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Hala Gorani Tonight
Outcry After CNN Reporter Barred From White House Event; Trump To Speak To Steelworkers In Illinois Soon; Cricket Legend Imran Khan Declares Victory; Official: Serious Indications Of Arson In Greece Fires; U.K. Grapples With Summer Heatwave; Company On Track For Worst-Ever Day In Markets; CNN Speaks With Migrants Reunited After Long Separation; NYT: Special Counsel Mueller Examining Trump's Tweets; U.S. Workers Concerned About Escalating Trade War; Nearly 250 Killed In ISIS Massacre; Scientists Detect Lake Of Liquid Water On Red Planet. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 26, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:18]
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones in for Hala Gorani.
Tonight, the White House is escalating its war with the media after one of our reporters was banned from an open event just for doing her job.
Meanwhile, the world continues to swelter as the global heatwave causes havoc from Europe to the West Coast of the United States.
And the former Cricket star who could soon lead Pakistan. We're live in Islamabad as Imran Khan declares victory in the country's election.
Welcome again. We begin with the question of whether in the era of President Donald Trump, you're getting the information you need to make
decisions about your world. Mr. Trump has made no secret, of course, of his disdain to the news media that gather and report that information.
The way the president tells it, "You cannot believe what you see or hear." Yesterday, things took an even more shocking turn during an event with the
president. CNN's Kaitlan Collins was there representing several news outlets and she shouted questions to the president. Take a listen now to
what she asked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Did Michael Cohen betray you, Mr. President?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, everybody. Thank you, everybody.
COLLINS: Mr. President, are you worried about what Michael Cohen is going to tell prosecutors?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's keep going.
COLLINS: Are you worried about what's on the other tapes, Mr. President?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, everybody.
COLLINS: Why is Vladimir Putin not accepted your invitation?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Well, the White House responded to that incident by then telling Kaitlan Collins that she could not a later event. So, then what used to be
routine asking questions of the U.S. president is now somehow a matter of contention. Is the message here, if you say the wrong things to Mr. Trump,
and your toast?
I want to bring in our senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" for more on all of this. Brian, good to see you.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: You too.
JONES: So, first of all, explain Kaitlan's crime here. The White House has said that her language was inappropriate that she was shouting. Was it
the content or the tone or both of what she said that so upset the White House?
STELTER: They claim she was shouting and being rude, but the videotape proves otherwise. Kaitlan was doing exactly what reporters do every day
when there are photo ops with Trump. It is kind of a custom.
You know, first the president speaks. The photos are taken, then reporters get to ask a couple questions normally Trump will answer. He'll give some
sort of answer. Sometimes he chooses not to.
I think what we saw yesterday is that the president feels really vulnerable about Michael Cohen and Vladimir Putin. He does not want to talk about
those issues. At one point, when Kayla Collins was brought to the principal's office, you know, brought to the communications boss' office
and told she wasn't invited to the next event, they said to her, why didn't you asked about trade, instead, ask about trade.
That is not how it works. You and I both know and viewers all know, the White House doesn't get to choose the questions, they get to choose the
answers. We get to choose the questions. That's how it should work.
And the fact the president was so troubled by her questions shows how important the questions were. It just shows around Michael Cohen and
around the investigation are very serious for Trump.
And the questions about Vladimir Putin and the relationship with Russia also essential. So, I am glad Kaitlan was asking. Frankly, I think other
White House reporters are now keep asking the same questions.
JONES: Yes. You mentioned that Bill Shine is the deputy chief of staff for communications at the White House. He is the one you told Kaitlan that
she was not allowed to go to the later event that day.
The White House has been pretty quite about this instance all day today, however, Bill Shine was quoted as saying the following a little earlier on.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL SHINE, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Could you ask her if we ever used the word ban? I've seen on lower thirds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible), Bill?
SHINE: When you ask her, we haven't used the word ban then I will answer that question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible)?
SHINE: You ask her, focus now, you ask her if we ever used the word ban.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Brian, your thoughts on this? When we've seen this tactic from the White House before really kind of muddling the narrative here.
STELTER: Yes, the word that was used in the meeting was disinvited. You're disinvited -- if I got disinvited from a party I was going go to, I
would pretty well call it a ban. She was banned from attending this Rose Garden event.
[15:05:07] But Bill Shine wants to have a debate about language rather than what actually happened, which is, it seems the president was really, really
ticked off and said get her out of the room. I don't want to see her again.
It seems like Shine is trying to enforce what the president wants and that's the bigger issue here. Not just about the questions Kaitlan was
asking and the punishment or retaliation that happened.
The president cannot stand the fact that the press is covering his controversies, covering his scandals, trying get to the bottom of various
allegations of wrongdoing. He does not want to hear it. He doesn't those reporters to be in the room.
This is a disrespect or a lack of understanding about the role of the press corps. We've not seen from past presidents. You know, in the past,
Clinton, Bush, Obama, they might have just like the reporters, but they accepted it. They put up with the questions. Trump is different in this
way.
JONES: I know, Brian, that you've covered on "RELIABLE SOURCES" as well. This quote really from "The Washington Post" (inaudible) when he said, "We
are not at war, we are at work." And certainly, a mantra for many of us journalists at the moment --
STELTER: That's my single favorite quote about the press --
JONES: Right.
STELTER: We're just at work.
JONES: Yes, exactly. Just explain it for our viewers why this matters not just for journalists but for everyone.
STELTER: I think we are seeing more and more of a bunker mentality from the White House. This is not entirely new, but it's a situation that it's
getting worse and worse. Where access is being restricted, where the president is avoiding questions, and where his aides are avoiding
questions.
There's only been a few press briefings all month long. We're almost at the end of July. It's only been three briefings. In past presidencies,
these briefings were actual weekday daily traditions.
That's just one of many examples of this bunker mentality where the president feels he's under siege, feels that he is knocking a fair shake
from the press, and feels that there is trouble in many different directions which there is. That is reality.
We see him try to create his own reality in various ways by telling us the sky is not blue, by telling us it's not raining when it is, but those
attempts to change reality are only working among 33 to 35 and 40 percent of his base that are with him no matter what.
There is a dynamic that continues to be in play, but it is getting worse and his rhetoric is also getting worse calling reporters the enemy, the
people more often. This is a degradation of his relationship with the press and the public.
JONES: And enemies of the people, a statement he recently used on Twitter. This is a president, of course, who is often tried to bypass the press and
take his message directly to the people by using his Twitter account.
The latest we are hearing, though, is that now some of his public statements, his tweets on that platform are going to be used in the probe
by Bob Mueller. Just explain the significance of that then.
STELTER: It's really important report in the "New York Times" that Mueller is looking at the president's tweets when they were posted, and how those
tweets in public might be linked to his behavior in private.
The issue is when he is out attacking Jeff Sessions or last year when he was railing against James Comey or railing at the Department of Justice,
whether those tweets were linked to actions that would amount to obstruction of justice.
Of course, obstruction of justice is an important part of the Mueller probe along with Russian interference in the 2016 election and that kind of
obstruction of justice could be ongoing.
We'll see if Mueller alleges it. We'll see if Mueller has the evidence for it, but apparently some of the questions he wants to ask Trump are related
to the tweets. What is so remarkable is that some of this behavior, some of these attacks against Trump's own government.
They are happening in public. They're happening right in front of all of us on Twitter. If Trump were saying these things privately in secret on
tapes will be a giant scandal, but when the president assails the Department of Justice on Twitter, we call it Tuesday, we call it Thursday.
It's notable that Mueller is looking at those tweets as part of a probe.
GORANI: And take to the whole other question we just do not have time for tonight, Brian. Thank you so much. Good to talk to you. We appreciate
your analysis.
Now, Mr. Trump is focusing on jobs, tariffs and trade today taking his message directly to the U.S. heartland. This hour, Donald Trump will be
speaking to steel workers in Illinois after touring a steel production facility.
Earlier today, he was in Iowa for a roundtable discussion about jobs and workforce development. His visit comes just two days after the White House
announced a $12 billion bailout for farmers hurt by an escalating trade war.
So, let's get an update now from CNN's Sarah Westwood. Sarah is live in Granite City, Illinois for us. Sarah, an unlikely tough crowd potentially
for Donald Trump today. He's talking to his base, supporters, yes, but these are people, farmers, steelworkers, who have been or could be badly
affected, should we say, by some of his tariffs and trade plans?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN REPORTER: Well, that's right. President Trump is heading here to Granite City, Illinois amid his international backlash to
his trade policies after spending the morning defending his trade strategy in Iowa.
But here in Granite City, it's one of the few pockets to the country where President Trump's tariffs are actually producing good results.
[15:10:02] The steel mill where President Trump will be speaking momentarily has actually a few hundred jobs since the Trump administration
announced that Trump would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports in March.
But this is all coming against the backdrop of greater economic losses across the state of Illinois and across the country. Farmers have been hit
hard by President Trump's trade policy requiring a $12 billion bailout from the government to stay afloat.
And other manufacturers have suffered from the rising costs of steel. Republicans are also speaking out against President Trump's trade policies
and the European Union and the Trump administration have agreed to hold off on imposing more tariffs against each other as they negotiate some kind of
deal.
But there's a lot of skepticism that anything concrete will pan out because the two leaders agreed yesterday in the Rose Garden only to agree to
something tentative. There's been no concrete steps taken so far towards that bilateral deal. So, President Trump prepared to take a victory lap
here in Granite City. We know there's a lot of uncertainty still surrounding his trade policies.
JONES: Yes. Already saying today, we opened up Europe. He said that, Sarah, but still no deal that we know of at least on the table. Sarah
Westwood live for us there in Illinois as we will, of course, be bringing the president's comments to you live to our viewers as soon as he takes to
the stage. Expecting him at half an hour or so.
Now to another story that we are covering here at CNN, the ballots are still being counted, but as far as one man is concerned, Pakistan already
has its new prime minister and that man is the man himself, Imran Khan. He has declared victory in the country's general election doing so in a
televised speech under a framed photo of Pakistan's founder.
His supporters celebrated the news early on, but there are still many challenges ahead in this leadership battle. One that's already seen
everything from violence to claims of vote rigging.
Our Nick Paton Walsh is in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, with the very latest. Nick, the campaign priority for Imran Khan has been the economy.
That's what he says he is going to focus on, but might his focus now shift with the reality of the challenge ahead?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Knowing certainly so much of what ordinary Pakistani expects from him is sort of
sweeping away of corruption, dealing with the government debt so much to China that's help rebuilding the structure here.
But in elements of foreign policy too, some people see this in two different ways no doubts. This is certainly the second time that power has
been democratically, peacefully transferred between two governments in Pakistan's independent history.
Also, this is the first time that one of the two normal parties, the whole power here aren't in charge of the military's assistance. This new third
party of Imran Khan now it seems has its hands on the reins despite the last final bits of political mass still alluding them.
It seems pretty without a doubt that he is going be the next prime minister. What an extraordinary personal journey for this former sporting
icon, who is now accused here of being a little bit too close to the Pakistani military. Here's what we know about his life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): An historic height in an extraordinary journey. Cricket star turned socialite turned political firebrand. Imran Khan is
close to becoming Pakistan's new prime minister after a bitterly fought election that have turned Pakistan's tightly controlled political older.
And casting the sporting icon as sometimes anti-American force for change. Born into a wealthy family in (inaudible). Khan soon discovered his gifts
as a fast bowler leading Pakistan to its first and only Cricket World Cup victory in 1992.
And Khan to become a national hero in a country where Cricket is always worshiped, and politicians often reviles. He retired from support and
after a spell as international playboy, he married his first wife, wealthy London socialite, Jomana Khan.
A family man, he raised money for charities, one, building a cancer hospital in his home city, Lahore. But back in the turmoil and injustice
of '90s, Pakistan, his political ambitions grew.
Founding a new party, the Pakistan Movement for Justice, his central pitch, to end corruption among the country's ruling elite. Pakistani politics has
few arm piles all rules and often marred by violence and coups.
He was briefly arrested in 2007 for criticizing military leader, General Pervez Musharraf and just a month later, a political rival, former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on the campaign trail.
But still Khan kept his sights on the premiership. By 2013, he could martial huge crowds and win the vote in one Pakistani province.
[15:15:04] He remained a distant third however nationwide. His conservatism grew as well religious, panning American interference and
favoring Pakistan's drastic and sometimes brutal blasphemy laws this year.
He rode a populist wave promising to fight for equality and get tough on terror. His vision he says is for a new Pakistan. What that means, his
critics do not know.
ZAHID HUSSAIN, JOURNALIST: (Inaudible) what really he wants to do. He wants to change the system, but nobody knows exactly what kind of change
would it be.
WALSH: His supporters think any change is good.
NIMRA HAUREEN, PTI SUPPORTER (through translator): We are supporting Imran Khan because he promised to stop corruption in Pakistan. We are hopeful
that we will have a better future and our children will have a better future.
FALVIRA JAVI, PTI SUPPORTER (through translator): This is the first time anyone has treated us as human beings. That we have rights too. Somebody
is finally saying we also need medicine and education and other things.
WALSH: This is just the first innings. He'll need to form a stable government, handle a looming economic crisis, and navigate the powerful
army, who really decide the winners in Pakistani politics and may still be unsure about this charismatic reformist outsider.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Now this is the real paradox that lies ahead for the most famous prime minister Pakistan has ever had. Is he as his supporter hope some
kind of new celebrity immune from the establishment here who can implement real change, really crackdown on corruption or is he as his critics have
said actually too in hawk to the military, who catches opponents (inaudible) other critics say.
And even use (inaudible) to keep some people away from being totally allegiant towards his opponents. So, a complex task for him certainly in
terms of this section and one possibly (inaudible) by the enormous domestic challenges Pakistan has ahead of it. Back to you.
JONES: It certainly does. Nick Paton Walsh live for us there in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Nick, thank you.
Now still to come on the program tonight, Facebook is making stock market history for long reasons, posting its biggest single day fall ever. Find
out why.
Plus, the U.K. struggles to cope on the hottest day of the year. The latest from London, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Welcome back. Just in to us here at CNN, a Greek deputy minister says that there are serious indications of arson in the wildfires that have
killed at least 81 people last week. This as the local mayor says authorities made mistakes in their response to the catastrophic fires.
Distressing new images illustrate the absolute horror that so many people faced. A big reason why those fires have burned so ferociously is the
scorching heatwave that is gripping Europe right now.
[15:20:05] In Sweden forest fires have burned through tens of thousands of hectares and the World Health Organization is warning that pollution from
those fires and the ones in Greece is much more dangerous in high temperatures.
Well, the U.K. is certainly feeling the heat right now. Today marks the hottest day of the year in Britain with the mercury hitting 35 degrees
Celsius at Heathrow Airport. These sorts of temperatures are very, very unusual in this country and it's causing all sorts of problems. Erin
McLaughlin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Utter devastation in Greece and wildfires in Sweden near the Arctic Circle no less. Across
Europe temperatures so hot entirely landscapes parched. Here's Denmark last month and then today. Scientists say it's all been made worse by
climate change.
DR. PETER STOTT, U.K. MET OFFICE: So, what we're seeing is partly the effects of climate change. The background that was the temperature rising
and then we are seeing the effect of our natural weather variability. In such a way that when we have heatwaves, they're being additionally
reinforced and the chance of getting extreme temperatures are being raised due to climate change.
MCLAUGHLIN (on camera): Now the British government is sounding the alarms. A report finds the U.K.'s environmental audit committee warned that
heatwave such as this one are now 10 times more likely than they were in the early 2000s and as heatwaves become more frequent, the number of deaths
by heat could triple by 2050.
(voice-over): The recent weather echoes of the tragedy of 2003. Temperatures in the U.K. reached a 500-year record, 38.5 degrees Celsius.
The most severe heat wave Europe has ever seen with over 20,000 heat related deaths.
The U.K. is ill-prepared to deal with these sweltering temperatures, the report warns, hospitals, care homes, trains, roads, even the buildings
people live and work in, all vulnerable to overheating. Public awareness or lack thereof of the potentially deadly risks also an issue.
One member of parliament saying people are more likely to treat heatwave warnings as barbecue alert than life-threatening events.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not quite like a U.K. because our weather is quite rubbish, so we may have hot weather. We just take out tops off and have
barbecues in their parks. They don't worry about (inaudible) too hot and being fires (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather seems so extreme like over the past two years like the winter is so long this year. It's very long. So, I think
people are just enjoying the summer.
MCLAUGHLIN: And it's that unpredictability that has scientists concerned.
STOTT: The climate that we have in the past that we may be used in the past is not any more reliable indication of what could happen in the
future.
MCLAUGHLIN: Erin McLaughlin, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: So, what is causing these virtually unheard of temperatures certainly in the U.K.? Well, the man with all the answers is Tom Sater
over at the World Weather Center. Tom, let all of the climate change naysayers take note, it is hot. It is really, really hot. And when it's
not hot, it's really, really cold. So, what's going on?
TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We will have winter. I mean, there will be snow in many areas, but when you put all of these events together and just
the duration of them. I mean, there is no doubt you can see that the climate is warming. We pumped out more CO2 last year than any previous
year in recorded history.
So, basically what we're going to be watching out, we're going to be looking and talking about these graphics if we can get them to roll along
here. Let's advance one by one and we'll talk about what has been in this extreme year.
First, in parts of the U.K. for some reason were kind of loaded up on the system. Gentlemen, can you give me some help? That is not what I want
here, there we go. Finally, thanks for bearing with me.
We've had high pressure that is just baking down in the area. The reason we are starting to see a peak in the heat is that we are starting to get a
southerly wind here. So, it is coming in from western parts of Europe and that's kicking your temperatures.
So, you like do 37 tomorrow compare it at 39. We've got major deadly heatwaves on four continents right now. You think it is hot on Algeria.
Earlier (inaudible) 51.3 all-time record for the continent.
So, warmer temperatures will continue. Notice here in Sweden, these are temperature anomalies. This does not happen. That is why those fires have
been burning. This players on another look as you can see of course that lush green going away.
We are going to hit on a couple of areas here, but first across the United Kingdom, overall, you got different days stretches without rainfall. But
overall for the U.K. 58 without getting at least a millimeter, but we do have rain in the forecast.
But warmer atmosphere holds more water. We see tremendous thunderstorms drop flash flooding in several countries across Europe and elsewhere in the
world. You're going to cooldown in London, but you're back into the swing of it by the middle of next week.
So, the heat may continue in the U.S. earlier this month. Over 70 fatalities in Quebec province in Canada due to the heat. It was
overwhelming at Morgan Montreal and of course, we still have high pressure that is building in the desert southwest.
It's hot but record hot Death Valley all-time record yesterday 53, Phoenix 47. The list goes on and on. We've got 75 large fires with the drought
conditions in the desert southwest and very green lush El Salvador.
[15:25:13] This farmer is counting his losses here, which is just tremendous. Taking you to Japan where these numbers are improving.
They've in the 40s, but over 30,000 admitted to the hospital with nearly 80 fatalities.
Here's one way, Hannah, to break a heat wave, they got a typhoon that's going to make landfall. We've advanced this as it heads up in for Saturday
night into Sunday morning. This is going to be dangerous because it's approach.
But we're definitely seeing a swing in the climate, there's no doubt about it. Again, if we hang in there for just a few more weeks, we'll possibly
see the end of this unless it continues in the fall and that's the unknown question right now.
JONES: Yes. Well, when you put it into perspective like that, Tom, with 50-degree temperatures and typhoons and like, it makes out 35 degrees in
London seemed nothing at all. We appreciate it much, Tom. Thanks so much.
Now Facebook stock is on track to suffer the biggest one-day loss of market value in stock market history. Its market value has sunk about $123
billion and in the final hour of trading, its share price is down almost 20 percent.
Why the crash? Well, Facebook announced late yesterday, it would be focusing on putting the privacy of its users before profit. This comes
just a few months after the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Let's bring in Samuel Burke for more on all of this now. Samuel, put this in perspective for us then. How big a crash is this?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: The last time there was a crash almost this size with Intel that was back in 2000. They lost $91
billion. So, for a company to lose this much money in one day looks to be a historic and if we just put up a chart to show where Facebook stock has
come from.
Actually, when you put into perspective with just Facebook alone, if you look back around May, it hit 155. So, it's actually been lower than this.
That's of course during the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
But just look how much when you see the right side or how it's gone in just one day, we are back to the place where was after Mark Zuckerberg testified
before Congress and people say, look like Congress would know how to regulate this.
But what's happened now is all of Facebook's political problems have caught up to them. We are not just talking about Cambridge Analytica. We are
talking about fake news. We are talking about terrorists using the platform.
And while nobody could have predicted it would fall this much in just one day, Mark Zuckerberg has been signaling for months and months, guys, were
going to spend more policing this platform.
We're going to get rid of fake news accounts. We're going to get rid of fake news traffic. So, when you think about all of that, OK, if they're
getting rid of accounts, getting rid of traffic, it's going to have to affect their bottom line somehow. We just didn't know the bottom line
would go so far to the bottom.
JONES: Mark Zuckerberg personally affected by this.
BURKE: It's $11 billion he's lost in net worth, but when you're that rich, it goes up and down, and he'll be OK at the end of the day.
JONES: What about the Facebook modal overall? It's obviously a platform which is built on sharing and community and the like. If they move towards
privacy and security as well, does it still work?
BURKE: Well, they've been shifting to a more private model over the years. Obviously, that's accelerated now by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but I
think the real answer to your question is they don't just shift away from their model, they shift to other models like Instagram, which is very
public.
People know that it's public by nature and when you look at some of the numbers they are putting up. I think we have a number that we can put on
the screen that actually shows the overall platform, 2.5 billion when you look at Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp.
Those are all the platforms they bought knowing that one day nothing lasts forever knowing that one day Facebook could end up like a MySpace so they
built a moat around a platform knowing OK, if this go down, maybe another one can come up.
That's why they spent $22 billion on WhatsApp. Some people look at this, stock going down 20 percent as a buying opportunity. If you're one of
those people is because you believe platforms like Instagram will pay off when Facebook, the main platform can't.
JONES: Shareholders are spooked, but they shouldn't be too concerned?
BURKE: I don't give advice, but the people who are buying today that's what they look. They say can Facebook have more growth and yes, it might
be another platform.
JONES: Samuel, always good to talk to you. Thank you.
Still to come tonight, U.S. protesters are out in force as the fate of hundreds of migrant families hangs in the balance. We'll tell you about
court deadline that now is just hours away.
And as Donald Trump focuses on jobs and trade, some major headlines are breaking about the Russia investigation and more. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:17] HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: We are just away from a court deadline involving one of the most controversial policies of
Donald Trump's entire presidency, but there's no uncertainty or suspense here. The government is not going to meet its obligation to reunite all
the migrant children who were separated from their parents after illegally crossing U.S. border.
More than 900 parents won't be reunited with their children by the 6:00 p.m. deadline. Some have already been deported, the parents that is.
Others, can't be found or have serious criminal records.
A former U.S. immigration chief says some of these separations may be permanent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SANDWEG, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: If they have a relative in the U.S., there's a chance of that
relative will be appointed to our legal guardian. But many of the other kids are going to actually going to foster care system. It could become
wards of the state, could be subject to adoption. There's a very high likelihood. A lot of these parents never going to see their kids again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Did you hear that? Never going to see their kids again. If any parent, anywhere in the world that is simply unthinkable. CNN's Ryan
Nobles talked to some migrants families who feel lucky that they were reunited. But they say that they may never get over the trauma of being a
part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even though they're sitting right next to each other, at certain times, Arely (ph) reaches to grab her 7-year-old
son, Andy, as if to make sure he's still there.
"It was an incredibly hard experience for me," she says, "when they separated me from my son."
Arely and Andy fled from El Salvador, seeking asylum from a situation they aren't comfortable talking about. They crossed into Texas hoping for
relief. Instead, they were separated as part of President Trump's zero tolerance policy. Andy sent to a shelter in New York City, his mother held
at the Port Isabelle Detention Facility.
When she saw her son taken away, she wasn't sure she'd ever see him again.
They took away my son. They told me I would never see him. They told me they would deport me and he was going to stay with the government.
Jose Angel and his 11-year-old daughter, Kimberly, fled Honduras and arrived at the U.S. southern border June 17th. Almost immediately,
Kimberly was sent to the Casa Presidenta (ph) Shelter, her father detained at Port Isabelle. It would be a month before they would see each other
again.
When God creates a family, says Jose Angel, I feel there isn't anything that can separate you from your kids, except something like death.
Both families describe a painful month, filled with a desperation to reunite, coupled with uncomfortable conditions they say were inhumane.
[15:35:01] They wouldn't let me go to the bathroom sometimes. And when I wanted to eat, they wouldn't let me eat until they wanted.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request from CNN about the treatment of these families
while in their detention centers. But the day-to-day experience for Arely and Jose Angel pale in comparison to the lingering trauma they say their
kids are dealing with after being torn from their parents.
I am happy I am with him and not separated. Kimberly and Andy say they never blamed their parents for their separation, but both parents say the
guilt they felt was overwhelming.
I begged her to forgive me, he says. I said, forgive me, daughter, while I was crying, forgive me.
Their attorney, Sophia Gregg, calls her representation of both families luck. She was in the right place at the right time. She argues this
crisis was avoidable.
SOPHIA GREGG, ATTORNEY: There is a system. People can seek asylum. Just because someone seeks asylum in this country doesn't mean that they need to
be held in a high-security prison while they attempt to seek asylum.
NOBLES: But even if the crisis was avoidable, the reality of its impact is now a part of the day-to-day lives of these two families. Jose Angel says
that for him it's like a nightmare.
The things that happened to me are things I would never wish on anyone. It's a nightmare that may have ended, but will take much longer to
completely recover from.
Ryan Nobles, CNN, Falls Church, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Donald Trump is turning his focus to the economy today. He is currently making his way to a steel plant in Illinois. He touched down on
Air Force One, just a short time ago. We are keeping an eye, of course, on this visit. And we're going to bring you the live remark that the
president makes to steelworkers just as soon as he takes the podium. Live pictures you're looking at now.
But in the meantime, we want to take you on some big headlines involving the Russia investigation and the criminal investigation with Mr. Trump's
former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen. And for details on that, we're joined by our White House reporter Stephen Collinson, friend to the show.
Stephen, good to see you.
Donald Trump, as ever, is going to try and get back on message drives the agenda when he takes to the podium to speak to steelworkers there in
Illinois. But bulk down all along by some New York Times reporting as in Wall Street Journal reporting. What's the latest?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hannah. One of the most interesting developments we've seen for some time in this whole issue
of the alleged scandals surrounding by Donald Trump is the news that the chief financial officer of the Trump organization, Allen Weisselberg, has
been subpoenaed to appear before grand jury in the Southern District of New York. They are the prosecutors, the federal prosecutors that are throbbing
Michael Cohen, the former lawyer of the president and a tax evasion and financial investigation.
You remember some time ago, there was a raid on the offices and the residences of Michael Cohen and this is sort of flowing out of that.
There's a great deal of concern among Donald Trump's legal camp that Michael Cohen is going to do a deal with the prosecutors in New York and
potentially testify against the president himself. So I think this is another sign that the subpoena right to the top of the Trump organization
that this legal morass around the president is getting closer and closer to people who are very close to him for many, many years and who know
everything that went on inside the Trump organization.
JONES: And, Stephen, we were talking a little earlier on in the program about the fact that now we understand that the special prosecutor, Bob
Mueller is going to be looking at Donald Trump's tweets. One wonders, why that's a surprise. I mean, the rest of us can see his tweets. Why
wouldn't the prosecutor look at them?
COLLINSON: Yes. I think what Robert Mueller is trying to do is to build a narrative around the investigation into obstruction. You remember that
this is basely all about whether the president fired James Comey, the former FBI director a few months into his tenure because he wanted to shut
down the Russia investigation.
In an obstruction case and a civil case, as oppose to a criminal case here, what the prosecutor have to do is to prove that there was malicious intent.
In other words, was the president indeed firing James Comey because he wanted to shut down the Russia probe? Or was he, as the president's
defender say, barely using the authority he has to change the personnel in his administration, the top officials in the government. If Mueller
reports to Congress that the president obstructed justice, he has to prove that the president fired Comey maliciously.
[15:40:07] Now, he's building a case using tweets, all the president's comments, potentially his interviews with people who are around the
president and the time of the firing. So if he does indeed made the case that there was a distraction, that's why the tweets are important, because
they give you a sense of what was in the president's mind.
JONES: Stephen, stand by for us, because we want to come back to you just as we're waiting Donald Trump getting to that platform, at the stage I
Illinois.
But in the meantime, I want to get more on the White House's move to un- invite a CNN reporter from a press event after she asked President Trump some questions.
Olivier Knox is the president of the White House Correspondents' Association. He joins us on the phone now.
Olivier, I want to start by just reading a statement that your association issued in the aftermath of the treatment of Kaitlan Collins. You said, we
strongly condemn the White House's misguided and inappropriate decision today to bar one of our members from an open press event after she ask
questions. This type of retaliation is wholly inappropriate, wrongheaded, and weak.
Olivier, my first question to you is, the use of the term weak, was that deliberately kind of trying to sort of stoke the fires a bit in the flames
of a White House which is obviously very proud and intense on being strong?
OLIVIER KNOX, PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION (via telephone): Thanks for having me on. It was a deliberate choice of words
and it had to do with pointing out that if you are a continent administration, if you're a strong administration, and you are above the
kind of petty retaliatory tactics.
JONES: OK. Overall then, apart from the statement, what can the press corps and the White House Correspondents' Association do then to try to
combat these seemingly persistent and perhaps, you could argue, increasing attacks on the First Amendment and the freedom of the press?
KNOX: We have a regular, almost regular actually, I should say, meeting with the press secretary and Secretary Sanders and now the new
communications director, Bill Shine. These are off the record meetings to discourage posturing and in those meetings, we try to work out a range of
logistical issues, complaints of our members about a range of issues, whether it's the secret service closing the press work space too early
after a major announcement like the president's nomination of any Supreme Court justice or the infrequency of Sarah Sanders at briefings. So we have
this regular form in which we discuss with the White House.
I could say, at this moment, it's a little bit early to start talking about what else we can do. The point of the statement was to make sure that the
White House understood that this should not become a practice. This is not a legitimate response to questions that they don't like, whether they don't
like the tone or they don't like the content or whatever. This is not an appropriate response. Credential media should be allowed to attend open
precedents. We are very concerned about the potential chilling message to other reporters singling out Kaitlan for punishment in this way.
JONES: Right. And you mentioned that about the regular meetings that you're going to be holding with Bill Shine. He is the communications
director who told Kaitlan Collins she was no longer welcome to attend the next event. I'm wondering if you think that this is the start of a trend
though. Is this something that's just the White House attacking CNN? Or is this actually the start of more to come and more closed events from the
press?
KNOX: Well, I certainly hope it's not the start of something works, obviously. I hope for that. We'll have some tests coming out for where
they really stand. We have a big election season coming up now. We're going to have to see how they treat the traveling press. Whether we get
the kinds of access we traditionally had to beat prepared remarks of the president to fundraising audiences. So we've got a bunch of test coming
up. But we have a decent working relationship with Sarah Sanders and I'm hopeful that we can work this out.
Again, I want to make sure that the White House understand that this is not a legitimate form of retaliation. This is very much like when the Obama
folks went after Fox News and CNN and others stood up for Fox News. You saw it this time with Fox News and other outlets standing out for CNN. We
have a united front. But I cannot predict the future for you, unfortunately. I don't know how the company works. I certainly hope that
it is not.
JONES: Yes. We all hope it's not. And just finally and very briefly, if you could, would you expect an apology to be forthcoming to Kaitlan
Collins?
KNOX: I would not expect an apology to be forthcoming to Kaitlan Collins. Apologizing is always the sign of weakness in this White House. And I
don't think that they think they did anything wrong.
JONES: OK. Olivier Knox, great to talk to you. Thank you very much for coming on the program.
Now, we are going to be taking you live to Illinois very shortly indeed. And Stephen Collinson is standing by for us there, still. Stephen, you're
not actually in Illinois, but we're, of course, watching this live pictures awaiting the president's take to say where he's going to be addressing
steelworkers there.
[15:45:11] We were talking a bit before about the other stories that are impacting the president at the moment, Stephen, the things that he can't
seem to get away from. When he stands on that stage there in the next few minutes and speaks to these people who are really his core base, his
supporters, what's going to be his message? How is he going to win them over in the light of -- in the face, rather, of these trade tariffs that
should directly affecting some of those people in the audience?
COLLINSON: Right. I think in the case of the steelworkers, he has a receptive audience, because of course, he impose tariffs on European,
Canadian, Mexican and Chinese steel. But in the wide conversation, what this is about is the president has begun to see that there are some
political consequences for his populist trade rhetoric. The launching of trade wars against the European Union and China. We saw in Washington
yesterday that the president proclaimed that he had done a deal to move towards zero tariffs with the Europeans. Jean-Claude Juncker, the
president of the European Commission was over here.
What really happened, of course, was there was a deal to step back from escalating the trade war that the president has been perpetrating over the
last few months and to talk about -- having talks about reducing tariffs which is the most different thing, having -- the president was in Iowa
which is a key electoral state which has been suffering from some of the blowback to his trade agenda. Chinese tariffs, European tariffs.
He said today that he'd already opened up the European market which clearly isn't true, but I think it gives you a sense of the political sensitivities
of this. Trade was a massive advantage for the president and his populist message in 2016 when he was talking about how the U.S. was being cheated by
its trading partners and being ripped off, left, right and center.
The reprisals that the Europeans and the Chinese, especially have taken of course a lot of pain already in the Midwest, especially on crops like
soybeans, on American pork producers. This is having a clear effect in the run-up to the midterm elections and some of the House races and
gubernatorial races in which Republican candidates are very worried that the president's trade agenda is beginning to affect them adversely.
So the wider message the president will have in the Midwest today and moving towards the midterm elections in November is that the trade agenda
is working. It's going to get a better deal for American workers, even if right now, there are people who voted for Trump and who supported him are
starting to feel the pain.
JONES: Stephen, thank you so much for your analysis.
We're still staying on this live pictures. And of course for our viewers who have stayed for this through the course of the last hour, and we're
going to stay with these live pictures as well. And as soon as the president take to the stage there in Illinois, we will bring you his
comments live.
Now, still to come also on the program. Fighting escalates in Southern Syria. Israel is stepping up its humanitarian operations to Syrian
civilians. I have all the latest details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:24] JONES: Welcome back. Reminding now of the very real threat still pose by a terror group ISIS. Funerals are being held for at least
250 people, killed in an ISIS massacre in Southern Syria. Militants targeted (INAUDIBLE) going from house to house, killing families as they
slept. They also attacked the vegetable market and pro-government fighters. ISIS is showing it is a still a force despite suffering a series
of defeats, of course, through the country.
Now, Israel is keeping a closed eye on Syria that's fighting in the country's south draws right up to the disputed area that separates the two
neighbors. CNN's Ian Lee reports now from the Golan Heights.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An Israeli army convoy, navigates the frontier with Syria. Kilometers away, the deadly civil war rages.
Tonight's mission, deliver humanitarian aid. Thousands of Syrians have fled the fighting, taking what they could creating a crisis on Israel's
doorstep. These boxes of supplies contained a family's dinner, a baby's formula and antibiotics that could save a life. The managed hearts of this
mission tells me, it's about winning hearts and minds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Every night, we're bringing supplies so that those young boys and girls could have a little bit of hope
in the hell that they're facing.
LEE: Tons of food and supplies have been delivered to Syrian rebels since 2016. Part of operation Good Neighbor which has also treated thousands of
Syrians in Israeli hospitals. But the missions get trickier, as the fighting draws near.
Just to impress the urgency of completing this mission, about six, seven kilometers inside Syria right now, we are watching explosions and tracer
fire.
The extent of the civil war comes into focus during the day. Bombs rain down. The Syrian regime gains territory, squeezing the rebels, prompting
Israel to act.
On Sunday, Israel evacuated 422 Syrians to neighboring Jordan, including members of the White Helmets rescue group. Then on Tuesday, Israel shut
down a Syrian jet. The army says infiltrated Israeli airspace.
It's a matter of time before aid deliveries like this become impossible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying up until the final moments to help the other side and strengthen them and give them the hope for another few days
they'll be able to hold out against the attacks.
LEE: When the mission is completed, the gates to Syria are closed. For Israel, a good fence ensures a good neighbor. In a distance, rebels
received a signal for the pick up as the Syrian regime closes in.
Ian Lee, CNN, on the Golan Heights.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:55:01] JONES: Now, a story for all you space junkies out there. Science says they have long struggles to figure out if there is indeed life
on Mars. Previous research found signs of liquid water flowing. And now, scientists say they have found not just a stream or a river, but an entire
underground lake.
CNN's Amara Walker has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Buried inside the red planet, a long- sought discovery as to the speculation, there may have once been life on Mars.
ENRICO FLAMINI, ITALIAN SPACE AGENCY: Well, the final remarks are very simple. Water is there and we have not anymore any doubt.
WALKER: Unveiling their findings at a news conference, scientists at the Italian Space Agency announced that they have located an underground lake
on Mars. The first stable body of liquid ever found on the red planet. After years studying data from a ground penetrating radar on an orbiting
spacecraft, the Italian researchers say they have identified a large liquid reservoir, buried over a kilometer beneath an ice sheet near the South
Pole. It's a discovery that raises a tantalizing possibility.
FLAMINI: In our old ingredients for thinking that life can be there or can be maintained there, if life once exists on Mars. Martians it is.
WALKER: Comparing it to a sub-glacial lake on Earth, researchers said the Martian reservoir may resemble a habitat. Although there's no evidence to
support that yet. But a body of water on Mars not only has implications for finding life or proving it was once there, but also for our future
exploration on the red planet.
TIMOTHY DOWLING, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE: Finding water on Mars is very important for practical reasons for human exploration because you don't
have to bring the water with you. You need the water to survive for a long periods of time on Mars, but you also can make tool out of it. And so
having an accessible on the planet itself is almost enabling for human exploration on Mars.
WALKER: Outside experts have not yet been able to confirm the Italian Space Agency's findings, but evidence that Mars was once a wet planet has
been observed several times. A huge underground lake could help us understand how billions of year changed our neighboring planet and what
could mean for our future here on Earth.
Amara Walker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: And finally this hour, we are saying goodbye to a trailblazer, Mary Ellis. She died in the U.K. today at the age of 101. Ellis, was one of
the last surviving female World War II pilot. She was known as one of the first women to fly Spitfires and Wellington Bombers during the war after
responding to a radio advert asking women to join the war effort. Ellis was active until the very end. Even making time for a reception at 10
Downing Street earlier on this year. That marked the 100th anniversary of the RAF and she proudly reminded the crowd there that she was older than
the institution itself. Rest in peace.
Thank you so much for watching tonight. Stay with us here at CNN, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next including full coverage, of course, of President
Trump's comments in Illinois.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
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