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Special Counsel Contacts GA Gov. Regarding Trump; Judge Sets May 2024 Trial Date For Classified Docs Case; DOJ Planning To Sue Texas Over Floating Barriers; Pregnant Migrants: TX National Guard Denied Us Water; House Dems: WH Must Intervene In Operation Lone Star; CA Agricultural Workers Facing Dangerous Heat; Chinese Hackers Breached U.S. Ambassador's Emails; WH: Wuhan Lab Likely Violated Biosafety Protocols; UPS And Teamsters To Meet Tuesday Ahead Of Contract Deadline; U.S. Women Beat Vietnam In World Cup Opener; Sophia Smith Emerging As Newest U.S. Star; Messi Lives Up To Hype In Inter Miami Debuts. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 22, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:33]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We begin this afternoon with yet another pivotal moment in the special counsel investigation of former President Donald Trump.

A spokesman for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp confirms that Jack Smith's office has contacted Kemp's office, but declined to release any further details. You'll recall Trump pushed Kemp to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results after he narrowly lost the state and its 16 electoral votes to Joe Biden.

CNN's Marshall Cohen joins us now to talk about this. Marshall, in the past few weeks, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also sat for an interview with Smith's team. We shouldn't be surprised that they reached out to Brian Kemp as well.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: No surprise, but still a very big development confirmed by our colleague, Kaitlan Collins earlier today that the Special Counsel did make contact with Governor Kemp, timing of a potential FBI interview or maybe even a grand jury appearance is not clear at this moment.

But Kemp is a huge part of this story. President Trump tried to have Governor Kemp help him overturn the election. He wanted Kemp to interfere with the vote counting to overturn the results of a recount. He wanted Kemp to convene the state legislature to appoint fake electors.

And when all of that failed, he wanted Kemp to block certification of the results. Kemp didn't do any of that. But what he could tell investigators is about his calls with Trump on the phone where Trump was trying to twist his arm, that pressure might form the basis of a criminal charge. ACOSTA: Yes. And we know there was pressure. And what do we know about the possible timing of this next Trump indictment? With the documents case, we saw a similar letter and it came pretty soon or right just before --

COHEN: Right.

ACOSTA: -- the indictment came down.

COHEN: Well, once there's a target letter, all eyes moved to the grand jury.

ACOSTA: Yes.

COHEN: We have a grand jury here in Washington, D.C. that has been hearing evidence in this case. They are going to continue hearing evidence even if there's an indictment. Investigation is ongoing. But now that that Trump has had that opportunity, as spelled out in the target letter to come in and tell his side of the story, he declined to do that, he declined to go in front of the grand jury.

It's now up to Jack Smith, if he wants to go in on Monday or Tuesday, or whenever he wants to do it this week or next week, that's going to be up to him.

ACOSTA: And let's talk about the classified documents case, Judge Aileen Cannon set the date to begin, that case on May 20th. That's just weeks before the Republican National Convention and also pretty much after the primary process had -- has run its course.

COHEN: Right.

ACOSTA: So it sounds as though the former president may be able to get all the way through the primary process before he even walks into a courtroom for a trial. And that's not, I guess, setting aside the possibility that it could be delayed even again.

COHEN: It could.

ACOSTA: Yes, yes.

COHEN: Now, the late May 2024, that's when this trial is currently scheduled to take place. If you remember back in 2016, and you do remember that, Donald Trump was the presumptive nominee by that point. Everyone else had dropped out.

So he might be the presumptive nominee by this point. And that's probably why Jack Smith wanted to travel to happen in December of this year, with a verdict coming before any ballots are cast with the Iowa caucuses in January. That's not going to happen.

But Trump didn't get what he wanted, either. At least not at this moment. He wanted to kick this beyond the entire election cycle after the election, for the moment that trial is scheduled for May. But it's possible with one or two additional delay is Trump might get what he wants after all, and see this thing go past the election. ACOSTA: And we haven't even seen an indictment in the January 6 investigation nor a trial date set for that. And so, we're going to have to watch that case as well as that develops.

Marshall Cohen, thanks very much.

Let's get some analysis now from defense -- on my other side of the table here -- from defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Shan Wu, thanks for joining us. Let's talk about this target letter. It's already gone out notifying Trump that an indictment is coming soon in the election interference case. But we heard Marshall Cohen talking about the fact that they did talk to, reach out to the Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. How significant is that information, do you think?

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, Kemp is obviously a very important witness and as always, a special counsel as any good prosecutor would try to amass evidence of Trump's state of mind and his intent. Now, I will add, you know, Trump can always claim no matter what he's been told that he believed the election was stolen.

[16:05:06]

So in certain point, once you get the evidence, the prosecution shifts to how are they going to convince the jury that he had the intent to act illegally. It doesn't -- they don't have to show the jury. He honestly believed he lost. But they have to show the jury, he's aware of the illegality, and he's intending to do certain actions to engage that illegality, which is to interfere or overturn the election.

ACOSTA: And let's not forget that Trump was so enraged by Kemp's failure to cooperate, that he tried to primary him in the 2022 governor's race, put up former Senator David Perdue to challenge Kemp in that reelection bid. But is Kemp in a position to really damage Trump now?

WU: I think he is in as much a position to damage him as any of these other folks who are kind of, quote, in the room with -- I mean, and he's talking to them in real time, right in the heat of that moment. He can talk about the kind of pressure that Trump put on him. And even though so much of that has been made public already, if you go to trial, you're going to likely need to have that actually happened in the courtroom.

ACOSTA: And the Washington Post is reporting that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has mocked Trump's claim that thousands of dead people have voted in Georgia. Turns out there were only a handful of votes from dead people.

According to the Secretary of State there, Brad Raffensperger of The Washington Post says this -- we may put this up on screen it -- says, "In a text message that has been scrutinized by federal prosecutors, Meadows wrote to a White House lawyer that his son, Atlanta-area attorney Blake Meadows, had been probing possible fraud and had found only a handful of possible votes cast and dead voters names far short of what Trump was alleging." And we know Trump was alleging thousands dead voters and so on had -- that was obviously a lie. It sounds like what took place in Georgia is very critical to the special counsel's investigation, as well as what took place in a lot of these other states. That were there's pressure apply, places like Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and so on. How big of a part of this investigation is what took place at the states, do you think?

WU: I think it's a huge part --

ACOSTA: Yes.

WU: -- of what took place. Because initially, it's this idea of, wow, the Trump tell these people to come and attack the Capitol. But as time has gone on, we've seen revealed just how much work there was going on on these multifaceted strategies like the fake electors, all these things taking place in the states.

So it's absolutely proper that they're looking at the states. And it's going to be a huge part of it. The question is exactly how are they integrating it into the charges that we don't know what the charges are yet.

ACOSTA: Well, we don't know what the charges are. And that is a lot of information --

WU: Right.

ACOSTA: -- to get your arms around, to squeeze into an indictment if that's the direction they're going. Let me ask you about this. Trump's former aide Will Russell testified to the grand jury on Thursday, multiple times during the questioning, and he left to speak with his lawyer. During that questioning, what do you make of all this?

WU: Well, again, he's one of those people that's in the room at the time. So he's a very valuable witness. Not unusual to leave the room to speak to your lawyer. Because when you're a defense lawyer and your client is in the grand jury, you're not allowed in the grand jury. So the instruction is come talk to me if you have any questions.

ACOSTA: OK.

WU: So I think that part of it's a pretty normal situation. And again, with all these folks in the room, that's so important. Normally, I think without the time pressure that Jack Smith is under, you wouldn't see so much activity so close to possible indictments, so close to the target letter being issued.

But there's a huge time pressure issue here. And they are, I think, working at a very, very fast pace. So even as they've obviously solidified the charges, they know Trump is a target, they're confident enough to tell them that. There's still at the same time still wrapping up loose ends, still putting people in so the pace and the frenzy of it right now is pretty unusual.

ACOSTA: And let's talk about declassified documents case, the trial set for May 20th of next year in the thick of the presidential election. But how easy would it be for the Trump team to get this pushback the general election, because people are saying, oh, well, Trump didn't get everything he wanted. It's going to be in May of next year.

But, I mean, I've observed a few federal cases in my time over the years. I mean, pushing delays and pushing things off, that is just not out of the question. And it doesn't mean that there's any sort of sinister plot --

WU: Right.

ACOSTA: -- either, it just stuff happens.

WU: Yes, you're absolutely right.

ACOSTA: Yes.

WU: I think for Cannon, this was a no brainer. There's no reason whatever her intent is to take an extreme position and say, I'm not even scheduling the trial. She scheduled a reasonable date. It's going to slip. I've said before, I could get this case delayed in my sleep, if I was the defense counsel. There's so many legitimate issues, complexities that can easily cause that date to be continued.

ACOSTA: All right. Shan Wu, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Lots of discuss and this case, on the January 6 investigation is be fascinating. We could see something in this coming week. We'll stay on top of it and we'll get back to you on that as well.

Thanks so much, Shan Wu.

[16:10:01]

Turning now to the migrant crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Justice Department has notified Texas. It plans to take legal action against these floating barriers you're looking at right now, in the Rio Grande. The Department of Justice cites, among many concerns that the barriers endangering migrants crossing the river have to be removed. It's separate from an ongoing assessment of reports that migrants are being mistreated.

Now, two pregnant migrants share their story with CNN. They say they were trying to turn themselves in to U.S. immigration authorities last week. And despite dangerous blistering temperatures, Texas National Guard members denied them drinking water when they asked for it, at least. That's the allegation that the migrants are making.

CNN's Rosa Flores has their story.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I talked to two migrant women, they were both pregnant and they both say that Texas National Guard soldiers denied them water. Let me show you around while I tell you their story. We're on the banks of the Rio Grande and the state of Texas has deployed several layers of border barrier. There are two sets of concertina wire and then the buoys in the middle of the river. These women say that they encountered Texas National Guard members where you see the concertina wire right by the river and they say that they asked for water and that the soldiers denied them water. One of them said that they were told that it was not their responsibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: They deny your water?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language).

FLORES: She says that the Texas National Guard first denied her water and then afterwards, they did give them water but it was one bottle of water for two to three people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The second woman says that the second time that she asked for water, the Texas National Guard members showed her handcuffs. I want to go back to the river because the woman says that the Texas National Guard members asked him to keep on walking on the water.

Well, later, she says that law enforcement and airboats started circling them on the water and the wake kept on knocking them over. Eventually, they were provided water, she said. Now the Texas National Guard has not responded to our requests for comment regarding those specific allegations. But overall, the Texas National Guard has denied allegations that they were given any orders not to give migrants water.

Now, the stories of these women come after a Texas State Trooper blew the whistle saying that there is the inhumane treatment of migrants here on the border.

Rosa Flores, CNN Eagle Pass.

ACOSTA: All right, let's continue this discussion. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas. Congressman, great to see you. Thanks for sharing part of your weekend with us.

First of all, your reaction to what these pregnant migrant women were telling our Rosa Flores, continues to do great work down on the border that these Texas National Guard members denied them drinking water. Despite this dangerous heat, you know how hot it is down that part of Texas this time of year, what's your sense -- what's your reaction to that?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It's barbaric treatment, it's extreme cruelty. There's no need for that kind of cruelty. You know, that's something, Jim, that you would expect to see in a country like North Korea. Those are the kinds of stories that we hear about coming out of North Korea.

And so, for the governor to have already ordered razor wire to be placed in the water, and particularly in parts of the water where the water rises, and people can't see the razor wire. So they're bumping into that razor wire without being able to see it to denying people in 100 and 510 degree heat. Any water is just extremely cruel and barbaric.

ACOSTA: And Texas Governor Greg Abbott has launched a border crackdown called Operation Lone Star. Yesterday, you led 87 House Democrats and calling the White House to intervene. I guess part of this is these floating barriers, these flooding barriers that the state put there in the Rio Grande that could cause a drowning hazard. What is your sense of it? What needs to be done? And do you think the federal government can force the governor to respond?

CASTRO: I absolutely believe that the Biden administration, that the Department of Justice can stop Greg Abbott's barbarism. That the governor has no right to be placing that razor wire or the barrel traps taken together. These things are death traps, beat to place them in the river.

And so, the Department of Justice has given the state of Texas until Monday to respond about how they're going to remove these things. If there is no response or the response is not satisfactory, then the federal government intends to go to court on Tuesday to get those things removed.

ACOSTA: And we're looking at video of this, it was taken on Tuesday, Eagle Pass, Texas. You can see the country Russian equipment and floating barriers in the Rio Grande. You might not be able to see where you are, but we're showing our viewers this right now.

[16:15:06]

And I'm just trying to get a sense of this, Congressman, those are -- that's a Texas project that's going on there. That has nothing to do for our viewers to understand this at home. This has nothing to do with the federal government. The Department of Homeland Security, they have, I guess, no linkage to that project. That is just purely the state of Texas Governor Greg Abbott doing that.

CASTRO: Yes, that's right. The governor this year, I think, has set aside billions of dollars, I think it's $5 billion for Operation Lone Star. And remember, this is in the context of the fact that border crossings from Mecca are basically border crossings from people coming up from the south have decreased by about 70 percent.

Last week, I was saying that it was 50 percent. But the latest numbers have it down about 70 percent. So even as border crossings have gone down, Greg Abbott has become more extreme and more cruel in his behavior. So that's a signal right away that this is not about border security or controlling migration.

This is simply a way for Greg Abbott to feed red meat to a base of people who he thinks agree with him, even though the Texans that I've spoken to both Republicans and Democrats are shocked and embarrassed that their governor would take this kind of action. And so this is a -- this is the governor of Texas doing this on his own and using Texans money to put up razor wire, to leave a pregnant woman on that razor wire, to have the people under his command, have her cry for help and then she miscarries and still to be continuing this kind of behavior.

I know there's also been a debate about, well, who are you going to believe because Greg Abbott and Steve McCraw who's the Head of Department of Public Safety, they've denied this. But bear in mind that this is a governor that has set a very harsh and ugly tone on immigration.

But also, this is the same group of people, Steven McCraw and Greg Abbott, who lie to the country in the world. And most importantly for us who represent Texas, to Texans, about what happened in Uvalde, Texas, they look everybody in the eye through the camera. They look the world in the eye, and they lied for weeks and weeks.

So, you know, they've got a real credibility problem. And I just don't believe the governor.

ACOSTA: And the governor is brushing off his legal threat. He's saying that Texas has the sovereign, quote, "sovereign authority to protect its borders". Obviously, I mean, Texas is not its own country. United States maintains the borders of the United States.

But have you gotten any indication from the White House, from the administration that they are going to take action on this? Have there been conversations? I know you've sent off this letter, but have there been conversations with the administration that are leading you to believe that, OK, they might do something that something might be happening in that direction.

CASTRO: I'd spoken directly to the Secretary of State last week when this story broke. My office has also reached out to the White House. I think right now, it seems to me that the White House is going to let the Department of Justice file for an injunction to stop this activity if it needs to.

And I think ultimately, I think that the administration will be successful, that Department of Justice will be successful. Bear in mind that in the last few years, Texas has lost twice when it comes to immigration issues at the Supreme Court. And so I think that if this gets tried at the district court with the Western District of Texas, which is based in San Antonio, I think Greg Abbott is going to lose.

ACOSTA: And let me squeeze in a question about the special counsel's probe of Trump's actions surrounding the January 6 attack on the Capitol, the Mar-a-Lago documents case. I was just talking to former federal prosecutor Shan Wu about this. The documents case has been scheduled for next May. In your mind, what happens if these cases get delayed to the point that they come after the 2024 election? Does that concern you?

CASTRO: It absolutely does. And the reason it concerns me is because Donald Trump, if he's somehow able to become President, again, will do everything possible, legal and illegal to try to try to not have to face the consequences for his actions. And that's incredibly disturbing, because this is somebody who's already been indicted twice, on the verge of being indicted a third time. And, you know, I just I don't trust that if he's elected president, that he's going to let these legal processes play out.

ACOSTA: And do you wish that these cases had been brought sooner? I mean, they are putting -- they're essentially putting the --

CASTRO: Sure.

ACOSTA: They're essentially leading to a timeline here where you're going to see, I mean, even if that documents trial gets started on time in May, that's after the Republican primary process is over.

[16:20:05]

ASTRO: Yes, no. I mean, you probably heard me say before that I was part of -- well, I was part of the Intelligence Committee that investigated the Russian interference with the United States election. I was part of the Intelligence Committee when we handled part of the first impeachment, and then the second impeachment.

And then in January of 2021, I was part of the Senate, you know, trial team that went over to the Senate and try to get President Trump convicted for his role in January 6. So right after that, I said that the Department of Justice should take action. I'm glad that they have -- they're on the verge of bringing what looks like an indictment. But I do think that it's taken quite a while.

ACOSTA: All right, Congressman Joaquin Castro, from Texas, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

All right. In the meantime, temperatures are soaring around the country next, where people who work outdoors are doing to stay safe under this dangerous heat that is taking place all over the country.

And later, a rising tensions between the U.S. and China as Chinese hackers take aim at American diplomats. And one of the biggest strikes in U.S. history could start just days from now, the last minute effort to keep UPS workers from walking out. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

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[16:25:26]

ACOSTA: Misery by degrees. At least 80 million Americans are under heat alerts today stretching from the west coast all the way to Florida's east coast. As you can see right there, there will be little relief in the cities over the next few days as we will all see. Temperatures well above normal and these parts of the country and all about 30 cities could see record high temperatures this weekend.

More than two dozen records were either set yesterday or today. Just incredible stuff. For many people, the heat is not nearly -- not merely just discomforting, it's life-threatening. One vulnerable group is those who work in agriculture to help feed this whole country. CNN's Camila Bernal is in Coachella in Southern California. Camila, how are workers able to protect themselves? Can they protect themselves?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, they try. It really is difficult and they have to be constantly reminded to wear the right clothes to take water breaks, to rest, to stop working if they feel dizzy. And yes, it's usually very hot here in Coachella, but the hot waves make it extreme. We're talking about temperatures of 115, 120 degrees and these workers they're still going out there, doing everything they can to pick and pack the fruits and vegetables that, as you mentioned, are distributed all over the country and ended up in your table.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (voice-over): The shade under the grape vines is deceiving. Not enough air and a feeling of suffocation says 22-year-old Alexandra Corona (ph). She's been working in the fields in the Coachella Valley since she was a teenager, and is one of the more than 2 million agricultural workers in the U.S. But it's impossible to get used to temperatures close to 115 degrees.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We understand that's because our environmental impact and the change, but also what that translates to community is not only working with heat and these high heat conditions, but also at in their pocket. That they have -- many of them have shorter working hours because of the heat conditions.

BERNAL (voice-over): Already, more than 2,300 heat records have been set in the U.S. in the recent heat waves, causing dozens of deaths and filling some hospitals to pandemic levels. Something Luz Gatchegos (ph) is trying to prevent.

Through the nonprofit she leads, agricultural workers are reminded to drink water, take breaks and speak up because no matter how high the temperatures are, the work here continues. Agriculture is one of the largest industry sectors in California. And the state says its performance is vital to its economic health.

And in turn provides produce for tables all over the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're still working. You know, they're still working because they know that they need to make their end goal to make the -- their money to bring home to pay the rent, to bring -- to make sure their kids are taking care of.

BERNAL (voice-over): Alexandra agrees. She says there are days when even walking is hard. But she takes the necessary precautions because it's a job she depends on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL: And a lot of these farmers, they schedule the workers either overnight or in the early morning hours. The problem here and Coachella is that the temperatures don't really drop overnight. So a lot of the people that I talked to told me they're worried about what temperatures are going to look like next week or specifically in August.

So when you're indoors or by the pool having those grapes, think about the men and women that were there picking them and that are continuing to work throughout the summer and with these extreme, extreme temperatures. Jim?

ACOSTA: Yes, we absolutely take for granted how our food gets on the table. And this is how with workers who put up with these kinds of very difficult conditions.

All right, Camila Bernal, thank you very much.

Extreme heat and dry conditions sparked a wildfire that set off a frantic evacuation on the Greek island of Rhodes. Fire officials there say 2,000 people including the tourists had to be ferried out of harm's way by sea. 10,000 other tourists were safely taken to the northern end of the island, which so far has been unaffected greases and during a heatwave that is likely to become its longest on record.

New tensions between the U.S. and China after Chinese hackers gained access to the U.S. ambassador's email. The diplomatic fallout is widening. It's coming up next here in the CNN Newsroom.

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[16:34:09]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Concerns are growing after an apparent Chinese hacking operation targeted government officials.

Sources tell CNN the U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, is among those affected. Burns is the most senior State Department official known to be targeted in the attack.

The news comes after a tense week of diplomacy between the U.S. and China. Chinese leaders are rejecting pressure from the White House to take tougher action on climate change.

Joining me now to discuss this is former U.S. State Department and U.N. official and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, Jamie Metzl.

Jamie, let's start on these recent hacks. The Biden administration's position seems to be that this is somewhat standard practice. It does happen from time to time.

Here are some of the reactions that we heard just in the last couple of days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:35:00]

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: The incident in question affected only our unclassified system. As soon as we actually at the State Department --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That's a big deal. The unclassified system is huge.

BLINKEN: So we now have an ongoing investigation that will determine the impact. As soon as we detected it, which goes back some time, we took immediate steps.

It is China doing espionage. That's what nation states do. We have to defend against it. We need to push back against it. But that is something that happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Jamie, is this something that just happens?

JAMIE METZL, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL & FORMER NSC, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT & FORMER U.N. OFFICIAL: It kind of is. Our intelligence services are spying on Chinese officials. At least we hope they are.

We know that they are spying on us. And we need to -- exactly as was just said, we need to defend against that. When we catch them, we need to condemn it.

And this is all set in the broader context of deteriorating relations between the United States and China.

ACOSTA: But it seems to be growing, and how significant is this, though? I would imagine, yes, from time to time, American officials have their email hacked and that sort of thing, as the Chinese want to poke around in there, but the U.S. ambassador to China?

METZL: I think that's normal. I think China is trying to hack everything, hack all of our officials, hack our companies, steal as much as they can steal, and we have to condemn it.

And we shouldn't normalize it by just saying that I just said that is normal. But that is what's happening now. China is increasingly behaving as an international bad actor, undermining all sorts of systems.

But having said that, I'm more worried about their economic espionage, the things that they're doing to massively increase instability in the South China Sea and the East China Sea and around the world.

Certainly, hacking the U.S. ambassador is an aggressive thing to do. But I'm quite confident that we are doing our best to try to hack their government officials as well.

ACOSTA: And as we mentioned, U.S. climate envoy, John Kerry, says more work is needed to reach a climate agreement following this trip to China. How critical is that?

I remember I covered an Obama trip to China, gosh, about eight years ago. And I mean, the Obama administration thought getting China on board, achieving climate -- new climate change curbs globally was highly important back then.

It seems like the work keeps ongoing because the threat keeps getting worse and worse.

METZL: Yes, so climate change is a global threat. It threatens all of us. All countries including the United States and China must play a role in addressing it.

But John Kerry's recent trip to China in many ways was a bust. It's great that we have communications with China. And it's totally fine that he went there.

But while he was in China, Xi Jinping didn't meet with him. While Xi Jinping was meeting with Henry Kissinger to deliver a point, the Chinese government said we're not going to do anything on climate change because you asked us.

So we have to try, but it's unfortunate that there isn't greater international collaboration on climate.

ACOSTA: And let me get your reaction to this latest development in the -- I guess the work to try to get to the origins of Covid.

In a surprise move, the White House suspended funding for the lab in Wuhan where many believe -- some believe Covid may have escaped from a lab. What did you think of that?

METZL: So, Jim, as you know, I've been one of the leaders of efforts from the earliest days of the pandemic raising the possibility of a research-related origin of the pandemic and calling for a full investigation.

The mountain of circumstantial evidence is heavily weighted towards the possibility of a lab leak origin, a research-related incident as the origin of the pandemic.

Certainly, the FBI and the Department of energy believe that's the most likely cause. And now the administration, it has recognized that we just should not be funding the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

There was no funding going from the United States government. It hasn't been for about three years now. But we need to keep digging.

Also this week, the private slack communications among scientists and the scientists, the Western scientists who, in many ways, set the agenda for the national, international conversation about pandemic origins.

Who, in early 2020, said that they knew that it came from nature and not from a lab, it turned out that in their private communications, they were saying, hey, this could very well come from a lab.

So it's the same story. It probably comes from a lab. We need to dig more, and we just need to keep at it because it matters. [16:39:59]

ACOSTA: And we still don't know. There's still no conclusive proof that it came out of a lab. It still could be something that jumped from an animal to human, in that kind of a fashion.

All right, Jamie Metzl, we'll get back to that subject another time. Thanks for coming on. We appreciate it.

We'll be right back.

METZL: My pleasure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: New developments today ahead of high-stakes labor talks set to resume Tuesday between shipping giant UPS and its Teamster employees. Those Teamster workers held a rally today in Atlanta as the July 31st deadline nears to reach a new deal.

Here's CNN's Isabel Rosales.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, the union, the Teamsters, insist that they are ready to go on strike if it comes to that, if a deal can't be reached.

For two weeks now, they have been practicing across the nation with practice pickets. with rallies like ones that we saw right here in Atlanta. Hundreds of people filling this hall, holding up signs like this, "Time to pay up." Just practicing for a just contract.

[16:45:06]

Now, according to the Anderson Economic Group -- that's a research firm -- a strike would be costly to the United States. A 10-day UPS strike, they estimate, would cost the economy $7 billion, making it the costliest work stoppage ever in U.S. history.

And 95 percent of the contract between both sides has been negotiated and is done so far. But that 5 percent, what is stopping them from reaching a deal here, one of the biggest points, is part-time workers specifically their compensation.

Starting pay is $16.20, with the average part-time worker -- that's exclusively package handlers and sorters, not drivers -- with them making on average $20 an hour. Full-time workers make around $95,000 per year.

I spoke with Sean O'Brien, the general president of the union. He says that is not nearly enough. They need a livable wage. And he will not budge on that. They need over $20 of starting pay per hour.

Here's what else he had to say about the negotiations.

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SEAN O'BRIEN, TEAMSTERS GENERAL PRESIDENT: UPS has chosen to strike themselves, and we will not -- we will our labor until July 31st at 12:01 a.m. But if we get a tentative agreement, subject to ratification, then we that we will not withhold our labor.

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ROSALES: And we did hear from UPS, who gave us a statement last week. They say that part-timers have the same benefits as full-timers, including health care, pension, and help with school tuition. They acknowledge they make less money.

UPS saying this has been an historic economic package that has been offered to the union, and it is urging quick action to finalize a deal.

Also saying the following, quote:

"We are pleased to be back at the negotiating table next week to resolve the few remaining opening issues. We are prepared to increase our industry leading pay and benefits but need to work quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers or employees and businesses across the country."

Now, it's also important, Jim, to mention the things that have been agreed upon by both sides. UPS agreeing to put air-conditioning in new vehicles, retro fitting old vehicles with fans, and also to do away with this two-tier wage system where employees who worked on the weekends made less money.

But of course, we'll need to keep our eyes close on next week, Tuesday, in D.C. That's when negotiations resume to see if a deal can be reached -- Jim?

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ACOSTA: OK, thank you very much.

The U.S. women's national soccer team launched its campaign for a three-peat. They won their first World Cup match but they're facing some criticism. It was a great game last night. We'll see what they do next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[16:52:18] The U.S. women's national soccer team marked its first win in the opening game of the women's World Cup underway right now in Australia and New Zealand.

The U.S. team beating Vietnam 3-0 as the Americans chase their third World Cup championship in a row. And the U.S. has a new women's superstar in the making.

Here's CNN's Carolyn Manno.

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CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, this was a solid effort from the United States women's national team. They looked cohesive. And it left a lot of room for improvement, which is kind of what you want.

If they weren't back-to-back champs, I don't know that we would be dissecting it as much as we are.

But they were expected to be the World Cup debutant in Vietnam. It was really just a matter of how big that goal differential was going to be. They left a lot of chances out there. But it was a lot of soccer to play. And they know this.

It ended up being a great way to start this year's campaign. The U.S. possessed the ball for the majority of the game, which is what's important.

Sophia Smith making her World Cup debut. She drove the ball into the back of the net to open the scoring in the 14th minute and really set the tone. And she was not done. Striking again deep in stoppage time at the end of the first half for her second goal of the game.

And at just under 23 years old, she is one of the faces of this tournament, the second youngest player in U.S. women's team history to score multiple goals in a World Cup game.

Then we have a veteran like we all know in Megan Rapinoe making a little history of her own in her fourth and final World Cup, coming in as a substitute in the second half for her 200th appearance for Team USA.

Up next for the United States women is the Netherlands on Wednesday night. Their second Group E game and a rematch of the 2019 World Cup finals. So the tests only get tougher from here.

Elsewhere, Lionel Messi's debut has been one of the most anticipated in recent memory. And somehow it lived up to the hype and then some.

Seven months after winning the men's World Cup, the seven-time FIFA player of the year comes off the bench and delivers another one of these magical Messi moments that he's been known for.

Throwing in a magnificent strike from outside the box in the 94th minute, which sent the crowd of more than 20,000 into a frenzy. That would turn out to be the game winner in the 2-1 game over Mexico.

As you know, Jim, it's been Messi mania. Ticket prices up nearly 1000 percent since he's arrived in Miami. And so far, he has really delivered. We'll see what happens from here, but a great night all around for soccer.

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ACOSTA: It was a lot of fun to watch.

In the meantime, in the world's oceans right now, overfishing and climate change are squeezing shark and coral reef populations. But the Mote Arena in Florida is trying to restore the endangered sea life that exists all around the world.

That's today's "IMPACT YOUR WORLD."

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coral reefs are actually the center of marine biodiversity and a big part of that is sharks doing their job in the ecosystem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reef sharks are probably keeping some of their prey species in check. Corals need these nutrients that sharks are bringing in from other habitats.

We just released a study of the five main reef shark species. They have declined somewhere between 60 and 73 percent each. And what we find is that's because of people fishing them too hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we can get people to reduce fishing overall, but what we need is the coral reefs to still be there because these sharks need habitat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sharks are important for corals and corals are important for sharks.

Around the globe, unfortunately, we're seeing coral reefs degrade. Here in Florida, we've lost somewhere on the order of 90 to 95 percent of our living coral.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the Florida Keys at the Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration. It's the largest land-based coral nursery in the United States at the moment.

Those corals are grown out in a -- in a farm setting and then moved into an offshore nursery. And then ultimately, all of those corals are out-planted directly onto the reef.

Mote has, to date, out-planted just over 210,000 fragments of coral onto Florida's coral reef.

I'm confident that we have the capabilities of assisting in the recovery of those corals so that they are there to support our shark population.

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ACOSTA: To learn more about organizations helping with shark conservation, visit CNN.com/impact. To donate, text fins to 707070.

And we'll be right back.

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