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Donald Trump to Appear in Miami for his Historic Court Date. A Trump-appointed Judge is Going to Handle the Case; A Major Highway Collapse in Pennsylvania; Bus Driver in Australia Arrested, 10 People Killed in Crash; Ukrainian Military Claims Victory Along Eastern Front; Trump Defiant In His First Public Remarks Since Indictment, Supporters Remains Steadfast And Loyal; Thousands Evacuated As Volcano Begins To Erupt; New Video Shows Rescue Of Four Missing Children. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 12, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: 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 am Rosemary Church. Just ahead, former U.S. President Donald Trump is traveling to Miami later today, that is ahead of his federal court appearance this week where he will face a 37-count indictment. That indictment is sparking dangerous rhetoric from some of the former president's supporters. We will look at the online chatter.

And thousands of people have evacuated as a volcano in the Philippines spews gas and lava. We have a live report from Hong Kong.

All right, thank you everyone for joining us. All right, so we want to start with this. Donald Trump heading to Florida in the coming hours to prepare for a historic day in court. What his former attorney general is saying about the classified documents indictment. Now, as for Mr. Trump, his supporters think about his legal troubles, we will also break that down with polls showing what voters are telling CNN.

So, let's just pick up from there, because sources say Trump will meet, okay, we are having some problems here. Sources say Trump will meet with lawyers, and you know what? We are going to take -- we're going take -- we're going to go to Katelyn Polantz's report.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: The level of detail and evidence that the Justice Department has collected in this case has begun to sink in, and Donald Trump's own attorney general, Bill Barr, one of his top people in his own administration who had gone to bat for him multiple times saying the investigations around Donald Trump should not have been taking place previously, was condemning the actions of the former president after he left the White House because this indictment is so explicit and the evidence that it has because of the photos of documents in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago, photos of boxes of documents spilled in a storage room, and then those 31 charges, each representing a document that Donald Trump is accused of willfully retaining outside of the protected area of the federal government, top secret documents, classified documents, national security information. Here's more of what Bill Barr had to say on Sunday on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: If even half of it is true then he is toast. I mean, it's a pretty -- it's a very detailed indictment and it's very, very damning. This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, a victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous. He is not a victim here. He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents.

Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets that the country has. He -- they have to be in the custody of the archivist. He had no right to maintain them and retain them. And he kept them in a way at Mar-a-Lago, the only one who really cares about national security, their stomach would turn at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: Now with this indictment approved by the grand jury here in Florida, a process will kick off in a federal court system at this courthouse in Miami. So, Donald Trump currently is going to be traveling because he needs to get here and faces charges in person. So, he's going to be traveling to Miami on Monday along with his body man, Walt Nauta, a man also charged in this case as part of the alleged obstruction part of this investigation.

And then they will stay at a resort -- at his resort near Miami and then huddle with lawyers. So, they're going to be having to talk to their lawyers about what's going to be expected on Tuesday in federal court. And then Trump will come to court on Tuesday, but he is going to have a lot of Secret Service protection around him. It's very possible that there will be no live pictures of him, or even photographs of him coming into the building to face these charges for his initial appearance.

There is no photos in federal court. There is no video inside the building either. And so, he'll have that proceeding, be read his charges, and we expect him to enter a plea of not guilty at this time.

[02:05:02]

Afterwards, he is going to turn political again. The legal part of the day will be done and Trump is already announcing he was flying back to Bedminster, New Jersey where he has another resort and he will be giving a speech. Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Miami.

CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles, Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic." Also, Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School and host of the "Passing Judgment Podcast." Good to have you both with us.

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here. CHURCH: So, let's start with the legal ramifications of these 37 criminal indictments against former President Donald Trump. Jessica, when do you expect this trial will take pace given the federal district judge assigned to the case, at least for now, is Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump and was previously widely criticized for ruling in his favor? And what's Trump's legal jeopardy when it is eventually heard?

LEVINSON: Well, his legal jeopardy is very real. Some of these counts carry with them decades in federal prison. I mean, this is a very serious indictment. And if the Department of Justice is able to convict on either even half of the obstruction charges here, the former president is facing serious time in federal prison. I'm avoiding your question of exactly when this trial will happen because that really is up to largely a federal judge's discretion in terms of how quickly or slowly this process will move.

As you mentioned, Judge Aileen Cannon was appointed by the former president, but for me, what is much more significant is that second thing you mentioned, which is that she actually ruled on an issue related to this case, dealing with whether or not there should be a special master.

And she ostensibly made a ruling that was just completely baseless and was actually overturned by the 11th circuit. But it looks like a piece of advocacy, not a piece of -- not a ruling from a judge. And so, if the former president wants this to take a long, time I think he has the right judge to make that happen.

CHURCH: Yeah, and there's a lot of concern, but that may indeed take place. So, Ron, we have seen Trump gain support from his legal woes in the past, of course. Could these more serious criminal charges against him end up helping or hindering him politically, do you think?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the answer is really both. I mean, all of these -- all of these charges that are accumulating against him, and the others that seem to be heading our way, possibly from Georgia, and another from the federal special counsel relating to his efforts to overturn 2020.

You know, outside of the Republican coalition, polling suggests it is having exactly the kind of effect you would expect that a majority of Americans beyond the Republican coalition are saying that if Donald Trump is convicted of a crime, they think that is disqualifying to serve as president. And in a CBS poll today, a clear majority of voters outside the Republican coalition said they viewed his handling of -- mishandling of classified documents as a genuine national security threat.

But inside, kind of the under the dome world, inside the Republican coalition, the effects so far seem to be very different. Once again, as really, for the last eight years now, we have seen the vast majority of Republican officials speak out in defense of Trump's claims that he is the victim of a politicized, weaponized witch hunt. And very few voices countering that. A handful, Chris Christie, Asa Hutchinson, Bill Barr, John Bolton. But by and large, very few. And as a result, what Trump has been able to do is basically set up a construct into which moving away from him in the primary process is in effect rewarding those who are persecuting him. And I think that makes it very difficult for the other Republican candidates, even as the evidence grows that this is, as you would expect, not exactly a calling card to winning back the White House again in a general election.

CHURCH: Right. And Jessica, does the apparent random selection of Judge Cannon for this case make a mockery of this whole legal process that they've gone through, given she has ruled in his favor in the past, and a lot of people are very concerned about that perception, at least, of bias?

LEVINSON: Well, look, I think in the interest of judge -- justice, she should recuse. But I don't think that she will. Now, there's always the possibility that -- engages in some ruling, hands down some rulings that are really just legally basis, like her decision in the special master case, then could you appeal up to the 11th circuit and say I'm looking at the case law. This is a judge who really needs to recuse herself, absolutely.

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But what I will also say is I really do believe that the assignment here was random. There were a lot of factors that would indicate that she could get this particular assignment, in part because there are just a number of judges down, still. I mean, again, let's go back to our conversation of how important it is for presidents to fill those judicial vacancies.

Does it make a mockery of the system if she continues to rule the way she did in the special master case where, again, it was baseless. You didn't see any conservative legal scholars supporting her, really, and her decision, again, was overturned by the 11th circuit. So, we have to wait and see a little bit.

CHURCH: All right. And Ron, as you mentioned, we have seen many Republicans rally around Trump since these criminal charges were made public. But some Republicans, as you rightly point out, have not, most notably presidential hopefuls Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, amongst others. So, how will that likely impact their political aspirations, and what do most American voters think about these historic criminal charges against a former president?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, by in large, polling has found that, and you know, obviously, we're in the early stages of this, that a majority of Americans, as I said, outside the Republican coalition believe this is a serious national security issue, the way he has handled the classified documents. For Chris Christie or Asa Hutchison, they are beginning on the fringe of the Republican race.

It's hard to see how they get to be central contenders. But for the other Republican candidates who are closer to the center of the race, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Nikki's Haley, Mike Pence, I mean, the challenge they have here is you saw right away, Saturday afternoon when Donald Trump was speaking in Georgia. His argument was the deep state is coming after me because they know I am the only Republican candidate strong enough to stand up against them on your behalf.

And in effect, by echoing his really vitriolic claims that he's being pursued by lunatic, deranged, Marxist, all his words, prosecutors, the other Republicans are essentially validating his argument. I mean, they are making themselves the chorus in his play. If in fact he is being, you know, they are now in the position of saying, yes, the deep state is going after Donald Trump, but you should nominate me anyway?

At some point, you know, as we've said before, he's a former president with a big lead in the polls. You have to give voters a reason, Republican voters, a reason to bypass him for the nomination. This, certainly, this indictment, as Jessica can tell you, raises enormous questions about his judgment, his honesty, his fitness to be president. If they are unwilling to make that case, it's really hard to see how they overcome the advantages that he has now.

CHURCH: We'll watch to see what happens next. Ron Brownstein, Jessica Levinson, thank you to you both for joining us. Appreciate it.

Officials in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania say it could take months to repair a section of a highway that collapsed on Sunday. This is the I-95 in Philadelphia, which was heavily damaged when a fuel tanker truck caught fire. The city's mayor says no injuries or deaths have been reported so far. Local and federal investigators are now trying to find out what started the destructive fire. CNN's Danny Freeman has more now from Philadelphia.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The big questions that we don't have an answer to yet are still why and how did this fire and this collapse happened. The governor and the city were not giving answers at a press conference Sunday evening, but I will tell you what we do know about how all this went down.

Basically, just before 6:30 Sunday morning, there was a tanker truck that was sitting underneath I-95. That tanker truck then caught fire and that fire is what ultimately led to the collapse of the northbound lanes on I-95. And the governor told us on Sunday that the southbound lanes also are not safe at this moment.

Now, currently, the truck is still trapped underneath that wreckage. We've been hearing all throughout the day jack hammering and heavy machinery working through the day to sift through that rubble. And while there have been no reported injuries, the governor said they are still working to see if anyone was actually alive in that truck when this collapse happened.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said that there are 500 tons of concrete mess now sitting on the ground. That's what officials have to sift through. Take a listen to what Governor Shapiro said when he laid eyes on this incident first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH SHAPIRO, GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA: Remarkable devastation, and I found myself, you know, thanking the lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died.

[02:15:00]

Just a remarkably devastating site, one that our first responders, law enforcement, and others contained very, very quickly. They got people out of harm's way. And now, under the leadership of Secretary Carroll and others, the hard work of clearing the site and rebuilding it will be underway and we're going to move this quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, Governor Josh Shapiro said that this cleanup could take, quote, "some number of months." And just for some perspective, this is going to be a traffic nightmare. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said that this stretch of I-95 carries about 160,000 vehicles every single day. It's likely the busiest in the state of Pennsylvania. Danny freeman, CNN, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

CHURCH: Australian authorities have arrested the bus driver involved in a deadly crash in the state of New South Wales. Initial reports indicate at least 10 people were killed and 25 others injured in the crash. The bus was returning from a wedding Sunday night when it flipped on its side while turning at around about. The 58-year-old male bus driver was initially taken to hospital under police guard for mandatory testing and assessment. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has extended his deepest sympathies for the loved ones of those killed in the horrific bus tragedy.

Well, coming up here on CNN, Ukrainian forces are raising their flag in newly-liberated frontline villages. We will tell you about their latest efforts to push Russian forces out of their country.

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[02:20:00]

CHURCH: Ukraine is liberating villages and making advances in the southeast, yet they are staying silent on whether they're conducting a full-scale counteroffensive. Ukraine's deputy defense minister says its armed forces recaptured three villages in the Donetsk region and Russian pro-military bloggers are warning its forces they should, quote, "expect the pressure to intensify soon."

Russian forces are pushing back claiming to have destroyed some Ukrainian weapons and equipment. Fred Pleitgen brings us the latest now from Ukraine.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly seems as though Ukraine's offensive operations are gaining steam. The Ukrainians on Sunday saying that they took back several villages from the Russians, most of that happening on the sort of southeastern part of a very long frontline here in this country.

And that of course also comes after things seem to get off to a rocky start at the end of last week, with the Russians posting a couple of videos claiming to have destroyed a lot of armor, a lot of western armor, in what they said were failed operations by the Ukrainians to try and gain territory in the southern part of Ukraine.

Now, the Ukrainians are still not calling this their big counter offensive. There were some indications by the Ukrainian president this weekend saying that the Ukrainians had now gone to defensive counter offensive operations. However, then on Sunday, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, he came out and he posted a video of himself just sitting in his chair, being silent. And at the end of it, the Ukrainians said plans love silence.

Obviously, once again, saying that they don't want to talk about the big counter offensive if indeed it is already underway. But one of the things that is clear is that right now in this country, the Ukrainians certainly have the initiative. There is no place where the Russians seem to be making gains. But a lot of places where the Ukrainians certainly are trying to make gains.

One of those places is Bakhmut, where on Sunday, the Ukrainians once again said that they have won back territory. And this comes after several days of gains, which the Ukrainians said have been significant. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

CHURCH: And Clare Sebastian joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So, what more are you learning about these liberated villages and what it means for Ukrainian troops?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, we're hearing actually that Ukraine is claiming one more village in that same area this morning. But if we can pull up that map again, it really shows clearly the potential strategy here. These villages are on the front line. You can see at the edge of that Russian held territory in the red. And really, at the point where it's sort of the narrowest strip of land linking Ukrainian-controlled areas with the Sea of Azov.

The assumption has been, as we watch the lead up to this counteroffensive, that Ukraine would try to cut Russia's gains in half, cut off its land bridge to Crimea. So, the taking of these small villages, and they are pretty small, I would note, would fit with that potential strategy of cutting off Russia's gains and interrupting its land bridge to Crimea.

So, that is something to watch as we move forward. But also, I think it's worth noting that the evidence that we're collecting from these battlefield reports so far suggest that Ukraine is not limiting itself to one access here. The spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the armed forces saying they are also still counterattacking near Bakhmut, although he played it down, saying they're just taking advantage of the rotation of Wagner and Russian general forces there. This is not part of a broader offensive.

But there are also other images surfacing. I want to show you a video put out by the Ukrainian land forces that shows what they say was the destruction of a Russian T-80 tank near Kupiansk, which is really almost at the northernmost part of the frontline in the Kharkiv region. We obviously cannot verify the location or the date of that video. But it does seem like fighting is taking place and efforts to breakthrough are taking place along these hundreds of miles of frontline.

Russia, meanwhile, also claiming, as Fred pointed out, to be destroying Ukrainian western provided equipment. It is not admitting to retreat in any area. And there is still evidence, by the way, of infighting in the Russian ranks. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, refusing on Sunday to comply with a new directive from the Russian ministry of defense for what it calls volunteer units should sign contracts with the regular army by July 1st.

So, still a sense of infighting and disunity, perhaps, in the Russian armed forces as we move into what seems to be the early stages of this counteroffensive.

[02:25:00]

CHURCH: Yeah. And Clare, what is the latest on the Ukrainian president's announcement Sunday night that the International Criminal Court will investigate the dam collapse disaster?

SEBASTIAN: Yeah. So, President Zelenskyy said this was at the request of the Ukrainian prosecutor's office. We haven't had independent confirmation of that from the ICC itself. But this is of course the same International Criminal Court that is currently conducting war crimes investigation into what's happened in Ukraine that has issued an arrest warrant for President Putin himself.

So, we don't know yet what the parameters of that investigation into the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam would be, whether it would be in fact a war crimes investigation. But President Zelenskyy said officials have already visited the area from the ICC. And, Rosemary, just quickly, we're now almost a week on from this collapse, but still very much it seems in the acute phase of the rescue efforts.

The Ukrainian governor of the Kherson region saying they so far have evacuated more than 2,700 people. And actually, another 100 from the Russian held territory. The Russian side claiming to have evacuated more than 7,000 people. And while the flood walls are coming down, there's still several dozen settlements certainly, according to the Ukrainian side that are still flooded. So, those rescue efforts are continuing.

CHURCH: All right. Thanks for keeping a close eye on this. Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London.

Well, Donald Trump is trying to minimize the federal criminal charges he's facing. And his fans and supporters are standing by their man. We will hear from some of them after the break.

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[02:29:57]

CHURCH: Former U.S. President Donald Trump says the federal criminal case against him is a joke and a political hit job. In his first public remarks since the indictment, Trump railed against the special counsel telling the crowd at Saturday's Georgia Republican convention that Jack Smith is deranged, his words.

Trump fans outside The convention seemed equally unshaken by the indictment, which includes 37 counts related to Trump's handling of classified material after he left office.

CNN's Isabel Rosales filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Former President Donald Trump unapologetic, and on the attack.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Jack Smith, sounds so innocent. He's deranged. This is a political hit job.

ROSALES (voiceover): George's GOP convention, marking Trump's first public appearance and for becoming the first former president to face federal charges.

JACK SMITH, SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.

ROSALES (voiceover): Special Counsel Jack Smith announcing 37 criminal counts against Trump, the majority for violations of the Espionage Act.

SHARON WILDER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Doesn't matter to me. Not at all.

ROSALES (voiceover): Outside the state convention, his supporters are unfazed.,

DARYL NEAL, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think it's as bunch of (BLEEP) Trump back then that moment they've done is they saved this country.

JILL WILCOX, TRUMP SUPPORTER: They're not going to let it stop. They can't stand the fact that he's running for president, and I am a Donald Trump fan.

GARY GRIESHEIM, TRUMP SUPPORTER: It's probably altered but just typical liberal propaganda.

ROSALES (voiceover): None of the Republican voters CNN spoke with had read the indictment.

NEAL: No, I wouldn't waste my time on a phony indictment. I don't care about an indictment, you could -- hey, you could indict a bologna sandwich.

ROSALES (voiceover): These loyalists share a deep sense of distrust against perceived opponents of Trump, including the Department of Justice, the FBI and the press. Supporters routinely brought up President Joe Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. All had sensitive materials in their possession while out of public office. One big difference, Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta face nearly a half dozen charges related to obstruction and concealment of documents, including for allegedly suggesting to his lawyers to not cooperate with a grand jury subpoena.

TRUMP: And it's all fake indictment. They don't even once mention the Presidential Records Act.

ROSALES (voiceover): The indictment outlines two different occasions. Trump allegedly showed classified documents to unauthorized people. And in 2021, Trump admitted on tape to having secret documents that he hadn't declassified according to the indictment. As President, I could have declassified. But now I can't. Trump said according to the transcript of the audio obtained by CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's an audio recording of him doing so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that that can be changed, we know that that can be altered.

ROSALES (voiceover): Within the 49-page indictment, pictures showing boxes of classified documents stacked high in a moral legal bathroom, ballroom, office space and elsewhere.

GRIESHEIM: What he did is incorrect. Absolutely incorrect. But the system allowed it to happen. The system is broken. It needs to be fixed.

ROSALES (voiceover): The convention also drew a handful of anti-Trump protesters, co-opting one of his most popular catchphrases and this quick moment of tension.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the service.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lock him up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lock you up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have done nothing wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you have -- you support Hillary Clinton, she done a lot wrong. You're a idiot.

ROSALES (voiceover): Ultimately, these Trump supporters could not point to any piece of evidence that would cause their support to waiver.

WILDER: I think Trump is the best president we've ever had, and I'm all about getting him reelected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES (on camera): And in a press conference this past week, Special Counsel Jack Smith encouraged people to read that full indictment, 49- pages to get a full grasp of the body of evidence. It was clear in my conversations with these Trump supporters that they did not have any sort of interest in doing that.

Meanwhile, Trump has denied any wrongdoing and then an attorney for Nauta has declined to comment.

Isabel Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.

CHURCH: One quick programming note. CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper will host a Republican Presidential Town Hall with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie live from New York. That's Monday at 8:00 p.m. in New York. 8:00 a.m. in Hong Kong right here on CNN.

And still to come. Thousands quickly evacuate as a volcano in the Philippines spews caustic gases and lava. We will have an update from the region.

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[02:37:51]

CHURCH: One of the Philippines' most active volcanoes has started to erupt. Officials say Mount Mayon has been spewing sulfuric gas and lava over the past day. And it's forced nearly 13,000 people to evacuate their homes in the southeastern part of Luzon, the nation's largest island. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following the story for us. She joins us now. So, Christie, what is the latest on the volcano and of course these evacuation -- the evacuations of residents from the danger zone?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Rosemary as the lava starts to flow from the mild volcano there in the Philippines, nearly 13,000 residents have been evacuated and taken to some 18 evacuation centers. And authorities say at least 88 percent of the local population have already been moved to safety. And now it's working to move the rest to evacuation centers.

Now, Mayon has been spewing this sulfuric gas and hot lava in the past 24 hours or so. And in that video from Sunday evening, we'll bring it up again for our viewers. You could see it. The glowing crater of the volcano, that hot lava, that hot molten rock flowing and alert level three has been raised. That means there is a possibility for dangerous explosive activity and a perimeter is in place.

Any entry into his six-kilometer radius of the volcano, it's about 3.7 miles has been prohibited. Now there are no major industries around this volcano but there is some subsistence farming there. And local officials in addition to evacuating the 13,000 residents, they have evacuated 10,000 farm animals as well. And let's bring up the map for you so you could see where this volcano is located.

It is in the Philippines, Albay province. That's in the southeastern part of Luzon Island. And the Philippines of course, is in the ring of fire. That's where volcanic activity and quakes are common. And all lies now are on this Volcano Mayon. And let's just take a few additional videos. Take a look at it admire this volcano. It's one of the most to active of 24 volcanoes in the Philippines.

[02:40:02]

It is world famous for that, for its almost near perfect conical shape which has inspired legends, myths, art is well and it is awesome in its beauty but also awesome in its destructive power. Mayon as a volcano, it's erupted more than 50 times in the last 400 years. And Rosemary, given its current high level of unrest and activity volcanologist in the Philippines, they're saying that a hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or even days, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. I know you'll keep a very close eye on that. Kristie Lu Stout, joining us live from Hong Kong. Appreciate it.

Well, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has reportedly been released without charges after she was arrested Sunday in connection with a probe into the Scottish National Party's finances. Police are investigating funds specifically earmarked for a second Scottish independence referendum campaign. And this marks the third high-profile arrest in the investigation, including the Scottish National Party's treasurer and Sturgeon's husband back in April.

And they were also released with no charges. Sturgeon says, she knows beyond doubt that she is innocent of any wrongdoing.

And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, World Sport is coming up next. And for our viewers here in the United States and in Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.

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[02:45:29]

CHURCH: U.S. Federal Reserve officials are set to meet this week and what they'll do about a possible 11th consecutive rate hike is the talk of Wall Street. The Fed has been aggressively raising interest rates since March of last year hoping to calm inflation. But it's signaled it might skip a hike this month to assess more data and see how the previous increases are working. Interest rates are now at their highest level in more than 15 years.

But last month's strong jobs report also complicates things and could prompt the Fed to make a modest move. And even if a chooses to skip raising rates this month, it could go right back to hiking rates again in July.

Ryan Patel is Senior Fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He joins us now from Amsterdam. Appreciate you being with us.

RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: Great to have you on with you.

CHURCH: So what do you think the Federal Reserve will do on Wednesday? Hit the pause button or raise interest rates for the 11th time in a row? What do you think? PATEL: I need to find a pause button for them, because they really do need to hit the pause. I think that's what they're leading toward. I think the markets actually have already baked in, you saw the last week in the last three days, it's reacted very positively. They think that the Fed is going to do that. And part of the reason why I think they're going to do it is they are going to probably most likely later, raise it again.

And so, I think to give a little bit of a break to see the data further to be able -- to be more hawkish in the end, this is a great point for them to pause, to give a little bit of breathing room based on what we've seen over the last couple of months of what the economy has gone through.

CHURCH: Interesting that you say that to pause now, but maybe raise a little later. But what exactly does the Federal Reserve look for? When the board makes a consequential decision like this, whether to raise interest rates and by how much? What's the critical economic data specifically that signals to them that they need to act?

PATEL: Well, there's a couple of things, right. They're looking at, you know, a historical basis to unemployment rate. Still continues to remain very low. They're watching that. The growth -- the labor growth market or the way, you know, the wages continue to rise. And then you think about The Consumer Price Index which is going -- we're going to see this new data, which is going to be really important in a couple of days. That's what I think.

Part of the pause is to see what the data says this month to see if inflation continues to increase on the, you know, from when it comes to shelter to housing to food. You know, those are the things that are -- they're watching -- looking for and see how the economy continues to be resilient, because that's what they're seeing. But the economy continues to be resilient behind it.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, the markets will be very happy if the Fed decides to hit the pause button. But at what point? Does raising interest rates become an overcorrection and trigger a recession? And how does the Fed know when it's close to that point?

PATEL: Well, that's a great point. I think we're -- you know, you and I have been talking about this. I think we're getting there. Meaning the stickiness of the point of where, you know, this is where the needle is. If you do too much now, it can cause that aspect. We saw the banking crisis. We saw the debt ceiling, you know, we saw all these things that are kind of teetering. I think the stability for the Fed to be really -- that's what I think. They do posit.

It shows signals that the Fed is paying attention to these other variables, because they are going to be aggressive. Let's be -- I'm going to be very honest. They're going to be hawkish and aggressive. There's nothing changing about that, because they're going to continue -- like I'd say, continue to probably look to do more high praises later, even though they're taking a pause. So, I think that's the important factor here. I don't want anyone to under, you know, to lose fact that they're not going anywhere, they're still going to try to be that two percent inflation number which is still kind of a very long way, you know, being hopeful but that -- I think I don't see them being not as aggressive as they've done in the past.

CHURCH: And how much has the easing of the debt ceiling crisis and of course, the banking sector problems had an impact on the Fed decision coming up this week, do you think?

PATEL: I think it has. I think over the last couple of months it did scare them. You saw Jerome Powell come out and say this is something that the debt ceiling specifically is not something that the U.S. economy can handle the default. He also made remarks around the bank turmoil as well. I think the timing of all this, Rosemary, is actually very good for a pause to be able to -- for the Fed to kind of buy another month to be able to see the data further.

[02:50:02]

But, yes. A couple of months ago, Rosemary, we were, you know, this -- we were in a good position to be having these conversations for the Fed to be continued to be more aggressive.

CHURCH: All right. We'll see what happens. Ryan Patel. Many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

PATEL: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: In the end, it appears the Unabomber has taken one more life, his own. Federal Prison officials now say they believe Ted Kaczynski died by suicide. Kaczynski was found unresponsive Saturday morning in his medical center cell in North Carolina. An investigation is now underway to determine his official cause of death. Kaczynski was serving eight life sentences for sending and hand delivering sophisticated bombs that killed three people and left 23 others injured during an 18-year reign of terror.

We're getting new images of the team that rescued those four children who had been missing in Colombia's rainforests for weeks. This video aired on a public T.V. station showing local indigenous scouts and Colombian soldiers feeding the children in the dense jungle. The four siblings had been lost since May 1st after surviving a plane crash that killed their mother and two other adults.

And now for the first time we're hearing from the father of those children. Stefano Pozzebon reports now from Bogota.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN REPORTER: On Sunday, the father of the four Columbian indigenous children who were rescued last week after spending 40 days in the Colombian Amazon rainforest, traveled to Bogota and spoke with reporters outside the hospital where his children as receiving medical treatment. Manuel Ranoque actually joined the search and rescue operations in the last five weeks and was in the jungle up until Friday when his children were finally rescued.

He said that he never lost hope, not even when the stakes against him were -- seemed so daunting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANUEL RANOQUE, FATHER OF RESCUED INDIGENOUS CHILDREN (through translator): We are indigenous people. I believe in the jungle, which is our mother. And that's why I've always kept the faith and would say that both the jungle and nature have never betrayed me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Ranoque also said that his children were very weak when he visited them in hospital. We can only imagine how affected they are. Both mentally and physically by surviving this experience. The doctors are saying that they expect the children to stay under medical observation between two and three weeks. They're also receiving psychological support at the Central Military Hospital here in Bogota.

Ranoque concluded by urging the Colombian President Gustavo Petro to invest more into transportation in the Amazon and also said that he wants to provide his children a good education in the future. We -- just reminder that the mother of the four children died in that fatal crash on my first -- when this ordeal began.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

CHURCH: Crowds packed the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil for the city's annual Pride Parade on Sunday. Thousands of people turned out for the massive celebration first held in Sao Paulo in 1997. But since then, it has grown and is now said to be one of the largest Pride events in the world.

Novak Djokovic is back on top of the world tennis rankings after winning his third career French Open title and his record setting 23rd Grand Slam men's title. He defeated last year's French Open runner up Casper Ruud in three sets. With Sundays win Djokovic passed Rafael Nadal for the most men's Grand Slam titles. He also became the first male player to win each Grand Slam tournament at least three times.

Stanford University researchers are tracking the movements of some very poisonous South American frogs by putting them in pants. CNN's Lynda Kinkade shows us they're studying how the frogs navigate and the stylish look is purely a bonus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Why would scientists put pants on a frog? It turns out it's a good way to track where they're going. These poison frogs from South America as some of the most brightly colored frogs in the world, but they're dangerous to touch. Measuring a mere two to four centimeters in length. Their skin secretes toxins that can paralyze or kill a predator.

Stanford University biologists wanted to learn more about how male and female poison frogs navigate. So, they tracked to the tropical rain forests of Ecuador and French Guiana to study three different species. ANDRIUS PASUKONIS, BEHAVIORAL BIOLOGIST: To study any behavior in the field, first you need the ability to find the animal, observe it and follow it around. And we have these tiny tags that we attach with the little silicone waist bands, little harnesses handmade, it's a lot of little sewing exercises to fit these frogs -- when we need to observe their behavior or know where they are as they move.

[02:55:15]

We have the signal from the antenna, and we can find them and then we can record their location, we record their behavior.

KINKADE: The team wants you to explore the role sex plays in navigation, something that's been studied in rodents, but never in frogs.

PASUKONIS: What's interesting for us they have very complex parental behaviors. So males or females depending on the species transport their tadpoles on the back, that was a first on the land that they need to move them to water. So, one of the parents will pick up the tadpoles and then navigate through the forest pretty far distances.

In our study, we have one species where females do the job and run around more, and we have two species where males around -- run around and move more.

KINKADE: In the end, the team got a mixed bag depending on the species. In some cases, the female frogs navigated more quickly and accurately than their males. The male frogs from all three species tended to explore more. And if you're hoping to catch a glimpse of the fashionable frogs, you'd be out of luck. The researchers removed the pants from the frogs and release them when the study was over.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The Florida heat even has wild animals spending time at the beach. This little guy was spotted in the waters near Destin beach Sunday. The bear was seen splashing through the Gulf of Mexico for several minutes. The animal ended up with a crowd of other beach goers as it safely made its way to the shore. And it quickly shut the water off its further and ran away through the sand and into the dunes. No one was hurt during the surprise encounter.

Thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stick around.