with Washington to act...

-- Walmart today took the first actions since the shootings, deciding to stop playing violent movies in their TV sections and eliminating displays of violent video games but still planning to sell the games as well as guns.

Back here in El Paso, we have tamed the arrest warrant affidavit of the 21-year-old suspect here in the El Paso shooting.

According to court documents, the gunman has confessed to police of walking into this Walmart with an AK-47, shooting multiple people and specifically wanting to target, quote, "Mexicans" and that he was arrested just a few blocks away from the shooting scene when he was approached by officers.

He stepped from his car, put his hands up in the air and said, "I am the shooter."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VANIER: Brian Claypool joins us. He is an attorney and a survivor of the Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 58 people. That was slightly under two years ago.

Brian, what has this whole week been like for you, looking at events unfold since the shooting?

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, ATTORNEY: Cyril, great to see you again. I have been beyond angry, obviously emotional for all the victims. My heart goes out to them. I'm still struggling with PTSD, having been a victim of the Las Vegas shooting.

When I was in that shooting, I wasn't hit by a bullet but I heard the bullets hitting around me. I saw people shot down and some were killed. And part of my soul was lost in that shooting.

So whenever another mass shooting happens -- and here we had two, three, in one week in the United States -- it actually retraumatizes those who have been victims of mass shootings. So I went from deep trauma, reliving the Vegas shooting to anger.

So I'm actually outraged at this point and embarrassed by our pathetic leadership in Washington, D.C., our leadership that fails to make necessary changes to safeguard people in our country.

So there has to be something done to stop this from happening. And it's got to be, in my opinion, an assault weapon ban. I know we're talking a lot about this background.

(CROSSTALK)

VANIER: So Brian, let me jump in for a second. The president has raised the possibility of some forms of gun control.

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VANIER: He says in particular that he wants background checks. Now that is something, as you know, that he has said before, after the Parkland shooting, and it didn't happen. How did you feel about the fact that it's being mentioned now?

CLAYPOOL: Yes, exactly. Talk is cheap. That's my response to President Trump. We heard this before after the Parkland shooting and nothing happened. And we then had the House of Representatives in the United States pass a bill in February of this year that would have enacted this background check.

And what happens?

We have a dictatorship in Washington, D.C. The head of the Senate and President Trump decide that they're not going to even let this bill be voted on in the Senate.

VANIER: Ahead of the Senate, so Mitch McConnell said he is going to have a debate about this, that, when Congress convenes again, when the Senate convenes again, they're going to have a debate and they're definitely consider background checks and red flag laws.

CLAYPOOL: But why is it taking so long, Cyril?

Didn't we hear this before?

I'm not convinced anything will be done until it's actually enacted and there is actually a vote on it. This, again, is, in my opinion, just a bunch of verbiage. And it's inaction. It's not real until people see it.

And what's it going to take, Cyril, another mass shooting before we actually see something happen?

How many mass shootings have there been since the Senate and Mitch McConnell said that they would do this?

But what angers me, Cyril, as of a couple of months ago, President Trump and Mitch McConnell said they don't support this.

So all of a sudden now OK, we do support it?

To me, this is just a bunch of window dressing to try to placate corporate conglomerates, the NRA, powerful lobbyists. I think this is a lot of talk to make sure that the people that are sending money to these campaigns are happy.

VANIER: Are you talking about the NRA here?

I know you have written about the role of the NRA and you feel that their influence on politicians is a big reason that gun control laws haven't been passed, at least at a federal level.

CLAYPOOL: Are you kidding me?

The NRA is governing the United States when it comes to gun control laws.

VANIER: They've had a good deal of internal trouble.

So my question to you would be, do you think they're as powerful now as they were a few months ago?

And if not, do you think that opens a window perhaps for some political movement on this?

CLAYPOOL: No, I don't buy it at all. The fact that our president is more concerned about calling ahead of the NRA than reaching out to people that have been impacted by these shootings, that speaks volumes.

I still believe that the NRA, they, along with some other corporate conglomerates, are controlling our government at this point.

Cyril, we don't really live in a democracy in the United States. The last few years have been more of a dictatorship and a tyranny governed by a powerful lobby and groups like the NRA and other corporate conglomerates. That's really the truth here in the United States.

VANIER: You feel like this on the gun issue specifically?

CLAYPOOL: Yes, the gun issues specifically and also other -- there are other issues in the country as well, where corporate conglomerates are padding the pocketbooks of Republican leadership.

I mean, one issue I would like to see changed as well, Cyril, that I think would maybe help with some of these problems like gun control and other issues in the U.S., is campaign finance reform, where we limit or eliminate powerful lobbying groups and big corporations from donating to candidates.

Let's get a constitutional amendment or a new law that greatly limits that so that the policies that are interacted are really on behalf of the people as opposed to just a few.

VANIER: Brian Claypool, as I said in the introduction, you've been at one of these massacres. You're a survivor of one of these. You've seen the shots fired. You feared for your life. It's important for us to get your voice on this. So thank you for coming on.

CLAYPOOL: Thanks for having me, Cyril.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: A major stop on the way to the White House, the Iowa State Fair. Democratic presidential candidates are there this weekend trying to stand out to voters and this is what it sometimes looks like. We have more on that next.

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VANIER: Especially in the aftermath of the recent mass shootings in the U.S., a growing number of Democrats running for president accused Donald Trump of being a white supremacist. And they claimed that he uses hateful rhetoric as a political strategy. The president says that is not true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Does Democrats calling you and your supporters a white nationalists, a white supremacist, help you?

TRUMP: I don't think it helps. First of all, I don't like it when they do it because I am not any of those things. And I think it's a disgrace and I think it shows how desperate the Democrats are.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VANIER: But during his rallies, Mr. Trump continuously touts building walls, he rails against immigrants and he has recently told for Democratic members of Congress of color that they should go back where they came from. Democratic presidential hopefuls are campaigning this weekend in Iowa.

And with more than 20 candidates, it is more important than ever for them to stand out from the pack. Jeff Zeleny travels to a key campaign stop to ask voters which candidates have what it takes to lead the U.S.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Iowa State Fair, a mandatory stop on the road to the White House.

BIDEN: What do you like best?

ZELENY (voice-over): A parade of Democratic candidates, pressing the flesh and pounding the pavement.

Every four years presidential hopefuls become one of the attractions, although none likely as popular as the Butter Cow, a staple here since 1911. Six months before the Iowa caucuses, voters like Claudia Roven are sizing up the crowded field.

ZELENY: You've been watching this Democratic race.

What are the qualities though you're looking for?

CLAUDIA ROVEN, FAIR ATTENDEE: They've got to be tough. They have to be not wimpy.

ZELENY (voice-over): Roven said she has never been politically active until President Trump took office. Now she is searching for someone who stands the best chance of defeating him.

ROVEN: Kamala Harris, she looks tough. She looks like she could take him on. I like Elizabeth Warren. I like them all.

ZELENY: Have you become more politically active in the last four years?

ROVEN: I am so woke, I can't believe it.

ZELENY (voice-over): She likes Joe Biden but worries that he is too nice to take on Trump.

Not Maureen Murphy, who says Biden is the best candidate for the job.

MAUREEN MURPHY, FAIR ATTENDEE: People are saying Joe's getting a little old. No.

[03:45:00]

MURPHY: Joe is one of the wisest, smartest men and I would put all my trust in him -- and I do.

ZELENY (voice-over): At the Iowa Democratic Party booth, all candidates get equal billing. But Biden is at the center of the conversation.

ZELENY: So you're not sure that he is the front-runner?

JON NEIDERBACH, DEMOCRATIC PARTY BOOTH: Well, he is the front-runner right now. But I remember the time Howard Dean was the front-runner. He obviously didn't win the caucus. It's a long way to go yet.

ZELENY (voice-over): We learn a lot about our politicians at the fair, how they handle the heat...

QUESTION: What do you like about flipping pork chops?

JOHN DELANEY (D-MD), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, it gets me to one step closer to eating a pork chop.

ZELENY (voice-over): -- how they slide...

ZELENY: Governor, do you have to do a slide like that to be president?

GOV. STEVE BULLOCK (D-MT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. It's actually a lot of fun but it's great to have my family here, although my wife got a little bit competitive on that, Jeff.

ZELENY (voice-over): So far, no 2020 candidates have arrived in helicopters, as Donald Trump did four years ago. And there have been few bumper car sightings as Barack Obama did when he ran for president, a moment he later used as a metaphor.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To prepare for this debate, I rode in the bumper cars at the state fair.

ZELENY (voice-over): As the full Democratic field flocks to the fair this weekend, the race is on to make a good impression. Time is running short to make friends or, in this case, supporters at the Iowa caucuses.

ZELENY: And before the weekend is out, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and all of the Democratic field will be coming here to the Iowa State Fair to make their case to Iowa voters less than six months before the Iowa caucuses -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Des Moines.

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VANIER: Authorities in Indian controlled Kashmir relaxed a days-long curfew so that people could attend Friday prayers. Tensions in the region have been high since India moved this week to assert more control over Kashmir. In order to stifle protests over the move, the Indian government has imposed a communications blackout and a military lockdown. One of the world's most pristine salmon habitats, now switching gears,

may now be in danger after the Trump administration reverses environmental policy in Alaska. The exclusive details on that after the break.

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VANIER: Bristol Bay in Alaska is one of the world's great habitats for sockeye salmon. It could be endangered now that the Trump administration has cleared the way for the construction of a new gold mine.

A meeting on the president's plane, Air Force One, set everything in motion. CNN senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin has the exclusive details.

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DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPODENT (voice-over): The meeting took place on the tarmac during of an Air Force One stopover June 26th. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a pro-mining, pro-business, anti-EPA governor met with Donald Trump for nearly a half hour.

GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY (R-AK): I just got off of Air Force One with being with President Trump.

GRIFFIN: Dunleavy has been pushing for approval of a massive gold and copper mine known as the Pebble Mine, planned for Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed, home to the breeding grounds for one of the world's largest and most pristine sockeye salmon fisheries. And after his meeting aboard Air Force One, Dunleavy said this about

the president.

DUNLEAVY: He really believes in the opportunities here in Alaska and he's doing everything he can to work with us on our mining concerns.

GRIFFIN: Inside EPA, sources now tell CNN the very next day, June 27th, top EPA officials in Washington held an internal video conference with Seattle and told the staff the EPA was removing a special protection for Bristol Bay and in essence clearing the way for what could be one of the largest open pit mines in the world.

That internal announcement was a total shock to top EPA scientist, sources told CNN, because their environmental concerns were overruled by Trump political appointees.

Bristol Bay and the tributaries are regarded as one of the most important salmon fisheries, roughly half the world's sockeye salmon come from here. It's been protected since 2014, when after three years of study, the Obama era EPA used a rare provision of the Clean Water Act to basically veto any mining that could pose a threat.

EPA scientists writing a mine would result in complete loss of fish habitat that was irreversible.

CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN (R), FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: It's mindboggling that it's still being considered at all.

GRIFFIN: Christine Todd Whitman is a Republican, a former New Jersey governor and under President George W. Bush ran the EPA. She has joined several other former EPA chiefs to publicly oppose the mine.

WHITMAN: The potential damage is so overwhelming. The opposition to it up there is amazing. Over 80 miles of streams, thousands of acres could be damaged from this project.

GRIFFIN: This is the second time during the Trump administration the political appointees at the EPA have decided to remove special protections for Bristol Bay to pave the way for this huge mine. In 2017, President Trump's first EPA administrator, scandal-plagued Scott Pruitt cancelled the protections after a private meeting with the mine company CEO.

After a CNN report exposed the meeting and lack of scientific debate behind the reversal, Pruitt backed down and put the protections back in place.

Now another private meeting, this time with the president himself, has led to another win for the mine and removal of environmental protections for this pristine watershed.

WHITMAN: One of the most troubling things about the administration on the environmental side is this disregard of science. There -- they're gutting science across the agencies, across the departments, across the government.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Even if scientists at the EPA are advising you, Mr. President, this is very dangerous to the environment, to the fisheries, to the state of Alaska -- if the president decides, that's the decision?

WHITMAN: That's the decision.

GRIFFIN: And the only recourse then is for environmental groups to sue?

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WHITMAN: Environmental groups, Native Alaskans, they'll have a host of lawsuits, I am convinced.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Alaska's governor Mike Dunleavy, elected last fall, is a huge Trump supporter. He's met with President Trump multiple times, sent this letter to the president asking for a long list of EPA reversals, including what he called the clean water 404 veto, a direct reference to Pebble Mine. A member of his staff used to work on the Pebble project in public relations. And at EPA headquarters Andrew Wheeler, the former coal company lobbyist who now runs the agency, has ties to Pebble Mine, too. He has recused himself from decision making on the project because his former law firm represents the mine.

GRIFFIN: In response to this report, the EPA said the Obama-era protections were outdated and this mine would still have to go through approval process. Our sources are telling us, it's really a done deal.

And when we asked the EPA about that internal meeting on June 27th. At first the EPA denied it even happened. But then we presented them with our evidence. They admitted the meeting took place. And our sources say that is when officials told scientists at the EPA the decision on Bristol Bay was made. And their work was not needed -- Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

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VANIER: In Saudi Arabia, more than 2 million Muslims are taking part in the annual hajj pilgrimage. Among the major rituals that they will perform, heading to Mt. Arafat, where the prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon. The hajj considered one of the five pillars of Islam.

Able bodied Muslims who can afford it are expected to travel to the city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

That is it for me. Thank you for watching. I'm Cyril Vanier. CNN NEWSROOM with Natalie Allen is next. Have a good day.