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New Day Saturday

Trump To Meet With Potential Court Picks Weekend; Rosenstein Felt Used "Shaken" By White House In Comey Firing; Trump Says Reports Of Kelly Leaving Are "Fake News"; U.S. Ambassador To Estonia Resigns In Frustration Over Trump; Frantic Moments Of Escape Caught On Tape; Capital Gazette Shooting Suspect Swore Oath To Kill; Hundreds Of Protests Planned Across The Country Today. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired June 30, 2018 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00] COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Odds are, says Vegas, that he will be a Los Angeles Laker. We'll see.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Thank you, Coy.

PAUL: Thank you, Coy. I do have to say, I think that his reaction to thighs out skies out -- so good.

BLACKWELL: I wanted to talk about it, but we're at the top of the hour. But we'll talk during the break.

WIRE: Got it.

PAUL: All right. So, listen, we want to share some incredible new video with you. This is one of the fissures from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano at night, obviously. I am just so entranced at how fast this lava is moving. Scientists say, tracking it in the dark really helps them to decipher how fast it's moving and where it's headed.

BLACKWELL: Now, the earthquakes, meanwhile, have been nonstop. There've been more than 40,000 small earthquakes in the last week. That's roughly 40 per hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is going to appoint justices like Neil Gorsuch and whoever this turns out to be who will overturn Roe V. Wade.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That'll happen automatically in my opinion because I am putting pro-life justices on the court.

(CHANTS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to show my support for the folks here today. I could only imagine what it would be like to have my daughter, my breast-feeding child, ripped away from me the way some of these other moms' babies have been.

TRUMP: I think we could do a real immigration bill. We have to have security at the border.

JOHN MELENDEZ, COMEDIAN: I am Hispanic. I have to look after my people, as well, you understand.

TRUMP: I agree, I agree.

MELENDEZ: It amazes me since he's talked to me well over 20 times that he did not recognize that it's Stuttering John.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: Good morning to you. It may be one of most important decisions of the Trump presidency. A second Supreme Court pick in less than two years. This time with the potential to alter the balance of the court for a generation.

PAUL: You know, this weekend, President Trump could be joined at his New Jersey golf club by one of two or one or two, I should say, potential Supreme Court candidates. The president says he'll announce his choice by Anthony Kennedy's replacement in a little more than a week. On the short list, five people and at least one woman. For a closer look at the candidates and what the White House calls a partial working weekend. Here's CNN White House Reporter Sarah Westwood. Good morning, Sarah.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN REPORTER: Good morning.

PAUL: So --

WESTWOOD: President Trump is certainly kicking his -- go ahead. Well, you're right, President Trump certainly kicking that search for the next Supreme Court justice into high gear, like you mentioned, he's narrowed down his list to just five contenders. And two of those contenders are women -- that's what Trump told reporters yesterday as he was traveling here to New Jersey. But sources are telling CNN that that list of five is not set in stone and that before he makes that announcement July 9th, he could end up interviewing six or seven different potential justices.

Now, Amy Coney Barrett who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is one woman who sources say is a leading contender as is Bret Cavanaugh, who is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Both are conservative justices that Trump picked from that list of 25 contenders he released during the campaign. Now, despite fears on the left that selecting a staunchly conservative justice to replace swing vote Anthony Kennedy could put abortion rights and same-sex marriage in jeopardy, Trump is saying those issues will not be a Litmus test for his pick. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you looking for somebody who would overturn Roe V. Wade? TRUMP: Well, you know, it's a great group of intellectual talent.

But we really -- you know, they are generally conservative. I'm not going to ask them that question, by the way. That's not a question I'll be asking. But it is a group of very highly talented, very brilliant, mostly conservative judges. Because I think I won't be discussing that because I think it's inappropriate to discuss. So, I won't be discussing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Now, Trump has said he will interview potentially one or two justices while he's here in Bedminster for the weekend. The White House has said they would like to have this justice seated by the time the Supreme Court term resumes in October which means the White House setting itself up for a very busy summer, waging a confirmation battle during a time that's normally sleepy for Congress, Victor and Christi.

PAUL: All right. Sarah Westwood, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: All right, joining me to discuss, Michael Moore, former U.S. Attorney for the middle district of Georgia. Welcome back to the show.

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY OF GEORGIA: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, let's talk about the majority now in the Senate. You got 50-49 essentially with John McCain out there in Arizona receiving cancer treatment. I want you to listen to one of the question marks in the GOP. This is Senator Susan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:00] SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (D), MAINE: One of the questions that I always ask is, do they respect precedent? What is their view toward precedent? From my perspective, Roe V. Wade is an important precedent, and it is settled law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Is there any scenario under which the president nominates someone who agrees with Susan Collins that it's settled law and it will not be challenged moving forward?

MOORE: I don't think there's a chance of that. I mean, I think this is one of those Litmus test question that either he or the group that has put together his list of candidates has delved into pretty deeply. I mean, there's about as much chance of that question not being asked as there is about me buying a car and not looking to see if there's an engine. You know, it's just sort of a critical part of that test going forward.

BLACKWELL: You know, the president said that he won't ask the question. Essentially, he won't have to because the list that's already been created, approved by the federalist society, shows that all of these potential picks will be someone, who I guess, sides with the party. MOORE: Right. Well, that's true. And this idea that precedent is

settled law and that Roe V. Wade may be settled law -- the candidates are trying and the nominees are trained and instructed on how to answer questions. And they dodge questions a lot of times by saying, well, I have respect for the law, I have respect for precedent. But then, these cases shift on facts. I mean, you see that all the time. In Justice Kennedy's opinions, he was the one who very narrowly tailored some opinions to be based on simple facts in a case. And so, I don't put a lot of stock when I hear a nominee say, well, it's settled law to me. We're moving ahead because I think they have a way out, and sort of a back door when it comes to the facts of a particular case before the court.

BLACKWELL: We know that Roe V. Wade is one of the decisions that motivates conservatives, motivates the Republican Party. You brought up Justice Kennedy's opinions. One of his landmark opinion has just turned 3-years-old. The one guaranteeing essentially marriage equality.

MOORE: That's right.

BLACKWELL: So, we know that Roe V. Wade motivates conservatives. Does same-sex marriage? And will that be part of what gets the activists out to talk about some of the potential nominees?

MOORE: I think that's -- I think there's a good possibility of that. I mean, I think that you see certain issues that come up during any cycle or during any nomination process that would become hot button issues. And that can be same-sex marriage, it can be Roe V. Wade and abortion. You see them in presidential campaign: sometimes it's immigration, sometimes it's terrorism, sometimes they pick various things that will motivate the base and that's done on polling and other things, as well.

BLACKWELL: Let's switch topics here. The New York Times has some reporting out: The Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, felt used by the White House -- this was back in May of 2017 in which the letter he wrote criticizing then-FBI Director James Comey's handling of the investigation and the announcement of no charges against Hillary Clinton, he felt used by the White House. And one source tells the Times that he's conflicted. Actually, they have four sources on that. What's your read of the deputy attorney general feeling reportedly used?

MOORE: I think he's probably got a right to feel used because, I think, he was. I have a lot of respect for Rod. I think he is somebody who has a belief of the department. I think he's a career prosecutor, he has a great admiration for the Department of Justice and the principles that it stands for. Early on in his time, he was asked to give a memo criticizing things that Comey had done while he was FBI director. Then that gets trumpeted out as somehow, he's responsible for the firing. Yet we know later, that Trump gets on television and says, well, I was thinking about the Russia thing and was going to gets rid of him anyway. But they want to hold Rod out there, so somehow, that's a justification for what looks like a pretty clear political decision and maybe an obstructive decision at the end of the day on whether or not the firing was legitimate. So, I think he's got a good basis to feel used. I don't think that's necessarily unique to Rod Rosenstein in the administration that he's having been used. But certainly, he's got a basis to feel that way.

BLACKWELL: One of the questions that came up during his testimony in front of House Judiciary this week was why he has not yet recused himself? I mean, of course we know that part of the investigation by Special Counsel Bob Mueller is obstruction of justice. He wrote -- this letter that suggested potentially the firing of James Comey, and it eventually happened in May of 2017. Why hasn't he recused? Should he?

MOORE: Well, I don't think he has to at this point. I mean, they want to make a deal that somehow, he's the basis for that firing. He simply gave an opinion and memo on why that happened. Or what he saw wrong with the way Comey handled the Clinton investigation? I think there are some Republicans who want to make sure that Rod stays where he's at because he's sort of the wall that protects us from what happened if Trump brings in a political ally, puts him in the A.G.'s position or the deputy A.G.'s position and tries to make a political move around the Mueller investigation -- which I think is probably fatal for the Trump administration, and fatal for the president's success, and chances of staying in office. So, it's important that Rod stay where he's at. I mean, he's the protector of the investigation, not necessarily the protector of Mueller but of the investigation, of the integrity of the investigation right now.

BLACKWELL: All right. Michael Moore, thanks so much.

[07:10:08] MOORE: Glad to be with you.

BLACKWELL: Christi?

PAUL: So, on Air Force One, President Trump was asked about reports of two possible staff moves. One that Hope Hicks, his former White House communications director, could be making her way back to the White House; and two, that Chief of staff, John Kelly, could be on his way out. He didn't deny the Hicks report. Here's what he said about his relationship with Kelly:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you looking for a new chief of staff, Mr. President?

TRUMP: No. No. We're getting along very well. We have --- look, at some point, things happen. But I will tell you, we have a very good -- you see that, we have a very good relationship. He's a wonderful man. John Kelly, four-star, wonderful man. And don't forget, this is a big change for him. This isn't that easy a change for him. We have a very, very good relationship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long do you think he'll stick around?

TRUMP: That I don't know. I can't tell you that. But I can say that we've had a very good relationship. And we've achieved a lot together. So, I like John a lot. I like him, and I respect him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Errol Louis, CNN Political Commentator and Political Anchor for Spectrum News with us now. So, Errol, he said, you know, but things happen sometimes. He likes him a lot, but things happen. Do you read anything into that?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND POLITICAL ANCHOR FOR SPECTRUM NEWS: Yes. This is not great news if you're John Kelly. You don't want to hear your boss say, when asked, if he's going to stay around, well, I can't tell you that, I don't know. It looks pretty -- it seems pretty clear that John Kelly's intention, publicly stated intention to stay for a year, which is going to time out at the end of July or so, is probably going to be the end if not sooner.

PAUL: All right. Let's listen to what he said about that former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks when he was asked if she is coming back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will she come back to the White House in some capacity, Hope Hicks? I've seen a report about that.

TRUMP: I really -- I don't know but I love Hope. She's great. I hope that maybe -- I've been hearing little things like that. I bet you Hope misses it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where did you hear them from?

TRUMP: I think everybody misses it. I think when they leave for a little while, you know, you exhaust a lot of people. You understand that. You people exhaust a lot of people. They come in full of life and vim and vigor, then they're exhausted. They get their breath. And frankly, Hope is great, and so are many of the other people. Many people would like to come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So, apparently, it's our fault. We exhaust a lot of people. We're all exhausted, aren't we? Mr. President, we feel your pain. We have that in common. But Errol, what's your reaction? And what capacity might she come back?

LOUIS: Let's reintroduce a couple of facts. Hope Hicks left her position at the White House because after eight hours of testimony to a congressional panel, it emerged that she had probably lied to Congress more than once. I mean, apparently said that she told "white lies." Now, she didn't introduce that phrase. But also, when asked directly by the panel -- this is pretty solid reporting and hasn't been refuted -- did you ever get asked by the president to lie about the Russia probe? She took a break, she talked with her lawyer for ten minutes before she could answer a simple question like that. So, the credibility that's needed in order to serve in a high post in the White House apparently vanished, and that was why she resigned. Now, if something about that has changed, then maybe you could expect to see her back. But otherwise, it's hard to imagine the administration putting itself in a position where the very first question will be: What if you like about? What were the white lies? What the heck is going in that White House? I don't think that's going to be something we should expect to see.

PAUL: Another news item this morning is that James Melville Jr., the Ambassadors to Estonia, has given his resignation which means there are now 60 open ambassadorships. Now, the president has nominated people for 19 of those spots. But what does that do for the relationship between the U.S. and all of these countries?

LOUIS: This is one of the most important and under-reported stories of this administration is the hollowing out of the State Department and the many, many career diplomats. People with over 30 years of experience. I mean, this is somebody who had served under six presidents and 11 secretaries of state. The apolitical core of the State Department, the professional diplomats, who advance American interests in the world are finding that they cannot be part of this administration. So, you could see it in the sweep of history. Perhaps there's a new Trump doctrine emerging and there's going to be a need to do things differently than they've been done for last 80 years. Another way to look at it, though, is that we are really changing our relationships with allies, with close allies, with alliances that have kept the peace in Europe for decades now. This is not something that can be undone quickly. And so, when you see, you know, half a century's worth of experience walking out the door, people with 30 years of experience, 20 years of experience are just saying we can't be a part of this. People should really ask and reporters really need to start to inquire what is this going to mean for the status of America and the world?

[07:15:16] PAUL: No doubt. Errol Louis, so good to see you this morning. Thank you, sir.

LOUIS: Thank you, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Pranking the president. How did a comedian get a call back from President Trump, and what does this say about the White House's security?

PAUL: Also, feeling the heat. Dangerous, hot weather we're talking about for more than 120 million of you across the country. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking some of these hop temperatures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up! To the right, to the right. To the right!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All, see these frantic moments when police rushed in to save the people from the shooting rampage inside the office of the Capital Gazette newspaper. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:03] PAUL: Listen, we want to share with you some of the things that we're seeing here for the first time. These new images of the frantic moments when police in Annapolis rushed to evacuate workers from that building under sieged by Capital Gazette suspect, Jarrod Ramos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up. Hands!

(SCREAM)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To the right. To the right!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Straight up --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here, here, here!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put your hands up, straight across the parking lot. Keep your hands in the air for me. Hands in the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Straight to this guy right there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is anybody hurt?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is anybody hurt?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This way. This way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And there's also this video of Ramos being carried away by police in handcuffs. A judge denied his bail yesterday saying that he's likely a danger to the community.

PAUL: I want to share with you too today's front page of the Capital Gazette. It says, "suspect swore 'oath' to kill." An excerpt of the op-ed written by former columnist and editorial board member, John W. Van de Kamp, said this: "Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron laid a wreath at the former office of the Charlie Hebdo, at the cheerful newspaper whose editors cartoonist and staff, 12 in all, were gunned down by two Muslim brothers during an editorial meeting after the paper published cartoons unfavorable to Prophet Muhammad. 'I am Charlie Hebdo' became the worldwide slogan to protest these senseless killings targeting a newspaper. Now, we have our own Charlie Hebdo and it's shameful, and we need to react with an 'I am Annapolis' and 'I am the capital' campaign."

BLACKWELL: Well, one of the lawyers who represented the Capital Gazette in Jarrod Ramos' suit said he was full of simmering with anger. With me now, he's that attorney, Zak Shirley. Zak, good morning to you. Thank you for being here. ZAK SHIRLEY, ATTORNEY: Good morning. Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: So, you described Ramos as unforgettable during this trial. What do you recall most about him during that time? I understand you've talked about his appearance.

SHIRLEY: I -- I talked about his appearance at first. He had a very long goatee, as I recall, and long hair, when he walked into the courtroom. He was unforgettable, though, not for his appearance but for what transpired over the course of his case. He started out with what appeared to be just a kind of a standard complaint that he felt he'd been misrepresented in the newspaper. But by the end, between his Twitter feed and his kind of rambling fillings with the courts, that's what made him unforgettable. It was just the obsession that he had with this case and with this paper.

BLACKWELL: A reporter, Jane Miller, who works at one of CNN's affiliates, WBAL, tweeted out her conversation or part of it with a woman who said she was stalk Ramos, and she said that "he will be your next mass shooter," that woman who said she was stalked. I read that people that you represented at this paper had absolutely, they were in fear of danger. Now obviously, justifiably based on what we know now, but what made them so afraid?

SHIRLEY: Well, I will say that every morning when I walked into my office, the first thing was check Mr. Ramos' tweet feed. Because there wasn't really a week that went by that someone wasn't targeted with some kind of angry tweet. Now, sometimes those tweets were no more vicious than anything else you might read on the internet -- you know, calling someone fat or calling them a slob. But at some point, it kind of turned and those tweets became more targeted and more violent, things like "I wish you'd stop breathing" or threatening to send certain people to journalistic hell -- that was a theme he had. It was at that point that I think people stood up and took notice because these tweets weren't just calling names anymore. They were calling out specific people and talking about acts of violence.

BLACKWELL: Did you fear for your safety?

SHIRLEY: I think everyone at one point or another thought that Mr. Ramos was not balanced and so did considered themselves at least at risk. I didn't show up in his Twitter feed as much as others. So, I don't think I was as scared as other people were. I do recall one instance where -- I used to serve in the army and so, at one of his tweets referred to me as Sergeant Shirley -- and that spooked me because I realized, you know, he was digging into my past.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and he'd done some research. Now, I understand that you knew some of the people who were killed this week. After, you know, a couple of days now after the immediate incident, what will you remember about those members of the Capital Gazette staff?

[07:25:00] SHIRLEY: So, I should correct that because I actually didn't specifically know any of the victims.

BLACKWELL: Okay. SHIRLEY: It's obviously a horrible tragedy. And I -- I have very

fond memories of working with the gazette. And so, I know the caliber of people that worked there. That's what I'll always remember about my representation and my time with them.

BLACKWELL: All right. Zak Shirley, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

SHIRLEY: Thanks for having me.

BLACKWELL: Protesters are gathering across the country today demanding immigrant families be reunited. But how do their demands line up with the policies being used at the border?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:22] PAUL: 30 minutes past the hour. So grateful for your company now hundreds of protests are planned across the country today against President Trump's immigration policy.

BLACKWELL: Social justice groups are demanding that the administration end all family separations and detention policies, and reunite families who were previously separated. Now, the main event marches through the streets of D.C. and ends in front of the White House.

PAUL: Here with me to talk about it, CNN contributor and former director of the office of government ethics, Walter Shaub. Walter, thank you again for being with us. So, I know that you are going to be involved in today's immigration protests in D.C., and we're going to get to that in just a moment.

But I do want to talk about something that the president has just tweeted about. And that, of course, is ICE. We know that some agents -- some former -- some ICE agents actually sent a letter to HHS secretary as they were advocating that ICE in some capacity be dismantled based on the practices that are being put into place right now by the administration of separation of family.

The president is tweeting right now. "The Democrats are making a strong push to abolish ICE, one of the smartest, toughest, and most spirited law enforcement groups of men and women that I've ever seen. I watched ICE liberate towns from the grasp of MS-13, and clean out the toughest of situations, they're great.

To the great and brave men and women of ICE, do not worry or lose your spirit, you are doing a fantastic job of keeping us safe by eradicating the worst criminal elements. So, brave the radical left Dems want you out. Next, it will call police. Next chance it will never happen, zero chance it will never happen."

OK. So, this is what the president is saying. But again, as I said, there are ICE agents who sent a letter to the HHS secretary, saying something does have to change. What do you make of all of this, this morning? WALTER SHAUB, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think a lot has to change. I do think the president is engaging in a bit of distraction here, sleight of hand. Because the focus of today's march is to reunite these families and end family detention. And this comes from policies that go all the way up to the top to him.

And so, the changes can be made by him and it can be made instantly, and that doesn't have to involve the dismantling of an agency to achieve it. Now, in addition as these ICE agents point out, there are significant problems in ICE, there's a culture problem. I've dealt with ice for years, I used to have clients who worked there.

But again, I think what happens is he sets up a straw man and things like, "Oh, well, everybody marching today must want open borders and must love MS-13. Well, it's nonsense.

What we're interested in is children, and babies and families have being ripped apart. And then, when they're ordered to get back together, are going to be detained together indefinitely. And that's even assuming they can get back together because this government has been so nontransparent. We don't have any evidence that they even are going to be able to put them all back together.

PAUL: Yes, there was actually a note this morning. Some reporting that the government never really had a specific plan to reunite those families once they were -- once they were put into custody after crossing the border.

I do want to read really quickly from the ICE agent's letter to HHS secretary. They wrote, "Investigators have been perceived as targeting undocumented aliens, instead of the transnational criminal organizations that facilitate cross-border crimes, impacting our communities and national security."

If I'm understanding this correctly and help me out with this, Walter. If you understand it the same, it sounds to me as though they're saying, this practice is distracting them from the true focus of criminals, which is, is I think, the point you were making. It doesn't have to be dismantled fully but there are parts of it that are broken. How significant is it however to have agents who are in ICE calling for some sort of change here?

SHAUB: Yes. Well, I think an analogy would be imagine if your local town police said, "We are going to devote every resource we have. Every man and woman working for our police force is going to stand there and make sure people come to a complete stop at stop signs. Instead of having their wheels roll slightly before they take off again."

And then, as a result, murders and bank robberies, and other things are under-investigated. That's an analogy to what's happening right now with this situation of zero tolerance. You're pouring all of your resources into terrorizing families.

And I say, terrorizing because they've admitted their goal is deterrence. Do something bad enough to these people that others won't come. And as a result, you're pulling off resources about the very thing he's setting up as the thing we should be afraid of.

So, he's actually making the danger greater for Americans by pulling the resources off of the really dangerous individuals, and not prioritizing people who are actually committing crimes. And instead, terrorizing young children, and babies, and families. It's absolutely insane, it's backwards. And frankly, aside from being cruel and unjust, it's dangerous.

[07:35:26] PAUL: You wrote a piece in Slate, saying, "Ultimately, the burden to ensure that these families are reunited and kept safe talks on the public to pick up where our leaders have failed. What's needed now is pressure." You, right. We saw Maxine Waters, congresswoman advocating for pressure, as well. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA), FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, and a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they are not welcome anymore, anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And as you know, she's gotten a lot of pushback for that. She's even received the death threats. What kind of pressure do you advocate? What do you think could actually exert some change here?

SHAUB: Right. I mean, my article had nothing to do with what Maxine Waters, said and didn't sound anything like hers.

PAUL: Right, right.

SHAUB: What I'm talking about is exactly what we're doing today. There are 750 protests going on across the country. Hundreds of thousands of people have registered, and nobody registers for a march they should but a lot of people don't. And so, I think the real numbers are going to be much, much larger.

And that's what's needed because here we are having this human rights crisis artificially created by our president. And our Congress decides at what's really needed is an emergency hearing on the world's most investigated e-mails of an individual who hasn't been in government for five years.

And why are they doing that? To distract us from the human rights crisis that the leader of our country has created. And so, what we have to do with Congress advocating its responsibility. And with the Supreme Court about to belong to the president, the only third remaining check on executive power is the people. And the people need to show up, they need to protest, they need to vote, they need to make their voices heard, and that's precisely what we're going to be doing around the country today.

PAUL: Yes, there are so many of these rallies, and we know that you will be there in Washington for that one. Walter Shaub, thank you so much, sir. We appreciate your insight.

SHAUB: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: So, this started as a prank call for comedians' podcast, but it took less than two hours for him to get a call back from Air Force One. How did a joke call? Make it all the way to the president, and then, end with this. Here is CNN Sara Ganim.

TRUMP: You know I have a good relationship with the party. You have a good relationship with the party. And I think that we can do a real immigration bill.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is President Donald Trump, talking immigration policy during a phone call on Air Force One with a well-known prankster in the comedy world. His name is John Melendez, with an L. But he was pretending to be Senator Bob Menendez, with an N.

The crazy thing is John Melendez knows Donald Trump from his days on the Howard Stern radio show where Trump was a frequent guest. Melendez told me that he's probably talked to the president more than 20 times. He even went to lunch with Donald and Melania Trump, maybe five or six years ago.

Now, that he said they haven't spoken in years, but he told me he was shocked when the president did not recognize that it was his voice on the call. A guy with a clear Long Island accent, and not the Senator from New Jersey. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELENDEZ: He did not recognize that it's stuttering John, a guy who he's listened to on the Stern Show for years. I have the worst Long Island accent known to man.

And how he cannot know that, that is not a real Senator is beyond me. It is -- it is -- it's unbelievable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: Melendez told me that the roughly four-minute phone call was relatively easy to set up.

He called the White House switchboard, a number he got from Google. Took on a fake English accent, and then, pretended to be the Senator's assistant. The next thing he knew, Jared Kushner was on the phone asking him what topic he'd like to discuss with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELENDEZ: I got on the phone with Trump. And Trump just like. "Bob, I want to congratulate you. I didn't even know that Senator Menendez was in any legal problems." And really, if they would have just screamed me and asked me what a party affiliation Senator Menendez had or what state he represented, I would have been -- I would have been stumped because I had no -- I have had no idea anything about Senator Menendez.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: On Friday, the real Senator Menendez, put out a statement saying in part, "I welcome any opportunity to have a real conversation with the President on how to uphold the American values that have guided our family-based immigration policy for the past centuries."

Behind the scenes at the White House, people are saying that the president wants to be accessible to members of Congress, and unfortunately, that means mistakes like this can happen.

John Melendez did provide CNN with the numbers that called his cell phone, and CNN confirmed that they are numbers for the White House switchboard and from Air Force One. Sara Ganim, CNN, New York.

[07:40:20] PAUL: Sara, thank you. So a dangerous heat wave is hitting more than a third of the country today. After the break, Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is going to talk to us about the serial serious health risks that are associated with this temperatures that are coming to us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:09] BLACKWELL: More than 125 million people are getting hit with brutally hot temperatures.

PAUL: Yes, this is a dangerous heat wave we're talking about. Stretching from the Midwest to the east with extreme temperatures that opposing serious health risks to all of us over this holiday season. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is with us as we got going to the Fourth of July. You know everybody's going to be outside if it is.

BLACKWELL: The rallies today, as well.

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Across the country.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and I think the thing you have to understand that these numbers would be dangerous for any city. But you have to understand the expanse of which this stretches. Geographically, you're covering over a dozen states. Population wise, this is over a third of the population of the U.S.

So, where you see these colors, the oranges, the pinks, the reds, these are all the people that are under excessive heat watches, warnings, and even heat advisories. Some cities are going to be so hot, they're looking at record high temperatures. We're talking about over 20 cities over the course of the weekend.

But you have to keep in mind, this isn't just the temperature itself, it's also the humidity. When you combine the two you get what's called the heat index or the feels-like temperature.

Look the example for today, 105 is going to be the feels-like temperature for Chicago, Detroit, even Syracuse. 102 for St. Louis, 104 for Dallas. But the other thing you have to understand is it's the overnight temperatures as well.

Take Chicago for example, tonight, they're not even going to get below 80 degrees. The concern here is that has impacts on your body, but the bigger issue is this happens more frequently in big cities than it does in rural areas. It's called the urban heat island.

Basically, these big cities trap all of that hot air because there's more pavement, there's more asphalt, walls, buildings, and things like that trap the heat more allowing it to stay focused in that particular region.

And so, unfortunately, Victor and Christi, the issue we have here is that people in those big cities are then, more at risk for heat illnesses. Things like heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.

Now, normally when we talk about this, we mentioned elderly and young children, but at temperatures like this, it could affect absolutely anyone of any age.

BLACKWELL: All right. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, thank you for giving us the heads-up. We hope everyone out there stays safe. Because again, these are dangerous, dangerous temperatures.

PAUL: Yes, we want you to be OK there.

Already, LeBron James, some people might not be OK with this, I'm just saying.

BLACKWELL: No. As I sit next to an Ohio man.

PAUL: I know. You know it. I make it know and I'm sorry.

BLACKWELL: Yes, you do.

PAUL: Where, where is he going to take his talents next? King James is a free agent. We'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:58] BLACKWELL: You, OK?

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right. I know it's a rough weekend. It's a rough weekend because tomorrow it is official, NBA superstar LeBron James because it -- becomes an unrestricted free agent.

PAUL: Yes, and whatever he decides, it could impact every team in the league. Here's Andy Scholes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEBRON JAMES, THREE-TIME NBA FINALS MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: It sucks to lose, it sucks when you go out there and you give it everything that you have. And you know, you prep, and you, you know, your mind is in it, your body is in it. You come out on the lose in the end.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Whether LeBron, decides to stay or leave Cleveland this time, likely won't trigger the same emotion it has in the past.

JAMES: And this forum will take my talents to South Beach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the worst thing that could have ever happen to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news comes courtesy of the sports department right now if the Ohio guy is going home.

SCHOLES: As promised, LeBron delivered to city the first ever NBA championship, winning it all in 2016. And fans have been bracing themselves for the possibility of him leaving again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if he lives -- you know, we go one championship. So, and that was it to experience it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He won a championship to Cleveland, that's what he wanted to do if he leaves. I wish him all the luck.

SCHOLES: Well, LeBron has won three championships. He has now lost in the NBA Finals six times. If he wants to conquer the Warriors and win another title leaving the Cavs behind to build another super team may be the only way to do it. The cities across the NBA have been campaigning for LeBron to join their team. In Philly, he could join budding stars Joel Embid and Ben Simmons. In Los Angeles, he'd have to bring his own stars with him, but he'd get to play in Hollywood, and LeBron, already owns two homes in L.A.

JAMES: Now the one thing that I've always done is considered, and obviously, my family understands and -- you know, especially, where my boys are at this point in their age -- you know, sitting down and considering everything, you know. But my family is a huge part of whatever I've decided to do.

SCHOLES: LeBron's oldest son, Bronny is a budding basketball star where he will be playing his high school basketball likely the big part of LeBron's decision. But for now, the NBA is at a standstill. No big moves will likely be made until teams know where King James will be playing.

And when decision part three finally comes, the balance of power in the NBA could shift for the foreseeable future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: We'll wait and see.

BLACKWELL: We will wait and see. All right, people all over the country were asking how they could help after a deaf puppy fell into a giant hole. There's a happy ending to this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:58:33] BLACKWELL: Summertime usually means ice cream. I mean, although ice cream really is a year-round food.

PAUL: Yes, it is.

BLACKWELL: It is. At least at my house.

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: But if you cannot have dairy, in this week's "FOOD AS FUEL", as the nutritionists who says, you can still treat yourself.

LISA DRAYER, CNN HEALTH CONTRIBUTOR: If you love ice cream, but can't have dairy, good news, you have plenty of options these days. Frozen desserts made from soy, almonds, cashew, and coconut milk have gone mainstream and can taste as delicious as the real thing.

If you're watching your weight or concerned about heart health, you can find options that fit within your daily calorie and fat budgets. For instance, this soy milk dessert has only 120 calories and zero grams of saturated fat per serving. But not all non-dairy treats are created equal, and they may not be any healthier than the traditional version.

Take coconut milk based desserts. Generally speaking, they're higher in saturated fat which raises bad cholesterol. So, pay attention to labels, look for those with less than 200 calories, 16 grams of sugar and 3 grams of saturated fat per serving. And keep an eye on portion sizes. They're typically only a half cup or about the size of a light bulb.

PAUL: So, a puppy that was stuck in a hole for more than 30 hours is OK.

BLACKWELL: Good.

PAUL: We're happy to tell you. I want to show you Toffee, she fell into a 50-foot hole while playing with her foster family. Rescuers' tried lowering ropes, nets, even duffle bags to try to get her out.

She is also deaf which made things really difficult for them. Eventually, though, they were able to pull her out. They tempted her with sardine.

BLACKWELL: Food always works. Food always works.

PAUL: But it always, always, and she wasn't hurt, believe it or not.