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U.S. World Cup Win Proves Female Players Deserve Equal Pay, Team Says; Harris Reacts To Biden's Apology On His Past Comments; Sources: Billionaire Accused OF Sex Trafficking Minors; Three People Gored On First Day Of Annual Event; Trump White House; Koreas Tensions; A Dangerous Precedent; Concerns on Repatriation; Myanmar Violence; Rohingya Crisis Plan. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 8, 2019 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Be careful. That's President Trump's warning to Iran after the country announced it's boosting its uranium enrichment. The conservatives regain power in Greece as voters elect a new prime minister in a snap election. Plus, there it is. Team USA wins the 2019 women's World Cup, but they're still fighting another battle for equal pay.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I am Paula Newton. This is CNN Newsroom. Well, the U.S. and Iran are locked in another round of threats. This, after Tehran announced Sunday it will keep enriching uranium, blowing through those limits set in that nuclear deal of 2015. Now, it says it could breach even more of the agreement in the next two months.

The move looks aimed to be getting Europe. In fact, those European countries to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions, now the standoff started after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from that nuclear deal. He had this warning on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran better be careful. Because you enrich for one reason, and I won't tell you what that reason is, but it's no good. They better be careful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is tracking this story. For more now, he joins me now live from Moscow. Of course, you spent a significant amount of time in Iran. Fred, I have to ask you. The Iranians had indicated that they would do something like this. But how significant is this move?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, I think it is quite significant, Paula, because one of the things that the Iranians had announced before is that they were going to breach the limits of the amount of low enriched uranium that they would stockpile. Now, they say they've already done that. Those are the 300 kilograms they're allowed to stockpile. But what

they're essentially doing now is they're changing the quality of the low enriched uranium that they are producing. They're saying that from 3.67 percent of enrichment in that uranium, they're now going to breach that level and go higher.

Now, they're not exactly sure at this point to what extent they're going to do that. There's a lot of talk about it being around five percent of enrichment that they're going to conduct. So certainly, that is a significant step and that they are changing the quality of the kind of uranium that they're putting out.

Now, of course, this is still well below the levels that it would take to build a nuclear bomb. This is still something that is by far only valuable for civilian nuclear production. So the Iranians are saying, essentially, while they've breached the terms of the deal, they say that they still are remaining inside the deal, and they say that it's well within their rights to do this.

Because they say if the other parties that are still parts of the nuclear agreement, specifically the European nations, Paula. They're saying they're not abiding by the deal. And so the Iranians are saying as long as that's not happening, they're going to continue to breach certain norms of the deal as they see fit to try and get the Europeans to go back into compliance with the deal.

Very interesting because the Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, he tweeted yesterday about all this. He said look, the Iranians are going to keep upping the ante on this, but they also say that all of this is irreversible at any point if the Europeans start helping Iran to get around some of those U.S. sanctions, and specifically for the Iranians to be able to export more of their oil, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, you know, it's interesting. Because they obviously believe that this will in some way, shape, or form be effective. And yet, I know we keep talking about the deal and the violations to this deal. But I want to lean on -- you hear especially as you've just been speaking to those in the Iranian leadership.

How likely do you think it is that we will see other regional provocations here, like the ones that got so much of the world's attention in the last few weeks?

PLEITGEN: Well, I think it's something that could happen. I mean the Iranians, for their part, say that they obviously believe that the fact that the U.S. left the nuclear agreement that there are these strong sanctions on them, and also that the U.S. has beefed up its military in the Persian Gulf region is a provocation against them.

But I think one of the things that we always have to factor into all of this, I mean we've been seeing a lot of the instability that's occurring in the Persian Gulf region over the past couple of weeks, over the past couple of months, is that the fundamental issue between the U.S. and Iran is not out of the way. It's still there.

And it's something that is going to continue to linger. And that's the fact that the U.S. has left the nuclear agreement, that the U.S. has put these massive sanctions on the Iranians, and that right now, there are no talks on the horizon between these two nations. As long as that's the case, there certainly does stand to be more provocation and more instability in the Persian Gulf region.

[02:04:47] Because, quite frankly, the Iranians are saying they're just not going to stand by and allow that to happen. So whether or not there's going to be a larger conflict is something that is obviously very much up in the air. The threat is there. Both sides say that's not something that they want to happen. But certainly, if you look at -- especially the region around the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, where you have the U.S. military and the Iranian military in extremely close proximity.

I mean, anybody who has ever gone through there, you can literally see both forces when you go to the Persian Gulf and specifically to the Strait of Hormuz. Then, of course, that threat is always there, especially with the fact that right now you have the Trump administration continuing its hard line. And obviously, Iranians are saying that they're not going to standby and just allow that to happen, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, which is one of the reasons that European leaders, especially President Macron, are trying to do what they can to see if they can restart some kind of negotiation. Our Frederik Pleitgen continues to follow the story for us. Appreciate it. Now, we want to continue to dive deeper into this story. We're joined in London by Sanam Vakil. She's a senior research fellow at the Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Program.

Thank you so much for joining us. We were just getting that wrap up from Fred in terms of what this means. Again, it seems very much to me that what they want is action from Europe at this point. That's what Iran wants. And by extension, they believe this could also influence the U.S. Why? Why do they believe that this move in particular might actually work?

SANAM VAKIL, CHATHAM HOUSE SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW: Well, the Iranians see that any sort of breach in the JCPOA as the best vehicle for mobilizing European leaders who want to preserve the deal, who believe that the deal is of value after over a decade of negotiations. And so by pressing in this area, they know that they're going to get a response.

And exactly, this is what has happened with President Macron offering a diplomatic card to try and balance between Washington's pressure and Tehran's pressure.

NEWTON: And strategically, you'd have to look at the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, in saying look, he's playing the hand. He's playing as if he has a strong hand. It's a hand he quite simply does not have. Because at the end, he cannot predict how the United States will react to this. I mean, at this point in terms of them escalating these issues every 60 days, do you believe that that will have further effect and we'll continue to see those escalations? VAKIL: Well, the escalation is calibrated, because they're very

concerned that in this sort of phase of unpredictable reactions, not just from the U.S. but also from the Europeans. They don't want to see snapback sanctions coming back. They don't necessarily want to see Europe and Washington coordinating and working together against Iran.

So they're trying to be quite measured in upping the ante. But it is a bit of a dangerous game going forward, because they've also backed themselves into a corner with these 60-day deadlines. But at the same time, they don't have any other alternative, because they're not getting sanctions relief. They know that the United States is not backing down, even though President Trump wants to come to the negotiating table.

And this is the best pathway, from Iran's perspective, to get back to the negotiating table, through pressure and more pressure and more pressure.

NEWTON: You know, help us step back a little bit here, though. I mean, it's always the issue of how you contain Iran, and some might argue deal or no deal. Given that the deal was in place for more than three years, that its mission accomplished on Iran, because they have been contained. You might take the opposite argument of that right now.

VAKIL: Well, the deal was working. And it did address the nuclear issues. So, of course, the president has created a crisis where there wasn't one, but there were other areas that were not included in the deal that specifically focusing on regional tensions and Iran's support of non-state actors beyond its borders. That is ultimately the driver of regional tensions and tensions with the United States.

Because it's Saudi Arabia, Israel, United Arab Emirates, that have been pressuring the Trump administration to do something about Iran's behavior in the region.

NEWTON: Yeah.

VAKIL: So ultimately, we need a bigger deal that addresses regional tensions.

NEWTON: Yeah. But a bigger deal that I bet you're going to tell me is going to be much harder to get, no matter what the Europeans try to bring to the table.

VAKIL: Absolutely. This is a -- the deal of the century is this deal, because it would require not just European engagement but American engagement, and the buy-in from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, who thus far have been very obstructionist in any sort of engagement with Iran.

NEWTON: Yeah, and an Iranian leadership that already feels as if they really got the short end of this deal and that they weren't, you know, putting up with whatever the conditions were. I have to ask you, and as I asked Fred. As the world looks on here, do you think there is a risk, though, for a lot of those regional tensions to blow up at the moment, for lack of a better term?

[02:10:00] And many people point to, at best, we could be looking at a spike in oil prices. But obviously, at worst, we'd be looking at violence in the region again.

VAKIL: I think there is a risk. And that's why it's such a dangerous moment, because both sides are backed into a corner. And so anything can emerge. We have seen moderate responses from President Trump. We have seen the Iranian leadership repeatedly say that they're not going to be direct and want military engagement in any meaningful way.

But it's all of the other actors in the region that are also involved, including non-state actors that can be invoked and provoked. And so this is why diplomacy and European-led diplomacy is so important right now. The onus is on Europe to try and bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran.

NEWTON: Yeah. They might be reluctant brokers there. But nonetheless, they seem to be coming to the table there. And we'll, of course, wait to see the developments in the coming days and weeks. Thanks so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.

VAKIL: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, U.S. President Donald Trump says he's not going to bother talking about the British ambassador to the U.S., who had some -- we'll just call them less than flattering things to say about the president. Now, in a series of leaked memos back to London, the ambassador wrote -- remember, these were supposed to be confidential.

President Donald Trump radiates insecurity, and his administration is "dysfunctional, clumsy, and inept." Kim Darroch also wrote that to deal with President Trump effectively, points need to be simple, even blunt. President Trump spoke briefly about the ambassador Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The ambassador has not served the U.K. well. I can tell you that. We're not big fans of that man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And then turning to the U.S. border crisis, in the meantime, where hundreds of migrants are still being held in those detention centers. Now, reports from inside those centers paint an absolutely gloomy picture. A congressman who visited a center in El Paso snuck a camera in. You'll see the video right there, trying to show the overcrowding.

Now, some migrants say they went days, even weeks without showers. And in the meantime, the New York Times reports outbreaks of scabies and chickenpox in some centers, children crying constantly. And apparently, there is an unbearable stench from dirty clothing. Now, through all of this, President Trump, though, is dismissing those reports as fake. He told reporters he plans to open some of the centers to the media to

try and disprove those accounts that describe unsanitary conditions. Boris Sanchez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: on Sunday, President Trump dismissed reporting in the New York Times that indicates that conditions at migrant detention facilities, including ones which house minors, are simply horrific. The New York Times detailing that disease, hunger, and simply unsanitary conditions are rampant in these facilities.

The president calling that story a hoax, suggesting that the New York Times is working hand-in-hand with Democrats to try to plant stories that will embarrass him. Instead, the president says he believes that migrants at these facilities are happy, because conditions there are better than in their home countries. Listen to more of what the president said.

TRUMP: And 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're in much better shape right now.

SANCHEZ: President Trump was also asked if he would visit one of these migrant detention families. He did not answer the question directly, but instead suggested that he would have the press visit one of the facilities to document conditions for themselves, and to try to disprove this reporting in the New York Times. Boris Sanchez, CNN, traveling with the president in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Joining us now from London is Leslie Vinjamuri. She is the head of the U.S. and America's program at Chatham House. You know, obviously this is a -- this is an issue that will continue to resonate beyond the borders of the United States. I mean, do you think that Trump is trying to read his electorate, his base right here? At the same time, he keeps saying that, look, many Americans agree with him.

And yet, polls show that Americans do not want to see people mistreated on their borders, you know, as they try and get into the United States. At the same time, they are saying they don't want open borders. It's difficult to see what kind of a line the president is trying to tread here.

LESLIE VINJAMURI, CHATHAM HOUSE U.S. AND THE AMERICANS PROGRAMME: Yeah. And I mean, clearly from outside of the United States this looks horrific. And it's almost impossible to believe, that in the United States of America, children are being treated in this way. So -- but to try and understand, you know Trump's motivation, as we know, immigration, border security, hard borders. [02:14:58] And really riling up his base around the fear of what

could happen if people continue to cross over that border has been absolutely key to him. And then he's clearly very reluctant to let go of this line. But as we've seen, Americans are not happy. If you think about his evangelical base, this is a set of practices that's tremendously difficult for them to support.

The idea that families are being separated, that children are not being given sleeping conditions that are reasonable, that they just simply aren't being treated in a humane fashion, so it's politically a very difficult line for this president to tread, given his motivation.

NEWTON: And yet, I am interested to hear from you on how you think this will play out going into the 2020 campaign. Again, this is about more than politics, especially for those communities that live along the borders. As you said, many Americans -- most American do not want to see people treated this way. And yet, even the Democrats seem to be having trouble with this issue, where exactly they're going to fall when it comes to that campaign for 2020.

VINJAMURI: That's right. And so I think for the Democrats, you know, they needed to get money appropriated so that there is more resource for shoring up the facilities along the border, but at the same time speaking out against the family separation and the really inhumane circumstances surrounding this. And I think as we see more advocacies, more mobilization that pressure is going to get much tighter on the president.

So as you say, it's balancing that line between border security and what is now, you know, a very serious issue at the border, but adhering to a line that most Americans simply expect in terms of treatment. But I think this is going to continue to play out for a very long time. It's obviously creating internal division within the Democratic Party.

Some of those who want much clearer restraints put on the president and on the agencies that are handling populations at the border. But I think that if something doesn't change, I think that the president will come under a lot of pressure to walk back some of these practices.

NEWTON: Yeah. It will be an interesting debate to follow over the weeks, especially as it gets complicated, as you said by Congress having to obviously fund any of those extra resources that are needed along that border. So I can't let you go without discussing the British ambassador to the United States and his quite, let's say, entertaining commentary.

Could you help lift the veil on this mystery, though? Because I tell you what, I can't be the only person who looked at this and thought, yeah, it's entertaining at all, at least the portions we saw. But there was nothing substantive there. I was actually hoping to get something of more substance. Why do you think this was leaked in the end?

VINJAMURI: Well, first of all, I think it was substantive. This is a very highly and well-regarded ambassador with a distinguished record of experience in one of the most important diplomatic posts in the world, and certainly for the British foreign office, sending a very clear message back to London about the state of affairs in the United States, which is, of course, the most important ally for the United Kingdom.

So I think this was a very serious issue, and one that would, in any normal circumstance, be treated as highly classified information. So this is clearly going to the heart of some sort of internal dissent within the civil service, within the administration in the U.K. And I think the speculation and, of course, at this point it is purely speculation.

There was an investigation ongoing, but the speculation is that this has a lot to do with who will be the next ambassador to Washington should Boris Johnson be made leader of the country and people vying for that position, and to discredit not only the current ambassador but some of the leading candidates for that role.

NEWTON: Yeah. It is important to put all that into context. I guess I was just hoping for more security or military secrets having been spilled there. But I take your point that it was an extraordinary leak that happened there. Leslie, thanks so much, really appreciate you joining us.

VINJAMURI: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, Greek voters have spoken, and a new prime minister will take office in just a few hours from now. But will it bring the kind of change that Greeks really say they need? Plus, World Cup triumph. The U.S. women's team makes history again, as the drumbeat grows even louder for equal pay.

[02:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Hong Kong protest organizers say some 230,000 people marched in the city's main tourist district Sunday. Now, they focused on an area popular with mainland Chinese visitors. They were chanting slogans in mandarin so the tourists would understand them. Now, they're continuing to protest that highly contested Extradition Bill. Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, suspended the legislation. But nonetheless, protesters are calling for her resignation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I definitely do think that protests will continue as long as the government is still -- keep ignoring us and the people will just keep coming out until they can face and just confront our voice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, I want a fair election. Yeah, and that's very important to the Hong Kong people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, police say the protests were mostly orderly, but six people were arrested. Greece's brand new prime minister will be sworn into office just a few hours from now. Kyriakos Mitsotakis of the center-right New Democracy Party swept to victory in Sunday's snap election. Now, he overtook sitting prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, whose tenure in office has, of course, been rocky as you can imagine.

Tsipras conceded defeat while Mitsotakis vowed to ensure Greece would be heard by Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER-ELECT: I want a strong Greece with self-confidence that will claim in Europe what it deserves, not be a beggar or a poor relative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:24:54] NEWTON: Claim in Europe what it deserves. Journalist Elinda Labropoulou is in Athens, and of course, has been following all of this. Try and give us an idea about the sentiment behind this vote, because Greeks really spoke loud and clear that they wanted a change here.

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: It seems like a much more mature vote this time around, Paula. These are the first elections since Greece exited from its last bailout program. And it feels more like a move from populism, if you like, in big words, big promises that the previous government did not succeed in keeping to a government that is being much more pragmatic.

It's all about reforms and how these reforms will bring change for Greece. It's a government that promises a much more friendly for businesses environment. It promises that it will go ahead with a number of the reforms that Greece has had to do for a number of years, as part of its bailout programs, in order to reignite the economy. The new Prime Minister, Mr. Mitsotakis, has said that what he's going to do then is ask for a new deal from the Europeans.

So basically, he's going to go with his progress report and say, well, this is what we've achieved so far. Please give us some fiscal space so we can go ahead and reignite the economy. And this feels, to most Greeks, like a much more solid plan than the full-on confrontation that the previous government, the radical coalition of the government of the radical left party had promised in the last election.

And this is the main reason why they backed him. Another very obvious thing that we've seen in this election is Greece's desire to move away from extremism. A lot of the extremist parties have now been sort of sidelined. They're no longer going to be part of the new parliament. So it feels like a much healthier parliament that we're going to see, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, perhaps not as dysfunctional as it had been. You know, with everything you just said, expectations are sky high. I am struck by the fact that many people say there will be a lost generation in Greece. You know, young people especially having such a hard time finding work. I understand what you're saying about the reforms. But obviously, this is still going to take a lot of time, because the Greek economy still remains incredibly fragile.

LABROPOULOU: You're absolutely right. The Greek economy remains very weak. Its annual growth at the moment is about two percent. It's forecast to be around two percent again for the next two to three years. But what is important and what Greeks abroad have been saying as well is that they'll be following the economy. A lot of people have left during the crisis years. A lot of them want to come back.

And what they're saying is that if the conditions are right, if they see that Greece is able to take them back and give them the kind of life that they want, that they will want to come back. So a lost generation, but maybe there is still time to retrieve that.

NEWTON: Well, certainly many young people hope so. And it will be interesting to see now that we have new leadership in Europe as well exactly how Europe greets this new government. Elinda, thanks so much for following the story for us. Appreciate it. Now, still to come here, team USA claims a record, record fourth women's World Cup title, but will it be enough to bridge that gender gap? We'll examine the women's fight for equal pay. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:42] PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton. We want to update you now on our top stories this hour. U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran better be careful. Now that warning comes after Tehran announced Sunday it's enriching uranium on past levels allowed by that 2015 nuclear deal. Now, it says it will scale back even more of its commitment after 60 days.

That's if other signatories don't find a way to protect Iran from U.S. sanctions. Greece has a new prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis of the center-right New Democracy party will sworn in to office in just a few hears. He easily beat sitting Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. In his victory speech, Mitsotakis promised to make sure Greece's voice will be heard in Europe.

Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaido says he will meet with members of the Maduro government Monday. His aim he says, to "establish an end to dictatorship." Now, the government confirms that officials will take part in these negotiations in Barbados.

OK. The U.S. Women's Soccer Team has made history again. They are now World Cup Champions for the fourth time. They beat the Netherlands two-nil on Sunday to extend their record for most World Cup titles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) two-nil U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: For the win, with a celebration, our Amanda Davies has more on team United States' victory from Lyon, France. AMANDA DAVIES, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Don't let the quiet calm here by the stadium fool you. Just a few hours ago, this was the scene of celebrations worthy of history-making World Cup final. The near 60,000-capacity stadium had witnessed the USA become the second team in history to defend their crown after defeating the Netherlands 2-nil. The fans have now made their way back into the center of the city, the dubs itself, the home of women's football.

As the USA's goal-scoring captain Megan Rapinoe calls it, sunglass this season is well underway. The party is getting started. And you've got to say it's a very well-deserved party after what was an impressive performance even if they did have to dig deeper than maybe previous games. And more so than people had predicted the Dutch side playing in just their second World Cup.

But at this point, they won't mind how they got there. What an achievement particularly off the back of that early exit at the Olympics just three years ago when serious questions were being asked. And in this, the year being talked about as the best standard of the women's game in history. The U.S. women have now on the World Cup four times in eight additions of this tournament.

They are deservedly the team that the rest use as their benchmark. And it could have been written in the stars. Megan Rapinoe who's written so many of the headlines of the page over the last few weeks in terms of her comments over the equal pay battle. Have verbal sparring with Donald Trump, that she would be the one to so calmly step up and score the penalty that broke the deadlock.

[02:35:04] Rose Lavelle did follow up with the second but Rapinoe said afterward, aside, we're just doing what they had to do both on and off the pitch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN RAPINOE, TEAM CAPTAIN, U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM: We've done exactly what we want to do. We say what we feel. All of us really, I know that my, you know, voice sometimes is louder but, you know, in new ones and in conversations and everybody is in this together. We are such a proud and strong and defiant group of women. I don't think we have really anything to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: This tournament builds as the biggest and best women's World Cup yet. It has undoubtedly been a springboard for the women's game. For the last 20 years, it's been the U.S. winning side of 1999 hailed as the role models for the next generation. Now, the team of 2019 has stepped up to raise the bar once again. Amanda Davies, CNN Lyon, France.

NEWTON: As we heard Amanda saying there, that World Cup victory comes as the women's team is suing the U.S. Soccer Federation for gender discrimination. They say they deserve to be paid as much as the men who have yet to win a single World Cup. Now, Nike is one of the many groups backing the women's fight for equal pay. The company released a very powerful ad just moments after Sunday's historic victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe that we will make our voices heard, and .V. shows will be talking about us every single day and not just once every four years. And that women will conquer more than just the soccer field by breaking every single glass ceiling and having their faces carved on Mount Rushmore, and that we'll be fighting not just to make history, but to change it forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Yes. Not just to make history but to change it. Keir Radnedge with World Soccer magazine joins me now from London. Look, let's keep it on the pitch for a moment before we go what happened off the pitch. What did you think? I mean, the accomplishments on the pitch, masterful and was it just my imagination? It was it incredibly exciting to watch.

KEIR RADNEDGE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, DIRECTOR WORLD SOCCER MAGAZINE (via Skype): Yes. It was -- it was very impressive to watch because they -- yes, the athleticism, the will, the commitment, the dynamism, the great team spirit that comes over from watching the performance of the USA Team really is outstanding. And the amazing thing is that they really do seem up (INAUDIBLE) and, you know, the team sport. That is very, very difficult to accomplish.

NEWTON: Yes. As many premier teams will tell you, a very difficult accomplishment. What sets this squad apart as far as your concern?

RADNEDGE: I think they obviously have a combined will, I think they have great pride in what the women who come before them have achieved but they want to improve all the time. You know, when you're on top of the world, one thing is winning big time but another thing indeed is carrying on within them being successful and successful and successful. It's very rare in any discipline of sport. And I think, you know, what the USA Team accomplished really was, you know, a major sporting landmark.

NEWTON: Yes. And it will be interesting to see how all of that plays out. I mean, let's talk about what happened off the pitch. You know, According to the New York Times, they're reporting that look, each one of those incredibly accomplished players will make about $250,000 for winning this title. If it was a man, it would be more than a million. Look, Billie Jean King who, you know, is a legend in terms of trying to fight for equal rights on the court and off.

She tweeted, in fact, that this team showed so much support and so much attention, so much pride, perhaps more than any team in history and she ends it with saying, it's a long past time to pay them what they rightly deserve. Keir, what's stopping this from happening right now?

RADNEDGE: Well, I think there are two issues. One, there is a specific issue to the fact the USA Women's team and their own challenge for equal pay with the male U.S. team. I mean, it's the -- Amanda said in her report, to women's team is just far in a way more successful than the men's team. And on that basis, you think they've got a great platform for their case. The other issue is the wider one of what sort of prize money, FIFA, the world governing body pays into the prize fund for the women's World Cup.

It's going to double that price fund from $30 million to $65 million next time around. That obviously still isn't enough. The issue here is that prize money always gets based on the perspective following power that comes in from the finances provided by broadcasters and sponsors and so on.

[02:40:09] So, again, that's another issue. There's more, more money coming into the game but it's going to be a long time before there is a full parity in terms of revenue and payout.

NEWTON: And Keir, tell me what goes on behind the scenes there though? Because it would seem that after this win, no one could deny them and yet many people will?

RADNEDGE: Yes, they will. I mean, pray that the women's game has been fighting a long, long catch-up battle. There is a huge amount of chauvinism out in sports and sports administration generally, you know, without the societal issues. But, the USA team are leaving a great find.

NEWTON: Yes. And as we see there, the team taking their rightful place there. Before I let you go, there's always this discussion. So many people participate in soccer or football in the United States. Do you think this will be a watershed moment for the sport in the United States and beyond that women's win?

RADNEDGE: That's a very interesting question. I think not necessarily watershed moment but I think it is a moment which will be pivotal probably in increasing pride, interest and the greatest that any sport needs is engagements and involvement in grassroots levels. And this World Cup is bound to announce that.

NEWTON: Yes. Incredible. But an incredible level of play we have to say as well to not take anything away from them on that pitch. Keir, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

RADNEDGE: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, infighting among U.S. Democrats are showing no sign of slowing. You'll hear why Kamala Harris isn't buying former Vice President Joe Biden's apology for some controversial statements.

[02:45:07] Former U.S. vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is apologizing for some of the things he said about working with segregationist senators in the past. But another presidential hopeful isn't quite sold on his turnaround. Kyung Lah has a story.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator Harris spending her time in South Carolina. Holding town halls, meeting with people in churches, and what she's been doing is talking about her agenda. She's talking about why she wants the votes of South Carolina Democrats.

What she has not been talking about on the stage but she has been discussing with reporters is Vice President Biden's -- the former vice president's apology. And that apology being that he was sorry if any of his words about working with segregationist senators were viewed as being hurtful.

You may recall that Senator Harris first brought this up on the national debate stage, calling those words hurtful to a national audience. It was a breakout debate moment. Here is what Harris told reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, he says he's sorry. I'm going to take him at his word. But again, that doesn't address the issue of bussing in America. And the fact that he still -- you know, we have to -- we cannot rewrite history about what segregationists were doing at that time on a number of issues, including opposing busing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: It took three weeks for the former vice president to apologize when what does she think about that time gap. And she basically said that this was her answer for now and that she said again, that you simply cannot rewrite history.

NEWTON: That was Kyung Lah reporting. And now, we go to New York where CNN sources say billionaire Jeffrey Epstein has been indicted on new charges related to alleged sex crimes involving dozens of minors.

Now, according to The Daily Beast, prosecutors allege that Epstein sexually exploited underage girls in a scheme that involved paying them cash for "massages" and then, molesting or sexually abusing them.

Now, back in 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges and he did serve 13 months in prison. He avoided a possible federal life sentence after securing a deal with federal prosecutors in Miami. One of the prosecutors was President Trump's now Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.

He has denied any wrongdoing. Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie Brown has been following this story very closely and spoke to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE BROWN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, MIAMI HERALD: What I tried to do since the story ran and got all that attention was to keep hounding away at the story, you know. I didn't give up on it, and you know, it's -- sometimes easy to walk away and just let things happen. But I just can felt that I had to keep pursuing it and not let the powers that be, so to speak, the law enforcement people, the people in government forget that these women were out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Epstein is scheduled to appear in court in the coming hours.

Now, the earthquake danger may not be over as aftershocks continue to rattle a small California community. That's next on NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:52:14] NEWTON: Damage assessment is ongoing in Southern California after two big earthquake shook things up over the July 4th holiday. Now, cracks are visible in the earth and on roadways. And I want you to take a look at this. Recorded by a home security camera as the second earthquake struck on July 5th. Look at that shaking, it was, in fact, the powerful magnitude 7.1 strong enough, of course, to move those cars you're looking at right there.

CNN's Alexandra Field is in Ridgecrest, California with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aftershocks are already numbering in the thousands, many of them being felt right here in Ridgecrest, California, a city of some 28,000 people. This is the community closest to the epicenter of a July 4th quake that came in at a magnitude of 6.4, followed stunningly just a day later by a 7.1 tremor, the most powerful quake the state had seen in some two decades.

Officials surveying the damage are now saying it could have been far worse given the magnitude of these quakes. You can see just how powerful they were when you check out this drone video of the fault ruptures.

California's governor came to Ridgecrest to meet with people. He says that this quake underscores the state's commitment to implementing statewide an early warning system. Also, in Los Angeles County over the weekend, officials there yet again reminding people about the constant threat of earthquakes in this state.

Seismologists Lucy Jones, saying people in Southern California should expect to see a magnitude six or greater earthquake every couple of years. In Ridgecrest, Alexandra Field, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera, joins us now. You know, obviously, people in California still wondering what happened and wondering what's next. Right?

IVAN CABRERA, CNN INTERNATIONAL WEATHER ANCHOR: Yes, I was looking at the numbers, Paula, gets to see you over 6,000 aftershocks already. Those in itself in themselves or earthquakes, right, there's just a lower intensity. But, they're going to continue for a weeks at a time. And hopefully, as you mentioned, that we won't get anything above six. What I want to talk about today though, sketch it back into some meteorology here, right? Oh, my goodness, the tropical system perhaps developing -- yes, this is going to be something we are going to be watching closely the next few days. This is the way tropical cyclones tend to develop during this time of year.

One of the ways, anyway they get stuck along these frontal boundaries. And once that low touches the Gulf to be get energized and we could have something brewing here by late weekend into early next week back. The National Hurricane Center has now up this to 60 percent probability that this will develop into a tropical cyclone. That's just the generic name it would be a tropical storm, don't think anything stronger.

But there is one of our models, a European, and you see it try to get something going there as the big spin gets going now again. They just warning you here this is a very early forecast and this may not come to pass but there is the potential now at 60 percent for something along the Gulf Coast.

So, certainly, keep checking back with us and I will keep you posted. What I do know for certain that will happen is we're going to get a lot of heavy rain as a result of that low. With the next few days perhaps, three to five inches of rainfall here.

So, we're going to watch that as well for the flooding, but potential July tropical tracts exactly where we see them here and this is the way they kind of set up this time of year. They can develop in the western Atlantic, Paula, also, in the Gulf of Mexico, and then, along those boundaries, which is the way this could possibly develop as well.

So, keep checking back with us, we will keep you posted on the potential Tropical Storm Barry, heading into next weekend, that's the next name on the list.

[02:55:36] NEWTON: Yes, dramatic amounts of rain, unfortunately, could be in the forecast.

CABRERA: Yes.

NEWTON: Appreciate you, Ivan. See you soon.

CABRERA: Yes, you bet.

NEWTON: Now, at least, three people were gored in the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The three others were injured Sunday in the first of eight bull runs. This video was always incredible every year.

It's a traditional that -- that's part of the San Fermin festival drawing daredevils in all over the world. Two of those gored are American, the third is Spanish.

And I want to thank you for joining us. I'm Paula Newton, and I will be right back with another hour of news coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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