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Scorching Heat, Torrential Rains Globally; Trump Trial Set For May 2024; U.S. Dominate Vietnam At Women's World Cup; Legendary Singer Tony Bennett Dies At 96; Florida Approves New Black History Teaching Standards; Greece Closes Acropolis Due To Heat; Chinese Foreign Minister Vanishes From View. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired July 22, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Heat domes are scorching much of the southern United States. We'll look at when relief may be in sight.
Vice President Kamala Harris taking on Florida's new rules when it comes to teaching Black history. How governor DeSantis is responding.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am predicting they absolutely repeat. I don't think there is any doubt about that if they show up, which they usually do.
NEWTON (voice-over): Team USA did show up. They are one step closer to a threepeat.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Paula Newton.
NEWTON: So much of the southern U.S. is under a heat warning at this hour with blazing hot temperatures expected for the next several days.
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NEWTON: The extreme weather is not just limited to the United States; 19 major Italian cities are still on red alert because of the heat.
Crews in Western India will continue to look for people after a landslide killed at least 22 people.
China's weather service has issued rainfall warnings for eight provinces.
And we will get much more later on the blistering heat in Greece. We want to hear how they are keeping citizens and tourists safe. That will be coming up.
[04:05:00]
NEWTON: A date has been set for the highly anticipated trial of Donald Trump's classified documents case. Trump could face at least four different trials while on the campaign trail.
He's to appear in court for cases related to fraud, defamation and hush money payments. Earlier Trump said it would be dangerous if he's sent prison for mishandling documents.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: It is a dangerous thing to talk about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
TRUMP: Because we do have a tremendously passionate group of voters -- and I mean maybe 100, 150 -- I've never seen anything like it. Much more passion than they had in 2020, much more passion than they had in 2016. I think it would be very dangerous.
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NEWTON: The judge overseeing the documents case effectively rejected a request from Trump to start the trial after the election and another request from the government to start in December. Paula Reid has those details.
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PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The central conflict in this case between the two sides is about timing and when the case should go before a jury.
Defense attorneys argue, that it would, quote, "unfair" to put it on before the election. They say it is unusual and too early to set a date.
The prosecutors wanted a date of December. They argued it doesn't matter if he's running for the White House again, he should be treated like any other busy and important person.
The judge split the difference. She put down a date of May 2024. She also included a detailed schedule, all the things that need to happen between now and when it goes to trial.
It is easy to see if a few of those hearings and filings get pushed back, you could see how it could get pushed to the end of 2024 or 2025. The Trump team is happy with this. They're confident they'll get to push this back after the election. This case is likely, every expert I talk to, says it is more like
likely than not this will be delayed, possibly delayed after the 2024 election -- Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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NEWTON: The White House announced that several tech giants have agreed to put a guardrail on artificial intelligence. Microsoft, Google and Meta committed to clearly labeling AI generated content and to put new AI systems through outside testing before they are released publicly.
Mr. Biden met with senior executives from seven companies. Congress and the White House are trying to develop regulations for the rapidly growing industry.
President Biden is elevating CIA director Bill Burns to his cabinet. Biden said that Burns delivered a clear-eyed approach to U.S. national security, particularly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Burns said that he's honored to serve next to the intelligence officers and the entire intelligence community. He has been in and out of presidential cabinet over the past several years.
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NEWTON: Ukraine says at least six people are dead after a new wave of Russian strikes in the Donetsk region. Multiple attacks hit various parts of Ukraine. Emergency workers are still working at the scene of one of them. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia will pay for its attacks on the grain infrastructure.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In total, since the beginning of the week, more than 20 people, including two children, had been affected by Russian terror in the Odessa region alone. Only absolute evil can inflict such strikes. There will be a response.
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NEWTON: Moscow is raising the stakes, conducting live fire drills in the Black Sea Friday. Russia quit the Ukraine grain deal and said any cargo ship headed to Ukraine can be considered a carrier of military equipment.
The United Nations is alarmed as grain prices soar. A top U.N. official says more than 360 million people worldwide need aid. Some of them may now go hungry or even starve to death. For more on this, we go to Nada Bashir in London.
[04:10:00]
NEWTON: We heard the warnings there and what is at stake. There seems to be no viable solution, at least not as of yet. And we just heard how there could be a dangerous escalation in the Black Sea.
What more are we learning?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a reminder of how high the stakes are here. We have seen days and days of attacks. Ukraine officials say they're aimed at destroying all goods that look to be exported from the Black Sea.
Prior to the deal struck between Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations, we heard from Recep Tayyip Erdogan of took, saying he hopes to mediate a deal between Ukraine's President Zelenskyy and Putin.
The United Nations has been clear that there will be an impact on countries most dependent on Ukraine's exports.
Over the last year, over 32 million metric tons of goods were exported and 700,000 tons were distributed and shipped by the United Nations' World Food Programme to its humanitarian operations to countries like Afghanistan and Yemen.
So there is a lot at stake here. We heard more from the United Nations' humanitarian chief.
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MARTIN GRIFFITHS, U.N. UNDERSECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: For many of those 362 million people, it's not a matter of sadness or disappointment. It is a matter of threat to their future and the future of their children and families.
They are not sad. They are angry. They are worried. They are concerned. Some will go hungry. Some will starve. Many may die as a result of these decisions.
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BASHIR: The United Nations is ringing the alarm bell. President Erdogan can be a mediator in this deal. He is supporting Ukraine and has a civil relationship with President Putin. Erdogan hopes to maintain the dialogue with Putin in terms of reviving the Black Sea grain initiative.
NEWTON: Nada Bashir, thank you. We appreciate it.
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NEWTON: So we heard them loud and clear. The USA is ready to defend its title in the Women's World Cup. The experts are telling us don't read too much into one game. This is Vietnam's first appearance in the tournament. Christine Brennan said that the U.S. faces much steeper competition in the weeks ahead. Listen.
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CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: The U.S. is going to have to play better. Alex Morgan missed a penalty kick. Megan Rapinoe did not look sharp. So the U.S. will need to be better but the U.S. knows it has to be better than they were against Vietnam.
So if they progress and if they play better from game to game through the tournament, as the U.S. has done in previous World Cups, I think they will be in decent shape to win it all.
The world has caught up to the U.S. and, in the case of some nations, they have been really good for a long time, like Germany. So we will see how it plays out. But it will not be an easy task for the United States.
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NEWTON: Angus Watson is joining us from Sydney.
A lot of the tournament will be played in Australia.
Given the dominance of the United States, did they give a bit of a window into what might be some of their weaknesses going forward?
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: While all the focus is on Team USA right now, perhaps some of that focus is allowing other teams to go under the radar.
We have Japan up 1-0. They were the 2011 champions and the runners-up in 2015. They just played a good half of football marking their intentions in this World Cup. There are teams like Germany, Spain, France, England who are tremendous.
[04:15:00]
WATSON: But Team USA is the favorite today. The score in their first game could have been more without the heroics from the Vietnamese goal keeper Kim Tan, keeping Team USA from scoring further. Two goals from Sophia Smith, one from the captain in the second. A great way for Team USA to start.
NEWTON: I see behind you the fans' zone is alive and well. Angus Watson, thank you very much.
Seven months after winning the men's World Cup, football icon Lionel Messi pulled off another stunning victory with Inter Milan (sic). The striker scored the game winning goal off a free kick.
Messi said after the game that he saw the goal and knew he had to score. He did just that. He added that the win could be boost the club's confidence in the league's cup this month. We'll have much more on the World Cup a little later in the hour.
I have to tell you it was absolutely (INAUDIBLE).
New controversial standards for teaching Black American history. Why the U.S. vice president is blasting Florida's new policy.
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NEWTON: The legend Tony Bennett singing his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." He was an American original. We look back at his life and career.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A legend on stage, Tony Bennett's career spanned more than 70 years. He was opening up for Pearl Bailey when Bob Hope discovered him in 1949 in a New York City club.
BOB HOPE, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: You know, it's been about 16 years since I discovered you singing in a Greenwich Village night club.
How come this is your first appearance on my television show?
TONY BENNETT, SINGER AND ARTIST: Well, I've been waiting for you to make good.
ELAM (voice-over): Bennett had a string of hits in the '50s but the best was yet to come. He won his first Grammy Award in 1963 for his song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and performed it on "The Judy Garland Show."
But Bennett's unique voice and timeless style helped him win a total of 19 Grammys and two Emmys throughout his career.
FRANK SINATRA, SINGER AND ACTOR: Tony Bennett, ladies and gentlemen. Maybe the best pop singer in the whole world.
BENNETT: You know, I asked Sinatra, why do you think we stayed around so long?
And he said, because we stayed with good songs.
ELAM: But the classics weren't always hits. In the '70s, Bennett found himself without a recording contract. He was in debt and battling a drug problem.
BENNETT: I realized that I thought I was doing well with the drugs and I really wasn't.
ELAM: That's when Bennett's son, Danny, stepped in as his manager. Bennett resigned with Columbia Records and began to revitalize his career. It was then he discovered a new audience, the MTV generation.
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MARGE SIMPSON, CARTOON CHARACTER, "THE SIMPSONS": Look, it's Tony Bennett. BENNETT: Hey, good to see you.
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BENNETT: Yes, "The Simpsons." We did a commercial for MTV and they liked it so much they gave me an unplugged special and it won Album of the Year.
ELAM (voice-over): Then he went on to collaborate with singers like Amy Winehouse for "Body and Soul" and Lady Gaga for "The Lady Is a Tramp."
At 85, he became the oldest living artist to hit number one on the Billboard 200 chart with his "Duets II" album. Several years later he toured with Lady Gaga to promote their album, "Cheek to Cheek."
Yet Bennett's talent went beyond singing. He was an accomplished painter with artwork at the Smithsonian.
BENNETT: I have it sound light because I've always known what I wanted to do.
ELAM (voice-over): The son of a grocer and a seamstress, Bennett married three times and had four children. He and his third wife, Susan, founded the Exploring the Arts Foundation and opened the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York.
BENNETT: Everybody has a dream and hope that something is going to work for them. And then when it happens, it's a great joy.
ELAM: Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016 but, with the encouragement of his doctors, kept doing what he loved best, singing.
He cut his final album, "Love for Sale," with Lady Gaga and performed with her one last time in two sold-out concerts for his 95th birthday.
LADY GAGA, SINGER AND ACTOR: He's my musical companion. He is the greatest singer in the whole world.
ELAM: Aired on CBS, it was a moving tribute to a musical legend.
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NEWTON: As he said himself, he was the original American idol. Artist Michael Buble sang on two of his Bennett's duet albums and he spoke about the impact his music had on people all over the world. Take a listen.
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MICHAEL BUBLE, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SINGER: He has changed the face of music and it's not just in the beautiful country of America or even North America, including Canada; it is worldwide. I mean, listen, I toured nearly 50 countries this year and there's not a place -- there's not a language spoken that doesn't love him and that won't love him forever. He'll become part of all our lives in wonderful moments, when we get married or when we fall in love, to difficult moments, you know, when we're saying goodbye to one another.
He's just become a part of culture.
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NEWTON: Welcome back. I'm Paula Newton. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[04:30:00]
NEWTON: The Florida Board of Education has sparked outrage after new standards for teaching Black history. Lessons must include how slavery could have offered A, quote, "personal benefit to enslaved people."
And it also said during lessons on violence, teachers should discuss, quote, "acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans."
Vice President Kamala Harris took a trip to Florida on Friday to blast the new standards that are supported by governor DeSantis.
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KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We know the history and let us not let these politicians who are trying to divide our country win because you see what they are doing.
What they are doing is they are creating these unnecessary debates. This is unnecessary to debate whether enslaved people benefited from slavery.
Are you kidding me?
Are we supposed to debate that?
Let's not be distracted by what they're trying to do, which is to create unnecessary debates to divide our country. Let's not fall in that trap.
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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anyone who will read that will see it is thorough and factual. For them to demagogue it, that may have worked in the past. Nobody is buying their nonsense anymore.
So she's going to come down to the state of Florida and try to chirp and demagogue. She is ignoring the responsibilities the administration has to secure our border. They're failing at that.
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NEWTON: Joining me is Kellie Carter Jackson at Wellesley College. She is also the author of "Force And Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence."
Thanks for being here with us right now. So many in the last few months have made this about politics, this issue. But in an opinion piece that you wrote in May, you stress this is about history and history is that slavery was wrong, pure and simple. And you say curating a more politically palatable history for political gain is dangerous.
Why?
KELLIE CARTER JACKSON, WELLESLEY COLLEGE: I think when we whitewash history and marginalize major stories and turning points to tout a romantic narrative or tell only a positive narrative, students are robbed from their history. I cannot tell you how many times students came to my class and said, why was I never told this?
What happened if I never went to college?
Would I ever get the history of this Black abolitionist?
History is complicated. No, we don't have these sweet narratives that put us on a constant pace of progress, that all the progress that we see in America comes through hard-won efforts and activism.
NEWTON: I read most of it. I read most of what the Florida education board put out. They say it is thorough. It was put together by a group of scholars from all walks of life. And yet slavery, I don't think there is an argument there. It was a crime against humanity.
Do you believe what they decided now puts that in dispute in Florida?
JACKSON: I read most of the 216 pages. They highlight the African American portion of the things taught. I was encouraged to see certain names, glad to see major leaders of abolitionists were mentioned and other massacres that took place were mentioned.
But I think the nuance is left out of the conversation. When we think about how we craft these conversations and how we get our students to be critical thinkers, there is some language within the document has me a little disturbed.
There is a discussion of race riots. But there is no direct conversation of lynchings. There is praises by -- when violence was committed by both white and Black people. I think you have to make a distinct there. [04:35:00]
JACKSON: Violent acts against white people or against Black people is not the same thing as Black people defending themselves from white people. I think students will be left up to make up their own minds about what happened.
But it creates this portrait of slavery that the African American benefited from slavery and how certain skills they developed caused them to benefit. That's impossible. There is no way in which enslaved people could benefit from the institution of slavery. That kind of sloppy, slippery language concerns me the most.
NEWTON: As an educator, can you take me into the classroom?
What does this do to students of all races but specifically African Americans in the classrooms, Black Americans in the classrooms, when they hear things like you just uttered?
JACKSON: for me, is it important that we're honest with students. Students value honesty and accuracy. These atrocities happened. If we don't learn them, we repeat them or mimic these things.
So I want students not to be grieved that it happened but by the fact, if you don't get it history and don't learn what took place, I think that in some ways, we put ourselves in a horrendous path of repeating things that should never revisit.
NEWTON: Kellie Carter Jackson, thank you so much.
JACKSON: Thank you.
NEWTON: It's going to be a scorching hot weekend across the United States. Large parts of the country are under a heat alert or advisory. And experts are warning people to stay cool and be aware of the dangers of excessive heat.
Southwestern states are going to keep fueling the heat with the temperatures expected to stay in the triple digits throughout the next few days.
Greece is also bracing for more miserable heat with the temperatures expected to soar to as high as 45 degrees Celsius this weekend. Authorities have ordered all archeological sites, including the Acropolis, to be closed for the afternoons.
Joining me now is the deputy mayor, Vasileios Folvos Axiotis, on what I'm sure are some trying days in Athens. It is midmorning and it's about 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
What is your city doing to keep people safe?
This heat is very dangerous.
VASILEIOS FOLVOS AXIOTIS, DEPUTY MAYOR, ATHENS, GREECE: First of all, thank you for the invitation. Good morning from beautiful Athens. The temperatures are rising high right now. We're talking about 56 degrees Celsius. That is 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
We're not talking about climate change right now. We're amid an actual climate crisis. So the outcome of that is the heat wave. Nonetheless, our city has been prepared and we are asking both visitors and citizens to be aware of this heat wave.
We have drones doing surveillance. We have 24 support lines for anyone feeling dizzy or sick. We're going to the homes of the elderly people. We have also been prepared for a new waste collection program to protect our people.
Yes, the Acropolis has closed down in order to protect the tourists and the people working there. You understand, if we have temperatures at 48 degrees, that is 115 degrees Fahrenheit, that is hazardous for the visitors and for the people working there. Apart from that, let's not forget our four-legged friends.
[04:40:00]
AXIOTIS: We have more than 150 cooling stations for four-legged friends, our cats and dogs. And we have cooling stations for people throughout the city to get cold water.
NEWTON: That is a long list. I'm sure many cities around the world are listening right now.
Have you seen increased strain at hospitals?
I want to point out, there is not air conditioning everywhere in Greece.
AXIOTIS: We're equipped for hot weather but not heat waves. Our hospitals are ready not only for heat waves but in order to help anyone in need, which means all of our hospitals in the city and throughout Greece are here for those in need.
Yes, all the cities in Europe have been struck by the heat waves. Let's not forget that Athens is cooler than any other major place.
NEWTON: I want to lean on your engineering experience.
AXIOTIS: By all means, by all means.
(LAUGHTER)
NEWTON: You are an engineer by training and you've done research at Columbia's Earth Engineering Center. This is not going to stop anytime soon.
What can cities do to mitigate these effects so next summer we'll have less ill health and death?
Some of the stats from Europe alone are shocking in terms of the level of death.
AXIOTIS: Plant trees. Plant trees anywhere possible. That is the best way to mitigate the effect of the climate crisis. Plant trees, increase the green area. Use ferrable (ph) materials made for (INAUDIBLE) solutions for the pavement.
Again, when you talk about the pavements, cooler materials. And we need to increase all the green, no pavement throughout the city wherever possible. What you have seen in international and right now in Athens, they can visit coolathens@.cityofathens.gr You can find more information.
NEWTON: Deputy mayor, I have to leave it there. But a lot of good information for a lot of people around the world. Thank you very much.
AXIOTIS: Thank you.
NEWTON: We'll be right back in a moment.
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[04:45:00]
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NEWTON: People are speculating why China's foreign minister Qin Gang has disappeared. And no one can explain why. Will Ripley has our story.
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QIN GANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER: China has every right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As China's ambassador to the U.S., Qin Gang was combative and controversial.
QIN: We are fully justified to do what we must.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Polarizing, persuasive, performing under pressure, a patriotic poster child of China's wolf warrior diplomacy, for an assertive new era under Xi Jinping.
China's powerful president promoted his loyal aide to foreign minister last December, a meteoric rise, making Qin China's second most powerful diplomat, darting around the world, welcoming allies and adversaries to Beijing.
Just last month, U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken and his last known meeting on June 25th with Russia's deputy foreign minister.
Since then, he's been missing for more than three weeks, absent from high-profile visits by top U.S. officials -- Janet Yellen, John Kerry and, most recently, former U.S. secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
DENG YWEN, FORMER EDITOR, CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY NEWSPAPER (through translator): It's very rare for a senior Chinese diplomat to have gone missing more than 20 days ago. In my memory, that has never happened before.
RIPLEY (voice-over): China saying that he was unable to attend meetings due to health reasons. But even that official explanation later deleted from the Chinese foreign ministry website. The ministry often leaves out content deemed sensitive from its transcripts.
Qin's disappearance was also not mentioned in China's state-controlled media, fueling intense speculation online.
On Chinese social media, one Weibo user asked, "We can't guess what happened to him."
Another saying, "Is this how our wolf warriors end up?"
China's diplomacy is on a busy schedule these days, driven by a stream of high-level exchanges between Beijing and Washington.
DENG (through translator): The fact that the Chinese foreign minister has disappeared at this particular time has created a lot of attention and discussions.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Discussions fueled by China's authoritarian system, a one-party state focused on Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader in decades. Few outsiders know what's on his mind, the lack of transparency igniting discussions about the missing foreign minister and what his future might hold.
RIPLEY: These sudden disappearances have become more and more common in China under Xi Jinping as he continues to crack down on dissent and concentrate more power into his own hands.
In the past, the government officials that have disappeared sometimes have been out of public sight for months, only to reappear to face potential charges from the Communist Party's corruption watchdog group -- Will Ripley, CNN, Seoul.
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NEWTON: Excitement is building in the Women's World Cup. Team USA women breeze past Vietnam in their opening match.
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[04:50:00]
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NEWTON: Japan and Zambia have been battling at the Women's World Cup and it is not looking too good for Zambia right now. Japan is very much dominating, 4-0. Hours earlier, Vietnam made its World Cup debut against Team USA but never got a chance to score.
For more on this, we have "CNN SPORT's" correspondent Carolyn Manno.
It was a dominant United States but Vietnam stayed in the game, right?
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You have to give Vietnam a lot of credit for playing tough, especially against a team that they idolize in the United States.
But there was not a question of if the back to back champion U.S. Women's team wound beat them. It was a matter of how much, what would be the margins.
It was closer, I think, than a lot of people expected even though the Americans were very dominant at 3-0. They opened up the scoring in the 14th minute, setting the tone. At the end of the second half, Sophia Smith scored her second goal of the game.
[04:55:00]
MANNO: She is considered one of the breakout stars of the tournament. And she became the second youngest player to score multiple goals in a World Cup game.
Megan Rapinoe came in for her 200th cap for Team USA to be the 14th player to reach that milestone. And then Lindsay Moran, in the 77th minute, scored another goal to put this one away.
Smith talked about rising to the occasion, knowing there are still more games to be played.
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SOPHIA SMITH, TEAM U.S., WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: It's so exciting. Every minute of that game was fun and the crowd was amazing. I think it was a good place to start in the tournament. But I know we have so much more to get to.
I feel at ease. I was a little bit anxious going into the tournament. But it's good to have a game under our belt, get a feel for it and know what to expect. But we know the next two games will be hard and we'll celebrate this and then put our focus into the next game.
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MANNO: The U.S. will next face the Netherlands in America.
Elsewhere for you, Messi's debut with Inter Miami has been one of the most anticipated in recent memory. The crowd was so crazy. Seven months after winning the men's World Cup, he came off the bench and delivered this magical Messi moment, curling in a free kick strike in the 94th minute.
That set the crowd of more than 20,000 people into a frenzy. That would turn out to be the game winner in a 2-1 win over Mexico. After the game, he said that he saw the goal and he knew he had to score. And David Beckham said he could not have wished for a better debut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID BECKHAM, COOWNER INTER MIAMI: As soon as a saw the free kick given, I thought, this is the way for men to win. It was such a special night tonight for us, for our families, for everyone in the stadium, for you guys. It is such a moment for this country and for this league. And it is a very proud moment for us.
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MANNO: Inter Miami next plays next Tuesday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was a lot of fun.
NEWTON: I'm Paula Newton. I'll be back in a moment with more NEWSROOM.
