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North Korea Fires Two More Missiles; Trump Pressures Israel to Deny Entry to Two Congresswomen; Hong Kong Protests; Seized Iranian Tanker Allowed to Leave Despite U.S. Plea; Fiery Landing. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired August 16, 2019 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. This is "CNN Newsroom." Coming up this hour, North Korea fires two more missiles hours after its state media slammed South Korea, saying it will no longer talk with Seoul.
An unprecedented move, the American president pressures a foreign government to ban entry to two elected members of Congress, and they go along with it.
Plus, concerns over Russia's nuclear-powered cruise missile after radioactive material is detected in Northern Norway.
Thank you again for joining us. We begin with North Korea. It has fired what the Pentagon described as two short-range ballistic missiles. South Korea's joint chief of staff tells CNN they were launched off the north eastern coast, has told that the missiles were launched off the northeastern coast, landing in the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. South Korea's National Security Council went into emergency session following the launch.
CNN's David Culver is joining us now from Seoul. First of all, let's talk about what was launched, what we know about it, David.
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you right now, Natalie, you've got South Korean military leaders along with U.S. military leaders working on analyzing this most recent launch. It appears, as you point out, that according to U.S. military officials, these were missiles, two of them, that were launched around 8:00 local time here.
They're looking specifically at the altitude, the trajectory of that, and we expect an update in the coming hours as to what exactly the intention of this most recent missile launch was. But it seems if you go back to the five others in just the past three weeks of launches that North Korea is on this path of enhancing their military capabilities.
It's interesting, if you look at the timing of some of these launches as well -- in fact, our team here in Seoul and I have been going through some of the recent times -- and it seemed that they were aiming for 5 a.m., 6 a.m. hour. Today's came in the 8 a.m. hour. It also comes a few days after North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un promoted several scientists involved in Saturday's missile launch.
It seems to suggest that perhaps they were wrapping up this round of launches. However, this morning, proved otherwise. That may indicate, according to some military defence experts who we've spoken with, that the north is trying to prove that they are mobile, that they're unpredictable, and that they are capable.
Those experts suggest that they certainly are capable and this most recent round of launches is proving that. You have an altitude aim that is going to potentially evade South Korean and U.S. military defence systems here. And you have an interesting trajectory focus that allows some of these missiles to cruise across the terrain of North Korea.
So it's, according to some of these military defence experts, Natalie, ingenious and very creative, what they are seeing out of the north in the past few weeks.
ALLEN: Certainly, and they continue to make these provocations, and that's serious when you talk about what these missiles potentially could do. Let's talk about the fact also the north seems to ignoring overtures now by South Korea which is urging the regime to stop launching and start talking. The north says it's not going to do that. Characterize the setback for us.
CULVER: Exactly. This comes one day after the President Moon here in South Korea stressed a peace economy, wanting to bring a unified Korea, and hoping that they can move forward in that effort. But at the same time, it got to be mentioned that this is happening during joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, something that the north has been very much against and claims that that is why they have been doing these recent test launches, to prove their own self-defense.
However, the north also is using this moment to seemingly create a wedge between South Korea and the U.S., trying to widen that by saying -- as you point out, they want nothing to do with South Korea as the talks are going to move forward. Instead, they want this just to be between North Korea and the U.S.
It's potential that here, that as we continue to analyze this, that President Trump may actually go along with that because he seems to be, in recent tweets and some of the rhetoric that we've heard, allowing the north to go ahead with these short-range missiles and they're using that as justification for these launches.
ALLEN: All right, David Culver with the latest for there from Seoul. Thank you, David.
Well, in an unprecedented move, Israel is denying two U.S. democratic congresswoman entry to the country. Initially, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were approved for a trip later this month.
[02:05:02] But it seems Israel bowed to pressure from President Trump, who had encourage this controversial decision. Many see this as a way for the president to punish two of his critics. But, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a different reason.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): As an open and vibrant democracy, we welcome all visitors and all criticism. And we do this by welcoming all the Republicans and Democrats over the years, including last week, with open arms. But there is one thing we are not willing to do under the law. We are not willing to accept into Israel people who call for a boycott of Israel and actually worked to delegitimize the Jewish state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Not only does this mean two elected U.S. lawmakers cannot visit a major ally, but Tlaib is barred from visiting her family who live in the West Bank.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): You know, my grandmother is in her 90s. Her granddaughter is a United States congresswoman. She should have to be able to see me, to touch me, to hug me. And so I am going to continue to fight back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Tlaib's uncle says he's been waiting for her arrival for a while.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASSAM TLAIB, UNCLE OF RASHIDA TLAIB (through translator): We've been waiting for her visit, just as she's promised for a very long time. We prepared a welcoming ceremony for her arrival. The entire family is waiting for the moment that Rashida arrives to her country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Let's get more on the story from CNN's Oren Liebermann. He is Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A tweet from President Donald Trump appeared to tell Israel how to conduct its foreign policy, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu very little wiggle room. Netanyahu has never publicly disagreed with Trump and he wasn't about to start now.
An unprecedented step to punish President Donald Trump's political enemies, Israel barring two democratic congresswomen, an outspoken Trump critics, from visiting, just minutes after the president tweeted, "Israel will be showing great weakness by allowing Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to enter the country," later adding, "They hate Israel." After the announcement, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement, saying, "No country in the world respects America and the American Congress more than the state of Israel," adding, "Israel's law prohibits the entry of people who call and operate to boycott Israel."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The yeas are 398. The nays are 17 --
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Netanyahu referencing a bill Tlaib and Omar supported, which overwhelmingly failed to pass the House weeks ago, which supported the right to boycott, but the resolution itself didn't specifically mentioned Israel.
TLAIB: I can't stand by and watch this attack on our freedom of speech and the right to boycott the racist policies of the government in the state of Israel.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Even so, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, one of those closest to Netanyahu, said last month the two would be allowed entry because of Israel's respect for the American Congress. Not anymore.
For her part, Omar, who along with Tlaib, the first two Muslim women in Congress, responded, saying, "Trump's Muslim ban is what is Israel is implementing, this time against two duly elected members of Congress."
TLAIB: We are going to go in and impeach (bleep).
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The democratic freshmen are also two of the most outspoken critics of Trump, calling for his impeachment, leading Trump repeatedly to accuse them of being anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, I forgot, she doesn't like Israel. I forgot.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): And launching racist attacks against the two, including telling them to go back to where they came from, even though both are American citizens.
TRUMP: This Tlaib, Tlaib, she is vicious. She is like a crazed lunatic. She is screaming --
I am looking at this Omar from Minnesota, and if one-half of the things are saying about her are true, she shouldn't even be in office.
LIEBERMANN (on camera): In recent days, there has been a bipartisan congressional delegation, some 70 Democrats and Republicans here to meet officials. But Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar chose not to go on the trip because it was put together by pro-Israel American lobby APAC.
Interestingly, it was APAC in a rare move that split with Trump and Netanyahu and said even if these two women support a boycott of Israel and are anti-Israel, they still should have been allowed into the country so they could see it and experience it first-hand.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Benjamin Netanyahu's political opponents blasted the decision to ban the U.S. congresswomen. Several Israeli lawmakers say it harmed their relationship with the Democratic Party.
A similar response from U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who says this harms international diplomacy. She tweeted, "Visiting Israel and Palestine are key experiences towards a path to peace. Sadly, I cannot move forward with scheduling any visits to Israel until all members of Congress are allowed."
[02:09:58] Other U.S. lawmakers are also criticizing the move, even some Republicans. CNN's Manu Raju has reaction from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There has been pushback from both sides of the aisle after the Netanyahu government made it clear that congresswomen Omar and Tlaib would not be allowed in their country.
Top Democrats object it, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said Israel appears weak by going this route. But also, Chuck Schumer, the Senate democratic leader, someone who has been staunch ally of Israel for years, made clear that he disagrees with this decision.
We've seen also some pushback from Republicans, who are concerned about the president that this was said, including Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican senator who said this in a tweet. "I disagree 100 percent with representatives Tlaib and Omar on Israel. I am the author of the anti-BDS bill we passed in the Senate. But denying them entry into Israel is a mistake. Being blocked is what they really hoped for all along in order to bolster their attacks against the Jewish state."
Now, they would not agree that they really hoped to be blocked. They say that their job as members of Congress is to go overseas and spotlight some of the issues that they ultimately may legislate on. Congresswoman Omar, for one, is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, so it's not surprising that she would go and take a trip overseas.
But one reason why members on both sides are concerned about the steps that were taken today, is that a number of them do criticize governments from other countries and are worried that other countries may do the same to them or the White House may retaliate against their efforts to try to do their jobs, to legislate and to oversee things that are opening, foreign aid going out to other countries, for example.
We will see the ramifications this ultimately may have, but Republicans are concerned. Still, we are not hearing from a number of top Republicans who have been silent on this manner as Congress has been on recess. Only a handful has spoken out as democratic leaders voiced alarm.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Peter Beinart joins me now from New York. He is a CNN political commentator and contributing editor for The Atlantic. Peter, thanks for being with us. It is good to see you.
PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR FOR THE ATLANTIC: Good to see you.
ALLEN: Why did President Trump encouraged Israel to bar these congresswomen? Clearly, he has had derogatory comments about them, but with this, is he using a foreign power to punish opponents for voicing different political opinions?
BEINART: Yes, absolutely. I think that Trump has been trying to make Tlaib and Omar and other particularly non-white members of Congress the kind of his foil for his 2020 reelection campaign because I think that they are effective for him in stoking the fears that his base has, of America's changing demographic character.
And so anything that he can do to kind of, you know, position them as the opposition is helpful to him. So, he was essentially -- as someone who has done Benjamin Netanyahu a lot of favors, he was asking Netanyahu to do him a favor, which was help him continue to demonize these women.
ALLEN: Right. In a tweet, the president said this about these women, Omar and Tlaib. He said, "They hate Israel and all Jewish people." Where is he coming from with a statement like that? Have you found evidence of that?
BEINART: No. I mean, it's just utterly outrageous and absurd. You know, I say this as a committed American Jew. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, you don't have to agree with all of their views. You don't have to agree with everything they said. But they -- Rashida Tlaib's grandmother lives in the West Bank.
She is a Palestinian. She has every right to be concerned about Palestinian human rights. Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule without free movement or the right to vote for the government to control their life. To be concerned about that is not anti-Semitic. It's to be concerned about human rights.
Ilhan Omar similarly has been a critic of Israel, but she has also been a very fierce critic of Saudi Arabia. Donald Trump actually has much longer record of what you might consider anti-Semitic comments than anything Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaih have said.
So, this is Trump's effort, I think, to paint -- to try to scare some Jews into voting for him. And again, it is part of a larger context to try to paint the Democratic Party as anti-white, which I think is his way of motivating his base.
ALLEN: Right. You mentioned Rashida Tlaib. She was going to visit her grandmother when she went to Israel. She was going to visit her grandmother in the West Bank. I want to bring up the statement from Congresswoman Omar. She said this. "The irony of the 'only democracy' in the Middle East making such decision is that it is both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation."
[02:14:58] So, what message here is Israel sending on democracy and free speech with this decision?
BEINART: The reality is that Israel in the West Bank is not really a democracy. The vast majority of people who live in the West Bank are Palestinian who live under Israeli military law, but cannot vote in Israeli elections, cannot become citizens of Israel, live under entirely different legal system than their Jewish neighbors.
So, what we got was a small taste of the realities that Palestinians in the West Bank live under every day. And I think what Israel was afraid of in part was that most of the American politicians who go to Israel on trips from APAC and other American Jewish groups, they don't see the West Bank. The don't actually see the realities that Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were going to see, what Palestinian life without basic rights is like in the West Bank.
I think the Israeli government may have been somewhat afraid that if Omar and Tlain went and brought media cameras with them, this would draw attention to something that the Israeli government doesn't want to show.
ALLEN: And how does this look for Mr. Netanyahu that he accommodated the U.S. president on this? Does it make him appear he is under the thumb of Donald Trump?
BEINART: Well, you have to remember that Netanyahu has its own elections coming up in Israel in a fee weeks. And like Trump, he is also trying to, you know, appeal to his base, a very right wing base that like Trump's base in the United States is not particularly fond of Muslims. And so Netanyahu may feel that this helps him politically and taking a hard line against the people who are considered to be anti-Israel inside his political base.
But ultimately, the question is, as I think Rashida Tlaib rightly said, if a country calls itself a bastion of democracy in the Middle East, how is it consistent with liberal democratic values to bar people from entering the country simply because you disagree with their political views?
ALLEN: Back to President Trump's motivation here, was he trying to make a statement on the global stage or was this more about appealing to his base?
BEINART: I think it was more appealing to his base. Again, Trump has been really -- Trump is someone who always needs foils, he needs targets, and he needs people who will scare his supporters. The primary driver of Donald Trump's political rise going back to when he led this campaign suggesting that Barack Obama was not really a citizen of the United States has been to mobilize the fear of white Christian Americans, that the country is becoming demographically unrecognizable as the percentage of people of color and of non- Christians rise in the United States.
Much of what Donald Trump does politically is aim at stoking and re- stoking those fears so those people will look away from the fact that his administration is utterly incompetent, that his trade war is tanking the economy. So in their fear, they will turn to him as their protector. This is another part of that.
ALLEN: All right. We appreciate your insights on this. Certainly, this is a story that we will be continuing to discuss in the coming days. Peter Beinart for us. Thank you, Peter.
BEINART: Thank you.
ALLEN: A month-long political standoff could soon be over as a seized Iranian tanker is permitted to leave Gibraltar. We will tell you how the U.S. is responding to that news.
Also, for more than two months, public anger has been boiling over in Hong Kong, but has been simmering for a long time before that, even before the extradition bill that sparked the mass protests. We will find out why, next.
[02:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: In Hong Kong, this happened, French climber Alain Robert known as "Spiderman" scaled a skyscraper to unveil this banner. It shows the flags of China and Hong Kong above a handshake, certainly a symbolic gesture calling for reconciliation.
But, it is hard to see any kind of peace-making on the horizon and Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters are moving into their 11th week of demonstrations. The protests have become increasingly turbulent with both police and demonstrators accusing each other of violence. No one really knows where this turns next. We are going to look at a larger picture now.
Ben Wedeman is in Hong Kong. He joins us now live. Ben, you went behind the scenes of the protests and the people's lives to look at the discontent among many citizens towards life there.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We are particularly focusing, Natalie, on the question of housing. Housing here in Hong Kong is by far the least affordable on earth and perhaps -- and it's just sort of the -- the tip of the iceberg in terms of the difficulties ordinary people have to simply scrape by.
What we've seen in Hong Kong as well as in many other countries in the world is that in recent decades, a tiny percentage of the population has accumulated ever more wealth and power, while the vast majority here in Hong Kong in particular have seen their standard of living stagnate or decline.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): If you are rich in Hong Kong, you are rich, the lucky few. If not, you might live in Sham Shui Po, a crowded working class Kowloon neighborhood, a hot bed of unrest in the summer of discontent.
TSE LAI-NAM, PROTEST ORGANIZER: It's terrible.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Twenty-six-year-old Lai-nam has all the gear necessary for the next protest. He has rarely missed one. A courier for a law firm, he makes almost $1,300 a month. Of that, $740 dollars go for rent on this miniscule apartment, which he shares with his cat, Taikwan (ph).
Lai-nam's grievances go well beyond the now suspended extradition bill. For Lai-nam and others, it is about leaders who cater to the powerful and ignore the rest. "The government," he says, "should take from the rich and give to the poor so they can live in Hong Kong." He labours under no illusions. He believes he will never own a roof over his head. And for that, again, he blames the government.
"They've increased the gap between rich and poor," he tells me. "They've taken away the chance for young people to improve their lives and buy an apartment." Yet, Lai-nam's apartment is sprawling compared to some nearby.
(On camera): Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated cities and living space is in desperately short supply. This gentleman, for instance, pays 3,000 Hong Kong dollars a month, that's about $382 for this.
(Voice-over): Hong Kong has by far the world's least affordable housing. The easiest way to get decent housing, says Sham Sui Po community organizer Gordon Chick, is to be borne into it.
GORDON CHICK, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, SOCIETY FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: It depends on your parents, rich or not.
[02:25:00] If they are rich, they can get food and money to buy. If not, sorry.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Sorry may not be enough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And Thursday, the Hong Kong government did announce that it would be providing increased subsidies for working class families, that they would help pay, for instance, for rent for a month for some people, other programs to support small businesses.
But officials in announcing this support stressed that it was not in response to the protests or any discontent rather and preparation, they said, for what appears to be a coming recession. Natalie?
ALLEN: Oh, my goodness. All right, thank you so much for that another glimpse on what's going on there in Hong Kong. Ben Wedeman for us. Ben, thank you.
Gibraltar's Supreme Court has ruled that a seized Iranian oil tanker is free to leave. The court approved the ship's release after receiving an assurance that its cargo would not be delivered to Syria. The ruling was made despite a last-minute effort by the U.S. to keep the vessel in detention. Gibraltar's chief minister told CNN's Becky Anderson, he is faced by American pressure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: With respect, did the U.S. put any pressure on your government to detain the ship?
FABIAN PICARDO, CHIEF MINISTER OF GIBRALTAR: That's not something that I would have reacted to. I mean, the idea that political pressure might somehow play out in the context of a system that operates under the rule of law like ours does, it's to compare to completely different systems. That's apples and pears.
Political pressure does not apply in the context of discharging legal obligations. Our system is divided as much as the United Kingdom system and the U.S. system are in that respect. So, those are not issues that you would even consider.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The ship was seized after authorities accused it of carrying oil to Syria in violation of E.U. sanctions. Its owner says the vessel will head to the Mediterranean but it is not known when it will set sail.
We turn now to a fiery scene in the state of Tennessee Thursday where a private jet crashed after skidding off the runway on landing. It was carrying top U.S. race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife. They scrambled out of the plane and survived, along with the two pilots and another passenger. Look what was left of that plane.
Earnhardt is U.S. racing royalty. His legendary father died in a horrific car crash at the Daytona 500 18 years ago. Dale Jr. was planning to work as a TV announcer at a NASCAR race this weekend, but that's not going to happen now. He will spend time with his family.
The trade war between the U.S. and China has financial markets on edge and they don't like it. We will have a live report from Hong Kong just ahead here. Also, the cause of Russia's deadly nuclear blast remains a mystery. But a discovery (ph) in Norway could shed more light on what might be going on. We got that ahead as well. Please stay with us. There is much more.
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[02:30:41] ALLEN: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. Let's update you on our top news this hour.
South Korea is warning the North, its actions could escalate military tensions. North Korea launched two more short-range ballistic missiles a few hours ago. The Pentagon says they landed in the sea, west of Japan.
South Korea's National Security Council convened an emergency sessions following the launch.
Israel says it is blocking two U.S. congresswoman from entering the country after President Trump encouraged that decision. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are critics of both Mr. Trump and Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says, "The women wanted to damage Israel.
Hong Kong police are defending the way they handled the city's massive protests. They say tear -- they only use tear gas on pro-democracy protesters when the crowds get violent.
The protesters accused police of unprovoked excessive force, and they're calling for an independent investigation.
Asia's financial markets appear to be in a holding pattern following Wall Street's huge sell-off two days ago.
Let's take a look here. The Nikkei is up to barely 0.6. The Hang Seng is up as well, a door of point, and the Shanghai Composite at 0.56 percent. Wall Street regained about 100 points after its biggest one-day loss of the year.
Investors are concerned about the deepening trade dispute between Washington and Beijing. And troubling signs, it is having a negative impact on the global economy. Let's break it down with CNN's Andrew Stevens. He joins us from Hong Kong, and with this trade impasse, Andrew, how serious are the signs of a global recession?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're serious enough to warrant that 800 point fall, a couple of days ago, Natalie.
And we were all talking about this inverted yield curve which was -- which basically, investors markets watched as a sign of recession and when it inverts, it is a red flag for recession.
So, that was what was driving the markets down, U.S. went down, and we had the global sort of ripple effect. Things are steady and down today. But we're by no means out of the woods at this. And if you just look at the headline numbers, it does all look pretty bleak. China is growing at a 27 year low at the moment, 6.2 percent.
That is expected to continue to fall perhaps to six percent. And maybe next year, some people are predicting it could go under six percent. The U.S. economy which has been playing a pretty strong game is starting to show some signs of weakening. It's fallen off from that -- to around about 2.1 percent.
Remember, Donald Trump was talking about four percent growth. The prospect not that long ago. Germany is teetering on the edge of recession and many economies here in Asia are also going backwards, or at least, their growth is slowing because of what's happening in China.
So, you add all that up, but, Nathalie, and it is a very bleak outlook.
ALLEN: Yes, absolutely. And do you think the problems in the markets that we see, if they continue will push the two sides who are in agreement? I mean, sometimes they say, "We're hopeful." And then, Xi Jinping digs in, Donald Trump digs in. It's hard to tell what might end this whole thing.
STEVENS: Yes. Absolutely. I mean, we've been not that long ago talking Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary saying we're 90 percent there. Giving the indication that it was getting to crossing duties and dotting the eye stage.
And then, we've had that the Americans pulling back because they claimed the Chinese had completely rewritten a draft agreement, which had taken out all references to making this agreement a legal document, making it a binding document.
So, there is still daylight between the two on many of the key issues. Remember, China is basing its industrial policy on a lot of government support for big national champion industry. The U.S. wants this to change. China will not do that. So, on the really big issues, they are still a long way apart.
Both economies are now hurting, you could argue that China is hurting more because China is fundamentally exporting a lot more exports to the U.S. than the other way around. So, it's got more exposure which is very true.
But the U.S. is also hurting. Consumers, there are bearing the brunt of the -- of the tariffs. Even though, Donald Trump, says otherwise. Many economists will say that indeed the tariffs are effectively a stealth tax on American consumers. Because those costs of higher tariffs are being passed on to the price of goods.
So, if that continues because we still got another big layer of tariffs which are being threatened by the U.S. administration. If that continues, how long does the U.S. consumer bear up? And that consumer has been the engine of the U.S. economy for years now.
So, the trade war has this effect of not only a real impact on fewer -- on factories not producing so much stuff, because it's getting more expensive. But also on confidence, and confidence is so important in an economy like the U.S. where consumers, if they start losing confidence, they stop buying, and that's when you get into the spiral of a much weaker economy recession, et cetera.
So, the trade war has a direct impact but this confidence issue is also very, very important, Natalie. If the consumer starts losing confidence, the U.S. and Donald Trump is going to be in a much worse position there at the moment.
[02:36:18] ALLEN: All right. We appreciate it. Thank you for breaking it down for us. Andrew Stevens for us in Hong Kong. Well, the Trump administration has delayed new tariffs on some popular goods from China, presumably to avoid putting a damper on holiday gift shopping. But tariffs on other consumer items are to take effect the 1st of September unless there is a trade deal.
Here is what Mr. Trump had to say about it at a political rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: China, how you doing? They're not too happy. They're not too happy. They're losing millions of jobs, the tariffs are working, and they're eating the tariffs, by the way. There is no price increase. You know you got to talk to these people, the fake news.
But do we give up? And by the way, the biggest beneficiary, then who have been great? Our great farmers have been so incredible. Because they've been targeted by China. And frankly, they've been targeted for a long time, including by incompetent politicians that have run this country for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Despite what the president said there, China is not eating all the tariffs, they end up being to access paid by U.S. importers who may or may not pass the cost along to American consumers. If the threatened new tariffs do take effect, Americans can expect to start paying more.
As for those farmers, the president mentioned, their support for him is not as rock-solid as he says. They are beginning to feel fatigued as this trade war drags on, and are beginning to feel desperate about the future.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Farmers we've spoken to here in Minnesota, say they are drained mentally, physically, and financially. They're also warning that President Trump is in jeopardy of losing support from his base here in Minnesota if this trade war doesn't come to an end any time soon.
We also spoke to a farmer, Cindy, who says that this trade war could change the face of American farming forever.
CINDY VANDERPOL, FARMER, MINNESOTA: It's very scary. I mean, we -- I sometimes stay up at night worrying about what the future does hold. You know, what do you tell your children that want to farm? Do you tell them, go find something else to do? One of our sons already has. He's already -- sorry.
He always had a passion to farm. And because you don't know what the future is going to bring, you almost want to encourage them to go do something else. YURKEVICH: You hear that emotion from Cindy and that fear in her voice about the uncertainty of the future. And that's something we've heard from many farmers including Gary Wertish, whose farm were on right now.
He says that in order for President Trump to end this trade war, he needs a change in strategy.
GARY WERTISH, MEMBER, MINNESOTA FARMERS UNION: Words and Twitter's and tweets, that doesn't -- that doesn't pay the farmers bills. That doesn't solve the problem we're dealing with. And, you know, this one like I said earlier, this one is self-inflicted by our president. And we definitely agreed over at the beginning, but we -- it doesn't appear that there's a plan B.
YURKEVICH: And the fear is that plan A simply isn't working, and there is no plan B, which makes it very difficult for farmers to plan for their future. And as far as they are concerned, that market with China is lost and is not coming back.
And as we know, farm bankruptcies have been on the rise for the past two years now. And that is making it very difficult for farmers to plan for their future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:40:14] ALLEN: Next here. Saying goodbye is never easy, but we had the heartbreaking story of a man and the love of his life torn apart by a gunman filled with hate. How he is struggling to say goodbye.
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ALLEN: Russia is still offering little information about a blast that left five nuclear scientists dead. Now, one week after the mysterious explosion, Norway, says it has detected small levels of radiation at an air filter station.
As Nick Paton Walsh reports for us, this is raising more questions about Russia's nuclear program and specifically, a new nuclear-powered missile.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The tiniest traces of radiation recorded on the Norwegian northern coasts, say Norwegian officials. Radioactive iodine, they said, from an unknown source which isn't harmful to people.
Could this be yet more fallout from Russia's accident in the Arctic, which sent radiation levels soaring and killed five scientists during an apparent missile test? And what is the Skyfall known as the 9M370, or Burevestnik in Russia?
Announced by President Putin in March 2018, it was lauded as a new generation of unstoppable nuclear reactor-powered cruise missile, one that would render U.S. defenses obsolete.
They claim it has unlimited range and can fly around the world multiple times before approaching its target from an unpredictable angle. The point is, technology is secret. Yet most analysts believe it uses a nuclear reactor to heat air, propelling it forwards but expelling nuclear waste.
The U.S. called their version Project Pluto, yet abandoned such a scheme in the '60s because of the trail of damaging material it leaves behind as it flies. Basically, a dirty bomb with wings.
DR. MARK GALEOTTI, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: This is a doomsday weapon more than anything else. It's not something that could be deployed in anything other than full-scale nuclear war. It is a cruise missile that can stay in the air for a long, long time. But at the same time, it is belching out radioactive plumes behind it.
[02:44:58] WALSH: These satellite images show an apparent launch site in 2018. Does it work? U.S. officials told CNN, it's been tested a few times, but never fully successfully. The truth is, though, we just don't know how close to success it is now. Leading to the question, why would the Kremlin try to show off a technology that doesn't seem to fly?
GALEOTTI: Vladimir Putin's Russia is basically trying puff itself up. It's trying to look a lot more militarily formidable than it is. And so, to this effect, although they don't like the fact that the test failed, the fact that we are now all talking about the latest Russian military technology is definitely something of a plus.
WALSH: Yet the risks the Kremlin appeared to tolerate in pursuing this new arms race mean a more dangerous world could be ahead. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Police in the U.S. city of Philadelphia are now sharing new details about Wednesday's standoff. The police commissioner revealing that the suspect was armed with an assault-style rifle as well as a handgun.
CNN's Jason Carroll is in Philadelphia with more on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, Philadelphia police are still trying to determine how much firepower was used by a suspect after a dramatic ending to a violent gun battle and hour's long standoff.
The alleged shooter Maurice Hill, finally surrendering around midnight, Wednesday.
RICHARD ROSS, POLICE COMMISSIONER, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: We know that he had one handgun that believe it or not, he had in his pocket when he came outside and surrender.
We know that he had an AR-15 which is likely the weapon that he was firing at the police repeatedly.
CARROLL: SWAT teams used tear gas to drive Hill from the North Philadelphia row house and took him away in handcuffs. The ordeal played out on live television, just minutes after narcotics officers showed up to serve a warrant, and were met with a barrage of gunfire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots still ringing out. Give me SWAT, ASAP! Long guns, ASAP!
CARROLL: Six officers were shot. Their injuries were not life- threatening. Police cleared the streets as SWAT teams and negotiators moved in to engage with the suspect.
ROSS: I did not think it would end nearly the way it did. I mean, there was dialogue that was being presented to us at the scene that suggested this man was not going to go back to prison.
CARROLL: Complicating an already potentially deadly situation, two officers were trapped inside with three civilians for hours until a SWAT unit got them out. Ultimately, they say it was Hill's former attorney who was key to resolving the standoff.
SHAKA JOHNSON, FORMER ATTORNEY OF MAURICE HILL: It was clear to me that he wanted this thing to end without him dying. Because he kept saying, "they're going to kill me."
CARROLL: The lawyer says, the gunman called him around 8:30 last night from inside the home.
Have you ever been in a situation where you've had to be in some ways a hostage negotiator?
JOHNSON: Never, never.
CARROLL: Johnson rushed to get the district attorney and police commissioner on a call with Hill to work out his surrender. Now, there are questions. Could more have been done to stop the shooting in the first place?
MAYOR JIM KENNEY, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Our officers need help. They need help keeping these weapons out of the hands of the bad guys.
CARROLL: Court documents show, Hill had a lengthy rap sheet which included convictions for aggravated assault and the illegal firearms possession.
In the wake of the shooting, you have a lot of political finger- pointing going back and forth. You've got the U.S. Attorney accusing the district attorney of being soft on crime. Meanwhile, the DA defending his office.
The mayor is saying the problem just has to do with too many guns on the streets. There's one point where they all can agree, this is someone who never should have been on the streets to begin with.
Jason Carroll, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: A new poll indicates an overwhelming majority of Americans are in favor of stricter gun laws. According to the Fox News poll, 90 percent of American voters are in favor of criminal background checks on all gun buyers. All 67 percent favor banning assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons.
Well, earlier this week in the wake of mass shootings in three states, Texas, Ohio, and California. President Trump claimed too many Republicans, supported his push to strengthen background checks on gun sales.
But on Thursday he didn't talk about that. Instead, the president returned to talking points, a pro-gun -- pro-gun groups.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I do want people to remember the words, mental Illness. These people are mentally ill. A lot of our conversation has to do with the fact that we have to open up institutions. We can't let these people be on the streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:49:50] ALLEN: This weekend, a 61-year-old El Paso, Texas man will bury his wife, two weeks after she died in that mass shooting that also saw 22 people killed.
In the days leading up to her funeral, he had worried that not that many people would be able or even willing to attend.
CNN's Gary Tuchman picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony Vasco loved only one person in the world, and now she's gone.
And she hugged you a lot.
TONY BASCO, HUSBAND OF A WALLMART SHOOTING VICTIM: I don't know what she saw in me sometimes. We had wonderful years. The best years in my whole life.
TUCHMAN: Tony has no other family. His wife Margie Reckard had just a few family members. But none in the El Paso area. Attendance at her funeral was expected to be minimal until the Internet took over.
Tweets from journalists and media outlets sent out messages of support for Tony. Then, there was this Facebook post from the funeral home, reading, "Mr. Antonio Basco was married 22 years to his wife Margie Reckard. He had no other family. He welcomes anyone to attend his wife's services.
People from all over the United States have contacted the funeral home as well as Tony to say they plan to attend Margie's funeral.
They're going to be hundreds of people here probably from all around the country. How does that make you feel?
BASCO: I love it. It's nice to see people really caring about people. It will be a lot of people now according to the report.
TUCHMAN: They had been married for 22 years. Tony says his life had been very difficult prior to meeting her.
What would you like people to know about Margie?
BASCO: She was a caring, loving, the most beautiful person.
TUCHMAN: Every day now, he goes to the memorial site next to the Walmart. Taking exquisite care of Margie's memorial. Making sure the flowers and the wind chimes which she always loved so much look the best they can.
Where did you meet her?
BASCO: Omaha, Nebraska. In a bar.
TUCHMAN: And you were single, she was single?
BASCO: Yes. Never been --
(CROSSTALK)
TUCHMAN: It was a love at first sight?
BASCO: Oh, man. You feel (INAUDIBLE).
TUCHMAN: Tony is still waking up each morning in disbelief that she is gone.
BASCO: I sit at my table, looking at the front door. Waiting for her to walking in. I think and tried calling her on the phone.
TUCHMAN: You have.
BASCO: I tried too.
TUCHMAN: At the memorial site, Tony tells Margie that someday he will meet her in heaven.
BASCO: So, what you've been up too? What are you going to do up there? I wish you could tell me sometime.
TUCHMAN: Tony is now beginning a new life alone. But for, at least, one day at Margie's funeral, he won't be.
BACO: She made me the happiest man in the world and the luckiest. There's nobody is luckier than me in this whole world.
TUCHMAN: Tony is spending a lot of time here at this memorial site next to the Walmart. When people come up to him, they hug him, they shake his hand, they talked to him. He says it gives him great comfort. As it does to family members of other victims when they too come to this memorial site.
When I was talking to Tony, he was telling me that last week, he actually slept at this memorial. He still wants to be as close as he can to Margie. This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in El Paso, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[02:55:02] ALLEN: A woman in Canada is lucky to be alive, and that is an understatement after falling 1-1/2 kilometers from an airplane. People on the ground apparently watched in horror as the skydivers main and backup parachutes failed to open.
CNN partners CBC reports she plunged into a wooded area and is now recovering in the hospital. She does have several fractures, including broken vertebra. Authorities, of course, investigating whether there was any negligence, what went wrong? But she must be so thankful to be alive.
All right. Finally is one cool car. One of James Bond's stunning Aston Martin's famous for its movie props like, you know, ejector seats, machine guns, and smoke machines, and it fetched an even cooler $6.4 million at auction, Thursday.
CNN's Peter Valdes-Dapena checks out its gadgets and its glamour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VALDES-DAPENA, CNNMONEY, SENIOR AUTO REPORTER: Sleek, sophisticated, and fit for a spy. The Aston Martin DB5 is inextricably linked to James Bond.
BARNEY RUPRECHT, CAR SPECIALIST, R.M. SOTHEBY'S: So much of it was, you know, cultural iconic status. It was really ahead of its time. And today, the cars are really a throwback to that.
VALDES-DAPENA: Scene as a classic today, the James Bond DB5 was the pinnacle of special effects ingenuity in its era.
RUPRECHT: Yes, we do have a phone back to MI6 headquarters here.
VALDES-DAPENA: So, so, I can call, M?
RUPRECHT: Exactly.
VALDES-DAPENA: The car auctioned by R.M. Sotheby's is fully loaded, with all 13 gadgets seen in the movies.
JAMES BOND, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Ejector seat? You're joking. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never joke about my work, 007.
VALDES-DAPENA: From .30 caliber gun in each fender to tire slackers, and even a smoke machine.
RUPRECHT: Everything's housed in here, as is the bulletproof shield.
VALDES-DAPENA: Sold by an anonymous owner, it is one of three surviving models of its kind.
RUPRECHT: The restoration around the car really involved making everything functional again. So, the rotating license plate, motor servos to the GPS flashing and the dashboard, everything about the car fully works.
VALDES-DAPENA: Used for a promotion, this DB5 never actually appeared on film. But Sotheby's says that doesn't make it less of a game- changer.
RUPRECHT: DB5 was really the first, broadly speaking, commercial mass-produced car for Aston, and it was a tremendous success.
VALDES-DAPENA: The car is ready to go home with a lucky buyer. Helping them turn their deepest spy fantasies into reality.
RUPRECHT: Fully road-legal, fully compliant anywhere in the world.
VALDES-DAPENA: As long as the new 007 doesn't run afoul of the real- world authorities.
I get just please don't use the nail spreader or the oil slick.
Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Our news continues next with Max Foster.
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