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New Day Sunday

World Leaders Meet Against Backdrop Of Global Economic Fears; U.K. Prime Minister On Trump's Trade War: "We're In Favor Of Trade Peace"; President Trump To Meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Protesters Throw Bricks And Petrol Bombs At Hong Kong; Russia Test-Fires Ballistic Missiles From Two Nuclear-Powered Submarines; North Korea Tests New "Super-Large Multiple Rocket Launcher"; Israel Says It Foiled Imminent Iranian "Killer Drone" Attack; L.A. Sheriff's Deputy Made Up Story That He Was Shot By A Sniper; Trudeau: We Negotiated Trade Deal With U.S That Is Good For Workers; Wildfires Sweep Through Brazil's Amazon Rain; Prince Andrew: I Never Witnessed Or Suspected Epstein's Behavior; Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck Retires At 29; Six Injured By Lightning Strike At PGA Championship. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 25, 2019 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump called the British leader the right man to lead the U.K. out of the European Union.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He needs no advice. He's the right man for the job.

We're going to do a very big trade deal. Bigger than we've ever had with the U.K.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing with those comments is that you just don't know what to make of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Amazon provides one of every five breaths you take, and all of it burning at the rate of one and a half soccer fields a minute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brazil's president says he is sending in more than 43,000 troops to help fight the fires.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's an enormous task here and the Brazilian army have experience in this but possibly not the capability to deal with it fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six people were injured at the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta when lightning struck a tree as they sheltered underneath. Look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt like I was in a major car accident. It felt like I was blindsided. Only until I saw the pictures that I really understand how close we all were to something catastrophic. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning to you.

World leaders are in France for the G7 summit. First their session, formal talks started just a short time ago. Now later this hour, President Trump is expected to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. We will bring you that live when it happens.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And this morning President Trump says all is well at the G7 even as trade disputes boil and the global economy is in a slump he stayed defiant on his stance on China tariffs claiming he heard no pushback from world leaders thus far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are your allies pressuring you to give up the trade war with China?

TRUMP: No, not at all. I haven't heard that at all, no. I think they respect the trade war. It has to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any second thoughts on escalating the trade war with China?

TRUMP: Yes. For sure. Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Second thoughts --

TRUMP: Might as well -- might as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have second thoughts about escalating the war in China?

TRUMP: I have second thoughts about everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about how the market is reacting?

TRUMP: No. The market's doing great. Our country's doing great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Meanwhile, the Dow ended more than 600 points lower last week after the U.S. and China traded more fire in the trade war. This week directly affecting countless products for American consumers. Even President Trump's most political aligned ally, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, isn't completely on board with his trade strategy. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I congratulate the president on everything that the American economy is achieving. It's fantastic to see that. But to register the faint, sheep-like motive of you on the trade war, we're in favor of trade peace on the whole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN Senior White House Correspondent, Pamela Brown in southern France for the U.S.

Pamela, good to see you this morning.

We are waiting for this meeting, this bilateral meeting between president and the Canadian president Trudeau. What are we -- what do we know is expected to happen there?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, trade will be a hot topic there with this bilateral -- with Justin Trudeau as you'll recall of the last G7 ended acrimoniously because Justin Trudeau said he wouldn't back down of the United States. After that the president withdrew from the communique. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens there.

But already this morning the president has been very busy. He's been meeting with the prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe. And before that meeting got under way, the president and his aides struck a positive tone, saying that they're very close to reaching a trade deal.

The president also brought up Russia. As you'll recall, days before the G7, the president appeared to drop a diplomatic hand grenade saying that he believes the G7 outcast, Russia, should actually rejoin the group. As you'll recall Russia was kicked out after the annexation of Crimea. And that behavior from Russia is still underway. Nothing appears to have changed on that front.

The president said it was actually brought up at the dinner last night with the foreign leaders. And here's what he said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think it's a work in progress. We have a number of people that would like to see Russia back. I think it would be -- I think it would be advantageous to many things in the world. I think it would be a positive. Other people agree with me and it's something that we're discussing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, he wouldn't say exactly who agreed with him. He said some agreed with him, some didn't. But he wouldn't specify who exactly.

Trump has been insisting in tweets that there has been no tension with the foreign leader so far this trip. But sources tell me that he has been complaining about the agenda. He feels like there is too much focus on topics outside of the economy. Topics like climate change and gender equality. He believes that Macron has made the agenda to fit his political purposes and perhaps to isolate Trump.

[06:05:06]

And he also -- President Trump also revealed misgivings about the trade war with China. Actually saying that perhaps he is having second thoughts.

This is what he said. He said, "I have second thoughts about everything," without saying what specifically he's reconsidering.

He also appears to be backing off this demand to use presidential powers to force U.S. companies out of China. He said I have no plan right now. Actually, we're getting along very well with China. We're talking.

As you mentioned, later today he's going to be meeting with Justin Trudeau. So of course, we'll bring you the very latest on that.

BLACKWELL: We heard a little bit about the meeting with Shinzo Abe. We'll talk about that throughout the morning.

Pamela Brown, thank you so much.

PAUL: For the first time, President Trump did meet face-to-face with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as we were talking there. And it was during this breakfast ahead of the summit the two discussed Brexit and future trade negotiations.

BLACKWELL: Now, President Trump said that trade was stymied under previous prime minister Theresa May but that he had faith in Johnson's leadership.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is also in southern France with more. We know that these two leaders were looking forward to this meeting. What else did they talk about?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, I think what Boris Johnson got from this meeting is what he wanted. He wanted that clear message from President Trump that he was the man that could handle a hard break with the European Union. Of course, President Trump wants Britain to leave the European Union. Was frustrated with British Prime Minister Theresa May. Has many times in the past said that Boris Johnson would be the man to do it.

So, that was good for Boris Johnson. Good because he needs to have this strong support from the United States' president and the talk that the president also gave about the future of a potentially good trade deal with the U.K. after Britain leaves the European Union. Johnson needs that for domestic politics because he might be getting into an election situation in the U.K. very soon.

And he also needs it to give him leverage in negotiating with the European Union. But it was interesting because you're getting to see these two leaders who talked a lot on the phone in the past couple of weeks actually interact together. And several times Boris Johnson interjected.

And President Trump was saying that he was going to be a good person to deliver Brexit. Boris Johnson interjects and says, yes, you're very on message. President Trump's not generally used to that.

And, again, when President Trump was saying, no, we haven't faced or I haven't faced pushback from other leaders here about the trade war, the escalating trade war with China, Boris Johnson then interjects with his little line about a small sheepish note that would rather have trade peace than trade war. Again, it's going to -- it will be interesting to see how this relationship develops from here. But for Boris Johnson, this was a good start.

PAUL: All right. Nic Robertson, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Joining us to discuss us, CNN Political Analyst and Columnist for "The Washington Post," Josh Rogin, and CNN Political Analyst, Julian Zelizer.

Gentlemen, welcome back.

And, Josh, let me start with you exactly where Nic ended there with this faint sheep-like note, as Prime Minister Johnson offered it, saying that he and Britain are in favor of trade peace. Despite that description, the other members are very concerned, deeply concerned about this U.S.-China trade war.

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there's no doubt that everyone in the world is concerned about the effects of the U.S.-China escalation in the trade war. But the difference here as you noted between Boris Johnson and the others is that Boris Johnson needs President Trump a lot more than the other world leaders here need him.

And there's definitely been an effort for Britain and the United States to come together and show unity, especially in the face of Brexit, something that President Trump supports. Nevertheless, President Trump has a long way to go in convincing these other world leaders that the tough line he's taken on China with regard to trade and economics is not only the right thing to do but also to the benefit of the United States and Europe.

They simply don't believe that and they're putting pressure on the United States to make a deal. Unfortunately, for these European leaders, there's no U.S.-China deal in the offing. And despite what President Trump said today about second thoughts, he made clear that he has no choice in his mind but to keep going.

PAUL: OK. But, Julian, he did say, I have no plan right now, as he said. But he says that he is in talks with China. Do we know who is talking to China? What the content of those conversations might be to actually move something forward? What would it need, Julian?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think at this point when he says, I have second thoughts and when there's speculation about what the negotiations are, the problem is when the president goes back and forth, when he makes these dramatic statements via tweets, A, they have effects immediately on markets, on international alliances.

[06:10:01]

And, B, at this point when he makes those promises about these negotiations, it's uncertain whether it's true. This is where the presidential record matters. And I think there are many Americans and global leaders who are not convinced that this is all actually leading to a deal despite what the president says. So, if you don't have a deal in the making, all have you is the chaos.

BLACKWELL: President Trump, Josh, talked about the U.S.'s ability to come to a major trade deal with the U.K. Prime Minister Johnson said that there's an opportunity to penetrate the American market.

I wonder in the context of what we heard from President Obama that Britain will have to go to the back of the queue as a warning before the remain or lean vote. What does this talk of this big deal between the U.S. and U.K. mean to France, to Italy, to the rest of the E.U., as Johnson looks at October 31, we're out, with or without a deal?

ROGIN: Right. Well, I think just the fact that the United States and Great Britain are moving forward with a talk of a large bilateral trade deal it's a clear signal that President Trump intense to do what he can to support Britain's economy post-Brexit. And that is part of his long held effort to encourage countries to leave the E.U.

He actually once offered Macron a trade deal if France would leave the E.U., an offer Macron declined. But the idea here is that the United States seeks under the Trump administration bilateral trade agreements rather than multilateral trade agreements, that they're trying to make common cause with Brexit here as in the Trump administration. The details are too be determined and of course there's a long way to go.

But this also comes right after President Trump and Prime Minister Abe signal that the U.S. and Japan are also close to a big bilateral trade deal. So, while you have a trade confrontation on China escalating on the one hand, there are some signs that bilateral trade agreements are coming together with allies. And if that can happen, then that can ease some of the economic pressure that the China trade war is causing.

PAUL: All right. Josh Rogin, Julian Zelizer, we appreciate you both so much. And again, moments from now, President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sitting down for a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit. We are going to bring you everything that happens there live as soon as we get it. I do want to show you some pictures out of Hong Kong though.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Take a look at this. Another weekend now where there's tear gas in the air. Protesters are facing off with police.

PAUL: We are live on that scene but you can take a look at it right there. This is actually a small group comparatively to what has been seen in the past. We do know that some Molotov cocktails have been thrown, that there are police protests.

These protests as well as protests that involve the support of police and they aren't -- these two groups aren't very far apart. But we're going to take you there and let you know exactly what's going on there.

Also two leaders who are not part of the G7 summit still intent on being heard this weekend. We're talking about Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Un.

Russia has just launched two ballistic missiles from nuclear-powered submarines in the Arctic Ocean.

BLACKWELL: The ministry of defense says it was part of combat training. It's been two weeks since five nuclear scientists were killed in a blast in northern Russia. We'll get to the responses to this as they expect they will be coming from those G7 leaders.

PAUL: And North Korea is showing off images of a new weapons test as well. The regime says, yesterday, they fired off a -- quote -- "newly developed, super-large, multiple-rocket launcher." Their words there.

BLACKWELL: The state media says Kim Jong-Un called the launcher a great weapon. It's the latest in a series of missile tests in recent weeks as denuclearization talks remain stalled. President Trump has downplayed the launches.

Israel strikes Iran targets in Syria, saying it was to stop Iran from attacking it with so-called killer drones. We are live in Jerusalem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:42]

PAUL: I want to give you a live look here at what's happening in Hong Kong right now. This is a relatively small group of protesters this morning facing off with the police you see there in a distance.

BLACKWELL: Now, we've seen tear gas being fired by police. Protesters they threw Molotov cocktails and other projectiles in their direction.

PAUL: CNN's Andrew Stevens is live on the ground. Andrew, you've seen so many of these. Help us understand what's happening today comparatively to what has happened the last 12 weeks.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, it's certainly a pattern, Christi, of a peaceful march followed by much more violent confrontations with police. But we haven't seen tear gas or projectiles used by the police in the past 10 days until yesterday. And they have amped up operations considerably today where a very, very tensed standoff of the moment. You'll see the police line above that overpass there.

They haven't moved but they are not also just releasing volley after volley of tear gas. The protesters have been as close as the barrier. You can see across the road but they -- in the last couple of minutes they pulled right back.

But as you say, they have been using petrol bombs. We've seen at least six of these devices thrown from the protesters. They've all landed in that no man's land you can see between the police and the barriers. But they continued to throw these petrol bombs. One just went off just a few seconds before we came live.

And the police have been responding with tear gas and other projectiles. It looks like rubber bullets. They were hard to see from where we are at the moment.

You may also be able to see some black flags which have been raised by the police which basically is a warning saying what we're using and we'll continue to use tear gas. But at the moment, Christi, this is more a standoff than anything. The police haven't made any attempt to clear this area out.

At a protest yesterday, the police conducted dispersal operations very quickly and very efficiently yesterday, which turned into sort of flash mobs running through the streets of Hong Kong. At the moment, what we see is a standoff. What you can't see is behind me. There's a front line of protesters but there are literally thousands of other protesters standing quietly behind them and hammering on all sorts of things to just -- to get this rhythmic sort of chanting going on, really telling people about what they're doing.

[06:20:05]

So at the moment, as I say, Christi, it's a standoff but tensions continue to escalate.

PAUL: All right. Do take care of yourself and the crew there. Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Israel says it has foiled a large-scale drone attack by Iran.

PAUL: Yes. Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of air strikes near Damascus, Syria hitting Iranian and Shiite militia targets to prevent attacks by so called killer drones. CNN's senior international correspondent Sam Kiley live for us in Jerusalem. Sam, help us understand what these attacks are like there. What are they talking about?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very unusual that the Israeli defense forces would come out almost as the bombs are falling with a statement that they done it. But this is absolutely deliberate on the part of the Israelis. They're saying that they foiled a real and present danger, an imminent plot conducted by what they said were Iranian forces as well as Iranian proxies to use a hitherto unknown weapon with regards to use against Israel.

Some kind of drone. They wouldn't be specific. Capable of getting into -- potentially into Israeli territory and attacking targets in the north of the country. They said that they had been monitoring this operation for some time, for an unspecified amount of time and they went on the offensive because it looked like this attack was imminent.

Now this, of course, also comes at a time, perhaps, of political benefit to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who is trying to stitch together with gossamer threads a -- some kind of a coalition that could mean that he remains in power after the September 17th elections. But, nonetheless, the direct accusation against Iran is a significant uptick in tension here.

BLACKWELL: Sam Kiley for us there in Jerusalem. Sam, thank you.

PAUL: Yes. We are just moments away from President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sitting down for a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit in France. A lot of things on the table there. We're going to bring that to you live when it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:47]

BLACKWELL: The Los Angeles sheriff's deputy who claimed he was shot by a sniper admitted he made the whole thing up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN KENT WEGENER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S HOMICIDE BUREAU: Angel Reinoso admitted that he was not shot at. He also told investigators that he had caused the holes in his uniform shirt by cutting it with a knife. There was no sniper. No --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. We're going now to President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: -- we were to be able to negotiate that's good for our workers, good for our citizens, good for the middle class. And that's the kind of thing we need to see more of around the world. Always a pleasure to talk about a broad range of global issues and good to sit down with you. (SPEAKING IN FRENCH).

TRUMP: So, we're going to be significantly expanding our trading relationship when the USMCA gets done, completed. Our farmers love it, the unions love it, the workers love it, manufacturers love it, everybody likes it. I think most Democrats like it. So, hopefully that will be put to a vote fairly soon.

It's got tremendous support both, I believe, Democrat and Republican. It has been signed and finalized essentially by Canada and essentially by Mexico. So, we're waiting for that from the United States.

And we have -- we have really great support. And it's something -- I think it's a very special agreement and it replaces NAFTA, which is, perhaps, the worst trade agreement ever done. Within our country it's the worst.

I can think of one worse, but it's not within our country. It's outside of our country. That's the WTO. That's a beauty. So, we're very happy with the agreement. And I congratulate you. I hope it gets done. I guess, we should save the congratulations for when they vote. But hopefully that will be put to a vote pretty soon. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, guys. Thank you, press. (INAUDIBLE). Thank you, guys. Thank you very much. We're leaving now. Thank you all. Press, we're leaving now. Thank you. Press, once again we are leaving now. Thank you very much. Thank you, press.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, brief comments from Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada and President Trump there talking primarily about trade and the USMCA. The president says that it's essentially been completed by Mexico, essentially by Canada as well and waiting for Congress. It has moved through the Mexican legislature but not so far in Canada to the point of being ratified.

Let's go to CNN Senior White House Correspondent, Pamela Brown is there. We expect there will be other issues. There's the issue of Huawei and China and climate as well that will likely be discussed behind the scenes. But first reaction, first reporting on what we're seeing from this meeting between the two?

BROWN: The two leaders currently wanted to start off touting the accomplishment of the deal with the USMCA. They wanted to put a positive spin on things before they got into the nitty-gritty on some of these other issues. It is true that they did reach an agreement but as the president mentioned, look, he says he doesn't want to hail victory until it gets passed through Congress. And so far Congress hasn't taken it up for a vote.

I can tell you the White House is very focused on trying to get Congress to take it up for a vote, to get it to pass. It is something that the president has been pushing for himself. And he wants it to pass also for a political victory. Of course, in an election year. So, that has been a big focus on President Trump.

You're right, there are many other issues on the table for the two leaders to discuss. There is defense issues. And Justin Trudeau has made climate a big part of his focus as well.

Now, he may not have a very receptive audience with Donald Trump. He has made it clear that that is not a focus of his here at the G7. In fact aides have been complaining about climate change being a focus. They want the sole focus to be on the economy.

[06:30:01]

They feel that really is where the story is. Of course, there is the trade war with China. There is the slowing global economy. But climate change is a big part of this summit, and Justin Trudeau will likely be bringing that up with the president in this meeting that's underway.

PAUL: Pamela, Canada and China have their own friction. There was that Canadian arrest of Huawei, the executive, late last year, and then the subsequent detention of the two Canadians and agricultural trade disputes with China.

So when we talk about that, this is a man that President Trump last year at the end of the G summit in Quebec called meek, mild, dishonest, weak. What influence does Prime Minister Trudeau have over President Trump when they're talking trade with China?

BROWN: Well, that is a big question. And, you're right, the president did speak out about the detention of those Canadians. But they've had sort of a rocky relationship, to say the least. As you'll recall, it was very contentious at last year's G7. Justin Trudeau really pushed back against President Trump, saying that he won't back down on trade. And in response, the president withdrew from the communique. It was really a remarkable turn of events.

Since then, the leaders seem to sort of bridge their differences. They reached an agreement on USMCA. But in terms of influence from Justin Trudeau, that remains to be seen. The president himself actually admitted this morning, which was pretty remarkable, that he is having second thoughts on the trade war with China.

So it seems that this could be an opening for Justin Trudeau to make his thoughts known on what he thinks about the trade war, the tariffs and how that could be hurting the global economy.

PAUL: Pamela Brown, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: So we'll take you to the ground for a view of what these fires in Brazil are doing to the Amazon rain forest. Trees destroyed, vegetation burned, smoldering there as well. Brazil's military is starting to fight back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

BLACKWELL: We're getting a look this morning at what Brazil is doing to fight the fires in the Amazon rain forest. The Brazilian Air Force released a video that shows planes dropping water on to hot spots. Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, said last night that he's sending more than 43,000 troops to fight fires.

PAUL: And take a look at what has already been lost though. Look at these new pictures here. Harsh scene in Boca do Acre, Brazil. Wildfire -- or wildlife, rather, is devastated by this fire, of course. Smoke is filling the air.

And just moments ago, the Pope said this, quote, that forest lung is vital to our planet. And he encouraged everyone to pray that they can overcome the fires.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Brazil, one of the frontlines on -- one of the frontlines of this fire fight. What are you seeing today? Anything different, I guess, than we saw yesterday when we were speaking with you, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Startling. I mean, for those who were watching yesterday, the scene this morning we've woken up and Porto Velho has monumentally changed. The camera man, Jose Mika (ph), just come off me show you the sun this morning.

Standard to see it red, but it's kind of shrouded by the smoke that is obliterating much of the city skyline here. There is an accurate smell of the forest burning at this point.

Let me just pan across to the river here. We could see a bit down it yesterday. But, clearly, the weather patterns have changed and brought the smoke that we know is raging from the fires in Rondonia State, where we are here, all the way over the forest skyline here.

We're just going to turn you over the bridge so you can see what's happening on the other side. That's visibility of about very most five -- 400, 500 yards maybe, quite extraordinary. I can smell it in my mouth now, really quite pungent.

Now, you know, this is not an exact science, trying to explain to people how the fires are burning here. This is the worst affected state, certainly. And this is the main town in one part of it. And it does clearly got affected by patterns of wind change.

We drove out into the forest ourselves. And, actually, as I speak to you, I'm beginning to slowly feel the impact of the smoke. Along the main highways and either side of that part of the forest had been burnt deliberately, police said. In fact, they said, at night, people come out and set the fires.

They see a surge in flames then. Because much of the problem, critics say, is because humans are setting fire to the forest to get rid of the canopy, which is the thing that creates 20 percent of the air that you and I breath. One in every five breaths that you take come from the Amazon rain forest and enable them to then turn it into farmland for cattle, on which we saw all over all over the landscape here too.

Now, also today, you see those trucks coming past, a sign of, really, the industry here. This road is a constant flow of massive trucks.

We know that the military is on their way. They have been very publicly putting out pictures of them spraying parts of the area from big Hercules Transport C-130 planes, trying to put the fires out. In fact, you wouldn't be able to see it today, but yesterday, we saw some transport planes landing behind us. But is that the scale required to fix this problem?

I have to say I am stunned waking up this morning and seeing how the smoke has changed overnight. Clearly, something has changed in the wind. There was a hope today that maybe the rains might possibly come in and begin to slow this down. We're at the mercy of nature to some degree and also human intervention, the human stop setting the fires, as it's contended (ph) here. President Bolsonaro says a lot of this is down to the dry season and the normal burns that occur when things are hot. But, frankly, it's 85 percent up on last year, possibly the worst they've seen in decades, depending on the numbers you look at.

On the other side is human intervention is can they send the army in fast enough and temporary firefighters to put these things out?

Most of the fires, as far as we can see, are happening very far away from the main built-up roads and there're acres and acres of this vast part of the planet potentially at risk. We saw yesterday simply how a tiny fire can cover 100 yards by the side of the road literally in three minutes. This is a global emergency climate change and this is the most media frontline of it. Victor, Christi?

BLACKWELL: They have a lot of work to do. Nick Paton Walsh, be safe out there. Thank you so much.

PAUL: Well, Prince Andrew is trying once again to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein, insisting that he knew nothing about the convicted sex offender's behavior.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

PAUL: Forty-three minutes past the hour right now, and Prince Andrew is claiming he wasn't that close to Jeffrey Epstein. There's a new statement in which the prince says he never saw or even suspected any of the behavior that led to Epstein's conviction for sex crimes. And he added, quote, it was a mistake and an error to see him after his release 2010.

BLACKWELL: The prince is referring to this video which appears to show prince at Epstein's mansion in 2010, that's two years after Epstein has -- had registered as a sex offender after pleading guilty to sex crimes. Now, CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the video or when it was shot.

CNN's Mark Bolton joins us now from London. Mark, two statements in one week from the palace were especially on this single issue. Are they worried?

MARK BOLTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have a good reason to be. Yes, the question you ask is poignant. There's a black hole in the statement issued by Prince Andrew, and that is about what he intends to do with regard to any future investigation, nothing in the statement with regard to have potential for him to cooperate.

And the big question that's been asked here by the British media and the world media understandably are, why did Prince Andrew continue what he calls now a friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction for procuring an underage girl for prostitution in 2008.

[06:45:03] He says in the second statement, the first coming, of course, from Buckingham Palace on Monday of last week when it was said he was appalled at the action of Epstein, it says in this new statement that it was a mistake to continue that relationship.

Of course, there is photographs published in The New York Times of them together in 2010 after the 18-month sentence that Epstein served in the U.S. And as you mentioned and we've seen, the video footage showing Prince Andrew at a residence of Epstein after that date.

But there is little else at the moment that silences the many questions here being asked. Yes, he talks of seeing him in that period of time and saying it was a surprise that the character that he knew in terms of Epstein wasn't the man ultimately that we found out that he's been, that the evidence that has come to light since suggest a very different character. But the prosecution, the conviction was a matter of public record. He was a convicted pedophile at the time.

He admits to having met Epstein in 1999, saying he saw him infrequently but he did visit the residence. He said he had sympathy for those who have fallen victim to Epstein. But there are questions here in London and around the world still yet to be answered.

PAUL: All right. Mark Bolton, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: We want to share with you this terrifying situation at the PGA Championship. A bolt of lightning injured spectators. Coy Wire is here with more.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. This is why it is important to take thunderstorms very seriously. We'll tell you where the spectators were when the bolt was hit and how they're doing coming up on New Day.

PAUL: And be sure to tune in tonight for the CNN film's premiere of "Halston," a film about the first big name American fashion designer. Here's a preview for you.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was totally laser-focused on this collection because in his mind I'm sure this was make or break.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the ladies of society were there. The vogue ladies were sitting in the front row. Oh, my goodness, this is it. We're doing this show. He lined us girls up. We were all perfectly dressed. And he would go to the first girl and whisper something into their ear and he'd say, now, don't forget, you're the best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His clothes hit me, like this is it. This is the fashion that I would want to wear. No zippers, just get in over your head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overnight success. It was a clean look. The simplicity was really needed after the '60s. And it was all American from an all-American boy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: "Halston" premieres tonight at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN.

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[06:50:00]

BLACKWELL: We bring stunning news from NFL. At just 29 years old, Indianapolis Colts' star quarterback Andrew Luck is announcing his retirement.

PAUL: Yes. He said because of the mental and physical toll that's been taken on him. This is interesting, Coy. At 29, he's already feeling it.

WIRE: Yes, someone who had to walk away from the NFL myself because injury. I know this decision for him was really difficult. He's one of the best players in the entire league, last season's comeback player of the year, he's walking away from tens of millions of dollars.

His plan was to tell teammates and make a public announcement today but a reporter broke the news unbeknownst to him while he was on the sideline during a preseason game last night. Fans clearly upset about this. One man even taking off the Luck jersey he was wearing as the game ended, walking off the field. This is what Luck heard.

Boos from the fans of the team he worked so hard for, suffering injuries like a lacerated kidney, a torn abdomen, torn cartilage, a concussion.

Here he was afterwards.

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ANDREW LUCK, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS QUARTERBACK: I'd be lying if I didn't say I heard the reaction. Yes, it hurt. I'll be honest, Jeff (ph), it hurt.

I'm in pain. I'm still in pain. I've been in this cycle, which feels like -- I mean, it's been four years of this injury, pain, rehab cycle. And for me to move forward in my life the way I want to, it doesn't involve football.

Mom, dad, Mary (ph), Uncle Will, all my friends, thank you.

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WIRE: Praise and shock pouring in from around the league. Luck was one of the most talented, nicest and well respected men in the sport. He has an engineering degree from Stanford University, hopefully a bright future ahead of him. Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones said he hopes Luck would run for U.S. president one day. There's a frightening moment at the PGA Championship in Atlanta, lightning striking a tree where spectators were gathered. Play was already halted in the third round. The PGA telling spectators to find cover but some were lingering on the course doing what you're told never to do, hide under a tree. Six people injured. CNN's Ana Cabrera spoke with one of them last night.

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BILLY KRAMER, SPECTATOR INJURED IN LIGHTNING STRIKE: I was in a golf cart just about to pass the tree when the lightning struck the tree.

[06:54:59]

And I still don't recall whether I was thrown from the cart or if I jumped from the cart because I -- at some point, I thought the tree was going to fall. And so I was trying to get away from the tree as quickly as possible.

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WIRE: No serious injuries. Everyone expected to be okay. The rest of the third round resumes at 8:00 a.m. Eastern before the start of the fourth and final round.

Going back to Andrew Luck, you have to respect the man who does what's best for his health, for his family despite it being a very painful decision.

BLACKWELL: Which is why I don't understand, and again, I don't watch the league as much --

PAUL: I was going to say the same thing.

BLACKWELL: -- the booing from the team that he played for.

WIRE: It's tough, right? You know, what is that about our culture whereas a CEO or a Wall Street tycoon in a high-stress or a situation, they walk away and you're applauded for it. I respect you for being able to do it, have the courage to do that. But there's something about sports that is maybe not right.

BLACKWELL: He's in physical pain and he's --

PAUL: Do you think that they didn't recognize that when they heard the news there on the stands, maybe they didn't understand the circumstances by which he made this decision?

WIRE: Yes, and maybe a knee-jerk reaction, right? That's what we were hoping. Hopefully we'll see more positive responses to his decision from those fans today.

PAUL: It was clearly so hard for him. Thank you so much, Coy. And thank you for starting your morning with us. We always appreciate you being here.

BLACKWELL: Much more ahead in the next hour of your New Day. It starts after the break.

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BLACKWELL: President Trump called the British leader the right man to lead the U.K. out of the European Union.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He needs to (INAUDIBLE).

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He's the right man for the job. A very big trade deal, bigger than we've ever had with the U.K.

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