Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

21 Injured in Major Explosion at Florida Shopping Center; California Rocked by More than 1,000 Aftershocks After Powerful Quake; Interview with Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson; Southern California Braces for Aftershocks After 7.1 Earthquake; 11 Great White Sharks Spotted Off Cape Cod Beaches; Sports World Jolted By Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake; Variety Reports Spacey Questioned About Sex Assault Claims In U.K.; Former Vice President Joe Biden Sits Down With CNN. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 6, 2019 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:07] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM: I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. We begin with breaking news.

A massive explosion at a Florida shopping center has sent 21 people to the hospital. At least two are said to have serious injuries.

This is the scene in Plantation, Florida, just west of Fort Lauderdale. At least one building appears to be completely destroyed. Several windows have been blown out of another building. We could see search and rescue dogs sniffing through the rubble earlier but officials say they believe they have now located everyone. So that is some good news.

CNN's Rosa Flores is live at the scene. And Rosa, tell us about this shopping center. Where did this explosion occur and do we know what caused it?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, at this point it's all under investigation. It's very early in the investigation but we do know that the ATF is on scene. Some of their arson investigators are going through the rubble trying to figure out exactly why this happened.

I'm standing about 100 yards from where this explosion happened. Take a look behind me, you'll see the debris field. This includes pieces of the building. You can see some of the ducting, some metal corrugated, it looks -- appears to be part of the roof, also insulation.

Now according to the fire department, a call came in at about 11:30 this morning about a reported gas explosion. They arrived on scene. One of the firefighters that I talked to says that the scene looked like a war zone just because of all of the debris that was all over the parking lot because the building was also leveled from talking to some of the individuals who were inside the shopping center at the time of this explosion. They describe a loud boom. They describe the windows shattering and

also a plume of smoke. One of the individuals that I talked to said that if it wasn't for 15 to 20 seconds, he had literally just put his children in his Tahoe, and had just driven away from the area of the explosion. He says he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the explosion. He was shaken and of course, his children were safe inside, and he says that he drove away.

But again, as you take a look at these live pictures you can see that there are still firefighters going through some of that debris. According to the fire department, the primary search is being completed but a secondary search is being conducted. That of course is a precautionary measure. We also know that city inspectors are on scene checking the structural integrity of all the buildings that you see around me to make sure that those buildings are safe and if they're not safe to make sure that people don't go inside, and, Ana, of course, the good news here is that no fatalities are reported, although we do know that the number of injured grew to 21 and that includes one child -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK. Rosa Flores in Plantation, Florida. Thanks.

Let's go coast to coast and head out west. A major disaster there. This one natural.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: An earthquake. A very powerful earthquake and the second huge quake in a little over 24 hours. It shook all of Southern California as far away as Las Vegas and into Mexico.

This frightening scene in Bakersfield, California, the one-two punch of back-to-back earthquake sending boulders tumbling on to highways, making some of them impassable. And in the city of Ridgecrest, right on the stop where the ground shook most violently, the earthquakes tore open gas lines, triggered house fires, knocked out power, broke water mains. The damage there in Ridgecrest is extensive and people there have been told to brace for possibly another large jolt.

Live now to Ridgecrest, California, and CNN's Stephanie Elam.

Stephanie, it is a relief to hear that nobody has lost their life at least yet in these earthquakes and aftershocks, but you're seeing some very widespread destruction.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's worth pointing out that considering how large this earthquake was, Ana, the destruction could have been so much worse. It's actually surprising to not see as much, honestly. If you look at the house behind me this fire started after the earthquake hit and caught on fire here. You would think that maybe more houses would see the same devastation but around here this is the one that you can see has been hit by this, and that's part of the problem with an earthquake is sometimes the earth moving can disrupt those pipelines and you see things like this.

What you do see, though, if you go into a lot of these buildings is stuff falling off the shelves, cascading on to the floor. A lot of the stores around here are closed. You're seeing pictures of the library where the books are on the ground. So there's not a lot of restaurants open here for these people and they deal with a lot of earthquakes here. Don't get me wrong, more so than a lot of other towns where they feel it more than they do, but even for them this was one earthquake that really shook them up after just maybe 30 hours prior that they had another one that was already had them on their toes for sure -- Ana.

[17:05:02] CABRERA: OK. Stephanie Elam, thank you for that update.

We want to show you more video now taken from inside a grocery store just seconds after the quake hit Ridgecrest, California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're evacuating the store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to get out, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you get hurt?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is everybody OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Get to the front of the store and evacuate, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to see if anybody's hurt. The air is really thick. Dusty. This is a bad one. This must be the one that -- that's got to be at least seven.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody here? Anybody in here? Brian?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another aftershock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep going out until I turn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see. Let me help you if somebody's hurt. All right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, man. Let me help. Plus I want to get some video. (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), come back here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's shaking. Shaking again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Now over in Los Angeles, the power of the quake became evident on live TV. Watch these two newscasters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're making sure that nothing is going to come down in the studio here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And it is going for quite a bit, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It continues to rattle pretty strong here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a very strong earthquake. 8:21 here on the air, we're experiencing very strong shaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we need to get under the desk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. We are going to go to break. We'll be right back after this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And as we head to break, more breaking news. Joe Biden apologizing for his remarks about segregationist senators and sending a message straight to his rivals in the 2020 race.

We'll discuss with one of the candidates running against him, Marianne Williamson joins us live here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:11:17] CABRERA: It appears Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden is not taking his lead for granted. He is on somewhat of a take responsibility tour today. He spoke in Sumter, South Carolina, just a short time ago and addressed race issues raised by his opponents. He expressed regret for comments he made about working with segregationist senators and at the same time he pointedly called out his rivals saying they want to ignore all the work he did as vice president. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Was I wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed time and again? Yes, I was. I regret it. And I'm sorry for any of the pain or misconception that may have caused anybody.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: America in 2019 is a very, very different place than the 1970s, and that's a good thing. I've witnessed an incredible, incredible amount of change in this nation, and I've worked to make that change happen, and yes, I've changed also. I'm not the same person when I joined the Senate at age 29. I don't pretend to have gotten everything right. I don't pretend that none of my positions have changed. I've grown, and I think it's good to be able to grow, to progress.

If you look at the issues I've been attacked on nearly every one of them somehow has something to do with before 2008 as if my opponents want to believe I served from 1972 to 2008 and then took a hiatus the next eight years. They don't want to talk much about my time as vice president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Biden also talked about his decision to support the controversial 1994 Crime Bill. He said he'd take responsibility for what the bill got right and what it got wrong.

I want to get reaction now from one of Biden's 2020 rivals, best- selling author and activist Marianne Williamson.

Marianne, thanks for being here. Biden says his opponents don't want to talk about all the things he did as vice president. What do you say to that?

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't want to talk about Joe Biden. I want to talk about the United States of America. I don't want to talk about anybody's past. I want to talk about the future of our country where we need to be as people, where our public policy needs to be, so the politics of trying to bring down one candidate, all of that stuff it's not of great interest to me.

CABRERA: You just qualified for the second Democratic debate in Detroit later this month. Congratulations, Marianne, you got a lot of buzz after the first debate. In fact you were the most searched candidate on Google but so far that hasn't necessarily translated into support in the polls. Why do you think that is?

WILLIAMSON: Well, the fact that it hasn't translated into support in the polls that you're looking at doesn't mean that it's not translating into support in every -- every meeting that I'm having, every house party, every place I go in Iowa, every place I go in New Hampshire, where I see crowds, where I'm getting standing ovations. I think it's translating into a lot of support. You know there's -- it's what's happening on the ground in these states, that's where it matters, where the voters are, not necessarily what's happening yet in polls and all of that kind of stuff.

Any candidate knows that. We know where it really matters and that's inside people. Whether or not you feel your words are landing and whether or not your words landed in a particular debate, you know, that's one moment and it's a long conversation that you're having with the voters and I feel confident about the conversation that I'm having with the voters in the primary states.

CABRERA: Not all of the voters know who you are and the "New York Times" just wrote a piece that looks inside. It talks about how a book from 1976 had a big impact on you and your career path, and now your candidacy.

[17:15:04] This book is called "A Course in Miracles" and the "Times" describes that text as, quote, "A curious New York scripture that arose during the heady metaphysical counter-culture of the 1960s that is taken by its readers as a genuine gospel produced by a Manhattan doctor who believed she was channeling new revelations from Jesus Christ himself."

How has this book influenced your life and your vision for America?

WILLIAMSON: Well, first of all, I think that's a deep misrepresentation of this book. This book is not a religion. There's no doctrine, there's no dogma. It's a book that talks about universal spiritual themes of inner peace and forgiveness and love, and those universal spiritual themes are in all the great religious and spiritual systems of the world, and as a woman, understanding more deeply what love means in my life, how to forgive, how to forgive, how to be more giving, more about giving than taking, how to be of service, how to try to live my life as a woman in greater relationship, deeper relationship with the people around me.

What it means to live in justice, and in mercy and in love, whether I'm finding it from my own religious tradition of Judaism, whether I'm finding it from the "Course in Miracles," whether I'm finding it from Hinduism, whether I'm finding it reading in Buddhism. I studied comparative religion and philosophy when I was in college. I started taking religion and spirituality classes when I was in high school.

And we live in a country where that kind of religious and spiritual seeking is common. This is America. We're a very religious nation. So this is not weird and no matter how many times people want to act like it's weird that somebody believes in God, weird that somebody tries to live a more forgiving or loving life, I think our public policy could use a little dose of love, a dose of moral and ethical consideration. Nobody should be apologizing for the fact we're trying to figure out and to live in more practical ways and more loving existence.

CABRERA: I can appreciate where you're coming from. We're just -- I was just asking the question about, you know, how that particular book influenced you and how it may influence your vision for the country. That's where I was coming from in my questioning there.

I want to ask you about another article that was prominent this week that I know you took issue with. Of course I'm talking about the Annie Leibovitz "Vogue" photoshoot and the accompanying article that featured all the Democratic women running for president except for you, and here's the version you put out with yourself strategically inserted into the portrait above their heads.

Do you feel like you're not being taken --

WILLIAMSON: No, I did not --

CABRERA: -- seriously or treated as a legitimate candidate? How did this situation make you feel?

WILLIAMSON: Well, first of all, I did not put out that meme. I saw it on the Internet because there are so many memes right now with everything regarding my candidacy, regarding my debate performance, and regarding the Leibovitz. And so when I was doing one of those things on your Instagram where you out -- you post several things, I posted quite a few memes. I just saw that one on the Internet. I have not made any memes about that.

So I saw a meme the one you're talking about, I saw a meme with my fate. Listen, I think all of the women who are running for president are lovely. I have met them all, I have great respect for them all, and "Vogue" magazine did what "Vogue" magazine did. I certainly don't have an issue with any of the women. think it is significant when something like a "Vogue" magazine so clearly implies that only they are qualified. That's definitely a dismissal. But this was not some big thing in my life. And like I said, I'm not the one who made the meme.

CABRERA: Has "Vogue" called you to do a follow-up piece?

WILLIAMSON: No.

CABRERA: No. A lot of people know you as Oprah's spiritual adviser. Who are your closest advisers?

WILLIAMSON: Well, first of all, I don't think that I'm Oprah's spiritual adviser any more that I could say that she's been my spiritual adviser like she's been a spiritual adviser in many ways to an entire generation of Americans. I think the fact that she can read someone's book and has been so generous in her support of my book doesn't mean that she sees me as an adviser.

My own advisers, I think, my first and foremost would be my own parents who are no longer with us. I think my daughter, my 29-year- old daughter is certainly someone who I look to for advice. It's a very interesting thing the way that happens as your children become adults themselves. I have close friends. I have close colleagues. You know at a certain point in your life who you want to listen to, who when they text with feedback I want to hear what they have to say. I have those people in my life just like everybody does.

CABRERA: You know you've made it to the national stage when you have "SNL's" Kate McKinnon impersonating you and here's one of her takes on a moment from the debate. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMSON: My first call is to the prime minister of New Zealand who said that her goal is to make New Zealand the place where it's the best place in the world for a child to grow up. And I would tell her, girlfriend, you are so on.

KATE MCKINNON, ACTRESS, "SNL": And I said to the president of the New Zealand, I said, girlfriend, you're so on. And I would say to Donald Trump, boyfriend, you chill. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:20:06] CABRERA: We've seen presidents who have embraced impersonations. We've seen Donald Trump who has responded with fury at Alec Baldwin's treatment of him. How did you feel about that?

WILLIAMSON: Listen, I understand. I was laughing. I was down on the floor laughing at some of that stuff as much as the next person was. Kate McKinnon, I was laughing, the memes, I was laughing, and I also understand that some of it is justified. I mean, I've never done that before. Some of my expressions were awkward, but there was substance to what I was saying and I think the people understand that also.

I was talking about the fact that just as New Zealand, the prime minister of New Zealand has said she wants New Zealand to be the best place in the world for a child to grow up, I want the United States to also be the best place in the world for every child here to grow up. So I can laugh. You know, laughter is a good thing. This is democracy. That's cool. I didn't find it was malevolent and we all need to laugh especially since these are such serious times. We can use a good laugh every once in a while.

CABRERA: 2020 candidate and author of the book "The Politics of Love," Marianne Williamson, great to have you with us. I hope you'll come back and continue to share your ideas for the country. Thank you.

WILLIAMSON: Thank you for having me.

CABRERA: Coming up, California, reeling with the aftermath of back- to-back earthquakes. We'll talk to FEMA seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones about what's next for this region including how many aftershocks they should expect. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:07] CABRERA: California is reeling today after two powerful earthquakes rocking that state within 24 hours. The second quake was 11 times stronger than the one that hit the day before. My next guest is a Caltech seismologist who studies the behavior and pattern of earthquakes for the U.S. Geological Survey, Dr. Lucy Jones, joins us now on the phone.

Dr. Jones, you say residents in Southern California could feel aftershocks from this earthquake for days, months, even years. Explain.

DR. LUCY JONES, SEISMOLOGIST, CALTECH: That's correct. If they live near where the earthquake's happening. Aftershocks continue for a long time. A magnitude 7 we usually see a noticeable increase in earthquakes for quite a few years. The biggest aftershock to the Northridge earthquake or the last magnitude 5 to Northridge happened three years after the main shock. So they will be continuing at a lower level than right now.

But we need to remember that this earthquake is quite a long ways from the metropolitan areas and most of Southern California, you know, just south of it, there was no impact to the -- those of us down here in metropolitan L.A. and there's no reason to expect an increased risk for earthquake damage to us.

CABRERA: So first there was the 6.4 on Fourth of July, now 7.1. We're seeing, you know, learning that the 6.4 was a foreshock to what they believe is the main event. Is this the main event, do you think?

JONES: Probably. At this point -- I mean, every earthquake has some chance of being -- of triggering an aftershock that's bigger than itself and that's what a -- you know, that's how it becomes a foreshock. We change the name when something bigger happens, but it's -- at this point it's not very likely. We're down to just 1 percent or 2 percent chance that we will be followed by something larger.

It's possible, and I would think that there's probably other, at least magnitude 5s and very well have magnitude 6s, that could be part of this sequence. So we shouldn't think it's over with. It's an ongoing sequence happening right now.

CABRERA: Can you describe what a 7.1 magnitude earthquake feels like for people who are on the ground?

JONES: It depends on where you are. For those of us here in Los Angeles, it was a really long rolling motion with no impact. You know, you hear things rattling and you hear the doors and the walls creaking but nothing gets thrown over. If you were in Ridgecrest, it would involve essentially any unsecured objects being thrown through the air. So things are crashing around you. It's why we recommend it's -- a much better thing to do is to try and get under a table than to try to move anywhere because moving puts you in the path of all those flying objects.

CABRERA: Are the damages that we're seeing consistent with what you'd expect from a quake this size from this particular fault?

JONES: Yes. If anything, they're a little on the low side. It suggests that things were built pretty well in Ridgecrest. You know, Ridgecrest is mostly a new town. Really only began in the 1940s by which time we already had the basic earthquake building codes in place. Building codes really do make a difference. There's no older of the -- none of the older structures there.

That said, you know, there's lots of things off of all of the shelves, damage to some buildings. I think the most noticeable thing that we should all learn from is looking at the gas leaks and gas line breaks and the fires that have been caused from that. That's going to be a big problem when one of these earthquakes happens in the metropolitan area instead of in a sparsely inhabited area.

CABRERA: Dr. Lucy Jones, really appreciate you taking the time. Thank you for joining us.

JONES: Thank you for having me.

CABRERA: Coming up, beach goers beware. Shark sightings are up and down the East Coast this holiday weekend. We'll talk to one expert who survived a shark attack next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN NEWSROOM: Jump in. The water's fine, unless that is you have a fear of sharks. This week alone, 11 great whites were spotted off the coast of Cape Cod, some just 40 feet from the shore. Local officials have put bleeding kits on more remote beaches so any would-be shark victim has access to life-saving equipment.

Farther south, crowds are contending with an 800-pound ten-foot shark named Miss May. Researchers say she's lurking along the New Jersey coast. And this video capturing a scary moment in Daytona Beach, Florida, a helicopter showing a five-foot shark in the water there just a few feet away from unsuspecting swimmers. Luckily no one was injured.

Joining us now is Erich Ritter. He is a scientist with the Shark Research Institute. And years ago, he was attacked by a bull shark while filming for the Discovery Channel's Shark Week.

Eric, is there anything unusual about the number of shark sightings we're hearing about right now?

ERICH RITTER, SHARK RESEARCH INSTITUTE: No, absolutely not. It's just more people pay attention. We have the drones and we have all this technology. So it's nothing unusual.

CABRERA: We always hear shark attacks are a case of mistaken identity, that they don't actually hunt humans. So what are they looking for specifically off the East Coast?

RITTER: Sometimes, you know, they're just curious to check us out and see what we are, the sound sounds familiar. So they do what we call an exploratory bite just to see what are you and that's that.

CABRERA: As we mentioned, you were bitten by a giant bull shark. If you're squeamish, you may want to look away, but we actually have a video of the moment this happens. I understand you lost part of your left calf. What went wrong in this case?

RITTER: Well, you know, we did a scenario that we played through quite a few times. And behind me and above me on the platform is a spotter and he just didn't pay attention to the bull shark that was behind me and he didn't call it out. I was watching the ones in front of me and it happened.

CABRERA: Right. And what has your recovery been like?

RITTER: It was painful and long. But eventually about three months later, I was back in the water and repeated the same experiment.

CABRERA: Back in the water, oh, my goodness. You are hardy.

For anyone who may be worried about a Jaws-like scenario that may be keeping them out of the water, how likely is it to happen?

[17:35:05]

RITTER: It's not very likely, you know. And if you're in the water and the shark shows up, just don't move. Go vertical. Do not swim back away from the shark and you will be safe.

CABRERA: If somebody is attacked by a shark, what's the best thing to do? How do you respond?

RITTER: Well, you know, it's hard to say stay calm, but that's really the best thing you can do. And if someone is responding to you, well, he can easily just come up to you and basically grab you. But the most important thing is always pay attention to a shark. If the shark is still inquisitive, if you can move towards the shark, never away, move towards the shark.

CABRERA: Move towards it. Okay. Erich Ritter, some good advice, thank you for taking the time.

RITTER: My pleasure.

CABRERA: Coming up, how a powerful earthquake in Southern California also shook up the sports world last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want everyone to stay calm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

CABRERA: Welcome back. We have a really good look at the moment a powerful earthquake rocked the West Coast courtesy of cameras at several major sporting events, this is at Dodger Stadium 120 miles away from the epicenter. And you can see the cameras shaking as that quake struck.

Incredibly, the Dodgers and Padres played right through it. Players didn't even seem to notice anything it happened, but here's what Dodgers Pitcher Clayton Kershaw said afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLAYTON KERSHAW, DODGERS PITCHER: I didn't feel it, yes. I didn't feel it a bit. Maybe I was -- I don't know. I didn't feel it. Everybody was telling me about it and, excuse me, I was underneath in the tunnel and, yes, everybody -- I heard the crowd kind of go crazy, but I had no idea what was going on until somebody told me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And in Las Vegas, 150 miles east, the NBA decided to postpone three summer league games because of the quake. The massive scoreboard and speakers and sign inside the MGM Grand Arena were seen swaying perilously over the court. One player said he brought the ball up the floor and it felt like someone was pushing him on the hip. Thankfully, fans inside generally kept their cool and left in an orderly fashion.

Also in Las Vegas, the UFC was celebrating its Hall of Fame ceremony this weekend. Check out the reaction from Rashad Evans when the quake hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RASHAD EVANS, UFC HALL OF FAMER: You know, it paved the way for my -- my, my, oh, it's an earthquake. Oh, man. I feel it. Yes. Okay, earthquake, baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Other news we're following today, Variety Magazine now reporting Kevin Spacey has been questioned by Scotland Yard about six allegations of sexual assault filed in the U.K. According to the report, officers interviewed Spacey in May in the U.S. The allegations come from six different men and date between 1996 and 2013. As those investigations continue, Spacey is scheduled to appear in a Massachusetts courtroom Monday on charges he groped an 18-year- old man at a Nantucket bar in 2016.

Calling all royal watchers, the photos are here. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have just released these pictures from the private christening today for their son, Archie. Only 25 people were in attendance. You may remember, there was a bit of an uproar over the decision to keep the media away because British taxpayers foot the bill for their lifestyle, but Harry and Meghan did follow some royal traditions, including Archie's christening robe, which was worn by William and Kate's children as well. Beautiful baby.

From the first silent film to the blockbusters of today, the history of American cinema is sometimes beautiful, occasionally controversial, but always inspiring. And tomorrow night, our brand new CNN original series, The Movies, will delve into the stories behind the movies you love.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON HOWARD, AMERICAN FILMMAKER: There is still something about being told a story. A movie is something that's been really handcrafted, it's a mosaic that's been carefully pieced together. It just creates this opportunity to totally lose yourself.

MARTIN SCORSESE, AMERICAN FILMMAKER: These images live in our consciousness and stays in our mind. When music is recalled in our heads, those images replay. And we live our lives by them.

JULIA ROBERTS, AMERICAN ACTRESS: It brings all the elements of all of our senses together. There's really nothing else like it.

JON FAVREAU, AMERICAN ACTOR: Even though you're doing something incredibly personal and, in many ways, incredibly selfish because you're doing something you love so much. And then it gets out there in the world and it can change people's trajectories.

ALEC BALDWIN, AMERICAN ACTOR: When you can go somewhere that you can pretty much guarantee you're going to be able to set your worries aside for that period of time. It's like a drug. It's like a drug.

HOLLY HUNTER, AMERICAN ACTRESS: It's just a direct conduit straight into your soul.

MORGAN FREEMAN, AMERICAN ACTRESS: I grew up wanting to be in the movies. It was all about the movies.

BAZ LUHRMANN, AUSTRALIAN WRITER: Since the dawn of man, we like to get around a fireplace and commune in story together so we can feel for a few hours that we're human together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Tune in The Movies. It premieres tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:00]

CABRERA: As we celebrate America's Independence this weekend, and we want to introduce you to a CNN hero helping refugees get closer to the American dream through an innovative, culinary job training program. Meet Kerry Brodie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY BRODIE, CNN HERO: What we're teaching our students isn't just knife skills and it isn't just cooking. It's the idea that you are human and you have value. And that's something that people have tried to strip away from others for such a long time.

What's the dream team cooking up?

UNIDENTIFIED FMALE: Samba cake.

BRODIE: Samba cake, awesome.

That experience of watching our students transform, of seeing our students really come into their own inspires me. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: To get the full story about Kerry's program and to nominate someone you think should be a CNN Hero, go to cnnheroes.com.

For former Vice President Joe Biden, his decision to run in 2020 did not come easily with debates raging in the democratic primary about healthcare and immigration. Many of Biden's critics are attacking him for being too centrist, but Biden isn't backing down.

Here is more now from CNN's exclusive interview on the former Vice President.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You versus the rest of the field on the economy, they're all going big, 70 percent tax rates, free college, re-architecture of the economy, forgiving debt for college, which happens to be the biggest asset on the American government's balance sheet. You do not believe in those things?

BIDEN: I don't believe in the way they're doing that. For example, I think there should be healthcare for everyone. I have a plan how to do that. That's rational and will cost a hell of a lot less and will work. In terms of the --

CUOMO: Too incremental?

BIDEN: No, it's not incremental. No.

CUOMO: Would you bring back the individual mandate?

BIDEN: Pardon me?

CUOMO: Would you bring back the individual mandate?

BIDEN: Yes, I would bring back the individual mandate.

CUOMO: Do you think that would be popular?

BIDEN: Yes. Now, it would be compared to what's being offered.

And here's the deal, Chris.

[17:50:00]

We're in a situation where if you provide an option for anybody who, in fact, wants to buy into Medicare for all, they can buy in. They buy in and they can do it. But if they like their employer-based insurance, which a lot of unions broke their neck to get and a lot of people like them, they shouldn't have to give it up. The flip of that is if you don't go my way and you go their way, you have to give up all of that.

And what's going to happen when you have 300 million people landing on a healthcare plan? How long is that going to take? What's it going to do? And in the meantime, a lot of people are going to be in trouble.

In terms of the economy, Chris, I have been proposing for a long time and I -- look, I know I'm Middle Class Joe, I get that part. It's not meant I'm sophisticated. It means, I'm -- you know, the middle class built this country. You didn't have Wall Street build this country. And how did they do it? You gave people a chance and allowed them to maintain their dignity.

And how did they do it? How can you have dignity without having healthcare? How can you have dignity without having access to an education? How can you have dignity unless you can live in a neighborhood that's not fouled by the environment and what's going on?

CUOMO: How do you convince the party that these more advanced ideas, like all in on Medicare for all, that matter to them --

BIDEN: I'm not calling it advanced.

CUOMO: But they're popular in the party.

BIDEN: Well, by the way, watch. That's what this election is about. I'm really -- I'm happy to debate that issue and all those issues with my friends. Because guess what, again, look who won the races. Look who won last time out. We have -- and by the way, I think Ocasio- Cortez is a brilliant, bright woman, but she won the primary.

In the general election fights, who won? Mainstream democrats who are very progressive on social issues and very strong on education, healthcare.

Look, my north star is the middle class. When the middle class does well, everybody does well.

CUOMO: How do you do better for them, economically, if not, with these 70 percent tax rates?

BIDEN: Well, three things, one, I do raise the tax rate to 39.5 percent. I do, in fact, eliminate the ability for them to write-off capital gains the way to do it. And I would raise the -- and raise billions of dollars, raise the corporate tax rate from 20 percent to 28 percent. It was 36 to 28 percent. I'd raise billions of dollars.

CUOMO: Trump will say, but that's what brought the economy up to where it is, is those tax cuts.

BIDEN: Ask these people who work in this restaurant how that economy came up for them. Ask them how good they feel about them. Ask them how the stock market is really helping. Ask how driving $2 trillion greater in debt has done anything for them?

CUOMO: On healthcare, do you believe that undocumented people should have healthcare in this country?

BIDEN: I think undocumented people need to have a means by which they can be covered when they're sick. And so the idea is that's what I think we should be doing, by building more clinics around the country not just for the undocumented but for other people, when they're ill, when they're sick. People need -- this is just common decency. You're not going to let somebody --

CUOMO: It's unpopular.

BIDEN: Well, I know it is.

CUOMO: Well over 50 percent polled say, undocumented people here should not have healthcare on our dime.

BIDEN: Well, let me tell you something. In an emergency, they should have healthcare. Everybody should, anybody here in the country. How do you say, you're undocumented. I'm going to let you die, man. What are you going to do?

I mean, the idea I hear this stuff about how they're killing Social Security, et cetera. Those who have jobs, guess what, they've increased the life-span of Social Security by close to a dozen years. I mean, we got this -- this is part of what Trump is playing on. He's playing --

CUOMO: It works for him, this issue, the idea of law and order versus a left that seems like it's open borders because it means it's lawless. You have people who are running close to you now who are saying, decriminalize coming into the country illegally. Do you believe that should be decriminalized?

BIDEN: No, I don't. No, I don't. I think people should have to get in line. But if people are coming because they're actually seeking asylum, they should have a chance to make their case.

I would be surging, as we did, and Barack and I did, surging folks to the border to make those concrete decisions.

Look, the other thing, Chris, is why are they coming? The reason a vast majority of these people are coming from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador is because they're in trouble. Crime rates are high, education is terrible. In Guatemala, you can't turn on a light switch and half of them are out (ph).

And so, what do we do? I've put together a $74 million program with republicans, I might add, at the very end and say, we'll make a deal with you. You do the follow things to make your country better so people don't leave, and we will help you do that, just like we did in Colombia.

What did we do in Colombia? We went down and said, okay, and I was one of the architects of Plan Colombia. I said, here's the deal, if you have all these crooked cops, all these federal police, we're sending our FBI down, you let us put them through a lie detector test, let us tell you who you should fire and tell you the kind of people you should hire. They did and began to change. We can do so much if we're committed.

[17:55:00] CUOMO: What do you say to the people in party right now when polled who say, yes, I like Joe Biden but I think his ideas are the old ideas. The new ideas, I see a Warren, I see a Sanders, I see a Harris. You poll lower than them.

BIDEN: I have not seen that.

CUOMO: You poll lower than them on ideas for the future. What do you say to them?

BIDEN: I say to them, take a look at my ideas. Take a look at my ideas. I've been seeing those polls. I've been seeing where people say, what I've seen around the country is the vast majority of democrats where I am on the issues. We've got to be aggressive.

And the big ideas, the big idea on education, on healthcare, on dealing with the environment. I mean, it's just -- I love how, you know, all of a sudden, I wish I had been labeled as moderate when I was running in Delaware back in the days when it was --

CUOMO: 80 percent of your party says it's center-left.

BIDEN: No, I am center left.

CUOMO: You know, farther left is getting more attention. It's getting amplified. It's a disconnect.

BIDEN: Look, it's center-left, that's where I am. Where it's not is way left.

Now, look, but that's what we can find out. That's what this debate is about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: And I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. That does it for me for now. I'll be back in an hour.

My colleague, S.E. Cupp, continues our coverage of today's news right after a quick break. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]