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CNN International: Macron to Meet with Mayors of Areas Hit by Violence in France; Mom and Daughter Thriving in U.S. While Seeking Asylum; U.S. Justice Department Ramping Up Investigations. Aired 4:30- 5a ET
Aired July 04, 2023 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of people marched through a Paris suburb on Monday in support of a mayor whose house was attacked by protesters. His wife and young child were hurt.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Live now to Paris and CNN senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann. Jim, I was reading this morning and I think this is so telling of the divisions that exist within France more broadly that there are these two fundraising campaign, one for the family of family of the policeman who shots the 17-year-old boy and another for the 17-year-old boy's family and policeman's have been four or five times the amount of funds raised at this point.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and very telling figure in fact and some people are using that this morning to make their arguments of what is needed is a tempered police crackdown and not so much on better police work.
But on the other hand, there are plenty of people who say that police need more training and more sensitivity about the kind of racial approach that they take to arresting people.
We saw a much calm her night last night. 72 people detained across the country -- that's compared to hundreds on previous nights. In total there's been something like 3,500 people arrested or detained rather, in the weeks of rioting that's gone on here.
And the week has had consequences for sure. One of the business associations here estimates that there is probably something like a billion euros in damages caused to the various businesses. These are small shops, its tobacco stores, it's banks that have been damaged in the rioting. And the local transit for Paris, the local transit authority, estimates that they have suffered 20 million euros in damage to the various assets that have been destroyed by the rioters.
Now as you mentioned, were in front of the Elysee Palace here, where mayors -- 220 mayors from across France that have taken targeted by the various rioting that's going on, their cities have been targeted. They're going to gather this morning to meet with President Macron. He knows very well that these mayors may have more influence on the sort of the situation, sort of the evolution of the situation, than the police. Because they know some of these rioters themselves and they basically can approach the parents. And they can do things that might be able to help stop the rioting that's going on.
But the consequences are definitely being felt. That same business association made an estimate that something like 20 to 25 percent of the reservations for hotels and various activities in Paris have been canceled as people grow wary of coming here -- Bianca.
NOBILO: Jim Bittermann live for us in Paris, thank you.
FOSTER: Still ahead, five years after some migrant families were separated at the U.S. southern border, we'll update you on a mother and daughter who are back together and thriving for now, but their future is still in jeopardy.
NOBILO: Plus, a missing Texas teen turns up alive after eight years. What happened to him and how he was found, those details ahead.
[04:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo.
FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.
Officials are searching for the motive in a mass shooting that left at least five people dead and two children hospitalized in Philadelphia. The gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire along several blocks of the city. Officials say they have the gunman and another man in custody.
And more than 400 flights have been canceled or delayed today as severe weather impacts the U.S., but the majority of Americans can expect a dry Fourth of July.
NOBILO: A Texas man who went missing eight years ago when he was 17 have has been found alive in Houston. Police say Rudolph "Rudy" Farias IV was found sleeping in front of a local church. His family says a good Samaritan found him and called 911. They also say he's nonverbal and unable to communicate but is receiving the care that he needs to overcome his trauma. Farias went missing when he was walking his dog and it's unclear where he's been over the years.
FOSTER: The cries of a little girl from El Salvador caught the world's attention when she was separated from her mother at the U.S. southern border five years ago. Now she and her mom are back together and thriving in the U.S.
NOBILO: But their future in the country is still far from certain. CNN's Gary Tuchman brings us their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (Voice-over): This 11-year-old girl, Ximena Madrid, enjoying an Astros baseball game in Houston, may have done more than anyone to shock the nation's conscience when thousands of children were separated from their migrant parents during the Trump administration.
BORDER PATROL AGENT (translated text): Where are you from?
XIMENA MADRID, SEPARATED FROM MOTHER IN 2018 (translated text): El Salvador?
BORDER PATROL AGENT (translated text): And you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD (translated text): Guatemala.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The child who said El Salvador in this secretly recorded audio tape from 2018 is Ximena Madrid when she was six years old. After three weeks in custody, Ximena and her mother, Cindy, who were being held 1,200 miles away from each other, are reunited at Houston's Intercontinental Airport. They moved in with Texas relatives. Mother and daughter don't know any English.
TUCHMAN: Are you happy today?
MADRID: (Speaking Foreign Language).
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Exactly five years after they were separated, this is Ximena today.
TUCHMAN: Are you a happy girl today?
MADRID: Yes, I am.
TUCHMAN: How come?
MADRID: Well, I feel like the United States has provided me with a lot of good stuff that I wasn't provided with in my old country. And I just feel like here I have better opportunities to take, and I can be a successful person in here.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Ximena just graduated from a Houston elementary school and will be heading to middle school. Here she is radiant following the ceremony with her mother and Cindy's partner, Alfredo, whom Cindy met since she's been in Texas.
And earlier this year, Ximena welcomed a sister, Eileen. Cindy and Ximena left El Salvador on a month-long journey to the U.S. after Cindy says her boyfriend was shot and killed while she was walking with him. She felt Ximena was in danger if she stayed.
The 34-year-old has a U.S. government work visa and has started her own business cleaning houses.
TUCHMAN: Cual es tu sueno? What is your dream?
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Cindy says, my dream is to see my daughters grow up, go to school, and be confident in themselves. That they live in a safe place and not be afraid for their lives. [04:40:00]
But here's the thing. While Cindy has that work visa, she has not had a court hearing yet to decide if she gets asylum. The immigration attorney who has championed their case is Thelma Garcia.
THELMA GARCIA, MADRID FAMILY ATTORNEY: There is no finality. There's still fear involved. The family is afraid that they are going to be sent back to El Salvador and so their nightmare continues.
TUCHMAN: If you could talk to the political leaders who make decisions like this about who gets sent back and who stays, what would you say to them as an 11-year-old girl?
MADRID: I would say to please let us stay because I promise that we're not bad people. We're not people that want to harm others. We're here to have a better life and hopefully be better persons that can help the country in the future.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Cindy says I have never lost hope that someday they will let us know that we can be here legally. But I am still afraid I might have to go back to my country.
TUCHMAN: What do you want to do when you grow up?
MADRID: I'm still not sure. But right now, I really feel like I would be a good book writer because I write a lot and I feel like I'm a very creative person. So I would like to be a book writer.
TUCHMAN: That's wonderful. Would you write in Spanish or in English or both?
MADRID: Both. Definitely both.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The mother and daughter living in the United States, but not sure that they will permanently be able to stay in the United States.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: In Los Angeles beaches were packed with people for the July 4th holiday. Visitors are being asked to avoid a number of sea lions that have been sickened by toxins from a large algae bloom.
FOSTER: People are encouraged to stay at least 50 feet away from the sea lions and to call local rescue center if they see one. They estimate that more than 100 of the animals might be poisoned so far. Experts say an increase in this toxic algae may be linked to climate change.
NOBILO: Still ahead, the Justice Department ramping up its investigation into fake electors for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Plus, a looming deadline for Georgia prosecutor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: A trio of minority groups is suing Harvard University over legacy admissions. They claim that preferential treatment has nothing to do with merit and is an unfair and unearned benefit based on the applicant's family. They say legacy students are overwhelmingly white and make up as much as 15 percent of admitted students. The lawsuit follows last week's Supreme Court ruling that gutted affirmative action in college admissions. Harvard says its student body reflects the diversity of its applicants. But a spokesperson for the University refused to comment, specifically on that lawsuit.
FOSTER: Donald Trump's legal troubles could be entering a new phase this week with developments in the classified documents and January 6 investigations. CNN senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: It's certainly not going to be a sleepy summer for Donald Trump. That's because he has this huge cloud hanging over his campaign in the form of the indictment against him in Florida from the special counsel's office related to documents at Mar-a-Lago.
And that case has kicked off with Donald Trump pleading not guilty a few weeks ago. But really is going to get moving in earnest toward a trial beginning this week. Because on Thursday, that's when his co- defendant Walt Nauta is due back in court and Nauta will be pleading not guilty at that time. And he will also have a lawyer show up from Florida at that time. It's going to be a short and sweet and procedural hearing from what we know.
But it does kick off a lot in that case where they can move towards arguments. They could move to discussing classified material. And we know that the Justice Department keeps wanting to talk to more witnesses around this. So there could be a lot of things happening in that case.
Then in the January 6 investigation, there's a lot there. And prosecutors have been extremely aggressive in recent weeks, especially focused around the fake elector's probe. We saw them offer immunity to get grand jury testimony out of two fake electors in the state Nevada. We also know that there are two people that were organizing that fake collector effort on behalf of the Trump campaign. One who was subpoenaed to the grand jury. Another one who in recent weeks has agreed to be talking to prosecutors.
And then they got to talk to Giuliani himself. Rudy Giuliani, the guy at the top of the Trump legal network in 2020. And so, how that all comes together, if there's a case coming soon. A lot of signs point to that. But there's a lot there that prosecutors are doing and then finally, of course, we're almost in the window. Just days away from when the Georgia grand jury in Fulton County is going to be able to look at whether they're going to be bringing an indictment. July 11th, I believe is that beginning of the period of time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, the U.S. State Department says Americans should reconsider traveling to China due to the risk of being wrongfully detained. The updated advisory comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing. Last month U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to cool those tensions. During their visit Blinken said he brought up the cases of three Americans he says China has wrongfully detained -- Kai Li, Mark Swidan, and David Lin. He added that at the time negotiations were under way to try to secure their freedom.
NOBILO: Still ahead, a heart pounding video of a huge truck being chased by police. We'll tell you why the driver was so desperate to get away.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's driving on the shoulder on the southbound lane going northbound.
We're going over 80 miles an hour. He's losing control. All right, we're turning into some ranch road. He's stuck. He's bailing out. He's bailing out.
Stop!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The heart pounding video there from the Texas Department of Public Safety that shows police chasing after a big rig at speeds of up to 85 miles per hour. You can see the white truck also driving on the wrong side of the highway.
NOBILO: Eventually the truck went off the pavement and the man inside it made a run for it. Police say they arrested the driver and apprehended 12 undocumented immigrants who were also on board.
Now into a heroic rescue in the U.S. state of Georgia. A dramatic body cam video released by Candler County Sheriff's office, shows a sergeant rescuing a woman from a burning car. The sheriff says Sergeant Ashley Taylor was responding to a car crash on the highway Saturday when he discovered the vehicle was in the woods on fire. He immediately rushed to help. The sergeant broke the window and removed the driver from the vehicle as smoke poured out underneath. The driver is now thankfully safe.
FOSTER: Amazing.
U.S. aviation authorities are investigating a Hawaiian Airlines flight where seven people were injured during severe turbulence over the weekend. One passenger and three flight attendants were for evaluation after the nearly 11-hour flight from Hawaii to Australia on Friday. The flight attendants have been since released but there's no update on the passenger so far.
NOBILO: And to the stories for you in the spotlight this hour.
Prepare for takeoff. The U.S. government has certified the first ever flying car for testing. A California company expects to deliver the first model to consumers by the end of 2025.
FOSTER: You'll be able to drive this electric car on public roads up to 200 miles. The flying range is about half that. If you take off and land vertically. But you better start saving now. The model "A" is expected to sell for $300,000. You've got permission to drive it but not to fly it. I don't really understand.
[04:55:00]
NOBILO: Yes, I did a little documentary on flying cars a while ago and they've been testing for quite a few decades now and it never really materializes.
NOBILO: And now scientists have discovered that time moved much slower during the first billion years of the universe compared to today.
NOBILO: That is how you feel when you talk about space. Isn't it?
FOSTER: I need to reveal my space issue. But not now.
Astronomers observe dozens of quasars over the course of 20 years. Allowing them to see how the universe appears to speed up at it ages.
NOBILO: A quasar is a hyperactive supermassive black hole at the center of an early galaxy. So luminous that it outshines our Milky Way by 100 times. This brightness acts as a cosmic cloak that researchers can use to track time across the universe.
FOSTER: I don't need to correct you, but it's cosmic clock, I think.
NOBILO: Oh, did I say --
FOSTER: It's all about time.
NOBILO: I thought it was cloaking with some sort of magic mystery.
FOSTER: Well, it could be.
NOBILO: Well, there you go. This is a monumental --
FOSTER: You're changing the science of a language entirely. And this is like realtime science.
NOBILO: Max just corrected me. So that's OK.
FOSTER: It's like realtime -- I think you can somehow correct me ten times in retaliation. NOBILO: Yes.
FOSTER: The new live-action Barbie movie has been banned in Vietnam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGOT ROBBIE, ACTRESS: Hi, Barbie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Barbie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Barbie.
SIMU LIU, ACTOR: Hi, Barbie.
ROBBIE: Hi, Ken.
RYAN GOSLING, ACTOR: Hi, Ken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The film which is which is distributed by CNN's sister company Warner Bros., was slated to open in Vietnam on July 21. But a state- run newspaper says the film won't be screened because it shows a map of Beijing claims to the South China Sea -- which is depicted in the u-shape line you can see there. Vietnam considers some of the oil-rich territory its own continental shelf and has already actually awarded drilling contracts there. For its part China has refused to accept an international court rule in the Hague which rejected Beijing's claim.
NOBILO: And this is not the first time Vietnam has banned a movie because of a map. In 2019 it yanked the animated DreamWorks film "Abominable." It's also banned a Sony action movie and a Netflix spy drama for the exact same reason. Warner Bros. has not yet commented on the latest ban.
FOSTER: We'll keep asking. Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.
And I'm Bianca Nobilo. EARLY START is up next right here and CNN.
