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U.S. Travel Warning On China as Yellen Set To Visit; Pence: No Pressure In Call To Governor After 2020 Election; Zelenskyy: CIA Talks Should Be Behind The Scenes; Thousands Of Southern California Hotel Workers Go On Strike. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired July 03, 2023 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The U.S. has just issued a travel advisory for Americans to reconsider if they're planning to visit mainland China. Which is exactly what treasury Janet Yellen is doing later this week. The advisory is at the second most severe level, just one notch away from an explicit do not travel. A treasury official saying Yellen's trip will be the first face-to-face meeting between her and her Chinese counterpart since a new economic team took over in Beijing. We have CNN national security correspondent Kylie Atwood here with the story for us. So Kylie, the State Department warning that Americans risk actually getting detained in China. Tell us about this.
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as you were saying, they haven't changed the level advisory. The level is still number three, reconsider travel out of four levels in the travel advisory that the State Department puts out. But there's a new significant reason listed for why Americans should reconsider travel and that is wrongful detention. Now previously that had been listed as a reason that Americans should reconsider. Think about their travel, exercise caution on the ground. But now this is one of the reasons that Americans should think twice about if they even want to travel to China at all.
And I want to read to you a line from this travel advisory saying, quote, PRC authorities appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage.
Now they go on to say that there is increased scrutiny on U.S. and third-party firms in China and even things such as conducting research or accessing publicly available information in China could be one of the reasons that Americans could be wrongfully detained in the country. We know there are currently three Americans publicly known about who are wrongfully detained in China right now.
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All right, really interesting warning, especially ahead of this trip. Kylie Atwood, live for us at the State Department -- Jim.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Former Vice President Mike Pence is now responding to new reporting about a White House pressure campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state of Arizona. Sources tell CNN that soon after the election, former President Trump called Arizona's then-governor Doug Ducey trying to enlist him to find nonexistent widespread fraud in his state. Trump also repeatedly pressured Pence to help him in that effort. CNN's Kristen Holmes is here with the details. So Kristen, first let's begin with the substance of the reporting here which is that Trump pressured Ducey but also got Pence to help him pressure Ducey, is that right?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reporting is this, we know that the two of them had a call -- we already knew that. But Ducey and Trump talked on the phone. We just didn't know what the context of that call was. Now I have learned from sources that privately Ducey said that Trump was putting pressure on him to find is widespread fraud, to help him overturn the election results in Arizona. This is something we knew Trump was fixated on. He was losing the state by 11,000 votes and he wanted the votes just like we've seen in other states and the pressure we've seen him put on the election officials across the country.
We also know separately -- and this has been widely reported -- that Trump was putting an enormous amount of pressure on Pence during this time to try to find widespread fraud across the country, to try and overturn the election and eventually not certify the election on January 6th.
We also learned this weekend from sources that Pence made a series of calls to Doug Ducey. Sources tell us that he was not pressuring Ducey, but that he was asking about any instances, any evidence of widespread fraud so he could report it out. And Pence was asked about our reporting. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did check in with not only Governor Ducey but other governors in states that were going through the legal process of reviewing their election results. But there was no pressure involved, Margaret. I was calling to get an update. I passed along that information to the president, and it was no more or no less than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And there is a follow-up there where Margaret says you were not pressured by the former president. And he said, no, there was no pressure there. Again, we know during this time that Trump was putting an enormous amount of pressure on the former vice president. The --
SCIUTTO: You're saying the vice president -- the former vice president's description of that is not accurate.
HOLMES: I'm saying, I don't know about it in relation to Ducey directly. We just know that overall -- and this has been widely reported -- and we've seen testimony in the January 6th hearings from aides who overheard Trump pressuring Pence. So, we know that was happening countrywide when it comes to the election. And I do want to point out one other thing. Because one call that
we've obviously reported quite a bit on, is that call to the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Where Trump is recorded and he is saying we want to find these votes to overturn the election in that state.
We also now know that the special counsel has met with Raffensperger. He has this recording that is part of his investigation into Trump overturning the 2020 election. When it comes to Ducey, it is not the same situation. There is no recording of that call and as of now we are told that he has not been reached out to by the special counsel's office.
Understood, and by the way, as it relates to Georgia, that means you basically have two entities looking into that call, the Fulton County prosecutor, but also the special counsel and other efforts. Kristen Holmes, thanks so much as always -- Boris.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Still to come, an update on the driver of this car sent rolling seven times at 180 miles per hour during an IndyCar race. We'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: The Kremlin is stepping up its drone attacks in northeastern Ukraine. At least two people were killed there and over a dozen injured in the city of Sumy. Meantime, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Vladimir Putin is losing control of his own people. He told CNN's Erin Burnett that Putin's response to the Wagner uprising was weak.
"THE LEAD" is up next on CNN with more on the crisis in Ukraine. So let's turn to CNN "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" host and senior political correspondent Abby Phillip who is filling in for Jake Tapper. Abby, you have a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Jim Himes on. One of the things that was fascinating to me about Erin's interview with Zelenskyy is that he lamented that his private meeting With the CIA Director, Bill Burns, became public.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY: Yes, he did. I mean, it's not entirely surprising that a meeting with a high-level official in the intelligence community, they would want to keep that private. On the other hand, one of the significances of that meeting were actually twofold. One, it came just before this rebellion of Prigozhin against Putin. We don't know what was discussed. U.S. intelligence, according to our sources, had some inkling that something might be happening. Whether they communicated that to Zelenskyy, we don't really know.
But the other thing, "The Washington Post" is reporting that one of the topics of conversation was how this war in Ukraine would come to an end. This is a really critical moment for Ukraine. They are engaged in their counteroffensive but it is going for slowly. And they have goals here. You heard him talking to Erin Burnett too
about the fate of Crimea, a Russian-controlled part of -- historically, a part of Ukraine that Russia has controlled for some time now. The question is, what is Ukraine's plan to regain territory, to end this war and eventually perhaps get to a negotiating position with Russia.
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SANCHEZ: Yes, the fascinating thing is the dichotomy, right, between the public statements where Zelenskyy says that Crimea is a nonnegotiable, that that is Ukrainian territory. And then what's been reported in private, him saying that they're looking for a cease-fire before the end of the year, perhaps Crimea not a part of that.
PHILLIP: And we will see how that unfolds. And we should also keep in mind as we talk about all of this, Zelenskyy's interests are not always the same as his allies, the United States and even Europe and even Capitol Hill, I think. Congressman Jim Himes, who we'll be talking to in the next hour, Congress has its own interests as well. So how they all feel about those objectives I think the really open for debate over the next several months.
SANCHEZ: Yes, Zelenskyy talked about the importance of bipartisan support for Ukraine over the last week. Look forward to that interview with Congressman Himes. Abby, great to see you as always. She'll be on "THE LEAD" starting at 4:00 so tune in for the that -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, the last thing anyone wants to see on a roller coaster is this -- a giant crack. Do you see it there? In a key support beam as a train goes round the track. We'll have more on what was a near disaster next.
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KEILAR: Now to some of the headlines that we're watching this hour. A frightening moment at an IndyCar event in Ohio this weekend. A driver rolling his car seven times before landing on the side of the car. Thankfully, amazingly, he walked away unhurt here. The driver said his brakes failed while he was going about 180 miles per hour. He was evaluated and released by doctors, but he is not yet cleared to continue competing.
Also, file this under things you definitely don't want to see on a roller coaster, especially if you're the one riding it. A huge crack, you see that thing moving there. That is a crack right through a crucial support pillar on this ride. The Fury 325 coaster now shut down Carowinds park in Charlotte as investigators look into it.
And in New York, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin will hold a CPR training class at Yankee Stadium today. For the last few months, Hamlin has been on a multicity tour to promote techniques that helped save his life. The 25-year-old was saved by first responders after he went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a game in January -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: So great to see him back on the field. Brianna, right? I mean, that's just a story with a happy ending.
Well, right now thousands of unionized hotel workers in Southern California are on strike. They walked off the job yesterday in Los Angeles and Orange Counties after their current labor contract expired on Saturday. That leaves 65 major hotels short staffed just as tourists are pouring in during this busy fourth of July holiday week. The union is pushing for better pay and benefits. CNN Camila Bernal is live in Los Angeles. Camila, I know you spoke to hotel workers. What exactly are they holding out for?
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jim. Well, a couple of things that they're telling me. They can't afford to live where they work, and they say they have to take multiple jobs because of the same reasons. Because they are not content with the amount of money they have because they say can't support their families with that money. So they've been doing this for the last two days, starting at 6:00 in the morning here, shouting, banging those drums, and just walking outside of many of the hotels here in downtown Los Angeles trying to express their demands.
Among them, of course, is more money and a better pension. They're specifically asking for a $5-an-hour increase in pay. They also want better health care, they're asking for safer workloads, and housing fund to essentially be able to live where they work. I want you to listen to what one of the union members told me earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDA MENDOZA, UNIFORM ATTENDANT: It's not only my fight, it's everybody's fight. And everybody, you know, wants a raise because we all have needs. I see my future, you know, fighting for what we need, better wage, better everything. So our future children have, you know, a better job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERNAL: Now the hotels will remain to be open, working with whatever they can do. And it's unclear exactly how long this strike is going to go on.
SCIUTTO: Listen, it's a common phenomenon. Folks can't live close to where they work, trying to find ways forward there. Camila Bernal in Los Angeles, thanks so much -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Are you ready for it? Taylor Swift's team was not. We're going to show the major malfunction that had her swiftly hauling it across the stage mid-concert.
But first a quick reminder, CNN's July 4th special returns tomorrow night with an all-star lineup, celebrate with spectacular fireworks and performance was Demi Lovato, Duran Duran, Post Malone, Shania Twain, Brad Paisley, just to name a few. "THE FOURTH IN AMERICA" live starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with Dana Bash, myself, and a few others. Tune in.
[15:55:00]
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SANCHEZ: Taylor Swift may have reached a new era in her career as a track star.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run. Run.
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KEILAR: So at her concert in Cincinnati on Friday, Swift's stage malfunctioned. It was supposed to drop her down below for a costume change. She stomped her foot, you may have noticed, but after that didn't work, she had to book it. She had to run as fast as she could.
And Taylor commented on one of the TikTok videos showing her 50-yard dash saying, quote, still swift af boi.
SCIUTTO: Yes, is amazing how often our little elevator doesn't drop below for our costume change.
KEILAR: I know.
SCIUTTO: Isn't that upsetting when it doesn't happen?
KEILAR: I've been wearing this the whole show today.
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SCIUTTO: She also -- I think she inhaled a bug, is that right, during one of the performances?
KEILAR: She gives good concerts.
SCIUTTO: And there was a little bit of rain. But you know, she's tough, and she's still --
SANCHEZ: She's a superstar. This tour might be the first ever to make $1 billion. Isn't that crazy?
SCIUTTO: Incredible.
KEILAR: Unbelievable.
SCIUTTO: She deserves all the praise she gets.
KEILAR: Sure does.
And "THE LEAD" starts right now, boi.
