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New Day Sunday

Iran Pressured By Protesters After Admitting It Shot Down Jet; At Least Nine Deaths Blamed On Triple-Threat Storm; Trump, Impeachment And Iran Weigh On The Minds Of Iowans; Saudi Servicemen To Be Expelled From U.S. After Navy Base Shooting; Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) Is Interviewed About The War Powers Resolution And Congresswoman Ocasio- Cortez's Refusal To Pay DCCC Dues; British Royals To Meet After Decision Sparks Family Crisis. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired January 12, 2020 - 07:00   ET

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

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: -- to you as they're rendering a ruling, if we ever get there because we're just doing (ph) jury selection now.

[07:00:05]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Right, right, which starts again tomorrow, and amazing how many people have said, I can't be impartial, just outright letting them know. It's something else.

Joey Jackson, appreciate it so much. Thank you.

JACKSON: Always good to see you, Christi.

PAUL: You too.

JACKSON: Thank you.

PAUL: Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Protesters in Iran calling on the supreme leader to step down over the downing of that Ukrainian jet.

(CHANTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're seeing the president expressing solidarity with protesters in Iran saying, to the brave long suffering people of Iran, my administration will continue to stand with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking about a deeply authoritarian regime. So, they're going to repress these protests.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A close look at the air base in Iraq where U.S. troops rode out two hours of missile strikes and explosions this past week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The troops that lived here lost everything. There is the sense that, while this phase of what is unfolding has concluded, everyone here is still very much on high alert.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thousands of Iranians want the supreme leader out. And right now, the Iranian regime is feel growing pressure as more protests are expected.

Thousands of Iranians were in the streets of Tehran yesterday, several chanting, as you hear, "death to the liar, supreme leader". Their anger is fueled in large part by the downing of that Ukrainian airlines passenger jet.

PAUL: And back in Washington, President Trump is sending a message of support to the Iranian people. He sent a tweet in English and Farsi calling the protesters brave, saying he stood with them since the beginning of his presidency.

I want to begin with CNN's Kristen Holmes in Washington.

So, why is the president, I think a lot of people are wondering why is he inserting himself into these protests now?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi and Victor.

That's a good question. And there's a couple of things going on here. Let's look at where we were just one week ago after the U.S. launched those drone strikes and killed Soleimani. We saw Iranians in the streets seemingly united against America. We heard chants of death to America.

This is a complete 180 here and for obvious reasons, this is a better narrative for President Trump and the Trump administration. But the other thing to note here is this focus on the protests really shifts the focus away from the justification for killing Soleimani. That isn't something that we have seen these administration officials really fall all over themselves as they are trying to explain why it was important, why they needed to do this at this time.

Now, you see President Trump really seizing this opportunity. He took to Twitter, tweeting in both English and in Farsi, which, of course, is the predominant language spoken in Iran. I'm going to read here from the English version.

It says: To the brave, long suffering people of Iran, I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely and are inspired by your courage.

He then continues on and says: The world is watching.

But I want to note here, this is not just a 180 for the Iranians. This is a clear 180 for President Trump. While he says in this tweet that he has stood by the Iranian people since the beginning of his presidency, this is the same president who essentially banned Iranians from coming to the U.S. within a month of taking office. He campaigned on the so-called Muslim ban.

In addition to that, this is also the same president who just one week ago was threatening to bomb Iranian culture sites, sites that are likely not just important to the Iranian government, but to the people as well.

PAUL: All right. Kristen Holmes, good to see you this morning. Thanks for the update.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Kristen.

With us now to discuss, CNN National Security Analyst, Juliette Kayyem. She's a former assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.

Welcome back, Juliette.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: Wet's start with the environment, setting the stage for the conversation. First, at the end of last year you had the mass protests across Iran, 1,500 people killed by security forces. That brief moment of solidarity after the killing of Soleimani and now you've got this that we've seen in Iran, but also the additional sanctions that are coming, the suspicion from around the globe.

Talk to us about the delicate nature of what we're seeing in Iran.

KAYYEM: So, it's only January 12th.

[07:05:01]

And if you just take us back to the New Year, right -- so, you have the Soleimani killing, you have a sort of wide reaction by Iranians about that. You have the brinksmanship of the military effort and then the response by the Iranians against us. You then have the downing of an airplane, sort of as a consequence of the high stakes, solely on the Iranians, and now, this response on the street.

So I would be a bad analyst if I told you, this is how it's going to unfold because the last 10 to 11 days have been surprising about what is drawing Iranians to the street. Most countries are self -- most people want to protect their country. So the response after the Soleimani killing, millions of people on the street is much bigger than what we're seeing in terms of the protests. We just want to put it in context.

The two things I can tell you are first, this does appear to be about the lying about the airline disaster. Most of the people killed were not Canadians. They were Iranians. The regime lied.

They could no longer sustain that lie. They didn't all of a sudden decide to tell the truth. They could not longer sustain telling that lie. The second thing, this has nothing to do with U.S. domestic politics. Trump is not being chanted in the streets. This is about a country that has experienced something quite dramatic in the last 12 days.

BLACKWELL: Yes, let me ask you about the assertion that the president made, his belief in this Fox News interview about the threat that he says that Soleimani posed before he ordered that drone strike. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Large scale attacks planned for other embassies and if those were planned, why can't we reveal that to the American people? Wouldn't that help your case?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: I can reveal that I believe that it probably would have been four embassies. Now, a senior administration official and a senior defense official told the "Washington Post" that they were aware of only a vague plot involving the Baghdad embassy. Does it make sense that Congress would not have been told that, as members have said, that that would not have been included in the president's address to the nation on Friday, but it kind of just rolls it out in this conversation with Laura Ingraham?

KAYYEM: Yes. So, searching for a justification at this stage.

Let's be clear here, the Gang of Eight ought to have known this. This idea that the gang of eight can't be trusted with sources and methods is a new construct of what disclosure to Congress actually means. So, we should set that aside. That is the administration essentially keeping information as they ought to disclose to the heads of the intelligence committees.

Second is, look, there's a difference between knowing someone is a threat and intelligence sort of themes, someone may want to go after an embassy. Embassies are prime targets. One would assume if someone want today go after the United States, an embassy would be a target. And the idea that the threat is imminent.

The idea that Iran was going to target four embassies is an act of war, period, right? So, if that were true, would our response really have been to take out just one person? Absolutely not.

So I look forward as do others to hear what was the reason for the immanency that the Trump administration is sort of trying to find right now.

BLACKWELL: All right. Juliette Kayyem, we'll see if we get more from the administration this week. Thanks so much for being with us.

KAYYEM: Thank you. PAUL: Also this morning, as Iran faces global criticism, one of the

top Olympic athletes is defecting. Taekwondo fighter Kimia Alizadeh earned a bronze medal in Rio in 2016. She was Iran's first and only female Olympic medalist.

In a post on Instagram, she said she didn't want to be complicit in the government's, quote, corruption and lies, writing in part, I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran. They took me wherever they wanted. I wore whatever they said. Every sentence they ordered me to say, I repeated. Whenever they saw fit, they exploited me.

Here in the U.S., moving on to another story here. At least nine people are dead. This line of severe storms --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: -- I don't think we saw it coming what we're seeing this morning.

BLACKWELL: Yes, all across the south and Midwest this weekend, three of the deaths, we know there are at least nine, they happened in Alabama. Some homes there you see wiped out by a tornado. The latest death reported was in was a man in Oklahoma. He was swept away by floodwaters.

PAUL: More than a quarter million customers across nine states lost power and millions were put under flood watches, flights at major airports, we're talking about O'Hare, for instance, are getting back to normal this morning fortunately. In Chicago, more than a thousand flights were canceled, though, because of that dangerous mix of freezing rain, ice and snow.

[07:10:01]

Meteorologist Karen Maginnis tracking what's left of this storm.

How much of it is left, I guess, Karen?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Christi and Victor, good morning.

Hardly anyone was spared by this huge storm system that cut a wide path across the central United States and then trekked towards the east and in its wake, high winds, hail, snow, deadly tornadoes. But also deadly winds reported.

Here are the wind reports: almost 500. That brought down trees and power lines. But the 12 tornadoes spread from the Deep South into the central Mississippi River valley. That already claimed at least nine lives.

Sadly, an elderly couple in Bossier City, in Bossier Parish, that's near Shreveport, Louisiana.

I want to show you this map. This gives you an idea of the temperatures today. In particular, for Pittsburgh, yesterday's high temperature was 71 degrees. Typically, they would be around 36. Well, it's not going to be that much cooler today. It's going to be breezy, but temperatures mostly in the 60s.

All right. Our frontal system, the entire system is trekking to the east. Most of it has pulled away. Most of the severe weather is gone, a few thunderstorms across the mid-Atlantic. But it is icy and snowy all the way from Toronto to Buffalo to Bangor, Maine, with gusty winds. So, it definitely is impacting that region.

And there was a little ball game they're going to be playing at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. They had a little bit of snow there. It's going to be brisk. Kansas City drive carefully. The roads will be slick because you had ice and snow there as well.

Frontal system will linger across the Southeast. As it does, rainfall is going to persist in the forecast. We're not completely finished with this weather system. We have power outages encompassing a number of states to the tune of in excess of 300,000 without power.

Victor, Christi, back to you.

PAUL: Wow. All right. Karen Maginnis, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Three weeks now before the Iowa caucuses. And this morning, we're hearing from voters there. Coming up, how the back and forth this military action with Iran could impact their votes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what happened this week will put more urgency in what's going on, more so than the impeachment hearing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Also, more than a dozen servicemen will be expelled from the U.S. after a review of the deadly shooting at an air station last month. The findings of that review put DOD security measures in question.

BLACKWELL: And signs of an even wider rift in the British monarchy. We'll tell you who's being summoned for a royal summit tomorrow as Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan face an uncertain future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:16:52]

BLACKWELL: The Iowa caucuses first contest in the 2020 race just 22 days away now.

PAUL: Iowa voters have had months, as you know, to meet the candidates, to learn their positions. Counting down February 3rd, President Trump, impeachment, tensions with Iran, they're all weighing on the minds of caucus-goers and I'm sure you.

Here's CNN's Kyung Lah. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christi and Victor, as Bernie Sanders held his town hall in Davenport, Iowa, CNN released an Iowa poll on President Trump and impeachment. The poll found among registered Iowa voters, it is divided, 45 percent disapprove of the House impeachment, 43 percent approve.

Looking ahead to the Senate trial, 48 percent say Trump should not be removed, 40 percent say he should be removed. And whether or not Iowans would vote for Trump, just 34 percent of registered Iowa voters say they would definitely vote for him again if the election were today, 44 percent say they would definitely vote for someone else.

While spending the last few days talking to various voters, here is what one Republican told us.

JAMES TEMME, IOWA REGISTERED REPUBLICAN: I'm not a Trump supporter for many, many reasons. I do not have an appetite for any type of war and what we are involved with overseas as far as the Middle East and what happened this week was -- Trump almost stepped on a landmine. I think this -- what happened this week will put more urgency in what's going on more so than the impeachment hearings.

LAH: Is it possible that you might caucus with the Democrats?

TEMME: Oh, absolutely. I'm not going to vote for Trump if he's a candidate. Absolutely not.

LAH: That voter tells us he wants to remain a Republican but as long as Trump is at the top of the ticket, he will vote for someone else -- Christi, Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Kyung Lah, thank you so much.

CNN Political Commentator, Errol Louis is with us now. He's also a political anchor for Spectrum News.

Good morning, Errol.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Christi.

PAUL: Thank you for being here.

So, according to that poll, based on what we just heard, it would indicate that while people do not approve of what was allegedly done in this Ukraine call, they don't necessarily want the president removed from office. What message does that send to Democrats as we head into a week where the articles of impeachment are supposed to be submitted to the senate?

LOUIS: Well, one message is does send, Christi the voters are saying, we'll take care of this. We don't want you to remove the president but perhaps we the voters might do that in November. I think this is the voters wanting to have their say and wanting to be involved in this.

There's been so much back and forth. I think the Democrats will have to keep in mind the voters want to not be ignored. They don't want to be shut out. They don't want to be watching a bunch of politics on television.

They want to go into the voting booth. They want to go to the caucus room. They want to make this happen themselves.

PAUL: OK.

[07:20:00]

So speaking of back and forth, we're hearing from Senator Susan Collins who is now working with a group of Republicans to further discuss what's going to happen in an upcoming Senate trial when it comes to witnesses. Let's listen to what she said here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I am working with a group of Republican senators and our leaders to see if we can come to an agreement on some language that would be in the initial resolution setting out the parameters of the trial in the Senate that would include an opportunity for the House to call witnesses and the president's counsel to also call witnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Errol, there's been a lot of debate about whether holding the articles was advantageous for Speaker Pelosi. Does this conversation from Senator Collins give us any indication that maybe it did produce some fruit?

LOUIS: Oh, absolutely. What you heard from Senator Collins was a cry for political help. She and others facing re-election and -- or getting a lot of pressure. They can't afford to have Mitch McConnell turn this into a charade.

If it looks like it's a summary dismissal without taking seriously the very real concerns that are out there, she knows that it's going to cause a political problem. She's not the only one. There are a number of vulnerable Republican senators running for re-election. That's the group she's talking about.

And they're asking their majority leader, conference leader, Mitch McConnell to not make this a joke, not make this something that's going to play well on fox news but nowhere else. McConnell, of course, has to take that seriously. If he loses enough of those members, his rather slim majority in the Senate goes away, and with it much of his power.

PAUL: All righty. Errol Louis, always appreciate your input. I think I know where you're going to be on Tuesday. I hope you're going to be Kind of eyeballs on the same thing as we are. CNN, of course. Thank you, Errol. LOUIS: I'll be live tweeting along with a bunch of other people.

PAUL: I can't wait to see that. Live tweeting from Errol.

Yes. CNN, the place to be for the next Democratic presidential debate. Debate is in partnership with "The Des Moines Register", by the way. It is this Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Interesting medical breakthrough for couples having trouble having children. Coming up, the Pennsylvania mother who gave birth using a transplanted uterus.

PAUL: Also, more questions about security after more than a dozen Saudi servicemen were found to have connections to extremist movements following that deadly shooting at a naval air base last month.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:26:56]

PAUL: Well, this morning, more than a dozen Saudi servicemen, we're learning, who are training at U.S. military bases will be expelled from the U.S. This is after a review of a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Florida.

BLACKWELL: A 21-year-old Saudi air force second lieutenant started shooting, killed three American sailors in that incident.

We have with us now CNN Crime and Justice Producer, David Shortell.

David, good morning to you.

What have you learned about the trainees and what has the Department of Defense learned about them?

DAVID SHORTELL, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: Hey, good morning, Victor and Christi. At least 12 Saudi military trainees are expected to be expelled after a review and an investigation into that shooting that began last month at the Pensacola naval air base when three sailors were killed, as you noted by that 21-year-old Saudi who had been training at the air base there.

Now, as you noted, we do not expect that these Saudi military officials who are going to be expelled are going to be accused of aiding that 21-year-old. But officials have said that they found child pornography on some of these officials' possession as well as a connection, potentially, online to extremist groups. Some troubling things found in this investigation.

You'll remember a group of 12 Saudi service members had been confined to their quarters as the FBI investigated the shooting as a potential terror attack last month and into this month. Well, now, Victor and Christi, we can report that the Justice Department is expected to conclude that it was in fact an act of terrorism and we expect to see these 12 or more Saudi service members sent home as a result. PAUL: So, David, I want to ask you about the vetting process here. A

lot of people might be wondering, why would it take an investigation into a shooting to find out about these alleged activities against these servicemen?

SHORTELL: Yes. Christi, that's really the question top of mind for federal investigators and for lawmakers in the wake of this shooting. We know that it's something that the Pentagon has really tried to wrap their heads around in recent weeks as well. There are currently more than 5,000 foreign students training at U.S. military bases from dozens of countries, including 850 Saudi service members.

The Pentagon has said that they are vetting these students and that the vetting historically has been done in conjunction with the Departments of Homeland Security and State. And these are the U.S. agencies that are going to be able to interface with local host, law enforcement agencies and run the names of potential students against U.S. government watch lists.

But, Christi and Victor, since the shooting, the Defense Department has said that they've restricted Saudi students to classroom training while conducting a review of the vetting procedures. On Saturday, I should note, that a Defense Department spokesman from the defense department says it's still in place while new screening and security measures are being implemented.

BLACKWELL: David Shortell for us this morning -- David, thank you for your reporting.

SHORTELL: Thanks.

PAUL: Thank you.

Still ahead, why Greyhound bus lines is handing out free tickets to some young people.

BLACKWELL: Also, coming up, we talk to Congresswoman Cheri Bustos about her voting to restrict the president's power when it comes to Iran, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:34:40]

BLACKWELL: House lawmakers voted to pass a war powers resolution. This was an effort to restrain the president's ability to use military action against Iran without congressional approval. Eight Democratic lawmakers oppose the resolution.

Two of them, Congresswoman Elaine Luria of Virginia and Congressman Max Rose of New York who are also veterans, they wrote an op-ed in "The New York Times" and here's part of it.

This past week underscored that the United States is operating under outdated laws governing the use of force. We must replace the nearly two decade-old AUMF with a legal framework that empowers the president to act against threats to our nation while constraining him from unilaterally placing us on a war -- path to war.

Joining me discussion, Democratic Congresswoman from Illinois, Cheri Bustos, also chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Congresswoman, thanks for being with us this morning.

REP. CHERI BUSTOS (D-IL): Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So, let me flip that sentence into a question here to you. Why not spend this time doing something with teeth? Instead of a nonbinding resolution, why not focus on, as they suggest, repealing the 2002 AUMF or working on legislation as they suggested on how to empower the president?

BUSTOS: Well, I can tell you why I supported the War Powers Resolution. And, look, we need to make sure that the president understands thoroughly what the constitutional duties of his office are. And that is to consult with Congress to make sure that everything -- all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed before we do something like what happened with taking out General Soleimani.

I have growth great respect for Max Rose. I have great respect for Elaine Luria. They served our country. They know this in and out.

I think there's no problem with them bringing up the fact that we should be looking at the authorized use of military force. It's just -- it's an extenuation of the fact that we voted on the War Powers Resolution this week, sending the message to the president that, consult with us before you get into any more of these endless wars.

It's -- you know, all we have to do is go back to candidate Trump when he talked about that he as president of the United States would put an end to these endless wars.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BUSTOS: I don't know if our country is any safer today than it was before he made this decision to take out General Soleimani.

BLACKWELL: But you say send a message to the president. House Democrats have sent lots of messages to the president. When will the House Democrats send a message that is enforceable by law?

BUSTOS: Well, this is all moving pretty quickly. Nobody saw this coming, including what's called the Gang of Eight. We know that if you look at past administrations, Democrats and Republicans, they knew that they could consult with and advise the Gang of Eight, the top Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate who have the intelligence, and the background to consult with the president.

Look, again, I don't think we need to close off any more debate about this. But --

BLACKWELL: You may not believe that you need to close off any debate, but are you calling on the House now to take up legislation to repeal the 2002 AUMF?

BUSTOS: There have been discussions both in our caucus and among members. We're very fortunate with this freshman class that we have in the House --

BLACKWELL: But beyond discussions, and I hate to interrupt but we have a little bit amount of time.

BUSTOS: Uh-huh.

BLACKWELL: Discussions, not closing doors. When will Democrats take the next step? There's a lot of discussion about repealing the 2002 AUMF. But will it be something that you will push for should that happen?

BUSTOS: Look, I am -- I'm one member of 435 members of the House of Representatives. I can tell you where I feel about this.

The president was operating under the 2002 authorized use of military force. We have been very clear as Democrats that that did not apply with taking out General Soleimani.

So, if there's any other action that the president plans to take, what we have been saying as Democrats is that it is not good enough to use the 2002 AUMF to do any more action or take any more action.

BLACKWELL: I get that, Congresswoman. But should -- I'm asking for -- and it's a really yes or no question.

BUSTOS: Uh-huh.

BLACKWELL: Should you move to the step of repealing it and should you now move to the step of some enforceable legislation? I'm asking the one member of 435. I get that. I'm just asking for your opinion.

BUSTOS: Yes.

Well, my opinion is that the president was not authorized to go in and take out General Soleimani. It was improper to say that the 2002 authorize use of military force --

BLACKWELL: I get.

BUSTOS: -- did not apply in this case.

BLACKWELL: All right. My question was what will you could next, but I took four passes at that.

BUSTOS: Good try.

BLACKWELL: Let me go here to what's happening this weekend with Representative Ocasio-Cortez, withholding her dues, $250,000 to the DCCC.

She tweeted this this weekend: The DCCC made it clear that they will blacklist any organization that helps progressive candidates like me. I can choose not to fund that kind of exclusion.

Now, according to the rule, the DCCC will not conduct business with nor recommend to any of its targeted campaigns any consultant that works with an opponent of a sitting member of the House Democratic Caucus, that includes Democrats

Is this now proving to be more problematic than beneficial this as the congresswoman calls it, her word, not mine, a blacklist?

[07:40:03]

BUSTOS: Well, I welcome Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez to raise money and make this pledge that she's going to help our candidates. We just left 2019 in the best shape financially than we've ever been at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. And our grassroots donations total $60 million from 2019.

So, I think we're doing OK. Grassroots folks out there from all levels, from every corner of this country understand what's at stake going into 2020. We have 42 freshmen Democrats who will be up for re- election for the first time. And these are people who know their districts inside and out.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BUSTOS: And they already have seen wonderful accomplishments.

So, we have to make sure, if we want to hang on to the House majority as Democrats, we've got to be very successful.

I welcome the fact that Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is going to raise money and help Democrats. And we need that.

BLACKWELL: Well, let me ask you this, she's raising money, but she's also endorsing two progressive, she would call them Democrats, challenging incumbent Democrats, and she's not now paying those $250,000 in DCCC dues.

Is she good for the Democratic Caucus in the House?

BUSTOS: Look, she has a lot of followers. I have respect for her. She brings a new voice to Congress.

BLACKWELL: That's -- I'm low on time. Is she good for the caucus?

BUSTOS: You know, look, we've got members from all different spectrums. I respect her and she brings a new voice. I think that's always welcome.

BLACKWELL: It's interesting. I have the chairwoman of the DCCC whose job it is to support incumbent and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is one.

And I'm asking you just a straightforward question. Is she good for the Democratic Caucus and the House?

BUSTOS: Look, she brings a voice. We have members from all different spectrums of the Democratic Party.

Look, I come from a district that Donald Trump won. My politics are somewhat different than hers. But she brings a voice that's welcome. And I have great -- I have great appreciation for that.

BLACKWELL: She raised more money in the third quarter of 2019 than any other Democrat in the House, including the speaker of the House. She has given, as she counts, $300,000 to other incumbents, including some in swing districts and I'm asking the chairwoman of the DCCC if this member, who is right now in the top ten of House members raising money if she's good for the caucus. And you can't give me a straight yes or no?

BUSTOS: Look, I have respect for all 235 of the Democrats in our caucus. She is bringing a new voice. The fact that she has raised unbelievable amounts of money and the fact that she just announced she's willing to help our candidates who need -- who could benefit with that financial help. That's welcome.

BLACKWELL: All right.

BUSTOS: And you're asking a yes or no question. I'm a former reporter, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BUSTOS: So I understand what you're trying to get at. But here's what I'm going to say --

BLACKWELL: Yes, I'm trying to get to a simple answer. And I took four passes each at two questions, and I didn't get there.

But, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos --

BUSTOS: I have respect for her, I welcome her into our delegation and I'm also very happy that she's willing to help our candidates.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much.

BUSTOS: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: We'll be right back.

BUSTOS: Thanks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:47:33]

BLACKWELL: Tomorrow, the British royal family plans to come together for a meeting on Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's future.

PAUL: Yes, the palace has been in crisis mode since the couple's decision to step back from royal duties. And this is the first summit of the royals since the announcement on Wednesday.

The queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry all expected to attend. Meghan is expected to call in from Canada.

Now, CNN's Hadas Gold is with us from London.

So, Hadas, first of all, what do we know? Because I know there's some new reporting regarding the impact this has had between Prince William and Prince Harry and their relationship.

HADAS GOLD, CNN REPORTER: Right. So, what we know right now, is as you said, there will be a meeting tomorrow at Sandringham Castle. This is one of the queen's country homes. It's about a little over two hours away from London and attending in person will be all the senior members of the royal family, including Prince Harry.

And as you noted, Meghan Markle is expect today call in as she's returned to Canada to be with her son Archie. And actually, we don't actually know when she's expected to return to United Kingdom, or Prince Harry is expected to fly over to see her because he actually has some engagements, royal engagements, including at Buckingham Place in the next few days. And as far as we know, he's still expected to attend.

Now, at this meeting, it's the first time they're all meeting in person. There have been several discussions because the queen has instructed everybody to work as she said at pace, to try and figure out a solution here. They don't want it dragging on for a long time. And even though, the discussions are in place, they have warned it may take time for it to be implemented.

And some of the top issues they will be discussion, for example, this desire for the duke and duchess of Sussex to be financially independent. What will that mean about their funding? What will that mean about the types of jobs that they will or will not take? Of course, where will they live? How will their security look like? Who will be funding their security?

Now, as you noted, we are getting our first bits of comment from Prince William. Now, these are comments he's allegedly told a friend that were published in "The Times of London".

And he said, according to "The Times", I put my arm around my brother all our lives. And I can't do that anymore. We are separate entities.

So, clearly, this is a crisis that is still engulfing the royal family. It's still on all of the cover pages in the United Kingdom. It's a story that is continuing to run on and on.

And as far as we've seen from the queen, she has not made any official comments yet from herself. She did attend church in Sandringham but all eyes are currently on her and the Sandringham castle as we expect that meeting tomorrow morning.

BLACKWELL: No comments from the queen yet, and that is a perfect segue to my follow-up. How much do we expect to learn from this summit?

[07:50:03] How much should we know about their future before they actually make a move, invest or get -- I guess they're working on their own now, their next job?

GOLD: Well, I do expect we'll hear something from the palace in the next few days, maybe in the next few weeks. Now, they have warned that the changes won't be implemented immediately, that it might take some time for everybody to get used to it and for it to start, because think about, there are some logistic things at place here as well. For example, part of Harry and Meghan's staff come from the palace itself. So, what will that mean? Will they have to hire new staff themselves?

There are a lot of changes that need to take place but the queen has instructed everybody to work at pace to make this happen as soon as possible.

BLACKWELL: Hadas Gold for us in London -- Hadas, thank you.

GOLD: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: So, every year, Greyhound gives out free bus tickets.

PAUL: We're going to tell you what makes this program so unique and who gets those tickets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:41]

PAUL: Let's get some human kindness in this week here. For the past 25 years, Greyhound had been giving free bus tickets to runaway kids and young adults. Now, this is called the Home Free Program. It's helped reunite more than 16,000 families.

And this week, I spoke with Susan Frankel. She's the head of the National Runaway Safeline. I don't know if you knew this existed.

But here's what she told me about the partnership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN FRANKEL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NATIONAL RUNAWAY SAFELINE: So the partnership between the National Runaway Safeline and Greyhound is huge and it's critically important for surveying and providing support and homes for the homeless youth in this country. We are incredibly grateful to work with Greyhound since 1995 to provide this program and it is actually only one of the national transportation programs of this nature serving runaway and homeless youth in this country. So, it's -- it's essential that we have this program.

PAUL: Being that you work with the National Runaway Safeline, there might be a lot of misconceptions about run away kids. They're not bad kids. What do you often hear from them a -- as to why they ran away and what they're dealing with when they're not at home?

FRANKEL: So, I think it is that a really important piece that you mentioned in terms of this misconception that youths who run away are bad kids. And that is certainly not the case at all. The young people that we work with and interface with and talk with day in and day out are kids who are running from situations that are unimaginable in many cases at home.

So they're running from abuse, from neglect, from domestic violence, from human trafficking situations, from mental health circumstances, from unstable families for just a variety of different reasons. And every -- there isn't sort of a one typical run away or homeless youth. They're facing circumstances and situations that for many of us are hard to imagine or hard to survive.

PAUL: Yes.

FRANKEL: And so, they're typically -- will always say they're running from something. And people don't want to be homeless or living on the streets or going from couch to couch.

They want a family and to be at home just like most of us do.

PAUL: What do you suspect would happen to the kids if not for this service?

FRANKEL: It's hard for me to even imagine what things would look like because transportation is such a critical piece of getting young people to where they need to get to and to reunifying families. This is often the final sort of piece that will help that young person kind of lead a more successful, stable, productive life.

PAUL: Thank you so much for what you do. We appreciate you sharing with us your experiences here and we just encourage you to keep going, keep going, because these kids and families really need you.

FRANKEL: Thanks so much. Thanks for me. I appreciate it.

PAUL: Thank you, Susan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So if you or someone you love needs more information or you need help getting home, call the National Runaway Safelife. That's 1800-786-2929. It's open all day, every day.

BLACKWELL: We are getting some pictures in that you need to see. An erupting volcano is causing havoc in the Philippines.

PAUL: Wow.

BLACKWELL: Manila International Airport has put all flights on hold.

Look at these pictures. You see the plume stretching far into the sky.

PAUL: Good heavens.

BLACKWELL: This is the Taal Volcano spewed a plume of ash. This is more than half a mile above the crater.

PAUL: That almost covers the whole island it looks like.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology says the volcano has been showing a fast escalation in activity. Also minor earthquakes are being reported nearby. Three towns in the Philippines have been evacuated so far.

So, of course, we'll continue to watch this, but this has been kind of revving up recently and before we left you today we wanted to make sure you saw these pictures.

PAUL: They are stunning.

BLACKWELL: Clearly, concerning enough that the flights are on hold.

PAUL: Yes. Good luck to all the folks in the region there.

We thank you so much for spending time with us this morning and I hope you go make some good memories today.

BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" is up next.