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CNN NEWSROOM

Fanfare and Fallout after U.S.-Mexico Agreement; Biden Is Top Choice in Iowa; Mnuchin, Chinese Central Bank Governor in "Candid" Trade Talk; China Extradition Bill Ignites Protests in Hong Kong; Women's World Cup Day 3; Docudrama Shows Injustices in Central Park Five Case; Firefighters Struggle to Contain Massive Mountain Fire; Trooping the Colour for the Queen's Birthday. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired June 9, 2019 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:00]

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The U.S. president's threat of tariffs on Mexico averted for now. But along the U.S. southern border, humanitarian crisis remains.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Thousands of demonstrators take to the streets in Hong Kong to protest a controversial bill. We've got a live report about what that's about.

HOWELL (voice-over): Also ahead this hour, a 30-year-old case that highlights systematic racism in the U.S. justice system, now back in the spotlight. We look at the Netflix series about the innocent teenagers in New York, the Central Park Five, wrongfully convicted.

ALLEN (voice-over): I've seen excerpts of that. Very powerful.

HOWELL (voice-over): It is hard to watch.

ALLEN: You have an interview on it.

Welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and all around the world coming to you from Atlanta, G.A., I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL (voice-over): I'm George Howell from CNN World Headquarters, NEWSROOM starts now.

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HOWELL: The presidents of Mexico and the United States both cheering their agreement on migration that now takes the threat of tariffs off the table for now.

ALLEN: Mexico president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he spoke with President Trump by phone and stressed the desire for dialogue and collaboration with the U.S.

HOWELL: For the U.S. president Donald Trump, tweeting everybody is celebrating the deal and Mexico has immediately agreed to begin buying agricultural product from our great patriot farmers. But there is little detail on that.

ALLEN: And now there is word that parts of the deal aren't new at all. They were actually hammered out months ago.

HOWELL: Our Boris Sanchez has more on that now from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reporting in "The New York Times" indicates that certain key aspects of this agreement between the United States and Mexico on immigration were agreed to months before the president brought up the threat of tariffs against one of the United States' largest trading partners.

A key portion of this agreement involves the mobilization, the expanded deployment of Mexican national guard troops across Mexico, with a focus on the southern border, trying to prevent migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador from crossing through Mexico with the aim of crossing the border with the United States.

According to "The New York Times," that agreement was actually brokered in March by former DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Further, another portion of this agreement, one that involves a program in which Mexico would host undocumented immigrants who entered the United States illegally requesting asylum, offering them education and job opportunities, that program was apparently brokered in December, according to "The New York Times."

This agreement suggests that it would be expanded, though details on exactly how it would be expanded are still ambiguous.

We should point out the president is treating this as a victory, even though "The Times" writes that it is unclear whether the president knew that these agreements were already in place or whether this was a face-saving measure by the president in light of the fact that tariffs were set to take hold on Monday.

The White House declined to comment on this story but the president has been celebrating this agreement on Twitter and his campaign has been trying to fund-raise off of it. They sent a mass text this afternoon, requesting funds from supporters and citing the president's best-seller, "The Art of the Deal" -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, at the White House.

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HOWELL: Now on the Mexican side of the border, it is a mix of relief, of celebration and even fear.

ALLEN: Mexico's president spoke at an event that was planned as a unity rally meant to defend Mexico's dignity in light of tariff threats from Washington. But it became a celebration after Friday's agreement on immigration enforcement.

Some migrants there tell CNN they fear how the agreement will affect their plans to go to the United States. HOWELL: A lot of uncertainty there. All of this comes during a sharp spike in migrant crossings illegally from Mexico to the United States.

ALLEN: CNN's Dianne Gallagher takes a closer look at what has been called a humanitarian crisis.

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DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The numbers haven't looked like this in more than a decade. Nearly 133,000 people apprehended by Customs and Border Protection for crossing into the U.S. legally in just the month of May.

Families making up the majority; more than 11,000 of them, unaccompanied children. The acting CBP commissioner calling it, quote, "a full blown emergency." Government processing centers and shelters overcrowded, some to dangerous levels, with unsanitary and unsafe conditions, according to the Department of Homeland Security's watchdog agency.

[04:05:00]

BELKYS CASTRO, HONDURAN MIGRANT (through translator): It was so crowded. My son had to sleep standing up.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Belkys Castro from Honduras crossed over into Texas with her two sons with hopes of getting to family in Houston. Instead, she, along with hundreds of other migrant families, were flown to California to make room.

MICHAEL HOPKINS, JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF SAN DIEGO: We didn't realize that folks would be flown into San Diego. San Diego is a great place to live but -- so it did take us by surprise. And -- but it is apparently three planeloads a week, it's around 135-150 per planeload.

We have given up on a logic model to this whole matter. There is no logic model.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): The reasons for the surge in migration are layered. Right now, people who live in Guatemala and Honduras are facing intense economic and environmental conditions with ever-present violence and a drought that is limiting food availability.

But that's been happening for a long time. Critics of the White House say this most recent extreme spike in movement is a direct result of the president's policies.

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): They're saying the big change is the message that this is your last chance, President Trump, if you ever are going to escape these dire circumstances, you have to come now.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): And as President Trump focuses on beefing up security, a wall, more Border Patrol agents and adding U.S. troops --

BRIG. GEN. WALTER DUZZNY, U.S. ARMY: Today we have approximately 2,000 service members supporting the mission along the southwest border.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): -- experts say smugglers are becoming more sophisticated. Central American families, more aware of U.S. laws and the likelihood they won't be deported in large numbers, at least right away, focusing far more on success stories for neighbors than threats from the White House -- Dianne Gallagher, CNN, El Paso, Texas.

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ALLEN: We're starting our election music. So --

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HOWELL: Here we go. It is getting closer.

ALLEN: A new CNN poll in Iowa, the state of Iowa, the first state that we pay attention to, shows Joe Biden, the favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination, ahead of that state's caucuses that began in February.

HOWELL: 2020 is around the corner.

ALLEN: I know. About one in four likely caucusgoers say they prefer Biden over the other candidates.

HOWELL: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris round out the top five choices. The other 18 candidates hold a 2 percent or less. The first debate is set for later this month in Miami, Florida.

The Iowa polls certainly encouraging for Joe Biden and Buttigieg. He was virtually unknown just a short time ago and now cracking the top five. In Iowa, he is showing to dip subtraction (ph).

ALLEN: Yes, absolutely. People seem to like Pete. But other candidates are more circumspect. They rightly point out that it is too early to put too much stock in polling data, especially for a contest that won't take place until next February.

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BETO O'ROURKE (D-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, there is a lot of time before the Iowa caucus. We have never been guided by a poll before.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've said this before and will say it again, a lot of the polls that are out there, polls take whatever they're worth, eight months before an election but a lot of the polls have me and Joe Biden defeating Trump pretty handily and --

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ALLEN: Well, 19 of the 23 Democratic candidates are expected in Iowa this weekend. But Joe Biden won't be there. His campaign says he'll be at his granddaughter's high school graduation.

HOWELL: The Democratic gathering in Iowa also coincides with Pride Fest in Des Moines. Our Leyla Santiago was there.

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LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is pride and politics. As many of the candidates make their way here, not only for the Pride Fest but also for a big dinner on Sunday night. That is the Hall of Fame dinner.

And we expect about 19 of the 23 candidates to be there, to not only show strength in their campaigns but also make themselves stand out. Now in this crowd here at the Pride Fest, a lot of the voters are looking for someone who's going to talk about abortion, the rights of LGBT. But a lot want to know about the jobs, the economy, health care and the candidates are taking note.

We've heard some take aim at President Trump. We've heard them talk about marriage equality. They've each had about 10 minutes to make their pitch to voters at a candidate forum to do so.

So really, the focus for many of these candidates is Iowa this weekend, that very first caucus state that really carries a lot of weight for that first vote. But take note of the time here. We are just weeks before a lot of these candidates get on a very big stage and that will be for the very first debate for the candidates -- Leyla Santiago, Des Moines, Iowa.

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ALLEN: Let's talk some Iowa --

[04:10:00]

ALLEN: -- and the campaign here, we are months before the caucuses. Inderjeet Parmar joining us from London. He teaches international politics at City University of London.

Good morning, Inderjeet. Former vice president Biden atop the poll there followed by Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg and Harris. According to our poll, his supporters are less apt than others to say they're enthusiastic about it.

What does that signal to you?

INDERJEET PARMAR, CITY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Well, the whole thing signals that there is a time for clarification of what the party really stands for. So there is a lot of candidates who are putting their hat in the ring. Former vice president Biden clearly is in the lead nationally. His lead in Iowa is a little smaller.

What it does suggest is while there is an opportunity for new people to come forward, new voices, it also suggests that there is a deep problem within the Democratic Party to decide, what does it stand for? And in the face of a Trump presidency, which is quite unpopular but has a very rock solid base of support, which hasn't really shifted too much, I think this is a time for clarification. But I also think that the party needs to put forward a message perhaps which not only unites people against Trump, within the Democratic Party, but they need to kind of move further out beyond that party and say that there is a lot of people who have -- as your reporter said -- they're interested in jobs, they're interested in social inequality, they're interested in taxes on the wealthy and very much opposed to corporate kind of dominated politics as well.

ALLEN: It is interesting you point that out. I wanted to talk about the fact that about two-thirds of likely caucusgoers in Iowa say they just want someone who can beat President Trump over a candidate who shares their views on major issues that you bring about.

So brings up the question, is that going to be the motivation of Democrats beyond Iowa?

And do they need to emphasize more substance or who they are other than a party that just wants to beat Donald Trump?

PARMAR: I think that's the key question. The Democratic Party's strategy, you look back to 2016, their strategy was that candidate Trump was their preferred candidate to be opposed to. They lost.

They haven't really -- they won the popular vote by 3 million voters. And I think their strategy hasn't changed all that much since then. I think they believe that if they can really galvanize the electorate around that message of opposition to Donald Trump and the kind of fairly boorish politics he represents, the style, the undiplomatic style, the very robust kind of language he uses, I think they believe they can still win in 2020.

The unfortunate thing for them is that, while that unites the majority of Democratic voters, it doesn't necessarily inspire some people on the left of the party, which is growing. And nor do they inspire very many other people because there doesn't appear to be a positive message.

But what is it that you stand for?

What are you going to do on the really big deep problems which people are facing?

Minimum wage is very low. Inequality, jobs, high paying jobs, secure jobs and so on. I think that's the central problem.

ALLEN: And we have heard Pete Buttigieg pointing out over and over again, he doesn't want this to be about Donald Trump, he wants it to be done about what are we going to do, what are our policies.

Let's talk about the fact that there are 20 Democratic candidates that have qualified for first debate at the end of this month. They needed 1 percent in at least three polls for that. That is a dizzying number on the stage. You wonder how many times each will get to talk. Will this large field hurt Democrats?

I mean, right now, it is basically 20 versus 1.

PARMAR: Yes. Well, there are 20 and I suspect that that is going to winnow down quite a lot. There is already four or five candidates pulling ahead of the rest of them, and Biden, Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg. I think they are clearly in the lead.

It goes back now to that, one, is an opportunity for people to put their hat in the ring. The second, I think there is a deep crisis of what is the Democratic Party for?

The electorate on the whole, on a large number of questions, has moved further and further to the left. So if you look at the sympathy for organized labor and striking teachers, tax on the wealthy, Medicare, a single payer system for health care, college fees and opposition to the corporate domination of politics, opposition to larger military spending, all those things indicate --

[04:15:00]

PARMAR: -- a shift to the left. The Democratic Party leadership on the other hand has shifted further to the right. So more candidates are trying to take an opportunity. But I think the Democratic Party's big problem is that it is one of two parties which is still very conservative in its attitude towards big finance, big donors from corporate.

I think something like 44 percent of industry PACs still go -- donations still go to the Democratic Party. And that is true for the Republicans also and I think that is the kind of big pressure or the gravitational pull which seems to be pulling party politics.

And for a lot of people, that is the biggest problem. And I think the Democratic Party is symptomatic of that. But I wouldn't say the Republicans are outside of that sort of problem either.

ALLEN: Right. Well, it will be interesting, won't it, when they do hold their first debate to see who can, in the field of that many, kind of emerge and get attention. There will be some competition. Inderjeet, we always appreciate you coming on and your insights. We'll talk with you again. Thank you.

PARMAR: Thank you very much.

HOWELL: Still ahead, I want to show you these pictures coming out of Hong Kong. You see so many people coming together, this controversial protesting, this controversial bill. It is driving mass demonstrations there. This live image. We'll have more for you shortly.

ALLEN: We'll tell you what's behind their anger of this bill we're talking about.

Also, the U.S. and China have finally spoken to one another after weeks of silence. Next, we'll find out more about the meeting that might open up new negotiations. We'll take you live to Japan.

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ALLEN: Well, for the first time since the U.S.-China trade talks broke down last month, the two countries are talking again.

HOWELL: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has held a private meeting with China's central bank governor on the final day of the G20 finance ministers' summit taking place in Japan. Mnuchin tweeted the meeting was, quote, "constructive and candid."

ALLEN: More from journalist Kaori Enjoji.

The last time the U.S. and China met face-to-face talks broke down. Now we hear from Mnuchin it was constructive and candid.

Did he elaborate?

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: He did not. And I think, as the G20 wraps up, we'll be trying to listen to clues as to what kind of meeting the G20 leaders had and whether or not there was details emerging from the U.S.-China meeting. And that is likely to happen over the next half hour or so.

The fact that they sat down in itself is -- shouldn't really be newsworthy when you consider this is a G20 meeting and this is the venue for the finance ministers to meet and discuss what is on the table.

But why it gathered so much attention this time is because no side, no party from the U.S. or China has met face to face since early May. And since then, as you know, we had the tariffs being slapped from both sides and the specter possibly of more tariffs at the end of the month, possibly if President Trump and President Xi cannot agree to anything.

I think what also makes this G20 unique is the fact that usually the finance ministers and central bankers start to lay the groundwork or sort of rubber stamp what is going to happen at the leaders' meeting in three weeks' time.

But it looks like and sounds like, judging from the comments that we're getting from the various central bankers and finance ministers, there was a lot of contention and a lot of difficulty in coming to terms with how to phrase even the trade war escalating between the two giant economies.

They seem to agree it is going to weigh heavily on recovery prospects and growth prospects in the second half of this year. But I think even determining what kind of language to use to characterize this trade dispute has been contentious, let alone trying to find a solution for it.

So I think this is going to be a very interesting press conference by the Japanese finance minister, how he tries to portray that these 20 nations were able to reach any kind of consensus during this two-day meeting.

ALLEN: Do you think part of it is the fact that there is concern that if China and the U.S. don't get somewhere here, that this could seriously be a threat to the global economy?

ENJOJI: I think that's exactly right. The IMF made it clear that if this trade war aggravates, it could shave half a percent off global economic growth. There is a lot of concern, even before this trade war escalated and the tariffs were slapped, we heard the jobs report from the U.S. for May, signaling that the economy is not as strong as people had been expecting.

In fact, the first couple months of this year were not as strong as people had been expecting. So there was a little bit of relief going into the G20 because the U.S. decided to pull back and stay off of the tariffs for Mexico. And a lot of central bankers said, look, this is good news.

But I think with the specter of possibly more tariffs and the vulnerability of the world's economy, on tenterhooks because of the outcome of this potential meeting between Trump and Xi, I think you point out correctly that this is really the issue that is looming large over everyone's minds at this summit.

ALLEN: Right. It is a much anticipated meeting. Kaori Enjoji, thank you so much for your perspective and your reporting. Thank you.

Now we turn to Hong Kong where we're tracking developments on the streets which this could be what you're seeing here, the biggest protest in years.

HOWELL: Take a look. So many people there, tens, possibly hundreds of thousands there, hitting the streets, all are rallying against a controversial extradition bill.

[04:25:00]

HOWELL: That bill would allow suspects to be sent to Mainland China. Let's get more now from CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, on the phone with us in Hong Kong.

Kristie, we're monitoring the images as we're hearing from you. Tell us more about the turnout so far. This bill could affect everyone from expats to visitors, even locals there.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. The opposition has been so widespread, coming from various quarters. I have to tell you, this is the largest protest I've seen here in Hong Kong since the 2014 pro- democracy Umbrella Movement.

For the last couple of hours, we have been monitoring groups of people, thousands gathering in Victoria Park to take part in the march. Thousands of people are still stuck inside the park, waiting for an opportunity to start their march. There is a bottleneck.

Perhaps you can hear the crowds behind me as there are protesters attempting to leave the park, protesters stuck on thoroughfares next to the park here, attempting to make the march. There is a bottleneck. There is something impeding the way of the march and there is a feeling that tension is rising.

At issue is the controversial extradition bill. The government says it is necessary in order to cover a legal loophole. They cite the case of the murder of a woman in Taiwan by her boyfriend and Hong Kong's inability to extradite him to seek justice.

But you talk to the protesters here, you talk to critics, they say they fear that this bill if passed, it allows the extradition of critics of China. When they go to Mainland China, there would be no guarantee of a free or fair trial.

This is what has brought the people here today to gather, to attempt this march, if they can get out of the park. We'll continue to monitor the situation here closely. George, I'll hand it back to you.

HOWELL: Kristie Lu Stout on the phone with us.

One of her interviews earlier struck me, she spoke with one person there who, when asked will this make a difference, the person directly said no. But certainly you have many other people who may feel contrary. You're seeing so many people showing up, protesting this extradition bill.

ALLEN: Right, he said, I don't think it will make a difference but I must be here to voice my opposition.

HOWELL: That's what we're seeing right now live in Hong Kong. We'll continue to follow this course.

ALLEN: Next here, a new miniseries on Netflix highlights the issues of race and injustice.

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AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: She brings that story to life in this four-part series in a way that I think is so incredibly important and powerful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: It is the true life story of the Central Park Five, that surrounds a notorious rape in Central Park. We'll get into it just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta, I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: I'm George Howell. The headlines we're following for you this hour.

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ALLEN: We want to talk about the new Netflix miniseries entitled, "When They See Us." It is renewing outrage about systemic racism and injustice in the United States. It is a dramatized version of the Central Park Five. You may recall the story: five black teens, wrongfully convicted of raping, beating and leaving a white female jogger for dead in New York City's Central Park in 1989.

(VIDEO CLIP, "WHEN THEY SEE US")

HOWELL: The story is fictionalized but it shows the real life drama of the Central Park Five, what they endured at the hands of the justice system.

ALLEN: Police coerced false confessions from the teenagers and they were convicted, despite there being no direct evidence tying them to the crime.

HOWELL: That's the scary part of this. They spent years in prison for a serial rapist who confessed in 2002 to raping the jogger. DNA evidence exonerated them. Their convictions were vacated.

The stories of the Central Park Five have been told before but the director, Ava DuVernay, says she was motivated by the ones that aren't told enough.

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AVA DUVERNAY, DIRECTOR: There is a terrific documentary by Sarah and Ken Burns that explored the case, chronicled the legal aspects of the case. I was very interested in the boys, the boys who had become men, their families, the effect of the incarceration of one boy on a whole community.

And so what I really wanted to look at this case from a space of the legalities, yes, but also the humanity that we don't talk about hardly enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Let's talk more about the Netflix series and the case it highlights with Areva Martin, a CNN legal analyst and civil rights attorney.

Good to have you with us.

MARTIN: Thank you, George.

HOWELL: I have to readily admit this was hard to watch as a parent of a little boy myself. This is the type of story that --

[04:35:00]

HOWELL: -- strikes to a fear that is always in the back of your mind and there is never a certain or easy answer to that fear.

What was your take on this series?

MARTIN: Yes, I think you're right, George. This is the kind of story that many -- I would venture to say most African American families -- are, you know, we heard so much about these Central Park Five. We know about the injustices that exist in the criminal justice system as it relates to African American males in particular.

And we know about the old stereotypes, about African American men raping white women. And this powerful, powerful story, told by the brilliant producer-director, Ava DuVernay, brings that story of those five young men who were wrongfully accused of raping a white woman in 1989 in New York City.

She brings that story to life in this four-part series in a way that I think is so incredibly important and powerful.

HOWELL: Also, the public perception, the coerced confession; back then, many people thought this was an open-and-shut case but from DNA evidence we now know the convicted serial rapist and murderer raped the jogger. Clearly there is more to this story.

MARTIN: What is interesting is what is revealed is that the police had information about this serial rapist and they did not pursue the lead or leads related to him. And while they were coercing these confessions out of these five young, innocent boys, this serial rapist raped again.

And not only did he rape again, he actually murdered a woman. And when you think about all of the tragedies associated with this, it is really overwhelming. But, again, this story, as painful as it is, I think it could not have been told at a better time, when you think about what's going on politically in the United States and you think about all of the fights that are taking place to reform the criminal justice system.

I think this story reminds people that these fights are well worth it and that the issues in our criminal justice system are real.

HOWELL: Let's talk for a moment here about the former prosecutor and author, Linda Fairstein. She's facing a lot of backlash now over this series as it bring the case to a new generation.

We know she's resigned as a trustee of her alma mater and a couple of board positions as well. Back in July, she defended her handling of the case in a letter to the editor of the "New York Law Journal," saying this, "The confessions were not coerced," she wrote. "The questioning was respectful, dignified, carried out according to the letter of the law and with sensitivity to the young age of the men."

CNN has reached out to Fairstein and her publisher for comment but have not heard back.

What are you thoughts about her role in the case and the feeling of repercussions so many years later?

MARTIN: Well, clearly she's the villain as portrayed in the series. And the tactics, the lengths that she went to, to force a narrative that these young men were guilty of this crime, you know, evidence of blatant abuses of her power.

And I question whether she would have the same response today, as we sit here, as the, you know, the miniseries has now debuted, as she did when she wrote that letter. There was a certain arrogance about that letter, a defiance about, you know, her continued unwillingness to be apologetic for the way the five young men were treated.

And now she is suffering severe consequences. Not only has she been forced to resign from boards, she also lost a contract. She has, since leaving that Manhattan prosecutor's office, went on to be a fairly successful crime novelist and a novel that she had in the works with a major publisher has actually -- the contract for that novel is reported has been canceled.

And it is not clear that she won't continue to suffer even further financial as well as, you know, consequences related to her reputation. And I would just hope that she would approach this case with a different set of eyes, a different lens and would be more forthcoming about the mistakes that she made, that her office made and then the criminal justice system made with respect to these young men.

I think it is time for her to step up and acknowledge her role in convicting these innocent young men and, at the very least, offering them an apology.

HOWELL: This miniseries puts front and center how systems broke down, how these systems failed these children due to institutional racism.

Given your line of work, given what you've seen, Areva, how much would you say has changed and how much hasn't?

MARTIN: I wish I could sit here today and say that things are dramatically different than the way they were --

[04:40:00]

MARTIN: -- in 1989 when these young men were arrested and these confessions were coerced and they were wrongfully tried and convicted.

But, unfortunately, our criminal justice system still operates in a way that disproportionately and negatively impacts African Americans and Latinos. And the story, one of the stories that is so moving in the miniseries

is that of Mr. Wise. He was the oldest of the five young men and he served his time in Rikers Island, one of the most notorious prisons in the country. And he served a lot of that time in solitary confinement.

And what Ava DuVernay did in the miniseries was to really humanize all five of these young men. And here was Korey Wise, this innocent, wildly naive young boy. Actually, when he goes to prison, who had a fascination with chia pets.

And here he is, basically confined to these four walls in solitary confinement, relegated to having conversations primarily with prison guards. His story I think is one of the more compelling because he was forced to serve his time in an adult prison, a prison, by the way, which 80 percent of those incarcerated at Rikers Island are African American and Latino. Again, just highlighting the gross injustices in our criminal justice system.

HOWELL: Again, this case putting to the fore a 30-year-old case for a new generation.

But what would you say to the suggestion that "When They See Us" is comparable to the weight and the significance of the film, "Roots"? That film brought the story of slavery to millions of people back in 1977. And this miniseries bringing the horrors of this case to an entirely new generation.

MARTIN: Well, I think like "Roots" did for my generation or generations that watched that miniseries, that were glued to the television every night, back then, it was television -- today, it is streaming sites like Netflix -- I do think there are some reasonable comparisons that can be made.

You know, lots of folks, Millennials in particular, they haven't seen "Roots," they don't know the significance of that work by Alex Haley.

But they have grown up watching African American men be shot by the police. They have heard the stories of Tamir Rice, they heard the stories of so many African American men who have been shot by police officers. They watched the Black Lives Matter movement unfold before their very eyes.

So I think, for them, this miniseries is probably as important a social issue, a cultural issue, as "Roots" was for the generation that, you know, were riveted by that series.

HOWELL: It is certainly an important story to tell. Areva Martin, we appreciate your time. Thank you.

MARTIN: Thank you, George.

ALLEN: And so good that "When They See Us" is on Netflix. So many people will get a chance to see it.

HOWELL: It is such an important message for people to appreciate and understand.

ALLEN: Certainly.

Coming up here, heavy downpours are causing so many problems across the U.S. Millions are under a flood threat. Derek will be with us to tell who is impacted and how bad it is going to get.

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HOWELL: Look at this near the city of Phoenix, Arizona, the Valley of the Sun. This fast moving wildfire in that state of Arizona tearing through a national forest and firefighters are struggling to put the flames out there.

ALLEN: Strong winds have reportedly fueled the so-called Mountain Fire, making it difficult to contain. It was first reported Friday and so far burned more than 7,000 acres. That's nearly 3,000 hectares for our international viewers.

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HOWELL: In the United Kingdom they officially celebrated the queen's birthday on Saturday. But the Duchess of Sussex attracted a lot of the attention. We'll have more.

ALLEN: She had competition from Prince Louis, though.

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ALLEN: Britain celebrated Queen Elizabeth's birthday Saturday.

HOWELL: Technically she turned 93 back in April. But official festivities, they are saved for June and a glittering event called Trooping the Colour. Our Salma Abdelaziz was there and filed this report from London.

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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: It's the most royal day of the year, Trooping the Colour, the grand military parade that celebrates the queen's birthday. And it all started with a spectacular departure from Buckingham Palace. The queen, of course, could be seen in a carriage, wearing a gorgeous

white outfit. In other carriages, other members of the royal family, a lot of eyes this year on the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. Of course she delivered baby Archie just one month ago and took a break from maternity leave to be alongside her husband, Prince Harry.

The royal family and the household cavalry all make their way down the mall in this grand procession; thousands of well-wishers stand side, waving flags, greeting the royal family, trying to get a peek as they make their way to the horse guard parade, where the centerpiece of this ceremony --

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ABDELAZIZ: -- really takes place.

It's a very elaborate and intricate affair with 1,400 soldiers, 400 musicians and 200 horses, all there to impress the queen. Once that is completed, everyone makes their way back down the mall, back to Buckingham Palace and all this pomp and circumstance culminates with a flypast by the Royal Air Force.

This is when you see the iconic moment of the queen, standing in the balcony alongside all the members of the royal family. And they look up at the sky as the flypast happens and the sky fills with the red, white and blue streams of smoke. It's a really beautiful and iconic showcase of unity and strength here in the U.K. -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

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ALLEN: I'm sorry. Louis, just, you know, I love that kid. He wouldn't stop.

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ALLEN: Day three of the Women's World Cup in France begins in just a few hours and comes on the heels of a thrilling second day of action.

HOWELL: Germany's bid for a third championship got off to a solid start Saturday with a win over China; 19-year-old Giulia Gwinn scored the lone goal in the second half, becoming the third teenager to score for Germany in Women's World Cup history.

ALLEN: In the same group, Spain spoiled South Africa's first ever Women's World Cup match with a 3-1 victory.

HOWELL: And in Group A, Norway had a decisive win over Nigeria (INAUDIBLE).

ALLEN: The day's top stories are just ahead. We're not going anywhere.

HOWELL: We'll be right back after the break. Stay with us.