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Deadly Russian Strike On Ukrainian Mall; Leaders Prepared For NATO Meeting As G7 Talks Wind Down; 46 Migrants Found Dead In A Tractor Trailer In Texas; Beijing Pushes Zero-COVID Policy on Public; China's Hygiene Theater Not Based on Science; World Food Programme Pleading for more help for Afghan Quake Victims; Ghislaine Maxwell to be Sentenced for Role in the Jeffrey Epstein Sex Scandal; Three People Dead, 50 Injured After Amtrak Train Derails; FBI Seizes Phone of Trump's Election Attorney John Eastman; FBI seizes phone of John Eastman, Trump election attorney. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 28, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:28]

NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Nick watt. Just ahead. Tragedy in Texas. The dead bodies of 46 suspected migrants, 16 others clinging to life found inside a semi- truck.

Another Russian strike far from the frontlines in Ukraine. A shopping mall targeted, civilians killed. Russia's war on Ukraine offer the agenda at both the G7 Summit just wrapping up and at the NATO summit that begins later today. More sanctions have been announced but is Moscow feeling the pressure?

We begin with that developing story in southern Texas where authorities say 46 suspected migrants have been found dead in the back of a semi-truck in San Antonio. 16 others, some of them children were found alive hot to the touch, suffering from heatstroke and exhaustion taken to hospitals for treatment. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Authorities were alerted to the scene just before 6 p.m. local this evening after an employee in a building nearby had heard a cry for help and was alerted to the truck that you just mentioned. And they found a number of deceased individuals inside. Now as you said 46 people have died, 16 were transported to the hospital. And they suffered from heatstroke and heat exhaustion.

Authority said there was no signs of water and there was no visible A.C. unit on that rig. They also said that those people who were found alive could not get up. They were in duress, and they had to be helped. The authorities put it quite bluntly, this was "a human tragedy." Three people are in custody. It's unclear what their connection to this is. And it is now a federal investigation. But it comes at a time of a surge of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

We don't know the nationalities of the migrants. And it's unclear whether this is human smuggling. But smugglers do often use rakes to transport migrants. And this is something that the Biden administration has been doubling down on. They've been cracking down on human smuggling in recent months. And this is what they warned about and have feared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: The U.S. homeland security has taken over the case and the head of that department promises to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable. A sentiment echoed by San Antonio's mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON NIRENBERG, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS MAYOR: So, the plight of migrants seeking refuge is always a humanitarian crisis. But tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy. So, I would urge you all to think compassionately, and pray for the deceased, the ailing, the families. And we hope that those responsible for putting these people in such humane conditions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: We'll have much more on this developing story throughout the day here on CNN. But now to Germany where G7 leaders are wrapping up their annual meeting before they head to Madrid for a NATO Summit. Russia's war on Ukraine dominating both agendas. The G7 leaders have outlined new ways to step up pressure on Moscow, including plans for a price cap on Russian oil and sanctions on Russia's defense sector.

Meanwhile, NATO secretary general says at their meeting, the allies will agree to boost military aid to Ukraine. He also announced a massive increase in NATO's rapid reaction forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERH, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: At the summit, we will strengthen our forward defenses. We will enhance our battle groups in the eastern part of the alliance up to brigade levels. We will form the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000.

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[02:05:07]

WATT: Ukraine now wants the U.N. Security Council to meet to discuss Russia's recent string of deadly airstrikes on civilians. The latest killed at least 15 people at a shopping mall in central Ukraine on Monday. A toll that authorities say will likely rise. Many more are wounded in this strike, nowhere near the frontlines of the fighting. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says up to 1000 people were inside the mall when the air raid siren sounded and many managed to get out.

He said, "Only totally insane terrorists who should have no place on earth would carry out such a calculated attack. Our Fred Pleitgen is standing by in Germany with the latest on the G7 and NATO summits. But first, let's go to CNN's Salma Abdelaziz live in Kyiv. Salma, do we have any idea why the Russians might have targeted this shopping mall miles from any fighting?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, Nick, we don't. What we hear from Ukrainian officials is that Russia targeted this shopping mall, that it was an intentional strike on civilians. And again, there's no strategic objective here. This is not military infrastructure. This was a shopping complex where people were going out -- going about their business trying to live their ordinary lives far away from the battlefield.

Take a listen to what President Zelenskyy said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today's Russian strike at a shopping mall in Kremenchuk is one of the most defiant terrorist attacks in European history. A peaceful city, an ordinary shopping mall with women, children, ordinary civilians inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, Nick, this is a continuation of what we're seeing across the country, Russia really stepping up its attacks widening the scope of this barrage of missiles, dozens of missiles being fired across Ukrainian territory, by air, by land by sea in recent days hitting residential areas. You have to remember Russia is attacking Ukraine from three different territories. From Belarus, from Russian territory, from Crimea in the south, from the sea where it has warships as well.

So, this is an extraordinary attack that really makes Ukrainians feel that they can be hit anywhere, anytime by Russian forces. And yes, of course, there are air defense systems. Ukraine does have those, but they're clearly not enough. That's why one of the top requests from President Zelenskyy to these G7 leaders is they really want those air defense systems, the United States is expected to announce by the end of this week that they've purchased one such high-end system for Ukraine.

But we also have to remember this isn't just about protecting the civilian areas. This is also about what's happening on the battleground, Nick. And there, Ukrainian forces, clearly, on the back foot. They're running out of the Soviet era weapons which is all that they have, those systems that they have mostly on the front line. They were running out of the weapons that fit them. And the United States and Ukraine's allies are unable to find enough to replace them.

At the same time, it's a race against the clock here because they need to train Ukrainian forces on these new NATO aero systems. So, Russia right now absolutely has the momentum. So it's going to be very important for these leaders to figure out how do they prop up a really weakening Ukrainian force in the face of President Putin's aggression. Nick?

WATT: Salma Abdelaziz live in Kyiv. Thanks very much. I want to bring in CNN's Frederik Pleitgen now, he is live in Germany. Fred, we just heard about this attack on the shopping mall. You know, President Macron called it an abomination. Boris Johnson says it proves again the depths of cruelty and barbarism to which Putin will sink. Biden -- President Biden says the U.S. and others will continue to hold Russia accountable.

Will they? Anything significant come out, let's deal with the G7 first. Anything significant come out of that?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I do think that one of the things that the leaders want to show here was that they still have that unity when it comes to supporting Ukraine, and they are still in lockstep about the ways that they -- that they want to do that. And I think that's something that certainly is especially important for the European members of the G7.

You look for instance, at the host nation of Germany, there is a certain amount of fatigue, I would say in German society that might be setting and certainly there is a lot of fear about the economic reverberations, the economic backlash, or some of the sanctions have been put on Russia. We have to keep in mind that a lot of these European countries are very dependent on Russian fossil fuels.

The Germans, especially Russian gas, a lot of other European countries, for instance, Russian oil as well. And so therefore, some of the economic pressure is not necessarily uncontroversial among G7 nations but certainly among European nations. If you look at the back a couple of weeks the E.U. wanted to put in play is an oil embargo on Russian oil and they basically had to put loopholes into that from the get go.

[02:10:06]

PLEITGEN: Otherwise countries like Hungary wouldn't even have had -- wouldn't even have even signed off a side onto it. Now, nevertheless, they did display unity here at the summit. It was very important to see President Biden meet, for instance, in a bilateral meeting, with Olaf Scholz from Germany, praise the German leader, and all of them saying they are going to continue that support.

They also say, Nick, and I think this is -- this is also something that was really important in Summit, that they are going to continue to give the Ukrainians defensive weapons. And that some of them will start to unfold their effectiveness in the not too distant future. If you look at for instance, some of these multiple artillery rocket launching system, the U.S. already has several of those in place.

Now in Ukraine, of course, manned by the Ukrainians now part of the Ukrainian military. And the U.S. has already said that there's more to come. The Germans have already also said that they are going to give Ukraine some of their MARS systems, multiple artillery rocket launching systems. The Germans now for the first time also giving the Ukrainians heavy howitzer. So, while that's definitely not the same amount of weapons, by a longshot that the Russians have on the frontlines, they are, of course, very powerful weapons, very accurate weapons.

And really the G7 and also NATO, as well as we're looking to that next meeting that's going to happen in Madrid. They believe the only way that the Ukrainians are going to be able to stop the Russians and possibly turn the tide on the battlefield is not by getting as much weapons as the Russians have, because that's not going to happen. The only way they're going to be able to do that is if they have weapons that can shoot longer, more accurately, and then also, of course, shoot more than the Russian weapons can, Nick.

WATT: Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much for your time.

Now, Vladimir Putin is making his first trip outside Russia since his invasion of Ukraine. The Russian leader will visit Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Joining me now is Matthew Schmidt. He is a professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven. So first of all, Putin going to Tajikistan, I mean, what does that tell us about what he is trying to project to the world that he's not alone, that he can go to Tajikistan?

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Well, Tajikistan, and then as company is a -- is pretty much like being alone, right? It's not great company. And this is less like a diplomatic trip, than a mafia boss going out to, you know, to meet his lieutenants. This doesn't give him a lot of comfort on the world stage.

WATT: OK. But, you know, he is trying to show us in the West that he is not alone and that he's perhaps trying to show his own domestic audience, something that he's not alone and that the west is against him and others, is that what's going on?

SCHMIDT: Right. He's going to two countries that were a part of the Soviet Union, that the Russian public sees as part of those other peoples that are engaged in this fight against the west. And this is really directed as in propaganda towards his own people in order to keep them in the fight. Because remember, there's a good bit of dissent in Russia right now. There are plenty of anecdotal reports.

And more that suggests that Russians are not racing to join the army, that Putin is having to reach out and recruit 30 and 40-year-old men that have fought in Syria or in Chechnya, because he doesn't have time to train younger men who would more effective on the battlefield. So, the situation in Ukraine is more dire than I think we often think. And you can see that by the fact that he can't go to other places than, you know, his own backyard.

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are not going to buy more oil to give him more money, to build more weapons, to train more people.

WATT: And speaking of oil, I mean, there is no talk from the G7 of putting a price cap on Russian oil, and of course, extending the sanctions that are already in place, a Russian gold, et cetera. I mean, is that going to have any impact? Or is it going to have any impact, quick enough to make a difference in Ukraine?

SCHMIDT: I think that's exactly the question. War is about tempo. It's about time. And what they're actually talking about doing is mandating that the level of insurance that can be provided on the price of a barrel of oil is less than say $100. If they dropped that mandated insurance that replacement cost of $50.00 then eventually world buyers will demand that Putin can only sell that barrel of oil for a lot less than it cost him to produce it.

But that takes a lot of time to take effect. And in a war you need to have the weapons and the ammunition and the money to train people now. So with the full effect of the sanctions takes a year to bite then, you know, Putin is still able to operate and still able to produce these things between now and then.

[02:15:07]

SCHMIDT: The real question on the battlefield is how they're going to regenerate forces both on the Russian side and Ukrainian side.

WATT: I mean, President Zelenskyy was saying today that he thinks, hopes that this war will be over before winter sets in, before the end of the year. I mean, is that total realistic?

SCHMIDT: I think it depends heavily on how fast the West can flow weapons in and weapons have the right kind and in the right amount. One question we don't know is how many fighters that Ukraine can put on the frontlines. The last -- the last, verifiable numbers we have is 50,000 from the start of the war. I've seen numbers as high as 800,000 or a million for his total men under arms right now.

But we just don't know what that frontline is comparing to with what Russia has on there. And we don't know about how well these forces are training. We don't know, in other words, how combat effective Ukrainian forces are against Russian forces. And I would expect that both sides are quite exhausted right now. And that the tempo of fighting will go down over the summer and pick up in the fall as weapons flows and troops are trained flow into that theater more.

WATT: And finally, I just want to ask you about the G20 which is going to be taking place in November in Indonesia. The Indonesian president has invited both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. How's that going to play out?

SCHMIDT: Well, the other G19 aren't happy about it. This gives Putin a chance to stand on the world stage to play that propaganda back to his people and say, look, I get to be here with all the other, you know, big important states. And I get to control what's going on in the world. I get to control the narrative, I get to show that Russia is great again, right? That Russia has power. And so it's a bit like having a skunk at the party and Putin is very excited about that and the rest of them are not.

WATT: Matthew Schmidt, thank you very much for your time.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure.

WATT: Still to come. Still to come. An unexpected public hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday by that U.S. Congressional committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. Details on the surprise witness expected to testify next.

Plus, ripple effects from the Roe reversal. We are tracking the fallout from the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn that landmark abortion decision.

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WATT: A surprise hearing now set for Tuesday by the U.S. House committee investigating the January 6 attack. The committee has not revealed why but sources tell CNN we should expect to hear live testimony from a key Trump's inner circle witness.

[02:20:02]

WATT: CNN's Ryan Nobles has the details.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The January 6 Select Committee is ready to hear publicly from a very important member of the Trump White House who has the potential to reveal a lot of information that we have not heard up until this point. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to the former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has agreed to testify in a public setting and will do so in a hearing set to take place on Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

Now, Hutchinson is somebody that we've already heard from. Part of her tapes closed-door depositions have been played as part of the January 6 Select Committee hearings. But the fact that she's willing to testify publicly and the fact that the committee has rushed to add a hearing that was not previously scheduled shows that Hutchinson may have new information to reveal that could be an important part of this investigation.

You'll remember that last week the committee had said that they were ready to take a break, that they'd taken in a lot of new information that they wanted to process that information and they weren't planning on any more hearings until the middle of July. Well, that all changed on Monday afternoon where they announced that they had plans to hear from another witness and reveal new information.

Now the committee did not reveal Hutchinson's name in part because there were security concerns related to her appearance. And in fact, the committee has had plans to change the hearing room to a certain degree on Tuesday to make sure that she remains safe. However, the information was revealed originally reported by Punchbowl News and then confirmed by CNN. Cassidy Hutchinson will appear before the January 6 Select Committee on Tuesday.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, Washington. WATT: And you can see the entire hearing plus in depth analysis right here on CNN starting at 1:00 p.m. in Washington, that's 6:00 p.m. in London, 1:00 a.m. in Hong Kong.

The United States is still reeling. The United States is still reeling from the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe versus Wade. Women across the country are facing a patchwork of new laws as multiple states now move to ban abortion. CNN's Nadia Romero reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Chaos and confusion after Friday's Supreme Court ruling allowing states to immediately begin to set their own abortion policy leaving women across the country with varying levels of access. At least 10 states have effectively banned abortion. They're among more than two dozen states which are certain are likely to ban abortions once Roe was overturned according to the Guttmacher Institute.

That includes Mississippi where the state's attorney general certified a trigger law. It goes into effect in 10 days and prohibits abortion with few exceptions.

LYNN FITCH, MISSISSIPPI ATTORNEY GENERAL: The task now falls to us to advocate for the laws that empower women. Laws that promote fairness in child support and enhance enforcement of it.

ROMERO: The decision prompting Mississippi to take a hard look at its current laws to protect women and kids. It ranks 50th dead last for overall child well being based on several factors including health and education.

OMERIA SCOTT, MISSISSIPPI STATE REPRESENTATIVE: It has been surprising to me actually to hear the leadership, the governor, the speaker, the lieutenant governor talking about what they're going to do for women's health when they won't even expand Medicaid, which would give women healthcare in this state.

ROMERO: A trigger ban in Texas will go into effect 30 days after Friday's ruling, but the state's attorney general already announced that local prosecutors can begin enforcing a six-week ban passed last year before Roe was overturned. Providers in Oklahoma which has implemented a trigger ban say they're worried about the resources for underprivileged women.

ANDREA GALLEGOS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TULSA WOMEN'S CLINIC: We gave resources to all of the patients with other clinics, names and phone numbers out of state as well as resources that could help pay for the abortion and help pay for travel to get to those states.

ROMERO: In other states, things are less clear cut. In Michigan the governor filed a motion urging the state supreme court to review a lawsuit to protect abortion rights. A 1931 law on the books there would ban abortion without exceptions for rape and incest.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITEMER (D-MI): There's a lot of confusion about what this means for IVF, for practitioners.

ROMERO: And an appeals court is set to rule on Georgia's fetal heartbeat law, which would ban abortion about six weeks into a pregnancy.

STACEY ABRAMS (D) GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: As the next governor, I'm going to do everything in my power to reverse it.

ROMERO: Meanwhile, some Republican governors are signaling they'll take action to block access to FDA-approved abortion pills.

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): in South Dakota, we've already had a bill passed that said on telemedicine abortions that we don't believe it should be available because it is a dangerous situation for those individuals.

PROTESTERS: My body, my choice.

ROMERO: Nationwide, protests were peaceful with a few exceptions. Police made several arrests in Oregon and Arizona. The LAPD also clashed with protesters over the weekend, knocking Full House actress Jodie Sweetin to the ground as a group of officers trying to block access to the freeway.

[02:25:00]

ROMERO: And in Iowa, a protester was hurt when a truck pushed through a crowd crossing the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He grabbed, ripped my side and push me down, drove off.

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ROMERO: Monday afternoon a week a Louisiana judge blocked this stage trigger laws on abortion. A lawsuit filed argued that the trigger laws were unconstitutionally vague. Now there's a temporary restraining order in place until a hearing that set for July 8th. Back here in Mississippi, the state's last abortion clinic will open its doors Tuesday morning according to the staff.

And the director says they will operate until the state's abortion ban goes into effect and then they will shut down for good.

Nadia Romero, CNN, Jackson, Mississippi.

WATT: Amid the scramble to adjust to the sudden changes, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies are now limiting purchases of emergency contraception to three pills per customer. Rite Aid says demand for the pills is already on the rise. CVS says it has plenty of supply but wants to make sure there's enough on hand for anyone who needs it.

Days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Israeli government just moved in the opposite direction, making access to abortion easier. CNN's Hadas Gold has the details. HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Israel is changing its regulations to make it easier for women to access abortion. For decades women have been able to get abortions in Israel but they had to fill out an application and go in person before an abortion committee at various hospitals. This committee would be made up of two doctors and a social worker and all abortions no matter at what stage had to be performed at a hospital or at an equivalent facility.

Now under these new regulations, women will be able to apply for an abortion online. The health minister also said that invasive questions will be removed and there will be no need to appear in person before an abortion committee. Although that committee will still need to approve the abortion. In addition, women will be able to seek pharmacological abortions just from their regular doctor.

Here's how health minister Nitzan Horowitz described these new regulations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NITZAN HOROWITZ, ISRAELI HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): The U.S. Supreme Court's move to deny a woman the right to her body is a dark mode, oppressing women and returning the leader of the free and liberal world 100 years backwards. Even here, the situation is not ideal. But we are in different places. And today, we are taking big steps in the right direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLD: Now spokespeople for the Minister of Health did say that these reforms have been in the works for several weeks, if not months. They said that these regulations had not been changed in decades and it was high time for them to be reformed. But it's hard to not see the connection between Supreme Court ruling and this announcement made today. Many ministers, many members of the Israeli parliament were specifically connecting what happened in the United States with these reforms that will make it easier for women in Israel to seek access to abortions. The new regulations will come into full effect in three months.

Hadas Gold, CNN Jerusalem.

WATT: In the U.S., federal investigators are headed to the scene of a deadly train derailment in rural Missouri. At least three people were killed and 50 injured when an Amtrak train collided with a dump truck at a public crossing. It happened at an uncontrolled intersection with no warning lights or gates. The driver of that truck is among the dead. Amtrak says it's cooperating with authorities and helping with the medical care of those who were injured.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. As the death of the pandemic fade into memory, China takes its zero-COVID policy to extreme sometimes, even defying science.

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[02:30:00]

WATT: Chinese sensors are busy scrubbing the internet for any mention of a misleading quote claiming zero-COVID restrictions which stay in place for the next five years, but Beijing is also trying to convince the public that "zero-COVID" is the only way to go. From detaining protesters to over-the-top shows of hygiene, it is quickly becoming a chore to keep up the four south. CNN's Selina Wang reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It is a North Korean public health video censored in China. As Pyongyang battles an explosion in COVID cases, this state video explains that most Omicron patients will have mild symptoms, only serious ones need to go to the hospital. That is common knowledge.

But here in China, the government continues to shut down entire cities over one COVID case, all positive cases and close contacts are sent to government quarantine. Authorities quickly scrubbed the North Korean video and news of the country lifting its COVID lockdown from Chinese internet. But that is not stopping many in China from praising the hermit kingdom for being more scientific than China. One post said that, suddenly I realized, we are the most pathetic.

The Chinese City bordering North Korea has been under lockdown for more than a month. Videos online show Chinese CDC workers placing what appeared to be rows of air monitoring machines along the Yalu River that separates the two countries. Those machines, they're testing the air from North Korea for COVID.

State media even ordered residents to stay away from the river and close their windows on windy days. They fear the wind blowing in from North Korea might spread the virus, despite no scientific evidence. Local governments have not responded to CNN's questions about the warnings or air monitoring machines.

Just days after Shanghai exited its brutal two-month lockdown, many are being sealed back into their homes. This Shanghai community is protesting the endless cycle. We are being illegally imprisoned, the man's loudspeaker says.

Police arrested the man and push him into the police car. As residents shout, why arrest people? Freedom, democracy, a quality, the rule of law. One resident even shows his middle finger to authorities. Refusing to back down. CNN reached out to multiple Shanghai police departments, and they all declined to comment.

WANG (on camera): And for those of us not fenced up, we are also constantly COVID tested, and one at least every 72 hours to enter any public venue, that's a rule will across all major cities in China, and they can be a hassle, often waiting in long lines like these

WANG (voiceover): And it is not just people that are relentlessly COVID tested, videos of stray cats, dogs, male packages, seafood, sewage, even newborn infants being COVID tested have gone viral. That is despite international health officials saying the risk of transmission from animals and surfaces is extremely low. Yet COVID workers continue to disinfect everything in sight, streets, the open air, even each other.

PROF. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY: This is more hygiene theater, it is not based on any science, the risk of transmission from services is at best theoretical, not even measurable at this point, it is useless, meaningless and distracting from the real source, zero-COVID policy simply will not work.

[02:35:00]

WANG (voiceover): The government claims zero-COVID is the only way to save people's lives, even though many of their policies run contrary to scientific evidence. That is because China's supreme leader has tied his leadership to zero-COVID. So, politics, Trump science and logic. Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: People in Afghanistan are sifting through remains after last week's devastating earthquake in the East. At least 1000 people were killed when the 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck. Hundreds more were injured and many lost their homes. The World Food Programme has sent a convoy carrying food, water and other emergency supplies to some of the hardest hit areas. But they are in urgent need for more international support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHELLEY THAKRAL, AFGHANISTAN SPOKESPERSON, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Afghanistan was already reeling from decades of conflict, years of drought, the pandemic and now this crippling economic crisis. So, the earthquake to the east of the country has really added additional burden to resources, to food assistance and this is why we appealed to the international community to please not to forget Afghanistan and please, to continue to support the people here who desperately need your help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Because the earthquake has further compounded the plight of the Afghan people who were already facing widespread food insecurity and a deep economic crisis.

Ghislaine Maxwell will be sentenced for her role in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal in the coming hours. Coming up, how the life of privilege led to her involvement with the disgraced financier.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATT: Ghislaine Maxwell will be sentenced in the coming hours for her role in recruiting and trafficking underage girls to be sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein. She was found guilty in December, a dramatic downfall for a woman who was once a prominent socialite. CNN's Max Foster as more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted in December. Found guilty on five counts, including trafficking underage girls for the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell's defense argued that she was made a scapegoat following his death. How did this privileged and highly educated women becoming sex trafficker for a pedophile ring?

Born on Christmas day in 1961, she grew up in this vast to stay in the idyllic Oxfordshire countryside. The youngest daughter of a disgraced British businessman Robert Maxwell. Media mogul and football club owner, Maxwell Sr. was a huge figure in British public life.

[02:40:00]

JOHN SWEENEY, AUTHOR, "HUNTING GHISLAINE": Butlers and privileged, limousines, helicopters, fancy holidays on yachts. She goes to Oxford. She becomes friends with everybody who is anybody in London. Prince Andrew, the second sone of the queen of England.

FOSTER (voiceover): When Robert Maxwell died, falling overboard the luxury yacht he named after Ghislaine, his death revealed huge discrepancies in his company's finances.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gathering of Robert Maxwell's family was completed with the arrival of the daughter after he had named his faithful yacht.

FOSTER (voiceover): His daughter's reputation was left in tatters.

GHISLAINE MAXWELL, FORMER SOCIALITE: I want to thank all the many hundreds of people who have sent messages of support.

SWEENEY: Ghislaine adored her father, but the tragedy the tragedy is that Ghislaine herself was a victim, I think, of terrible psychological abuse by her father.

FOSTER (voiceover): Enticed by the big apple, Maxwell restarted life as a society queen in the United States. A witty and gregarious connector with a royal rolodex. The perfect veneer of respectability for a predator like Jeffrey Epstein.

SWEENEY: A 14-year-old girl does not get into a car with a man like Jeffrey Epstein, but she might if she meets somebody who she thinks is Mary Poppins. Lovely English accent, love manner, charming, gracious, beautiful. He needed her as cover for his pedophilia.

FOSTER (voiceover): Epstein allowed Maxwell access to the wealth and status she lost when her father died. The two pursued a relationship that lasted decades.

AUDREY STRAUSS, FORMER ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Maxwell was among Epstein's closest associates and helped him exploit girls who were as young as 14 years old. FOSTER (voiceover): In 2006, police raided Epstein's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. In 2008, Epstein was convicted on counts related to the sexual abuse of a child. In 2011, a photo emerges of Prince Andrew with his hand around the waist of a Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Giuffre says she was 17 when she was forced to have sex with him.

PRINCE ANDREW: I met through his girlfriend back in 1999.

FOSTER (voiceover): Queen Elizabeth II's son gave a now infamous interview to the BBC in 2019. He denied any wrongdoing and sought to distance himself from Epstein.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officials say that multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein has taken his own life.

FOSTER (voiceover): When Epstein was found hanged in his jail cell in 2019 following an apparent suicide attention turned whose closest co- conspirator.

JENNIFER ARAOZ, ACCUSER OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN: Today was symbolically a huge day for survivors everywhere, especially survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, who like myself were denied their day of worth (ph).

SARAH RANSOME, ACCUSER OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN: I will be sitting in the same room as Ghislaine. So, finally, after all these years.

FOSTER (voiceover): Maxwell failed in her bid to overturn the guilty verdict. Despite the wealth and power once afforded to her, at age 60, she faces spending the rest of her life behind bars. Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Thanks very much for joining us. I'm Nick Watt. World Sport is up next. And I will be back with more news in about 15 minutes. You are watching CNN.

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[02:45:00]

LEMON: Thank you, Jeff.

TOOBIN: That's the different.

LEMON: I appreciate, buddy.

We have to talk about this. This is a deadly derailment in Missouri. This happened after a passenger train collided with a truck. The latest on that, next.

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LEMON: This is a disturbing story that could affect all of us. Everyone drives, we're in a car, you know, trains and that thing. Three people are dead, at least 50 are injured following an Amtrak Train derailment in Missouri. That train carrying around 243 passengers. The derail went and hit a dumb truck at an uncontrolled railroad crossing. The NTSB announcing that they are launching a Go Team to investigate.

Let's discuss now. Mary Schiavo is here. She is a former inspector general at the Department of Transportation and a CNN aviation analyst.

Mary, thank you for joining us. Good to see you. I wish it was under better circumstances, of course.

What is this NTSB team going to be looking for when they get to the scene?

[02:50:00]

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST AND FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. DOT: Well, the NTSB team is going to be aided, first and foremost, by the black box on the train. The black box on the train has forward- looking equipment. They will be pulling the camera. It will have the train speed. When the whistles and horn was sounded. There are regulations on how far before the crossing that the audible signals have to be sounded. Speed of the train. When the engineer and train control personnel applied the brakes, that will give them an idea of when they saw the obstruction on the track.

So, because of that black box, they're going to have an awful lot of information to start with. And of course, they will have also gathered information about the track, the track conditions, which railroad owns that particular section of track, and information about the signage. Apparently, it was just the standard cross hatch, cross box sort of sign, not any lights or gates or arms. But they will have all that in advance. And then, of course, once they get there, the hard work starts of looking at the train, the controls, measuring everything and also, the situation of the actual roadway going over the tracks. So, they've got a lot to do.

LEMON: This accident occurred, Mary, at an uncontrolled, as you said, this crossing, meaning, that there were no lights, you mentioned there were no mechanized arms. So, what about what -- tell us, what's that -- tell us about what happened here? Anything?

SCHIAVO: Well, you know, it's hard to judge at this point. But you know, every year about 250 people are killed at crossings because of this. This is a far fewer number than there were, say, 20 years ago. 20 years ago, it averaged about 750 a year. But every year, well over 1,000 accidents happen like this where someone travels over the road and intersects with the train. So, it's difficult to tell at this point whether the vehicle was stuck on the track, whether it was a situation where it couldn't move out fast enough or did not hear or see the train and sadly, some accidents are because people try to beat the train.

The Federal Rail Administration, the Department of Transportation has had a great public campaign to educate people never, never try to do that. Of course, we don't know if that happened here. It would help, of course, if there were cameras at railroad crossings like there are at intersections in, you know, cities and all over the country looking for speeders, you could do that as well, but there are not.

So, they will have to judge what occurred at that crossing based on the conditions and if there were any eyewitnesses or ear witnesses.

LEMON: All right. Mary, thank you. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

LEMON: Big developments in the January 6th investigation. The FBI seizing the phone of the former Trump election attorney, John Eastman. In a surprise announcement that the Committee will hold another hearing tomorrow. We're going to talk about all of that, that is next.

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[02:55:00]

LEMON: The January 6th Committee scheduling a surprise hearing for tomorrow to present what it calls recently obtained evidence. Originally, the Committee said its hearings would resume in mid-July. We're also learning that the FBI has seized the phone of Trump election attorney John Eastman, a central figure in the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election I want to bring in Now CNN Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles.

Ryan, good evening, sir, to you in Washington.

The seizure of Eastman's phone, that's a big really development. It happened the same day that federal agents raided the home of Jeffery Clark. What do you know? What's going on here?

NOBLES: Yes. It is very significant, Don, because it shows that the Department of Justice investigation into the efforts to overturn the election results and how it relates to January 6th is expanding. We know that John Eastman was a central figure in all of this, primarily through the work of the January 6th Select Committee that he was the principal architect of this plan that was based on a pretty flimsy legal theory that the vice president, Mike Pence, had the ability to stand in the way of the election results.

And according to Eastman, it's -- we are getting this information from his side of things, he was out to dinner with his wife and a friend, he was approached by several FBI agents, they searched him, they found his phone, they opened his phone using facial recognition software and then, they had access to all that material. He is complying about it. He believes that this was an illegal seizure and search of him. He is trying to prevent this information from being used in any future investigation. At this point, the Department of Justice isn't commenting exactly what they are hoping learn from Eastman.

LEMON: It sounds like a "Law and Order" episode, Ryan. What sense of urgency are you seeing regarding this newly obtained evidence of the Select Committee? Because, I think, this announcement of an additional hearing is very unexpected and we are learning about a security concern for a witness.

NOBLES: Yes. There is a lot of intrigue around exactly what the Committee plans to do tomorrow at 1:00 Eastern. And there is a lot of intrigue in part because they had said that they were ready to take a break, that they were -- had received a lot of information as a result of the hearings that had already conducted so far, that they wanted to process that information and they were going to come back the middle of July with more hearings.

But then, sometime this afternoon, they announced that they had come into possessions of some new information, some very potentially explosive witness testimony and that they wanted to get a hearing on the books as soon as possible and scheduled one for tomorrow at 1:00.

And what's important about this, Don, is that, you know, these members are all out of town. They had left for a long July 4th recess. Now, many of them are scurrying to get back into town in preparation for this. So, that shows you the urgency of this potential hearing and why it's important.

And you're right. They are very concerned about the security around, at least, one of the witnesses that will appear tomorrow, that's part of the reason that they have held all this information in such secrecy. We are also told that there has been changes to the hearing room tomorrow. People that were normally able to sit in certain places are not going to be able to have that same luxury. So, there is a lot on the line with this --

[03:00:00]