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Union Workers Given Ultimatum On Trump's Speech: Attend The Event Or Receive Zero Pay, Use PTO; Far-Left, Far-Right Extremist Groups Face Off; Facebook Listened In On Private Conversations?; Lawmaker Looking To Restrict Campaign Ads; Democratic Candidates Make Case To Black Voters; Russian Track CNN Crew Exposing Putin's Private Army; Elizabeth Warren Proposes Empowering Native Americans; Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM) Is Interviewed About Elizabeth Warren's Plan On Empowering Native Americans; Wisconsin Police Arrest Fugitive Hiding In Solar-Powered Bunker. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 17, 2019 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN NEWSROOM: You're live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

New today, a stark choice for union workers in Pennsylvania ahead of the president's speech there earlier this week, show up if you want to get paid or burn one of your days off. And, by the way, if you're not there, you're not eligible for overtime.

CNN obtaining a memo sent to Shell Union workers at the Beaver Creek, Pennsylvania plant. This was ahead of Trump's Tuesday visit.

The memo reads, in part, no yelling, shouting, protesting or anything viewed as resistance will be tolerated at the event. Those who are not in attendance will not receive overtime pay on Friday.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, which first reported on the memo and the ultimatum to workers reported one contractor forwarded the information to workers based on a memo Shell sent to union workers.

Shell tells CNN it didn't write the memo.

Let's get right out to CNN's Kristen Holmes in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, near where the president is spending his time.

And, Kristen, I want to ask you about this memo to the union workers at Trump's Pennsylvania event. What have you learned about the origins of that memo?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're still trying to figure out where exactly this came from. As you said, Ana, Shell denies writing this memo. They particularly took notice to this line that talked about protesting within the memo. It said that they weren't allowed to protest at the Trump event when you attended it. They said that any language about worker conduct didn't come from them.

But when it came to that overtime comment, that was a bit of a different first story. Take a look here. This is what the spokesperson told CNN earlier today. He said, it was understood some would choose not to attend the presidential visit and were given the option to take paid time off instead. As with any workweek, if someone chooses to take PTO, they are not eligible to receive maximum overtime.

So, clearly, that part of the message came from Shell, but as for who distributed the memo, we're unsure of that.

CABRERA: And, Kristen, I also want to ask about -- I understand some new reporting we're getting about the White House's plan to cancel foreign aid. What do you know about that?

HOLMES: Well, that's right. So they're finalizing this plan to cancel foreign aid. We reported on it earlier this week. And, essentially, the plan would cut about $4 billion in foreign aid. So where does that go towards, State Department, the U.N., including some peace-keeping funds, the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Now, this has gotten a lot of backlash from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including Lindsey Graham, who we know is a staunch supporter of President Trump. They say it could be a national security risk among other things.

But the Administration, they don't believe that they have to actually go through Congress to get this passed, so clearly setting up a battle in Washington. But right now, we're not sure if it's going to have to go through Congress.

And one Thing I want to know, we reported this earlier in the week when we were talking about this plan, what it's coming to be, not all of that money would be gone, of course, not surprisingly, any project that was spearheaded by Ivanka Trump or by Vice President Pence, or anything that President Trump himself care about, there would still be money in that fund for that.

CABRERA: Okay. Kristen Holmes in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, thank you.

Now, to the west coast, people in the City of Portland, Oregon today bracing for the worst.

Groups of far right extremists and counter-protesters facing off today, making people -- they are afraid that two sides would clash violently, as they have in the past. Thankfully, that didn't happen. They shouted at each other and for the most part just made a lot of noise. Police did find and confiscated some weapons earlier and arrested at least three people.

President Trump mentioned the protests in a Tweet this group, singling out only the far-left group that calls itself Antifa. This is from the president, major consideration is being given to naming Antifa an organization of terror. Portland is being watched very closely. Hopefully, the mayor will be able to properly do his job.

And this bears mentioning (ph), the United States does not have a domestic terrorism law and no government agency designates domestic groups as being terrorist organizations.

Let's get out to Portland and CNN's Sara Sidner. Sara, a sigh of relief there yet or is there still potential for trouble?

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are some issues. We're seeing the police going back and forth. But we are at Waterfront Park. This is where the initial rally was to be held by the Proud Boys who organized it. They are a far-right group.

You can see there is not a lot of folks here left. Here the left was on this side for the most part. The right then got up moving on to the other side. And the two did not really come together, and that was by design.

[18:05:01]

Police -- lots of officers out here are trying to keep that interaction from happening, and so far, so good.

And we know the Proud Boys, we had an interview and talked to them. And we know that they have now left. And we're going to let you listen to one of the Proud Boys told us as we asked them why they keep coming back to Portland. This particular person is from Florida and says he is going to keep coming back, and listen to why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: At a time when the government and the people here that live are extremely concerned about what is going on, to how the president just picked one group when the right has also been arrested, and not to mention it.

ENRIQUE TARRIO, CHAIRMAN, PROUD BOYS: Well, because of he's events this weekend. Would you be Tweeting right now -- right now, you're not covering white supremacy, are you? You're covering this event, right? So when El Paso shooting happened, he Tweeted about El Paso. Today, the event is Antifa. So --

SIDNER: Is it Antifa though? You guys were the ones that organized this event. So how is this Antifa?

TARRIO: Did anything go wrong with this event today?

SIDNER: Nothing went wrong with Antifa either. Nothing went wrong with you guys. It has so far been peaceful. Is that what you plan on doing coming here? I guess the question is why come here?

TARRIO: I'm going to keep coming here as long as Ted Wheeler keeps pandering to Antifa and not calling it out by name, we're going going to keep coming out here. We're going to keep wasting his resources. He's going to call all the agencies that he's called. He's going to call the National Guard, the FBI, all of those people, and we're going to keep coming out until Ted Wheeler does something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So you heard there from one of the Proud Boys who says, they're going to keep coming out here, even if it means to waste resources, which does not make the people who live here in Portland pay taxes happy to hear, and neither does it make the mayor happy.

I'm here with a couple of folks who were on the other side of this, who are standing up against these far-right groups. Can you tell -- are you guys members of the so-called Antifa, the anti-fascist?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are members of the Youth Liberation Front, which I guess is kind of a membership of the anti-fascist. Antifa doesn't really have a leader. It doesn't really have like a coalesced membership. It's more of like whoever kind of shows up to oppose fascism is an anti-fascist. I mean -- yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a political ideology, it's not an organization. It's not a group of people. It's a group of people -- I mean, it's a group of people that organize on their own, but there is no hierarchy or anything. It's just --

SIDNER: There is no one leader of the anti-fascist --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, and there is not really like paramilitaries either. It's just some people and their friends who come out.

SIDNER: Let me ask you. This is a question that comes up over and over again, why wear masks? There's a lot of talk about masks, people think that when they see masked person, they are out to do something either violent or unlawful. Why wear masks?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main reason is so that when the Proud Boys see us, they don't doc (ph) us release our information and identify us, because we don't want people coming to our houses and interfering with our personal lives. So it's not because we want to mix it up with the police or whatever, it's just so that we can protect ourselves.

SIDNER: Same for you, because a lot of people are criticizing, like, look, the police can't identify you, so therefore, if there is some trouble they can't see your face.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd like to add that, personally, I'm a minor. So if cops show up at my -- or if Proud Boys show up at my door, that would be particularly bad, I don't want them harassing me. I don't want to die, I don't want them killing me.

If there is a side that is specifically making threats and the other side is willing to cover their faces just to like avoid those threats.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about what the president has talked about. The president has basically said, look, we are looking at whether or not and leaning towards making Antifa a terrorist organization, a domestic terrorist group. Although there is no federal law that deems domestic terrorism as a crime, it just doesn't exist in the laws right now. But what do you think about that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think you can really do that. Because like I said earlier, we're not like a political party or something. We're just a political ideology. So when you call a political ideology terrorist, then that gives you leeway to just call anyone Antifa and arrest them.

So I think it's very wrong that they 're trying to do that and I think there can be really shady justifications around that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I'd like to add that I think that it's a sign of our further descent into fascism that we're making anti- fascism illegal in some ways. Like, first, they came for the socialists, you know. I don't think that making anti-fascism illegal -- it just doesn't make any sense.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about a third thing, and something that the right often comments on. And they do this, they use memes, they use different things, and they come here to engage Antifa. They come here so that you guys will come out and so that violence will erupt. I mean, they've been pretty clear about that.

[18:10:00]

And sometimes violence does erupt. Do you agree that Antifa is sometimes violent as is some of the folks from the right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly, there is violence in Antifa because our goal is to stop fascism by any means. But it's not -- we're not being aggressive. I don't think -- I think it is mostly defensive, like when a Proud Boy tries to come hit us, we'll fight back. We're not here to like start fights, we're not here rebel rouse. We're just here to block the Proud Boys from unfurling their banners and spreading their ideas and then potentially attacking people on the street.

SIDNER: There are a lot of people nervous about when these groups come forward because they know it's going to mean there is a possibility of violence. Do you feel like you're playing into their hands by showing up? Why not just let them come and protest?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think them coming and protesting is actually worse. They will get violence by any means necessary, if they get violence against Antifa. At least these are people who are prepared. I mean, if they just go around harassing random citizens, that's not cool. We are resisting the fascism. We're not allowing them to just take over our streets.

SIDNER: Both of you, thank you for talking to us, that we've asked a lot of people to talk to us. Many of the folks from Antifa who refuse, you two are willing to stop. Listen, I appreciate you guys taking the time to explain your side of things here in Portland. Are you both from Portland?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

SIDNER: Yes, both of you. I appreciate your time and thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

SIDNER: So you're hearing from two members of the Antifa. The said they're in a different group but it is linked to Antifa, and their thoughts on what the president has said and the thoughts on what the right has said. It is an interesting mix of folks here.

Right now, there are still groups out, there are still police, a large police presence and helicopters overhead. But so far, there hasn't been any major violence. Four people arrested, a small number considering the number of people who were out here, which were hundreds of people and one person injured. Ana?

CABRERA: OK. Thank you for keeping us posted on that, Sara Sidner.

A new report, details, how Facebook paid outside contractors to listen to your private conversations. How is the social media giant responding? Stay with us.

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[18:15:00]

CABRERA: New questions about your privacy on Facebook. A new report alleges the social media giant has been paying outside contractors to transcribe audio from users' messages. Facebook has responded, saying that while it used to do that with users who opted in, it has now stopped the practice. This is coming as the European Union is deciding whether it will levy billions of euros in fines against the social media giant over concerns about data privacy.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan is here with us. Now, I mean, it seems, Donie, like the heads (ph) just keep coming for Facebook. Let's talk about audio transcription. We know Facebook isn't alone. We've reported about Google and Amazon having done similar moves with their assistance. What is Facebook telling us?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: So this is Facebook's private messenger. And a lot of us might use this audio-to-text transcription. So if you're with your kids or you're driving and you don't want to type out the text, you can talk it in or might send as a text message.

At Facebook, we found out this week, through reporting from Sarah Frier at Bloomberg, had hired apparently hundreds of outside contractors to listen to snippets of this audio.

Now, when the news initially broke, Facebook says, as we mentioned there, that this was an opt-in feature. But, again, once you go back and read their terms of service, there was no mention that it was humans, that it will be humans listening. In fact, it said, this is a machine learning system.

So I think for the regular consumer, as they read this, they say, okay, this is -- I'm feeding my voice into a computer and not going to have humans listening. Now, Facebook also says that it was anonymized.

But I think it really points to something a trend that we have seen with this company over the past few years is when they get caught with something, something is pointed out to them, they will give you half of the information. And then it's when you go back again and again. It's a lot of yes bots (ph). It was the same Cambridge Analytica.

And as we saw recently, the FTC slapped them with a massive fine due to a lot of issues around privacy.

So there seems to be a lot of lessons that still need to be learned here.

CABRERA: And the transparency, to your point, isn't there, when you start asking, they don't tell you the full story. And now, we have 2020 around the corner. We all know what happened in the 2016 election with the social media campaigns that were part of the Russia enterprise and their efforts to really disrupt the election process.

2020 campaigns are spending millions, tens of millions of dollars already on Facebook ads, trying to connect with American, with voters. One senator is now trying to restrict how campaigns can target American voters. Tell us about that.

O'SULLIVAN: Correct. Hundreds of millions has been spent by 2020 candidates. Donald Trump's campaign is the most biggest spender on Facebook ads. And the reason why they're spending on Facebook ads is because Facebook ads work.

And you can target people on Facebook, unlike many other platforms. So you can target people based on their interests and all these various things that regular advertisers, if you were to put an ad into a newspaper, on T.V., you're not going to be able to get such a segment of the population in a way that you can on Facebook.

That was used, and there's concern, I think, that it could be used in ways to target specific communities, specific minorities and ways to dissuade them from voting, so, essentially, sort of voter suppression efforts.

Now, Facebook and all the other major platforms will tell you, well this is against our rules. But, again, once you start scratching under the surface, you can see ways that campaigns could get around those rules.

So one senator, Senator Ron Wyden, says he wants to -- Facebook to -- and Facebook and Google to turn off the ability to really target users based on sort of interests to be able to upload users' details on to Facebook, to be able to target them, that targeting should happen on a more granular level, like district or state.

CABRERA: A broad scale of some sort.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes, so not in that sort of way.

So I have not heard -- Facebook has no comment on that. But, interestingly, there are some former executives from the company who are also saying that this should happen.

CABRERA: Okay, keep us posted. Thank you, Donie O'Sullivan.

2020 candidates are in the south today making their pitch to black voters. So whose message is resonating the most?

[18:20:01]

We'll hear from voters just ahead.

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CABRERA: Fighting voter suppression, canceling student debt, just some of what the 2020 Democratic president candidates are talking about this weekend as they reach out to black voters at a major conference in Atlanta. And that's where our Vanessa Yurkevich spoke to voters who also have various other issues on their minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what's most important to me is that they actually care about the people that they're serving and that it's not just about money or about their fame, that it's really about the people who are going to be affected by every decision that they make.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The economy. I know we're -- they're talking about a downturn going to be happening. Obviously, we don't know when it that's going to happen, but I would love to hear what their thoughts are on that and how they can help not make it as it was bad as '08.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gun violence. I think that's really important. I think it's an issue in our communities, I think, from the police, to just every day communities. Gun violence, these mass shootings that have been happening, I think that it's just very important and we need to do something about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gun control. That's a thing that's like close to my heart, because innocent people are dying all the time.

I feel like there is just something that has to be done about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let me bring in CNN Political Commentator the host of "THE VAN JONES SHOW," which is coming up right after us at 7:00 P.M. Eastern, Van Jones is here with us.

[18:25:03]

Van, you saw the priorities. They are spelled out by some voters who are listening in. Are the candidates addressing those concerns, do you think?

VAN JONES, CNN HOST, THE VAN JONES SHOW: Look, I think they're trying everything that they possibly can. You know, the African-American vote is about 25 percent of the Democratic primary. In other words, one out of every four hands is going to drop about and doing the primary and African-American hand. And so all of the candidates are trying to figure out a way to breakthrough what is the issue, is it criminal justice reforms, is it student loans, is it gun violence, whatever it is.

Part of what I think people have got to keep in mind is this is a very sophisticated part of the electorate. The black community actually held back from Barack Obama, they said, we know Hillary Clinton and we know Bill Clinton back in 2007, 2008. You've got to earn it. Even if you're Barack Obama, Barack Obama had to earn the black vote. And that's why you see Biden is sitting on that 30 plus percent of support from black community and others vying.

I don't think there is a single issue that's going to break anybody through. I think it's going to be about the consistency of the outreach and the consistency of not just talking but listening to these voters. And that's why you got everybody down there at that commission today.

CABRERA: And just the sampling that we played shows that it's not a monolithic group. And what's most important to one black voter may not be what's on top of mind of another. I mean, they care about a variety of things, clearly.

You mentioned Joe Biden, where he sits in the polls, and he was not among those attending the Young Leaders Conference in Atlanta. But I do want to put the polling up for our viewers this week because you can see among registered black voters, Joe Biden leads by a wide margin overall and he's actually done even better than that in the last three CNN polls currently. This latest number, he's 37 percent and the next closest 18 percent, Senator Sanders.

But our Harry Enten, really quick, before you respond, I do want to just get in the generational split that the numbers that you don't see and not just a overall number. Biden wins with black voters who are over 50 by even greater margins but his numbers drop when you talk about people under 50 when it comes to the black voter. How important should the younger black vote be?

JONES: I think it's very important because the reality is that, as important as the older black voters are in terms of their consistency, those are the most likely black voters. The energy is with the younger black voters. And we have a long way to go between now and the time that you and I have the first vote in a state that has major black participation. And so you can imagine some of those grandkids pulling some of those grandparents along with them as they get more excited for other folks.

Part of the thing you have to remember when you're dealing with a Joe Biden, his support right now equals his next three competitors combined, if you just look at the number overall, but the energy is not necessarily with Joe Biden. The energy is still looking for a breakout candidate.

Corey Booker did very well in the CNN debate. He could catch fire. Kamala Harris is struggling to breakout. She is up there right now. She could catch fire. Don't rule out Elizabeth Warren. Elizabeth Warren is doing extraordinarily well, unexpectedly well with African- American women who have another choice when you're talking about Kamala Harris.

And so I think that basically Biden has a long way to fall, if he does fall, others have a long way to grow with these voters.

CABRERA: And, Van, you're joined by 2020 candidate Jay Inslee, the Governor of Washington State, as well as former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. What can viewers expect to hear tonight in your show?

JONES: Hey, listen, you've got two very wise leaders in this party, Deval Patrick wise enough not to run, and so he has got a great perspective, but you also have Jay Inslee, one of the most accomplished people in America. He's been a governor. He's been a senator. He's been a prosecutor. He actually has a green, environmentally friendly economy in Washington State. It's actually outperforming everybody else economically.

So you've got to get on my show, we take a little bit more time, you get a little bit deeper, you're going to get a lot of wisdom from them.

We also have Diane Guerrero from Orange is the New Black. She herself, now as famous actress, she endured family separation. When she was 14 years old, she came home to an empty house.

And so we're going to have a good time on the Van Jones Show tonight.

CABRERA: We'll look forward to it. Van, as always, good to see you. Thank you.

JONES: Thank you.

CABRERA: Make sure you tune in top of the hour for his show. He'll be joined again by 2020 candidate Jay Inslee, former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and actress Diane Guerrero.

An exclusive CNN report that Russia doesn't want you to see, we'll get an inside look at the boot camp of a secret army doing Vladimir Putin's bidding and expanding Russia's influence around the world.

[18:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Now, to a CNN exclusive report exposing a secret private army that does the bidding of Russia's Vladimir Putin. Not surprisingly, Russia doesn't want you to know anything about it. Russia's fears about our investigation became evident as our crew was ominously followed. Here's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): This is

boot camp for recruits to a new army in the war-torn Central African Republic. The troops are being taught in Russian. Weapons are Russian, too.

It's taken months to get access to this camp. Officially, this is a U.N.-approved training mission, but the Russian instructors won't talk to us or even be identified because they're not actually soldiers; they're mercenaries.

Sponsored by a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin, they are the sharp end of an ambitious drive into Africa, stoking fears in Washington of Russian expansionism.

Valery Zakharov is the man in charge here, a former military intelligence officer. He is now the security adviser to the Central African Republic's President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERY ZAKHAROV, SECURITY ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC(through interpreter): Russia is returning to Africa. We were already present in many countries during the time of the Soviet Union and Russia is coming back to the same position.

[18:35:08] We still have connections and we are trying to reestablish them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD(voice-over): That's not the only reason they're here. The Central African Republic is rich in natural resources; gold and diamonds, and the Russians want them.

We are on our way to one of seven sites where a Russian company has been given exploration rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARD(on camera): One of the challenges of trying to nail down exactly what the Russians are doing here is that once you get outside the capital, this is still a very dangerous and chaotic country. And just last year, three Russian journalists were actually ambushed and killed while working on a story about Russian mercenaries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD(voice-over): The drive is bruising and long along rutted tracks to a tiny village of straw huts. And then we have to cross a river on this hand-pulled ferry.

Local teenager, Rodriguez (ph), agrees to show us where the Russians have been active. It's another bumpy ride through the bush. The last part of the journey is on foot.

We asked the workers if they have seen any Russians. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPOKEN)

WARD(on camera): So, he's saying that earlier this year, there were a lot of Russians here looking for diamonds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD (voice-over): Rodriguez (ph) says the Russians now employ hundreds of workers on artisanal mines, like this, across the area.

In the pit, a group of teenagers pan through the sand in the search for a precious fragment. Whatever they find, they say, must be handed over to the Russian's agent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARD(on camera): So it's interesting. These guys are saying that the Russians who visited this spot actually came from the training camp at Berengo that we visited. It's pretty clear they're doing more than just training troops here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD (voice-over): CNN has learned that the mining exploration rights have been given to a company called Lobaye Invest. Lobaye is part of a sprawling business empire owned by this man, Yevgeny Prigozhin. An oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he has been sanctioned by the U.S. for meddling in the 2016 election.

And a CNN investigation based on hundreds of documents has established that Prigozhin's companies are also providing the mercenary muscle. He is believed to be the man behind Wagner, Russia's most notorious private military contractor.

On our return to town from the mines, we notice we are being followed. We try to approach but the car drives off. We catch a glimpse of four white males. All but one hide their faces from our camera. There is no license plate. Police later confirmed to us that they are Russians.

Near our hotel, we spot the vehicle again. We try to get closer but the men drive off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: So, we're back at our hotel now but a little bit shaken up because that car full of Russians has been following us for quite some time. We don't know why. We don't know what they want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD (voice-over): Mindful of the murder of the journalists last year, we leave town the next day. But back in the capital, Bangui, Russia's growing influence is

impossible to escape on the streets, even on the airwaves. Radio Lengo Songo features African music and lessons in Russian. No surprise perhaps that it is funded by Prigozhin company, Lobaye Invest.

The manager tells us the station wants to deepen cooperation between the two nations. And in a country where education and entertainment are in short supply, it seems that plenty of people are listening.

American officials say they are greatly concerned by Russia's actions here and that they undermine security. But with the U.S. shrinking its footprint across Africa and with minimal official Kremlin involvement, Putin has little to lose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: For Russia, this is a straightforward bargain. They provide the weapons and the training and in return, they get access to the country's natural resources. And in the process, hope to reassert themselves as a major player in this region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD (voice-over): It's a campaign for hearts, and minds, and hard power and Russia is moving quickly to get a step ahead of its rivals.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, the Central African Republic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:40:04] CABRERA: Elizabeth Warren likes to remind voters she's got a plan for that and those plans now include empowering Native American tribes. Getting beyond the DNA test and the derisive nickname from the President, one of the first Native Americans in Congress joins us live with how her community is viewing Senator Warren and her plan. Next live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:44:19] CABRERA: Senator Elizabeth Warren has taken plenty of heat on past claims of Native American heritage, some of it courtesy of the President. But now she's stepping up to empower Native American tribes with legislation that's drawing accolades and a key endorsement from one of two Native American women in Congress.

For some details on the plan, guaranteed federal funds for Indian health, education, infrastructure and other programs that are now subject to congressional budget fights. Tribal affairs elevated to a cabinet level priority. A reversal of energy projects on tribal lands including the Keystone Pipeline, move to restore the Bears Ears National Monument, addressing tribal justice and federal funds to help tribal governments buy back land and hold it in federal trust.

[18:45:02] In Mexico, Congresswoman Debra Haaland is joining us. Now, Congressman, you helped craft this extremely ambitious plan. How

do you see this helping Native American communities and why isn't this happening already?

REP. DEBRA HAALAND (D-NM): Right. Well, of course, the United States government has a trust responsibility to tribes. Those are promises that the federal government made through treaties, through executive orders, through Supreme Court precedent that they need to uphold. They have to keep their promises to Indian country.

When the United States Commission on civil rights made this broken promises report, it revealed that there's been chronic underfunding in Indian country for decades and decades. And this bill seeks to ensure that the federal government lives up to its trust responsibility to Indian tribes, those promises in the areas of health care, education, public safety, housing and so I'm excited about it.

It's long overdue. Extremely excited to have worked on this with Senator Warren. Right now, it's in a draft form. We'll wait to get input from tribes across the country and keep working at it.

CABRERA: Congressman, what do you say to those who see Warren taking this step really as a way to make up for her previous claims of Native American heritage that turned out to be at least somewhat exaggerated?

HAALAND: I don't think she has anything to make up. Her heart is in the right place. She's been a champion for working families long before she was even our U.S. Senator. She has been very supportive to Indian country for as long as I have known her and this is something that's doing the right thing.

This goes along precisely with what she's trying to do to ensure that every single American can find success, that this economy will work for everyone. And I think it's a wonderful legislation and I really look forward to moving forward with it.

CABRERA: Meanwhile, President Trump continues to use Warren's claims of Native American Heritage against her. Listen to what he said this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Just like Elizabeth Warren, I did the Pocahontas thing. I hit her really hard and it looked like she was down and out. But that was too long ago, I should have waited. But don't worry, we will revive it. It can be revived.

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CABRERA: Congresswoman, why do you think the President continues this line of attack?

HAALAND: Because he probably knows that he is set to lose this election. He's underwater in many states. If several handfuls of states right now - look, she's one of the front runners. Of course, he's going to attack her. It's unfortunate that he continues to use racial slurs against Native Americans when attacking Senator Warren.

We're going to work super hard. All of our grassroots effort to get the vote out for the Senator. I don't think his racial slurs are any match for the work that we plan on doing to ensure that we get out every single voter across this country.

CABRERA: This election cycle, you've heard Democrats talking about black voters, Hispanic voters. Do you feel like the 2020 Democrats and your party are giving enough attention to indigenous voters and issues that impact them?

HAALAND: So I think that, look, Secretary Castro has already rolled out his platform. Monday and Tuesday, there is a Native American forum for the presidential candidates in Iowa. There's going to be a lot of attention paid to Indian voters. I, myself, I've been working to get out the vote in Indian country for the last several decades.

I believe that all of us together can work extremely hard to make sure that the Indian vote is in force this coming election in 2020. And I think that will be super excited across the country to make sure that we have a say in who our next president is.

CABRERA: I know Senator Sanders has also put out a plan or priority in terms of how he would want to work to help the indigenous communities.

HAALAND: Right.

CABRERA: Real quick, I just want to read you the tweet from President Trump this morning regarding what's happening in Portland and this is where we see people who are so called white supremacist. Some of these groups that are at the very least far right extremists clashing with other groups including Antifa which is seen as a far-left organization.

[18:50:07] And he writes, "Major consideration is being given to naming ANTIFA an 'ORGANIZATION OF TERROR'. Portland is being watched very closely. Hopefully the Mayor will be able to properly do his job."

And I do want to note the U.S. doesn't have a domestic terrorism law and no government agency designates domestic groups as being terrorist organizations. What's your reaction to that tweet?

HAALAND: So this is on par with what the President does. He sides with the white supremacists. He sides with the white nationalists with a domestic terrorists in our country just as - he's incited violence against people of color. Portland is a progressive city.

They want to ensure that they keep their city moving forward. It's not surprising that Trump would side away from the folks who are the peaceful protesters working to safeguard their city from domestic terrorism. Just not surprised at all that the President sides with the white nationalist, that's been his mode of operation since before he was elected president.

CABRERA: And Congressman Debra Haaland, I got to leave it there. Thank you very much for being here.

HAALAND: Thank you.

CABRERA: Coming up, as Alaska is experiencing one of its warmest summers on record, kayakers there are capturing the stunning moment a massive glacier collapse right in front of them. That video next.

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[18:55:02] CABRERA: In Wisconsin, man who's been hiding out in a solar-powered bunker for more than three years has been arrested by police. Jeremiah Button wanted on charges of incest child sexual assault and possession of child pornography was out on bond and two weeks away from trial when he vanished in 2016.

A man was hunting on state-own land when he says he saw the fugitive's bunker thought it looked suspicious and reported it to police. Button was taken into custody and is now being held on $100,000 bond.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but is it worth risking your life? Two men were kayaking near Spencer Glacier in Alaska when this happened.

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CABRERA: Andrew Hopper and Josh Bastyr say they heard cracking noises and moments later that massive glacier collapse right in front of them. Chunks of ice and water, you can see, came flying their way like they were shot from a cannon. Nobody was hurt but the two men say they are lucky to be alive.

Experts say Alaska's temperatures are warming at a faster rate than any other state. I'm back in an hour. Thanks for being here. "THE VAN JONES SHOW" starts next.