Return to Transcripts main page

WORLD RIGHT NOW WITH HALA GORANI

Protests in Greece as Parliament Contemplates the Debt Agreement; Pluto Exploration Underway; Latest on Escaped Mexican Drug Lord; President Obama Comments Obliquely about Cosby Case

Aired July 15, 2015 - 15:00:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:00:11] HALA GORANI, HOST: Tonight, anger outside the Greek Parliament as law makers prepare to vote on the bailout offer that will determine the

indebted country's future. We'll bring you the latest from Athens.

And human kind horizons have been expanded to the outer reaches of the solar system. The latest groundbreaking images from Pluto.

And later, celebrations in Iran, skepticism elsewhere. Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United Nations gives me his expectations for the new Iran

deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well there were some tense scenes outside the Greek parliament a little bit earlier. Anger is flaring because law makers are preparing to

vote on whether to approve those unpopular reforms needed for the country's third bailout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: There were anti-austerity protestors throwing Molotov cocktails, you see them there. Reuters is reporting that police responded with tear

gas. This all played out just moments ago. It's a bit quieter now. People are still gathered but it's relatively more peaceful.

Meanwhile inside the parliament Greek law makers are debating some of the proposals put forward in the bailout deal which creditors demanded had to

be forced through by midnight Wednesday that is just a few hours away.

Isa Soares is in Athens and she joins me now with the very latest.

I don't know if your vantage point allows you to see what's going on outside of parliament right now but what is the situation? We saw some

pretty tense scenes just minutes ago.

ISA SOARES: CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I've got a very clear view Hala, and you were saying that Reuters about - talking about the Molotov

cocktails, tear gas, we saw it here, we were filming, we were right here. It got very, very heated, very, very quickly.

I can tell you from what I'm looking at now about 200 or so people in front of parliament. We're seeing riot police. I've just seen seven riot police

officers just walk past me as well from what I'm looking at.

We earlier Hala, we saw public sector workers who were striking; they've been striking for 24 hours. They were very, you know, they were loud but

they were very calm in their approach. They walked right past parliament. And then all of a sudden it got very, very heated with people basically

saying you know too much austerity, you depend on us, why should we take - should we take all this austerity. And this hadn't even - the parliament

hadn't even started debating Hala, the actual measures. It started in the last 45 minutes or so. So you just get - it paints a picture of how tense

it is and how frustrated and angry people are here in Athens with the way that this bailout has actually been offered to them.

GORANI: There's a deadline just about a couple of hours away I believe. The parliament has to vote through those unpopular measures reforming

pensions, increasing VAT. What is the expectation there and it has until midnight Greek time? What is the expectation with the vote here and which

way it will go?

SOARES: Well, in terms of timing it might go way beyond 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock, so that deadline is probably a moveable one to be completely

honest with you.

In terms of the way the vote will go we're hearing that probably (Alexis Tsipras) may lose between 30 to 40 members of his own (inaudible), those

have been the (inaudible) voices all along. They have grown of course in the last couple of days. But we're hearing 40. He will have the support

of opposition parties. We have spoken to New Democracy (Pasok) and many other opposition parties; they've all said they will stand by Alexis

Tsipras. Nevertheless it will be hard to you know for Alexis Tsipras because he wants to keep his party together, his coalition party together,

and he doesn't want to broaden the coalition with any other party.

We heard from (inaudible), the new Finance Minister who as you know took over from Prime Minister Yanis Varoufakis, and who said that Monday was the

worst day of his life, Hala.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Isa Soares. We just saw a glimpse of Pluto there but just to show you what the situation is in Athens right now

it is a bit quieter from the images you've been seeing on your screen there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: But we'll continue to monitor Athens, the latest there, some anger on the streets as we heard there from Isa Soares. Riot police as well

brought and certainly Molotov cocktails thrown in the last several hours.

Let's move on to news from outer space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: At this hour we are waiting to see never before seen images taken from the farthest reaches of our solar system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:04] GORANI: They will show Pluto, the dwarf planet in all its icy glory. Now the teaser was released on Tuesday. NASA - the NASA probe

called New Horizons travelled for nine years and 4.8 billion kilometers to capture it. Scientists say the successful flyby of Pluto is just as

significant as humankind's first step on the moon.

(CHEERING)

GORANI: There were cheers from scientists when the probe complete its first ever mission to Pluto. Now why is this significant? This is the

first time in human history that we will see pictures as clear as this of Pluto.

The mission makes the U.S. the first country to send a space probe to every single planet in our solar system.

For more on this milestone I'm joined now by two guests. With me here in London is Tom Kerss, he's an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: In Houston I'm joined live via Skype by Leroy Chiao, he's a retired NASA astronaut. Thanks to both of you for being with us.

First I'll start with you, here. I mean how significant is this? Explain to our viewers.

TOM KERSS, ASTRONOMER ROYAL OBSERVATORY GREENWICH: I think it's - there are two ways to look at this. It's significant for people like myself as

an astronomer looking somewhat from the outside, I don't work for NASA but I'm a dreamer and I love Pluto and I've been looking at Pluto in my own

telescope since just the point of like, pretty much my whole life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERSS: Astronomers have seen Pluto as a little mark on star chart for 85 years and now finally it's revealed to us. But then there's the scientific

implications of this mission which are absolutely enormous. This is going to teach us an enormous amount about a very unexplored part of our solar

system known as the Kuiper belt.

GORANI: So the implications, the scientific, the research implications are what?

KERSS: Well, as I said this very unexplored part of the solar system is about to be explored in detail for the first time. And Pluto is a

significant object. It's a dwarf planet that inhabits this part of the solar system.

So by studying Pluto we're going to get an idea of what this part of the system is like. Now we already have some idea what it might tell us but

crucially nobody really knows what the outcome is going to be.

GORANI: All right.

KERSS: What we do know is that we're going to learn a lot about the history of Pluto and that's going to teach us more about the history of the

formation of the solar system itself.

GORANI: And Leroy Chiao, you've been in outer space. How exciting is this for you today to see these pictures that NASA has promised us?

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, this is - this is very exciting. You know these photos are stunning, they're breathtaking, I'm

looking forward to seeing the even more close approach photos that are now being released.

But I think the scientific windfall as the other guest was saying is going to be huge. It's going to tell us a lot about how the rest of the solar

system formed. And you know just think about this, you know what you - the statistics that you put out there, 9 years in the making, it's over 3

billion miles travelling at 31,000 miles per hour and getting within 7800 miles of the surface of Pluto. That's really an amazing feat to be able to

hit that target.

GORANI: And Leroy by the way we were showing our viewers, just so our viewers are aware, images of the best shots we had of Pluto up until

yesterday. Now when you see just what NASA released over the last 24 hours, such a clearer image of the surface of this dwarf planet, it's

fascinating.

CHIAO: Absolutely and you know they have this whole different set of sensory's onboard, not only will give visual imagery but also infrared or

temperature imagery, mapping and also the chemical composition determination. And so we're going to learn a whole lot about Pluto which

is going to feed back to learning a lot more about the rest of the planets as well.

GORANI: All right, and Tom, I've got to ask you as well. What a mission. I mean we're talking nine and a half years. If you're a NASA scientist you

have to be a patient person because you start a project and it's - what are we seeing there sorry?

KERSS: This is - this is amazing, this is really drawing my eye, I can see this on the monitor.

GORANI: All right.

KERSS: I've been looking forward to this all day.

GORANI: Oh gosh, go ahead.

KERSS: These images imminently coming in. This is Hydra, Hydra is one of Pluto's very small moons, it was only discovered a decade ago by the Hubble

Space Telescope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KERSS: Nix and Hydra were discovered in 2005. This is incredible we are seeing this in detail. This is only a few miles across this moon, it's not

very big compared with Pluto and its major moon Charon.

GORANI: Is this our first look at it?

KERSS: That's our first look in detail. That has been a point of light until this moment.

GORANI: OK, so this is your first look at it, you've dedicated your whole adult life to this.

KERSS: I need to maintain composure here in the studio because I'm seeing these on the monitor and its very distracting.

GORANI: And Tom, we're going to have a lot more hopefully coming out of NASA as promised.

But let's talk a little bit about this approach of how scientists start a project and perhaps know that they have a decade, sometimes longer, of

tracking the device that could. In fact it is almost a minor miracle that it made it intact to almost within 8,000 miles of Pluto, right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERSS: Right, so we have this machine that's travelling you know 14 kilometers per second now, an extraordinary speed, unimaginable to you and

I. At that speed if it hit something the size of a grain of rice that could spell doom for the spacecraft.

[15:10:12] KERSS: So the whole thing is a huge risk and it's been a risk all the time that it's been up there in space travelling at this space.

But fortunately the scientists involved in the mission have been able to track its course, they've been able to assess the risks as they've gone on,

and they've given it the green light. It seems that it's going to be pretty safe for the future.

GORANI: I was going to say, Leroy Chiao, we're talking here about a probe travelling at 8.5 miles per second. Wait, before we get to you Leroy, here

is a new image coming to us from NASA.

Leroy, are you able to see this?

CHIAO: Unfortunately I can't - I can't see it but you know just based on what I'm hearing it's even better than the photos that were released

yesterday.

GORANI: Yes, Leroy, Tom go ahead. This is methane on Pluto, tell us about it.

KERSS: Yes, so we know Pluto has a large amount of nitrogen, concentrated nitrogen ice on its surface but there is carbon monoxide and methane in

there as well. Understanding how those chemicals are distributed across the surface is going to teach us an awful lot about the climate on Pluto

because it seems that these minerals are moved around by the action of things like snowfall.

Parts of the surface actually evaporate into the atmosphere which is very tenuous and then when Pluto reaches a critical temperature snow falls on

this dwarf planet. It has its own weather system.

GORANI: It's almost absolute - I mean we're almost at the maximum of minus 396 degrees Fahrenheit on this (inaudible).

KERSS: Right, right. We would get minus 233 degrees centigrade, that's about 40 degrees above absolute zero.

GORANI: And Tom and Leroy I just want to tell our viewers that this is an illustration based on data sent back from the probe.

KERSS: That's correct.

GORANI: Leroy you, as we've been mentioning, of course you've been out in space, you've explored as much as a human can explore in outer space; but

when you see how far this probe has gone, I mean it must be nice to be able to be alive as humankind takes this step forward in space exploration?

CHIAO: Oh absolutely, there's no question. You know I got - I had the good fortune to fly four times into space, my missions were on lower orbit

so we were relatively close to the earth, we were travelling only at 17,500 miles an hour instead of 31,000 miles an hour. But to see these images of

something that's so far away, I mean even the moon is only a quarter million miles away. So even to see images of this planet which is 3

billion miles a way it just boggles the mind. And it's a real testament to the dedication of the team. And as you put - as you said that waited nine

and a half years to get these data, and just hats off and congratulations to them.

GORANI: And Tom, I understand according to what NASA's been communicating that this mass that we just showed with the methane distribution is

indicating that the terrain is diverse. Is this something we knew?

KERSS: Well, we suspected that Pluto would have a diverse geology. What we didn't expect perhaps was just how diverse and possibly how recent

active the geology on Pluto is. There is a suggestion here that Pluto has undergone perhaps some recent tectonic activity, climatological activity.

This is really exciting because it tells us that Pluto is actually like a living world in its own right. There are things going on on Pluto and

we're just getting this brief glimpse of them.

GORANI: I like that this is kind of like the Google Earth of Pluto. For the first time we're actually seeing detail on the surface of that dwarf

planet.

KERSS: Oh wow, and now we're seeing its large moon, Charon in detail, or Charon to some people. This is extraordinary.

GORANI: OK, talk to us about this. What are you seeing?

KERSS: This is the first time I've seen it. This is ..

GORANI: On this photo.

KERSS: ... Pluto's significant moon, Charon. It's the large moon, it's only - it's actually almost about half the size of Pluto itself. And this

is an absolutely extraordinary image. Look at how rugged the surface is. This moon is somewhat darker than Pluto, it has a darker overall color. It

also appears to be more heavily battered which indicates the surface is considerably older than the surface that we see on Pluto today.

So Charon may not have a rocky core like Pluto, it may just be water, ice all the way through. Unlike Pluto which probably has a rocky core and a

waterized mantel inside it. But why these two worlds, Pluto and Charon are so different, we don't really understand and it's so exciting to see it

like this. I mean this - this is incredible. This is history in the making.

GORANI: So what was the clearest picture of Charon that we had before this one?

KERSS: Well we had

GORANI: ... was it a dot, was it ...

KERSS: ... a few approach images - we had a few approach images, we could see this dark mark that we're seeing here.

GORANI: OK.

KERSS: But before that, for the most of the history of its - of its discovery since 1978 this has been just a mere point of light.

GORANI: OK, so this is going to tell us what about that part of our solar system?

KERSS: It's going to tell us about the composition, the history and the evolution of that part of the solar system. It's going to tell us about

the history of the evolution of the plutonian system itself.

It's going to teach us an awful lot about what the rest of the Kuiper belt might be like. We know Pluto has cousins out there like (Sedna), Eris,

(Mukai Mukai), (Orcus), (Core), all of these worlds are real, Pluto is probably quite similar to many of them but they're all in lurking a great

distance from us here on earth.

[15:15:01] GORANI: What will it tell us about earth? Will we learn more about our own planet? About the formation of our own solar system?

KERSS: Absolutely.

GORANI: Yes.

KERSS: This will teach us about the formation of the solar system which might teach us about the likelihood of having a planet like earth perhaps

elsewhere in the galaxy.

And I think crucially not to get too sentimental, but it's going to teach us a lot about ourselves because it just - it just etches out a little bit

more of our corner of the galaxy. Pluto is a neighbor to us so we're still just studying our own street here in the solar system. And we're just

figuring out where we are and this is really still part of our home. And I think of Pluto as, you know, part of our home.

GORANI: Leroy Chiao, will this be a historic day do you think?

CHIAO: I'm sorry will this be a what? A historic day?

GORANI: A historic day.

CHIAO: Oh absolutely. Yes absolutely. It's a hugely significant operational achievement as I said earlier just to be able to hit that

target and get as close as we have and get these stunning images. It really is going to inspire new generations of explorers. I mean the images

are just absolutely stunning and the data that are going to come are going to follow, the analysis. I think it's going to really help to inspire the

next generation of space explorers.

GORANI: All right, Leroy Chiao, thanks very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Tom I want to ask you. Were you a kid with a telescope dreaming of a faraway planet?

KERSS: I was.

GORANI: Yes.

KERSS: Absolutely.

(LAUGHING)

KERSS: Far away planets and dwarf planets alike now faraway (inaudible).

GORANI: It was demoted in 2006, right? Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet?

KERSS: Yes. But let's be careful, I don't think it was demoted as such. It was just re-classified. Pluto's a very significant object. Whatever we

label it it's very important but we could never make Pluto a planet again unless we made all of these other worlds planets.

So Pluto, it's at the heart of the debate, I think it is very sentimental because of its history. But ultimately, Pluto is just one of many exciting

worlds beyond the orbit of Neptune and it's just the one that we're so lucky to be able to have these images of today.

GORANI: And we're getting our best pictures yet of it, so we hope to have you stick around for a little bit to discuss other images that NASA is

releasing in Houston today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Thanks very much Tom Kerss. As wall I want to thank Leroy Chiao who is in Houston as well for joining us and we'll continue our

conversation a little bit later.

And still to come tonight. Some of the biggest concerns about the Iran nuclear deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Don't focus on nuclear weapons at all. We'll speak with a UN Ambassador from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia of course a fierce rival of

Tehran. My conversation with the UN Ambassador to Saudi is after the break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: The American President, Barack Obama, is taking critics head on a day after a historic deal on Iran's nuclear program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Now he held a news conference designed to defend and promote and sell the agreement, and he accused critics of using catchy buzz words like

historically bad deal while offering no better alternative.

Mr. Obama says no-one is suggesting the deal revolves - resolves I should say all the threats Iran poses citing what he calls it sponsorship of

terrorism. He says it was meant to solve one bigger problem instead, the risk of nuclear war.

[15:20:13] BARAK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The argument that I've been already hearing, and this was foreshadowed even before the deal

was announced, that because this deal does not solve all those other problems, that's an argument for rejecting this deal. It defies logic. It

makes no sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: President Obama will formally submit the Iran deal to congress later this week for review. Lawmakers are not waiting to weigh in though.

Global Affairs Correspondent, Elise Labott, is following developments in Washington. Realistically what are the chances that congress is even able

to quash this deal in Washington Elise?

ELISE LABOTT, GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I don't think they'll be able to quash it Hala, and it's not as we've been discussing, it's not like a

signed treaty or anything that congress has to ratify. Where congress has the power is in terms of approving, or disapproving, or lifting some of the

sanctions that the President is going to waive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: And it doesn't even seem like they have the votes to avoid a Presidential (inaudible). So the President can basically override their

decision.

I think in the court of public opinion this is going to be very difficult and I think we have to look down the line about what happens once President

Obama leaves office. We've been seeing this whole run of presidential candidates on the Republican side, most of them are already coming out

against the deal. What would happen if there was a Republican President and a lot of these candidates are saying that they'd override the deal.

So you know yesterday when U.S. officials were talking, and today when President Obama was talking he is sending a message to congress; listen, if

you're goal is to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon at this point (inaudible) this deal, walking away, would end the international consensus

on sanctions and then you would have Iran with a lot more money and a chance to go for a nuclear weapon.

GORANI: Now what about public opinion in the United States, where does it fall on this nuclear agreement?

LABOTT: Well I think it's kind of split along party lines. You know Democrats who support President Obama are in favor of the deal. Others on

the Republican side or those who support Israel or who are more hockish on national security, they don't support it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: I think part of the problem is that not a lot of Americans really understand what's in this deal, they don't know a lot about Iran's nuclear

program. They just know Iran, you know, is a dangerous country, Iran is really a boogie man here if you will over in the United States.

So I think part of the plan is for President Obama to do more of these types of press opportunities not just to send message to congress, but also

to the American people and I think you'll see U.S. officials fanning out on American press to talk about the deal.

GORANI: All right, we're certainly going to be following that. Thanks very much. Elise Labott is in Washington.

Still to come tonight, Mexico's most infamous drug lord making his great escape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: We'll show you new footage of El Chapo's last moments in prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:25:00] GORANI: One of the world's most notorious drug lords was in a maximum security prison technically and subject to 24 hour surveillance we

were told. But that wasn't enough to keep Joaquin El Chapo Guzman behind bars.

Now there is new video and it is showing us his brazen escape through a hole underneath this shower stall.

A massive manhunt has fanned out across Mexico. Here's CNN's Polo Sandoval.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This newly released surveillance video shows the second brazen prison escape of infamous drug

lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. Watch as Guzman still in prison uniform calmly walks over to the shower in his cell. He bends over and then

seemingly vanishes into thin air.

Mexican authorities say Guzman exploited two blind spots in his maximum security prison cell which is under 24 hour surveillance slipping through a

hole under the shower to make his elaborate getaway. Guzman's tracking bracelet that monitored his every move left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To see somebody escape from supposedly the top security prison but through a tunnel a mile long, with light, with an air vent, with

a motorcycle on rails, it makes the Government look useless.

SANDOVAL: These images showing the escaped tunnel and a motorcycle on the tracks inside the tunnel Guzman used to escape. According to Mexican

officials the bike was likely used to remove dirt during the excavation and transport the tools for the dig. The tunnel stretching for about a mile

and ending inside a half built house.

El Chapo menacing marijuana, heroin, and cocaine kingpin and head of the multi-billion dollar Sinaloa drug cartel is described as a complete savage

with powerful ties spanning across Mexico and the U.S. And now details emerging that after Guzman's first recapture in early 2014, U.S. DEA Agents

received information suggesting that Guzman's relatives and associates were looking for ways to break him out of prison again passing this information

onto Mexican authorities, a claim Mexico's government has denied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: There you have it. The daring escape. I'll have your world news headlines just ahead plus a new round of negotiations over Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: We'll look at the flurry of diplomacy a day after world power signed that historic nuclear agreement. Also we're hear Saudi Arabia's

concerns about the deal when we come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. A look at your top stories; protests outside the Greek parliament turned violent this evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Anti-austerity demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails earlier. Police responded with tear gas. This of course comes as the Greek

parliament debates some crucial reforms which need to be passed by midnight Greek time in exchange for the release of bailout money by European

creditors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:30:00] GORANI: Also among the top stories we're following related to Greece. The IMF have released a report on the Greek bailout and it has

clashed with Eurozone creditors over debt relief for the country.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour spoke to the IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde about that very point. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Does Mrs. Merkel have to finally say debt relief?

CHRISTINE LAGARDE, IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR: I have some hope because as late as a couple of hours ago I understand that there were some more positive

noises towards that principal of debt restructuring.

What we have said to all of them is no matter what form it takes, whether it's by extending maturities, providing a longer grace period, compressing

the interest rates on the one hand or through other options such as transfer, which I think is not in the cards. Such as air cuts which is not

in the cards as I understand from the political point of view in those member states.

But one way has to be found in order to release the burden and allow that country to demonstrate that yes it can be back on a sustainable path and

yes it is serious about structural reforms, and it is serious about raising tax and collecting revenues.

GORANI: I should say Christine Lagarde, watch the full interview on Amanpour at 10pm London time on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Let's move on to the other - one of the other stories we're following.

Investigators say there is evidence that pro-Russian rebels were the ones who shot down Malaysia airlines flight 17 of Eastern Ukraine nearly a year

ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: The source tells CNN a new draft report also includes the exact type of missile that was used and where it was filed from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: A German court today found a man guilty of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: The former Nazi officer known as the Bookkeeper of Auschwitz was sentenced to four years in prison. Oskar Groening, 94 years old, he's

acknowledged being "morally complicit" in the murders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Back to one of our other top stories this hour; NASA has released historic new images showing the dwarf planet, Pluto.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Here are some of the new incredibly detailed pictures. This is a first for humanity everybody; you can see a zoomed in image here of terrain

on the planet's southern hemisphere.

This is, it has to be said, and I don't think we've seen this one before, the best look at Pluto that scientists have ever have. NASA's probe

travelled for nine years to reach Pluto and take these shots. Let's get more on this milestone.

I'm joined again by Tom Kerss, the Astronomer at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich right here in London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Can we put that picture Tom, you were here with us a few minutes ago. There was that very close up picture of sort of a side shot of the

planet where we saw (relief) and terrain quite clearly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: I don't know if this is the first, if this is newly released, but I had not seen this before.

KERSS: This is brand new. As I understand it these - this is a mountain range near the equator of Pluto. Very young mountains are what the

scientists on the mission claiming. These mountains are probably no older than about one hundred million years.

GORANI: Children.

KERSS: Now, compare that to the surface of the earth which has regions which are billions of years old. So these are youngsters these mountains,

and they can range in height up to about 3.5 kilometers, about 1100 feet high, sorry 11,000 feet I should say high. So they're extremely high

mountains really.

GORANI: NASA referring to them as 'icy mountains'.

KERSS: Icy mountains absolutely. What we have to understand is that the entirety of Pluto's surface more or less is covered with this thin film of

ice and then there is much more ice underneath most of it. But, we do also see this beautiful feature the heart as it's been dubbed. And the heart is

actually probably a very large snow deposit. But unlike the snow that we get here on earth the snow there will be made of either nitrogen or carbon

monoxide or methane and is different material than the water we get here.

GORANI: How - now - the environment, I mean sort of the icy structure is the relief of the terrain, how changeable is it?

KERSS: Well, much more so than we would have expected it would seem. Pluto I had always imagined would be a relatively smooth and baron world

but what we're seeing here is something that shows - really does show evidence of geology.

There seems to be some way that the ice is replenished on the surface whether that's through geysers or by the ice finding its way to the surface

another way. It's not quite clear yet.

But either way just the range of geology that we're seeing on Pluto is staggering.

GORANI: Is it something that's surprising you?

KERSS: Very much, yes.

GORANI: Because you assumed it would be smoother.

KERSS: I assumed it would be smoother, I assumed it would perhaps look a little older so it would have smooth crater like features on it. I didn't

expect this sort of variety of geology on Pluto, it really brings it into a new light. And the same can be said for Charon.

We saw a fantastic image of Charon as well. It's a beautiful high resolution image showing just how rugged the terrain is on that

(inaudible).

GORANI: So researching Pluto because I'm no astronomer, it's interesting because there's something about Pluto that is - there's something mystical

about it. I mean there's something just mysterious as well because it's such a faraway dwarf planet now but planet for many decades.

[15:35:15] GORANI: And the way it got its name because an 11 year old in 1930 suggested it for a competition and won five pounds for her suggestion

of Pluto. It's just an interesting history behind the planet.

KERSS: That's right. Well it was discovered by the American astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh, undoubtedly one of the most prolific observers who ever

lived. He scanned simply thousands of plates - photographic plates in the sky in his search for objects.

Very luckily hit upon Pluto. He wasn't looking for it. There was no evidence that there would be a dwarf planet there, or a planet there as he

was looking for at the time. But luckily stumbled upon it. It was actually named by a young English school girl, Venetia Burney.

GORANI: That's right.

KERSS: She named it after the Roman God of the underworld because it's so cold and faraway. But also quite nicely the first two.

(CROSS-TALK)

GORANI: And not after the Disney dog by the way.

KERSS: Not after the Disney dog. I believe the Disney dog comes later...

GORANI: ... came after, yes.

KERSS: That's right. But it should be mentioned that Clyde Tombaugh worked at the Percival Lowell Observatory. And Percival Lowell, PL are the

first two letters in Pluto as well.

GORANI: That could be also one of the reasons that that name was chosen.

Thanks very much Tom Kerss, I really appreciate your time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: And by the way you tweeted which I thought was very fun "I can hardly contain" (laughing)

(CROSS-TALK)

KERSS: I'm struggling to contain my excitement.

GORANI: I'm struggling to contain my excitement.

KERSS: I'm normally much better.

GORANI: To maintain composure as seeing these incredible breathtaking Pluto flyby images.

KERSS: Well it's been a pleasure to come and see them here with you.

GORANI: Thank you so much Tom Kerss, we really appreciate you as a fun chat and appreciate your expertise as well.

KERSS: Thank you very much.

GORANI: Now congratulations for NASA's historic achievement are pouring in. The famed physicist Steven Hawkin posted this video message on

Facebook. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN HAWKIN, PHYSICIST: I would like to congratulate the North Horizon team for NASA on their pioneering decade long mission to explore the Pluto

system under Kuiper belt. Billions of miles from earth this little (inaudible) will show us the first glimpse of mysterious Pluto that this

(inaudible) world at the very edge of our solar system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: The very edge of our solar system, congratulatory messages from one of the most famed physicists and scientists in the world. This is the

World Right Now.

Coming up, U.S. President Barack Obama has spoken publically about the controversy surrounding comedian Bill Cosby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Hear what he had to say, some strong words, coming up next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: The American President, Barack Obama has weighed in on the controversy surrounding comedian Bill Cosby saying there was no way to

revoke the U.S. Medal of Freedom for the comedian.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: The honor was given to Cosby in 2002 by the then - by then president, George W. Bush.

[15:40:13] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With respect to the Medal of Freedom there's no precedent for revoking a medal. We don't

have that mechanism. And as you know I tend to make it a policy not to comment on the specifics of cases where there might still be if not

criminal, then civil issues involved.

I'll say this - if you give a woman, or a man for that matter, without his or her knowledge a drug and then have sex with that person without consent,

that's rape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Strong words. CNN's Senior Media Correspondent, Brian Stelter joins me now live from New York.

So it's interesting the President says I make it habit it not to comment and then goes on to comment with very strong words.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, you could see him trying to figure out how far to go, trying to choose his

words carefully. But you can imagine how this is an issue he's talked about with his family, talked about with this daughters, talked about with

his friends, just like pretty much every other American,.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: This is a story that has unfortunately, tragically you know captivated people for the better part of half a year. These allegations

have been made about Bill Cosby for many years actually, victims had come forward a long time ago. But it wasn't until last November they were taken

pretty seriously, they got a whole lot of press coverage. And now a recent court document showed Cosby admitting to the use of Quaaludes, a drug in

order - you know when he was with certain women he did not go so far to as acknowledge inappropriate sexual activity. But there have been so many

allegations of rapes by Cosby that at this point it's even a question for the President of the United States.

And frankly Hala, I saw a lot of people saying as this press conference was going on, that's it for Bill Cosby, there's really no coming back. If

there ever even was a chance before today, there's not now.

GORANI: I was going to say was there a chance even before today? But it is unusual...

STELTER: ... yes, probably not.

GORANI: ... I mean correct me if I'm wrong.

STELTER: Yes.

GORANI: Right, correct me if I'm wrong, but it is unusual isn't it for the President of the United States to comment on matters like these publicly

with words essentially saying if it's true that Quaaludes or sedatives were given to women and then - and then sex was you know - there was sex there

without consent that that means it's rape essentially implying that what happened could be called rape?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: It's so highly unusual to hear the President, any President comment on what is you know a legal and civil matter involving an

individual. But perhaps it's an example of our celebrity culture that Bill Cosby is one of the most famous people in the world. One of the best known

entertainers in the world. And someone's whose identity his real identity has changed so profoundly in the past seven, eight months because of all

these rape allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: You know he has no public presence anymore. He's stopped touring, he's stopped with any of his future media project. It doesn't

really seem like he has a future in the public eye, and perhaps (inaudible).

We've seen some of his few public defenders start to reverse themselves in the past week or so, this was after a court document was provided where he

talked about this Quaalude use.

Whoopie Goldberg for example was saying, we don't know what happened. And now she's taking a much tougher stand against Cosby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: To hear the President of the U.S., and by the way the first black President of the U.S. speak in this way about one of the most famous black

entertainers in history you know, perhaps I hate to use a cliche but perhaps the final nail in the coffin type moment.

GORANI: All right, Brian Stelter, thanks very much in New York with more on that.

A quick break, we'll be right back. (Inaudible).

(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:29] GORANI: Donald Trump's campaign says the Presidential candidate's net worth is in excess of $10 billion. This comes as the

Republican catches lots of flack over another campaign misstep. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Check out this tweet - you can see the U.S. flag and Trump's face above his campaign slogan 'Make American Great Again'. But here's where

the image goes slightly wrong. The soldiers marching underneath the White House image are wearing Nazi uniforms. That's quite an oops, right?

Here's a closer look.

A former military professor pointed out the mistake. The campaign apparently used a stock image available on line showing a reenactment, not

actual (inaudible) Soldiers, but they are wearing (inaudible) uniforms.

Trumps campaign quickly removed the tweet and blamed the error on an intern. It was sent to the candidates, Trump's 3 million followers on

Tuesday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: At the same time the - Trump topped the field of Republican candidates according to a New Suffolk University USA Today poll. CNN

Political Correspondent Sarah Murray, joins us now with more.

So the release of this financial information Sarah, how is that going to have an impact? Because he's doing very, very well. He's topping the

field here in polls.

SARAH MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT. Yes, so that's a much anticipated release for a couple of reasons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: First time when they get a caveat the campaign has said it has filed its full personal financial disclosures. So far they've just entered

a press release that talked a lot about how rich Donald Trump is, so we're awaiting to see that full document.

But the reason we're so interested in it is because it would really give a more in-depth window than we've ever seen before into this billionaire's

finances, how he's made his money, how much he's gotten paid from different entities. You know, and sort of a teaser to the full document they said in

this press release that he made $214 million from NBC off his 14 seasons for the Apprentice, so it will be interesting to see more on that.

But I think the other sort of more concrete reason here is that Fox News are saying that look if you want to be on this debate stage for the first

debate, you need to file your personal financial disclosure, you need to prove that you're a legitimate candidate. And a lot of Republicans were

skeptical that Donald Trump would actually go through with this.

GORANI: So he is leading in the polls right? I mean this isn't something necessarily that people could have predicted when he first entered the race

because he's this brash controversial candidate who says things that are considered terribly racist such as the things that he said against Mexicans

being rapists and killers et cetera, yet he's leading in the Republican field. What explains that?

MURRAY: Yes, I think that was a big surprise to people to see how quickly Donald Trump shot up in the polls. I think part of it is that people know

his name, they're familiar with him more than they are with other candidates.

But the fact that he's now ahead of Jeb Bush in the latest Suffolk University Poll show Donald Trump's at 17%, Jeb's at 14%; statistically a

tie but you know the optics are there for Trump. I think it really speaks to a wing of the Republican party that does not want to go with the

establishment candidate and they want to see someone who talks like they do, who shares their concerns about the border. And I think the way that

Donald Trump has approached this has been very appealing to a certain slice of the Republican Party.

GORANI: All right, clearly it has. Thanks very much Sarah Murray there for more on Trump, his campaign, and so far his success in the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Staying in the United States, authorities in Washington State are calling the only survivor of a small plane crash a superhero.

The 16 year old girl hiked to safety from the crash site in the North Cascade Mountains. Search crews are now trying to reach the wreckage and

police are stunned that the girl made it out alive. Sara Sidner has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT. Overnight search crews locating the wreckage of the Washington State plane crash where 16 year old

Autumn Veatch emerged as the sole survivor.

The States Department of Transportation says crews can't yet reach the crash site located deep in the rugged North Cascades.

Family and friends say it's a miracle that Autumn was released from the hospital in Tuesday, just three days after surviving the crash.

MICHAEL: Hi, this is Michael with the Okanogan County 911, what is your name?

AUTUMN VEATCH: Autumn Veatch.

SIDNER: On Saturday Autumn took this selfie just before flying in a small private plane with her step-grandparents Leland and Sharon Bowman.

[15:50:00] AUTUMN VEATCH: I was riding from Kalispell, Montana, to Bellingham, Washington and about, well I don't know where, but we crashed

and I was the only one that made it out.

MICHAEL: OK. Made it out from the collision or

VEATCH: From the plane.

MICHAEL: ... or survived?

VEATCH: Yes, the only one that survived.

FRANK ROGERS, OKANAGAN COUNTY SHERIFF: She said they came out of the clouds and she said all she saw was trees.

SIDNER: Autumn says they crashed into the side of a mountain. The sheriff says she tried to pull her grandparents out of the plane but it was on

fire.

MICHAEL: Are you injured at all?

VEATCH: Uh, yes, I have a lot of burns on my hands and I'm like kind of covered in bruises and scratches and stuff.

SIDNER: After waiting for help for nearly a day Autumn hiked her way out of the treacherous terrain following a creek downstream until she reached a

trail, and then the highway. A driver bringing to the store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing that she was able to accomplish what she did.

SIDNER: Her father speaking about Autumn's resilience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's had to deal with a lot of loss. She's just an amazing kid.

SIDNER: The sheriff told us that the burns on her hands were actually from her trying to save her grandparents from the fiery wreckage. She says she

was unable to do that. But she made it back home right here behind me to her father's apartment and is recuperating.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Bellingham, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well as we've been discussing, NASA says today is a milestone moment in the history of space exploration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Take a look at this new picture of the planet Pluto, it was released earlier this hour. It's the best image we've ever seen of it.

NASA's probe travelled for nine years to reach Pluto at the far edges of our solar system. Now, while the images are historic this is not the first

space milestone made on this particular date. CNN's Kelly Morgan explains.

KELLY MORGAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: July 15, 1975 it is liftoff in Russia. Seven and a half hours later another countdown (three, two,

one) this time from U.S. soil (we have a liftoff all engines building up ).

Two days later, an extraordinary moment. The two man spacecraft, (inaudible) joined together somewhere over west Germany.

(Inaudible)

MORGAN: And the first international handshake in space is captured. The gesture between Russian cosmonaut, Alexey Leonov, and American astronaut,

Brigadier General Thomas Stafford symbolized a thawing of tensions between the two nations during the Cold War.

THOMAS STAFFORD: We estimated a billion to a billion and a half people around the world saw me shake hands with Alexey. And said look, if people

like this can work together, we can work together on a lot of things.

MORGAN: 40 years later, the two men now in their 80s remain close friends. Meeting here in Moscow for the 40th anniversary of the pioneering project

which also marks the end of the space race.

Leonov played a key role in the contest trumping the U.S. to become the first man to walk in Space ten years earlier.

ALEXEY LEONOV: (As translated) I think that these were the best competitions, higher than the Olympics because as a result of this, as you

call it, race, we developed brand new equipment that we're still using.

MORGAN: The joint mission in 1975 had successfully tested a docking system that could support future international cooperation in space. First the

Mir Shuttle Program, and now the International Space Station, where again Russians and Americans work side by side despite growing tensions down on

earth.

SCOTT KELLY, AMERICAN ASTRONAUT: We rely on one another literally for our lives. So you know despite any you know political differences that our

countries may have, or you know past history, you know we get along, you know just great.

MORGAN: And continue to applaud each other's milestones. Leonov describing NASA's latest success in reaching Pluto as one of the greatest

achievements in space.

LEONOV: (As translated) If we can achieve this with Pluto, we can seriously start to think about fighting the threat of asteroids.

MORGAN: And it all began with Apollo and Sir Hughes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we opened the hatch in space we were opening back on the earth a (inaudible) in the history of man.

MORGAN: Kelly Morgan, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: A little more on that impressive mission to Pluto we've told you about today as New Horizon's reaches the edges of the solar system so too

do the ashes of the man who discovered Pluto and the Kuiper belt I should say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:00] GORANI: This box fixed the probe - fixed to the probe contains some of the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh who died in 1997. It is perhaps the

most touching of the nine mementos carried on board. State quarters from Maryland where New Horizon's was made, and Florida where it was launched

are also there.

A piece of spaceship one is stuck to the lower deck of the probe. That groundbreaking craft completed the first manned commercial space flight in

2004.

And this 1991 29 cent U.S. postage stamp is now nearly five billion kilometers away. It was printed with the text, Pluto not yet explored, a

message now obsolete.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Apologies to our viewer, we promised you an interview with the Saudi Ambassador to the United Nations, unfortunately technical problems

are preventing us from bringing you this interview, we will have it for you on tomorrow's program.

I'm Hala Gorani; this is The World Right Now, thank you for watching. Quest Means Business is next.

END