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Typhoon Khanun Batters Japan As Storm Moves West; Family Of Travis King Pleads For Answers; Israeli Supreme Court Hearing On Key Law Soon; Trump Hours Away From Arraignment At D.C. Courthouse; Support For Trump Holds Steady Despite Legal Troubles; Ukrainian Air Defense Systems Shoot Down Drones. Coup Leader Visits Burkina Faso, Wagner-Backed Mali. Pope Speaks On Climate Change, Global Conflicts, Migration. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 03, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:21]

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

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Donald Trump due in Court today. The former president facing his third arraignment. This one, for alleged efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.

The U.S. State Department orders all non-essential personnel to leave Niger, as coup leaders seek military support from neighboring Mali.

And China rolling out new restrictions on screen time for kids and teens. A live report from Hong Kong just ahead.

In the coming hours, former U.S. President Donald Trump will head to a federal courthouse in Washington for his first Court appearance on criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

This will mark his third arrest and third arraignment in just a matter of months. Security has been ramped up ahead of Trump's arrival with law enforcement monitoring for any possible threats or protests.

All this, after Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation led to a four-count indictment against Trump. An attorney for the former president argues that he did nothing wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LAURO, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: You have one of the leading constitutional scholars in the United States, John Eastman, say to President Trump, this is a protocol that you can follow. It's legal. That eliminates criminal intent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But the indictment against Trump, details his false claims and prolific lies of fraud, following the 2020 election. His former vice president had this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sadly, the president was surrounded by a group of crackpot lawyers that kept telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear.

Anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be president of the United States. And anyone who asks someone else to put themselves over the constitution should never be president of the United States again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Paula Reid has more on what Trump can expect during his Court appearance.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, former President Trump is expected to come here to Washington to appear in person for this hearing, which is expected to be both in initial appearance and also an arraignment.

It's unclear if we'll see him arrive because this federal courthouse, it's designed to deal with people who have security details and VIPs. It would be very easy for him to pull in to the underground garage, and we won't get to see him at all.

But once he is inside the federal courthouse, where, of course, there are no cameras, there are no photographs. He's effectively under arrest. And it is expected that he will be processed like any other defendant that we don't expect a mug shot, because those are used to identify suspects if they go on the lamp.

He is, of course, one of the most famous people in the world, so no need for that.

But this will be a quick procedural hearing. This will not be in front of the judge who oversee his trial. This will be in front of a magistrate judge. It is expected that he will hear the charges that have been filed against him, have the opportunity to enter a plea. And it should all be over pretty quickly. And this will be the third time that he has done this, this year alone. So, he should know what to expect.

Paula Reid CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Michael Genovese. He is a political analyst, president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University and author of "The Modern Presidency: Six Debates that Define the Institution". Great to have you with us.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, we are just hours away from Donald Trump's arraignment at a Washington courthouse for his third indictment, this time for trying to overturn the 2020 election. But generally, as Trump's legal woes increase, so too does he support. But these are serious criminal charges. And he still faces more indictments ahead.

So, while this may rally his base, what could it potentially mean for Trump's race for the White House, and particularly, for the upcoming GOP primaries, given, he'll be balancing 2024 court dates with those primary dates?

Well, it's hard enough to run for president when you don't have all this baggage, but he's going to be in Court. Now. I don't think he'll have all these cases probably simultaneously. But, you know, really, Rosemary, it's a very sad day. It's -- no one should take pleasure in seeing a former president humiliated like this -- arrested three times in the space of months.

[02:05:04]

Yes, he did drive the nation through the mud. Yes, he did undermined democracy. But as appalling as his behavior is, we should take no joy in this.

What we should take from this is that this is shows the great strength of our democracy and belief in the rule of law that no one is above the law. And a way it's --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Even without me, you would not be first in the nation right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GENOVESE: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

CHURCH: No. Sorry that we were playing a sound on tape far too loud that was drowning you out to continue.

GENOVESE: I was just saying that, you know, what we saw and Donald Trump was appalling, but not surprising. This is who he is. And so, while we should take no pleasure in his indictment and his arrest, we understand that this is necessary, and it's part of what a democracy does.

CHURCH: Right. And despite his legal peril, yet again, Trump is way out in front of all his GOP presidential rivals with only a few of them daring to criticize him and his legal problems, the rest careful not to upset Trump or his base. But we did hear from Trump's former Attorney General Bill Barr, who spoke with synonyms Kaitlan Collins Wednesday night about how Trump is using political donations to pay his legal fees.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: I find that sort of nauseating. I mean, this guy claims to be a multi- billionaire. And, you know, he goes out and raises money from hard working class, hardworking people, small donors, and tells them this is to defend America and to, you know, take care of the elect -- he didn't provide any significant support during the '22 elections. And a lot of this money seems to be going to his legal fees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And so, Michael, how will this be received by American voters? Given GOP presidential hopeful, Chris Christie is sending out the very same message, and both will presumably keep reminding voters of this fact in the weeks and months ahead.

GENOVESE: From the first day he took office, Donald Trump monetized the presidency, he did it with the emoluments clause, by violating that. He did it through his hotels to getting his family to meet dignitaries from other countries and get licensing.

So, he is -- he is obsessed with money. He always has been, that's kind of his brand. But what is surprising not is that Donald Trump is doing that, but that his rivals in the Republican primary have been so meek.

They are playing a waiting game. They're waiting for Donald Trump to implode or explode. And he may very well. But that waiting game suggests that there's no one to presidential timber. No one has a profile -- the encouraged profile, that they're exercising.

And so, I think what Donald Trump does is he sucks the air out of every room, and the Republican rivals are simply willing to let him do that.

CHURCH: And, of course, while this is all playing out, former President Barack Obama, reportedly warned Joe Biden at a private lunch in late June of Trump's political strengths, concern that Trump could be a more formidable candidate than Democrats actually realize, and various polls show just how tight this race will be.

So, how does President Biden and his party need to respond to the apparent improving political fortunes of Trump, even as his legal woes increase?

GENOVESE: Yes, as you say, the legal woes are increasing, but his political clout within his party remains the same. The question is, can he translate that into a national campaign?

And I think the answer is it's certainly possible. He has almost a 50- 50 chance of winning right now.

The one thing that could really help Donald Trump is if the Republicans -- or excuse me, the Democrats don't turn out, are not enthusiastic about Biden, the African American voters don't show up, if young voters don't show up.

And so, for the Democrats to win, they have to put a lot of pieces together. Will they do that? Barack Obama was great at putting that coalition together. Biden did it in 2020. But the Democrats are lukewarm to him right now. So, he has to rev up the party, rev up debate -- his base, and get them excited. He's having a hard time doing that.

CHURCH: All right. Watch and see what happens. Michael Genovese, joining us there. Many thanks.

GENOVESE: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, this weekend, Saudi Arabia is hosting peace talks organized by Ukraine's government. Officials from dozens of countries are expected to attend, including India and Brazil, which have friendly relations with Russia.

Moscow will not send a delegation and the U.S. believes that could be one sticking point in making any kind of progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MILLER, SPOKESMAN, UNITED STATES STATE DEPARTMENT: So, we're not looking at these talks as generating any concrete deliverables at the end of them.

But this is still the start of the process. Remember, there still active fighting in Ukraine. And for there to be any kind of peace negotiations, Russia has to show that it's willing to enter into peace negotiations and it hasn't done so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:10:09]

CHURCH: Russia's latest attacks far more than just Ukraine. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he says they are terror attacks against the global food supply itself.

His comments come after a Russian drone strike damage critical port infrastructure in Izmail, in the Odesa region. Those Russian strikes also came perilously close to NATO territory.

And this is the view from Romania, just across the Danube River, a kilometer away from the drone attack.

Fred Pleitgen, brings us the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Air defenses lighting up the sky in southern Ukraine, as Russia launched a wave of drone attacks on a grain port in the Odesa region.

The Ukrainian military later saying they managed to shoot down 11 of the Iranian-made Shahed drones.

Two enemy targets were detected because of their sound and we're seeing, he says. We opened fire, resulting in the destruction of one Shahed.

But Ukraine is increasingly fighting back, attacking central Moscow with drones twice within three days. A presidential adviser vowing there will be more to come.

I think, Moscow will have more and more war on its territory, he says. And this has nothing to do with Ukraine alone.

Now, this is due to the historical significance of this moment. If you start such a war, you have to expect that this war will be on your territory.

And Russia is increasingly on the backfoot on the territory it occupies inside Ukraine. Kyiv saying its forces are making gains both in the south and in the east.

Eager to shore up support, Vladimir Putin handing out gold stars to troops who fought in what the Kremlin still calls the "special military operation".

You came to the front line with a single goal, he says, to be with the fatherland and your people in difficult times.

Putin has increased fines for those who don't answer draft summons, and Russia's Parliament recently voted to increase the draft age limit.

And now, the country is also dealing with a wave of arson attacks on military recruitment offices, though authorities haven't identified a link to the war.

They say, in many cases, phone scammers are pressuring vulnerable people to attack the facilities. But speaking to Brazilian media, Ukraine's president saying he believes there are cracks in Putin's armor.

He will not be around for another 30 years. He will die. This is absolutely clear. But I give him 10 years tops.

But the Russian military remains a threat both on the battlefield and for Ukraine cities, towns, and key infrastructure. Facing attacks both day and night.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The U.S. State Department has ordered all non-essential personnel and their families out of Niger with the political crisis approaching a crucial deadline.

It comes as France's fifth and final evacuation flight has now taken off from Niger's capital, carrying French and other European nationals.

France says more than 1,000 people have now been flown out of the country, and the flights are now over.

Well, meantime, leaders of the coup that ousted Niger's president, visited the Wagner-backed military rulers of neighboring Mali and of Burkina Faso seeking military support.

A block of West African nations has threatened to use force if the president is not reinstated by the weekend.

And CNN's Jim Bittermann is in Paris with more on the evacuations. And our Larry Madowo is in Nairobi. Good to see you both.

So, Larry, let's start with you. What is the latest on this crisis playing out in Niger? And, of course, the role that Wagner may end up playing in all of this.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, today is actually Niger's Independence Day. They got independence from France in 1960s. So, it's an interesting time that we don't know if the military will be marking this at all. But the most striking development came yesterday, when the vice president of the committee to safeguard the homeland.

That is the coop largest organization that's now running the country met with the transitional president of Mali. As also, the transitional president in Burkina Faso. Both of these are also military rulers who grabbed the power from democratically elected presidents.

But especially, in Mali, they have been backed by the Wagner Group, the Russian private military contracting group, and he said that they had to deepen the security cooperation, because some countries plan to attack them militarily.

[02:15:06]

This, of course, in reference to those threats of use of force by the West African bloc, the Economic Community of West African States that gave them one week to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, or they would use all measures including force.

That one week, by the way, ends on Sundays. We're getting very close to that.

But seeing these two men together, obviously makes that connection between, is the Nigerian military junta trying to seek Wagner Group backing. We cannot say that explicitly, but there is that connection. There is a straight line between this meeting with Colonel Goita Assimi in Mali and the possibility of trying to seek some sort of military support, including the meeting in Burkina Faso.

But General Abdourahamane Tchiani has been addressing the nation on the eve of Nigeria's Independence Day, rejecting any sort of sanctions that's been placed upon them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDOURAHAMANE TCHIANI, NIGER ARMY GENERAL (through translator): The national council for safeguarding the homeland rejects all sanctions and refuses to yield to any threat wherever it may come from.

We reject any interference in the Niger's internal affairs, and we reject the claim by any party to punish the National Council for safeguarding the homeland, and the people of Niger as an example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: They may reject the sanctions. But the only three countries that recognize the military junta's power over Niger are their neighbors: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea. The everybody has an international community. The other neighbors in West Africa have all said, they need to go back to the barracks and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Larry Madowo, bringing us that report from his vantage point in Nairobi.

I want to turn now to senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann, who joins us live from Paris.

So, Jim, what is the latest on evacuations to Europe, because we just heard and reported that, that was the last for France.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. It's the last reported evacuation flight for this phase of the evacuation, because there are still some French people left in Niger. And they may be, at some point, the subject of another evacuation. But for the moment, they have stopped the evacuation flights -- evacuation flights, and there is more than 1,000 people that have been evacuated from various countries, including many European neighbors of France, and as well as some Americans.

And the French are trying very hard to keep their embassy open in Niger. And so, that's something we'll have to remain to be seen. But some of those coming out, I think had the same kind of mixed emotions as this communications worker for one the NGOs who arrived yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTOINE DIESCE, FRENCH NATIONAL WORKING IN NIGER (through translator): I don't want to criticize it all. Nigerians are people with absolute kindness. But we could feel the rise of anti-French sentiment, which you can really feel. Honestly, it was starting to deteriorate. So, in the end, it's not too bad they were here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BITTERMANN: And so, the French, like the Americans are trying to keep their embassies open in Miami. And the problem is that, of course, the French had this attack against them on the embassy on Sunday. Quite violent attack is one of the things that triggered the rounds of evacuations.

And as a consequence, the government today, again, warned the coup leaders in the army that in fact they are responsible for diplomatic personnel and keeping safety around the embassy secured. So, we'll see how this all plays out in coming days. But nonetheless, it's a very anxious time, I think, for anyone who is still left in Niger. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. Most definitely. Jim Bittermann bringing us that report live from Paris. Many thanks.

Well, 1000s of people lined the streets of Lisbon as Pope Francis arrived for a global gathering of young Catholics. But looming over World Youth Day, the church's sexual abuse scandal. That's next.

Plus, police outmanned and outgunned in Haiti, a U.N. official says armed gangs now control most of the capital, that story and more when we return.

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[02:21:28]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Pope Francis is acknowledging the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandals have made some people feel anger and disappointment toward the church.

He made the remarks as he visits Portugal on a five-day trip for World Youth Day. It also comes after a damning report from a Portuguese Commission, which found more than 4,800 minors was sexually abused by clergy over seven decades.

CNN's Antonia Mortensen in Lisbon has more now on the Pope's trip.

ANTONIA MORTENSEN, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: Pope Francis arrived in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, Wednesday to celebrate World Youth Day, a global gathering of young Catholics held every three years in different countries.

This is the first since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 1000s of people welcome Pope Francis to the gathering, which has been dubbed the Catholic Woodstock.

Before he arrived, the Pope joked to journalists on board the papal plane that he would come back rejuvenated from the trip, and he promised to stir things up.

The pope met with Portuguese president, the prime minister, and members of the clergy. And in his first public remarks, the 86-year- old urged leaders to seek solutions to global problems, such as climate change, and he urged Europe to rise up to the challenge of welcoming, protecting, promoting, and integrating migrants.

Organizers say more than 300,000 young people have registered for the event, with many more expected to come. And despite his recent surge in struggles of mobility. The Pope has a jam-packed schedule in the upcoming days, including a trip to the country's popular shrine of Fatima. Antonia Mortensen, CNN, Lisbon.

CHURCH: At least nine people have been killed in the latest deadly police operation in Brazil. Police say they shot a group of suspects, while targeting an alleged meeting of crime groups in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

But Brazilian authorities say the officers opened fire only after being fired upon first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MARCO ANDRADE, SPOKESPERSON, RIO DE JANEIRO MILITARY POLICE (through translator): After advancing through the terrain and reaching the area where the meeting was actually taking place, we were met by many gunshots, and an intense armed confrontation ensued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The operation comes after a police crackdown on suspected organized crime in Sao Paulo state, which left 16 people dead in recent days. Police were criticized for reportedly using excessive force, which the state's governor denies.

A human rights expert with the United Nations says security in Haiti is the worst he's ever seen with armed gangs, now wielding life and death power over much of the capital Port-au-Prince.

So far, the Bahamas and Kenya have pledged to send nearly 1,200 extra police to help restore order. But first, the U.N. Security Council has to approve it.

Meanwhile, it's been a week since an American nurse and her young daughter were kidnapped from the aid organization where she works in Haiti.

William O'Neill is a humanitarian lawyer and the United Nations independent expert on human rights in Haiti. He joins me now from New York.

A pleasure to have you with us.

WILLIAM O'NEILL, UNITED NATIONS INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON HUMAN RIGHTS, HAITI: Great to be with you.

CHURCH: Now, we have been covering the kidnapping of an American nurse and her child in Haiti, coming in the midst of a wave of kidnappings across the country by out-of-control gangs, putting a spotlight on the deteriorating security situation in Haiti.

[02:25:09]

And you recently visited the country on a fact-finding mission. What did you find and how bad was security there?

O'NEILL: It's the worst I've ever seen. And I've been working in and on Haiti for many years now.

It's mostly at the capital, which is a big deal. Obviously, the capital of a country, and the surrounding area is 80 to 90 percent controlled by armed gangs, who really have life and death power over the people in the areas they control.

There were parts of the city, I normally would go to, to meet people, friends, organizations, and I simply could not visit huge chunks of the city and people would have to come out and see me.

So, it was a major change from any time I'd ever been to Haiti before.

CHURCH: And we know, of course, that Kenya and the Bahamas have committed personnel to a multinational force that's expected to help Haiti once it's authorized by the U.N. Security Council, but is that the solution here, given past problems with forces like this?

O'NEILL: It's part -- it's part of the solution, I believe. This -- and security is so bad, and the Haitian National Police, although, there are some very good police and brave and courageous risking their lives, they simply cannot handle this situation by themselves.

So, they -- and they are the first ones to tell you that when I met with them, they said we need help.

So, I think targeted specific help with expertise on issues such as gangs and arms trafficking, and drugs and hostage taking and SWAT, very specialized interventions that would deal with the gangs in a kinetic way, is part of the solution. There is certainly much more that needs to be done also.

CHURCH: Well, let's look at that, what else does need to be done to improve security in Haiti, and to crack down on these gangs that appear to have taken control of these large parts of the capital Port- au-Prince, and some of the areas outside the capital?

O'NEILL: Yes. One thing that would help a lot would be to have an arms embargo on Haiti. Haiti does not produce a single weapon or firearm, they all come from outside. So, that would be a major strike, because the gangs are clearly getting their weapons and ammunition from outside.

In addition to the kinetic intervention that will be helpful -- but that will be necessary to help aid the Haitian National Police. The root causes of the problem, the gangs and violence in Haiti really do stem from insecure -- from poverty, inequality, lack of development, lack of opportunity for Haitian youth.

So, as soon as it's safe for programming to begin in these gang- controlled areas that would focus on youth education on access to clean water, food, health care, education, that -- it has to -- that's a longer-term process. But beginning that as soon as possible, would then give youth another opportunity other than joining a gang, which for now, for many of them has been their only choice.

CHURCH: And you mentioned at the start that you've never seen it as bad as their security. So, how did Haiti get this bad? And what's the relationship between the government to its police, and of course, these various gangs?

O'NEILL: Well, it's -- gangs in themselves are not that new to Haiti, they go back even to the Duvalier or the infamous Tonton Makout.

But I think what happened in the last 10 years, I would say, was a steep deterioration in an already weak state. The Haitian State has always been weak. And that's again, one of the major issues. The institutions really have not functioned very well for a long time.

But especially after the earthquake, and the failure, I think of the international community and Haitians themselves, to really have a rational and well-organized and well-planned reconstruction program, it meant that the state that had already been weak, was now absent in many parts of the country, and certainly in parts of the city.

And the gangs filled that void over time. So, that I say, though. And then the presidential assassination two years ago, July 2021, only hastened, I think, this very steep decline in the state's presence and capacity and the gangs have filled this void.

CHURCH: William O'Neill, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

O'NEILL: You're welcome. Thank you very much for having me.

CHURCH: We are tracking a strong typhoon heading toward China after hitting southern Japan. But will it actually hit the mainland or turn away? We'll take a look.

Plus, Israel Supreme Court is about to hear the first of several challenges to controversial new laws passed by the Netanyahu government. That's ahead.

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[02:30:00]

CHURCH: Typhoon Khanun has weakened slightly as it moves West over the Pacific after battering southern Japan. At least two people have been killed and dozens more injured in Okinawa. High winds flipped cars, uprooted trees, and knocked out power to more than 200,000 households on the island. Right now, Khanun is on a direct path toward China, but meteorologists expect it will turn before major damage is done there. Still China, Taiwan and parts of Japan remain on alert. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers is tracking the storm.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Still looking at a very strong storm here in the water just to the west of Okinawa. Look at the satellite presentation here. Yes, there are a few bands where dry air is trying to wrap into the eye. But, still a very impressive looking storm system here. Still moving to the west toward China. But, all the computer models stop it and turn it to the right and then eventually off toward the east, but, Naha, 189 kilometers per hour, as it passed over that. It's one of the southernmost points there of Okinawa. And still about 300 to 350 mm so far in some spots, and it's still raining. So, these numbers could change, obviously, before the end of the storm.

It is now 185 kph, still moving to the west slowly, but that will eventually stop, according to the computer models. And according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, we will see this at about 110 kph as it turns to the right and moves to the north of Okinawa in the next few days. We're not going to get a lot of movement with this. There is going to be an awful lot of rainfall in some spots, and we all hope that it's just over water and not over some of these islands, because easily we could see 500 mm of rainfall if it actually does get onto a reporting station onto an island.

There is the rainfall over the next couple of days, moving on up toward Japan. This is another problem. As it does turn it to the north, it could turn to the left a little bit later on in its life. But, everywhere that you see, white there, that's 500 mm of rainfall or more, and that's almost all ocean there. Some heavier rain showers over parts of Taiwan expected as well.

CHURCH: Well, a family of a U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea last month says he is not the type to just disappear. Army Private Travis King was immediately taken into custody when he ran across the border during a tour of the demilitarized zone.

[02:35:00]

CHURCH: CNN's Laura Coates spoke with King's family Wednesday in an exclusive interview. They say the lack of information from U.S. officials has been frustrating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYRON GATES, TRAVIS KING'S UNCLE: Calling the D.C. office, Congressman's, Senators, we get no answers.

LAURA COATES, CNN PRIMETIME HOST: What do you want the administration, the President to be doing? Are they doing anything as far as you are presently right now aware to help find your brother, your loved one, your nephew, your grandson, for his grandparents back there? Do you know if they're doing anything right now to try to bring him home?

UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: No.

GATES: No. We wish they would come to our house to talk to us and let us know something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: King was facing disciplinary action and was scheduled to return from South Korea to the U.S. the day before the incident. North Korea has not provided any information about King's whereabouts.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

CHURCH: The hearing comes amid mass protests over the government's separate judicial overhaul plan. Next month, all 15 Supreme Court judges will convene for the first time ever to hear challenges to one of the new laws which prevents the court from reviewing the reasonableness of government decisions.

Well, still to come, China proposes new daily screen time limits for minors. We will break down the possible new rules after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Chinese officials want to limit the amount of time children and teenagers spend on their phones. A new proposal was released by the country's top internet regulator on Wednesday. The country has become more concerned about so-called internet addiction, as well as health issues stemming from prolonged use of smartphones.

So, let's turn to CNN's Anna Coren. She joins us live from Hong Kong. So, Anna, what more are you learning about China's proposed restrictions on screen time for kids and teens, and is this a fait accompli?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Rosemary, China is certainly doubling down proposing these new restrictions on children and teenagers on how much time they can spend on the internet and mobile devices.

[02:40:00]

COREN: The country's cyberspace regulators say that it wants mobile devices, apps and app stores, to introduce a so-called minor mode that would cut off users from accessing the internet on mobile devices from 10 p.m. through till 6 a.m. The proposal also includes a limit on how much time those under the age of 18 will be allowed to go online each day. Let me run it through for you. Those under the age of eight, 40 minutes a day. Those aged between eight and 16, just an hour a day. For those aged 16 to 18, it's two hours a day. And once that limit has been reached, the mobile device will be shut down for all those applications.

Now, there are a number of exceptions, including emergency services, educational products such as online classes, apps for physical and mental development such as calculation and measurement applications. Also, parents can choose whether or not they want to exempt certain apps for their children plus opt out of time limits. Now, we spoke to one parent in China this morning. Let me read to you what this mother of two had to say. She said, I think it's good. On one hand, it can protect their eye vision as many young kids cannot stop themselves while watching something they like. It helps automatically cut it off. On the other hand, it's easier for us, parents, to control our kids' screen time. Without parents' approval, they only have 40 minutes. Most importantly, the contents under the teenage mode is more positive and healthy.

Now, parents might be happy, Rosemary, but internet companies and their investors certainly were not. Shares in Chinese tech firms, they plummeted yesterday on use of the restrictions, some of them falling almost seven percent on trading. Today, they have certainly a bounce. But, one lawyer based in Shanghai said that these new rules would be a headache for internet companies with a lot of effort and cost to properly implement these new regulatory requirements.

Now, we understand that the draft proposal is open for public discussion until the beginning of September. It is important, Rosemary, to remember that this minor mode is not new. Chinese authorities have grown increasingly concerned about internet addiction among young people. Back to you.

CHURCH: We'll see what happens with this, Anna Coren bringing us that report live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

And I'm Rosemary Church. World Sport is next then. I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more at CNN Newsroom. Do stick around.

[02:45:00]

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