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Submersible Search Continues as Coast Guard Unable to Identify Source of Banging Noises; Violence Erupted in West Bank over Israel- Palestine Tensions; More than 60 People Dead Caused by Heat Wave in some Indian States; Famous Misogynist Influencer Charged on Rape and Human Trafficking; Joe Biden's Son Agrees to Plead Guilty on Misdemeanor Tax Charges; Aussie Chef Bans Vegans from his Restaurant. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired June 21, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on "CNN Newsroom." Banging sounds heard underwater are giving a glimmer of hope in the search for that missing submersible with five people on board and dwindling oxygen supplies.

Another exchange of attacks between Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank. What's behind the surge in violence?

And why U.S. President Joe Biden is comparing Chinese President Xi Jinping to dictators.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church

CHURCH: Thanks for being with us. Well, crews scouring the North Atlantic for the Titan submersible say they have heard banging sounds in their search for the missing five-man crew.

According to an internal U.S. government memo, banging was heard every 30 minutes on Tuesday, though it's unclear for how long, and was heard again hours later after more sonar devices were deployed.

They've also heard other sounds which would not describe as banging. But a short time ago, the U.S. Coast Guard tweeted it was unable to identify the source of underwater noises detected by a Canadian aircraft. It says the searches will continue despite the negative results.

Meantime, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center is working to find an underwater remote operated vehicle to help in the search. That's according to that same memo. But time is running out with the crew now estimated to have less than 30 hours of oxygen left. The sub owned by the underwater exploration company Ocean Gate

disappeared Sunday on its descent to tour the wreckage of the Titanic, almost 400 nautical miles southeast of Newfoundland in Canada. The wreck sits in two pieces at the bottom of the ocean, more than two miles or almost four kilometers below the surface.

We get more on the search efforts from CNN's Miguel Marquez reporting from Newfoundland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. JAMIE FREDERICK, U.S. COAST GUARD: This is a complex search.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A complex search now more complicated by time, which they're running out of.

FREDERICK: We know there's about 40 hours of breathable air left.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Deep water submersibles and gear converging on St. John's, Newfoundland from the U.S. and Canada. It's the closest land to the search zone. If a Titan can be found, they'll need to bring all resources to bear as quickly as possible.

FREDERICK: You're dealing with a surface search and a subsurface search, and frankly that makes it an incredibly complex operation.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The five-person submersible started its dive around 9 a.m. Newfoundland time Sunday, its last contact with its mothership, the Polar Prince, was an hour and 45 minutes into a dive expected to last just over nine hours.

At 6:35 p.m. Newfoundland time on Sunday, the sub was reported missing when it failed to surface at the scheduled time of 6:10 p.m. The vessel has oxygen for five people for about four days, but oxygen is only one critical element.

TIM TAYLOR, UNDERWATER EXPERT: If they are alive and they're in there, they're gonna be at almost freezing temperatures, assuming they lost all their power. That's why they can't communicate that it's gonna be dark, cold, and oxygen is their most precious resource. So consuming that, staying calm, sleeping.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The vessel and search area, extremely isolated and deep, roughly 460 miles south of St. John's, Newfoundland and 900 miles east of Boston, and possibly more than two miles below the surface where pressure is nearly 6,000 pounds per square inch.

FREDERICK: We will do everything in our power to affect a rescue.

MARQUEZ (on-camera): I want to show you what's going on the ground here now in St. John's. This is the Horizon Arctic. It's the sister ship to the Polar Prince that took the Titan submersible out there and is now part of the search for it. We believe that the C-17s, three C- 17s now here at St. John's airport have gear, including submersibles that we believe are headed to this ship that will then go out. There's already another Coast Guard ship from the Canadian Coast Guard that is on its way to the search area.

[03:05:12]

But all of this, all of this is to search for a vehicle that they cannot find yet. This is the bigger the biggest issue right now the easy part should be finding that vehicle, finding that submersible because it has a beacon of some sort they have not been able to hear it so far.

The hard part will come if they find it, then they'll have to retrieve it and get those people back, hopefully, safely. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now from Oxford, England, is Ryan Ramsey, a retired captain who served in the British Royal Navy. Thank you so much for talking with us.

CAPT. RYAN RAMSEY, ROYAL NAVY (RET.): Good morning.

CHURCH: What do you make of these banging sounds that have been heard and a report of a possible object being spotted in the ocean? How much hope does this give you that the missing sub might be found and even rescued?

RAMSEY: So I think the noises that they describe could possibly come from the submersible and is classic rescue signaling to send a location.

But it's been detected by a maritime patrol aircraft in the air using sonar buoys, I'm assuming at that point. So there needs to be some degree of not skepticism so much, but no certainty attached to this. We need to be realistic about the situation that the adventurers find themselves in.

CHURCH: What do you mean by that?

RAMSEY: Well, if you think about it, we've talked that they're in a submersible. They've gone down to look at the Titanic. You've already pointed out that it's four kilometers deep. The water temperature down there is zero degrees Celsius. So it's really very cold.

The air that they have is well, remaining sort of 24 to 36 hours of air, but they're also breathing out carbon dioxide. And when I looked around the YouTube footage of the submersible itself, the carbon dioxide absorption units to be able to deal with five people for that amount of time didn't seem to exist in that particular hole. They might do, but I couldn't see that. So actually, the bigger challenge here is the cold and also carbon dioxide.

CHURCH: So you were saying that you have very little hope here.

RAMSEY: I think we need to be realistic. I always hope and my thoughts go to the families and to those involved in this, but we need to be completely realistic. Even if they locate the vessel to execute a rescue that has never been done in such deep water with such complexity, it's going to take longer than 20 hours to establish and then execute.

CHURCH: Let's take a look at that because if this sub is found, what does happen next in terms of trying to rescue and what are the options and how rare a rescues at these deaths?

RAMSEY: So exceptionally rare is how rare they are. The reality is there are rescue systems for submarines, but the reality is that they're set up for anywhere down to about 600 meters, and they're extremely effective. So for example, the NATO submarine rescue system is able to deploy worldwide as are many other rescue systems, but they're geared to rescue from larger submarines, generally military ones.

Rescue from a submersible is a totally different -- different events. And in fact, what you need to actually do is recover the submersible. You need to bring the submersible to the surface.

And so far, that has never been done before. And to try and do that now, I mean, I've heard talk of sending down remotely operated vehicles to bring it back up, but it's quite a heavy piece of kit with people inside it. And you would need extremely strong ROVs to be able to do that. And the problem is, I don't think that exists just yet.

CHURCH: And you have been inside submersibles like this. What is it like being locked inside a vessel and what are the complications and dangers involved?

RAMSEY: So I think in this particular case, and I haven't been in one, I have been in submersibles, but not that not similar to this particular one. This particular one is interesting because there are very few controls within it, which means you have very little control over the submersible itself.

Whereas some of the other ones, if you look at the NATO submarine rescue system, the pilot can control quite a lot of what happens. It's more maneuverable. It's the precision that is enabled there is significant. And that doesn't seem to be the same in this. It's very claustrophobic. There's not a lot of space. You need to be really comfortable with other people in such a small space.

But in this particular case, they have no control over what's going on and almost helplessness. It doesn't matter what they do. They cannot find their own solution within the submersible itself. They have to wait for somebody else to find them and for somebody else to recover them. And we're in a collapsing timeframe.

[03:10:14]

CHURCH: Yeah, and I would want to get your ideas on what needs to be done to make these sorts of extreme expeditions much more safer. I mean, you know, do you think that this incident will mean that they'll have to take a closer look at this?

RAMSEY: So as with any tragedy, there will be investigations and there will be lessons that are learned from this. I mean, my view on this is that adventurers are amazing. What they do is they push the limits of humans and what we're able to do. The fact that we send commercial -- people into space commercially now is really significant. And that pushes the boundaries. And with that comes huge amounts of risk. And the individuals involved, I think, must understand that risk before they set off on these type of expeditions.

And sometimes they're successful and sometimes there is tragedy. And that's always very sad. But actually, humans continue to push those boundaries. And we must continue to do that.

CHURCH: Yeah, it is. It's sobering indeed. Ryan Ramsey, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.

RAMSEY: You're welcome.

CHURCH: A violent night followed another deadly day in the West Bank as tensions soar between Palestinians and Israelis.

CNN Jerusalem correspondent Hadas Gold takes us through it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary a deadly and violent 48 hours in the occupied West Bank last night, Israeli settlers once again Rampaging through Palestinian villages. This is in response to a deadly shooting attack towards Israelis that took place earlier that day.

Palestinian officials saying that at least 37 Palestinians were injured as a result of these rampages, most of them injured by stone throwing, officials saying most of them are light to moderately injured. But that dozens of cars and businesses were damaged by stone throwing or by arson by being a light on fire.

Now the settler rampage which is very reminiscent of course of what happened in February in Hawara which was on a much broader scale similar to Hawara came a few hours after one of the deadliest attacks targeting Israelis since January. Four Israelis were shot dead in an attack just outside of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. It was two teenagers, a man in his 60s and a man in his 20s were shot dead in an attack that was in a restaurant and then at a gas station.

Now Hamas says both of the gunmen involved in the shooting were not just their fighters, but they called them leaders of their Al Qassam Brigades. One of the gunmen was shot and killed at the scene by a civilian Israeli officials say the other was shot and killed after a several hours long manhunt by Israeli forces.

Now Hamas says The militant group that these two gunmen were a part of said that this attack was partly in response to what had happened on Monday in Jenin. This is of course when there was that massive gunfight firefight between the Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the hotspot of Jenin. This -- this happened when Israeli forces went in the early hours of the morning on an arrest raid to arrest to -- what they said were two wanted terror suspects. But what turned into an arrest operation ended up being an 11-hour gunfight. Israeli army vehicles came under IED explosives that damaged several

Israeli army vehicles. At least seven, at least eight, excuse me, eight Israeli soldiers were injured in that. And for the first time since the second intifada, an Israeli Apache helicopter provided gun cover as a way to help extract Israeli soldiers. Scenes like that of a helicopter over a dense urban environment, again, we have not seen in several decades. The death toll for the Palestinians as a result of that rate has now risen to seven Palestinians killed.

And as far as we know, about three of them have been claimed by Islamic Jihad as their militant fighters. But we're learning of what appears to be civilian casualties as a result of this as well, including a teenage girl and a teenage boy who were killed during this raid.

Now, the West Bank has been in chaos, essentially, for almost the last two years. But the last two days show that despite what the Israeli military is saying are daily raids to try and stem the violence, it seems to just be perpetuating this sort of endless cycle of Israeli raids, of Palestinian attacks, and there seems to be no end in sight anytime soon. Rosemary.

[03:15:00]

CHURCH: Well, Ukraine says its top priority right now is to exhaust Russian forces before the main strike of the counteroffensive, which is still ahead. They're doing that by targeting Russian artillery and arms systems.

One Ukrainian assault brigade released this drone video, saying it was a successful strike on Russian tanks on the southeastern frontline. Ukraine's government claims Moscow is hemorrhaging military resources on the frontlines right now. They say Russia is losing the same amount of equipment and fighters as they did during the months-long battle for Bakhmut.

Meanwhile representatives from multiple countries and business leaders from around the world are meeting in London to focus on how to best rebuild Ukraine.

Nic Robertson joins me now from London. So Nick, what is being said on this and what are they expected to achieve?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's a massive task and this is sort of the beginning if you will, although there's been a couple of years of these types of conferences to help Ukraine.

This is specifically about trying to find ways to encourage the business community to help rebuild Ukraine in the future and that's tough because the estimated cost of rebuilding is in hundreds of billions of dollars. Right now there's massive amounts of money, tens of billions being spent on humanitarian support, government support for Ukraine, military support in particular. But that's government money.

Now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he expects about 50 different countries to be attending this conference. But it is going to be a very heavy lift, and it's going to be a lift that's going to take a long time. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: President Biden said from the outset of Russia's aggression against Ukraine that we would stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, and both of our countries are deeply committed to that. We will continue to deliver on that commitment, including through a new robust U.S. assistance package that I'll be able to announce tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Well, and the British are also expected to announce an assistance package. The British Prime Minister is expected to announce that 400 different company leaders, business leaders from 38 different countries will pledge their support for Ukraine. Now, that's not the same as saying they're putting money on the table.

But that pledge, the British government also expected to announce that it is guaranteeing $3 billion worth of loans from the World Bank, that it is going to be the first of the G7 countries to give a bilateral multi-year assistance to Ukraine, total value $305 million and also initiating another $318 million investment fund part of which will be used to be spent to support packages of demining and humanitarian support in Ukraine.

So a lot of money and big figures being talked about here. But the difficulty is this is an active war with no guarantee for business investors that if they put money into Ukraine right now, then they could see a return on that money. The war's continuing. Russia could double down. It could get, the situation could get worse.

But what is hoped to be established at this two-day conference is to create an environment or insurances or systems of support that can help businesses, you know, governments can help businesses be better assured that their investments won't be misspent in Ukraine, that there won't be corruption and as well that there is an end in sight to the war and it's worth putting the money in to rebuild Ukraine.

CHURCH: All right, Nic Robertson, many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it.

Well, U.S. President Joe Biden may have dealt a setback to already frayed relations with China. At a political fundraiser in California Tuesday, he compared Chinese President Xi Jinping to dictators. Mr. Biden said the reason President Xi got upset when the U.S. shot down that Chinese spy balloon in February is because he didn't know it was there.

He went on to say, quote, "that's a great embarrassment for dictators when they didn't know what happened." The comment comes after a weekend trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Still to come, dozens are dead in India as scorching temperatures sweep parts of the country. We will head to Delhi for the latest update.

And then later, a plea deal for the president's son. Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty to tax charges, but Republicans are crying foul.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: In India, officials are investigating the deaths of dozens of people in the northern state Uttar Pradesh that have been linked to a heat wave, at least 68 people died last week, as temperatures soared and many others were hospitalized. And in the state of Bihar, at least 44 people lost their lives in recent days.

And for more, we want to go to CNN's Vedika Sud. She joins us live from New Delhi. So Vedika, what more are you learning about this deadly heat wave?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Rosemary, June is considered the hottest month of the year here in India, but according to climate change experts and researchers these heat waves are getting more frequent and getting more intense and it's just getting hotter here in India. And that seems to be a huge concern for experts and researchers.

Northern India has been reeling under a heat wave. More states it least in the most parts. Bihar, like you mentioned, has seen dozens of deaths due to the heat wave which has been acknowledged by state government, but meanwhile in Uttar Pradesh in this most popular state in northern India, the state government has yet to acknowledge that most of the deaths and more than 60 of them that have been reported over the last few days are due to the heat wave.

Initially, in a statement by health officials from Ballia district, that's where these deaths have been taking place did acknowledge that the death could have been due to the heat wave. But surprisingly, he was shouted out overnight, and transferred to another province in the state and the state government said that his remarks and his deductions was quite careless on these deaths being due to the heat wave.

So there is an investigation team there in Ballia, they are probing this, and they should have more for us. But as of now, whoever we've been calling in the district, they're refusing to link it to the heat wave despite the (inaudible) department coming out and warning that there could be casualties due to the heat wave that this area is under.

But, this brings us larger issues here which is climate change. According to a Lancet report published last year, the heat waves that Pakistan and India both saw in the months of March and April couldn't be 30 times more likely due to climate change than any other reason.

Even in February this year in India, the temperatures are much higher than we've ever seen, in fact for a century, at least. And these are all warning signs of what could lie ahead for the country. And this is, of course, for concern for the Indian government and the people of India especially at this point. Back to you.

CHURCH: Vedika Sud, joining us live from New Delhi.

Well, meantime, millions in the U.S. South and Southwest are under extreme heat advisory. Authorities say that 38 million Americans are under active alerts and warnings, while thousands are without power. The scorching temperatures, are concentrated across large parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. The city of St. Angelo's set a new record for its hottest temperature ever on Tuesday, it was so hot that meteorologists were baking cookies in the car.

[03:25:05]

The National Weather Service is warning that daily records could be broken throughout the week with peak heat occurring Tuesday and Wednesday.

Joining me now live from Galveston, Texas, is Timothy Cady, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Thank you so much for joining us.

TIMOTHY CADY, METEOROLOGIST, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So these scorching temperatures in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma are of great concern, of course, affecting more than 38 million Americans and causing a lot of suffering for those who can't get any relief with air conditioning. So, how much worse is likely to get us, we head into the summer months officially now?

CADY: Absolutely. So this is something we've been dealing with now for over a week and based on some of the models that we've been looking at, this is something that could be lasting at least for the rest of this weekend and next week and maybe for the rest of the month.

It's not just the intensity of the temperatures, but it's how persistent they've been. And something that a lot of people don't know is that heat in the U.S. is the number one weather-related cause of death. So to have a heat wave that's this prolonged is a serious risk to people.

CHURCH: And what's your best advice to those most affected to try to stay cool in the midst of this heat wave?

CADY: Yeah, absolutely. The first thing would be to check with your local authorities to see if they've opened up any cooling centers or have any buildings open that are available, that are air conditions if you don't have access to it. Other advice, we always give us to remain hydrated, drink plenty of

water to avoid the impacts of dehydration. If you're planning any strenuous outdoor activity, it's best to avoid that during the hottest parts of the day, bring on things like heat exhaustion and heat stroke which can send over 60,000 people to the hospital across the U.S. each year according to the CDC.

CHURCH: Those are good and critical tips that you give us. So I wanted to talk to you about this NOAA study. It's being conducted right now on heat inequities. What are you able to tell us about those heat inequities across Texas?

CADY: Absolutely. So in a large city like Houston where there's a lot of socio-economic diversity. Something we really need to consider when we're making our forecasts and issuing our messaging to the public.

You have a lot of folks that may not have access to air conditioning or reliable transportation. You have folks that are dealing with disabilities that may exacerbate heat concerns.

So, you know, although we are a large city with a lot of resources, not everybody may have access to certain resources depending on their situation. Something we really need to consider. Again, when we're messaging, we're issuing our warnings. You know, or those folks that are going to be maybe impacted more so other groups in the area. So again, something that really need to take into account and study more as the NOAA study in Dallas is doing right now.

CHURCH: All right, Timothy Cady, many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it. Wonderful.

So still to come, a self-proclaimed misogynist, social media influencer is about to face a judge. We will have a profile of Andrew Tate as he prepares to face human trafficking, rape and gang charges.

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[03:30:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed misogynist, online influencer, is now facing charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania. He and his brother are both due in court in the coming hours.

And CNN's Salma Abdelziz is following Tate's case for us from London. She joins us now. So Salma, what are you able to tell us about this case and the likely outcome?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So in a very short time, we will see Andrew Tate, his brother, and potentially two of their associates. in a court. They were indicted yesterday. This announcement came indicted of rape and human trafficking. These charges date back to events that took place in 2021. You'll remember that Andrew Tate and his brother were first arrested in December of last year. They were released from jail and put under house arrest after a court ruling in March of this year. But even with the very serious allegations, criminal allegations he's facing, he continues to captivate and horrify on social media. Take a look at his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW TATE, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: I do believe, if I had to predict the future, that they will charge me.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Another chapter in the saga of device Social Media Influencer Andrew Tate. Now, he, his brother, and two female Romanian citizens have been indicted in Romania. Prosecutors say the charges are human trafficking, rape, and setting up a criminal gang. The Tate brothers and the women have been under house arrest during the criminal investigation for alleged abuses against seven women, accusations they have denied. But who is this self-proclaimed misogynist?

Back in 2016, Andrew Tate found his first claim to notoriety when he was removed from the British reality TV show "Big Brother," with no public reason given.

In the years since, Tate turned his attention to online creation, where he shot to Internet fame, racking up at least 11.6 billion views on TikTok, mostly for his views on masculinity, gender roles, and wealth.

TATE: I don't think the world has ever been equal. I'm saying that the modern society we live in has been built by men. All the roads you see, all the buildings you see everything around you, men built all of it.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Like this video, where the former kickboxer speaks about his version of so-called equality.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Tate's rhetoric prompted concern from critics about his influence on teenage boys. Before being suspended by most major social media networks last August for violating their policies.

Controversies around Tate and his brother slowly became a legal issue, as Romanian prosecutors pursued claims of human trafficking and rape.

Just before his December arrest, Tate became embroiled in a Twitter spat with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg over his car's emission.

TATE: I'm actually mad at Greta. Please bring me pizza and make sure that these boxes are not recycled.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Now as the brothers await trial Tate's Twitter has since been reinstated with more than 6.9 million followers reading his every word. Commentators wonder whether it may take more than a clever tweet to change the tide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: I think what's highly concerning to critics, to prosecutors, to authorities is that Andrew Tate seems to have skyrocketed in popularity, particularly on Twitter, since he's been reinstated and since these legal issues began. I was on his Twitter account just before I came to speak to you, and he's tweeted dozens of times since the indictment was announced just yesterday. One of his videos has rocked up 4 million views. That maybe part of the reason why the legal team for Andrew Tate says that they're looking forward to their day in court.

CHURCH: All right, we'll watch carefully what happens there. Salma Abdulaziz, joining us live from London. Many thanks.

Well, here in the United States, President Biden's son is settling up a legal matter with the Justice Department. But Republicans are not happy with what they're calling a slap on the wrist.

CNN's Mike Valerio reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses and struck a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a felony gun charge.

According to prosecutors, Hunter Biden owed at least $100,000 in federal taxes in both 2017 and 2018, but did not pay what was due to the IRS by the deadlines.

[03:35:10]

Last year, a lawyer for the president's son said his client has since, quote, "fully paid those IRS debts." The 53-year-old also struck a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve one felony gun charge.

In 2021 interviews with the media, Hunter Biden talked about how he'd been addicted to drugs, which raised the possibility he broke federal law when he bought a firearm.

The White House issued a statement saying, quote, "the president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment."

Former President Donald Trump slammed the plea deal, writing on Truth Social it equates to a mere traffic ticket.

The U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, appointed by former President Trump, says the Hunter Biden investigation is ongoing. Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy says the agreement won't impact a Republican congressional probe into the Biden family's business dealings. KEVIN MCCARTHY, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: It actually should enhance our

investigations because the DOJ should not be able to withhold any information now.

VALERIO (voice-over): I'm Mike Valerio reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Just ahead, a new report finds the world is falling behind on achieving global gender equality. We will have details on its key findings

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, police in France raided the officers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee on Tuesday. French officials say it's over alleged financial improprieties in connection with contracts and public funds.

Police also raided the headquarters of Solideo, the public body responsible for much of the construction and infrastructure around the Games. Here's reaction from the games' Executive Director.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHE DUBI, OLYMPIC GAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Pardon me the term, it's Perquisition en Francais, probably something like an inquiry in English. This is ongoing, no comments to be made at this stage. But again, reassurance provided by Paris that the only attitude that one has to have in such circumstances, which is full collaboration and transparency, was ensured by Paris 2024.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The two preliminary investigations are looking into alleged conflict of interests and favoritism, among other charges. Next year's Olympic Games are set to begin on July 26th.

Well, new data shows the inflation rate in the U.K. is holding steady. In May, annual inflation remains stuck at 8.7 per cent. And this comes just one day before an interest rate decision is set to be announced. The latest figure could make it more likely that the Bank of England will hike interest rates again.

[03:40:05]

Women won't achieve gender equality with men for another 131 years. That's not until 2154. And that is according to a new report by the World Economic Forum.

It found the overall gender gap only closed by 0.3 percent compared to last year. The gender gap index measures parity across four areas: economics, education, health and political empowerment. The World Economic Forum also estimates it will take 169 years to achieve global economic equality and 162 years for political parity. Well after more than 60 years a long overdue Eagle Scout ceremony was

held in Washington State. 75-year old Samuel Lynn Jones became an Eagle Scout at the age of 15 but was denied public recognition.

A White Scout master at the time reportedly told Jones he did not come from a model African-American home. Jones was raised by a single mother in public housing. It wasn't until a church member pushed him to work with a sponsored Boy Scout troop that they learned of Jones' past. And on Monday night, the Vietnam veteran and retired naval commander finally received the public honor with his daughter by his side.

Well for most non-vegans, cooking for vegans is never easy. No meat, no eggs, no fish, no cheese, no milk, and one celebrity chef in Australia has had enough banning vegans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MOUNTAIN, CHEF, FYRE: I'm done with vegans. I'm absolutely done, done with vegans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Chef John Mountain issued the ban after a bad review from a vegan at Fyre, his restaurant in Perth, who claimed her vegetarian meal was unsatisfactory and overpriced at $22. She also criticized the lack of vegan options on the menu. The response came on Facebook with a post saying, sadly, all vegans are now banned from Fyre for mental health reasons. It seems the chef is fed up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOUNTAIN: Please go find another kebab shop somewhere that's happy to give you that plastic rubbish that you enjoy to eat so much. Go and enjoy your life somewhere else. I've worked for some of the best chefs in the world and to be told that you're not good enough by some sort of influencer type vegan person that I'm not into the 2023 killed me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The ban has been described by vegans as a form of discrimination while others support the chef's decision to run his business how he wants.

And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "Marketplace Europe" is up next. Then Max Foster and Bianca NobIlo will be back in 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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[03:45:00]