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CNN NEWSROOM

Hundreds Of Migrants Are Being Held In Detention Centers At The Southern Border; Team USA Winning The World Cup Championship Title In A 2-0 Shutout Victory Over The Netherlands; Billionaire And Convicted Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein Is Back In Jail. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 7, 2019 - 18:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:00] ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

And right now hundreds of migrants are being held in detention centers at the southern border. And reports we are getting from inside these centers paint a dark picture. A congressman who visited a center in El Paso says some migrants spent days, even weeks without showers.

"The New York Times" reports outbreaks of scabies and chickenpox in some overcrowded centers. Children crying constantly and a stench from clothes. And yet the President says those migrants are happy with what's going on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In all cases if you look, people that came from unbelievable poverty that had no water. They had no anything where they came from, those are people that are very happy with what's going on because relatively speaking, they are in much better shape right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in CNN's White House correspondent Boris Sanchez.

Boris, what else did the President say about this new reporting on the detention centers?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Ana, President Trump reportedly called this a hoax and suggested that "The New York Times" is working hand in hand with Democrats to try to make up stories about him to embarrass him. The President dismissing this reporting altogether really tough to read this reporting coming from "The New York Times" that indicates that there is rampant disease and hunger and just horrifying unhealthy conditions and detention facilities. Many of which are hosting minors.

The President says that he has been told that the people running these facilities are doing an incredible job. Ken Cuccinelli and Kevin McAleenan, key administration officials on immigration both denied the reporting in the times but they did acknowledged that the flow of migrants strained resources. The President blaming Democrats suggesting if they worked with him in congress, they could get more done if they closed immigration loopholes that conditions would improve.

The President was also specifically asked if he would visit one of these facilities to see the conditions for himself. He did not directly answer the question. Instead, the President suggesting that he would allow the press to visit the facilities to document it for themselves -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK. Boris Sanchez reporting for us. Thank you.

With us now to discuss is national reporter for the "Washington Post" Wesley Lowery and the Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun Times" Lynn Sweet.

Wes, first your reaction to the detention centers and the awful conditions we are hearing that exist there.

WESLEY LOWERY, NATIONAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Well, first and foremost it's obvious "The New York Times" isn't working with any partisan parties, you know. Journalists have been doing amazing work at the time and my colleagues in the Post trying to document what's been going on at the border.

The reporting itself is pretty stunning in terms of the conditions folks are facing in terms of the disease and the lack of availability to resources. And I think it's important as journalists we continue to push for access to spaces. Again, these are detention centers being run in our collective names and no matter what's happening in the centers, we need sunlight and we need to see what's going on inside of them.

And so, I think the reporting we saw from The New York Times has been extremely important. And we can't take any politician no matter what letter comes after their name RRD, at their word that sure, those people who we have locked up there, they are doing fine. They are all right. We know that too often folks taken into custody face real challenges and treatment that's unfair. And like I said, there's a lot of frustration among the populous, certainly on the left, but I think a lot of folks about how the folks are being treated. And I think it's important we keep asking these questions.

CABRERA: Lynn, if everything is as good as the President makes it out to be inside these centers, why doesn't he go there and bring the media with him?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Well, I don't know why he does not want to go there, but may I - if I may recast it? If he wants to make good on what he said earlier today, that the press should be allowed in.

This is the marker that the press needs to put down. Any inspection should be able to be done by press at will with reasonable accommodations and talking to the people who run this place. The only way that credible information will be determined is to have reporters or other -- with other third parties to go in and just do spot inspections on the surprise basis.

I don't doubt that a few detention centers might be able to be cleaned up if something is going to be staged. The point is the reporting is credible. The President seems not to be curious enough to find out for himself, OK, let's just take that as a given. I don't think one or two or even three trips by him is the issue. The issue is show the administration what's going on in a way that they can't deny it so maybe they will do something about it.

[18:05:41] CABRERA: I want to pivot to new polling released showing Trump's approval rating at an all-time high at 41 percent with a 51 percent approval on the economy. The overall disapproval rating still is at 53 percent.

Wesley, what do you make of his approval rating going up?

LOWERY: Certainly. I think the President has benefitted his entire presidency from a relatively strong economy. And I think that's something we can't underestimate and he is certainly going to receive some level of credit for that. I do think that he also -- what we know is the president has a basement of support. He does have a lot of very hard baked in support somewhere in the 20s, maybe 30s even.

But however, it can't be understated. That rise in support into the summer months probably is economically related. What is going to be interesting is as the presidency continues as the campaign on the Democratic side continues to win know people out and there's starts to be a difference sense of who the face of the Democratic Party is, if those numbers start to change a little bit.

But if you are a Democrat, you can't -- you do have to be a little concerned. Any time the President has a job approval ratings in the mid-40s even approaching 50 percent. Normally folks say that's low, but with this President who has never been particularly popular, that's a pretty solid amount of support.

CABRERA: Now, in the same poll, former vice president Joe Biden is the only 2020 candidate who has a wide lead over Trump in a head to head matchup.

Lynn, the debate didn't seem to hurt him.

SWEET: No. Not now, but here's the other thing that the two other quick things are that are interesting about that. What the poll did by deciding to focus on the top five, the pollsters who do this will create a self-fulfilling prophesy doing something that the debates can't do and that is start cutting the field.

Yes, and I do recognize that Biden for now is ahead, but the others are really massed. The other four are all within striking distance. And the economic argument cannot be understated for how the democrat approach it, because in the internals in that poll, I thought one of the most telling numbers was that 30 percent of those polled, those registered voters actually wanted to give credit to Trump for the good economy. Not just I like Trump because there's a good economy. And that is something Democrats all five if those are who are at the top have to reckon with how to do their persuasion in light of that.

CABRERA: We have seen a lot of enthusiasm on the progressive side of the field. Yet, in this head to head it seems to suggest that a more moderate candidate could do better against Trump.

Wesley, what does that tell you about where the Democratic Party is, and how this divide might impact the primary?

LOWERY: Certainly. I mean, that is a divide that the Democrats are dealing with heavily right now is this question of which direction to go, to lean toward the moderates or lean towards progressive left.

Now the Republicans, it is interesting, it's not parity between the parties. The Republicans for a very long time have leaned toward the far right knowing the moderates are going to be there. All the folks who held their nose for Donald Trump to get the Supreme Court justice they wanted or there - your tax cuts they wanted.

The Democrats are still having open warfare about this. You saw comments just yesterday at marines.com from Nancy Pelosi where she is attacking four members of her own caucus essentially by name. This is an open debate.

Now one thing about this poll in the head to head matchups is it is still really early. And the thing -- and Joe Biden is notably different than the other candidates not just in terms of ideology but also in terms of name recognition. Folks at a national level are comfortable. They know what they think about Joe Biden and know who Joe Biden is. Even people who those of us like on this panel who know who they are, Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris are so relative unknowns from a national stage or folks - voters just now turning in, getting a sense of what they think of them, Buttigieg who a year or two no one really knew who he was at all.

So it will be interesting to see as the field starts to narrow itself down and as voters especially not engaged Democratic primary voters but broad everyday Joe voters get a sense of who the candidates are, if any of the numbers move in terms of this head to head matchups.

If you are Pete Buttigieg or you are Elizabeth Warren and you are essentially tied with Donald Trump at this point, you actually might take that pretty encouragingly because you are going to say, look, most people don't even really know anything about me yet. For most normal Americans now none of us on CNN are normal Americans right. But for normal Americans the election is a very long time away, right. And so, folks are just not tuning in, they are just getting a sense of candidates. We will see what happens.

[18:10:18] CABRERA: I know. We live and breathe the news world. We are not normal Americans when it comes to really having a pulse on who the people are and what the normal American experience is like politically speaking.

Wes Lowery and Lynn Sweet, really good to have both of you with us. Thank you.

LOWERY: Anytime.

CABRERA: The U.S. women's soccer team makes history today winning the world cup for a record fourth time. Hear how President Trump is reacting to their win and whether he'll be inviting them to the White House.

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[18:14:19] CABRERA: What a stunning victory. Team USA winning the world cup championship title in a 2-0 shutout victory over the Netherlands.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING

CABRERA: The U.S. women's soccer team are levering a consecutive world cup championship victory and now facing fresh battles at home. First stop is their fight for equal pay. The women's team filing a lawsuit back in March against the U.S. soccer federation demanding pay parity with the men's soccer team who are millions more each year. And yet the men's team didn't even qualify for their world cup tournament last year.

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[18:15:08] CABRERA: Second up President Trump weighing in on the world cup victory just a short time ago. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you invite the women's team to the White House, the soccer team?

TRUMP: We haven't really thought about it. We'll look at that, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in CNN's Amanda Davies in Leon, France.

And Amanda, talk to us about how the players and the fans are reacting to today's historic win by the U.S. women's soccer team.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, well, Ana, this is the tournament that has been billed as the biggest and best women's world cup to date. And there is no doubt that the U.S. women's team today proved themselves absolutely the best women's football team in the world. Successfully defending their crown that they lifted in Canada four years ago. Winning the tournament for a record extending fourth time. They have now won the women's world cup four out of eight additions that the tournament has ever taken place.

The party very much well underway a few miles from here in the center of Leon, the French city that actually dubs itself the home of women's football because of the success of the domestic league here. A team, actually, that the likes of Alex Morgan and Meghan Rapinoe have both played for in recent times.

Their performance on the pitch maybe wasn't as overbearing, as dominant as maybe some people had suggested in the runup to this game. They were up against a Dutch side who are only in the world cup finals for the second time, but they absolutely dug deep when they needed to. No surprise that captain Rapinoe stepped up, created so many headlines off the pitch in the last couple weeks. Today she created them on it. And absolutely keeps the story of this women's team, their fight for equal pay moving forward.

CABRERA: All right. Amanda Davies, I actually thought we were going to have a sound bite perhaps there. Good reporting. Thank you, Amanda.

I want to talk about another story developing. Billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is back in jail. What we are learning about the new charges he's facing, but first, here's Alison Kosik with this week's before the bell.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. Wall Street is betting the fed will cut interest rates at the end of the month. That's despite a solid jobs report for June. The U.S. economy created 224,000 jobs. It's a strong bounce back from May.

The unemployment rate did tick up to 3.7 percent but that's because more people entered the work force. A weak payroll number might have given the fed cover to cut rates more aggressively. But most investors believe at least a 25 basis cut is coming this month. Investors will also be looking for signs of progress on trade. Top representatives from the U.S. and China are expected to talk by phone this week with an eye toward restarting talks.

Stocks have hit record highs since the G-20 meeting partly on hopes the trade war will be resolved.

In New York I'm Alison Kosik.

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[18:22:29] CABRERA: Billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was arrested last night and is expected to appear in federal court in New York tomorrow. Now sources tell CNN Epstein is accused of sex crimes involving minors, crimes that allegedly occurred in the early 2000s in New York and Palm Beach, Florida. Epstein dodged a life sentence in similar charges back in 2008 when he cut a deal with prosecutors. Well, this time the charges stem from the southern district of New York including the public corruption unit.

And joining us now legal analyst Elie Honig, former U.S. assistant attorney for the southern district of New York and also with us is CNN media analyst Bill Carter. He reported for "The New York Times" for 25 years.

Elie, Epstein was previously charged with similar crimes during this same time period, but he cut a deal. A lot of people called it the deal of a lifetime. And part of it was to avoid federal charges. So how can we now face it federal charges?

ELIE HONIG, FORMER U.S. ASSISTANT ATTORNEY FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Some call it the deal of the lifetime. I call it complete and total injustice. Fortunately those kind of non- prosecution agreements are usually specific to the district that gives them to the defendant. So Epstein got this from the southern district of Florida when secretary Acosta was the U.S. attorney. But that is not binding on other districts including the southern district of New York.

I also will know more tomorrow, but I would expect to see that the southern district has built out perhaps a bigger case with more facts. That's usually the way things are done at the southern district but we will learn more tomorrow when he makes his appearance.

CABRERA: It was dogged reporting though that this case, the story wide open. I mean, talk about the power of journalism.

BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: It really is an example of incredible local reporting by the "Miami Herald" and particularly one reported Julie Cay Brown who stayed on this and would not accept this ridiculous, you know, deal that this guy got. And I think she really -- it was advocacy journalism in the sense that she felt for the victims. She wanted to step up and dig this out, and boy, you know, we have heard an awful lot about the demise of local journalism and local papers but look how incredible this reporting was and how vital it was.

CABRERA: You know, part of what makes this compelling is Epstein has powerful and influential friends or former friends, perhaps, including Britain's prince Andrew, former president Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and journalist Tim O'Brien who wrote a book about Trump called Trump nation, the art of being the Donald. He tweeted a quote from his famous subject. And let me read this to you.

He writes I have known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He is a lot of fun to be with. It's even said he likes beautiful women as much as I do and many of them are on the younger side. That was Donald Trump, 2002, he says.

Elie, over the years speculation has swirled about which of Epstein's famous friends, if any, had committed six crimes on his properties. But under the terms of his Miami deal we know immunity was given to any potential co-conspirators. So what does this mean in the SDNY case?

[18:25:33] HONIG: I want people to understand how unusual it is. I have done hundreds, thousands maybe of indictments and plea agreements and non-prosecution agreements. I have never heard of the idea of immunizing the co-conspirators around the defendant. That is not really even a thing that should or does exist.

Now the fact the southern district of Florida did this for Epstein is one of many red flags. And again, fortunately that agreement I don't think it's enforceable to start with. The federal judge already has found that agreement violated the rights of the victims who have the rights to be notified and they weren't. Another red flag. But fortunately that agreement does not bind other districts including the southern district of New York.

CABRERA: And Bill, I think about how much has changed since 2008 when, you know, Epstein was facing these charges originally. He got the plea deal we've all been discussing here. O mean, the Me Too movement has taken down a lot of powerful people.

CARTER: It's no doubt how important that has been and it's put a focus on all these men that have used their power and circumstances that obviously were a travesty in all of these cases but this one is over the top. I mean, we are talking about sex trafficking with children. And this is really an outrageous case. You know, and now it involves all these powerful people. And the fact that you have the public corruption unit is clearly government officials that are going to be involved. It is a really huge, huge case.

CABRERA: Quickly, what is your read on that part?

HONIG: Yes. We were talking before. Look, normally sex trafficking cases would be charged in the southern district out of the organized crime unit which I was chief of and helped build that unit. The fact that public corruption is involved tells me something for sure. I mean, the example we were talking about is the SDNY when I was their prosecutor in the prostitution ring and the public corruption unit was involve and that turned out to be the case that then governor Eliot Spitzer was involved. So I keep a close eye.

CABRERA: There is lot more to come. Thank you so much Elie Honig, Bill Carter. Good to have you both with us.

People in Ridgecrest, California are still on edge. Aftershocks continue to rock the city after the two powerful earthquakes. Just take a lot at this video.

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CABRERA: The quakes created huge cracks stretching across the Mohave Desert. We will take you there live next.

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[18:31:12] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Southern California is facing the fallout after two major earthquakes as thousands of aftershocks shake the small California city of Ridgecrest. According to the USGS, this region has seen an average of one aftershock every minute. I want to bring in Alexandra Field in Ridgecrest, California.

Alexandra, are you feeling these aftershocks? And talk about the extent of damage there on the ground.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are absolutely feeling the aftershocks. Some of them are stronger than others, of course, but everyone in this community is acutely aware of it. They, of course, don't compare at all to those back-to-back quakes that people felt on Thursday and Friday. But, really, the sense we're getting in this community is the

knowledge that given the power, given the intensity, the damage that we are seeing really could have been worse. People feel that they were, to some extent, spared. But if you check out our new CNN drone video of the fault ruptures stretching through the desert, you get an idea of the intensity of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

The fact that it happened not far from Ridgecrest underscoring anxiety about earthquakes really throughout southern California. L.A. County officials more than a hundred miles away from here took this as an opportunity to, again, warn people about being prepared for the possibility of an earthquake. A noted seismologist is speaking out, saying that this part of the state should expect to have a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake every few years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LUCY JONES, FOUNDER AND CHIEF SCIENTIST, DR. LUCY JONES CENTER FOR SCIENCE & SOCIETY: We've actually gone 20 years without one, so we have had the quietest 20 years in the history of southern California. That's unlikely to continue in the long run. Geology keeps on moving, the plates are still going on, and we should be expecting a higher rate. And when it happens near people, it is going to be a lot worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: An ominous message there, really. But, look, California's Governor came here to Ridgefield (ph) -- Ridgecrest over the weekend to survey the damage, to meet with people who are affected. He, again, understored (ph) -- underscored the state's commitment to rolling out and fully implementing a statewide earthquake alert system.

As for local officials, they are talking again to the community today, warning people that they must stay vigilant, they must be prepared for the possibility of more aftershocks in the coming days, weeks -- even years, Ana.

CABRERA: Well, fingers crossed all goes well there. Thank you, Alexandra Field, for that report.

President Trump is now vowing to let journalists inside migrant centers along the U.S. border amid reports of squalid conditions at some of them. A look at what life is like inside, next.

[18:33:45] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: We have this just in to CNN. President Trump promising that the world will soon see a clearer picture of conditions inside those migrant processing facilities along the U.S./Mexico border. He told reporters just a short time ago that the doors to some of those centers will soon be open to the press.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I'm going to start showing some of these detention centers -- to the press. I want the press to go in and see them. And I just spoke to Mark Morgan and I just spoke with, as you know, Kevin, so we're going to send people in. We're going to have some of the press go in and see because they're crowded, and we're the ones that were complaining about they're crowded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So far, reporters have only been granted very sporadic and very limited access to these facilities and never with cameras. Which facilities and to what extent the press will be able to see inside remains to be seen. All we have right now is that one off the cuff comment from President Trump that he will start opening them to the press.

Now, also today, the President accusing the "New York Times" of exaggerating their description of conditions inside one Texas migrant facility, the one in Clint, Texas.

This is the reporting from that "New York Times" article -- outbreaks of scabies, shingles, and chickenpox were spreading among the hundreds of children who are being held in cramped cells, agents said. The stench of the children's dirty clothing was so strong it spread to the agent's own clothing. People in town would scrunch their noses when they left work. The children cried constantly. One girl seemed likely enough to try to kill herself that the agents made her sleep on a cot in front of them, so they could watch her as they were processing new arrivals.

President Trump today calling that account phony. Also taking issue with it? The acting head of the Department of Homeland Security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN MCALEENAN, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I know what our standards are, and I know they're being followed because we have tremendous levels of oversight. Five levels of oversight.

MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: So you don't believe the "New York Times" report?

MCALEENAN: So you're asking --

RADDATZ: The stench of the children's dirty clothing was so strong it spread to the agent. They had scabies, chickenpox. Why did you say unsubstantiated?

MCALEENAN: You just referenced three things that were unsubstantiated -- inadequate foot, inadequate water, and unclean cells. None of those have been substantiated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:40:06] CABRERA: This weekend, I spoke with Dr. Colleen Kraft. She's a pediatrician. She's the former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics who told me where her biggest concerns are regarding the 350 children who are still currently being held in Customs and Border Patrol custody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. COLLEEN KRAFT, FORMER PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: Our biggest concern is the conditions that these children are staying in because they don't have access to clean water, enough food. There are lights on 24/7. And they are conditions that will make a sick child sicker or a well child sick.

CABRERA: We're going to go through some of those specifics in just a moment, but I want to get to the drawings that we showed. And I know you've probably seen them since they've been out for just a couple of days. When you look at those drawings from those children, what do they tell you about their experience and how they were perceiving what was going on and where they were being held?

KRAFT: Well, interestingly, we use art therapy as a form of therapy for kids who have been traumatized, and the accuracy of these drawings and the pictures on them and the faces of the children and the bars are really a manifestation of what these children have gone through. And this is a depiction of their experiences, so we can see the trauma and we can see the fear that's put on the pieces of paper by these children.

CABRERA: Why do you believe that they've experienced trauma by looking at those pictures?

KRAFT: They don't look like happy pictures, do they? I mean, they're jails. There are cages.

CABRERA: Yes.

KRAFT: There are people looking from the outside. There are people looking from the inside. And as we know that detention is harmful to children and their developing brains, we see what kids have depicted as their conditions and what they have been exposed to during their time here in the United States.

CABRERA: A DHS official who is also a physician told CNN this. Quote, I am a doctor and a parent. I take care of everyone in our care like I would want my own children taken care of. The medical care has been good so far, and I'm proud of what we've done.

Dr. Kraft, you've had, I know, three conversations with Customs and Border Protection. Do you feel the medical care has been adequate?

KRAFT: There's a lot that Customs and Border Protection is trying to do to improve the medical care of these children. They have been working with the American Academy of Pediatrics on a training video, but it's not enough.

We need to have pediatricians at the border, in these facilities, monitoring what's going on with these children. We need to be able to train the medical personnel to recognize the difference between a mildly ill child and a severely ill child. So until we're in there and on the ground and serving these children and training their professionals, the medical care is not adequate.

CABRERA: This government watchdog report this week revealed harrowing conditions for some of the detained migrants, and I just want to list some of the examples. Again, from government watchdogs and their own report -- children under age 7 held for more than two weeks, waiting for transfer in this facility where they have lights never off, no beds, no cots, concrete floors, lack of hot meals, inadequate or no access to showers, limited change of clothes.

Dr. Kraft, as a pediatrician, can you explain the dangers, both short- term and long-term, to a child enduring these conditions?

KRAFT: So short-term, we worry about things like infection. We worry that a child who might be mildly ill will become severely ill in these facilities. But long-term, you have this toxic stress, these chemicals of cortisol and fight or flight hormones that stay high in the brains of these children, and they actually keep their brains from developing social-emotional bonds, from developing learning, and can result in long-term physical health and mental health consequences including post-traumatic stress disorder.

CABRERA: I know you were trying to urge Customs and Border Patrol to let you or other members of the American Academy of Pediatrics go down there and help train some of the medical staff that are working at these facilities. What is the status of your conversations with them?

KRAFT: So at this point, we're really still trying to work with them and have the training video that's part of the training of the people who are already working there and are doing the best that they can. However, it's not enough. And we have come out very publicly and said until we have pediatricians training and on site with the staff, until we're able to monitor the conditions and be able to make a change on the ground so the children don't stay in these squalid conditions, we -- our message is the same. We need to do better by these children.

CABRERA: I know it's a complex situation, and I don't want to ask too simple of a question. But I just wonder, if there is one thing you could change right now to care for these children, what would it be?

[18:45:00] KRAFT: I would get our pediatricians in there. And we have pediatricians who would volunteer tomorrow to go down and work to make sure that these conditions are better for children and to help out the kids that are already sick in these settings.

CABRERA: But if there were -- I guess what I'm looking for is, you know, is it a matter of getting them beds? Is it having each child, you know, given certain types of food? Is it making sure the lights go off for a certain number of hours a day or letting children go outside for a certain amount of time? What would be the one thing that could make some kind of tangible difference?

KRAFT: It's all of those things. It's really the attitude that children are valuable and that we need to care for them the way we would care for our own children. And implementing these sorts of both physical comforts but also the social comforts of having them with their families in place. Treating the conditions like you would a refugee camp or after an earthquake or after a hurricane and not detention and not jail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: We're staying on top of that story. Now, from the first silent film to the current blockbusters of today, the history of American cinema is sometimes beautiful, occasionally controversial, but always inspiring. Tonight, our brand new CNN original series, "THE MOVIES," will delve into the stories behind the movies you love.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON HOWARD, FILMMAKER AND ACTOR: 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, FILMMAKER: These images live in our consciousness. It stays in our mind. The way music is recalled in our heads, those images replay, and we live our lives by them.

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

JON FAVREAU, 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, 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, ACTRESS: It's just a direct conduit straight into your soul.

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

BAZ LUHRMANN, WRITER AND DIRECTOR: 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: We'll take you back in time to the '80s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:25] CABRERA: You don't have to be a diehard movie buff to have a great time when CNN's original series, "THE MOVIE," finally premieres tonight. I want to get back to Brooke Baldwin hanging out with movie fans at a CNN video store.

Brooke, do you happen to see any "Footloose," any "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" among all those titles behind you? BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are speaking my language, my

friend. I want to -- we talked '80s last hour. So we're here at the CNN video store, by the way, where actual VHS tapes -- yes, they still do exist. We're eating way too much popcorn. They have free candy if you come in and tweet, #CNNthemovies.

Can I just please share something? We've been really going down memory lane today with all of our favorite movies. Ana, I know you and I have talked a lot about it. When we're in the genre of the '90s, if I may, I present to you "Wayne's World."

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: This was the kind of movie that I totally saw in the seventh or eighth grade.

CABRERA: Yes.

BALDWIN: Didn't understand half of the jokes until later.

CABRERA: Isn't that the truth?

BALDWIN: But Bradley -- I have a friend, Bradley, here who is also a lover of all things '90s.

BRADLEY, MOVIE FAN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Can we do some quick "Wayne's World" --

BRADLEY: Yes. Like when they go in into the dream sequence.

BALDWIN: Too-roo-root (ph), too-roo-root (ph).

BRADLEY: Too-roo-root (ph), too-roo-root (ph).

BALDWIN: Too-roo-root (ph), too-roo-root (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Then there was the one where they were like, I got $5,000. I got $5,000.

BRADLEY: $5,000. I got $5,000 -- yes.

BALDWIN: I still quote that movie.

BRADLEY: It's so good.

BALDWIN: I mean, it's maybe a little lame. Do you have --

BRADLEY: I'll give you --

BALDWIN: So you have some --

BRADLEY: Yes, this is technically a couple of years before 1990 but "Turner & Hooch." BALDWIN: Oh!

BRADLEY: Great movie. Tom Hanks is like on 11 the time, screaming at the dog.

BALDWIN: Makes you cry.

BRADLEY: Cry.

BALDWIN: Love dogs.

BRADLEY: Absolutely. "Pleasantville."

BALDWIN: "Pleasantville"!

BRADLEY: A little more subversive but funny and poignant, you know, about the changing of time. It's great.

BALDWIN: What does it -- how does it feel? I mean, the way CNN created this CNN video store -- which, by the way, we're here for two more hours. Please hang out with us. We're down at Hudson Yards if you're in New York City. What does this -- what does this bring back for you, Bradley?

BRADLEY: So two things. One is pure joy.

BALDWIN: Pure joy.

BRADLEY: The smell and everything. But the other is mostly anxiety because remember when you go in and you're like, oh, this movie came out, I want to go rent it, and then you're like --

BALDWIN: It's not there!

BRADLEY: It's not there.

BALDWIN: Nowhere.

BRADLEY: So there was that anxiety of -- there will be 20 or 30 -- there you go.

BALDWIN: Hi.

BRADLEY: There'll be 20 or 30 --

BALDWIN: What's up? We're --

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: We're, you know, live television. It's a selfie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BALDWIN: Hey, what's up, bro? Whatever.

BRADLEY: It's the '90s meets 2019 right there, basically. BALDWIN: No, let's be honest. Were there times where you couldn't

find the VHS tape that your mom was looking for?

BRADLEY: Yes. Yes, absolutely. Yes. You know, couldn't find it, mom.

BALDWIN: It didn't quite make it back to the video store, and mom is up getting, whatever, the $20 fine. I mean, I've --

BRADLEY: I know.

BALDWIN: Mom, sorry, that might have happened. But we're really thrilled. Thank you very much, Bradley, you are the best.

BRADLEY: Thanks.

BALDWIN: And such a wonderful movie fan. We're here today for a couple more hours because we're really excited here at CNN. We have the CNN original series called "THE MOVIES" that premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. Again, if you are still hanging out in New York City for the Fourth of July weekend, I would love to see you. Come down to the CNN video store where we have popcorn, candy, VHS tapes, and yours truly.

Ana, back to you.

CABRERA: And when I think about the '90s, Brooke, I think about "Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King" and "Aladdin" and all those awesome Disney movies --

BALDWIN: So good. So good.

CABRERA: -- that I loved on one hand.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CABRERA: And then the movies like "Scream" on the other hand. Some of my favorites from the '90s. Brooke Baldwin, we'll check back with you, my friend --

BALDWIN: Love it, love it.

CABRERA: -- in a little bit. Make sure you tune in tonight to the CNN original series, "THE MOVIES." It premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. only on CNN. We'll be right back.

[18:54:54] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Finally this hour, a story from Ohio showing it's never too late for love. Newlywed centenarians John and Phyllis Cook just got married, and they are celebrating their new lives together as husband and wife.

John is a World War II veteran who recently turned 100 years old. His bride, Phyllis, an older woman. She will celebrate her 103rd birthday in just a few weeks. The newlyweds describe how their love blossomed in the hallways of their shared assisted living center outside Toledo, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHYLLIS COOK, 102-YEAR-OLD NEWLYWED: To tell you the truth, we fell in love with each other. And I know you think that may be a little bit farfetched for somebody our age, but we fell in love with each other.

JOHN COOK, 100-YEAR-OLD NEWLYWED: Well, we just were compatible in a lot of ways and found ourselves, you know, enjoying each other's company.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Don't you just love this couple? And listen to this, getting married was not a rash decision for these Ohio lovebirds. They had been dating for about a year before they tied the knot. Phyllis does point out they're each keeping their separate apartments. She's upstairs and he's just downstairs. Congrats to the newlyweds.

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

[18:59:52] They took on the world and won. But even as they celebrate a record fourth title at the World Cup, the members of the U.S. women's national soccer team are still fighting battles back at home.