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Iran Says No War but They are Ready if U.S. Strikes Them; Kremlin Express Their View on the Mueller Report; A.G. Barr Wants to Investigate the Origin of the Mueller Probe; U.S. and China Not Closing Doors on Trade Negotiations; War Criminal with an Excellent Uber Rating; Sudan's Military, Opposition Agree On Three Year Transitional Power Period; State Lawmakers Vote To Outlaw Nearly All Abortions In Alabama; Trump Denies New York Times Report About Military Plan For Iran; Boeing/AA Pilot Meeting; Jacinda Arden Promised Changes To Firearms Regulations In The Wake Of Christchurch Massacre; Hate In America, Shooting Survivor To Trump, Don't Forget Us About Us; Champions For Change; Coal Free Five Year Mission; Curtain Rises In Cannes. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired May 15, 2019 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: We are live in Tehran where leaders insists, they don't want war and they are blaming the U.S. for the latest escalation and tensions.
In Russia, Vladimir Putin brings out the Mueller report and talks with the U.S. secretary of state. And the Russian leader has an unexpected take on it.
Plus, he's an Uber driver with a five-star rating. He's also an allege war criminal. CNN investigates how security checks missed his past.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN Newsroom.
Amid rising fears of conflict with Iran President Trump is denying a report that the U.S. could send 140,000 more troops to the Middle East. The New York Times says deployment would come if U.S. forces are attacked or Iran's speeds up its nuclear weapons program.
Mr. Trump shot down the report Tuesday saying its numbers are too low.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, would I do that? Absolutely. But we have not planned for that. Hopefully, we're not going to have plan for that. And if we do that, we'd send a hell a lot more troops than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, the U.S. has already sent extra war ships and bombers to the region citing an Iranian threat. For more now, CNN's Fled Pleitgen joins us now live from the Iranian
capital Tehran. Good to see you, Fred.
So, as we heard, President Trump denies there are U.S. military plans in the works for Iran as reported in the New York Times. What's Iran saying about all of this and of course the increase chatter of possible war?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of people, Rosemary, on the ground here who are very concerned since the military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran could happen.
Of course, as we've been saying over the past couple of days many Iranians already suffered under this very heavy U.S. sanctions that now many of them also feeling that security situation could significantly deteriorate as well.
It was quite important therefore yesterday that Iran supreme leader came out and sort of put the brakes on all that, saying late last night that war would not happen.
I want to read you a little bit of what was later posted on his web site. He said, quote, "The Iranian nations definite option is resistance against you -- against the U.S. and in this confrontation the U.S. will have to withdraw. This is not a military confrontation because no war is to happen. We don't seek a war nor do they. They know a war wouldn't be beneficial to them."
Now, he goes on to say "This confrontation is a confrontation of willpowers and our willpower is stronger because in addition to our willpower we also enjoy relying on god."
Now that was an important part of what he said. There's another important part however that we don't have listed here and that is he is also denied that there were going to be negotiations with the U.S. He said that is not going to happen.
Supreme leader said that negotiations with the U.S. as he put are poison especially as he said with the Trump administration because he says he believed those would be negotiations that happen under coercion. And he said that's not something that the Islamic republic wants to do.
It's quite interesting, over the past couple days, Rosemary, because you did have Iranian leaders who kept saying that they don't want an escalation of the situation. But you also had some Iranian military leaders who said absolutely the Islamic republic would be ready for them.
Some of them even threaten to target American military bases in the region with their ballistic missiles. It was quite interesting because last night I was able to speak to a former Revolutionary Guard commander who said not only does Iran have its ballistic missile program. But he also made light of the fact that of course Iran also controls a lot of its own militia in the greater Middle Eastern area. The way that he put it, he said, look, next to almost every American
military base in the Middle East there is a base or there are militias that are controlled or at least are close to Iran.
So, certainly, they are saying if something does happen, they would be ready for it. But again, it seems as though both the supreme leader and President Trump at this point kind of putting the brakes on the things a little bit, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes. And Fred, you mentioned at the start there that there is concern that people there in Iran are worried about this increase talk of war. Or even miscalculation that would lead to that. What are people actually saying to you?
PLEITGEN: Well, you know, you're absolutely right. I think miscalculation is really the top term that you hear not only in Washington, D.C. but you certainly hear here in Tehran as well.
[03:05:02] You know, one of the things that you have to keep in mind with the folks here in Iran is a lot of them have really been suffering over the past couple of months, over the past couple of years as these sanctions from the U.S. have grown tighter.
You look at some of food stuff that people have been not able to get over the past couple of months. Meat is something that has become extremely expensive, the currency has been devalued.
And there are a lot of people now seeing that the security situation might be in trouble as well. And I think one of the areas that Iranians have been looking to, and of course, almost everybody in this region has been looking at is the Persian Gulf and it is of course specifically in the Persian Gulf the Strait of Hormuz where you have that very narrow waterway where you've always have Iranian and American forces operating in very close proximity.
And usually that's not really a problem. But obviously, with these heightened tensions there are people who fear that something like that could get out of control that there could be a miscalculation.
They have, of course heard those reports over the past couple of days of those sabotage incidents in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian leadership has said that that is someone or that those are forces trying to inflame the situation that Iran is not behind that.
But, of course, anything in that region could possibly trigger a confrontation which of course many Iranians would definitely fear, and it's certainly something that are gravely concerned about especially in these times of very heightened tensions between these two nations, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes. Totally understandable. Many thanks to our Fred Pleitgen with that live report from Iran's capital where it is nearly 11.40 in the morning. Many thanks again.
Well, the U.S. Secretary of State was in Russia Tuesday for meetings with top Kremlin officials. Iran was on the agenda for Mike Pompeo but there are plenty of other issues dividing the two countries.
CNN's Matthew Chance has more now on the talks from Moscow.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: America's top diplomat arrived in Russia, strongman in the Kremlin made a dramatic entrance of his own. Vladimir Putin's presidential plane is escorted by six Stealth Fighters as he swoop into a military testing site to inspect Russia's latest hi-tech weaponry.
It sends a powerful message about Putin's priority. Shortly thereafter, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, about a range of issues but it was Putin who brought up the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): However exotic the work of the special counsel Mueller was, I have to say that on a whole, he had a very objective investigation and he confirmed that there were no traces whatsoever of collusion between Russia and the incumbent administration, which we said was absolutely fake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Not far in the southern city of Sochi the issue of election interference also came up when Pompeo met his Russian counterpart for what was described as frank discussions on a range of issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): There was a wave of baseless allegations about our attempts to influence the results and to collude with officials in the current U.S. administration. It is obvious that such insinuations are absolutely fake.
MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: You can see we have some disagreements on this issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Pompeo even issuing a warning to his counterpart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POMPEO: If the Russians were to engage in that in 2020, it would put our relationship in an even worst place than it has been. And I encourage them not to do that that we would not tolerate that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: But on virtually every other issue of international diplomacy the two sides seem fundamentally opposed. Whether on the conflict in Syria, how to best deal with North Korea and its nuclear threat or escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, a key Russian ally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAVROX (through translator): I hope very much that common sense will triumph.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Adding insult to injury, the planned meeting with the Russian president was badly delayed. Vladimir Putin is notorious for keeping his guests waiting. Washington may have to wait much longer for Russia to change its ways.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
CHURCH: President Trump is downplaying the trade war with China but sources say talks between the two sides have halted. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month at the G20 summit. And he predicts the issue will be resolved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're having a little squabble with China because we've been treated very unfairly for many, many decades or actually a long time. And it should have been handed a long time ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, our Steven Jiang joins us now from Beijing with more on this. Steven, President Trump there calling it a small squabble rather than a trade war and he's confident his strategy is working. But talks have stopped, haven't they? So, what happens next and what's China saying about this?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, the Chinese have not responded to the latest little squabble remarks from Mr. Trump.
[03:10:00] President Xi Jinping of China actually gave a speech at a major international conference here in Beijing earlier today but he did not address the trade war at all.
But in the past few days, though, the government here has been getting increasingly nationalistic and defiant to state media when they talk about Mr. Trump's new tariff hikes. In a commentary published today, Wednesday in the People's Daily which is the ruling communist party's mouthpiece.
There is a scathing commentary against Mr. Trump, without naming him, saying the U.S. president is only fooling himself if he thinks these tariffs would benefit the American people and the economy.
Really using an argument that we've been hearing in the past few days how the -- how these tariffs are actually mostly paid for by U.S. importers and the cost being passed down to the U.S. consumers.
Now interestingly, though, the Chinese are still leaving the door open for more negotiations as well as Mr. Trump himself suggested. But given how far par they are on a number of key issues and given how neither side is showing any signs of backing down. It is really difficult to imagine what can be resolved or achieved even the two leaders do sit down next month during the G20 summit, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Steven Jiang, reporting there live from Beijing. We'll watch and see what happens. Many thanks.
Well, the U.S. attorney general's team is expanding. The help William Barr is getting in his review of the Mueller probe.
Plus, a CNN exclusive how an accused war criminal slip through the cracks and became a driver for Uber and Lyft. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: In Sudan, military leaders and opposition group say they have agreed to a three-year transitional period leading eventually to a civilian government.
Sudan's state media say the deal is expected to be finalize in the coming hours.
Now the country has been scarred by violence since the military ousted longtime President Omar al-Bashir last month. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy supporters have been protesting for weeks. Demanding the army officers who took power after overthrowing Bashir step down.
Well now to a CNN exclusive. Yusuf Abdi Ali is an Uber pro diamond driver with a 4.89 rating. CNN has found he is also allegedly hiding a dark and disturbing past.
[03:15:02] Senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin has our report.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yusuf Abdi Ali is an accused war criminal facing a civil trial in Virginia alleging he is responsible for atrocities including torture and attempted murder in Somalia in the 1980s.
While awaiting trial he has been driving for Uber.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ali?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. He's just coming now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Undercover CNN producers last week ordered an Uber in Northern Virginia. Yusuf listed on the app as an Uber pro diamond driver with 4.89 rating picked him up. Yusuf Ali also told us he drives for Lyft.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you from?
YUSUF ABDI ALI, UBER DRIVER: Originally from Somalia.
GRIFFIN: Sir, I was surprised to see that you drive for Uber and Lyft. Did the background checks of those companies not reveal the fact that you are accused of torture and murder and about to face a trial here for basically terrorizing communities?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Just how Uber and Lyft missed the accusations exposes a potential hole in their screening process. A simple Google search of Ali's name brings up article after article about his alleged brutality as a commander in the Somalian security force. A major expose by CNN in 2016 found the alleged war criminal --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN. OK.
GRIFFIN: -- working as a security guard at Dallas International Airport, a job he was fired from shortly after the report aired. And a search would have also revealed this. A Canadian broadcasting corporation documentary, with villagers telling terrifying stories of Yusuf Ali's actions, the man they knew as 'Colonel Tukeh.'
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Two men were caught, tied to a tree, oil was poured on them and they were burned. I saw it with my own eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He caught my brother, he tied him to a military vehicle and dragged him behind. He said to us, if you have enough power, get him back. He shredded him into pieces. That's how he died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Karin Warfah (Ph) is a Somalian who claims in 1988, Ali tortured him for months. Then shot him twice and ordered guards to bury him alive. He survived, and since no international court has jurisdiction Warfah (Ph) has turned to civil court in the U.S. to seek damages.
In court filings, Ali acknowledges he was a colonel in the Somali National Army, but denies having attempted extrajudicial killing and torture and denies directing any such actions by his subordinates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI: That's what the man is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Ali told us he's been an Uber driver for a year and a half, and that background check he said was easy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI: If you apply tonight, maybe after two, two days it will come up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Last year Uber tightened its background checks after CNN found convicted felons were able to become ride share drivers. Both Uber and Lyft say their background checks include criminal offenses and driving incidents.
And the company that does the screening, Checkr, it tells CNN in a statement that "They rely on public criminal records that have been adjudicated in a court of law, rather than unverified sources like Google search results."
Ali has never been convicted of a crime, only accused.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Ali, I have to give you an opportunity to respond to all the allegations. You may not wish to respond to all the allegations, but the allegations are that basically, you tortured people, murdered people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Both Uber and Lyft say they don't review social media or conduct Google searches as part of background checks on potential drivers. But when we pointed out Ali's history through a simple Google search, both companies took immediate action to remove him.
Lyft banned Ali altogether for life. Uber suspended him, pending review. His trial is expected to wrap up in Virginia this week.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
CHURCH: Well, sources say Donald Trump, Jr. has now reached a deal to testify before the Senate intelligence committee in June. The Republican-led panel issued a subpoena for the president's son last month. He has said he wouldn't comply.
Sources say the interview will take place behind closed doors and be limited to five or six topics. Among them will be the Trump tower Moscow project and Trump Jr.'s controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer in New York.
Now meantime, the U.S. attorney general is moving ahead with his review of the origins of the Russia investigation. That is something President Trump has called for repeatedly.
Pamela Brown has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I didn't know it. But I think it's a great thing that he did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump getting his wish. CNN has learned Attorney General Bill Barr is widening his investigation into the origins of the Russia probe by leveraging resources across the intelligence and law enforcement communities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They want to look at how that whole hoax got started. It was a hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:19:58] BROWN: The source says Barr is, quote, "very involved in the probe." Collaborating with the heads of three major intelligence organizations. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I didn't ask him to do that. I didn't know it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: While Trump claims he didn't directly asked Barr to investigate he has long complained about the Mueller probe and probably urge Barr to look into it. Including just a few weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: What I'm most interested in is getting started. Hopefully the attorney general he mentioned it yesterday, he's doing a great job, getting started on going back to the origins of exactly where this all started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Barr previously testified he intended to look into it even though the Justice Department inspector general was already investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: Many people seem to assume that the only intelligence collection that occurred was a single confidential informant and a FISA warrant. I'd like to find out whether that is in fact true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Barr this week adding another layer to his investigation of the investigators. By tapping the U.S. attorney in Connecticut John Durham to help conduct a comprehensive 360-degree review. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): We have somebody outside of politics and I want to give Mr. Durham -- is that his name? I didn't know him. The space to do his job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The relatively unknown Durham was previously tasked with investigating CIA treatment of terror suspects under President Obama. Durham's insulation is already giving a key Senate Republican reason to halt his own investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: I don't want to mess up his criminal investigation and I don't want to put people at risk so I'm going to back off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Let's talk more about all of this with Steve Hall. He is a CNN national security analyst and a former CIA Moscow chief. Great to have you with us.
STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be here, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, why would Attorney General Bill Barr order an investigation into the origins of the Russian probe, essentially to investigate the investigators. What's he hoping to find and what purpose does this serve apart from making his boss very happy?
HALL: Well, Rosemary, I think you put your finger on it. There's probably two sides to this. There's a political side and then there is sort of investigative real-life side to it.
The politics I think speak for themselves. Obviously, President Trump would like to continue the rhetoric about there being some sort of spying going on, some sort of illegality with regard to the investigation of his campaign.
This plays very well obviously into his, you know, into his sort of storyline about, you know, the witch hunt, the hoax that was the Mueller investigation. And that was the investigation into possible ties by his team to the Russian government in the lead up to the 2016 elections. That's the politics.
The reality of it is that there have been of course a number of investigations that are either completed or ongoing as to whether this was done properly. But by the same token, you know, you can't really have anybody stand up and say, no, let's not investigate because that looks like you're trying to hide something.
So, I think it's more of a political ploy than it is actually fact finding and trying to determine whether anything was done wrong. CHURCH: Right. And of course, you mentioned the spying. At a hearing
on April 10th, the attorney general said he thought spying occurred on the 2016 Trump campaign. But FBI Director Christopher Wray testified at a hearing last week that he had no evidence to suggest any spying occurred on the Trump campaign. It was an answer that President Trump called ridiculous.
What do you make of all that? You've said that you think there is more politics involved here, but it would make Wray particularly vulnerable, would it not?
HALL: Well, I think a lot of these people, like Wray, are sort of between a rock and a hard place. I mean, he's a professional FBI officer. And that's his legal role. But there is of course politics involved in any position at that level.
And so, in this case he did what Attorney General Barr did not do, which is he went with his political -- excuse me -- his professional side and said yes, spying is not the word that I would use.
Barr, who is a very smart guy, he's been around a long time, he's a lawyer he knows the importance of words. And he chose spying, which has a particular usually negative connotation. Pejorative, and it's an investigation, not real spying.
Nevertheless, you know, who is going to stand up and say, well, no, let's not investigate this because again, it makes people look guilty. So, it's a very -- it's a very smart political play, I think.
CHURCH: Right. And do you feel that Attorney General Bill Barr is motivated more by politics here than being the professional he should be as an attorney general?
[03:24:58] HALL: You know, sadly, the indication of spying, or the use of the word spying would certainly lend itself towards the theory that he is much more concerned about his political status, about keeping his job and about keeping the president happy than he is about being America's chief law enforcement officer.
Something that FBI Director Wray, as you pointed out earlier, chose not to do. And chose to simply say look, you know, this is not spying because that's a pejorative term that we just -- again, professionals don't use these terms.
I used to work in CIA, we didn't use the term spying, and I don't think FBI officers do either. It's just, you know, it's not -- it's not a term of art.
CHURCH: Right. We'll watch to see Wray's position where he stands in a few weeks from now.
But I did want to ask you this. Because President Trump has complained about his eldest son Don Jr. being subpoenaed by the Republican-led Senate intelligence committee, saying it's unfair that his son shouldn't have to spend more time testifying about Russian interference. But now we learned that Trump Jr. has actually made a deal to testify.
Why do you think he reversed his decision to comply with that subpoena and what do you think the intelligence committee wants to hear from him?
HALL: Well, it all gets back to what in my mind is one of the most important moments of the entire Mueller investigation and the entire issue as to whether or not members of the Trump team and indeed, as you indicate, Trump's family, Donald Trump, Jr., were somehow interested in talking to the Russians about obtaining derogatory information about Donald Trump political adversaries, in this case, Hillary Clinton.
You know, the fact that we have in black and white an e-mail from Donald Trump, Jr. that says yes, absolutely, I'm interested in getting any dirt we can on Clinton from a foreign adversarial government is, you know, a really difficult issue.
And to me, and I think to maybe a lot of, you know, common sense type of people would say that doesn't sound right. But there's again, the politics of this.
And so, you've got the intelligence committee, which wants to hear more about these very troubling incidents, but by the same token they don't want to get into a constitutionally crisis type of situation where the issue -- where the Senate is issuing subpoenas that are being ignored. That's always a bad thing for, you know, for Congress.
So, again, it's this blend, this mixture of true, investigatory counterintelligence issues, did Donald Trump, Jr. have some sort of interest in talking to the Russians, and the politics behind that. And that's always going to be a difficult, you know, tension.
CHURCH: Right. Of course, this will take place next month behind closed doors, so we will see what we learn from that testimony.
Steve Hall, thank you. Always a pleasure to have you on the show. I appreciate it.
HALL: My pleasure.
CHURCH: And coming up on CNN Newsroom, something damaged four ships near a key waterway in the Middle East. It's being called sabotage. But who is responsible remains a mystery. The latest on the investigation.
And in the U.S., deadly attacks on places of worship have been an ongoing tragedy for years. Is there any way to really stop it? Our special report tackles that question.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour. Sudanese military leader is an opposition groups have agreed on a three-year transition period for transferring power to a full civilian government, according to Sudan's state media. The deal is expected to be finalized in the upcoming hours. It comes a month after Sudan's military ousted longtime President Omar al-Bashir.
In Alabama, the Republican led Senate just passed a bill outlawing almost all abortions in the state even for victims of rape or incest. Doctors who perform the procedure could get life in prison. The legislation sets up a direct challenge to Roe versus Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion. The bill will take effect in six months if the government signs it into law.
President Trump is denying a report that the U.S. has a plan to send 120,000 more troops to the Middle East. The New York Times says the U.S. would roll out the plan if its forces are attacked or if Iran speeds up its nuclear weapons program. Mr. Trump says the report is false and that he would actually send more troops than that.
Well, amid tensions between the United States and Iran there is a mystery about what damage four ships Sunday, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. It happens south of the Strait of Hormuz. A key waterway for the global oil supply. The UAE calls it sabotage, but Iran's ambassador to the U.N. says his country definitely is not responsible. CNN's Nic Robertson has more on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that investigation is still ongoing and what we understand from the Emirates is they're forming a conclusion to what they call a sabotage on these four vessels were it is perpetrated by a rocket or some sort of missile. Now, images of the damage that we've shared with an expert leads him to believe that this could potentially also be damage caused by a mined stuck at the end of the ship at the level of the water, the waterline on the ship which is why water was able to get in to several of these vessels.
The Emirates have not so far announced their conclusions of who is responsible. However, their intelligence does seem to align with the United States, who are assisting them in the investigations. The miss-intelligence over recent had led them to believe that Iran or its proxies may had been on the verge of perpetrating some sort of maritime attack in the gulf here.
So, the concerns are, it's looking like Iran may have had a hand. Iranian official are denying this absolutely, calling for a broad investigation suggesting that the United States is potentially, you know, fueling unnecessarily fueling tension at this time.
So, right now, it's not possible to say who precisely was responsible, but into all of this, Saudi officials have reported that Houthis in nearby Yemen had tried to use an armed drone to attack one of their oil pipelines. They say that pipeline wasn't badly damaged, that no one was injured.
But this incident in of itself, again, fits that narrative of rising regional tensions, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates against if you will Iran and it's regional proxies. So, tensions really continuing to escalate. Nic Robertson, Fujairah, in United Arab Emirates.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: More trouble for Boeing, CBS News has obtained audio of American airlines' pilot confronting Boeing executives about the safety of its 737 Max fleet. The (inaudible) happened just a few weeks after a Lion Air plane crash and killed 189 people on board. Investigations revealed a flawed systems on the jet likely caused the disaster. In the recording, the pilots are clearly frustrated that the system was not disclose before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These guys didn't even know the damn system was on the airplane - nor did anybody else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know that understanding this system would've changed the outcome on this.
[03:35:00] In a million miles, you're going to maybe fly this airplane, maybe once you're going to see this ever. So we try not to overload the crews with information that's unnecessary so they actually know the information we believe is important.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're the last line of defense to being in that smoking hole. And we need the knowledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, less than four months later, that same system caused an Ethiopian Airlines flight to crash killing all 157 people on board. Boeing has since grounded the 737 Max fleet as it works to fix its software problems.
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, says she does not understand why the U.S. has not passed stronger gun laws in the aftermath of its mass shootings. Her comments come ahead of an event in Paris to rally the world against violent and extremist content online. You will, of course, recall a white nationalist brutally murdered 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch two months ago. The attack live streamed on Facebook. And that event prompted Miss Ardern to push for changes to online content. And to announce a ban on military style semiautomatic weapons, assault rifles and high capacity magazines. And she spoke to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about her approach to gun laws versus the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Just to remind over 110 mass shootings in United States since 1982, and this in according to an investigative site. Fifteen school shootings alone this year, it's really difficult topic to grapple. I mean, I wonder whether you ever think that other countries can learn from you did and actually from what neighboring Australia did after them in 1996 as a conservative government pass tough gun laws. JACINDA ARDERN, PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: And in both cases, you
know, and I have to acknowledge this human head, pretty permissive gun legislation.
AMANPOUR: Well, actually some of your people said, you know, we feed half to world, we are hunters.
ARDERN: And we are. We will continue to be a food producing nation that deals with animal welfares, shoes and so on, and has a (inaudible) purpose in used for guns.
But you can draw a line and say that that does not mean that you need ex's military style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles. You do not. And you see, by and large absolutely agree with that position. Australia experienced a massacre and change their laws. New Zealand had its experience and changed its laws. To be honest with you, I do not understand the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And in the United States religious leaders and lawmakers are looking for new ways to prevent the ongoing nightmare of mass shootings in places of worship. Our Sara Sidner has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a safe place to be you're not supposed to be worried about anything.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But Noya Dahan will always worry now, she was a victim of a deadly attack at her California synagogue. Her father who witnessed the attack wanted to send this message to the president.
ISRAEL DAHAN, POWAY, CALIFORNIA CHABAD CONGREGANT: I know Donald Trump, he is supporting Israel, but there is more problems in the U.S. than anywhere in the world. Instead of looking for a problem outside of the country. It's better to look inside the country.
SIDNER: Over the past seven years, deadly attacks by mass shooters on places of worship have been a reoccurring nightmare in the U.S. In 2012, six people were gunned down at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. That is a mere a prayer leader was killed at a church in College Park Georgia. In 2015, nine worshippers are slaughtered at a predominantly black church in Charleston.
And in 2017, 26 killed in Sutherlands Springs Texas. And in Antioch, Tennessee, another person is gunned down in church. In 2018, 11 are murdered in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Six months later, one person was killed in the synagogue in Poway, California. Police say four of the attacks were perpetrated by men with white supremacist or Neo-Nazi ideals targeting their victims because of their skin color or religion. This is pattern of deadly extremism is forcing religious leaders like Poway's Rabbi Goldstein to confront their new reality. YISROEL GOLDSTEIN, POWAY RABBI: After the Pittsburgh event the Poway
sheriff's department posted an act of shooting workshop which we attended.
SIDNER: In his synagogue, everyone but one congregant survived the shooting. He was injured, but he said if it wasn't for the shooters gun jamming. A congregant who charge him and an armed off-duty border patrol agent who fired at the suspect, it could had been a bloodbath.
GOLDSTEIN: If we would've had an armed security guard at the door there is a very good chance the shooter would have been neutralized. Why couldn't we? The answer is simple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You couldn't afford security?
[03:40:03] SIDNER: After that shooting, California governor pledged 15 million in grants to help religious and community based nonprofits to strengthen security. After the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, Pennsylvania's governor is working with the legislator to increase funding for security for more than 3.6 million in grants the state secured from DHS since 2014 for Jewish groups.
In 2019, the federal government set aside $16 million in security grants for nonprofit organizations, but they must be able to demonstrate they are at high risk of a terror attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cried so hard that day. I cried so hard.
SIDNER: Carli Peldes (ph) writes for Tablet Magazine which concentrates on Jewish news and culture.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I feel a sense of loss of what it used to be like of Jews here.
SIDNER: As hate crimes rise, the sense of safety is being strip away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anti-Semitism is a real threat, it is a threat to you even if you are not Jewish. Anti-Semitism has a history of breaking democracies.
SIDNER: Hilda is an expert who track anti-Semitism saying we probably had not reached the pinnacle of the hatred yet. Sara Sidner, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And coming up next on CNN Newsroom, when a journalist was killed reporting on the front lines, his friend and fellow journalist took action and how he tries to help reporters in similar situations.
Plus, a United Kingdom that doesn't burn coal. When we come back, we will take a look at the five-year mission to make it a reality. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, Glasgow has said an ambitious
goal for tackling climate change. The Scottish city wants to become the first in the U.K. to carbon neutral. Glasgow's city council is pledging to reach a net zero carbon emissions target before 2045. The plan is to do that through a mass electric car charging scheme and a boost to the renewable electricity grid.
And the rest of the U.K. is also setting robust goals for curtailing climate change. As Simon Cullen explains, the U.K. has grand plans to be completely carbon free in just five years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:45:00] SIMON CULLEN, CNN PRODUCER: In Trump's America coal is king. During his campaign and throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has champion the U.S. coal industry.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The coal industry is going to make a very big come back. OK? I am telling you.
CULLEN: On the other side of the Atlantic though it's a dramatically different story.
FINTAN SLYE, DIRECTOR NATIONAL GRID ESO: The U.K. has just experience its first full week without any coal generation on the system. So for the first time since 1882 when the first coal generation, Paris station opened in London. We had a full week without any coal on the system.
CULLEN: The change of pace has been rapid. Over the past decade, the share of coal fired power has fallen from about a third to less than 3 percent. It's been replaced by renewable energy sources like, wind, solar and bio mass.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.K.'s world leader use wind, but solar has been the surprising game-changer.
CULLEN: For a country that was powered by coal though the industrial revolution, the change has been significant. There are now just seven coal fired power stations still operating in the U.K. The rest like the one in here in central London, either it is dormant or had been converted into office space.
For those that remain active, their days are numbered. The U.K. government is set a target for the energy systems to be coal free by 2025. The electricity system operator has set an even more ambitious and difficult target. He wants to phase out all fossil fuels including gas fired power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We set ourselves a clear ambition that by 2025 we will be able to operate the system at zero carbon. First of all, it will be a few hours, then in a few days and potentially a week without any coal power on the system.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But then, the easy, you know, easy lifting of the challenge, the more difficult power is yet to come. CULLEN: The industrial revolution has long gone. Britain is now in
the midst of a renewable revolution. Simon Cullen, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: All this week, CNN is introducing you to people who have made a lasting impact on our reporters throughout the years. For Anderson Cooper, it's a journalist who took action after his friend was killed reporting on the front lines. Here's Anderson's story of Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The realities of war, captured on camera by journalists Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What just happened?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we were the targets. We were supposed to arrive very close over our head and coming.
COOPER: This is Tim in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan in 2007. He spent a year on and off embedded with U.S. troops, making a documentary called Restrepo. They were on the front lines of battle, the combat intense. The footage as up close as you can get.
But for Tim, reporting from warzones was about so much more than just capturing firefights. Sebastian film, which way is the front line from here, is behind the scenes look at Tim's work and his mission.
TIM HETHERINGTON, JOURNALIST: For me, there is an amount of adrenaline to combat and filming that. I mean for me, the really important story is being close to these men. And that is what it is about. That is why I am there for.
COOPER: These pictures by Tim Hetherington have has been traveling with us this past week.
I first met him in 2009. We were in Afghanistan together, reporting on the fight against the Taliban. Tim was our photographer for that assignment, and his talent was obvious from the start, but I soon came to know his humor, his kindness and his bravery. And I saw firsthand how his curiosity about the world gave him the ability to connect with people.
It's a sensitive situation. He started off as a colleague, I came to consider him a friend.
Tim went out of its way to interact with his subjects, no matter where he was in the world.
In 2011, Tim went to Libya to cover the rebel forces who were fighting against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi that would be his last assignment. This video is from that trip, taken before a mortar fired by Gadhafi's forces landed near Tim and a group of journalist in the city called (inaudible). Sebastian Junger was supposed to be with Tim on that trip.
Do you remember where you were when you got the news?
[03:50:00] SEBASTIAN JUNGER, FOUNDER RISC: The phone rang, and it was a mutual friend of ours saying Tim has been hurt. And the news was that Tim and some other journalists were hurt.
COOPER: I read that they have been out earlier in the day, and sort of felt like they had pushed their luck. And that Tim decided to go back with the rebels to take photographs of the aftermath of the attack.
JUNGER: So they all went back, and who lived and who died, and who was wounded and who wasn't, depending on where they were on the group where the mortars landed.
COOPER: Tim was hit by shrapnel in the leg. His femoral artery was cut, he bled to death in the back of a pick-up truck on the way to the hospital. Sebastian believes Tim's life could have been saved, if the others with him knew how to administer some basic first aid.
JUNGER: I just thought, ow, had I been with Tim, I wouldn't have known what to do either. I would have watched him die. Right and which I can't imagine what that would have been like. And I just have to start an organization that will train people like myself and like Tim and everybody else.
COOPER: And so he did. In Tim's honor, he started an organization called RISC, Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues. This nonprofit seeks to provide free medical training to journalists who cover conflict zones.
They used real life scenarios, journalist practice on dummies and actors. Many of these journalists are freelancers, means they don't have companies to pay for their insurance or security, or to outfit them with the medical supplies they may need on the front lines. Sebastian wants to change that status quo, and do what he can to prevent another death like Tim's.
What do you think Tim's legacy is?
JUNGER: I think, he represents to a lot of people, a certain very human way of taking it and understanding the world by realizing that we are sort of all part of the joy and the pain of this planet, and that there's a way to connect other people in very different circumstances, just through your shared humanity.
HETHERINGTON: An important thing for me is to connect with real people, you know, to document them in this extreme circumstance, you know, where there aren't any kind of needs solution. So when you can't put any kind of neat guideline, and say this is what this is about or this is what it is about is not. And I hope in my work kind of shows that.
(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: The 72nd Cannes film festivals is underway and as the stars began to arrive for the 12 day event. Change is blowing in the sea air. The carpeted Palme d'Or remains as alluring as ever, but some say the famed film festival is also slowly evolving with the times. Michael Holmes explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If all the world to the stage then for the two weeks every year the spotlight is firmly fixed on Cannes. The official poster for the 72nd Cannes film festival honors French director Agnes Varda, who passed away in March.
It's a nod to a new era of scrutiny for a festival that has been criticize in the past for its failure to adequately reflect women's involvement in the industry. This year four of the 21 films competing for the top Palme d'Or award are directed by women.
[03:55:10] KELLY REICHARDT, CANNES 2019 MAIN JURY MEMBER: You are also looking forward to the time when we come and we don't have to say that women directors are women as a woman, you know, I'm looking forward to that time also and I'm very honored to be here.
HOLMES: Back on the red carpet, Hollywood's a list are out in force this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something horrifying is coming.
HOLMES: Spoof horror movie, "The dead don't die," features Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton and Iggy Pop. Taron Egerton stars in the Elton John biopic rocket man which tracks the singer's early career and then there's once upon a time in Hollywood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actors are required to do a lot of dangerous stuff.
HOLMES: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie stars in this eagerly awaited Quentin Tarantino offering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first time Tarantino is here on its own in Cannes. It's also the first time he is made a film that is not independent. He is always (inaudible) independent, the cinema scene, now he is a studio director for the first time. So those two issues are going to be -- going to come to play. Also, I think a lot of people are going to be asking Tarantino to reflect more on the Weinstein issue. He talked a little bit about (inaudible) what he knew and didn't know about those allegations, but he hasn't really -- for a lot of people -- he hasn't really come clean about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome back to Bird Island.
HOLMES: Cannes seeks to cater to all taste and a very different movie experiences with the angry birds movie two. Which also launches at the festival. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to put our side our differences and work
together.
HOLMES: But if you want that, the original Angry Birds' movie released in 2016, earned $350 million at the box office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We played around we experimented and we found some really funny moments in the story and I think it's really strong. So, all in all it's been an amazing experience. My expectations? I expect everyone to laugh. I think it's going to be really good.
HOLMES: The fact that the Angry Birds Two is premiering on such a hollowed cinematic stage perhaps foreshadows why the changes at Cannes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the festival has to change and they know that they had to change. And I think this year is going to be the first year we are going to see the first signs of how Cannes will change to make itself fit for the future.
HOLMES: Traditionalist fear not, the good or (inaudible) the old guard aren't abandoning Cannes anytime soon.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And thanks so much for your company this hour, I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me any time on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you. And the news continues now with Max Foster in London. You are watching CNN, have a great day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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