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Champlain Tower Taken Down as Storm Approaches; Tropical Storm Elsa to Pass Cuba Before Hitting U.S.; Biden Missed Hitting Target Immunity Goal; Afghans Felt Scared as U.S. Troops Leaves; Landslide Killed Three in Atami, Japan; Families Desperate to See Missing Loved Ones; Philippine Air Force Plane Crash Killed 50; Americans Are Split on Many Issues; Poll Shows Joe Biden's Leadership; Jacob Zuma Upset with the Judge's Decision; England Soon to Get Rid of Restrictions; Pope Francis Back to Work. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 05, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead. The rest of the collapsed condo building in Miami comes down. Now rescue crews hope to access new areas of the debris pile.

Freedom takes on new meaning this Independence Day as America casts off pandemic safety measures but concerns remain over the spread of the Delta variant.

And in Afghanistan, families flee the Taliban as it moves to take control of the country. We're live at Bagram Air base.

Thank you for joining us.

Well, the search and rescue operation to find 121 people still missing in the Florida condo collapse is expected to resume soon. that's after crews carried out a controlled demolition of what was left of the high-rise.

Officials say it had to be brought down for the safety of rescuers because it was unstable. And they stepped up the timeline for its demolition over concerns tropical storm Elsa could topple it. The mayor of Miami-Dade County address those who lived in the building directly while detailing the plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA (D), MIAMI-DADE COUNTY: Those who are forced to evacuate the remaining portion of the building left their entire lives behind. We know that. And we are deeply, deeply concerned and empathetic to how extraordinarily difficult this time is for them and their families. Our top priority is that the building come down as soon as possible no matter what time that occurs and as safely as possible.

[03:04:53]

Bringing down this building in a controlled manner is critical to expanding our scope of the search and rescue effort, and allowing us to explore the area closest to the building which has currently has not been accessible to our first responders given the great risk from this building which is insecure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): It has been 11 days since dozens of the building units came crashing down. Twenty-four people have been confirmed dead.

And Forrest Lanning is a structural engineer who has experience with demolishing damaged buildings like this. And he joins me now from San Francisco. Thank you so much for talking with us.

FORREST LANNING, STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, ENDAPT CONSULTING: Thank you for having me on.

CHURCH: So, as a structural engineer, how are these high-rise demolitions carried out in a safe and controlled way as this one apparently was? What is the process involved to ensure that that does happen?

LANNING: Well, in a normal building that hasn't already been collapsed partially or even damaged in any other effect, you are trying to predict how the building will fail. So as an engineer, you are going to be looking at his weak points and making sure that the building if it's collapses will fall even on itself.

Now dealing with damaged building is, there is a lot of unknowns in damaged buildings. Because now you have a building that's a little bit more unpredictable. So, it a lot more risky to demolish an already damaged or partially collapsed building.

CHURCH: How do engineers ensure that the overall structural integrity of nearby buildings remain intact? And also make sure in this instance that the nearby search rescue and recovery efforts are not put in jeopardy as well by a demolition of this magnitude?

LANNING: Well, the building definitely needed to be brought down. There were major concerns of that building given how the ground floor slab has failed and fell into the basement. These columns that were not designed to be twice the length as what they are now with a floor that has collapsed makes that last portion of the building very precariously hanging over the rescuers. So, it needed to be brought down.

Using demolition and using explosives I can -- it's more risky. If you want to do the safest way to bring down a building would be bringing it down by deconstructing it. But I understand the urgency of it and it needed to be brought down because of the storm. The vibrations need to be taken into consideration with anything nearby and those buildings need to be inspected to see if there are any types of vibrations will negatively affect those structures.

CHURCH: Yes. I wanted to ask you about that because I wondered how much you would worry about the potential impact of a blast like this on the structural integrity of buildings nearby that might already be showing corrosion or water damage or other problems similar to what may have contributed to the collapse of the Champlain Tower South building?

LANNING: Well, yes, absolutely. I'm assuming they have gone through all the neighboring buildings and inspected them and made sure that they were not have the same problems as the condominium tower. So that would definitely been the very first step before even considering using this type of demolition method.

CHURCH: And as you point out you do agree that this demolition had to take place, and certainly the timeline had to be brought up sooner because of that approaching storm. When you look at that implosion or the demolition of that remaining building do you feel that it was carried out properly?

LANNING: From what I've seen it, it seems fine. Though, I would be very cautious with the remaining rubble. Because you are going through the already collapsed portion of it before they demolished the rest of it is very unstable. And as you removed items and slabs and beams and columns off of that stack of debris you potentially could destabilize any type of voids underneath it.

So, it's a very -- it's a very delicate process. So now that the explosives that brought down the rest of the building it would even be, you would have to be even more careful not shifting to the rubble and looking for any other type of survivors.

CHURCH: Forrest Lanning, thank you so much for talking with us and sharing your expertise on this matter. We appreciate it.

LANNING: Great. Thanks.

CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an emergency declaration for Florida ahead of tropical storm Elsa's arrival. But before it reaches Florida, it's impacting Cuba.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now to bring us up to date on the situation. Good to see you, Allison. So how bad is this looking right now?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, Rosemary. So, the key is really going to be the next 12 to 24 hours. Because the storm actually still has the potential to strengthen some immediately before making landfall in Cuba. Right now, the winds are sustained at 100 kilometers per hour, gusting up around 120, moving to the northwest and just around 24 kilometers per hour.

[03:14:57] You have hurricane warnings that red color that you use here on the southern coastline of Cuba but you also have tropical storm watches and warnings that yellow and blue not only for Cuba but also for areas of Florida. And the reason for that is because that's when we anticipate the storm to continue over the next couple of days.

We anticipate landfall over the southwestern portion of Cuba to likely be late morning on Monday. From there it will go back over open water and likely to make a second landfall somewhere near or around the Tampa Bay region late Tuesday evening or even very early on Wednesday morning.

Again, a lot of this that can change in the short term but what we do know is that there are going to be areas impacted by storm surge. Some of the heaviest is going to be, again, right here along the southern coastline of Cuba one to one and a half meters possible. Some areas of southwestern Florida also seeing some similar numbers there.

Rainfall however is really going to be the biggest short-term concern, especially across areas of Cuba. You see this red color, even some of those oranges there, you are talking 100, 150 millimeters of rain and in some isolated spots even as much as 200 millimeters. Obviously, that causes flash flooding concerns but also the potential for landslides.

From there the storm will head its way up towards Florida, bringing with it similar numbers of rainfall especially with along that southwestern coastline beginning to veer off to the northeast, potentially impacting Jacksonville, Florida, Savannah, Georgia, perhaps even Charleston, and South Carolina.

So that flash flood threat is still going to be there for several of those areas. And one thing we always talk about are the different models. Right now, the Americans and Europeans are pretty good agreement on timing but not necessarily intensity.

Rosemary, the American model has a little bit of a stronger storm, the European model slightly weaker. So certainly, something we're going to have a keep a close on in the coming days.

CHURCH: And we appreciate you doing that. Allison Chinchar joining us there, thank you so much.

The U.S. Independence Day holiday this year didn't look quite like it did before the pandemic. But people still gathered to enjoy a day out and watch fireworks after the sun went down with space for social distancing. The White House hosted military families and essential workers at a Fourth of July party. Attendees did have to test negative for COVID of course. In remarks, the president celebrated progress and called getting vaccinated a matter of patriotism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thanks to our heroic vaccine effort, we've gained the upper hand against this virus. We can live our lives. Our kids can go back to school. Our economy is roaring back. Don't get me wrong. COVID 19 has not been vanquished. We all know powerful variants have emerged like the Delta variant but the best offense against these variants is to get vaccinated.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: My fellow Americans, it's the most patriotic thing you can do. So please, if you haven't gotten vaccinated, do it, do it now. For yourself. For your loved ones. For your community. And for your country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): The U.S. will fall short of Mr. Biden's July 4th vaccination target but not by much. More than 157 million adults are fully vaccinated, nearly three million short of the original White House cool.

Joining me now is Dr. Saju Matthew, primary care physician and public health specialist. Thank you, doctor, for talking with us and for all that you do of course.

SAJU MATTHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Always fun to be with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Wonderful. Well, President Biden he had set a goal to have 70 percent of American adults partially vaccinated by July 4th, he didn't quite make it but he came pretty close at 67 percent and will likely reach the goal in about a week or so. But where does the U.S. or any other country need to be on vaccination rates to ensure most citizens are safe from severe illness or death from COVID?

MATTHEW: Yes. So, Rosemary, unfortunately, that does become a moving target. And the reason for that is that now that we have this Delta variant which is 60 percent more contagious and transmittable, and guess what, you are twice as likely to be hospitalized with the Delta variant than with the Alpha variant which was the first variant that was discovered in the U.K.

So, when you have these contagious variants, unfortunately, we wave to move up that goal of 70 percent to I think probably 80, 85 percent. And at this point, I think instead of worrying about herd immunity, what we should worry about is getting the vaccines in as many arms as possible quickly.

[03:14:58]

CHURCH: Right. And of course, the new polling from the Washington Post and ABC News shows that 20 percent of those surveyed would definitely not get the COVID vaccine, while 9 percent said they would probably not get it. So that's nearly 30 percent either resistant or hesitant to get to vaccinated. Which would make herd immunity pretty difficult if you're talking about 85 percent.

So, what would you say to those people to try to and convince them to get the shot? You probably have patients that come to you who are reluctant. What do you say? MATTHEW: Yes. I see patients all the time. Friends and even family

members as well, Rosemary. I feel like I am trying to not get too frustrated. This is the way I look at it. If not already every human being in this world we'll have an encounter with this virus. And when you have an encounter with the virus a number of things can happen.

You might be lucky and do completely fine, but you actually might be a long COVID patient where you continue to have chest pain and heart rate elevation even months after you have tested positive for COVID or you might be hospitalized and die. So what I tell people is the best way to move forward is to wear that vest which I call the vaccine so that when you have an encounter with the virus you are really well protected.

Let's not forget that these mRNA vaccines, Rosemary, they work beautifully. I think they are going to go down in history as some of our most powerful and best vaccines that the scientists have developed. So, really, you are going to have an encounter with COVID, it's best that you have it with your vest on.

CHURCH: So why is there not enough of a push to get these COVID vaccines fully approved by the FDA? Would that make a big difference for many people who are little hesitant?

MATTHEW: I think it would make a big difference and I think that it would actually give a push for employers to maybe even mandate the vaccines if they are fully approved. I know that at the hospital where I work if it does become licensed then yes, our CEO has more of a power, if you will, to mandate these vaccines. I also know that a lot of people think that this is still an experimental vaccine.

So, if it is fully approved, then I think a lot more people will feel safer in getting the vaccine. To be honest with you, Rosemary, I don't know why the FDA has not moved swiftly enough to give a full licensure to these mRNA vaccines. We just need six months of data and we need enough of this data to make that decision very soon.

CHURCH: And of course, you mentioned how much concern there was regarding the Delta variant. And of course, there are still many parts, certainly in the south here in the United States where vaccination rates are low and infection rates are high. And Dr. Anthony Fauci has suggested that even those people who are vaccinated should all possibly consider wearing masks. Do you agree with that?

MATTHEW: I do agree with that. I think that really what's happening is a lot of people are really hard on the scientists. We expect science to either all or nothing or black or white. And that's not how science is. As science evolves, we are going to make different recommendations.

So, this whole mask-wearing saga really should not be a controversy. It makes a lot of sense to know that if you are around people that are unvaccinated in low vaccination states like in the south and if the community transmission is high rosemary you are at risk of a great breakthrough infection even if you are fully vaccinated. Let's not forget that our elderly and people that are

immunocompromised their immune system is not as robust to where the vaccine works at a very high-level. So, I still think that you need to be masked indoors especially where you don't know the vaccination status. It's the best way to protect yourself.

CHURCH: Some critical warning points there from Dr. Saju Matthew. Thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.

MATTHEW: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come, as the U.S. nears a full withdraw, the Taliban sees more territory in Afghanistan. What the commander of the NATO mission there warns might happen next.

And we'll have a live report from Japan on the race to find survivors after a deadly mudslide. that's just ahead.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): As the U.S. military nears its final stages of withdrawal from Afghanistan, a top soldier overseeing the move says fears about what the Taliban will do next are real. Army General Austin Scott Miller is warning of a possible civil war as U.S. forces leave. This, as one Afghan vice president says tens of thousands of families are fleeing their homes as the Taliban advance.

Speaking with ABC, General Miller said it's important to preserve what's being fought for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN SCOTT MILLER, U.S. ARMY GENERAL: We should be concerned, the loss of terrain and the rapidity of that loss of terrain has to be concerning. One, because it's a war as physical but it's also got a psychological and moral component to it. And hope actually matters and morale actually matters. And so, as you watch the Taliban moving across the country, what you don't want to have happen is that the people lose hope and they believe they now have a foregone conclusion presented to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Anna Coren joins me now from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Good to see you, Anna.

So, the Taliban have been emboldened by the withdrawal of U.S. troops and that has everyone very nervous including this top general. What is the latest on this?

[03:24:58]

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's interesting listening to General Miller talk about morale and the loss of hope. Because that is exactly what we are hearing from local Afghans, as well as from the Afghan military. The military has given us access to Bagram Air Base. This for the first time since the Americans departed on Friday. We got picked up, we were taken to the runway, a three-kilometer runway, it's in the background which used to have fighter jets and cargo planes and surveillance aircraft land and depart. You know, dozens of them every single day. A hive of activity.

Of course, Bagram Air Base was the nerve center of U.S. operations here in Afghanistan. Well now it's completely empty. Absolutely dead. You can see the radar turning in the background. Well that's because of the wind. Everything has pretty much gone. The air hangars over there, Rosemary, they are locked up. The Afghans haven't been able to access them yet.

So, they've only come to this part of the base since the Americans left on Friday. And the ones that we are talking to say they weren't even told the Americans were going which I'm sure is, you know, security protocol but they were told after they departed.

So, the Afghans and the Americans were kept, you know, separately as well. So, for many of them now that they are discovering this part of Bagram Air Base. These, these are the vehicles, Rosemary, that the Americans have left for the Afghan military. There is some 700 of them, you know, pickup trucks, SUVs, there's even a U.S. Postal truck in the back there.

But it has a feel of a junkyard, a car yard, if you like. There's not a lot of organization. This is not like, you know, Afghan troops moving in and take over. There is not much precision, not much organization. We understand there is about 3,000 Afghan troops that will be based here in Bagram. But other than that, there aren't plans to be using this as a nerve center for Afghan operations anytime soon. At least not what we have been told.

You mentioned the situation on the ground and it is very alarming. We can confirm that 150 districts have fallen into the Taliban since May. We know that they are launching this offensive up in the north. We've heard from the vice president as you've mentioned that tens of thousands of people have been displaced and are now fleeing to the cities looking for refuge.

And that has been backed up, Rosemary, by the United Nations. It says that 56,000 people have fled for provinces in the northeast. Because of the Taliban. It is extremely alarming. People here in not just Bagram, but back in the capital in Kabul are scared. You know, they are certainly scared that the Taliban have this momentum and they don't know what is being done really to counter it at the stage. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. that is so understandable, no one knows what's going to happen next. that is the big concern.

Anna Coren joining us live from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, many thanks.

Well rescuers in Atami, Japan and combing through debris and hopes of finding survivors two days after a deadly mudslide. A local official tells CNN three people are confirmed dead. And the number of missing now stands at 80 following Saturday's disaster on the coastal city. Rain and the threat of another landslide have been complicating rescue efforts.

For more let's bring in CNN's Blake Essig who joins us live from Atami in Japan. So, Blake, so many loved ones unaccounted for this hour. What more are you learning about the search and rescue effort there?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Rosemary, the search and rescue efforts started early this morning and have been nonstop there. Helicopters flying overhead from our vantage point, you know, outside of the disaster area you can look down and you can see crews from, you know, whether it's from police firefighters, Japan self- defense force, they are all out there on the ground looking through partially collapsed buildings combing through the mud.

There is also coast guard ships patrolling the coastline. Looking for any signs of life and potential debris. But, you know, the good news is so far 25 people who were stranded inside structures have been rescued, which truly is incredible given the devastation cause by this massive landslide that swept through the seaside resort town of Atami.

You know, search and rescue does continue and there is still dozens of people who have either been reported missing or remain unaccounted for.

Recently, I spoke with a woman searching for her husband, she says that while she can see her house from a distance, she hasn't been able to go to see it up close. But she was told by her neighbors that her husband was actually outside when the landslide came crashing through town and was likely was swept away.

[03:30:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): I haven't been able to reach my husband since 11 a.m. last Saturday. We were on a family group chat on our phones. I tried contacting him but I couldn't get through. I thought it was odd and I came back. I just really want to see my husband again no matter what. That's it, really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (on camera): Right now, there is more than 560 people currently sheltering at two private hotels in Atami using -- being used as evacuation centers. Fr a second full day, Rosemary, more than 1,100 people are assisting with the search and rescue efforts on the ground, in the air, and at sea and that search and rescue effort will continue where there are people out there still missing.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Yes, it is tragic. And watching that aerial shot you do have an idea of just the enormity of this. Blake Essig joining us from Atami in Japan, many thanks. Well, officials in the Philippines say everyone has now been accounted for in Sunday's military plane crash. At least 50 people were killed and dozens more were hurt after a Philippine Air Force plane crashed while attempting to land. Three of the fatalities were people on the ground.

The aircraft burst into flames after missing the runway and crashing into a nearby village. Video shows a large plume of smoke rising from the wreckage. It's the country's worst military air disaster in decades.

A nation deeply divided. Even as the U.S. celebrated its Independence Day new polling shows Americans are hardly united. We will explain, coming up.

And in the coming hours, the British prime minister is expected to lay out England's final steps for reopening despite surge in COVID cases in the U.K. We're back with that in just a moment.

[03:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): You are looking at a spectacular firework display in New York City. In big cities and small towns traditional light shows like this played out across the United States to celebrate the country's Independence Day. The Fourth of July. This is the first celebration, since the pandemic started that still communities are able to gather and commemorate the holiday together.

And despite that, new polling shows the United States is still a deeply divided nation. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll finds Americans are pretty evenly split on Joe Biden's performance as U.S. president. Around 50 percent say they approve of the job he is doing. That number is virtually unchanged since April.

But when you break down the responses along party lines a different picture emerges. The same poll found a whopping 94 percent of Democrats say Mr. Biden is doing a good job. That's compared to just 8 percent of Republicans. It's yet another sign of the deep divisions in American politics. A trend Utah's Republican governor says should be setting off alarm bells.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SPENCER COX (R-UT): I have spoken about this often over the past -- I mean, not even the past four years but the past eight years about how unfortunate it is that politics has becoming religion in our country. That politics is becoming sport and entertainment in our country. That everything is political. It's a huge mistake. It's caused us to make bad decisions during this pandemic. And in other faces of our life, as well. So, it's deeply troubling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Joining me now to talk more about this is CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Good to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Ron, even Utah's Republican Governor Cox said Sunday he is deeply troubled that politics is becoming a religion in this country with partisanship influencing everything, he says, is that what we are seeing reflected in the new Washington Post/ABC poll numbers on President Biden's overall performance so far? Fifty percent approval, 40 percent disapproval. But more than 60 percent approval for the way Joe Biden has dealt with the pandemic.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I think the governor is right. I mean, the lines are drawn incredibly deeply in American society at this point. You know, there is a study that came out last week. The Pew Research Center, one of the most respected studies on what happened in the election, and it found very little movement overall between 2016 and 2020. Even after all the tumultuous events of the Trump presidency and now you see in polling like the ABC/Washington Post poll, also a PBS/Marist poll out this week, very little movement from November until now.

All that has happened since November with the economy coming back, a society reopening, and yet, Biden's approval rating is pretty much his vote from last November. Not only overall, but among the key groups. And that I think is a reflection of how deeply and stably divided we are and why there is not more of a sense of kind of a big exhale after all the turmoil of the Trump years. We're kind of still in the soup.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And of course, the other big issue restrictive voting rights. You wrote in the Atlantic that the only way Democrats can reverse the wave of restrictive voting laws in GOP controlled states is to pass new federal voting rights by curtailing the Senate filibuster. But how do the Democrats get that done when their own Senators --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

CHURCH: -- Manchin and Sinema are pushing back on that very issue?

BROWNSTEIN: Right. Let's be very clear. I mean, you know, what we are watching happening is across Republican controlled states. The broadest wave of efforts to restrict Americans' access to the ballot, really since reconstruction, you know, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century when African-Americans were disenfranchised across the south.

And these laws are passing on an almost completely party line basis in every one of these states with virtually every Republican voting yes in the state legislature and every Democrat voting no. Democrats obviously don't have the votes in the states to stop these laws.

And what the Supreme Court made very clear in its decision last week was that, you know, Democrats should not look to this court with six Republican appointees on it as an institution that's going to push back and overturn many, and probably any of the state laws.

[03:49:54] And what that means is that the Democrats really have only one lever left to respond to this. And that is, their control of Congress does allow them to pass legislation, it sets a nationwide floor of voting rights.

I think what the Supreme Court decision did was that it left Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, the two Democratic senators who are most resisting changing the filibuster, it left them, Rosemary, with no place to hide. I mean, the aye, not only of the party but of history really is upon them.

And the choice they now have to face is whether they are going to prioritize protecting minority input in the Senate over minority voting rights in the country. And I think there are lot of Democrats who are hopeful that they will move, but no one knows for sure.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, Ron, the select committee to investigate the January 6th insurrection is now taking shape with Speaker Nancy Pelosi selecting Republican Liz Cheney. What's GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's likely next move? Will he refuse to select five GOP members for that committee? And could he possibly punish Cheney for accepting a spot?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, I mean, the, you know, this investigation is really I think part of the same continuum of what we're just talking about what's unfolding in the states. And that is the willingness of much of the Republican Party to move in ways that challenge the basic pillars of small the American democracy if that is what it takes to maintain power.

The party is very determined, I believe, the majority of the party that does not want a full-scale examination of what Trump did after the election and what led up to the January 6th insurrection. We saw just this last week new revelations out of Arizona about him putting pressure on county officials in Maricopa, the largest county there, the same way he did in Georgia, trying to overturn the result.

I think it would be an incredible gamble for Kevin McCarthy to refuse to appoint members to this committee. I think it would -- it would look -- it would be too far, make too overt their desire in effect to sweep all of this under the rug. But the question is does he appoint anyone who voted to certify Joe Biden's victory, or does he only appoint skeptics of that victory? We'll see.

And on your other question, I think he has signaled that he is likely to discipline Liz Cheney. You know, there is a very strong statement there that Liz Cheney might be disciplined before Marjorie Taylor Greene by the Republican leadership. It sends, I think, a pretty clear signal to the roughly one quarter of Republican voters who are uneasy with the way Trump handled the post-election period, that they are now the subordinate wing in the party.

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, always great to get your perspective on all things political, I appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you for having me. CHURCH: Former South African President, Jacob Zuma is lashing out of

the judges who sentenced him comparing them to wide apartheid era rulers. Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for contempt of court, for refusing to answer questions from an anti-corruption commission. He was supposed to turn himself in Sunday, but that's been delayed until the court hears his challenge to the jail term on July 12th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB ZUMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: Things like detention without trial should never again see the light of day in South Africa. The struggle for a free South Africa was a struggle for justice where everyone is treated equally before the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Zuma also facing multiple charges including fraud, racketeering, and corruption relating to an arms deal when he was deputy president. He denies the charges.

Well there is more to come here on CNN. Coronavirus cases in the U.K. are on the way up again, thanks to the Delta variant. But England maybe set to reopen regardless. And we will go to London for a live report on that.

[03:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Later today, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to lay out the final steps for England's reopening. He is expected to focus on social distancing, face coverings, and working from home. And he is going ahead despite surge in COVID cases in the U.K.

So, let's bring in our Cyril Vanier in London. Good to see you, Cyril. So, what is the latest on these reopening plans despite surge in cases driven by the Delta variant? And what about vaccination efforts, where do they stand right now?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rosemary. All of them great questions, and it looks like the U.K. is poised to conduct an experiment that I think many other countries will be watching closely. The government seems poised to lift almost all remaining COVID restrictions in two weeks. They won't make the final decisions until next week when they had to look at the last, the final data.

But we already know what the picture is. The picture is, we now have a lot of cases, 24,000 cases yesterday compared that to just 1 or 2,000 cases two months ago. Those are daily infection numbers. And we also have a lot of vaccinated adults in the population, 64 percent are fully vaccinated.

And by the time, the restrictions are fully lifted on July 19th if indeed that is what happens, then all adults will have been up offered a first dose, two-thirds of adults will be fully vaccinated. So, the government's calculation is this. Yes, the delta variant is driving a surge in infections, but we are going to have to learn to live with this virus.

And because the vaccination is breaking the link between the infection and requiring hospitalization, the government believes that this can be lived with much like the flu is being lives with. So that appears to be the general philosophy, they have sent cabinet secretaries out on TV shows yesterday and today to start selling this idea to the general public. Boris Johnson will be making the case himself this evening, Rosemary. But that's the direction we're headed in.

CHURCH: Yes. I mean, that sounds pretty interesting, doesn't it? This is the thing that all the nation's across the world are trying different ways. They are experimenting, this is new to everybody. But talk to us more about the rollout of the vaccinations, because that has been extraordinary. Because Britain started out of course just giving one dose, they were trying to give as many people one dose as they possibly could. And then along came the Delta variant. So how have they changed their approach with that?

VANIER: Yes. This is one of the top countries for vaccination in the world. I'm 40 years old and I've been fully vaccinated for, I think two months now. So, the U.K. has been well ahead of many other countries. And that is why they're now shifting their strategy.

[03:49:52]

Because we know that you get protection from severe disease, not necessarily from catching COVID, especially this Delta variant, but you get protection from a severe disease requiring hospitalization, and of course dying when you have been vaccinated to the tune of 95, 96 percent protection, Rosemary.

So, the vaccination rollout continues at pace, about 400,000 people are getting vaccinated a day. And that allows them to be in a position where two-thirds of adults will be vaccinated in two weeks, Rosemary. And that's why they believe - believe is the key word here, they are able to lift key restrictions.

CHURCH: All right. We will keep a very close eye on this, of course. Cyril Vanier bringing us the very latest from London. Many thanks.

And still to come, a surprise announcement from the Vatican about surgery for Pope Francis. We've the details for you on the other side of the break.

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CHURCH (on camera): Pope Francis is recovering from his scheduled surgery for colon diverticulitis. The pope went into the hospital after conducting his regular Sunday blessing in Saint Peter's Square.

CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen joins us now from Rome. Good to see you, John. So, what more are you learning about the pope's surgery, and how did it go?

[03:55:02]

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Well, Rosemary, we have not had any updates yet this morning. We are expecting a brief medical bulletin from the Vatican at roughly noon, Roman time. But this is an instance, Rosemary, in which no news is essentially good news. We were told late last night by the Vatican that the surgery had gone well, the pope responded well, and was recovering normally. And the fact that there has been no addition to that, and that we are getting a bulletin at a preprogrammed hour would suggest that everything is proceeding more or less as it should. Rosemary?

CHURCH: So, talk to us about the day before and leading up to this. Nobody had any idea but this was scheduled surgery which of course makes everyone relaxed because he knew about this. This is a quiet time for the pope, isn't it? Talk to us about the lead up to this.

ALLEN: Well, you are right. I mean, this was planned in advanced but it's a plan the Pope Francis selected not really to share with anyone. I can confirm that from my personal experience, Rosemary. Because yesterday, my wife and I hosted a July 4th party for Americans in Rome on the terrace of our apartment here in town. About 20 or so journalists were on our terrace, and within five minutes after this news breaking the place became a ghost town because they were all heading north to the Gemelli hospital.

Francis, I think, as much as possible wanted to maintain a kind of business as usual approach, as you indicated. He not only delivered his normal noontime Sunday blessing, but he also confirmed that he is going to be travel -- the Vatican confirmed he will be traveling to Hungary and to Slovakia in December. So, this is, this is the energizer bunny of popes, Rosemary. He just does not have an off switch.

CHURCH: Absolutely. Right. John Allen, joining us live from Rome, many thanks for bringing us to date on that situation.

And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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