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Day Three Of President Trump's State Visit To Japan; European Union Today Voting For Their EU Parliament Members; Two Dead And Utter Devastation Left Behind In El Reno, Oklahoma; Wall Street Is Bracing For Another Volatile Week; Interview with Rep. Lou Correa (D- California) Regarding Sending Troops To Middle East. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 26, 2019 - 18:00   ET

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


[18:00:00] AMBER GILLEYLEN, SON HELPED MAN IN WHEELCHAIR DURING TORNADO WARNING: -- hear the tornado alarms and I thought, my God, my mom is not going to believe this. We are out here in the middle of tornado siren and who knows when one is going to creep up on us. And I have, you know, were pushing someone, you know, through this and I thought, I'm going to show my mom. So I grabbed the phone and got a little 11-second clip. And you know, I had it in my phone and honestly forgot I had it.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Wow.

GILLEYLEN: Yes.

CABRERA: Well, you captured pure gold there and something that can make people feel good over and over again in watching it.

GILLEYLEN: Thank you.

CABRERA: Amber Gilleylen, Seth Phillips, kudos to you guys for doing the right thing and making a difference. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

GILLEYLEN: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. God bless.

CABRERA: You too.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

It's just after 7:00 a.m. in Tokyo as day three of President Trump's state visit to Japan gets under way. And so far, there has been more ceremony than diplomatic substance, with President Trump playing golf and posing for selfies with the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Then a sumo wrestling match where the President awarded the president's cup to the winner, a trophy standing 4 1/2 feet tall and weighing a mere 70 pounds. Mr. Trump said he had it specially made for this event.

CNN's Pamela Brown joins us with the latest.

And Pamela, it's been about 24 hours since the President posted his controversial tweet saying he didn't see why people were so upset that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was firing off short range missiles again. Prime Minister Abe didn't seem to let that affect his public demeanor. Do we know anything about his reaction behind the scenes?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, tell you, Ana, if he was concerned, he certainly did not show it. As we have seen, the two leaders have been chummy together outwardly. They took selfies together. And Abe has made it clear.

Look, he has told the President about his concerns in terms of the diplomacy he has had with Kim Jong-un, but at the same time he has also shown that he is not going to let that get in the way of building his relationship with President Trump and embracing him because he realizes how important the Japan/U.S. alliance, particularly when it comes to trade and defense.

But on the cover of the Japan times today, it does talk about how unnerving that tweet was to Japan because, of course, the short range missiles that North Korea has been testing could impact Japan directly.

And in fact, before this trip, Ana, we were told the Japanese officials did weigh this idea that President Trump could tweet and upend this trip that is really meant to be all about pageantry, pomp and circumstance. And so this was something that they knew could happen.

But of course, it hasn't upended the trip. President Trump went to the sumo wrestling match last night. He is about to meet the emperor, the newly crowned emperor here, the first foreign leader to do so. He will have bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Abe. And then we are expecting the press conference, which we do expect this question on North Korea and his stance to come up during that press conference, Ana.

CABRERA: Pamela, this is unprecedented. To have an American President seeming to encourage world leaders to pick sides. Is the White House commenting on this at all?

BROWN: The only comment so far is Sarah Sanders, the press secretary, speaking on "Meet The Press" earlier today. And she really downplayed this idea that President Trump is taking sides with a murderous dictator. That would be Kim Jong-un. And so she basically said look, the President was just saying that the two agree in terms of their stance on Biden.

And what's also interesting to note here, Ana, is that Joe Biden is a known quantity in Japan. Of course, he was the former vice president. He has met Prime Minister Abe several times. And so he is known here. So that's just something interesting as well as part of this equation with that tweet, Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Pamela Brown in Tokyo, thank you for giving us the latest on the play by play there.

More now on the messages President Trump is sending to North Korea while he is a guest of Japan and the partisanship he is pushing while he is out of the United States.

Jamie Metzl joins us now. He is a senior fellow on the Atlantic council and former NSC staffer in the Clinton administration. And also with us is CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali.

Jamie, how do you think the President's tweets particularly about North Korea and the missiles are playing thought that area?

JAMIE METZL, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Well, certainly in Japan and in South Korea, this is really worrying, because from their perspective, North Korea has nuclear weapons. And these short-range missiles which they have again test ready the vehicles that could be used to deliver those weapons. And if the United States is primarily focused on the long-range missiles that could get nuclear weapons from North Korea to the United States that can be seen and is likely being seen as a potential betrayal or betrayal point of Japan and South Korea. And I think that's really, really worrying because the big fear, especially if you are in Japan is that America cuts its own deal and Japan is on its own.

CABRERA: Kim Jong-un has to be happy about that tweet.

METZL: Well, he has to be great to be really happy because he violated U.N. sanctions. John Bolton, the U.S. national security adviser said this was a violation. The President walked it back and said this is just some small missiles. It's not a big deal. So we are saying ourselves that the U.N. sanctions that we have helped create don't need to be respected.

So if you are Kim Jong-un, you realize that you have got a lot of latitude. Now you have built an alliance with President Trump attacking Joe Biden. So you are interfering in the U.S. political culture, and the President of the United States is encouraging you. And that's a really dangerous message, not just for America, but for the world.

[18:05:36] CABRERA: What's your take on that, Tim, specifically? Do you see it the same way?

TIMOTHY NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Oh, absolutely. First of all, there is a problem when the United States doesn't speak with one voice. So Jamie was just mentioning the fact that the national security adviser saying one thing and the President of the United States is saying something else.

Now, ordinarily, we would say that the President of the United States speaks for the entire country, and that should be the case. But when it comes to foreign policy as complex as our North Korean policy, one wonders who is really speaking for the United States.

CABRERA: Well, the President will say it's all me, right? We have been doing this over and over again since back in the Rex Tillerson days.

NAFTALI: But Ana, he has actually walked back a few times after. So here is the real problem which is that what you want to do with your statements as president, I think, is send a message to deter bad behavior. You don't want dictators like Kim Jong-un to think they can be bad, do bad things, violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The President, by giving out this message is basically saying you be my friend, I will be your friend and you can break any law you want. And if I were Shinzo Abe, I would wonder, wait a second, what matters most to this President? Is it the defense of his great ally Japan or the public opinion and his so-called relationship with the dictator of North Korea?

So this is a dangerous, as Jamie said, this is a dangerous message to send. But it's not just dangerous in the region, it's dangerous around the world. Because people begin to wonder wait a second, does the United States stand for these resolutions that it votes for at the U.N.? And the question at the moment is it depends.

CABRERA: You mention relationships being really important here. And so, Lindsey Graham argues that it's actually good thing, that this is a President who has caught Kim Jong-un's attention, that he has been able to engage Kim in a way that other Presidents in the past haven't, and that that should be, you know, he deserves credit for that. Do you agree?

METZL: Yes, certainly, if you are Kim Jong-un, this is great. Donald Trump has come giving gifts. He has given this legitimation for the North Korean leader that Kim's father and grandfather had craved. He suspended U.S. military sanctions - U.S. military exercises. He has weakened sanctions. So from the perspective of Kim, it's been all take.

And so, if Donald Trump is just giving him all of these things and the U.S. has received nothing, the U.S. is so much weaker as a result of Donald Trump's engagement with North Korea. And the North Koreans are massively stronger than they were. So no wonder the North Koreans were happy. And if Lindsey Graham, who knows better, Lindsey Graham knows a lot about national security. If he is so craven as to think that this absolutely terrible situation is a big win for us, then we even have bigger problems here at home.

CABRERA: Listen to how the White House is responding to questions about particularly the Biden portion of that tweet. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST, MEET THE PRESS DAILY: Can you explain why Americans should not be concerned that the President of the United States essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice president of the United States?

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Chuck, the President is not siding with that. But I think they agree in their assessment of former vice president Joe Biden. Again, the President's focus in this process is the relationship he has in making sure we continue on the path towards denuclearization. That's what he wants to see, and that's certainly what the people in this region want to see and are hopeful that the President is right and that that relationship will be what helps move us further down that path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, Tim, I wonder how you see it. Could it be that the President's flattery of Kim Jong-un is part of a strategy, or do you think that's really how he feels about Kim?

NAFTALI: Well, I don't know what he thinks about Kim, but we know from the Hanoi summit that the flattery doesn't work, that the President seemed to think that, a, by promising North Korea economic benefits, he could get the North Koreans to denuclearize. But he learned a lesson, he should have learned a lesson in Hanoi.

So it's not clear to me what the strategy is here right now. Why he thinks flattering Kim Jong-un would lead to some kind of benefit. It's not clear to me. What I see is the President doesn't want to admit he made a mistake. He has been saying now over and over again I can deal with Kim Jong-un, only I can. And he is a better person than people think. And he is not, that is the North Korean dictator is not proving to be so good. And I don't want the President wants to admit that he has messed up this relationship with North Korea.

[18:10:05] CABRERA: Tim and Jamie, thank you both.

NAFTALI: Thank you.

CABRERA: Appreciate it.

And don't forget to check out Jamie's book, "Hacking Darwin: genetic engineering and the future of humanity." That's out right now.

We have breaking news out of Europe with major implications all around the world. The entire European Union today voting for their EU parliament members. This is one of the biggest democratic exercises in the world with more than 350 people eligible to vote. And they do it every five years.

The EU election doesn't usually make much of a splash here in the U.S., but this time the overlaps are everywhere. Anti-immigration and pro climate change sentiments surround the polarization that is everywhere, of course.

CNN's Europe editor Nina dos Santos joins us now.

Nina, polls are now closed. Results are starting to come in. Give us a picture of what you're seeing.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR: That's right. Well, turnout is particularly high. In fact, we have seen the highest turnout, Ana, in about 20 years with more than half of those, nearly 350 to 400 million citizens across the EU countries exercising their right to vote in these parliamentary elections.

Now of course, remember that this European parliament doesn't supersede their national parliaments, but it could be crucial for ratifying legislation across one of the biggest economic blocs anywhere in the world. And what we are seeing is a sort of just as you said in your introduction, as we are seeing elsewhere around the world, a fracturing of the center ground.

So we are seeing the center right and the center left losing ground to other ends of the political spectrum, particularly on the far right. We have seen Marine Le Pen, the far right leader in France Trumping the current President, Emmanuel Macron's party over there. A big night for her. Also, the populists of Italy making big gains as well as the populists of Hungary.

And here in the United Kingdom, where I am on the south coast, we are expecting Nigel Farage, of course, friend of the U.S. President Donald Trump, he has come back to the political fold with a new party, promising to deliver Brexit where the current government has failed to do so. And of course that has cost the prime minister recently her job.

CABRERA: Right.

DOS SANTOS: So expecting them to make big gains in the last hour or so, Ana.

CABRERA: And I want to ask you a more specifically about that where British voters in particular are lending their support. Because by the original Brexit design, they wouldn't be even voting. They were supposed to leave the EU in March. And now surprise, they are voting. And as you mentioned, Theresa May has just a few days left in office. So where does this go?

DOS SANTOS: Yes. Well, obviously the conservative party are going to get a real bloody nose we are expecting in these final results. As you said, the full -- the results coming out around the European continent. But actually, because of the particularities of the UK electoral system, we have some parts like Northern Ireland where constituencies don't actually start counting their votes until tomorrow. So the UK results are preliminary. But already I can tell you having looked at them by constituency up and down the country, the Brexit party of Nigel Farage is really sweeping the board in many of these parts, even in affluent areas of, for instance, central London.

This just speaks to the disaffection of the tradition central right voter who feels betrayed that Brexit hasn't actually been delivered by the conservative party. And no more so than in consistencies like the one I'm broadcasting to you from. This is the biggest consistency in the United Kingdom, delivering four European members of parliament. Nigel Farage just had a seat here for the best part of 20 years to use it as a fulcrum for campaigning to leave the EU. It will be places like this where you will start to see people like Farage saying look, we have seats in Brussels now. We want to use this to try and undermine the two-party system in Westminster and get a seat at the negotiating table. That's going to make the conservative government's life pretty hard from here on, whoever is the next leader after June 7th - Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Nina dos Santos, thank you. Utter devastation in Oklahoma. Two people died and dozens were

injured when a tornado tore through this city. We are live in Oklahoma with a look at the damage.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:48] CABRERA: Two dead and utter devastation left behind in El Reno, Oklahoma, after a powerful tornado tore through this small town northwest of Oklahoma city. A mobile home and a hotel are reduced to rubble. The national weather service says the tornado was on the ground for about four minutes and cut a path just over two miles long.

CNN national correspondent Omar Jimenez joins us from El Reno.

And Omar, it's been a long day there. Have rescue operations wrapped up yet?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, at this point the mayor tells me that search-and-rescue operations as far as going door to door and looking for anyone left in the rubble, that process is complete, at least as far as we know at this point. What they are doing now is trying to rebuild a lot of the infrastructure that was damaged heavily hen this tornado came through.

You mentioned some of how it was characterized. We know this was an EF-3 tornado, five being the most severe, 75 yards at its widest. It traveled two miles and caused all of this destruction in just a matter of four minutes.

Two of the biggest points of emphasis we have been keeping an eye on. One in a mobile home park. The tornado was powerful enough to pick up entire mobile homes and slam them back down based on accounts that we have heard. And then the other point of emphasis that we have been keeping an eye on is the hotel.

There is really only one word to describe it at this point, absolute decimation when you take a look at those images there. Believe it or not, there are people who survived while being inside there as the tornado ripped its way through. We heard harrowing details of people literally crawling out from underneath rubble so that they could wait for emergency responders to arrive.

We actually spoke to someone just a few moments ago who lives not too far from here. And believe it or not, as crazy as this destruction is, her house completely fine, but describes some horrifying and scary moments that they had even as this tornado was ripping through them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHELSIE MAYO, EL RENO RESIDENT: We didn't hear anything until I opened the front door and we heard sirens. And at that point in time, we just jerked the kids up out of bed and threw them in the closet and put pillows over them. We didn't know where it was. Our phones didn't go off. And the next phone call I received was from my mother who said they were running to the shelter because she lives in El Reno village, in the trailer park side of it -- sorry, in the RV park side. So everybody was running to shelters. We didn't even have time to load up and go to a shelter.

[18:20:11] JIMENEZ: So how long did you stay, you and the kids stay in that closet?

MAYO: The kids stayed in the shelter for probably 20 minutes inside the closet. We were all actually outside just seeing if we could see or hear anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And you can imagine that scene as she was describing earlier. People literally running for safety because they believed it would save their lives. And when you see this destruction behind us and around parts of this town you can see why they were doing just that. At least two people killed in, this more than 20 people injured and the hope was that the number wouldn't rise.

But let's remember, this didn't just happen in a vacuum. It comes on the tail end of what we have seen to be a week full of deadly tornadoes, high floods, even high flood rescues as well. In fact, the mayor telling us in this El Reno Area alone, they had 46 high water rescues earlier this week. And then here we are just days later on the scene of a deadly tornado -- Ana.

CABRERA: Wow. My heart really goes out to that community.

Omar Jimenez, thank you for that reporting.

The President approves sending 1500 troops to the Middle East to deal what the White House calls a rising threat from Iran.

I will ask one congressman if he thinks the threat is serious enough to warrant more troops. Stay with us.

Plus Christine Romans joins us with this week's "Before the Bell" - Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana.

U.S. stock markets are closed tomorrow for Memorial Day. But Wall Street is bracing for another volatile week after that.

Last week's stocks posted several big days of declines. Investors growing increasingly worried that the trade war is here to stay. In fact, Morgan Stanley says the window for resolution is narrowing. The investment bank predict there's is only about a month to go before significant financial damage creeps into the global economy.

At bank of America, analysts report the trade war has already hurt confidence on Main Street. Kohl's, Home Depot, Walmart have all said tariffs will lead to higher prices on some items.

Now handful of retailers report earnings this week. So expect to hear more about tariff danger. GAP, Abercrombie & Fitch, Costco and Lululemon are among the companies delivering their quarterly report cards.

In New York, I'm Christine Romans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:26:14] CABRERA: Talk about killing two birds with one stone, or in this case, three birds. In a single bizarre and questionably timed tweet, President Trump has managed to attack a political rival, side with Kim Jong-un, and undermine his national security team.

Here is the initial tweet from last night. North Korea fired off some small weapons which disturbed some of my people and others, but not me. I have confidence that chairman Kim will keep his promise to me and also smiled when he called swamp-man Joe Biden a low IQ individual and worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?"

Trump later corrected his misspelling of Biden in that tweet.

I want to bring in Democratic Congressman Lou Correa of California. He sits on the homeland security and judiciary committees.

Congressman, your first reaction to this tweet by the President.

REP. LOU CORREA (D), CALIFORNIA: Congressman Correa, Orange County, California. Well, we are used to the President essentially putting together public policy, foreign policy by tweets, but I think the President, I wish him the best of luck. I hope he is better than W. Bush and President Obama in terms of creating a nuclear-free North Korea. Let's hope he is successful.

CABRERA: President Trump and his allies say President Trump's relationship with Kim is a good thing. This President has been able to engage with Kim in a way previous Presidents have been unable to. Do you these that's what this is all about?

CORREA: I think so far the President is still waiting for North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons, to stop those missile tests and they keep coming. So we are still hopeful that there is peace and that nothing happens in that peninsula. But, again, we are hopeful, and we are still waiting to see what happens.

CABRERA: Before we move on to another topic, I do want to just ask you about the second part of the President's tweet. You seem to insinuate Kim's opinion about the 2020 race matters. What do you make of the President welcoming a foreign adversary weighing in on American electoral matters?

CORREA: Well, that's a shocker because the one thing we don't want, the one thing we want to avoid are foreign governments, foreign countries, especially adversaries getting in the middle of American politics. We do not want the Russians, the North Koreans, the Iranians or anybody else meddling in our democracy. That's absolutely unacceptable. CABRERA: I also want to ask you about the President sending 1500

troops to the Middle East. It is Memorial Day weekend. We are talking about service members putting their lives in harm's way. Now, we are told this is in response to an increased threat from Iran, but the government has yet to share any evidence of that. You are on the house homeland security committee. Have you been privy to this intel and whether it warrants extra troops?

CORREA: We have had some discussions. At the end of the day, I'm very concerned about sending our young men and women to the Middle East. We are putting them in harm's way, and there better be a very good reason for us to put our young men and women in that situation.

Personally, I don't agree with it. I want to keep our troops home where they're safe, where they need to be here at home.

CABRERA: So you are saying the evidence at this point doesn't tell you it's time to send more troops to that area?

CORREA: I am not convinced we need to send troops or ships to the Middle East. We have a presence that is efficient. And again, I have been to too many funerals in my district for young men and women in the Middle East. I don't want to put our young men and women in harm's way. I don't agree.

CABRERA: On other issues of national security, the President's border wall funding took a hit on Friday. A judge ruling department of defense funds could not go to the border wall, that it's congress' job to allocate that money. Trump responded saying the administration is asking now for an expedited appeal. Is this really a win for Democrats?

CORREA: I think it is. Congress has the right to say how this country spends money, not the President. But, of course, we know the President is a very powerful individual that has a lot of power, and he's using it.

But at the end of the day, this is about separation of powers. We in Congress, that is our job say how the money is spent. And at the end of the day, when it comes to the wall, let's talk about regional security. It's not about a border wall.

It's about regional security. It's about working with Mexico, countries in Europe, our allies around the world, like Israel, to make sure that our nation is safe. A wall does absolutely nothing, and we have to recognize that situation.

Now, if the President is concerned about refugees, let's go into Central America, and let's talk about what's causing this wave of refugees. Number one, it's violence in Central America, and number two, lack of economic opportunity.

I just returned from Central America where I found that, you know, when you give individuals the belief that they can essentially earn a living, can stay home and have a job, they'll stay home. And that's what I think we need to focus on, not on building a wall but giving folks in Central America the promise, the hope, of a better life in Central America.

CABRERA: I want to pivot to your responsibility as part of the Judiciary Committee because there was so much talk about impeachment this week and growing calls to begin the impeachment process.

I know, earlier this month, you said it's not time yet to ask the question of impeachment. Do you still feel that same way?

CORREA: Again, this is an issue about the law, that nobody is above the law and Congress has a job of oversight.

And as you know, this last week, two judges agreed with Congress on the Mazars' case and the case of Deutsche Bank, turning over records to Congress. And you know what? Those two judges said Congress has the right to review those records, and that is what we're going do.

And as you know, the President immediately appealed, and those courts said we're going to hear these appeals immediately. So in mid-July, those Courts of Appeal are going to hear the President's arguments on appeal.

But in my opinion, Congress had tremendous wins this week, which were that we, as Congress, on our job as oversight, have a job, have the right to review those financial records.

To me, that's our job, oversight. To make sure that the President and -- that nobody, including the President, is above the law.

CABRERA: What do you need --

CORREA: This was a good week for the Congress. Go ahead.

CABRERA: What more do you need to hear then to make you believe that impeachment inquiry would be warranted?

CORREA: Well, we're doing what we need to do, which is oversight. We're investigating what happened in 2016, what the President has done, and what may happen in 2020.

It's not only about the President, it's also about the Russians. As you know, Secretary Nielsen of Homeland Security was fired moments after she said, Mr. President, the Russians are coming again.

CABRERA: But as you know, your fellow congressman, a Republican, Justin Amash, came out last week and said all he needs to know is what he read in the Mueller report. He believes that it was clear that this president obstructed justice.

And he is even saying that warrants impeachment in order to send the message that Congress will hold the executive branch accountable. And so I'm wondering, do you see it differently than Justin Amash in what you read in the Mueller report?

CORREA: I see it exactly like my colleague, Mr. Amash, sees the situation, which is it's Congress' job to make sure nobody is above the law. And we're continuing to look at these facts. We're going look at all the evidence presented in front of us.

And personally, what I want to see is I want to see the full Mueller report. I want to see Mr. Mueller come before us and testify. I want to know what exactly Mr. Mueller meant in his 400-plus report.

Everybody has opinions. I want to hear it from Mr. Mueller himself before I make that full decision.

CABRERA: And we heard he has been working with the chairman of your committee but that he is suggesting he testify in private, and then the chairman says that a transcript would be released or made public. Is that O.K. with you, or do you think he needs to testify publicly?

CORREA: Well, that's a good first start. A private discussion with Mr. Mueller himself is a great first start. Let's see what comes out of that discussion, and let's move forward.

CABRERA: Congressman Lou Correa, thank you very much. I appreciate your time.

CORREA: Thank you very much.

[18:35:01] CABRERA: The Maui hiker who was lost for more than two weeks says she chose life over death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA ELLER, LOST HIKER IN MAUI, HAWAII: People that know me, people that don't know me, all came together just under the idea of helping one person make it out of the woods alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: We'll share her story of survival next, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The relief and joy of finding a hiker missing in the dense Hawaiian forest for 17 days are still setting in.

That's Amanda Eller. She's now recovering in a Maui hospital. Her doctors say they are shocked by how well she came out of this harrowing situation. CNN's Paul Vercammen has this woman's incredible survival story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELLER: The last 17 days of my life have been the toughest days of my life, and it's been really a significant spiritual journey that I was guided on.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A voyage Amanda Eller described with her ecstatic boyfriend in her hospital bed.

ELLER: And there were times of total fear and loss and wanting to give up, and it did come down to life and death. And I had to choose and I chose life.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Eller got spotted by rescuers in a helicopter and hoisted out of peril in this lush Maui paradise Friday.

[18:40:00] JAVIER CANTELLOPS, FRIEND OF AMANDA ELLER: Oh, my god. We (INAUDIBLE).

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Eller lost her shoes set out to dry in a flash flood, lost her ability to walk properly when she broke a bone in her leg, but hope was not lost.

JOHN ELLER, FATHER OF AMANDA ELLER: That was not expected. That was not expected. Amanda's coming home (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo-hoo!

CANTELLOPS: I love you, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can cry now. It's awesome, man.

CANTELLOPS: We did it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's like the best gift --

CANTELLOPS: You took it pretty well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got a good Memorial Day now.

J. ELLER: Oh, no, I was bawling like a baby.

ELLER: Seeing the way that the community of Maui came together -- people that know me, people that don't know me, all came together -- just under the idea of helping one person make it out of the woods alive, it just warms my heart.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): This yoga instructor and physical therapist shed almost a pound a day for each day she went missing, 15 pounds total. Her doctor expressed surprise and relief at how well she looked.

DR. ZORA BULATOVIC, DOCTOR OF AMANDA ELLER: Tears came down because, you know, that's -- we all have been following her story.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): This physician explained how this model patient survived on river water and what food she could pick.

BULATOVIC: Eating fresh fruits from the trees, trying to keep, yes, her nutrition up. So she was very well educated in that, and she knew exactly what to take and managed to stay well hydrated.

JULIA ELLER, MOTHER OF AMANDA ELLER: She is a trooper, man. She is a real warrior. And I had no doubt if anybody could make it through it, it was her.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Amanda Eller fought for her life and won, armed with undying spirit and true grit. Paul Vercammen, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: From that happy ending to a not so happy ending. At least nine people have died on Mount Everest after pictures showing a traffic jam of people on the mountain. And now, we're learning of at least one victim warning of overcrowding. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[18:45:44] CABRERA: It was not good news for President Trump this weekend. A federal judge said no to a White House plan to take money from the Defense Department and use it for work on the border wall. That judge ruled that the President needs congressional approval to divert money like that.

Some border wall construction could have started yesterday. It did not. It's not in the top headlines anymore, but the humanitarian situation on the border is still very urgent. Processing centers are overcrowded, some of them overcapacity.

Last week, U.S. border officials were forced to temporarily close an already packed processing center in Texas when more than 30 migrants there tested positive for influenza. A teenager who was detained at that facility, in fact, and later died also tested positive for the flu.

I want to talk to David Leopold. He used to head the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

David, border officials say they need more resources to handle the overwhelming numbers of people at these processing centers. And now, a flu scare, which could be catastrophic in any overcrowded place like that.

How concerned are you that this crisis is not going away any time soon?

DAVID LEOPOLD, FORMER PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION: Well, first, Ana, I wanted to take a moment and remember all the fallen servicemen and women who sacrificed, made the ultimate sacrifice, so that we could enjoy our freedoms. I wanted to remember them this weekend.

CABRERA: For sure.

LEOPOLD: But, look, you know, in answer to your question, this really isn't about policy. This is about a president who lies and defrauds the entire country.

This is a man who ran for office based on demonizing immigrants, calling them rapists, calling them thugs, who -- first thing he did was try to ban Muslims. He's locked children in cages and, now, we learn -- we learn that he himself profits off of the exploitation of undocumented workers at his own golf clubs. So when we talk about children, you know, coming over the border and

not being treated properly, this is a -- we have a con man that's running the country, so none of this is surprising as horrific as it is.

And what we are witnessing, what we've been witnessing for the last year with respect to the separated families, the children who will never see their parents again because the Trump administration -- yes, they knew how to separate children, but they never planned on reuniting them because they didn't use a system, the unaccompanied minor system, which would reunite them. Sadly --

CABRERA: But let me bring this back to what's happening right now because I just want to --

LEOPOLD: Sure.

CABRERA: I just want to make sure we have enough time to discuss what's happening today, and that is --

LEOPOLD: Sure.

CABRERA: I mean, this problem is not getting better.

LEOPOLD: No.

CABRERA: And we know that there is an urgent need right now for there to be solutions at the border --

LEOPOLD: Right.

CABRERA: -- to be able to accommodate all these people who are coming across.

LEOPOLD: Right.

CABRERA: The system that's set up just isn't working. Not enough is being done to address the humanitarian crisis at the border. And I want you to weigh in on what --

LEOPOLD: Right.

CABRERA: -- the congressional -- former Congressman Beto O'Rourke, who is also a candidate for 2020, suggested his plan would look like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETO O'ROURKE, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most of those asylum-seeking migrants pose no threat or danger to the United States.

We know from past history that when we connect them with case managers in a community, they have a 99 percent chance of meeting their court dates and their appointments with ICE. And it costs us a tenth of what we pay to keep them in detention and in custody.

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So in other words, catch and release is something you support?

O'ROURKE: No, I wouldn't call it catch and release. I'd call it helping those who are seeking asylum in this country to follow our laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, David, do you agree with O'Rourke? Is that the best option, to just basically let these people go as they come in and help them, you know, navigate the court process, setting them up with somebody?

LEOPOLD: Well, what Beto O'Rourke was saying, Ana, and saying correctly, by the way, is that we can use alternative forms of detention. We have used those successfully. Folks that are involved in the asylum hearing process, they show up at court in the percentages of about 90 percent.

[18:49:57] Look, we take this whole problem, this Trump crisis at the border -- and, you know, look, America is a country, Ana, that does big things.

We sent a man to the moon. We -- after the World War II, we fixed a devastated Europe with the Marshall Plan. To tell me and to tell others that we cannot solve the problem of mothers and children fleeing horrific violence, that we cannot solve that problem, I just don't buy it.

This is a problem that's been allowed to fester by the President and the administration. Why? They could be going into alternative forms like Beto O'Rourke points out, alternative forms of detention. But more fundamentally, we need to be getting to the root causes of this migration.

We -- when President Trump came into office, he stopped the aid that we were giving to Central America to stop this migration. Programs like the Central American Minors Program, which was designed for in- country, in-region asylum processing. Working with the United Nations Commissioner -- High Commissioner on Refugees.

Look, this is a solvable problem. What we have is a president who, rather than solve it, chooses to demonize immigrants, chooses to be -- to use them cynically so that he can get re-elected in 2020, again, through calling immigrants all kinds of names, through raiding communities, through separating families.

We've got to stop this. These children that are dying at the border, these families that are being detained, there's no reason for it. This is a problem that America can solve. We are America. We have solved much bigger problems than this.

CABRERA: All right, David Leopold, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

Spend an hour with a man who needs no introduction. Howard Stern, one-on-one with Anderson Cooper, the "AC360: HOWARD STERN INTERVIEW" tomorrow night at 11 p.m. We'll be right back.

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[18:55:25] CABRERA: Developing now, extreme crowding on Mount Everest. Nine people have died on the mountain just this month. We're learning that one of the mountain's latest victims was concerned about climbing conditions in the days leading up to his death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN FISHER, CLIMBER WHO DIED IN MOUNT EVEREST: A bit of an interesting climb coming up here and -- oops, smell (ph) that? We can see Everest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: British climber Robin Haynes Fisher posted this video to Instagram on May 13th.

He wrote in his caption, with a single route to the summit, delays caused by overcrowding could prove fatal, so I am hopeful my decision to go for the 25th will mean fewer people. Unless, of course, everyone else plays the same waiting game.

Sadly, Fisher died yesterday from what appeared to be attitude sickness while descending from the summit.

On a roll. "Jeopardy!" sensation James Holzhauer has reached yet another milestone. Coming up, we'll talk to the former "Jeopardy!" champ -- or former champ about whether this streak is luck or skill. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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