Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Narendra Modi Projected to Win India's General Elections as Counting is Ongoing; Jury Formed for Hunter Biden's Gun Felony Trial. Claudia Sheinbaum Wins as New Mexican President in Sunday's Historic Elections; Chinese Lunar Probe Leaves the Moon as Scientists are Set to Return to Earth with Collected Soil and Rock Samples; Dr. Pepper Overtakes Pepsi as Second Top Soda Brand in America. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 04, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead. Is a third term in store for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi? We are live in New Delhi as the votes are counted in the world's biggest election.
History made in Mexico after the country elected its first female president. We will dig deeper into her policies and the political hurdles ahead.
And a Chinese lunar probe is on its way back from the far side of the moon, aiming to do something no other space program has done before.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us, Well right now, votes are being counted in India following a general election in the world's largest democracy. Early results show Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP leading the count so far. But the opposition Indian National Congress is also making strides. However, these are very early trends and the balance could keep shifting as the day goes on.
Millions of people cast their vote over seven phases from April 19th to June 1st. And Indian officials are calling the mammoth process a success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJIV KUMAR, CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER OF INDIA: This is a historic moment for all of us, for the nation as a whole. 642 (million) ever anywhere in the world in any of the electoral exercise. That has been the incredible power of the voters of India.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Modi, who first swept to power in 2014 by promising growth and change, is seeking a rare third consecutive term if his ruling BJP-led alliance wins another five years in power.
CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is live this hour in Delhi. He joins us now. So, Ivan, tell us, what is the latest on the count as it continues?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The counting is very much underway. The magic number here in the votes for the lower house of parliament is 272. That's how many seats a party has to win to get a majority in the parliament.
Now, Narendra Modi, the prime minister, and his BJP, that party, have won majorities in the past two national elections, 2014 and 2019. They had 303 seats in the 2019 election. And he was predicting that his bigger alliance would win more than 400 seats in this election, the preliminary results, Rosemary, suggest that that massive blowout from the BJP is not what is taking place, that, in fact, this election looks, again, according to preliminary results, a bit more competitive. The larger bloc led by Modi does look like it will win a majority, but it is possible that his party will not win a simple majority.
And, in fact, that the opposition led by the Indian National Congress is performing much better than expected.
Now, the exit polls that were published on Monday, they triggered record gains in the Indian stock markets. What we are seeing today as the results are starting to trickle in and suggesting that it is not going to be a huge blowout win for BJP, instead we are seeing an opposite kind of sell-off in the Indian stock market, where the stock markets are down as of noon today by more than 6 percent.
And I think that highlights the fact that the results so far in this election are not as everybody had initially expected and certainly not as Narendra Modi, the prime minister of the last 10 years, had predicted. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Ivan Watson joining us there live from New Delhi.
Pressure is mounting on Israel to accept a new ceasefire hostage release proposal laid out by the U.S., but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is claiming that Israel did not agree to that plan.
[03:05:01]
His spokesperson says U.S. President Joe Biden presented only a partial outline, and Mr. Netanyahu is insisting the war will not end until Hamas is eliminated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are working in countless ways to return our hostages. I think about them all the time. I think about the women all the time, about their families, about their suffering. Therefore, we have gone the extra mile to bring them back. But during this action, we have maintained the goals of war and primarily the elimination of Hamas. We insist that we complete both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Supporters of the peace proposal gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on Monday. This comes as the Israeli military confirms the deaths of four more hostages. Following the news, Israel's Hostage and Missing Families Forum is demanding that Netanyahu approve the new plan. The organization says the deaths of the hostages are a mark of disgrace and a sad reflection of previous proposals that went nowhere.
Joining us now is CNN's Nada Bashir. She is in London. So Nada, what more are you learning about the peace proposal President Joe Biden revealed in a surprise announcement on Friday, but now Benjamin Netanyahu claims he never agreed to?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well look, the U.S. is continuing to push for this three-phase plan to be accepted and implemented. We heard yesterday from the U.S.' ambassador to the United Nations confirming that the U.S. has circulated a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council in support of this three-phase plan. Of course, as we heard from Biden on Friday, this plan seeks to really check off the key priorities that have been put forward by both the Israeli side and Hamas over the course of this three-phase plan. We would see, for example, an exchange or a full release of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas, a release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
We would see the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas. That is something that Hamas has long pushed for. The return of Palestinian civilians to all parts of Gaza, including the north, and crucially, a full and lasting ceasefire. And that is something that, of course, many in the international community continue to push for. But as you mentioned, Rosemary, there is some concern over where Israel stands.
Now, President Joe Biden framed this proposal, this announcement, as a deal put forward by the Israeli government with the support of the Israeli government, though he acknowledged on Friday that there would be factions within the government, particularly within the far-right segments of the Israeli cabinet, that may oppose this deal, that may want to see a continuation of the war, that may, in his words, want to see a full occupation of the Gaza Strip.
And we have heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that they had not seen a full deal that that full deal had not been announced, but also that the Israeli government would not agree to a full and lasting ceasefire without its crucial conditions being met first, namely the full destruction of Hamas.
That is something that President Biden again touched on on Friday. He said that the U.S. assessment is that Hamas has been downgraded to a point where they were not able or are not able to carry out an attack, such as we saw on October 7th. Again, a key priority of the Israeli government. We also heard from an Israeli government spokesperson who went on to say on Monday that the war will be stopped for the purpose of returning hostages, and then we will proceed with further discussions. The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter. It is not an option.
Now, despite these comments, the U.S. State Department has said that it is confident the Israeli government will agree to this proposal. We've also heard from the State Department urging partners, including the Qatari government, to put pressure on Hamas to also accept the terms of this deal.
And of course, as we know, there has been mounting pressure domestically in Israel on the Israeli Prime Minister's government to focus more on the release of hostages, to establish a ceasefire to see the full release and return of hostages held captive in Hamas.
But also, of course, there has been a huge amount of international pressure as we continue to see the civilian death toll in Gaza mounting, now topping 36,000. Real fears, of course, over what the future could look like for Palestinian civilians if indeed this war continues. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right, Nada Bashir, joining us live from London. Many thanks.
Joining us now is Alon Pinkas in Tel Aviv. He is the former Israeli Consul General in New York. Appreciate you being with us.
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Good morning, Rosemary. Always good.
CHURCH: So, U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise announcement on Friday that Israel supported a peace plan with a new ceasefire and hostage proposal put intense and immediate pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, two far-right politicians are threatening to collapse his government if the proposal is accepted. And Netanyahu now claims he never agreed to this particular peace plan. So, what is going on here?
[03:10:10]
PINKAS: I wish I knew. Here's the thing. The idea that Netanyahu is rejecting Israel's proposals, proposal in singular, seems strange only to people who do not know him. That is specifically on brand for him, to jettison, to torpedo his own proposal. Now, here's what we believe happened. Israel made a proposal in the form of a list of principles, and then it agrees.
President Biden then packaged it, and fearing, because he knows Mr. Netanyahu's tendency to mendacity and manipulation, he figured that Mr. Netanyahu would oppose to it and then claim that it was never made.
So, Biden stands up last Friday and makes it public.
Israel, then, is in a predicament. Well, Netanyahu, rather, is in a predicament, because he can't pass this, but he can't reject it.
So, what he's doing is procrastinating, which is his modus operandi on everything and always.
Right now, what he's doing, Rosemary, is trying to stall and attach stipulations and conditions in what seems to be an effort to elicit a rejection from Hamas, you know, it's a blame game. So, he can say, well, I had my reservations, but I agreed to it.
They rejected it. I don't think it's going to work. I think he's come to the point of this impasse where a push came to shove, and he's going to have to make a decision.
CHURCH: Right. Of course, on Main Street, pressure continues to mount on Netanyahu as more than 100,000 Israelis fill the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday night, and now protests also in the streets of Jerusalem, with calls for the Prime Minister to accept this U.S.- brokered plan. So, Netanyahu has a clear choice, doesn't he? What will he likely do in the end?
PINKAS: I don't know, because, you know, the old, you can fool some of the people all of the time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time, attributed to Abraham Lincoln. But Mr. Netanyahu is trying to do exactly that.
And so, I just don't have an answer for you, Rosemary. But let me offer, let me submit to you the following logic that some analysts see.
He knows that he reached a point on the road where he has to fork that he can no longer avoid. So he's going to take the deal with reservations, hoping something will happen, ask the Americans to add the Saudi dimension, meaning that he will give some faint, half- hearted commitment to a peace process, lose his coalition, make this a caretaker interim government, which cannot be toppled, and then stall for time until after the American election without really committing to doing anything. That's one possibility. Looks complex and convoluted. Well, that's because it is.
CHURCH: All right, of course, the election five months away, so that's a long delay. Let's get back to that proposal revealed in that surprise announcement by President Biden, calling for a six-week pause in fighting to allow for the release of hostages in phases in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a significant boost in aid shipments to Gaza.
But the key sticking point remaining, of course, how and when the war will officially end, with Israel insisting on the complete destruction of Hamas. What do you think of the parameters of this proposal, and do you see any way for this proposal to survive and move forward?
PINKAS: Well, I'll start with the end of your question. No, I don't see a way for this to happen. I can't see this unfold. But here's my two cents as to the parameters.
In the last 48 hours, Mr. Netanyahu is drawing a distinction between fighting and between the war, meaning the fighting will end in 42 days. That is phase one of the plan that President Biden proposed, 42 days, six weeks. But the war, Mr. Netanyahu says, does not end. So that way he placates his right-wing coalition members, well, the war is not over, and we are on the precipice of a total victory, and we will annihilate and eradicate and destroy Hamas.
Okay, but by making that distinction, he's eliciting a rejection from Hamas, who want the war to end. In other words, he's trying to create a complexity that does not really exist, because the plan is pretty simple.
[03:15:01]
It's costly, but it's pretty simple. Phase one says 42-day ceasefire, the return of many hostages, the elderly and the females, the women, and that would lead to face Israeli withdrawal from major population centers inside the Gaza Strip, which would then lead to phase two, meaning the end of the war, cessation of hostilities.
Mr. Netanyahu does not want that, which is why I can't see this moving forward. Now, note one more thing, Rosemary, if I may.
The plan, the way President Biden presented it, does not specify who will govern Gaza, who will manage, who will administer the humanitarian aid, who will fill the political vacuum.
Not only that, but it does not even relate to or is linked to Biden's broader plan about a reconfigured Middle East and the Palestinian- Israeli peace process.
All these two omissions indicate that it is an Israeli plan, because had Biden came up with the plan, it most likely would have included those two issues, Palestinian negotiations and a reconfigured region.
CHURCH: Alon Pinkas, in Tel Aviv, many thanks for joining us and sharing your perspective and analysis on this issue. I appreciate it.
PINKAS: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on Israel to end civilian suffering in Gaza and says Ukraine recognizes both Israel and a Palestinian state. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Mr. Zelenskyy said Israel has a right to defend itself against attacks on civilians, such as the October 7 Hamas terror attacks. But he also said that timeline should not be mixed with the current humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.
Ukrainian forces say they have used Western weapons to successfully strike a Russian missile system inside Russia. It comes just days after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to use U.S. weapons for limited strikes in Russian territory near Kharkiv. Ukraine claims the target they hit was a Russian S-300, a long-range
surface-to-air defense system. A Ukrainian minister appeared to taunt the Russians, saying it, quote, "burns beautifully".
President Zelenskyy has been urging the United States to loosen restrictions on targeting Russian military sites, especially as Russia continues its bombardment of northeastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military released this video of some of the destruction in one town in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian police also released this video showing officers evacuating an elderly civilian from a town near the Russian border. You can see the damage around them and the difficulty facing people trapped in the most active battle zones.
Just ahead, top medical expert Dr. Fauci answers questions about the last pandemic and the next one, enduring personal attacks from Republicans along the way.
And opening statements in the Hunter Biden trial will begin in the coming hours. Details on the jury that will hear the case, after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The medical expert who became the face of America's fight against COVID-19 went before the U.S. Congress on Monday for the first time since retiring from government service. Republicans tried to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci as he answered questions on the origins of the virus and about how prepared the U.S. is for a future pandemic. And Dr. Fauci got emotional when speaking about threats he and his family have received.
CNN's Lauren Fox explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Anthony Fauci once again defending his actions and recommendations during the coronavirus pandemic in his first public congressional testimony since he retired in 2022.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We were having people for reasons that had nothing to do with public health or science refusing to adhere to public health intervention measures.
FOX (voice-over): As Republicans sought to undermine his credibility.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Do the American people deserve to be abused like that, Mr. Fauci? Because you're not Doctor, you're Mr. Fauci in my few minutes.
FOX (voice-over): Republicans accusing Fauci of trying to downplay a theory that the coronavirus may have originated in a lab, something Fauci adamantly denied.
FAUCI: I did not edit any paper as shown in my official testimony. So you said about four or five things, Congressman, that were just not true.
REP. DEBBIE LESKO (R-AZ): Well, we have emails to prove it.
FAUCI: But you don't.
FOX (voice-over): Despite intense questioning from Republicans like Congressman Jim Jordan.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Did U.S. tax dollars flow through a grant recipient to the lab in China?
FAUCI: Yes, of course. It was a subaward to the Wuhan Institute.
JORDAN: And who approved that award? What agency approved that award?
FAUCI: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
JORDAN: Your agency approved that, right?
FAUCI: Yes, it did.
JORDAN: Does that have anything to do with this downplaying of the lab leak theory?
FAUCI: No. Nothing to do with it? Nothing.
JORDAN: Do you agree that there was a push to downplay the lab leak theory?
FAUCI: Not on my part.
JORDAN: Really?
FAUCI: Really.
JORDAN: Wow. I think most of the country would find that amazing. I still got 11 seconds.
FAUCI: But look at the facts. I've kept an open mind throughout the entire process.
FOX (voice-over): During the nearly four-hour hearing, Republicans seizing on a series of private emails suggesting some NIH aides may have attempted to bypass public disclosure requirements.
FAUCI: The individuals at the NIH and NIAID are a very committed group of individuals. And this one instance that you point out is an aberrancy and an outlier.
FOX (voice-over): And Republicans questioning some of the key guidance government officials gave in the early days of the pandemic. REP. BRAD WESTRUP (R-OH), CHAIRMAN, SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC: While policy decisions should have been based on scientific data, some frankly were not. The burdensome six-foot social distancing rule did not have sufficient scientific report. In your words, it just sort of appeared.
FOX (voice-over): Democrats sought to defend Fauci, applauding his leadership on the COVID vaccine and defending his right to be addressed as a doctor in the hearing room.
UNKNOWN: Are we allowed to deny that a doctor is a doctor just because he's a doctor?
TAYLOR GREENE: Yes, because in my time, that man does not deserve to have a license. As a matter of fact, it should be revoked and he belongs in prison.
UNKNOWN: The committee will suspend.
REP ROBERT GARCIA (R-CA): That's completely unacceptable to be able to deny Dr. Fauci, who's here a respected member of the medical community, his title. And that's actually a personal attack on his character.
FAUCI: And I have instructed her.
TAYLOR GREENE: He's not respected.
FAUCI: And I have instructed her to address him as a doctor.
TAYLOR GREENE: I'm not addressing him as a doctor.
GARCIA: Dr. Fauci, I am so sorry you just had to sit through that. That was completely irresponsible. Quite frankly, some weird hearing. This might be the most insane hearing I've actually attended. I've only been in Congress for a year and a half, but I am so sorry that you are subjected to those level of attacks and insanity.
FOX (voice-over): Lauren Fox, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Opening statements will begin today in Hunter Biden's trial. U.S. President Joe Biden's son is facing felony gun charges for allegedly purchasing a handgun while he was addicted to drugs.
Hunter Biden is charged with lying on federal gun forms and unlawful gun possession. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges, although he has been open in the past about his struggles with alcohol and crack cocaine addiction.
[03:25:07]
Twelve jurors were chosen on Monday in a Delaware courthouse after some potential jurors were dismissed because of political bias.
Our Paula Reid has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First Lady Jill Biden arriving at court to show support for her stepson.
JILL BIDEN, U.S. FIRST LADY: I love Hunter and I'll support him in any way I can.
REID (voice-over): Even in the middle of a close presidential race, President Biden has been unwavering in his support for his only living son.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm very proud of my son.
REID (voice-over): The two seen at a state dinner last month, at church together last week, and riding bicycles in Rehoboth Beach over the weekend.
In a statement today he said, I am the president but I am also a dad. Jill and I love our son and we are so proud of the man he is today.
Hunter has been charged in part with lying on this ATF form when he purchased a firearm. Prosecutors allege he failed to reveal he was a drug addict and using at the time. He has entered a plea of not guilty, although he has been open about his struggles with addiction in both his 2021 memoir, "Beautiful Things", and in interviews.
HUNTER BIDEN, SON OF U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I went one time for 13 days without sleeping and smoking crack and drinking vodka exclusively throughout that entire time.
REID (voice-over): The case was initiated by Special Counsel David Weiss, the Trump appointed U.S. Attorney in Delaware. Hunter was expected to resolve his gun charges as part of a plea deal, but that fell apart last year.
ABBE LOWELL, HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY: Hunter owned an unloaded gun for 11 days. There will never have been a charge like this brought in the United States.
REID (voice-over): Prosecutors plan to call Hunter's ex-wife and his late brother's widow, whom Hunter later dated, to testify about his drug use during the time he purchased the gun in 2018. They are also likely to use Hunter's infamous laptop, which contains embarrassing emails and photos to bolster their claims.
Hunter's attorneys have previously said the files were manipulated and sued the computer repair shop owner who helped make the materials public.
H. BIDEN: I've made mistakes in my life and wasted opportunities and privileges I was afforded. For that, I'm responsible.
REID (voice-over): As he fights two criminal cases, he has also taken a more aggressive strategy towards dealing with Republican-led investigations on Capitol Hill.
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail.
TAYLOR GREENE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Excuse me, Hunter, apparently you're afraid of my words.
REID (voice-over): His second criminal trial on tax charges is scheduled to begin in September in Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, a landslide victory in Mexico's presidential election. What the outgoing president is saying about his protege.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom". I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.
Ballot counting is underway in India following six weeks of voting in the world's largest democracy. Early results show Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP alliance is leading. But so far, the numbers are well short of the landslide predicted in exit polls. India's stock Market plunged based on these preliminary results. But experts say it's too early to get a firm idea of voting trends since a majority of ballots are yet to be counted.
One of the most divisive figures in British politics says he is competing in the July 4th general election. Brexiteer Nigel Farage, former head of the UK Independence Party, is now joining the hard- right Reform U.K. party, despite failing in his seventh previous attempts to become an M.P.
In just a few days, some 373 million eligible voters across Europe will elect a new European Union parliament. And the E.U. and several member countries are investigating suspected Russian disinformation campaigns ahead of the vote. One cybersecurity company warns that Russian networks are using artificial intelligence and deepfakes to spread false information about the climate, energy and other critical issues.
Well Mexico's president-elect is promising a government for all without corruption or impunity. Claudia Sheinbaum won a landslide victory to become the country's first female and first Jewish president. She faces a huge challenge in fighting crime and gang violence. But her coalition appears to be on track for a supermajority in the lower house and is close to one in the Senate. Many see the vote as a referendum on the policies of her mentor and predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He says Sheinbaum must chart her own course.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, OUTGOING MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Of course there must be changes. There will be changes because the transformation continues. But there must be changes. There must be a change of officials. She is the one empowered to make all the decisions. I am not going to influence anything. She is going to choose her team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More now from CNN's Gustavo Valdez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUSTAVO VALDEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Claudia Sheinbaum has made history as the first woman projected to be the next president of Mexico. The 61-year-old handedly defeated her two opponents with at least 58 percent of the vote, according to the National Electoral Institute.
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT-ELECT: Our duty is and always will be to look after each Mexican without distinctions. Although many Mexican women and Mexican men don't agree fully with our project, we will walk in peace and harmony to build a fairer and more prosperous Mexico.
VALDEZ (voice-over): Besides being the first woman set to become president, she would be the first one of Jewish ancestry. Her grandparents migrated from Eastern Europe fleeing Nazi persecution, although she rarely mentions her religious background.
Her parents were leftists, according to a biography by journalist Arturo Cano, in which Sheinbaum says that she grew up talking about politics all day with her parents. But her first career is academia. She has a PhD in environmental engineering, focused in renewable energy and climate change.
Her introduction to politics happened in 2000, when she became Mexico City's environmental minister under the head of government Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. She became part of his team during his three presidential campaigns, and in 2018, when he won the presidency, she was elected chief of government of Mexico City.
She pledged to continue the policies of Lopez Obrador with a five- point plan, increase public safety, free public education, fight poverty through social programs and a higher minimum wage, better regulation of water resources, and transition to renewable energies.
On foreign affairs, she has pledged to protect Mexico's sovereignty, and while recognizing the importance of their relationship with the United States, she wants to focus on growing ties with Central and South American nations.
VALDEZ: The transition of power should be an easy one, since she's going to be taking over her friend and mentor on October 1st.
Gustavo Valdez, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:35:06]
CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden is set to announce strict new limits on the number of asylum seekers crossing illegally from Mexico. CNN senior White House correspondent MJ Lee has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MJ LEE, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The border, of course, is one of the most politically fraught issues here in Washington, and what sources briefed on this executive order tell CNN is that this is an announcement that could come from President Biden as early as Tuesday, and that what it would allow the administration to do is effectively shut down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers if the number of daily crossings crosses a certain threshold.
Now, we are told that unaccompanied children are expected to be exempt from all of this, but that would be worrisome to a lot of immigration advocates who say that that could actually have the result of incentivizing and encouraging some families from sending children to the border on their own.
Now, President Biden would be using an authority that's called the 212-F authority. This was a regulation that was actually used by former President Donald Trump during his administration, and he received a lot of criticism, including from many Democrats at the time, so it's not hard to imagine President Biden getting criticized for hypocrisy, for leaning on this authority himself.
And, of course, very hard to ignore the politics that are at play here, given that border security is one where President Biden and Democrats have gotten so much criticism for and really a lot of pressure to do more to get a better handle on the border. The timing, of course, is really significant as well, given that we are just a couple of weeks away from that first presidential debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Now, the White House is not confirming this forthcoming announcement that we expect again on Tuesday, but a White House spokesperson said this in a They said, as we have said before, the administration continues to explore a series of policy options and we remain committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.
Now, the big caveat here, of course, is that there could still be some final changes that are made to the final text of this executive order, but when it does come, it will be sweeping, it will be a significant political announcement, and President Biden is certainly hoping that it is something that could strengthen his political hand before November.
MJ Lee, CNN at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera is a professor at George Mason University's Shah School of Policy and Government. She joins me now from Mexico City. Good to have you with us.
GUADALUPE CORREA-CABRERA, PROFESSOR, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY-SHAH SCHOOL OF POLICY AND GOVERNMENT: Great to be here. Thank you for the invitation.
CHURCH: So Mexico made history Sunday night, electing its first female president, former mayor of Mexico City and the protege of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Claudia Sheinbaum received about 58 percent of the vote. But what does she bring to the table and will she chart her own course or be guided by her mentor, Lopez Obrador?
CORREA-CABRERA: Well, Claudia Sheinbaum has been a very effective politician. She was mayor of Mexico City, and she did a pretty good job. She's a very capable professional politician, social leader, political leader. She has demonstrated it throughout her life.
What we're talking about is the project of the fourth transformation, which goes beyond Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, supposedly. She's probably going to rule the country in her own terms, because in the presidential system, presidents have the power. So Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is a very popular president that set up the foundations of the project of the fourth transformation.
Claudia Sheinbaum promised to build the second floor of the fourth transformation. She will do it in her way. She's very pragmatic. She's very disciplined. I think that she's going to follow the steps of Andres Manuel, but at the same time, she's probably will be more pragmatic and less radical.
CHURCH: And meantime, back in the United States, in response to a high number of migrant crossings at the U.S. southern border, we have learned that President Joe Biden plans to issue an executive order in the coming hours that would shut off access to the U.S. asylum system when illegal border crossings exceed a daily threshold. Why is this happening at this time, do you think, and how will this action impact the border situation and bilateral trade relations with Mexico?
CORREA-CABRERA: This is a very important question. The United States is going to have elections in November.
[03:40:02]
Mexico is going through a political transition just in the sense that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is going to lead the government in the presidency of Mexico. This is good for President Joe Biden. But at the same time, we need to understand that Mexico is dependent on the United States. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been also very pragmatic. He has collaborated very closely with the United States. And even during the Donald Trump administration, he accepted, of course, pressured by Donald Trump, the immigration protection protocols, the state Mexico program. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as well as Claudia Sheinbaum are going to
collaborate. At this point, there's a lot going on in Mexico. There's a transition of government, which is going to be smooth. But at the same time, it's going to be a lot of work. So it is a key political movement for the Biden administration. And Mexico is going to be following what the United States decides in those terms. So it's going to be a very interesting period.
CHURCH: Right. And what will President-elect Sheinbaum do when it comes to issues of concern for Mexicans like public safety, cartel violence, energy, water access and the economy?
CORREA-CABRERA: There are a lot of challenges. But the main challenge for Mexico is the problem of security and security and violence. Claudia Sheinbaum has been very successful, was very successful when she was mayor of Mexico City in that regard. She promises to expand that success to the whole country.
But the country is very complex. The criminal world in Mexico is very complex. And the presence of criminal paramilitary groups of transnational organized crime are very different, the structure than the ones that we observe in Mexico City. There's a huge challenge. She promises to maintain the military, overseeing public safety at the federal level, monopolizing the public safety at the federal level. That has not been a successful strategy.
But at the same time, she has more governors of Morena, so she can coordinate better. We'll see what happens. She has a strong team.
But at the same time, this team has been there and Mexico has not been able to solve its problems. So this is a big issue, the issue of water, energy. She's going to be pragmatical. She's going to collaborate within the framework of North America. We can foresee that. And the capacity that the government will have without checks and balances will probably facilitate some of the coordination problems that have been faced, that other presidents have been facing during this century.
CHURCH: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, thank you so much for joining us. I Appreciate it.
CORREA-CABRERA: Thank you for the opportunity to talk with you.
CHURCH: Parts of Kenya remain underwater weeks after devastating floods killed hundreds of people and left more than 200,000 homeless. Not even Nairobi's richest neighborhoods have been spared and some residents say the government is either unable or unwilling to properly address the crisis.
CNN's Larry Madowo reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is not a river. This is a family's courtyard in Runda, one of Nairobi's wealthiest suburbs. More than a month after record rains and floods hit Kenya, their home is still submerged. Jonathan Dass says they haven't even started quantifying how much his family has lost. Nothing is left untouched after two meters of floodwaters moved in.
MADOWO: These are rally cars.
JONATHAN DASS, RUNDA NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT: A lot of people were moving into the city. We've got people coming from abroad who want to live in these, you know, luxurious, leafy areas and there's a lot of demand for that. At the same time, we're not moving fast enough to be able to plan properly and understand what needs to be done to accommodate all these people coming in.
MADOWO: Runda has a reputation for being very well planned because it's a diplomatic quarter. The U.N. is here. The U.S. embassy is here.
DASS: I don't know what to say, Larry. It's not. It's not well planned. If it was well planned, we wouldn't be sitting here in a boat.
MADOWO (voice-over): All this water in Runda has nowhere to go because the drainage of this water pan is blocked. Residents blame it on corruption and impunity.
DANIELLA BLATTLER, RUNDA NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT: There is someone who is backfilling slowly but surely so the dam is becoming smaller and smaller and there is not an outlet to send the water that arrives to somewhere else.
MADOWO (voice-over): Sean Blaschke can only navigate his backyard with a paddleboard, a far cry from the playground and garden it was before the rains.
MADOWO: Is there fish here?
SEAN BLASCHKE, RUNDA NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT: There is actually quite a bit. This is practically a fish farm at the moment.
MADOWO: Did you always have catfish before?
BLASCHKE: Nope, nope. This is a fairly new perk of living on Lake Runda.
[03:45:03]
MADOWO (voice-over): Some of the Runda residents whose homes remain underwater have lived here for decades without drainage issues until now.
MADOWO: Do you believe this is a man-made disaster?
DASS: We've had a lot of rain but the magnitude of this disaster is created by greedy grabbing.
MADOWO (voice-over): Across town from Runda in Nairobi's old Islam Madari, bulldozers have brought down everything standing within 30 meters of a river. Many had just 24 hours notice. MADOWO: This used to be somebody's house. In fact, I stood on top of
this exact same house in late April after some of the worst flooding Kenya has seen claimed some lives in this informal settlement. The government then ordered them out, forcefully evicted thousands of families from this area and demolished their homes.
MADOWO (voice-over): Nairobi's poorest have suffered the most from the flooding and the evictions that have left so many homeless.
RACHAEL MWIKALI, MATHARE COMMUNITY ORGANIZER: What we have seen is that the rich are enjoying the rights but as the poor we are fighting to enjoy the rights that is supposed to be our right which is not fair.
MADOWO (voice-over): The Kenyan government maintains that the mandatory evacuations were for the sake of public safety after flooding killed more than 300 people.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, a Chinese lunar probe is on its way back from the far side of the moon aiming to do something no other space program has done before. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: A Chinese lunar probe is on its way back to earth after collecting soil and rock samples on the moon. This would make China the first country to return samples from the far side of the moon which always faces away from earth clearly.
So CNN's Marc Stewart joins us now live from Beijing with more. Good to see you, Marc. How much of this is about science and how much of it is politics?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Rosemary.
Look, the science in all of this is certainly very impressive and we'll talk about that in just a moment. But as you rightly said, the symbolism and the symbolic nature of all this is very significant especially from a political standpoint.
We've been watching these images come in all weekend of this lunar landing and just today we saw a picture of a Chinese flag being unfurled on this farthest south pole, the Aitken Basin, on that far side of the moon.
This sends a very big statement, a strong statement to the world especially as China seeks to gain even more influence on a global sphere. It's a big ego boost to the nation. Take a listen real quickly as to what one scientist had to say earlier today. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNKNOWN (through translator): The national flag should be able to inspire patriotic enthusiasm among Chinese people around the world. I think people across the country should be looking forward to this picture and be proud of our great motherland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:50:03]
STEWART: Pride in our motherland. That is how it is being described by a scientist here in China. As this symbolic effort is taking place, there's also the science of all of this. This is the first time that we have seen a lunar landing on this far side of the moon. It will take about a month or so for these samples to come back to earth and these samples are going to be important for several different reasons. First of all, we'll get a better idea about the composition of the moon, especially in this area that's not been explored before.
It also will tell us about the history of the solar system and some of the broader narratives about space and planets and all of the science surrounding that. But it's also going to be a big boost to the Chinese space program as it looks to establish a lunar research base as well as send astronauts to the moon by 2030. That has been the on-the- record goal of the Chinese government.
By accomplishing this lunar landing, it allows Chinese scientists to really get some of the scientist expertise refined and the technical issues refined so that potential astronaut landing could take place by 2030. Rosemary, I was at the launch of the Chang'e-6 back in May and I have to tell you that the national pride and the enthusiasm surrounding the space program here in China is just tremendous.
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Marc Stewart joining us live from Beijing with that report. I Appreciate it.
Still to come, Roaring Kitties return. How the popular influencer once again sends shares of video game retailer GameStop soaring.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. A volcano in Hawaii has rumbled back to life after being dormant for three months. The Kilauea Volcano, located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, started spewing lava early Monday. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the eruption has since paused but warns that activity in this region is dynamic and could change quickly. This volcano is the youngest and most active on Hawaii Island.
Well the heads of some of the world's biggest airlines are in Dubai for the annual meeting held by the International Air Transport Association. It comes as Boeing faces growing concerns over the safety of some of its airliners as well as questions over who will lead the company when current CEO Dave Calhoun steps down at the end of this year. CNN's Richard Quest caught up with the President of Emirates Airlines Tim Clark to talk about the troubles facing Boeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM CLARK, PRESIDENT, EMIRATES AIRLINES: Boeing is going through a tough period. We know that. Boeing has been one of the stalwarts of the business. After all, it's a global duopoly we're in now. Can they do the things that they need to do? Well, yes, they can. History tells us the notion that Boeing wouldn't be able to fix this going forward is unthinkable. They just need the right people to do it.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: The right people to do is just the wrong people are doing it now.
CLARK: Your words, not mine.
QUEST: You haven't challenged them.
CLARK: No, I expect like any business is only as good as the people that work for it. A business will always be an operating model, will always be driven, a successful operating model, be driven by the people at the top.
[03:55:07]
And you need strong leadership. You need strong execution of the model. You need laser focus on what you're doing.
QUEST: But it means that it's still going to be extremely difficult in terms of delays, in terms of deliveries from Boeing and indeed from Airbus for other reasons.
CLARK: Yes, I'm beginning to believe that we will have a five-year hiatus from today. So will Boeing be able to recover its ramp up rates and everything else, get the supply chain in order, meet the demand from the existing customers plus the new ones coming after all we've got over 300 aircraft including the Airbus aircraft. Will that all come into place at the time that everybody wants? I'm not optimistic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Shares of the electronics and video game store GameStop jumped more than 20 percent on Monday on news that a popular influencer bought nearly $120 million worth of its stock. Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty online, was one of the main posters on a Reddit thread in 2021 when GameStop shares surged. It became a so-called meme stock known for dramatic swings in popularity due to online trading communities. Here's a look at where GameStop sits right now ahead of the trading day on Wall Street. Other meme stocks have included Bed Bath and Beyond, and movie theater chain AMC Entertainment, whose shares also saw a boost on Monday.
Well the card game UNO has been around for 52 years but it may be more popular than ever. Toy company Mattel reports about one UNO deck sold in the U.S. every second last year. And retail tracking service Sakana reports UNO currently holds the top spot in the traditional games category, a title the game has held for two years globally. With more than 600 editions of UNO in circulation, it's not likely to end soon. Mattel says by the end of this year, more than 50 new editions will be released.
Well the battle of the beverages is on. While Coca-Cola is still the top soda in America, the runner-up has been dethroned. Dr. Pepper is now the second biggest soda brand in the U.S., a spot long held by Pepsi. After slowly gaining Market share, Dr. Pepper has now inched ahead of Pepsi as the number two soda in America, according to trade publication "Beverage Digest". Behind Dr. Pepper and Pepsi is Sprite and Diet Coke. And a fun fact, Dr. Pepper was founded in 1885 in Texas, long before both Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Well, thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with our Max Foster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
