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New Day Saturday

China Trade War Latest; Amazon Wildfires Raging; G7 Summit Examined; Trump Wants Russia Back in G8; Salmonella Outbreak Discussed; Online Scam Nets Millions. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 24, 2019 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wall Street nose-diving, President Trump dramatically escalating his fight with China and his own Federal Reserve chairman.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're having a spat with China, and we'll win it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crisis in the Amazon where fires in the rain forests are having a worldwide impact.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Argentina to London to France, activists and global leaders alike are demanding action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democratic field down two candidates. Polling (ph) suggests 18 of them are wasting their time.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It doesn't make me stop. I've got the money rolling in. This love train is on a roll.

(END VIDEO)

ANNOUNCER: This is "New Day Weekend" with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Good Saturday to you. Always good to be with you. Listen, we're going to have a lot happening during our hours together this morning, including next hour President Trump is expected to arrive in France for the G7 summit.

PAUL: Yes, the gathering of the global powers is going to take place over the next three days. They're talking about everything from trade to economic issues to climate change.

BLACKWELL: Now traditionally this gathering promotes international agreements and negotiations. But on the list of disputes this year, you have China's escalating trade tensions, ongoing conflicts with Iran, the climate crisis, and North Korea's uncertain nuclear capabilities.

PAUL: There are very low expectations for any substantial agreements to come out of this summit. French President Emmanuel Macron, in fact, says he won't even bother to issue a joint communique citing a, quote, "Very deep crisis of democracy." Despite all of this, President Trump says he believes the summit will be productive.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: We're going to France, we're going to have a good few days. I think it will be very productive. Seeing a lot of the leaders who are friends of mine for the most part. Wouldn't say it 100 percent of the cases but for the most part. And I think we're doing very well.

(END VIDEO)

PAUL: CNN senior White House correspondent Pamela Brown joining us now from France. Pamela, what is the buzz there before, at least until President Trump arrives here in just about an hour.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes that's right, he arrives here in just about an hour and this evening he'll have a dinner with some of the leaders. Tomorrow is expected to be a very busy day here in Biarritz for President Trump. He'll be having some bilaterals with leaders, and there's also going to be an economic forum. This is a forum that his U.S. aides actually lobbied for so that the president can tout his accomplishments. At the same time, some of the leaders here at the G7 point to the growing trade war with President Trump as part of the reason why we're seeing an economic global slowdown so that should be an interesting time.

Now publicly the president has said that he believes the next few days will be productive, as you heard him say, that these leaders are for the most part his friends. But behind the scenes, he's been questioning to aides why he has to attend. Of course, as we know, the last two G7s ended acrimoniously. The president felt like there was too much discussion about the environment and oceans, and he didn't have enough of a chance to really tout his accomplishments. That's what's been going on behind the scenes but the president is attending, he's been pushed to attend by President Macron as well as others leaders over the last several months and his bilateral with President Macron expected -- is highly anticipated, and the president talked about that just before he boarded Air Force One in the United States last night and he talked about one of his biggest beefs with Macron. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: I don't want them doing anything having to do with taxing unfairly our companies. Those are great American companies, and frankly, I don't want France going out and taxing our companies; very unfair. And if they do that, we'll be taxing their wine or doing something else. We'll be taxing their wine like they've never seen before.

(END VIDEO)

BROWN: And we just learned actually President Trump just arrived here. He'll have a few hours until this dinner this evening, but I'm told by a source familiar that when he does meet with President Macron that he is expected to confront him about the digital tax and also bring up the threat that he's made publicly before, but face to face with Macron on imposing tariffs on French wine as well as other goods. Another highly anticipated meeting he's expected to have here in Biarritz is, of course, with the new British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Back to you.

PAUL: All right. Pamela Brown, thank you so much. Just getting word that the president has actually landed in Bordeaux and will take another plane to the conference.

BLACKWELL: OK, and we'll, of course, follow that throughout the morning, all the live events. Now, let's stay in southern France where French police and protesters are clashing ahead of the G7 summit. Mortar fire and other projectiles hurled at police, and four officers were injured. Police have already detained 17 people near where the meetings are going to happen. Reportedly, 13,000 police officers have been deployed ahead of their demonstrations.

[06:05:00]

CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is in France, as well, following these developments. Nic, give us an idea of what the protesters are doing now, if they are out and what is expected over the next couple of days.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Victor, this is the height of the holiday tourist season in France, Biarritz being a great focus for many of those French and international tourists. They will be cleared from the beaches today, have been cleared from the beaches today. Security, around Biarritz if you take a look at this map here, of the city itself, you can see two zones of security. A high security zone close to the waterfront, this is where the leaders are going to be meeting. This is where they will be staying within that zone. The zone around that is a sort of a secondary secure zone, a lot of police presence around there. That really only gives you part of the picture of what's happening in the region here.

The actual allowed protest site is 20 miles from Biarritz itself. It is a family protest site that the police have allowed protesters to set up. They're going to have a march across the border that's right next to Spain. They'll march across the border and have a counter G7 summit there. The real concern is the (inaudible), the yellow vest French protesters that have been coming out on the streets of France, most notably in Paris over the past year. They're swelling the ranks of the protesters today. But last night the police clashed at a campsite about 15 miles from Biarritz with protesters there having what the police describe essentially as unauthorized protest. They say projectiles thrown at the police. The police fired back with what they describe as sort of flash devices that disrupt the protesters. And in that, four police officers were lightly injured and as you say, 17 protesters arrested so the police very ready in numbers and planning for the protests. They haven't really kicked off in a big way yet today. We are watching that. But from what we saw last night, the police on top of anything that they consider unauthorized protesting.

BLACKWELL: All right, Nic Robertson for us there. Nic, thank you.

PAUL: So President Trump, remember, also said that Russia should be readmitted to the G7. He said he can see the group being a G8 again. Now Russia, remember was disinvited from the gatherings after the country's annexation of Crimea in 2014. That's something that the G7 group still believes to be a violation of international law.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and no other leader in the group is calling for Russia's readmission, nor has Russia asked to rejoin officially. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has made comments about the G7. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow with details.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kremlin-controlled media is celebrating after President Trump says he wants to see Russia rejoin the group of strongest industrial nations, the G7. A translated version of President Trump's remarks getting massive applause on state TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: That's not the way it really should work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking a foreign language).

(Applause).

PLEITGEN: TV already showing graphics of a G8 logo now with a Russian flag claiming President Trump made the move because he feels he owes Russia after the U.S. recently tested a land-based Tomahawk cruise missile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Through translator) Trump just tested the new Tomahawks that will soon probably be deployed next to our borders to scare us so it looks like the American president feels guilty or ashamed. Saddened, Trump decided to unburden himself and agreed with Macron to invite us to G7. They missed us.

(END VIDEO)

PLEITGEN: Russia was kicked out of the group in 2014 after it invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. The decision was made during the Obama Administration but was approved by a majority of the member nations; still, President Trump choosing to praise Putin over his predecessor.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: Because Putin outsmarted him, President Obama thought it wasn't a good thing to have Russia in. So he wanted Russia out.

(END VIDEO)

PLEITGEN: Despite Trump's words, Russia's leader is showing Trump the cold shoulder saying Russia is developing new advanced weaponry and even blaming the U.S. in part for a recent explosion during a botched Russian weapons test that led to a radiation spike.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: (Through translator) The tragedy in the White Sea that took lives of our specialists happened during works on advanced weaponry. We are not hiding that. The people who suffered were doing critical work to ensure the security of our state because our partners, including the Americans, are testing new systems so we also need to pay extra attention to this.

(END VIDEO)

PLEITGEN: For all of President Trump's apparent enthusiasm, the Russians themselves so far haven't even said whether or not they would want to join the G7 again.

[06:10:00]

Several Russian officials coming out and saying the Russians really would like to see sanctions relief before even thinking about rejoining an organization like the G7. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

BLACKWELL: Another major development that world leaders are keeping an eye on at the G7, North Korea and its missile launches. Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles yesterday in the direction of the Sea of Japan.

PAUL: Now a senior U.S. official said, quote, "We are aware of reports of a missile launch from North Korea and continue to monitor the situation. We're consulting closely with our Japanese and South Korean allies." North Korea has launched several short-range ballistic missiles in recent weeks; seven since June, in fact. President Trump has said they're nothing to worry about.

BLACKWELL: Coming up, the consequences of in U.S.-China trade war as it ramps up, both sides now imposing a new round of tariffs on one another. We're looking at how it directly affects your finances.

PAUL: And was it manslaughter or self-defense? A jury has decided the fate of a man accused of shooting a Florida father in front of his family in an argument over a handicapped parking space.

BLACKWELL: And as fires burn out of control in the Amazon, international concern is growing for the largest rain forest on the planet. How Brazil is trying to get the fires under control when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Well the Stand your Ground Law has been tested again during a trial in Florida.

PAUL: Michael Drejka claims that he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Markeis McGlockton last summer during an argument over a handicapped parking spot. It was caught on camera as you can see there.

[06:15:00] After six hours of deliberations, here's what the jury thought.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The State of Florida versus Michael Drejka, case number 1809851cf as to the charge of manslaughter, we the jury found as follows as to the defendant in this case -- the defendant is guilty of manslaughter as charged.

(END VIDEO)

BLACKWELL: Now McGlockton's family members, they cried after they heard the verdict. Drejka at first had no reaction but then started wiping his face as the judge spoke to the jury. He's scheduled to be sentenced October 10th and faces up to 30 years in prison.

PAUL: International pressure is growing on Brazil to combat the fire that's threatening the Amazon rain forest right now. Brazil's President Bolsonaro says he is deploying the military now to help fight the fires and he's doing so for the next month. Brazil's on the clock here though. The country's space agency says portions of the rain forest larger than 1.5 soccer fields burn every minute.

BLACKWELL: Now this crisis is inspiring protests in Brazil and around the world. Satellite images here show smoke from the fires creeping across Brazil, spilling into neighborhoods and communities, as well and other countries. CNN's Shasta Darlington is in Sao Paulo, Brazil, following the latest. Shasta, last night there were protests in Brazil. We saw some of the video. As the president addressed the country, he's changing his tone. What are we hearing from him now?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Victor. I mean these fires have been raging for a couple of weeks now, and ironically the President Jair Bolsonaro sort of shrugged them off initially and even blamed NGOs for setting these fires make him look bad because he has stripped them of a lot of their funding. What we've seen now, however, is he's come under a lot of international pressure. Some countries are even saying they won't buy Brazilian beef because a lot of it comes from the Amazon.

The French President says the Amazon fires should be on the summit -- excuse me, on the agenda at the G7 summit. This has infuriated the Brazilian President who says this is interventionism, this is our country, this is our Amazon but at least now he does seem to be taking action. So the army will be deployed today to give support to firefighters and volunteers in the state straddling the Amazon where those fires really continue to burn up large pockets of the rain forest and at the same time he seems to be sort of ratcheting down the rhetoric. The question is whether this isn't just a little - too little too late not only for the Amazon but for his international reputation which is really taking a beating here, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Shasta Darlington for us in Sao Paulo, thank you so much.

Now if you're looking for ideas on how you can help protect the Amazon and how to really stop deforestation or slow it around the world, go to our website, CNN.com/impact.

PAUL: Well, you probably saw what stocks did yesterday. It was a nose- dive after the U.S.-China trade war escalated in let's say a pretty dramatic fashion.

BLACKWELL: And the CDC is warning you about a deadly strain of salmonella linked to Mexican beef and U.S. cheese. We'll talk about why they're so concerned about this particular form of the infection.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: So glad to have you back with us; 6:22 is the time this Saturday. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

President Trump headed to the G7 this morning. He's landed in Bordeaux. Before leaving for France he got into a tariff tiff with Beijing, imposing more tariffs on China after Beijing announced a new round of tariffs on about $75 billion worth of U.S. goods.

PAUL: President Trump announced the tariff hike in a tweet starting on October 1st. He writes, "The $250 billion of goods and products from China currently being taxed at 25% will be taxed at 30%."

BLACKWELL: Now that news sent stocks tumbling, but President Trump says there is nothing to worry about.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: Our economy is doing great. We're having a little spat with China, and we'll win it. We put a lot of tariffs on China today, as you know. They put some on us, we put a lot of on them. Taking out of our country much more than $500 billion a year so we want that stopped.

(END VIDEO)

PAUL: CNN Beijing bureau senior producer Steven Jiang with us. Steven, good to see you this morning. What's the reaction from China regarding the tariffs?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER: Well Christi, the Chinese government has not officially responded to Mr. Trump's latest move which was to increase already announced tariffs on Chinese goods. And I think the swiftness of his action may have caught Beijing off guard somewhat. If and when they do respond, you could expect them to use this as another example of Mr. Trump's trade bullying tactic. His tendency to flip- flop on previous pledges or showing his insincerity in continuing these trade talks between the two sides.

Remember, the next round of talks is supposed to take place in Washington in September. But one of China's preconditions to reach any deal is actually the immediate removal of any existing U.S. tariffs. So with these latest back and forth, that goal is certainly being made more elusive to achieve, not to mention that there is growing fear here that a Chinese government could deploy other so-called non-tariff barriers against a U.S. business here. And that, of course, could be another round of escalation in this ongoing trade war, really showing no sign of ending. Christi and Victor?

PAUL: Absolutely. Steven Jiang, we appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

BLACKWELL: Daniel Strauss is politics reporter for "Politico" is with us this morning. Daniel, good morning to you.

DANIEL STRAUSS, "POLITICO" REPORTER: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So let's start here. The president's on-camera remarks before heading to France were less angry let's say than his tweets in the middle of the day. But beyond emotion, what did we learn about strategy or the lack of a strategy from the tone, content, format, of the president's tweets yesterday?

STRAUSS: Well, we learned that the president is not interested in backing down here. Even as Chinese -- as China imposed new tariffs on the United States, President Trump wants to ratchet it up himself. I think what we're seeing here is some sort of a game of chicken or a blinking contest.

[06:25:00]

President Trump feels that he can't back down; he's always said that he can finish some kind of big deal with China that helps the United States so he doesn't want to seem like he's losing our conceding anything in this fight.

BLACKWELL: So one of the tweets in this I guess thread, the president ordered American companies to look for alternatives to China, second largest economy in the world. There's no enforcement behind that, not even possible the president can do that or order a company to do that. We should also remind people that the president has made a hell of a lot of money on products made in China over the years and still does. But we know that there was this firm response from the retail sector. What are we hearing from businesses in response to this order?

STRAUSS: I mean, there's a strong level of confusion among American businesses right now about what's really going on. And if President Trump is going to follow through on what he tweets. There's -- and really there's a worry within the business sector that this trade war and the spat will spiral out of control and further weigh down the stock market going forward.

BLACKWELL: Let's also put up this tweet from the president where he posed this question via twitter and this is where all of this was announced, "Who was our bigger enemy, Jay Powell," the Fed chair, "or Chairman Xi of China?" Of course the initial analysis was the president calling the Federal Reserve chairman, who we chose, an enemy of the United States.

But we should also examine the president's framing of Xi as an enemy, as well. Just a few weeks ago, let's put this up as well, more than 100 American experts on China and the region at large wrote this open letter saying China is not an enemy. So the president's position on Xi Jinping being an enemy is not universal.

STRAUSS: Yes, but look, the president always likes to have some kind of foil, some kind of punching bag here. And what we've seen lately in terms it was the economy is that he likes to point his ire at Jerome Powell who he appointed himself. But in this situation and I think he's going back and forth between President Xi as he continues to try and figure out some kind of trade deal and trades blows with him and Powell because Powell won't cut interest rates as these tariffs are imposed on the United States.

BLACKWELL: There's also the question of where are the republicans? Where are those House members that signed this letter back in March of last year in which they called tariffs, and I've written it down here, "Taxes that make U.S. businesses less competitive and U.S. consumers poorer," and they also urged the president to reconsider the idea of broad tariffs to avoid unintended negative consequences to the U.S. economy and its workers. Powell at Jackson Hole questioned what he could to offset these negative influences. Economists have said that every American household is going to take on the cost of these. Where are the republicans now? Where are the free-market GOP members?

STRAUSS: This is - I'm - look, for a while now we've seen the Republican Party really fall in line behind President Trump ands I don't think we're going to see a lot of criticism of anything he does in this trade fight from rank-and-file House members. They are incredibly loyal to the president right now, and ...

BLACKWELL: But is that - is that not - and I apologize, I'm getting the wrap but I want your response to this, is that not counterproductive? Many of these members are representing rural areas where the soybean farmers are watching their crops rot in bins, where they're watching their business in China disintegrate. Isn't it counterproductive to say nothing?

STRAUSS: I mean you should ask them yourself here. What I can tell you right now is that I doubt there's going to be a -- some kind of revolt from Congressional members to President Trump's actions in this trade fight. They are incredibly loyal to him. President Trump's approval ratings remain sky high among republicans and I don't think we're going to see much change on that front.

BLACKWELL: Daniel Strauss of "Politico," always good to have you.

STRAUSS: Thanks.

PAUL: Listen, we want to show you the situation in Hong Kong right now. This video coming in to us just in the past hour. This is the 12th straight week of anti-government demonstrations going on there and you can see how they seem to be escalating today. A lot of people running all over the place, teargas, and all the smoke there and people still walking around with their umbrellas. Riot police are being forced to use that teargas just to keep the peace. But you can hear the sounds and see what's happening there right now. Again, we're going to continue to watch this situation and bring you the very latest pictures as we get them in; but again, 12 straight weeks of this. Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson is with us live.

We're going to get her thoughts on her economic plan and a whole lot more. Stay close.

BLACKWELL: Plus, officials are watching pretty closely, nearly 200 people with a similar symptom, more than just a few, of lung disease, a common link. They all vape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN HOST: The 2020 democratic field of presidential candidates slowly thins down a little bit. Despite the poll numbers, Marianne Williamson is still in it to win it. She's sticking to her focus on love and spirituality as a way of healing the divided nation and her plan for a universal basic income as well. She attended a DNC meeting yesterday in San Francisco and that's where she joining us from live now. Good morning to you Ms. Williamson.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, AUTHOR AND 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning. Good morning. How are you?

PAUL: Good to have you here. I'm well, thank you. How are you?

WILLIAMSON: Fine. Thank you.

PAUL: Excellent. OK, I wanted to ask about something else that was happening yesterday, the Dow down 600 points. Realistically a lot of economists say you know, if we talk about a recession, we're at least more than a year from that actually happening. But if you were president today, how would you handle the economy and what we're seeing now?

WILLIAMSON: Well, first of all, we have a little bit of a mad King George in charge of - in charge of this country right now and his chaos and what he's done with the tariffs and what he's done with China. The instability, of course, is causing the market to go nuts because the market doesn't appreciate that. The market likes some sense of stability which is understandable. So the first thing that's going to happen when any democrat is elected is that this craziness is going to stop.

[06:35:00]

I certainly would not be having this trade war with China. I certainly would not be having these tariffs.

But for me, there's even a more bottom-line fault line and that is that the U.S. economy is skewed in the favor of a very few people and that's why we have to address the deeper issue which is that for 40 years we have been playing with this trickle-down economic theory which has not lifted all boats, it has left millions of people without even a life vest. And so what we need to do, I believe, is we need to repeal the 2017 $2 trillion tax cut that gave $0.83 of every dollar to the very richest among us, the very richest corporations. Put back in the middle-class tax cuts, stop these subsidies.

Why did we give $26 billion to fossil fuel companies alone? Stop the situation where the United States government cannot negotiate with big pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices. Look at our military spending, have a 3% tax on the assets of a billion dollars and more, have a 2% on $50 million more and then you can have cash on hand to do the kind of things for people, the universal health care we need, give it so that people can go to college - go to college at free college tuition at state universities. Get rid of these college loans and then you start having a situation where money can be produced from where it should be produced from, and that is people living their own dreams, their own creativity, their own productivity.

I don't believe that many should come from a few corporate democrats who are sitting up there somewhere, corporate aristocrats, excuse me, corporate aristocrats who just sort of like drop crumbs from their table in the form of job creation. I believe in creativity and productivity that comes from the dreams of the God-given potential of the American people. That's where money comes from, and that's where a stable economy comes from.

PAUL: Well, and you also -- you want money to come from the federal government essentially for people, as well. On your website, your plan for the economy is a four-step process and the first point in that process for you is the universal basic income. I want to show people what you say. Your plan, as I understand it, is for the federal government to pay $1,000 a month to all American adults ages 18 to 65 and your reasoning is this will provide immediate cash relief to those who need it. It will give people a small but reliable stream of income. It will create a floor so no American needs to be hungry and you assert it would be a stimulus to the economy as people spend money on food, clothes, and other essentials. Here's my question, how do you ensure that that money is spent for those essentials?

WILLIAMSON: Well, first of all, people need that money in order to get the things that they need in order to live so by definition, that happens. You know, I...

PAUL: But people aren't always -- look, I haven't always been smart with money. Not everybody is smart with money. Who's to say they don't go out and spend it on something frivolous?

WILLIAMSON: Well, I don't think that that's the issue. What they spend it on is the point that they are spending it, not what they are spending it on but the fact that it is put back into the economy. I think when you're talking about universal basic income, and for me it was reading Andrew Yang's book, "The War on Normal People," which really opened my eyes in a way that I had not fully realized before of the tsunami that we have coming toward us in the form of automation. That's what the UBI conversation is about. The fact that too many people, you know, we have states where, for instance, trucking is the major job. Trucking is going to be driverless trucks. What are drivers going to do? It's not like, you know when you go to let's say, Rite Aid and you see how much of it has become automated and you think about it. And you think how many clerks used to be at the drug store. OK, well the drug store got automated so those people don't have their jobs anymore but it's not like they can go over and get a job at CVS because CVS has so much automation.

This is a tsunami that is coming on us. And another thing that's very interesting to me is that when you - when you look at where the whole trickle-down economic theory came from which was basically out of a Chicago school and a man named Milton Friedman. Milton Friedman himself said when he argued for the whole trickle-down theory, get government out, let the market do whatever it wants, only seeking to serve stockholders, he himself said, but we will have to have a universal, basic income to make this safe and stable for people.

PAUL: OK.

WILLIAMSON: So this is an old idea that's been around for a long time.

PAUL: All right. real quickly, too, you have been such a proponent of -- of grace and of love and of healing, and it does make us wonder are you comfortable coming from that place which, listen, that's a great place to come from, we need more of it there's no doubt about it. But are you comfortable? Do you feel capable if as president then having to send U.S. troops into combat where they would kill people and they may be killed?

WILLIAMSON: You know, sometimes love says no. Love is not weak. Love is fierce. Look at any woman; look at what we will do for our children. You know, sometimes those of us -- it's interesting because this idea that those who love don't understand about evil.

[06:40:00]

I think it's the opposite. You know, sometimes those of us -- it's interesting because this idea that those who love don't understand about evil. I think it's the opposite. I think those of us who have the deepest devotion to love have the deepest appreciation of the power of evil and that's why we stand on love the way we do because you need to love so as not to give evil so much room to fester. I think the fact that I have such deep faith in love actually is part of what makes me understand that evil exists on this planet.

PAUL: So I know you understand that evil exists, as you said, but when I asked if you feel capable of sending troops somewhere...

WILLIAMSON: Yes, the answer is yes.

PAUL: And you said no. What did you mean by no? You meant yes you would?

WILLIAMSON: Oh, no -- oh I did not mean no I would not. If you take the oath of office, of President of the United States, part of that oath you are becoming Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States. This is as serious as anything involved in the office of the presidency and the answer is absolutely yes. My father fought in World War II. I'm a little bit of an - I'm an American history student but particularly a buff on World War II. I feel I have a deep appreciation of the significance, the sobriety, and the necessity at times of military action. PAUL: Marianne Williamson, we appreciate so much you taking time for

us on what I know has been a busy weekend for you already.

WILLIAMSON: It has been; thank you.

PAUL: Take that good care, thank you.

WILLIAMSON: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So an adult with a history of vaping has died. The question now is could this be the first death linked in the U.S. to e- cigarettes?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

PAUL: So the Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just completed three weeks of treatment for pancreatic cancer. She's 86 years old. She's the oldest justice on the court. But she's showing, you know, few signs really at the end of the day of slowing down. She is one brave, strong woman.

BLACKWELL: She is certainly. On Thursday she was at a performance of "Moulin Rouge" on Broadway. She's expected to resume her speaking schedule next week.

Well, a person who died in Illinois with severe lung disease could be the first person in the U.S. who died linked to vaping. Officials say the CDC, at the CDC, rather, say they know of 193 people across the country with severe respiratory illnesses that may have been caused by e-cigarettes. In fact, the number of cases in Illinois has doubled since last week. But it is not clear if there's a connection between all of the cases and officials do not know what components or chemicals in e-cigarettes might be responsible.

PAUL: The CDC, Centers for Disease Control, also raising alarms this morning about a drug-resistant strain of salmonella. They say more than 250 people got sick from the strain. That's between June of 2018 and March of this year and the cases are still being reported. In fact, 60 people have been hospitalized and two have died. So let's bring in CNN Health and Wellness Writer Jacqueline Howard to talk about this. Jacqueline, good to see you. Break down for us here what we need to know.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH AND WELLNESS WRITER: Well, severe salmonella cases can be deadly and the fact that this strain is resistant to some medications is particularly concerning. So what we know so far is that this strain has been linked to beef and soft cheeses. We've seen cases across 32 states and 2 people have died; so that's concerning. And then on top of it, this strain has been resistant so it's not responding well to two of the main antibiotics typically used to treat infection. Those are azithromycin or Z-Pak and Ciprofloxacin. So that's why health officials are really keeping an eye on this.

BLACKWELL: So if it's drug resistant, then what's the treatment?

HOWARD: That's a great question because when we see drug resistant pathogens, we have to think of new treatment approaches. In this case, most people recover from salmonella without antibiotics; medications are used for severe cases. And this strain has shown resistance to two medications but not all drugs. So there's still some options there. I think the bottom line is this strain is just an example of how drug resistance is really a public health concern. So it's estimated that about two million people in the United States each year will come down with some type of drug-resistant infection, and 23,000 of them will die. So this is a growing challenge for the country.

PAUL: All right, so what do we do. On a daily basis, what do we need to be aware of?

HOWARD: Well for salmonella most cases are tied to food so it really comes down to preparing food carefully. For beef, make sure the internal temperature is cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. For soft cheeses, avoid those made with unpasteurized milk and keep surfaces in your kitchen clean, and you should be okay. Now if you think you're sick, symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever, and of course call your doctor. As long as you keep your kitchen clean, avoid cross contamination, you should be fine.

BLACKWELL: OK.

PAUL: All right. Jacqueline, always good to have you here. Thank you.

HOWARD: Thank you.

PAUL: Up next, prosecutors allege men in California oversaw a romance scam that played on vulnerable women looking for love. The scale of this scam and how much they're accused of ex-tort extorting, we'll talk about that.

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[06:50:00]

PAUL: Listen, this is believed to be one of the largest online scams in U.S. history. Prosecutors say 80 people, mostly Nigerians, took part in this worldwide scheme that raked in millions of dollars.

BLACKWELL: So they allegedly did this by hustling vulnerable women seeking online romances. CNN'S Nick Watt has the story.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Early morning, the Feds came knocking.

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PAUL DELACOURT, FBI, LOS ANGELES: FBI agents arrested 11 federal defendants in Los Angeles and another three round the county.

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WATT: Eighty people charged in all. The charges include fraud, money laundering, and identity theft.

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NICK HANNA, U.S. ATTORNEY: We believe this is one of the largest cases of its kind in U.S. history.

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WATT: Roughly $10 million stolen, all on line.

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DELACOURT: This case involved 32 confirmed victims. Victims were located in the United States, as well as in Japan, the U.K., Lebanon, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, UAE, and Trinidad and Tobago.

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WATT: They were the elderly, the vulnerable, lonely or lovelorn on dating sites and social media as well as businesses that rely on wire transfers.

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HANNA: At the center of the indictment are operatives here in Los Angeles who facilitated the fraud schemes by opening U.S. bank accounts where victims were directed to deposit their money.

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WATT: Among the many cases detailed in the sprawling 252-count indictment and complaint, a woman who thought she met a U.S. army captain stationed in Syria on line. In reality, a scammer who asked for financial help to get a bag of diamonds out of the war-torn country. That woman...

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HANNA: A widow, a recent widow who did not have a lot of money.

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WATT: Lost more than $200,000. On Facebook, an 81-year-old Hawaiian woman thought she met an oil rig worker in Belgium. In reality, a scammer who bilked her for $750,000. There's an Illinois family who thought they were wiring $135,000 to an escrow company. In fact, the money went straight into a scammer's account in L.A. These mass arrests are the culmination of a huge, more than two-year investigation, but still a word of warning.

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DELACOURT: We are not going to arrest our way out of this problem. And so we continue to educate potential victims.

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WATT: Two key pieces of advice, if you are wiring money, pick up the phone, call the company, check all the details before you wire any money to anyone.

[06:55:00]

And on social media or dating sites, do not trust anybody who asks for money before you've met face to face. Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

BLACKWELL: Nick, Thank you.

Tomorrow night, CNN will host back-to-back live presidential town halls. Montana Governor Steve Bullock takes the stage first, that's at 6:00 p.m. eastern and then New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at 7:00 p.m. eastern. It's all happening live from New York, tomorrow night, starting at 6:00 only on CNN.

PAUL: All right, as we're gearing up for the G7 summit, see what happens. We have some pictures for you here. President Trump getting ready to touch down there in Biarritz as we are going to see what drama may unfold because there has been plenty of it prior to this visit. We'll break it down for you in the next hour.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very little agreement about anything at this G7.

TRUMP: I think it will be very productive. Seeing a lot of the leaders who are friends of mine for the most part. Wouldn't say it 100% of the cases, but for the most part.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wall Street nose-diving. President Trump dramatically escalating his fight with China and his own Federal Reserve chairman.

TRUMP: We're having a spat with China, and we'll win it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crisis in the Amazon where fires in the rain forests are having a worldwide impact.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Argentina to London to France, activists and global leaders alike are demanding action.

[07:00:00]