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Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Arrested; U.K. Opposition Spoiling for Fight with Prime Minister; Dorian Now a Category 2 Storm as It Moves Toward Florida; Indigenous Communities Battle Amazon Blazes; Trump Cancels Poland Trip as Hurricane Nears Florida; U.S. Environmental Agency to Change Methane Emission Rules. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 30, 2019 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello everybody.

[00:00:19] Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Ahead this hour, the crackdown escalates on the eve of the 13th weekend of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. Police have rounded up, arrested and charged at least three prominent activists.

Harsh backlash. The opposition has just days in Parliament for a strike aimed at stopping not just a no-deal Brexit but to prevent a suspension of Parliament for five weeks.

Record-high temperatures, the Amazon on fire, glaciers melting at record rates. What are you going to do? If you're the Trump administration's going then you make it easier to pollute and change those pesky Obama-era regulations.

Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy activists, has been arrested. Wong's political party, Demosisto, says he was charged with organizing, inciting, and participating in an unauthorized assembly. Two other activists who have were also arrested just ahead of the 13th straight weekend of protests in the city.

Paula Hancocks is live outside police headquarters in Hong Kong. So to Paula, a number of reports suggest that Wong was pushed into a sort of private car, mafia-style, around 7:30 Friday morning. What more do we know about the arrests in the allegations?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, John. This is what we are hearing from the political party the fact that he was forcefully pushed into a minivan just outside a train station early this morning. And that's what the party itself is telling us.

The police, from their point of view, they're giving us the charges, saying that it is inciting, organizing, participating in an unauthorized assembly. Another member of his party has also been arrested, Agnes Chow. Also an individual who is part of a party that's banned now here in Hong Kong.

It's a party that's not just asking for democracy. It's asking for independence from China. So Andy Chan has been arrested on suspicion of rioting and assaulting a police officer.

So what we're seeing here is really a crackdown and a cleanup of some of these more well-known pro-democracy activists. It is worth reminding ourselves, though, that this is still technically a leaderless movement.

These protests that are coming every weekend, and quite frankly, quite often during the week now, as well, are supposed to be leaderless. They are being organized through social media. You may have a couple of spokespeople from different groups, but they were trying not to have these leaders so that they could be targeted, so that police and authorities could sort of chop the head off these movements.

But certainly, the names that are seeing being arrested today will be well-known, because they're the ones that quite often speak publicly, John.

VAUSE: And that's, you know, how these protests were structured. There was not meant to be a visible leadership. No one was meant to be a target for arrests. So have the authorities there in Hong Kong gone after, you know, these three people in particular because they're involved, what, in the protests last time around?

HANCOCKS: Well, certainly, Joshua Wong was the -- one of the faces of the 2014 pro-democracy protests. And he actually spent time in jail. He spent about two months in jail. He was just released back in June. And that was for his pardon in 2014. But yes, this was the reason that they wanted a leaderless movement this time.

And we're still waiting to see what happens this weekend. There was supposed to be a massive rally on Saturday organized by the Civil Human Rights Front as one of the -- the groups that has brought out hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets. It is largely peaceful, this protest.

But that has been denied by police. They have not allowed that to go ahead, even though the group is -- is appealing that decision. So what that means is when the police say no to a protest, it becomes illegal, and that is when they feel they can target individuals.

So it could be the case this weekend that we see less of the peaceful protesters who don't want to go against the police, but we are unlikely to see no one on the streets of Hong Kong this weekend. We're still expecting there will be an element that wants to come out and make their voices heard.

VAUSE: And quite possibly, it could encourage more people to hit the streets of Hong Kong, you know, as a protest in of itself. I guess we'll wait and see.

Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks live for us with the very latest there on those arrests in Hong Kong.

Britain's opposition parties will have just two days in Parliament next week to try and put the brakes on a no-deal Brexit, as well as trying to scuttle the prime minister's plan to suspend Parliament for more than a month. It's being described as a surgical strike and an emergency debate that could end with a law which would ban the U.K. from leaving the E.U. without a deal.

And a final option, a no-confidence vote that could trigger an election.

Here's part of a joint statement from the opposition parties. They say they "condemn the undemocratic actions of Boris Johnson and his suspension of Parliament until October 14" and that "there is no mandate from the public or a damaging no-deal Brexit."

[00:05:07] This decision by Boris Johnson to suspend Parliament for five weeks, the longest suspension since 1945, has seen even some of his political allies pulling their support.

We get more now from CNN's Hadas Gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Although Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted the suspension of Parliament ahead of the queen's speech is business as usual and is not solely about Brexit.

The fallout has been swift. We've seen two notable resignations today. Lord George Young, he's been a longtime member of Parliament, served in three prior administrations. He resigned, saying that he did not agree with the timing and the reasons behind the suspension.

Ruth Davidson was the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party and a very notable person. She also resigned today.

Now, there are two legal challenges working their way through the courts, trying to seek an injunction to stop the suspension of Parliament and also the opposition Labour Party has said that they plan to start legislative action as soon as next week to try to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

Here's what Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY CORBYN, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: We'll be back in Parliament on Tuesday to challenge Boris Johnson on what a think is a smash-and-grab raid against our democracy, where he's trying to suspend Parliament in order to prevent a serious discussion and a serious debate to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

What we're going to do is try to politically stop him on Tuesday with a Parliamentary process in order to legislate to prevent a no-deal Brexit and also to try and prevent him shutting down Parliament during this utterly crucial period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLD: But of course, the time that they have in order to get that legislation through will be very, very tight as a result of the suspension of Parliament.

But a senior member of the House of Lords, a member of the Labour Party told CNN today that many of them are willing to work through the nights and weekends in order to get it through.

Of course, there's still the question of whether they will have enough support for that legislation and, if that fails, whether they will trigger a no-confidence vote and whether that could lead to a general election.

Hadas Gold, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Hurricane Dorian is intensifying in the Atlantic, now a Category 2, with sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour. Dorian is already the strongest storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It's forecast intensify even fewer with winds of 225 kilometers an hour as it makes landfall. That would Florida, which is already declared a state of emergency.

Dorian will have an impact on the entire state. Many there now are raising the stores. They're stocking up on food and gasoline and water. Officials have encouraged everyone to have supplies that last at least seven days.

Leyla Santiago has the very latest now on the urgent preparations along Florida's East Coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me get it for you.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hurricane Dorian is barreling toward Florida, expected to be a Category 4 storm. It's already causing hurricane-force issues for the Sunshine State.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were supposed to stay here till Monday, but we had to make some sudden changes --

SANTIAGO (on camera): Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- to the itinerary because of the hurricane.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): As Floridians prepare to hunker down or get out, the coming storm is forcing others to stay away during the Labor Day weekend, which was usually a vacation season moneymaker for hotels and cruise ships.

(on camera): In terms of money, how much will you lose here?

DEBRA GREEN, INTERNATIONAL PALMS RESORT COCOA BEACH: This hotel? In excess of $120,000.

(voice-over): Debra Greene says she's had a steady stream of cancellations at her hotel on what was to be a sold-out holiday weekend. But Florida officials say better safe than sorry.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: The time to act is now. If you haven't acted, act to make preparations. Do not wait until it's too late.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dorian has already pummeled the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and lashed Puerto Rico with rain. But since then, it has moved back out into open waters. It is picking up steam and could now pack winds as high as 115 miles an hour by the time it makes landfall early Monday, prompting Floridians to take action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just getting ready for the hurricane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just getting prepared before the storm comes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just want to protect against what's coming, potentially.

SANTIAGO: The rush to fill up at the gas pump is underway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saturday, I'm going to put my shutters up. You know, the praying is already begun.

SANTIAGO: And in Daytona Beach, they're also filling up with sand. And lining up at hardware stores so they can board up at home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What you don't want is to have a situation where you can't keep your family and your friend safe, because you didn't take the time to prepare ahead.

SANTIAGO: Floridians are being warned to have seven days of food, water and medicine on hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trying to be prepared, I have, you know, a one-year-old at home with my daughter. It's not the first hurricane I've been through, so --

SANTIAGO: Meantime, even NASA says it's not taking any chances either, moving its noble launch platform back inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, because the mobile launcher is so tall it will be affected by the wind.

SANTIAGO: A feat that will take at least eight hours using a 6- million-pound vehicle to slowly roll the platform three and a half miles to safety.

[00:10:10] (on camera): And as I talked to folks here, people are quick to say that it's still a bit early, but they are keeping a close eye so that they can make an educated decision on how they will handle this. But the interesting thing is I've asked a bunch of people here, what is your biggest concern? And every single person has responded saying, a direct hit.

In Port Canaveral, I'm Leyla Santiago, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, will it be a direct hit or will it not be a direct hit? It has to be a direct hit somewhere. So let's go to meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

Eventually, somewhere in Florida will get a direct hit, right?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Without a doubt, that's what all of the model guidance that we have available to us. The best knowledge we have, it looks like Florida is a for-sure hit with the system. When? That's the big question here.

This storm is incredible. It has overcome so many obstacles to get to where it is now. As of 11 p.m., the National Hurricane Center upping this to a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane, 165 kilometer-per-hour sustained winds. It's just north of the Dominican Republic, and it is moving in a west to northwesterly track.

But look at how it strengthens over the next 24, 48 hours. And then as we head into the latter half of the weekend in the early parts of Monday, which by the way, is Labor Day, a popular holiday in the U.S.

It looks like we have the potential for a dangerous Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in the southeastern U.S. There are so many variables at play, John. Take note of how large the cone of uncertainty is four day four and day five. Because all of our computer models have diverging solutions for this storm, because it will slow down considerably as it does so, as it runs parallel with the East Coast of Florida.

Does it go through Central Florida into Georgia? That's a possibility. Does it move across Southern Florida and re-intensify across the open ocean waters of the Gulf of Mexico. All cards are on the table here. And we're looking at all solutions.

So it is important that people stay abreast of the latest developments, because it will change. But one thing is for sure. With a slowing tropical storm, the potential to maximize the threats from wind, coastal storm surge and flash flooding from heavy rainfall certainly exists -- John.

VAUSE: You know, the only thing we don't -- we don't know for certain right now about Dorian is that we don't know much about Dorian and where it's going to hit. So this is one we're going to keep watching. It's one of the biggest cones of uncertainty I think I've ever seen. Dorian and where it's going to hit.

Derek, thank you very much. We're going to head back now to Berlin to talk more about the Brexit story and what's been happening there with the suspension of Parliament and also, this plans by the opposition to try and pass this legislation to ensure that a no-deal Brexit does not happen.

So what that, we're going to CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas, who's with us from Berlin.

OK. Dom, good to see you. Glad you made it.

Firstly, this plan for the anti-Brexit faction to, you know, strike, ninja-like, without warning and pass a law to change, maybe an existing one, and making a no-deal Brexit illegal, and then stopping this five-week parliamentary suspension. It kind of makes sense in theory, but you know, you're thinking this will all be Cary Grant, "To Catch a Thief." Chances are, it's going to be more like, you know, the two house burglars in "Home Alone."

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: John, I mean, what a great example. Yes. I mean, the big question is, can this opposition work together. Until a few days ago, they had radically different, you know, positions when it came to Brexit. The Liberal Dems, the Scottish National Party, unambiguously you know, in favor of remaining in the European Union, whereas we know that the Labour Party's position, you know, at best is ambiguous on this.

I think what's happened here with this whole argument around the no deal (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and so on, is we actually see in opposition coming together here because they are against something. In other words, against these actions enacted by Prime Minister Johnson rather than specifically for something.

And so the big question is, whether or not that is going to be enough to keep them together as we go into Parliament next week and as they explore a whole range of legislation motions to try and potentially block a no-deal or continue to sit in Parliament and debate the question of Brexit.

So a lot's going to become a lot clearer during the day today and also as we head into next week's parliamentary session.

VAUSE: And well, this is happening, it seems Boris Johnson has actually worked out what the date is. And with that, he's worked out that October 31 is not that far away.

There's a new statement being reported by the British media. He says, "While I've been encouraged with my discussions with E.U. leaders over recent weeks that there is a willingness to talk about alternatives to the anti-democratic backstop." That's set up for island (ph).

It is now time for both sides to step up the tempo, which means U.K. and E.U. negotiators will meet twice a week, apparently, now not just once that week. A blistering pace, but does this suggest that Johnson is actually still serious about getting a deal with the E.U.? A deal which Parliament might actually pass?

THOMAS: Well, I mean, look, this has been going on, as you know, for years. Theresa May went back and forth to Brussels. The big question really is, you know, what what kind -- what would those concessions look like. I mean, it is Parliament, genuinely invested in passing some kind of deal.

[00:15:04] In terms of the Conservative Party side, many of the members of Boris Johnson's cabinet and have been, you know, unambiguously responsible throughout this process for both the downfall that David Cameron, then Prime Minister May. We're on the third prime minister around this specific issue, and many of them have no interest in any kind of alignment with the European Union.

And in order to get one of these deals through Parliament, they're going to have to bring the opposition, you know, some members of the opposition along with them.

And the fact is that the kind of alignment they are proposing, whether it's around a customs union or single market, are simply not going to be palatable for this Brexiteer cabinet that is surroundings Boris Johnson. So it keeps hope alive, but as it keeps hope alive, the clock is ticking away, as we know.

VAUSE: OK. Well, let me give you sort of the equation here, because there's been a lot of high-profile Tory resignations over this Parliamentary suspension, including the leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, Ruth Davidson. And while she does not have a lot of love for Boris Johnson, she also seems to have a very blunt message for her colleagues. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUTH DAVIDSON, SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE PARTY: Prime Minister, get us a deal in the European Union. I know, what I say to people that say they want to avoid no deal, it's what I've just said. The prime minister brings a deal back to the House of Commons, as I know he is trying to do. For God's sake, get behind it and this time, the fourth time I'm asking, vote for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK, so could the plan here be that this is all big -- one big bluff by Johnson to convince the E.U., for starters, that he is actually willing to crash out of the European Union, all the damage that that will do to everybody, while at the same time trying to focus the minds of new members of Parliament and force both sides here, the E.U. and those members of Parliament, to make a compromise.

THOMAS: Well, I mean, the incredible thing here is that you do not have a united opposition that is against Brexit. So the very fact that, even amongst Labour leadership, they're still talking about agreeing to some kind of Brexit, you would think would tremendously help the cause of getting out of the European Union.

But this has been the argument that Theresa May used all along and the argument that Boris Johnson is now using, as he will come to Parliament next week. Because if we take no deal, if we pass legislation that will force us to ask for an extension in the face of no deal, or if we simply outlaw the possibility of even having a no deal, what negotiating power does that leave me, vis-a-vis the European Union?

So this is the argument that he will be making. But, of course, this time around, we said this on several occasions before, when we got to those Brexit deadlines, one has to think that October 31, it's really going to be the last time that Parliament has an opportunity to pass any kind of deal.

Or they will end up crashing out of the European Union, unless anything else happens. So it's possible that this -- that this strategy could work.

VAUSE: Anything is possible. Yes, you're right. There is this possibility.

One last quick question. There's always been deafening silence coming from Brussels or from the E.U. through all of this. Why is that?

THOMAS: Well, I think, you know, first of all, Brussels it's complicated. Strasburg is complicated. The E.U. has many heads.

So since the G-7 summit, that was attended by Donald Tusk, the president of the E.U. Council; Jean-Claude Juncker weighed in, president of the E.U. Commission; and since then, they've been relatively quiet, yes.

But David Sassoli, who heads the Parliament, has weighed in on the question of prorogation, and of course, Guy Verhofstadt, the NEP has also talked about how the fact that the Brexit representative for the Parliament here, that prorogation is a very bad idea, that democracy needs to be respected.

And so the E.U. here, of course, is exasperated, waiting for Boris Johnson to cross the channel again and come back to them to pursue these negotiations, but also very conscious of the fact that they don't want to be blamed for this -- you know, the way that this process is going. And it's up to the U.K. to come back with some kind of resolution or plan that the EU Council can debate in October.

VAUSE: October 31, it will all be over. Maybe.

THOMAS: It's coming.

VAUSE: Thank you, Dominic.

THOMAS: Cheers, John.

VAUSE: OK. We'll take a short break. When we come back, the hurricane emergency facing the United States is keeping the president at home this weekend, canceling an overseas trip. And as the storm heads to Florida, Trump's Twitter tone has changed from contempt to concern. We'll explain.

Also, CNN on the front lines in the Amazon rain forest, with indigenous communities leaving their farms to fight the fires.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:22:06] VAUSE: A former rebel leader is threatening to reignite the long and bloody civil war in Colombia. He's calling on the group known as FARC to take up arms and, quote, awaken the consciousness of the population. He says the government is not living up to its commitment made back in 2016 in a peace agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN MARQUEZ, FORMER FARC COMMANDER (through translator): All of this, this trick, this betrayal, the unilateral modification of the text of the accord, the unfulfilled commitments on the part of the state, the judicial setups and insecurity have obliged us to return to the mountains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Colombia's president appeared on national television to declare the country not be threatened by drug traffickers.

FARC rebels begin -- began their insurgency back in 1964. Fifty years of civil war claimed more than 200,000 lives and forced 5 million people from their homes.

Brazil's president has announced a 60-day nationwide ban on fires to clear land for livestock or farming. Jair Bolsonaro denies his easing of environmental regulations and pro-development policies have contributed to the destruction of the Amazon.

The 80,000 fires so far this year have destroyed about one and a half football fields of rain forest every minute of every day. That's an 80 percent increase of deforestation over last year.

For the very latest, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh made a harrowing journey to the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dusk isn't when you rest as the Amazon burns. It's when the day cools enough to give firefighters a chance.

Everything we see in a bumpy hour's drive to nowhere turned to ashes in the last four days.

This is how. The wall that marches across the bush and into the trees when it can.

(on camera): It feels a bit like the end of the world, doesn't it? And when flames rage like this, the firefighters actually have to pull back. And there's nothing they can do, really, until the wind dies down.

(voice-over): Destruction that overshadows an entire branch of our species here.

The Tenharim are an indigenous community, 1,000 strong, who say they legally own nearly a million hectares nearby.

"The next generation will have a darker future," he says. "Since this president came to power, these things are happening a lot more."

President Jair Bolsonaro is keen to bring what he calls progress to the Amazon, even pushing to let these areas be commercially farmed for the first time.

The raging fires, all of which here have burned since he pledged to send 43,000 troops to clear land for farming, too.

The sunrises again on a little bit less of this marvel.

The Tenharim didn't want to be part of our world, but now it wants part of them. All around are signs of what's fueling the inferno. Land cleared for cattle so we can eat more beef. Logging and deforestation to enable crops like soy to grow along the busy roads.

[00:25:16] The firefighters that tackle the blaze here, a three-hours' drive from the nearest village. This is the land we flew over four days before, but the devastation is more final from the ground.

Fires do occur naturally like Bolsonaro says, but it was startling how nearly every policeman, firefighter or official we spoke to said very many are caused deliberately. To clear land to farm, to alleviate poverty or just make the rich richer.

Yet, they don't have no water here to put the fire out, only stop its spread. Damage limitation only with the most basic tools on the front line of this global environmental crisis.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, the Amazon, Brazil.

VAUSE: Well, as more Americans become increasingly concerned about the impact of climate change, the response from the Trump administration has been to roll back even more Obama-era regulations designed to limit greenhouse gas admissions. We'll have more on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause with the headlines.

Hong Kong police have arrested three pro-democracy activists ahead of the 13th straight weekend of protests. One of them is Joshua Wong, a prominent leader and chair of the Demosisto Party. Police say Wong was arrested for organizing, inciting and participating in an unauthorized assembly.

Opposition leaders in U.K. say they will try to prevent the prime minister from suspending Parliament for more than one month, while they work to avoid a hard Brexit once they return to the House next week.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn has denounced Boris Johnson's plans to suspend Parliament as a "smash-and-grab raid" on democracy.

And Florida residents on the East Coast are stocking up on gasoline and other supplies as they prepare for Hurricane Dorian. The storm has intensified to a Category 2. When Dorian slams into Florida come Monday, it could be as strong as a Category 4, making it the strongest storm to strike Florida's East Coast since Hurricane Andrew back in 1992.

The U.S. president has canceled a trip to Poland this weekend because of the threat Florida is facing from Dorian. It seems Mr. Trump has become a lot more concerned about Dorian now it's passed over Puerto Rico and is heading for the mainland.

CNN's Jim Acosta reports from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[00:30:00] JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is sounding all business about his administration's storm preparation efforts, announcing in the Rose Garden he is postponing his trip to Poland as Hurricane Dorian is expected to crash in the state of Florida over the Labor Day weekend.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our highest priority is the safety and security of the people in the path of the hurricane, and I will be rescheduling my trip to Poland in the near future.

ACOSTA: The president is warning Floridians that Dorian could be devastating, tweeting, "Be prepared and please follow state and federal instructions. It will be a very big hurricane, perhaps one of the biggest."

But contrast the president's no-nonsense warnings for Florida with his comments on Puerto Rico, when the hurricane was on its way to the island. The president tweeted, "Puerto Rico is one of the most corrupt places on earth. Their political system is broken, and their politicians are either incompetent or corrupt. And by the way, I'm the best thing that's ever happened to Puerto Rico."

But critics in Puerto Rico say that's not true, pointing at the president's paper-towel-tossing performance on the island two years ago after Hurricane Maria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Between one and 10, how would you grade the White House response so far to the hurricane?

TRUMP: I'd say it was a ten.

ACOSTA: Away from the storm, the president is making other waves as this administration is considering pulling back on military assistance to Ukraine, even as the country is reeling from years of Russian aggression.

Cutting that aid would be welcomed by Russia's Vladimir Putin. JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The

United States has a strong moral and ethical -- I believe ethical commitment to help the Ukrainians defend themselves against the Russian incursions in the eastern Ukraine.

It's hard not to juxtapose this with the push by President Trump to bring Russia back into -- into the G-7.

ACOSTA: But the president is again ramping up his rhetoric and his trade war with China, accusing Beijing of retaliating with tariffs aimed at American farmers to punish Mr. Trump in 2020.

TRUMP: China plays a vicious game. They've targeted our farmers. That's how vicious they play the game. They actually target them, because they know that the -- the farmers like Trump, and Trump loves the farmers, actually. I love what they do. They're incredible people. They don't want any subsidies.

ACOSTA: The president sounds just as mad at FOX News, telling one of the network's hosts he's unhappy with the conservative channel's coverage of his administration, with the exception of certain personalities.

TRUMP: I'm not happy with -- I'm not happy with FOX. I think, you know, people think FOX is for me. FOX is -- look, Sean and Laura and Tucker has really been very good. Well, Tucker's a little tricky, but that's OK. He's been very good. And, you know, many of them -- you guys in the morning, Ainsley and Steve and you, you become -- you were a solid -- I used to say you were a solid six, maybe a seven. But you're getting much better.

ACOSTA: Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: They U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has come under fire for relaxing regulations on methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas.

An environmental group says it's an anti-science, anti-health proposal, which will make climate -- the climate crisis worse. But the EPA says it's just eliminating redundant rules and says methane will be monitored under existing regulation.

But what is notable here is that this move by the EPA is getting pushback from some oil and gas companies, as well.

Jess Phoenix is a volcanologist and host of "The Catastrophe Podcast." She joins us now from Los Angeles.

OK. So Jess, here is part of a statement from the EPA justifying this move. "The proposal would remove regulatory duplication and save the industry millions of dollars in compliance costs each year while maintaining health and environmental regulations on oil and gas sources that the agency considers appropriate." Essentially, the Trump administration has been arguing for most of the

day that these, you know, methane regulations were so incredibly arduous, that they didn't justify what they call a very small environmental payoff. So what's the reality here?

JESS PHOENIX, VOLCANOLOGIST: Well, as you can see, this is another one of the big business, anti-environment sort of situations that the Trump administration seems to favor so much.

And we've seen historically that the only time we see reductions in admissions are when we have regulations. And we've actually demonstrated that, particularly with methane regulation, over the last ten years or so.

So this really is pretty obvious to those of us who have actually studied climate change as a push to give big business a very slight break on the money they have to lay out to make their very large profits. It's not actually going to help our environment whatsoever. In fact, it's going to hurt it in the long run.

VAUSE: Yes, but and methane as a gas in terms of what it does to warm the planet, compared to CO2 admissions, it's much more effective, if you like, when it comes to heating the globe. Right?

PHOENIX: That's true. We do see it in lower quantities than we do CO2, but it is actually definitely a much more effective insulator than what we see CO2 or comparable gasses do. So it is really a matter of concern.

VAUSE: Yes. It does a lot more damage, you know, in comparison to what we have, if it was in equal supply.

OK. So there's been a lot happening over the past couple of weeks. The government of California seemed to put all of it together with his tweet: "The Amazon is burning. Hurricanes are headed our way. Hots are getting hotter. Wets are getting wetter. So what does Donald Trump to? Loosen regulations on methane, one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases. This is beyond reckless."

And this is a pattern of behavior that we've seen from the White House before: roll back an Obama-era environmental regulation, often in the midst or at the end of an environmental disaster which was made worse by climate change. And then the president goes out and says something ludicrous like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And I'm an environmentalist. You know, a lot of people don't understand that. And I think I know more about the environment than most people.

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VAUSE: So at this point in this climate crisis, is there a bigger problem than this sort of "us versus them" approach, which is taken by the Trump administration? PHOENIX: I would say that the biggest problem is the treatment of

people who reject the actual demonstrable science about the environment, the treatment of them as equal to a scientist sent to the scientific body of knowledge of which there's a consensus. Like, we know that climate change is real. We know that it's largely human caused, and we know that we have to take action to stop it.

So whenever we see in the media, you know, on news stations, when they give equal time to folks who are in the very, very very tiny minority who reject the science, that does everybody a great disservice.

VAUSE: Well, Brazil's president, who they call the Trump of the Tropics, he's issued the 60-day ban on fire to clear the land in the Amazon. And on the surface, it seems kind of like a positive, because he's doing something.

But the investigative journalist Glen Greenwood actually lives there. He had this take. He tweeted, "Bolsonaro's plan is to catch four or five small poor subsistence farmers who started small fires illegally and arrest them to show the world they've caught the culprits, then continue aggressive deforestation of the Amazon for the large agro- industrial interests that own the government."

That's Glen's, you know, point of view, I guess, in many ways. But the point is, I guess, if Bolsonaro wanted to save the Amazon, if he wanted to be doing something, he'd be doing a lot more than a 60-day fire ban.

PHOENIX: That's exactly right. I mean, we know that he is really the recipient of a lot of support from the beef industry there in Brazil. And when you've got backers who have a vested interest in destroying something or taking something from the environment, from an area that should be protected and kept as pristine as possible for all of us, they're going to push that through.

And if the government in charge, regardless of the country, is more beholden to business interests than it is to society as a whole, this is what we're going to see.

VAUSE: OK. So there's no shortage of opinion polls right now around the world which show this level of concern about climate change which is growing. Also about the impacts that human behavior is having and the concern that a lot of people have about that.

In many ways, the corporate world is listening. Marriott Hotels, for example, have announced they'll stop using those tiny little single toiletry bottles of shampoo and soap and that kind of stuff. And that will stop about 1.7 million pounds of plastic going into landfill. That's great.

But is it negated if the government of the country of the biggest producer of greenhouse gases seems to be actively making this crisis worse?

PHOENIX: I wouldn't say it's negated, but I would say it's a big problem, because something that's well-documented in the climate change world is that about 40 percent of everything you do in life in terms of climate change is something you can control. So choices you and I make every day. We have control of 40 percent of those things and our impact on the climate.

The other 60 percent comes from big business; it comes from the federal government. So we actually do have a lot of control at the personal level, but unless we as a society pressure our leaders, both elected and corporate, to make these changes, we're not going to see the change in -- on the scale that we need to protect the planet for the future.

VAUSE: OK. I didn't know that 40 percent -- 40-60 percent split. That's interesting. So there's a lot we can do and could still be doing our own on an individual level, which is actually good news. Jess, thanks.

PHOENIX: Yes.

VAUSE: Good to see you.

PHOENIX: See you, John.

VAUSE: OK. We'll take a short break, but who is the host of the world's longest-running game show? The answer, Alex Trebek. And now he's fighting cancer. We'll have the latest about his battle in a moment.

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VAUSE: Good news for "Jeopardy" lovers. The beloved host, Alex Trebek, is done with chemotherapy, back at work just five months after his diagnosis with Stage Four pancreatic cancer.

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ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": I've gone through a lot of chemotherapy, and thankfully, that is now over. I'm on the mend, and that's all that matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The 79-year-old is currently filming the show's 36th season. Trebek has hosted "Jeopardy" since 1984. He kept working during treatments over the past couple months.

Do you remember "Rocky IV"? This was the movie, the Cold War thriller when Sylvester Stallone playing Rocky basically brought down the Berlin Wall. "If I can change, you can change. Maybe we can all change."

Well, it started, though, in the movie with a showdown between Apollo Creed, the all-American, and his arch nemesis from the Soviet Union, Ivan Drago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL WEATHERS, ACTOR: It's time to go to school, son. Come on. Get your hands up. It's time to go to school.

DOLPH LUNDGREN, ACTOR: You will lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Russian lightning (ph) killed him. Actually, kind of -- it was a big moment in the movie when Apollo actually died.

Well, the actors had a reunion, actually. Dolph Lundgren posted this photograph with Carl Weathers. It was all on Instagram, and God, they look old. They walked away happy.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. WORLD SPORT with Kate Riley starts after the break.

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[00:48:34] (WORLD SPORT)

[00:56:33] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:59:49] VAUSE: Ahead this hour, the crackdown widens on the eve of the 13th weekend of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. Police round up and arrest at least three prominent activists.

Bracing for Dorian. The storm is currently towards the U.S. state of Florida, and it's just been upgraded.

And after 30 seasons, could the time finally be right for a "Simpsons" spin-off? The show's producers have hinted.

END