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Wildfires In Yosemite Threaten Sequoia Trees; Steve Bannon Agrees To Testify To January 6 Panel; Uvalde Sheriff To Testify On School Shooting Investigation; Texas Abortion Provider To Relocate In New Mexico; Sri Lanka's President And Prime Minister Willing To Resign; Strong Jobs Report In June Easing Recession Concerns; Novak Djokovic Wins Wimbledon Title. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 10, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Phil Mattingly in Washington in for Jim Acosta. Steve Bannon today telling the January 6 committee he is now willing to testify at a public hearing. It seems to be a stunning reversal for Bannon who was defiant in the face of a subpoena.

But as Bannon's upcoming criminal trial for contempt of Congress brings the possibility of large fines and two years in jail, his former boss is giving him the green light to talk. In a letter to Bannon, former President Trump writes, "I watched how unfairly you and others have been treated having to spend vast amounts of money on legal fees. I will waive executive privilege for you which allows you to testify or to go in and testify truthfully and fairly."

Now, the committee says today it's open to Bannon's testimony as long as it's under oath. Bannon's potential testimony would come on the heels of testimony from another major witness. Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone. A part of his eight-hour closed door interview is expected to be featured at the January 6 panels next public hearing this week.

CNN's Marshall Cohen joins me now. Marshall, context and nuance is important here when it comes to Steve Bannon because the letter from former President Trump is essentially the equivalent of me telling you that I'm waiving my executive privilege for you to talk to our bosses tomorrow in our morning meetings. What does what Bannon and Trump are doing here actually mean?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, if he actually testifies, let's say that he actually goes in and does it for real, that would be huge, but we're so far away from that still. What Donald Trump did this weekend was basically give Bannon a cover so that he, Bannon, could then go to the committee and make this offer.

Let's be clear, Phil. He hasn't agreed to anything yet. He hasn't, you know, promised to go in and give a deposition. He's given an offer with conditions. He says he wants to do a hearing, a public hearing, you know. Do you really think that the committee members are going to give a platform to someone who is a well-known purveyor of all kinds of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election?

So, there's a healthy dose of skepticism here, and as you mentioned in the intro, he's got a criminal trial next week. This very well could be part of a strategy to try to undercut the prosecution, make it look like he's trying to cooperate when of course, he is accused of illegally refusing to cooperate.

So, you know, he wants to do it public. The committee wants to do it privately. Earlier today, one of the members of the committee spoke to our colleague, Jake Tapper, that Zoe Lofgren from California, she kind of threw a little bit of cold water on the notion of a public hearing. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): We got the letter around midnight from his lawyers saying that he would testify and we have wanted him to testify. I expect that we will be hearing from him and there are many questions that we have for him.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Would it be a public hearing or would it be behind closed doors?

LOFGREN: Ordinarily, we do depositions, you know, this goes on for hour after hour after hour. We want to get all our questions answered and you can't do that in a live format.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, Phil, we'll see what happens. They have to talk, negotiate and figure this out.

MATTINGLY: Yes. I feel like there's a lot more steps here in the process, no question about it. Steps you will be covering every step of the way. Marshall Cohen, thanks as always, buddy. I appreciate it.

Alright, I'm joined now by the director of UCLA's Safeguarding Democracy Project. Election law expert Rick Hasen. His latest book is called, "Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It." Rick, thanks for coming in.

I want to start with something that's had a lot of developments kind of on the side of what's been happening with the committee over the course of the last several weeks. The fake electors plan, which the Justice Department has made very clear with some actions they are really digging into right now. Do you see that as a criminal angle here with the most legs?

RICK HASEN, DIRECTOR, SAFEGUARDING DEMOCRACY PROJECT AT UCLA: Well, I mean, there are multiple paths by which different actors could be found liable. We already have people who physically stormed the capitol. Some of those have already been prosecuted. Some of those have already been sentenced. This fake electors is one important path. And then there is other

paths, too, and the one I'm focused on is there's a -- it's a crime to corruptly obstruct an official proceeding.

[17:04:59]

And this is language that could be used against John Eastman, against Donald Trump, against Rudy Giuliani. So, I don't think there's a single path. I don't think we know yet exactly what else the Department of Justice might be looking into besides the fake electors plan.

MATTINGLY: You know, one of the things committee officials made clear today that their hearings are expected to detail the December 2020 White House meeting in which Trump advisers floated the idea of seizing voting machines. It's one of the most extraordinary meetings of a series of them over the course of that month. What do you want to know about that meeting given how you followed this?

HASEN: So, I think it's really chilling when you hear about seizing voting machines. That sure doesn't sound like the United States of America. We have a decentralized voting system. The president and the Department of Justice have no, or the Department of Defense, they have no control over voting machines.

It looks like yet another path to try to mess with the peaceful transition of power leading up to the events of January 6. And so I think, you know, as with a lot of these things, the question is what was the motivation of the president and his allies in trying to do this? Did they expect that they would be able to stop the Congress from certifying that Joe Biden had won the presidency when they were going to meet on January 6?

All of these things raise issues of criminal liability, but a lot of it depends upon the state of mind of the actors who were involved in these different scenarios.

MATTINGLY: You know, you have kind of the potential criminal path or criminal investigations, but you also have the broader issue here, which I think gets to how the committee has framed some of these things, which is this could happen again and that the former president is still very much a major player in a political party, could run again.

You know, you guys just launched this group, the Safeguarding Democracy group, you know, dozens of people involved, there are Republicans, Democrats, academics. It's kind of across the board. When you look at the landscape right now, what do you see is the biggest danger, the biggest threat to democracy going into the next election?

HASEN: Yes, I think you're right. I mean, if you look at the advisory board of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA, if you put us all in a room, we probably wouldn't agree on lots of things of substance, but we do agree in the idea of free and fair elections and peaceful transitions of power. And so, we do have to look forward and ask, you know, because the next

attempt to steal an election is not going to look like the last one. What can be done on the federal, state and local level to assure not only that we have fair elections, but elections that people can believe in and believe were conducted in a fair and trustworthy manner.

And I'd say the number one thing I'm looking forward to in the next few months is if a bipartisan group of senators, as they've been speaking, are actually going to come forward with a bill that could make it through the Congress that would change the rules around the Electoral Count Act and make it clear that someone who tries to mess with the rules in the way that Trump did or in other ways can't do that and that the winner of the election is actually going to be declared the winner.

MATTINGLY: You know, that had kind of a real big burst a few months ago and then it kind of died away which sometimes in the Senate means that things are actually getting done. You don't actually know. But one of the debates at the time was from some Democrats who don't accept just the bipartisan bill that's being worked on because it doesn't do everything or other critical issues that need to be addressed.

Do you believe that revisions to the Electoral Count Act, should that actually reach an agreement, is enough right now or should be pursued?

HASEN: I don't think you should think of it as a yes or no or an either/or. The more that could be done to minimize the risk of elections subversion the better. And if you can get Republicans on board to fix the Electoral Count Act, to do things like require paper ballots so we have pieces of paper that can be recounted in the event of a problem and to protect election officials who've been facing threats of violence, and, you know, we need to harden our systems.

So, if you can get agreement on that, you're going to move incrementally towards a situation where it will be harder for the next Donald Trump to steal the election.

MATTINGLY: Can I ask you, you know, there was news this week related or recently related to Wisconsin and drop boxes. There was a court ruling which barred or effectively barred the use of drop boxes in elections in Wisconsin. You know, what's always been interesting to me when I talk to folks about what they think happened in November of 2020, one of the things that's often brought up is drop boxes, right?

Like these were -- no one was securing them, no one was paying attention to them. They're very easy. They're full of fraud, all that (inaudible). Can you actually explain to people what drop boxes are, how they work in practice and in concept?

HASEN: Sure. So, I think that, you know, until Donald Trump came along and started casting aspersions on drop boxes, they were not really that controversial. People vote in different ways. Some people vote in person. Others vote by mail. Your ballot is mailed to you and then how do you return it? Well, you can put it back in the mail, but another way that you can deal with it is put it into a dedicated drop box.

So, it's basically a government mailbox where election officials are going to pick up the mail, you know, that just contains ballots.

[17:09:59]

And you know, there has not been any evidence despite this ridiculous "2,000 Mules" movie from Dinesh D'Souza and the statements of Donald Trump. There has been no evidence of major tampering with ballot drop boxes with any kind of fraud even if you believe some of the false claims that were made about people delivering other people's ballots to these drop boxes.

There was no evidence that ballots were tampered with or that the people who were actually voting, you know, had their votes changed. So, it's really, you know, I think, just more false claims that have been thrown up against the 2020 election which, remember, was conducted in the middle of a pandemic when people were not feeling safe about voting in person.

It's just another way to try to undermine people's confidence in the election process. And if you think that the 2020 election was stolen, you might be more willing to tolerate an attempt to steal it back in 2024, and I think that's what a lot of this rhetoric is all about.

MATTINGLY: Yes. There's a bit of a slow boil kind of thing happening to some degree or at least it feels like that. I want to go back to the group that you launched. I think one of the interesting things now is, you know, you mentioned threats to democracy, the 2024 election, whether or not people are framing things in a specific manner for 2024 to be even worse than what we saw in January 6 right in the leadup to the inauguration.

Most of the witnesses at this committee, the January 6 committee, have been Republicans. The were Trump supporters. They voted for Trump. You know, there were a lot of, as you noted, Republicans on your advisory board as well.

Do you feel like this is resonating in a different manner than perhaps everything else we've seen over the course of the last year and a half post-Trump has with the rest of the country about the seriousness, the urgency of the moment?

HASEN: I do think it's a smart political strategy to be putting Republicans who can be more trusted by other Republicans, you know, in front of the American people through the committee. It really was heroes who were Republicans and Democrats and independents, elected officials, election officials, judges, people who had actual power. They are the ones that stood up last time.

You know, it turns out our system depends much more on people acting in good faith than it does just very simple rules about how we're going to conduct our presidential elections. And so, the danger is the next time we're not going to have those same strong people who are acting in good faith in place everywhere to run our elections. And so, thinking ahead towards the future, what can you do to bolster confidence and to bolster those people who are going to be the ones who are going to be making the decisions about whether elections are going to be certified. It's just such -- so many moving parts when it comes to a presidential election.

And we need to make sure that we have systems in place so that if someone doesn't act in good faith there are back stops to make sure that the winner of the election is actually the one who gets to take office.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Just how dynamic the entire process is that I think everybody took for granted prior to 2020 was kind of laid so bare and it's become very clear ever since. Alright, Rick Hasen, as always, I really appreciate your expertise. Thanks for coming on.

HASEN: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Alright, coming up, a wildfire in one of the nation's most iconic national parks has doubled in size in a day. It's now within miles of Yosemite National Park's famed giant Sequoia trees. We have a live report next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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MATTINGLY: Right now, fire crews are battling a fast spreading wildfire at one of the most popular tourist spots in the country, California's Yosemite National Park. The Washburn fire is now just miles from the park's grove of famed giant Sequoia trees some of which are believed to be more than 2,000 years old.

The fire has burned nearly 1,600 acres doubling in size in a single day. And the hot weather is not helping containment efforts. CNN's Rene Marsh joins me now. And Rene, what's the latest on the firefighting efforts at Yosemite and are we thinking evacuations are possible at this point?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, there are -- there is a portion of the park where it is off limits because this is where this fire is really endangering. We know that there are hundreds of fire personnel fighting this fire from the air, from the ground. This fire is just a couple of miles away from those historic Sequoias that we've been talking so much about, the world's largest trees.

In this park, it has the largest grove of these giant Sequoias, more than 500 of them are housed there, and they've actually set up the sprinkler system to help protect some of these trees. The grizzly giant, as I heard you talk about today, that is the second largest Sequoia in that park, so they're doing all that they can to protect the park from this wildfire and these historic trees from the wildfires.

But Phil, it is not just Yosemite. This issue of climate change and the impact of climate change at these national parks is an issue across the United States. More than 70 percent of the 423 national parks are in danger of climate change effects from drought to sea level rise to wildfires.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEANNA MITCHELL, SUPERINTENDENT, HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK: The land is disappearing before our eyes.

MARSH (voice-over): Maryland's eastern shores in the cross hairs of climate change due to sea level rise and so is the rich history preserved at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

(On camera): We're wearing these nets because there is so much water here and it's standing water so the mosquitos are really bad.

MITCHELL: The mosquitos are bad. So, this is almost like a requirement during the summer.

If Harriet Tubman were living right now, she would recognize this landscape, but she would be shocked at how quickly it's disappearing.

MARSH (voice-over): As water from the Chesapeake Bay encroaches, University of Maryland scientists project large portions of the national park will be under water by the year 2050 if planet warming emissions are not drastically curbed.

[17:20:02]

Rising tides threaten sites like this cemetery for free black people in Tubman's community.

PETER GOODWIN, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: Over time these very low-lying areas that were part of the important trails that allowed people to escape at that time will be lost in some places.

MARSH (voice-over): More than 70 percent of national parks in the continental U.S. are at high risk from the effects of climate change. From sea level rise and flooding, to extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires.

Historic flooding at Yellowstone National Park last month forced it to shut down for more than a week. At California's Sequoia National Park, home of the world's largest trees, wildfires have burned large swaths of the giant Sequoia groves.

Wildfires and extreme heat have forced California's Yosemite National Park to close several times in recent years. Meanwhile, Glacier National Park in Montana is rapidly losing its namesake feature. This is Grinnell Glacier in 1910 versus 2021.

STEPHANIE KODISH, NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: These are places that tell critical stories of our history and people and culture and these places are not going to be able to withstand these repeat assaults. MARSH (voice-over): More frequent, more intense natural disasters will

drastically transform national park landscapes. And there's the economic loss.

KODISH: In 2021 alone, our national parks saw over 297 million visitors. They generated over $42.5 billion.

MARSH (voice-over): Back on Maryland's eastern shore, the National Park Service says it has teamed up with the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to fight the growing impacts of climate change.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (on camera): And this issue of climate change and national parks it's already on the radar for some members of Congress. We just had a group come back from Yosemite National Park. They traveled there to see the effects of climate change just last week.

MATTINGLY: That's very real. Rene Marsh, great reporting. Thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.

Alright. In Texas, the Uvalde County sheriff is about to go before the panel investigating that horrific school shooting in May that killed 19 children and two teachers. Sheriff Ruben Nolasco is expected to appear tomorrow afternoon.

He officially -- initially refused to do so and then changed his mind after being issued an official notice. And tonight, members of the still grieving Uvalde community will gather outside the school to support one another and pay tribute to those who lost their lives. CNN's Nadia Romero joins us now. And Nadia, what more can you tell us about what's happening there?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, in just about an hour we wi0ll see a lot of people gather right outside of Robb Elementary where 21 people lost their lives about seven weeks ago. So, you had two schoolteachers and 19 elementary school students gunned down on that day. And so all of these people will gather in front of that school, the survivor themselves and the families of those victims.

And then they will march to the downtown plaza where they will lend their support to those who survived, to their families who are undoubtedly going through so much trauma right now and those kids who will have to eventually return to school in the fall.

But they are also demanding justice. They want answers because they believe that there has been a lack of accountability for what happened. We now know that there is a video out there, 77 minutes, that shows law enforcement in the hallway before engaging with the suspect. And many of those family members are asking what took so long?

And I want to you hear from Arnie Reyes. He is a teacher who was shot twice and many of his students were killed on that day. And this is what he had to say when he learned that law enforcement was outside of his classroom for so long. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNIE REYES, TEACHER SHOT AT ROBB ELEMENTARY: I didn't find that out until after the fact when I've seen other videos where they were standing in the hallways and that even makes me more upset just knowing you're a few feet away from me and you're not helping me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And so tomorrow afternoon we expect to see Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco talk about or at least answer questions that are being presented to him by Texas lawmakers for a Texas house investigative committee. They're looking into that law enforcement response. And really, we hope to learn more about that video. What happened in those 77 minutes? Phil.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Still so many unanswered questions. Nadia Romero, thanks so much for the reporting. And still ahead, in Texas where abortions are illegal with very few exceptions, one health clinic is closing its doors and working to move across state lines to continue to offer abortion services. We'll talk to the founder and CEO of that clinic, next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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MATTINGLY: It's now been more than two weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, and one independent abortion provider, the largest in the state of Texas, is now planning to move its four clinics to another state.

Amy Hagstrom Miller is the founder and CEO of Whole Woman's Health and she joins us now. Amy, thanks for coming on. You've got nine clinics in five states. Four of those clinics were based in Texas. Can you first share where are you planning to go and what's the process of actually making something like this happen?

AMY HAGSTROM MILLER, FOUNDER AND CEO, WHOLE WOMAN'S HEALTH: Yes, thank you for having me. You know, it's really heartbreaking to have to cease abortion care services in the state of Texas.

[17:30:01]

We are forced to stop those services when Roe v. Wade fell a couple of weeks ago and we are so concerned about all the people in Texas who still need access to that safe care. So, we've undertaken a move to New Mexico where abortion care is recognized as essential medical care and it's protected in that state. And we're hoping by offering services there we'll be able to care for people in New Mexico and people displaced by laws like this in both Texas and Oklahoma.

MATTINGLY: You know, there've been some Republican supporters of this or conservatives who support the Supreme Court decision that say, look, this is up to the states. If you don't like it, move to a state that allows it, which you guys are doing from a clinic perspective. What's your response to that? Why do you think that that's not an acceptable option or alternative here?

MILLER: You know, we live in the United States of America, and the U.S. is seen internationally as a beacon of human rights including the right to accessing safe abortion care and folks shouldn't be discriminated against just because of where they live. 55,000 people have abortions annually in Texas.

Texas has 10 percent of this country's population of people of reproductive age. This is a huge amount of people who have been displaced. And, keep in mind, the majority of these folks affected are black and brown folks, they are people who don't have the means necessarily, young folks, immigrants. They can't just pick up and travel to another state or move to another state.

It's incredibly disrespectful for how people's lives are actually lived in our communities for politicians to make comments like that. We are going to face a public health emergency as folks are denied access to safe care and either forced to migrate to states like New Mexico or Illinois or Minnesota or out here in the east coast, in Virginia or Maryland or some of the states where abortion is protected.

Folks are going to be forced to carry pregnancies against their will that they don't feel ready for and they're not prepared for financially, physically or emotionally. This is not what we stand for in this country and women and families deserve better.

MATTINGLY: You know, whether -- it is the reality, though, and I think it happened fast even though we obviously had the leaked opinion, kind of snap of the fingers, which led to a ton of confusion and a lot of questions in a very patchwork system right now. When you reopen in another state, as you noted, there's women who can't afford to travel there. What are their options? What are you guys putting on the table to try and assist with that?

MILLER: Sure. So, we have a GoFundMe Me campaign that has launched nationally to support us to open the clinic in New Mexico. We also have a program called the Wayfinder Program that helps people who are denied abortions in banned states like Texas find their way to places in communities that can offer them that care.

And we need folks to support that, but we also need our governments both at the state level and the federal level to protect those of us who are highly trained to provide abortion services, to be able to see all of the patients who might need to be seen in the states where abortion is protected.

We already have providers who are afraid to see folks who come to them from Texas and Ohio and Missouri and Oklahoma because those providers are afraid of politicians going after them. And that is something we can't stand for in this country.

We, as providers, are doing all we can to mitigate the harm that has happened already from the fall of Roe v. Wade and it's going to take all of us, everybody in the community, elected officials, health care folks, and providers to be able to try to meet the need and try to mitigate some of this harm and provide the care that people still need in this country.

MATTINGLY: You mentioned elected officials. There's been a lot of frustration from advocates from a lot of Democrats with the White House, with President Biden's response to this. He signed an executive order that aims to protect access to medication abortion, emergency contraception.

But, again, many people are saying it's not enough, either rhetorically or what you're actually trying to put on the table now, policy right at the moment. Do you feel like the White House is doing enough and what policy wise do you think they should consider that they haven't yet?

MILLER: I don't feel like they're doing enough. I think to tell us that the vote in November is the key to the freedom and reproductive freedom is very disrespectful to folks in Texas who are going to be denied abortion care now and for months and months into the future. I think declaring a public health emergency is well within his power and I call on the administration to do that.

I also think that the protections of providers like I just described is very important for the DOJ and other organizations to stand by providers in the safe haven states where abortion is protected and allow us to serve people from those states as well as people who are coming from the states where abortion is now being banned.

[17:34:54]

We need support at the federal level to call on the states to make doctor licensing and nurse licensing much more quick so that those of us that are highly trained to provide abortion care services in the south who are no longer able to provide it can actually relocate and be of service in the states that are going to be burdened with so many people migrating for abortion services.

Those are just a few things. I could add to it, but those are a few things I think would help. I think the federal government could also step in and help those of us who have been forced to shutter our clinics, relocate our clinics to haven states where we can help the providers already there to meet the need for the communities that are going to be displaced in this country.

MATTINGLY: Yes. It's, I mean, it's interesting. I talk to advocates, the list is very long. It doesn't -- they don't feel like the White House has done nearly enough. The White House has been engaged in intensive debate for several weeks. To say more is coming, we'll have to wait and see. Amy Hagstrom Miller, thanks so much. I really appreciate your time.

MILLER: Thank you so much.

MATTINGLY: Alright, still ahead, protests in Sri Lanka reach a boiling point. Millions are without food, fuel, medicine as people there suffer the worst economic and political crisis in recent years. New images and new details coming up next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

MATTINGLY: Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the global food insecurity it has caused are contributing factor to the unrest in Sri Lanka. You can see it there, an estimated 100,000 people have taken to the streets, some even storming the presidential palace.

Inside, cameras captured protesters playing the piano. Others went inside the gym there. One man says he went there to see firsthand how his tax money was being used. CNN' Will Ripley breaks down the economic crisis behind it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Not enough fuel, food, or medicine, but there is one thing in Sri Lanka that's not in short supply -- anger. Crowds reached a boiling point Saturday in Colombo after months of demonstrations in the country's worst economic and political crisis. Throngs of protesters stormed the presidential residence demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign.

FIONA SIRIMANA, 67-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER: To get to the president and the prime minister and to have a new era for Sri Lanka. Also, I feel very, very sad they didn't go earlier because had they gone earlier there wouldn't have been any destruction.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Under pressure from the streets and by members of party leadership, the president informed Sri Lanka's speaker of parliament he will step down on Wednesday. The speaker relayed that decision to the nation asking protesters to return to their homes. There is no need to destabilize the country any longer, he says, adding that he respectfully requests the cooperation of everyone on behalf of the country and the country's future in order to maintain peace.

A peace shattered by the biggest day of demonstrations yet that included the burning of the home of the country's prime minister. He, too, says he's willing to step down to make way for an all-party government. Home to some 22 million people, Sri Lanka is witnessing its worst financial crisis in seven decades. A severe foreign exchange crunch bringing the country to its knees.

There have been long, winding queues for fuel now limited to only essential services, power cuts, relentless. Analysts say the current crisis a result of poor economic decisions over the years by Rajapaksa and his government.

Under the Sri Lankan constitution, if both president and prime minister resign the speaker of parliament will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days in which time parliament will elect a new president from one of its members. It would be a sweeping change for Sri Lanka, largely brought about by its own people, many who have nothing left to lose. Will Ripley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Will Ripley, thanks so much. And a quick programming note. If you're pro-penguin like me, like everybody should be, join CNN as we explore the diverse land, marine and wildlife of Patagonia's desert coast. "Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World" premieres tonight at 9:00 eastern on CNN. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): The family has perfected an ingenious way to hunt here. First, they swim sideways to hide their telltale dorsal fins. The seals have no idea that these six-ton killers are so close. Then the orca do something extraordinary, they beach themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Coming up, woke and critical race theory. You've heard the terms, but why is America seemingly so divided on what they actually mean? We'll explain, next.

Plus, fright at the end of a flight when parts of a Spirit Airlines jet catch on fire on the tarmac. We'll have details, next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom." But first here's Rahel Solomon with your "Before the Bell."

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Phil. Well, the labor market remains hot despite fears of a recession. The U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June, a solid number and an unexpected boost. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6 percent, still near half a century low. Wages rose 5.1 percent from a year ago down slightly from May but still strong.

Robust hiring and wage growth does ease concern of a recession but it complicates the Federal Reserve's attempts to tame sky high inflation. Many experts say that a cooling jobs market is a necessary part of that effort.

[17:45:00] Remember, in May, consumer prices jumped 8.6 percent from a year ago. That's a 40-year high this week we got the numbers for June. Last month, the Central Bank announced its largest interest rate hike since 1994 trying to get inflation under control. Another rate hike is expected this month. In New York, I'm Rahel Solomon.

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[17:50:00]

MATTINGLY: There was a frightening scene at the world's busiest airport earlier today. Flames and smoke coming out of a Spirit Airlines jet just after it landed in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Horrible. What the hell? Why aren't they letting us out?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: The passenger captured the smoke rising from the plane that had just arrived from Tampa. The jet had to be towed to the gate. Now, a passenger on board the Spirit flight captured a fire truck going to work on the plane. The airport says the aircraft's breaks overheated and caught fire. Nobody was hurt. Nobody had to evacuate.

Well. W. Kamau Bell is back. And as always, he's asking the toughest questions about the country's most challenging issues in an all-new season of "United Shades of America." Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

W. KAMAU BELL, HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERIC: What is woke?

UNKNOWN: I don't know what that means so, I can't answer either way.

UNKNOWN: I feel old just like hearing that word because, honestly, I know it's --

UNKNOWN: Did you say, I feel old just hearing that word?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

BELL: Because I do, yes.

UNKNOWN: I know. I'm only 16, yet I don't really understand like some of the slang terms nowadays.

BELL: So, is not a word that you're using? I mean, I'd be shocked if it was, but is not a word you all are using.

UNKNOWN: No, it's a word used against us. It's a word that's like, oh sorry, I'm not woke enough to know what non-binary means or what any of that means to use your pronouns. I identify as attack helicopter. I use it. It's pronouns.

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MATTINGLY: Well, joining me now is the man himself, the host of the "United Shades of America" W. Kamau Bell. He's also the author or co- author of the new book, "Do The Work: An Antiracist Activity Book" coming out July 19th.

Really easing in to this season, Kamau, tackling two concepts that have been (inaudible) issues, distorted often in the political conversation recently, woke and critical race theory. What inspired that?

BELL: Believe me, I didn't want to do this. This is not what my dream was when I talked to the clan in season one. I thought I had confronted racism, but apparently there's more to confront. MATTINGLY: What did you find out, you know, well, the best part about

the show, again, you're having the hard conversations, is that people are either afraid to have, are unsure how to have. What did you find out about what people think these terms mean versus what these terms actually mean?

BELL: I mean, I would say, to a person that I talked to in Arizona who was angry about critical race theory in the elementary schools couldn't define what critical race theory was. So, that tells you the whole thing right there.

I think that's why it's essential that we have Kimberly Crenshaw who is one of the pioneering scholars of critical race theory in the episode to explain it from the person who was there -- in the room where they conceived of it, because most people are being fed talking points by the GOP and by right-wing media and they're just buying them, hook, line and sinker.

MATTINGLY: So, but it's been an effective political message we've seen up to this point. So, where do you think, given that, where do you think the country is heading on these issues? What's the actual path here going forward?

BELL: I mean, let's put it as bluntly as we can. I mean, Public Enemy's Chuck D. put it best, "fear of a black planet," scaring white people with using black people to scare white people is a tactic that America has used since black people were brought here from Africa or stolen from Africa.

So, it is a thing that continues. What is that thing the means happen now, is people who realize that's a tactic and it's always going to be the tactic. We have to stand up and be clear about it. And that's not just black people like me. It's other people who I think often sit on the sidelines on the left and sort of let this stuff happen.

MATTINGLY: So, I do want to ask, we've obviously seen the preview of the first episode, give us a sneak peek here. Tell me the things you're not supposed to tell us about based on your discussions with marketing and ad sales. What's coming up this season? What should I be looking forward to?

BELL: Oh, that's good. I mean, considering the news, this one's a pretty big one. We have an episode about wildfires in California and part of that episode, I light a fire in the forest? Is that something that I don't, marketing and sales would want to -- that to go out there? But it's a controlled burn. I ruined the spoiler, but yes.

And we have one -- we have episode in Hawaii talking about native Hawaiians not wanting mainlanders to move there like its undiscovered country. And we have one about the Native American land back movement and I'm on the side of them. Let's give them their land back. So, I don't know if marketing and ad sales are going to use that to promote this season.

MATTINGLY: Look, if they do, I want full credit for it particularly if it does well. If it does poorly, I don't want to hear anything about it. Kamau Bell --

BELL: And if I get canceled, I'm bringing -- this is the second that gets me canceled so I know it will happen here.

MATTINGLY: This is definitely it. Let's note that right now. W. Kamau Bell, the show's fantastic. I always really appreciate your perspective, both in the show and whenever you're on air with us and just generally. Thanks so much for taking the time, my friend. I appreciate it. Good luck on the new season. It's going to be great. I have no doubt.

BELL: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Alright, be sure to tune in. The all new season of "United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell" premieres tonight at 10:00 p.m., only on CNN. Guess what? Novak Djokovic has done it again. The world number three won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title today.

[17:55:00]

Djokovic defeated Australian Nick Kyrgios who qualified for the final after Rafael Nadal pulled out due to injury. Kyrgios got off to a strong start, but it wasn't enough.

Djokovic now has seven Wimbledon men's singles crowns and 21 grand slam singles titles. He's now second on the all-time list of most men's singles grand slams. Very endearing trophy ceremony, too. Very cute kid. Alright, that does it for me. Reporting from Washington, I'm Phil Mattingly. My good pal Pamela Brown takes over the "CNN Newsroom" after a quick break.

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