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CNN International: Justice Department Focusing On 2020 White House Meeting With Trump And His Advisers. Freedom Caucus Votes To Remove Marjorie Taylor Greene. Mark Zuckerberg's New App, "Threads", Is Off To A Good Start. Oceangate Suspends Operations After Titan Submersible Implosion. Japan Plans To Release Treat Wastewater From Fukushima Nculear Site Into The Pacific Ocean. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 07, 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]

FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster. If you just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour. Investigators from the Justice Department are focusing on a 2020 White House meeting where Trump and his advisers discussed how to overturn the election. Sources tell CNN that prosecutors have interviewed a number of people who have -- who attended that meeting.

Meanwhile, the former president's aide, Walt Nauta, has been arraigned in Miami. He was recorded on surveillance video, repeatedly moving boxes around Mar-a-Lago after they were subpoenaed.

Now, for the first time ever, a member has been expelled from the conservative Freedom Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. Controversial Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was apparently voted out by a majority in the courts for calling fellow Republican Lauren Boebert of Colorado a derogatory name.

The vote happened right before Congress left on break.

CNN's Melanie Zanona has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, CNN has learned that the far-right House Freedom Caucus did vote to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Donald Trump ally, from the hard-line group. This vote, according to sources, occurred just before the July 4th recess.

And, in talking to my sources, the reason that they voted to remove her boils down to really two reasons. One, that Greene has become a staunch ally of GOP leadership, and specifically Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And two, she has been publicly critical of a number of House Freedom Caucus colleagues. She publicly criticized House Freedom Caucus members when they didn't support Speaker McCarthy for the speakership. She publicly criticized Freedom Caucus members when they didn't fall in line with bipartisan debt ceiling deal.

And the real straw that broke the camel's back, according to Congressman Andy Harris, a member of the Freedom Caucus, was this heated convert station that Marjorie Taylor Green had on the House floor with Lauren Boebert, another member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Greene had confirmed to CNN at the time that she called Boebert a little B word, swore at her, they had this public -- or private confrontation on the House floor. And we did reach out to Greene for comment about being removed from the House Freedom Caucus, she did not specifically address her membership status but she was pretty defiant in this statement. Let me read you part of it, she said, in Congress, I serve Northwest Georgia first, and serve no group in Washington. My America First credentials, guided by my Christian faith, are forged in steel, seared into my character, and will never change. The GOP has less than two years to show America what a strong, unified, Republican-led Congress will do when President Trump wins the White House in 2024. This is my focus, nothing else.

And I should note, we also reached out to the House Freedom Caucus, they have an official spokesman for comment, they said, they do not talk about internal meetings, internal process, or membership status. But we should note, this is a big deal. The House Freedom Caucus has never voted to remove a member before, and it comes amid a broader identity crisis that the House Freedom Caucus has really been wrestling with, especially now that they are back in the majority.

They are grappling with whether they just want to be a thorn in the side of leadership in McCarthy, or if they should try to play the inside game to get what they want, which is what Greene has been doing.

Melanie Zanona, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Greene has said many offensive things in the past, so does it make sense that the so-called last straw was her use of a derogatory name to describe fellow representative Lauren Boebert on the House floor? Well, here's what CNN Political Commentator Mia Love had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIA LOVE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND FORMER U.S. REPRESENATIVE: I believe that this is started when she didn't stand with the House Freedom Caucus. She stood with the president in trying to keep and making sure that Kevin McCarthy became speaker of the house. She was showing her phone to other members of Congress, trying to get them to vote Kevin McCarthy in as speaker of the house. So, I'm not surprised they would kick her out. The former president, yes. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: There you go. The U.S. Secret Service now says that there's a chance it might never figure out exactly who brought cocaine into the West Wing of the White House last weekend. Even so, the investigation is expected to wrap up soon. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the latest from the White House. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:00]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, federal law enforcement official now tells me that the Secret Service expects to conclude its investigation early next week into who exactly brought that small dime bag of cocaine into the White House that was found last Sunday evening.

Now, Secret Service investigators, they are still going through visitor logs, they are going through security camera footage that may exist of that West Wing entrance on the ground floor of the West Wing. But what they haven't gotten back yet is the DNA and the fingerprint analysis that's being conducted on that small baggy of cocaine.

Now, that same official cautions me that it's very possible that the Secret Service simply doesn't get to the bottom of this, and that's in part because of the number of people who go through that entrance every day, whether it be visitors coming to go on West Wing tours or White House officials, military officials who all passed through that entrance. Part of this is also that baggy was found in a cubby, and it's not clear whether the security cameras are actually pointing out those cubbies.

But, nonetheless, the White House, for now, they say that they are allowing the Secret Service to carry out this investigation, they are prepared to assist in any way that may be necessary. But they are also very much leaning in the direction of this is likely a visitor. They are not saying that outright, but they are repeatedly pointing out, for example, that this is the West Wing entrance where those tour start, those cubbies are where visitors are asked to leave their phones before entering the West Wing. So, this investigation is still ongoing, expected to wrap up early next week, whether or not they actually have a suspect in hand is another question.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meta's so-called Twitter killers is here, and the social media app is already gaining traction. Meta says Threads had 30 million sign ups within one day of launching. Twitter clearly sees Threads as competition. A CEO Elon Musk has threatened to sue Meta for trade secret theft through the hiring of former Twitter employee. CNN Technology Reporter Brian Fung has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Twitter's newest rival is off to a strong start. And in response, Twitter is threatening to sue. According to Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Threads gained 30 million sign ups in its first day. Amid that blockbuster launch, Twitter sent a letter to Meta accusing it of trade secret theft.

The letter claims Meta hired former Twitter employees who used their knowledge from working at Twitter to design Meta's new app. Meta has dismissed the allegations as false. The huge launch shows there's demand for a Twitter alternative, especially after months of changes by Twitter that have made it harder or more costly to use its platform.

Meta has tried to copy other apps before, but never when those other apps have done so much to drive users away. In Twitter's case, that's meant everything from laying off content moderators to locking popular features behind its paid subscription service.

So, how does Threads work? It's simple. After downloading the app, you sign up with your Instagram account. Then, you're presented with a bare bones Twitter experience. You can post text and images, you can reply to people in threaded conversations, and you can quote other posts, which are called, unsurprisingly, Threads.

There are a few things the app doesn't have yet. There's no real search function and no hashtags. The only feed available is an algorithmic one that sprinkles in other accounts in between those you already follow. But those limitations haven't stopped a huge number of people from trying the new app, whether that's because they are fleeing Twitter or being pulled in from Instagram.

While it's too early to say if Threads will be a Twitter killer, it's fair to say Twitter seems to have a serious competitor on its hands.

Brian Fung, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: OceanGate has suspended operations following the deadly implosion of its Titan submersible last month, which killed all five people on board. The sub was on a voyage to the wreckage of the Titanic when it lost contact with its mother ship on June the 18th.

Days later, after enormous international search effort, authorities confirmed the sub had suffered a catastrophic implosion. In the wake of the disaster, new details have emerged about warnings and safety concerns about the submersible, including an ominous e-mail from a former employee that the Titan could fail and result in deaths.

Two firefighters are dead after fighting a massive blaze aboard a cargo ship in New Jersey. It happened on Wednesday night in the Port of Newark. Officials say fire crews rushed onto the vessel after it caught fire whilst it was loading cars. The two firefighters who died became trapped whilst fighting the flames. Others tried to save them but they were pushed back by intense heat. The blaze left six firefighters injured.

Millions of Americans are at risk for severe weather, including very large hail and possibly tornadoes. Details after the break.

Plus, 12 years after the disaster of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, officials are moving forward with a controversial plan for the site's wastewater. That story is coming up.

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[04:40:00]

FOSTER: The head of the U.N.'s nuclear agency has given his support Japan's plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear site into the Pacific Ocean. The International Atomic Energy Agency chief discussed the plan just a few hours ago. He says he's convinced it's safe -- it is safe for people and the environment, but he is confident does little to reassure rattled residents, local fishermen, neighboring countries and some international scientists too. More now from CNN's Marc Stewart in Tokyo.

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MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Soon, the treated wastewater inside these massive tanks at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant will be released off Japan's Pacific Coast.

It was collected after the meltdown at the plant, following the massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The release is controversial. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency came to Tokyo to reassure the public.

STEWART: What do you say to members of the public who feel a bit leery about this decision to release the water?

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: First of all, I understand them. And so, all sorts of fears kick in, and one has to take them seriously, to address and to explain.

STEWART (voiceover): In April, CNN was granted rare access to the plant. We saw the tanks with enough water to fill more than 500 Olympic pools. The water has been treated and diluted to remove radioactive elements. One exception, tritium, a radioactive isotope which the government says is impossible to remove. It's all part of the process to slowly decommission the plant.

[04:45:00]

As you can see on this map, the release of tritium is common for nuclear plants around the world. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says that the radiation from tritium is far less than what one might assume. It says, a cross-country round trip flights exposes a person to 12 times more radiation compared to water with tritium from a nuclear plant.

STEWART: How do you know if this was the right decision or this is the right decision?

GROSSI: Well, I think we have the benefit of science, either you have a certain radionuclide in a water sample or you don't have it. And for that, you have -- it's a measurable thing. So, we have the science, we have the laboratories, we have a network of international laboratories working with us to ensure the credibility and that transparency of the process. STEWART (voiceover): The release is drawing criticism from Asia, including South Korea and China. Despite the reservations, including those of local fishermen, the plants release is moving forward, a process that will likely take decades to complete.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: More than 25 million people across the middle of the U.S. are at threat of severe storms in the coming hours. According to the Prediction Center, a slight risk of severe storms as well, level two out of five, well, that's in effect for Eastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma as well.

The main threats are very large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes, and extreme heat is also a threat in the southwest as people in Phoenix and Tucson are under heat warnings where temperatures could top 110 degrees Fahrenheit through the weekend.

People in parts of Europe are cleaning up from another day of severe storms. There were more than 60 large hail reports, most of them in Spain. With some of the hail measuring about six centimeters. Heavy rainfall was a problem in parts of Italy with some areas getting as much as 143 millimeters of rain in about four hours.

The good news is the storms are wrapping up and there are no threats for severe weather across Europe in the coming hours.

The news isn't so good for people in Canada though where officials say the wildfires that had been burning across the country won't let up anytime soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BLAIR, CANADIAN MINISTER OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: This forecast outlines a high likelihood of heightened fire activity through the next two months. Drought conditions, when coupled with above normal temperatures across most of the country means that the risk of fire activity is going to remain very high throughout the majority of the summer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: There are currently 648 wildfires throughout Canada and more than 300 of them are considered to be out of control.

A new method of determining the sex of old bones is shedding light on an archeological assumption that turned out to be totally inaccurate, and some might argue rather sexist as well.

A 5,000-year-old skeleton found in a tomb near Seville, Spain in 2008 was dubbed Ivory Man. The bones were buried with an elephant's tusk and ivory cone, a crystal dagger, and other valuable items that indicated this was clearly someone important. Archaeologists assumed that VIP was a man. But a new molecular method of studying bones found that Ivory Man was in fact female.

It involves analyzing tooth enamel, which detected the presence of gene found only in women. The authors of the new study believe that the Ivory Lady held a high rank and was revered by the society in which she lived for more than -- well, for hundreds of years.

Britney Spears is calling foul on the security guard for an upcoming NBA star. We will have the play-by-play just ahead.

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[04:50:00]

FOSTER: The Women's U.S. Open golf tournament is underway at Pebble Beach. This is the first women's major at the famed Californian course. Rose Zhang is one of the favorites this year, despite only playing in two professional events. Amy Olson is also competing, while seven months pregnant. The major has a record $11 million purse, with the winner getting $2 million.

Round three of Wimbledon gets underway today with Novak Djokovic playing against Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic is looking to secure a record trying eighth title at Wimbledon. And with one more Grand Slam under his belt, Djokovic would match Margaret Court's Grand Slam record of 24.

Now at basketball, where today is the day really for phenom Victor Wembanyama, the number one pick at the NBA draft will make his Summer League debut tonight in Las Vegas. The San Antonio Spurs will face the Charlotte Hornets and the number two draft pick, Bradley Miller. The nearly 18,000 seat arena is obviously sold out. It's the only the second time that's happened though in Summer League play.

An on off court incident may now be casting shadow on the NBA rookie's debut, that's because Britney Spears claims on her Instagram page that a security guard for when Wembanyama struck her in the face on Wednesday when she tried to get the player's attention in Las Vegas. She didn't name that athlete in her post. The pop star says she tapped him on the shoulder, and without looking back his security guard slapped her in the face knocking -- or nearly knocking her down.

Wembanyama addressed the incident on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, SAN ANTONIA SPURS: I thought it was no big deal. And that the security of this (INAUDIBLE) it was Britney Spears. So, I was -- first, I was like, no, you are joking. But, yes, it turns out it was Britney Spears, you know. But I didn't know because I didn't her, I never saw her face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Spears says she has not received an apology, adding that she speaking out because she wants to urge people in the public eye to set a positive example. And the stories in the spotlight this hour, a dance tribute to the late Tina Turner has set a new record in Australia's Outback.

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FOSTER: The popular line dance is set to be one of Turner's biggest hits, "Nutbush City Limits." An ode to her hometown back in Tennessee, close to 6,000 people turned out in wacky wigs and costumes the "Nutbush" dance has become a staple of Australian culture, performed at birthdays, weddings, and pubs across the country, in case you didn't know.

[04:55:00]

A familiar sound going away.

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FOSTER: The Eagles announced on Thursday that they will embark on their final tour later this year. The band announced the first 13 U.S. cities on the tour, but says many more will be added and the tour may not and until 2025. The Eagles closed their announcement by saying, this is our swansong, but the music goes on and on. Tickets go on sale at the beginning of next Wednesday.

Taylor Swift is throwing it back to 2010. The singer has released her new version of her "Speak Now" album with hits like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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FOSTER: "Speak Now," Taylor's version includes six never before heard tracks, bringing something new to her devoted fans. Swift has been in the process of re-recording her old albums to gain back ownership of her music. All of this as she continues her Eras Tour across the U.S. and around the world.

Thanks for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Max Foster in London. "Early Start with Rahel Solomon" is up next here on CNN. Have a good weekend.

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[05:00:00]