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Connect the World
How is the Supreme Court Reshaping America; France to Shut Down all Bus and Tram Service ahead of Fourth Night of Expected Protests; More Protests Over Quran Burning; Macron Urges Claim after Third Night of Protests; U.S. Special Envoy for Iran on Unpaid Leave; 200-Mile Toxic Algae Bloom Making Sea Animals Sick. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 30, 2023 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, this hour European countries issue travels advisories for France after a third night of
furious protests and concerns over further violence.
And these are live pictures of protesters who are back for a second day in Iraq. These are demonstrations outside the Swedish Embassy protesters
demonstrating western values. This was after a man was allowed to burn the Quran in front of a mosque on one of Islam's holiest days in Stockholm.
Also, this hour just breaking the Supreme Court has blocked Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program aimed at delivering up to $20,000 in
relief for student borrowers. And in another landmark ruling they have ruled some businesses can refuse service to members of the LGBT community.
And tonight, documents shared exclusively with CNN show that Russian General was a secret VIP member of Wagner, the group that carried out brief
revolts in Russia last weekend. He has not been seen since that aborted rebellion.
The U.S. Supreme Court has been handing down major decisions to wrap up their term. And on the last day, which is today that was the last day to
issue opinions it has handed down two big ones in the last hour.
First, the court ruled in favor of a website designer in Colorado, who objected on religious grounds to providing her services for gay weddings.
Second, the justices struck down the Biden Administration's student loan forgiveness plan, and it is a serious setback for the White House although
it was long expected to draw legal scrutiny.
Well, rulings on those cases come on the heels of one striking down affirmative action the decision which effectively means that colleges in
the U.S. can no longer take race into account as a specific basis for admissions.
It reverses years of precedent comparable to another move last year, when the very same court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion.
CNN White House Correspondent Stephen Collinson writes and I quote him here both rulings these original two and a flurry of other right wing
jurisprudence by the courts bold new majority often on freedom of religion cases that please conservative Christians are the products of decades of
activism by the conservative judicial movement.
Unlike liberals, right wing legal activist prioritize the ideological reconfiguring of the High Court as a litmus test in federal elections at
all levels. And they fast tracked cases on key issues through courts to exploit the Supreme Court's new makeup which of course is conservative. So
tonight, we ask how the U.S. Supreme Court is reshaping the fabric of America.
Senior Political Analyst for CNN, John Avlon joins us now. John, let's start right there with our big question tonight, are these decisions made
by the Supreme Court the highest court in the land reshaping the social fabric of America?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think that slightly overstates it, but you cannot overstate the conservative tilt of this court for much
of the 20th century, certainly in the latter half of the 20th century there was a liberal tilt to the Supreme Court that allowed all sorts of advances
from Brown V Board of Education, which I will note was unanimous, and the Chief Justice at the time was a Republican.
But as the court has become more ideological as judicial process have become more ideological you see more ideological priorities being pushed
through in particular the overturning of Roe V. Wade with the Dobbs decision last year total reversal of 50 years of precedent and the
fulfillment of an ideological goal by conservatives.
[11:05:00]
Today's case is student loans, but yesterday's affirmative action case and the case around LGBT rights and free speech, I think represent a
conservative tilt in the court. That removes a lot of liberal goals that had been pursued.
But if you read the decisions, they are actually attempts to try to find some kind of ceasefire that in the culture wars, but on conservative terms,
they are absolute reversals of longtime liberal goals. But I think each case needs to be taken case by case as it were.
And in the case of the student loans, which were just decided, this is something that many Democrats were preparing for, because indeed previous
Democratic Presidents had believed that a unilateral forgiveness of student loans, even a portion might not be constitutional. Indeed, the court came
down on that side fairly decisively today, political yes, but unexpected no.
ANDERSON: Let's look at some of the numbers of those that will be affected by that student loan decision, delivered just in the last hour. The total
average debt balance is about $40,000, as I understand it, in the U.S., affecting nearly 44 million borrowers.
That's more than $1.7 trillion across the U.S. This was a major campaign pledge by Mr. Biden. He says he will announce further actions on student
loans today. But this could be very consequential for him politically, could it not?
AVLON: Massively politically consequential and it could be massively politically consequential for Republicans as well, who will be presumably
blamed by those individuals, for the removal of a policy that have been put in place by a Democratic President.
Not only that, but as a current article on CNN shows, this is something that is broadly popular over 6 percent of the American people support this
plan, which was a forgiveness for up to $20,000 for those individuals.
So politically, I think like much like the Dobbs decision, this could be a real negative for Republicans. But I think the underlying issue here is
whether the President the administration has the authority to forgive those college loans.
That is ideological, to some extent, it's very political, and it flies in the face of popular opinion. But as you note, the White House is getting
ready for a second approach to this, because they fully expected this to happen. So they're going to take another shot at this and try to benefit
politically frankly.
ANDERSON: Let's just play a little bit of sound from the U.S. President, this happened after the court ruled against affirmative action yesterday,
have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this eroding the court?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We should not ignore --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Just for the benefit of our international audience John, just how rare a statement is that or a statement like that, from a U.S. President
about the country's highest court?
AVLON: It is very rare, because one of our core principles is separation of powers. And it's also Biden speaking in very blunt language. It's not a
normal court. So what is normal in the context of someone who's been part of America's governing structure for almost half a century?
In the not-so-distant past, you had broad majorities of Senators from both parties supporting nominees, not the basis whether they agreed with them
ideologically, but whether they were qualified to hold the court out of deference to the president who proposed it.
Also, you had Republican appointees, who ended up being quite liberal in classical terms on the court. In the previous past, you had Democratic
nominees who ended up being relatively conservatives. What has changed is a political effort to politicize the picking of judges not only in the
Supreme Court level, but all the way down, particularly embraced by activist conservatives as a counterweight to what they saw as a liberal
tilt to the courts.
And so as a result, you have a -- of the court ideological tilt to the court that is much more doctrinaire there are some exceptions to this and
decisions even this past week, but is much more doctrinaire. And that in turn has eroded public perceptions of the legitimacy of the court.
And indeed, in some cases they've done away with President altogether as in Dobbs for purely political and ideological ends and that's what President
Biden is referring to. No, this is not a normal court by the context of most of the past passing.
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ANDERSON: Liberal Justice Elena Kagan says that the Supreme Court majority acting as in -- is acting as an arbiter of politics, to your point, not
cases. I guess that begs the question, is there any chance if you buy that opinion, is there any chance of the deep politicization of this court at
this point, or in the near future?
AVLON: There needs to be and indeed there have been some decisions from this court's term that don't play into that partisan ideological approach
we've seen on some major cases. For example, in some cases, the court decided against what had been seen as Republican priorities in
redistricting cases in Alabama and North Carolina.
Saying that you needed to protect the Voting Rights Act protection of minority communities, African American communities in these cases that
didn't line up with Republican political priorities and that's healthy. We need the center to hold in American politics.
And that's nowhere more evident numerically than on the court. So whenever justices vote against the perceived interests of the political party that
appointed them, that's healthy for the credibility of the court. The problem is now ideological decisions aren't 5-4 they're 6-3.
And indeed, Republicans have made it very clear that there's an ideological litmus test for who they will nominate to the court. And that's the long-
term danger. It will take a time to unwind to this there needs to be a rebalancing.
Ultimately, what we need is the center to be strengthened on the court and more independent voices that aren't being driven by ideological or
political agendas as those two have become conflated. That's a real danger to the fundamental integrity of the American system.
ANDERSON: John, can't tell you how important is that we had you on today? Your analysis and insights so important as we report on what is or are
extremely important decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court for the benefit of an international audience? Why what is happening in the U.S., you know,
really resonates around the world and why thank you, John.
Well, France's President is calling for calm after a third night of violent protests. France deployed 40,000 police officers as protests spread across
the country and this unrest sparked by the police shooting of a teenager during a traffic stop caught on video earlier this week.
Critics saying it were racially motivated. The government reports nearly 900 arrests with nearly 250 officers injured. President Emmanuel Macron
held more crisis talks today returning early from an EU Summit in Brussels.
He is being criticized for attending an Elton John Concert in Paris on Thursday night, as these protests raged. Well, Nic Robertson is back with
us this hour from suburban Paris. Just how big a concern is it that these protests could ignite once again?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Huge concern certainly from the government, it does appear as if the government at least according
to local broadcasters, here is moving towards calling for a ban on large scale public gatherings that something that appears to be in the works that
gives you a sense of the scale of the level of concern.
Another pointer is that we're learning that across France, all bus and trams will be shut down from 9 pm this evening some areas already sort of
calling in for curfews during those periods. But this is going to have a wide-ranging effect across the whole population. But why, just in this tiny
area alone on the outskirts of Paris, 26 buses were burned overnight.
Last night a tram was burnt. Across the country we understand more than 1900 cars were set on fire. More than 200 government buildings attacked, 34
Town Halls attacked, 24 schools attacked, 79 police stations attacked. That's the level of concern.
And I think the other piece that points to the level of concern 40,000 police were deployed last night potentially more security forces tonight
were perhaps stronger vehicles at their disposal. At the height of the pension protests not so long ago, there were 13,000 police.
[11:15:00]
That was a protest that got incredibly volatile lasted for some time. The scale of this though the government appears to think is certainly
outstripping that the protests across the country north, south, east and west, encircling the capital, and the potential for protests, much closer
to the center of Paris tonight.
ANDERSON: Nic, what do you make of the President's response at this point?
ROBERTSON: It's in keeping with what he said at the beginning that there is no justification for this scale and scope of response across the country,
because he's saying, look, everyone uses public transport. Everyone uses government buildings, town halls, schools, these sorts of things.
He said there can be no justification for attacking those sorts of places. And when you talk to people around here, they say, yes, well and good.
That's fine. Yes, we use the buses. We don't want to see them destroyed.
But we also say, you know, there are two parties who are responsible here. There's also blame on the government about the way some of the
neighborhoods are treated about the sense in these -- some of these neighborhoods that there's a racism bias by the police in the way that they
treat some of the youth in these areas.
This is deep, it's ingrained. The President at the moment is speaking, potentially hit to one side of it, that there's no justification for
attacking government buildings. But that anger that underpins all of this that hasn't dissipated, and he doesn't seem to have a message that
addresses that yet, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson on the story for you. And just to reconfirm here, all French bus and tram services will be shut down at 9 pm Friday in
anticipation of further unrest. The government has also implemented a systemic ban on the sale and transport of mortars, cans of gasoline acids,
and flammable objects that news just coming into CNN.
Well, you are watching "Connect the World". Coming up, the surprising detail that we are learning about a Russian General who hasn't been seen in
public since last weekend's brief revolts. And later this hour, we speak with Sultan Al Neyadi. He is the Emirati Astronaut Aboard the International
Space Station as we speak, about exercising in the cosmos, how he prays and fasts and whether he has seen any aliens out there?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: CNN has exclusive reporting about the Russian general who hasn't been seen in public since the insurrection. Document show Sergey Surovikin
was a secret VIP member of the Wagner group, the mercenaries behind the weekend's brief revolt. CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now live from Moscow.
Matthew, what more are we learning at this stage?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, it's interesting because we knew there was a very close relationship between
general Surovikin and the Wagner mercenary group. They've worked together in Ukraine, of course, but also in Syria during Russia's military campaign
there.
But what's new as a result of these documents, is evidence that that relationship between this senior Russian commanders who by the way, we
don't know where he is at the moment, he sort of vanished and disappeared. That relationship was much closer than previously understood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE (voice over): This is the last time we saw General Surovikin on Saturday looking nervous, imploring Wagner mercenaries to end their brief
rebellion.
GEN. SERGEY SUROVIKIN, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE AEROSPACE FORCES: We had victories together, we are the same. But you must do this before it's too
late.
CHANCE (voice over): There was clearly pressure in his words to make a difference. It's well known that Surovikin nicknamed General Armageddon
fees ruthless tactics, bombing cities in Syria was very close to Wagner. But just how close, is only now becoming clear. Documents shared
exclusively with CNN suggests he was since 2018, a secret VIP member of the group with a personal Wagner registration number.
The documents obtained by the Russian investigative dossier center lists Surovikin along with at least 30 other senior Russian military and
intelligence officials, that the dossier center says that also VIP Wagner members.
Wagner hasn't answered CNN's request for response. It's unclear what VIP membership entails like if there's any financial benefit. But it does imply
an overly close relationship between the Russian military and the mercenaries. They failed to prevent from staging a military uprising at the
weekend, even allowing Wagner fighters to take over an entire Russian city with virtually no resistance. It all raises suspicions in the Kremlin of
divided loyalties.
But General Surovikin, whose whereabouts remain unknown, is one of Russia's most capable, highly decorated commanders. What's unclear is if the Kremlin
still trusts it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Well, Becky neither the Kremlin nor the Russian Defense Ministry at this point are prepared to comment to us about the whereabouts of General
Surovikin. But a Russian official here in Moscow has ruled out the possibility that the General is being held in a facility in the Moscow
region. But that only deepens a mystery about where and why this senior military figure in Russia has vanished.
ANDERSON: Matthew is in Moscow for you folks, Matthew, thank you. Well, protesters outside, once again, the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad. These are
live pictures coming to us of people. They're furious over the burning of the Muslim holy book in Stockholm by a lone protester, the incident on
Wednesday, also coinciding with one of Islam holiest days of the year.
Now Sweden allowed that Quran-burning calling it free speech, Muslim nations are outraged and so is the UN. And I want to bring in CNN's Jomana
Karadsheh and I have to say neither you nor I are particularly surprised by these images. They are just and that our viewers are clear.
We've also seen images of rainbow flags with great crosses through them. With many protesters outside, this is clearly a demonstration against
Western values at this point. You've covered the Middle East for much of your career. We aren't showing the video of that protest and let's just
discuss whether we believe it's a protest or whether isn't, it isn't just an outright demonstration of Islamophobia.
[11:25:00]
But we're not showing it because of its provocative nature. But I do think it's very important that we discuss why this is eliciting such a strong
reaction Jomana?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, Becky, I mean, this is not an isolated incident. This is the latest in a series of what Muslims consider
to be attacks against their religion against their holy book. In the West, we have seen this happen in Sweden before earlier this year, in January.
Swedish authorities again, allowed a far right Danish politician to burn the Holy Quran outside the Turkish Embassy.
And now you have this. And Muslims would tell you, they've seen other incidents as well. In the West, there's this feeling amongst many Muslims
and Muslim leaders, you hear them talking about this. They feel that there is this rise in hostility towards Muslims in some Western countries that
they see a rise in Islamophobia.
And these sorts of what they describe as incidents that show hate speech, not freedom of speech. And they have really wanted to see Western countries
taking more action to try and rein in what they see as this extremist behavior. So you can really understand why people are so angry and outraged
when they see this happening once again.
Of course, Sweden, as you mentioned, has said that this is about freedom of speech, freedom of expression, in the country that is protected by its
constitution that is at the heart of Swedish democracy. But at the same time, Becky, we've heard from Swedish officials saying they condemned this,
but they have no choice but to let this happen because of the country's democracy.
But today, interestingly, we heard from the prime minister, perhaps some of the strongest reaction we've heard so far during a press conference saying
here in Sweden, we should come to our senses. There's no reason to insult other people. And we've also heard from the Stockholm police saying that on
Wednesday, they filed a report against this individual who were in the Quran on the first day of raid.
And that they are going to try and pursue this through legal means and through the courts. They're accusing him, he suspected of agitation against
an ethnic or a natural group perhaps too late. The damage has already been done by kids we can see. And many will be asking why let this happen in the
first place.
ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh is on the story. Jomana, stay on it for us. Thank you. Well, you're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson.
The time in Abu Dhabi is nearly half past seven. This show is coming to you from our Middle Eastern hub here in the UAE.
Coming up this man plays a major role in the relationship between the United States and Iran or certainly did why he lost his security clearance
earlier this year. And now his pay and more on the protests is raging across France after the police shooting death of a teenager. I want to talk
to a guest who says what happened is not a surprise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson, half past seven here in the UAE. Your headlines this hour, a
strong reaction from protesters near the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad. They are angry at the Quran-burning event or incident which took place on
Wednesday in Stockholm.
The UN and individual nations have condemned the action, which was by a lone protester and Swedish authorities say they allowed it because it's
free speech. Well, it's a busy last day of the term, at the U.S. Supreme Court with two major decisions just handed down.
First, the court ruled in favor of a web designer seeking to deny service to gay couples. And second, the court blocked the Biden Administration's
student loan relief program. Both rulings were expected in light of the courts new conservative majority.
French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for calm after crisis talks aimed at defusing growing protests in France. 875 people arrested and
nearly 250 officers injured on Thursday night, the unrest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenage boy. Well, his mother says she blames
one man for her son's death, not the entire police force.
President Macron called the killing inexplicable and unforgivable. Well, my next guests responding to the president's words rights on Twitter. No, it's
not inexplicable. We warn, we write. We set up justice and truth committees. We denounce racial profiling, the colonial continuum and the
racial contract that crush the daily lives and souls of our brothers.
Mame-Fatou Niang is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Black European Studies and the Atlantic at the Carnegie Mellon University
in the States. And she joins me now from Nantes, in France. It's really good to have you on tonight. Thank you for joining us. Firstly, I want you
to give me your personal reaction to what we are, and have been witnessing in France this week.
MAME-FATOU NIANG, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR BLACK EUROPEAN STUDIES AT CAMEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: Thank you so much for having me. How do I feel? I mean,
it's hard. It's hard. But at the same time, there is nothing new. I hear a lot of people talking about this being unprecedented. I hear a lot of
people talking about you know, this is no, this is nothing new for us.
And when I say us, I'm talking about scholars working on the Bayou these suburbs, with you know, black and brown French citizens or immigrants. I'm
talking about artists working on race, racism, policing, I'm talking about residents who are suffering the brunt of racism and police violence. I'm
talking about every, I mean people.
And here and this is what I talked about the colonial continuum. The way these places these suburbs at the outskirts of France's big city, Bordeaux,
Lyon Paris are being policed, these places that are full of residents. And I'm saying this again, black and brown residents, who for the majority are
a direct result of France's colonial past.
There is a direct continuum between the policing of this area and the policing of the colonial police is this countries where they're coming
from, from Senegal to Vietnam to. So there's nothing new, what is different is just the name of the kids. But what all these kids have in common is
that they're black and brown, there is nothing new. Today it's Niall and in fortunately, we know that there will be another one.
ANDERSON: I was in a university in France 30 years ago, and I can attest to the fact that this is not new. We talked about it then, and we continue to
talk about it now. So the question is what is the solution here? And are any efforts, is there any effort being made to provide one and right this
situation?
[11:35:00]
NIANG: I think that so there is nothing new. What is new? And I think and again, you know, I started by saying that there's nothing new here.
Personally, as someone who's been working really closely on this for close to 20 years now, what I see different is the result of the kids, the kids
on the streets.
And I think it has also something to do with the realities, you know, what is allowed by social media, and the fact that you can see in real time when
you're in Nantes, when you're in Nanterre, what's happening right through - - and all these. So that is different, and it makes things go really quickly. And we can see it with the response of Macron, the response of the
government. I mean, Macron had, he responded pretty quickly.
And that surprised many, right, he responded really quickly on Twitter, but and you open with that his response. I mean, how you say that we don't
understand how this happened. We understood. And this is where the problem is, people have been talking in France for decades, and people have been
talking during colonial times during slavery, the issue is that no one is listening. No one is hearing.
So it starts with understanding that this is not new. Many people in France discovered police violence in 2020 with -- , and because for the first time
police violence is happening on real time, and it's being videoed. And it's happening on white bodies, people that you can identify too, with, because
they look like your uncle Marcel.
And they look like granny, we see old white ladies being beaten in the streets by police. And for the first time we see human beings being
attacked by police and police violence became a topic. But before that, that violence, and this is why we talk of the -- the suburbs as a
laboratory, where I mean, I often use this with my students at Carnegie Mellon, this tape of a French journalist being absolutely outraged at flush
ball being used on the -- during the chelation episode.
And saying flush balls, I mean, this was for the body or for the suburbs. So this right this frontier, we can use this for civilized people, you can
use this for, for French people, i.e. white people, this is reserved to control these, these spaces of wildness.
So, knowledge, we need to understand that all these events are connected; we need to understand that all these events are part of our history. And we
understand we need to understand the origin of this, right? When you look at the history of French police, some of the most well-known brag that I'm
talking about, for example, -- the back had a colonial history, it was created by a French officers.
And when we talk also here about the colonial continuum, you look at the history, the professional history and trajectory is officers, they will go
from Algeria. And being called to tame a mutiny or tame a strike in, in a factory in Vietnam, Indo- China, you know, when he was a French colony, and
then calling Dacca.
And then from this -- in the colonial world, they will land in -- and create. So there is absolutely a continuum in how we created that.
ANDERSON: Understood.
NIANG: And how we created foreignness as being embodied by these bodies that are seen as viruses, bacteria that needs to be kept away and outside
of the society. We need to know.
ANDERSON: Thank you. Thank you for joining us. I'm glad we had some time to speak to you. And I want you to consider us a show that you can come back
to and we can continue this conversation. Thank you very much indeed. We are taking a very short break, back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: In the United States, the State Department continues to investigate the actions of Rob Malley, President Joe Biden's Special Envoy
for Iran. Sources tell CNN that after having his security clearance taken away earlier this year, Malley has now been placed on leave without pay.
This story is being followed closely by CNN's U.S. Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood and she joins us now from Washington. So what do we know about
the reason for his suspension, Kylie?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, what we know, Becky is that earlier this year, the State Department was investigating his
handling of classified information. And the potential mishandling of that classified information is what prompted diplomatic security at the State
Department to suspend his security clearance.
Essentially, what that means is that Rob Malley, earlier as of earlier this year was no longer allowed access to any classified information. Now, it's
our understanding that he remained on the job, at least in some capacity. Even after that security clearance was suspended, just as of yesterday,
according to a source familiar he was placed on unpaid leave.
And during that period of time, you know, between when the security clearance was suspended, and yesterday, when it comes to Iran, there's two
major portfolios, of course, trying to put controls on Iran's nuclear program. Brett McGurk at the National Security Council really took up that
portfolio took the lead on that; it obviously requires a lot of work in the classified space.
And then when it comes to Americans who are wrongfully detained in Iran, it appears that Rob Malley was still quite involved on that portfolio, at
least when it comes to engagement with the families. I spoke with some of the families who had spoken with Malley, at least in recent days; the last
week leading up to what we now know yesterday was him being sent on unpaid leave from the department.
Now, Rob Malley himself gave us a statement saying that he has been informed that his security clearance is under review. He says he's on lead,
he expects the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. Of course, we don't know when that investigation will be completed, and what the
eventual decision will be whether he can remain at the department, or if they'll have to leave.
But we do know that there's someone else who is now acting in the capacity as Special Envoy for Iran, while he is on this leave, Becky.
ANDERSON: And we have just learned, of course, well certainly in recent weeks, that indirect talks have now resumed between the United States and
Iran over Iran's nuclear program. So we understand there'll be somebody else playing that role. Do we know who that is leading negotiations for the
U.S. side and what their position is, at this point?
ATWOOD: Well, listen, we know that Brett McGurk, who is top official for the Middle East at the National Security Council, which is a faction of the
White House, of course, he's the leading person when it comes to these indirect discussions with Iran that are happening that have recently
happened in through the Omanis.
And he has been traveling and, you know, partaking in engagement on that. We also know that there are efforts to kind of put in an informal hold on
Iran's nuclear program. But when you talk to administration officials, they're not overly, you know, excited about the possibility of any
agreement coming to fruition in the short term here.
What they're looking at is kind of the totality of this year and what they could accomplish there when it comes to some sort of agreement surrounding
Iran. And Becky, as you know the administration really did fail to re- implement the Iran nuclear deal which they were trying to get back on the books after it had been obviously, you know, the Trump administration got
out of it.
[11:45:00]
So what they're looking to do now is what some other agreements if they can come to with Iran to put some sort of controls on its nuclear program,
obviously that is a major concern as they can continue to develop that program which poses a threat to the region and potentially to the U.S.
ANDERSON: Kylie, good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. We are taking a very short break, back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: In South Korea, the LGBTQ community and its supporters are pushing for anti-discrimination laws to be enacted in the country, but they
are facing a tough battle. Here's CNN's Paula Hancocks with the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is a hard one celebration the soul queer culture festival has attracted thousands since
the year 2000. But this year, the Pride Parade was denied access to the venue that it's used since 2015. Seoul City Hall Plaza official site are
scheduling clash, LGBTQ groups cry discrimination.
The venue promised to a Christian youth event, City Hall says events for children take precedence. Oh Se-Hoon adding his personal view at a council
meeting.
OH SE-HOON, MAYOR OF SEOUL: I personally cannot agree with homosexuality. I'm against it.
HANCOCKS (voice over): Conservative Christian groups say they're hoping some 300,000 people will protest this year's parade. LGBTQ activists say
without an anti-discrimination law in South Korea, it is almost impossible to fight for their rights.
CHA HAE-YOUNG, MAPO-GU COUNCIL MEMBER: The constitution may say that no one should be discriminated against. But the anti-discrimination bill clarifies
what discrimination is and there could be legal penalties.
HANCOCKS (voice over): Cha Hae-Young is the first openly LGBTQ elected official in South Korea. She says her sexual orientation was used against
her by her rivals when she entered politics.
HAE-YOUNG: In the political or public realm revealing one's identity as a sexual minority is a handicap. Some people said that I should not be in
politics because I'm a sexual minority. They made my identity my weakness.
HANCOCKS (voice over): Since 2007 lawmakers have proposed 11 anti- discrimination bills, five have expired, two withdrawn and four are still pending in the National Assembly. Lee Jong-Geol went on hunger strike last
year with another activist to try and push the government to move one bill forward.
LEE JONG-GEOL, GENERAL DIRECTOR, CHINGUSAL: I believe our society should be ashamed that there is no law that protects the principles of equality, even
though it is one of the most basic laws out there. No matter how much our country has developed economically or socially, we should be ashamed.
HANCOCKS (voice over): This Hunger Strike ended on day 39 when he was taken to hospital. A survey conducted by the National Human Rights Commission in
2020 shows that almost 90 percent of the 1000 survey participants said an anti-discrimination law is needed. But opponents argue that such a law
would discriminate against them.
SUH JUNG-SOOK, PEOPLE POWER PARTY LAWMAKER: When the majority of people who are normal and reasonable say that homosexuality or same sex marriage is
not reasonable or normal based on South Korea social orders or long respected custom, they could face punitive damages or a fine.
[11:50:00]
HANCOCKS (voice over): Suh argues a new law would lead to the legalization of same sex marriage, something she does not support. The National Assembly
has less than a year to take action on any of the four remaining nondiscrimination bills. If nothing happens, those bills will expire, and
it will be up to the next National Assembly to start the process all over again. Paula Hancocks, CNN Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, officials in the United States say that they have received more than thousand calls in recent weeks about dead or sick sea mammals
washing up on California shores. Experts think that the cause is a giant toxic alga. CNN's David Culver went to the beach with animal rescuers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 8 a.m. and they're already playing catch up, these marine wildlife rescuers inundated with calls for
help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To animals one sector than the other one one's way up the bridge and there's one by the timeline.
CULVER (on camera): The beach itself over here has been narrowing. So it's a little dicey sometimes.
CULVER (voice over): We go along with wildlife rescuer Adam Fox. He's been saving sea lions for nearly 15 years. What he's seen on Southern California
beaches since late May is unprecedented.
CULVER (on camera): Is there anyone there potentially to assist us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lifeguard there.
CULVER (on camera): OK, great. Thank you.
CULVER (voice over): As we get closer we spot one of the sea lions.
CULVER (on camera): Looks like he's having a seizure right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we'll do is just be very gentle with her, because flipper pits in and I'm going to flip it to you, three, two, one.
CULVER (on camera): They obviously were able to rescue one but you can see behind us another one that didn't survive. It's just heartbreaking seeing
us -- .
CULVER (voice over): The con sits just off the coast in the Pacific Ocean. Out here scientists a massive bloom of toxic algae is growing, stretching
some 200 miles from Santa Barbara, south to San Diego and forecasted to get worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ocean temperature is projected to be its warmest over the next five years. That's the recipe for these blooms to become more
intense.
CULVER (voice over): Smaller sea creatures feed on the toxic algae. They in turn are eaten by larger mammals like dolphins and sea lions. These algal
blooms have happened before. But this year, scientists warned that the concentration of toxins in this bloom forecasted in red is leading to
potentially record deaths of marine life.
CULVER (on camera): Experts liken this to waves of a tsunami washing over local beaches with even more sea lions and dolphins showing symptoms.
CULVER (voice over): The dolphins lifeless once they hit the shore, the sea lions beached and suffering from seizures and paralysis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People who have called in because they've seen animals out on the beach and they've described it as the ocean sort of coughing of
death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here to report a sea lion seems to be foaming at the mouth and let's look -- we just stressed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one really, really on his way out. Its eyes are closed and just shallow breathing. That's so sad.
CULVER (voice over): All of it weighs on rescuers like Adam.
ADAM FOX, MARINE MAMMAL CARE CENTER RESCUER: Sorry. I just know from working in the colonies how incredible the animals are, so they deserve
respect.
CULVER (voice over): Respect this team shows through care unloading the season sea lion for Dr. Lauren Palmer to begin treatment. Dr. Palmer has
not had a day off in months, her desperate patients keeping her busy.
LAUREN PALMER, MARINE MAMMAL CARE CENTER: That breath she seems a little bit more comfortable.
CULVER (voice over): There's no guaranteed cure. The meds and fluids can help flush the toxins out. But if the toxins take hold, the brain damage is
irreversible, causing erratic and aggressive behavior including towards people who get too close. Off to the side we noticed this pup fighting for
survival. Desperate for milk and nurturing that only his mother can provide, she's sedated as her body fights off the toxins.
PALMER: She might deliver a healthy life pup, but doesn't nurse, doesn't lactate, doesn't pay attention to it.
CULVER (voice over): The Marine Mammal Care Center had 40 sea lions this time last year. Today, they're carrying for three times that number.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ordered fish for the whole year based upon what we would normally see and have gone through the entire 150,000 pounds this
month.
CULVER (voice over): So overwhelming, they've had to accommodate overflow in the parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's put strains on our personnel. We have one veterinarian.
CULVER (on camera): Is it only going to get worse?
PALMER: They used to call in an unusual mortality event. And unfortunately, they're frequent enough now that they no longer call them unusual, because
they're not.
CULVER (voice over): Relentless and expected to intensify, possibly devastating generations of sea lions like this pup. Just seven days old, he
may not make it. The hundreds of sea lions that are saved unable to return home until the toxic algae clears.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:55:00]
ANDERSON: CNN's David Culver reporting there. Well before we go, scientists are scratching their heads after seeing this image captured by one of
NASA's rovers on Mars in an ancient rock which looks almost like a perfectly shaped doughnut. The perseverance rover is too far away to
explore it.
So scientists are just not sure how it ended up looking the way it does. One of prophecies is that, it could be a meteorite that broke up upon
landing on the Red Planet, and other is that it's sandstone shaped by ancient rivers and weather.
Well, this could be the smallest purse you've ever seen a microscopic 3d knockoff of a Louis Vuitton tote. And art collective called MSCHF says it's
narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle, the bag sold at auction on Wednesday for more than $63,000. This is the company's latest satirical
take on art, fashion and capitalism.
Well, this just then Brazil's highest Electoral Court formed a majority to ban former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, from running for office
until 2030 on Friday, on charges of abuse of power and misuse of public resources.
The charges stem from a meeting Bolsonaro held with ambassadors in July 2022, in which he spread false information about Brazil's electoral system
and brought its credibility into question. Speaking to Brazilian radio station, -- on Friday, Bolsonaro said he plans to appeal the decision it's
breaking news and we'll have more on that next hour.
I'm Becky Anderson. Thank you for watching "Connect the World". If you miss any of our interviews today, you can find them my twitter @beckycnn. From
the team working with me here in the UAE and those working with us around the world, it is a very good evening stay with CNN. "One World" with
Christina Macfarlane tonight is up next.
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