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White House Tells Former Counsel To Defy Subpoena; Mixed Messages and Threats from Trump on Iran Confuse Observers; Google Restricts Huawei's Access to Software Services; U.K. Welfare Cuts Causing Families to Go Hungry. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 21, 2019 - 02:00   ET

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


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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The former White House counsel refuses to talk to Democratic lawmakers investigating obstruction. We will look at the political and legal implications.

The U.S. president is making threats and sending mixed messages about Tehran. An Iranian official talked to CNN about the current tensions.

And later, Cuba's economic crisis. How food shortages are impacting the daily lives of millions of people.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

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CHURCH: The U.S. Congress may finally get a glimpse of president Donald Trump's finances. This after a federal judge ordered the accounting firm Mazars to turn over Trump's financial records, going back years.

In his ruling, the judge said that the president is subject to the same legal scrutiny as anyone else and Congress is within its rights to investigate the president. The decision may set a precedent for other judges considering whether to release President Trump's records.

The president's attorneys are likely to appeal the decision, which he calls crazy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This never happened to any other president. They're trying to get a redo, they trying to get what we used to call in school a do- over. And if you look, you know, we had no collusion, we had no obstruction, we had nothing.

The Democrats were very upset with the Mueller report, as perhaps they should be. But the country is very happy about it because there was never anything like that. And they're trying to get a redo or a do- over and you can't do that.

As far as the financial are concerned we think it's the wrong, it's totally the wrong decision by, obviously, an Obama appointed judge. He was a recent Obama appointed judge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee promises Don McGahn will be held in contempt of Congress if he does not show up on Capitol Hill in just a few hours from now. The White House says the White House counsel has immunity from congressional testimony and that is why he has been instructed to ignore the subpoena. Jim Acosta has the report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. McGahn, was it a mistake --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a dramatic attempt to block Democrats from conducting their own Russia investigation, the Trump administration is rejecting the House Judiciary Committee's subpoena for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn on Tuesday.

In a letter to the committee's chairman, Democrat Jerry Nadler, the current White House counsel argues that McGahn is immune from that subpoena, adding, "In order to protect the prerogatives of the Office of the Presidency, the president has directed Mr. McGahn not to appear at the committee's scheduled hearing."

McGahn has already infuriated the president, declining to state publicly that Mr. Trump did not commit obstruction of justice. He's also told federal investigators in the Russia probe that he refused to follow instructions by Mr. Trump to get rid of special counsel Robert Mueller.

It's a charge the president has denied but he hasn't gone as far as to say that McGahn committed perjury.

ACOSTA: Mr. President, is there a situation that you could see where Don McGahn is charged with perjury?

You seem to be contradicting what he is saying.

TRUMP: I don't want to talk about that now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that is better for --

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president has been busy beating back another member of his party, Justin Amash, the first Republican congressman to accuse Mr. Trump of impeachable offenses, who started this tweetstorm over the weekend, first tweeting, "Mueller's report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment."

Then doubling down today, "They say obstruction of justice requires an underlying crime. In fact, obstruction of justice does not require the prosecution of an underlying crime."

The president fired back, tweeting that he was, quote, "never a fan of Justin Amash, a total lightweight. Justin is a loser, who sadly plays right into our opponents' hands."

GOP leaders are backing Mr. Trump.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), MINORITY LEADER: Now you've got to understand Justin Amash. He's been in Congress quite some time. I think he's only ever asked one question in all the committees that he's been in. He votes more with Nancy Pelosi than he ever votes with me.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president is continuing another war of words with Iran, tweeting, "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again."

Mr. Trump turned to FOX to justify the brinkmanship.

TRUMP: I just don't want them to have nuclear weapons. And they can't be threatening us. And you know, with all of everything that's going on -- and I'm not one that believes -- you know, I'm not somebody that wants to go into war, because war hurts economies, war kills people, most importantly, by far, most importantly.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Iran's foreign minister responded to the president that military action against his country would be a mistake, tweeting, "Try respect. It works."

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND, IND., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The tweets are -- I don't care.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president is also mad at FOX News for hosting a town hall with Democrat Pete Buttigieg, tweeting, "FOX is moving more and more to the losing wrong side in covering the Dems," though the president appears to be more concerned with former Vice President Joe Biden, who holds a commanding lead over the Democratic field.

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Trump inherited an economy from Obama-Biden administration that was given to him, just like he inherited everything else in his life.

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BIDEN: And just like -- just like everything else he's been given in his life, he's in the process of squandering that as well.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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CHURCH: Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen says that the president's lawyers told him to lie to Congress about the Trump tower Moscow project. That information comes from newly released transcripts of a closed-door session earlier this year.

In it, Cohen told lawmakers Trump attorney Jay Sekulow told him to say discussions on the Moscow project ended in January 2016. The project reportedly went on longer than that and well into Mr. Trump's presidential campaign.

Michael Cohen is now serving three years in jail for financial crimes and lying to Congress. Sekulow says Cohen is just trying to blame others for his bad decisions.

So, let's a take a closer look now at these allegations. And we are joined by CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, who is also the senior editor at The Atlantic. Good to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good evening.

CHURCH: So, what do you make of these recently released transcripts that reveal President Trump's attorney, Jay Sekulow, told Michael Cohen, apparently to lie to Congress about the Trump tower Moscow project?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, certainly, Michael Cohen has all sorts of credibility issues, but these kinds of revelations are exactly why so many Democrats in particular feel that, you know, the story is not over and that there are many aspects of it that need further investigation.

And it is that belief that is running up against this stonewall that the administration and figuratively the attorney general is directing against the ability of Congress to conduct oversight here.

And all of that is taking us into, what I think is accurately understood as a constitutional crisis that is going to involve lots of court decisions in the coming weeks.

CHURCH: Right. And also, a federal judge has ruled that an accounting firm must turn over President Trump's financial records. How significant is this and just how big a blow is this to the president, who of course will appeal this?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, honestly, this is just the beginning up a long legal journey, it is just one of the subpoenas or requests for information like his taxes that are going to go into the courts.

But Rosemary, I did think this was significant decision because of its breadth.

I mean, the judge goes all the way back to James Buchanan in 1856 to make the argument that the courts traditionally have been very deferential towards Congress' authority to investigate the executive branch.

And deferential towards Congress' own determinations about what it needs to undertake its legislative activities. At one point he talks about, it is not in the tendency of the courts to second guess whether Congress is acting out of some political motive. I think he has laid -- this judge has laid down a marker. Obviously, he's not the last word on this.

Ultimately, it's likely that the Supreme Court will have to decide, but he has laid down a marker that I think other courts are going to have to reckon with.

CHURCH: Yes. Certainly, the president was not very happy at all and of course, this ruling came just hours after the White House told former counsel Don McGahn not to testify before the House judicial committee, believing he has immunity, or that's what they say.

But the chairman says if he doesn't appear, McGahn will be held in contempt of Congress. Who is right here and how would you expect this all to play out?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, there are many -- there are many aspects of this. I mean, the first and perhaps the most important is that Don McGahn is a former White House employee, so while the president can assert that he does not want him to testify, my understanding is that he cannot prevent them him testifying.

We know that Don McGahn did testified to Robert Mueller's investigation. We also know that he rejected a request from the White House, you know, after the fact to declare that he did not believe the president committed obstruction of justice.

What we don't know is whether he feels an obligation to explain to the public exactly what happened in the events covered in the Mueller report, especially now that the president is denying there. And the added twist here is that his law firm is a major contractor for the Republican National Committee, a major provider of legal services.

And there have been reports that the president has mused about cutting them off in punishment for what Don McGahn has done. I mean, there are things in this presidency that are happening kind of in broad daylight that in the past if they were on earth, you know, behind the scenes would have been major scandals.

I think this is -- this certainly qualifies as that, is the administration using the threat of --

[02:10:00]

BROWNSTEIN: -- the Jones Day law firm's work for the Republican National Committee to discourage Don McGahn from testifying and is Don McGahn going along with that?

CHURCH: So, you don't think McGahn has immunity here because he was -- he's now a former counsel at the White House?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, there are two separate questions. Whether the -- whether they can defend the idea of him not testifying in court, in other words, does he have immunity. Possibly. I don't think I can answer that. I don't think we can answer that.

I think courts are going to have to decide whether the president can claim immunity for his conversations with his former council, but a separate question is whether the president can prevent him from testifying if he wishes to.

And I think on that ground the president is on much more tenuous footing. And again, the issue is where does Don McGahn feel his highest obligation?

He said to his lawyers in a letter that he would respect the president's wishes.

But is that what he feels his highest obligation is to, the president's wishes?

Or is it to the country and to explain not only what he told Robert Mueller but now the discrepancies between his version of events and the president's version?

CHURCH: Very quickly, Donald Trump appears to have anointed Joe Biden as his main Democratic rival, is that a good or bad thing for Biden?

BROWNSTEIN: I think it's a good thing for Biden because he is trying to lift above this 23-person Democratic race and focus it on Trump. When Joe Biden gave his kickoff speech in Philadelphia on Saturday, it was easy to fast forward in your mind and imagine that being a Labor Day speech in September of 2020.

So if the president is elevating Biden into his principal rival, I think that plays into Biden's argument that he is the strongest candidate against Trump, whether or not that's empirically proven by his performance. But I think it does reinforce the argument and the focus of the campaign that Joe Biden is trying to create.

CHURCH: All right, always a pleasure to have you with us, Ron Brownstein, many thanks.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The U.S. president keeps sending threats and mixed messages when it comes to Iran. Mr. Trump has been on Twitter a lot these past few days.

He wrote this on Sunday, "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again."

Iran's foreign minister tweeted back, saying his country survived past economic Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. #EconomicTerrorism & genocidal taunts won't "end Iran". #NeverThreatenAnIranian. Try respect -- it works!

Then he spoke to reporters on his way to a campaign rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, with Iran, we'll see what happens. But they've been very hostile, they've truly been the number one provocateur of terror in this country and then you know, representing their country, but certainly, our country has been very much involved because we are trying to help a lot of people out and I don't mind that at all.

We have no indication that anything has happened or will happen, but if it does it will be met, obviously, with great force. We'll have no choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And all this comes after the United States sent warships to the Middle East, citing a Iranian threat. Iran responded by saying it would abandon parts of the nuclear deal and claims it has increased uranium enrichment capacity. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran and spoke exclusively with a senior Iranian diplomat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Iranians have shown themselves to be quite angry at some of the bellicose tweets that Trump has sent out recently.

However, they also seem to show themselves fairly unfazed by a lot of the rhetoric that as in those tweets. I spoke to one of Iran's most senior diplomats and he said that, at this point in time, Iran is not considering changing its ways. And certainly, at this point in time, does not want to go to the negotiating table with the Trump White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: President Trump last night tweeted that if Iran wants to fight it would be the end of Iran.

What's your comment on that?

HOSSEIN AMIRABDOLLAHIAN, IRANIAN PARLIAMENT (through translator): He's got no idea what the culture and the authority of the Iranian people. Trump wants to control us through tweets and threats. The Islamic revolution in Iran have shown that he cannot talk to Iran through threats.

If he thinks by bringing in some aircraft carriers and bombers he can take advantage of Iran and to force Iran to negotiate for an unequal position, he's wrong. But when their ships get close to us, it's a threat to them. We never welcome war but we stand steadfast.

PLEITGEN: What President Trump is saying is that he would like --

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PLEITGEN: -- Iran to pick up the phone and call him. Why not?

AMIRABDOLLAHIAN (through translator): Trump can discuss talking to Iran through a phone when he does not use the language of threat and force. He can talk about phoning us when he goes back to the nuclear agreement.

And he needs to ensure that neither know the next president will renege on the agreement. In his mind, Trump thinks he has a gun to Iran's head with sanctions and he is trying to shut down our economy. This is all in his imagination. Now he wants us to call him? This is a crazy president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So some pretty clear words come from one of Iran's most senior diplomats. The Iranian messaging has been fairly consistent over the past days and weeks, since this new standoff between the U.S. and Iran started.

The Iranians are saying on the one hand they don't want an escalation, they don't want a war with the United States. But on the other hand they are saying that if it does come to that, that they are ready and that it will be painful, not just for the U.S. interests here in this region but for the region as a whole -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We will take a short break here. Still to come, the pressure is ramping up on Huawei. The action Google is taking and what it could mean to the Chinese telecommunication company's future.

Plus how welfare cuts have left thousands of families in the U.K. without enough food to eat. We will be back with that in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Sad news from the world of sports. His family says three times Formula One champion Niki Lauda has died. The Austrian born race car driver won two titles with Ferrari in the 1970s and a third with McLaren in 1984.

Lauda had a near fatal crash in 1976 which left him badly burned. His career was depicted in the 2013 film "Rush." Off the track, Lauda started a successful charter airline, Lauda Air which eventually merged with Austrian Airlines.

He had been in declining health for months. Niki Lauda was 70 years old.

Against the backdrop of an escalating trade war, China's telecommunications giant Huawei faces a new challenge from the United States. Google is starting to limit the software services it --

[02:20:00]

CHURCH: -- provides. Last week, a White House order banned U.S. companies from doing businesses with Huawei. The Commerce Department loosened those restrictions somewhat on Monday. Meantime, Samuel Burke breaks down how the Google move could affect Huawei's smart phone owners.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Consumers all around the world are now caught in the crosshairs of U.S.-China tensions. Huawei phone owners may have their devices rendered useless, as Google starts restricting access to Android in order to comply with new directives from the Trump administration.

So let's walk through how this could affect you if you have a device from Huawei, the second largest smartphone maker in the world.

First of all, Huawei users may not be able to upgrade to the latest Android updates, keeping their devices stuck in the past. Users may also be cut off from apps and services, like Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube. And that will in turn cut them off from services like ride hailing and food delivery apps relying on services like Google Maps, which may not be available anymore.

These new rules from the Trump administration don't just have the potential to hit Huawei in China hard. It's already hurting U.S. businesses, like Qualcomm, whose stock was down more than 5 percent at times during trading Monday.

That is because Huawei buys chips from American companies like Qualcomm and Intel as well software from Google and Microsoft. In all last year, Huawei spent $11 billion on products from dozens of U.S. businesses, making moves from the Trump administration painful for China, the U.S. and everyone caught between them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Samuel Burke with that report.

The results are in, Indonesia's Joko Widodo has been reelected president. The incumbent won 55.5 percent of the vote, according to the country's election commission. The votes will be finalized on Wednesday; nearly 193 million people were eligible to cast a ballot. The election was billed as one of the most complicated single day ballots ever undertaken. Widodo's hard line opponent, who has not conceded, has vowed to contest the result.

There's more political upheaval in Austria. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is calling for the country's far-right interior minister to be sacked, which may cause others to step down in protest. He would be the second official to go after the vice chancellor resigned on Saturday.

Heinz-Christian Strache was caught in the apparent sting operation, allegedly offering to fix state contracts for a woman posing as a Russian oligarch's niece. The whole mess has the chancellor calling for new elections in September.

SEBASTIAN KURZ, AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): It has become very clear that certain people are definitely not capable of governing and statements have been made that have at least shattered my ideas of how politics should be defined and understood.

So I think the people of Austria understand that, in such a situation, it is necessary to call for new elections and this decision was not made lightly and it was not my wish that there be new elections but it was necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And in the United States, fears about Russian hacking just will not go away. A former attorney for the FBI says it would not take much for Russia to wreak havoc with the 2020 election. In fact he says they would not have to do much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES BAKER, FORMER FBI GENERAL COUNSEL: I do worry about the large attack I guess you would say, the large attacks or risks that they have with respect to the vote.

Apparently, there are -- I'm sorry -- 8,800 jurisdictions in the United States that are responsible for vote counting, collecting the votes and then counting them. And not just -- you don't just have the systems that actually record the vote; you have all kinds of voter registration systems, systems that tabulate the votes and so on.

It's a complex system. And it just seems to me that that provides a large opportunity for the Russians or others, quite frankly, to play mischief. They don't have to attack the whole system. They just need to figure out what precincts in what states they want to go after to potentially tip an election or to cause trouble in some way or to cause us to doubt the legitimacy of the election.

And that last point is probably one of the things that's most worrisome because if they just cause us to not believe the vote count, then that will cause turmoil in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And just last week, the governor of Florida revealed that two counties in the state were hacked during the 2016 presidential election.

In a damning new report, Human Rights Watch says changes made to the U.K.'s welfare system have led to massive food shortages for the country's poor. The report accuses the government of violating human rights laws by allowing --

[02:25:00]

CHURCH: -- these families to go hungry. U.K. officials called the findings misleading. Bianca Nobilo has the report.

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BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Driving through affluent West London, the poverty is not immediately obvious.

BILLY MCGRANAGHAN, DAD'S HOUSE CHARITY: Beautiful houses but, around the corner, there is a housing state where families are on universal credit and they don't have anything.

NOBILO (voice-over): Billy McGranaghan has been delivering food aid in this part of London for years. The situation, he says, is getting worse.

MCGRANAGHAN: When you actually see the poverty of its children, not having enough, you know, it does get to you.

NOBILO (voice-over): Campaigners argue it's a breach of the U.K. government's human rights obligations to ensure adequate food.

KARTIK RAJ, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: The United Kingdom is a country with the fifth largest economy in the world, it really beggars belief that in this country increasing numbers, year on year, of families are going hungry, without food.

NOBILO (voice-over): In just the past five years, the country's largest food bank charity has recorded and increase of close to 50 percent. It is now delivering nearly 1.6 million emergency food parcels a year.

RAJ: In addition to being a legal question, it's also a simple moral question.

Is it appropriate for government to stand by as families go hungry and just wait for charities to step in and fill the gap?

NOBILO (voice-over): The Human Rights Watch report is damning. It gives several examples of single mothers skipping meals so that their children has something to eat.

One mother said, "You feel weak but you to get used to it."

The charity directly links the rising levels of food poverty to the U.K. government's austerity drive over the past decade, an issue that has proved a flashpoint in British politics.

JEREMY CORBYN, LEADER, U.K. LABOUR PARTY: Austerity has failed and needs to end now.

Will she apologize for her broken promise that she was going to end austerity?

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: (INAUDIBLE) austerity is ending, under the Conservatives, the hard work of the British people is paying off. NOBILO (voice-over): In a statement, a U.K. government spokesperson has dismissed the latest criticism, describing the report as misleading.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

U.K. SPOKESPERSON: We are helping parents to move into work to give families the best opportunity to move out of poverty. And it is working. Employment is at a record high and children growing up in working households are five times less likely to be in relative poverty.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

NOBILO (voice-over): For those relying on food aid now, the government's words are of little comfort.

MCGRANAGHAN: All the families can't afford electricity. They can't afford to cook when they do get the food banks.

NOBILO (voice-over): A situation, he says, that is unlikely to change anytime soon -- Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The accused gunman in the shootings of two New Zealand mosques now faces additional charges of engaging in a terrorist act. An additional murder charge and two more charges of attempted murder were also filed.

A lone gunman targeted Muslims attending Friday prayers in March; 51 people were killed and dozens more were wounded. The attack was broadcast live on Facebook. The suspect's next court appearance is June 14th.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, baseball-sized hail; millions in Texas and Oklahoma warned about violent and possibly life-threatening weather. We will take a look at that.

And did U.S. president Donald Trump reveal intelligence secrets during a TV interview?

We will look at the possible fallout. That's next.

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[02:31:04] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour. Iran says it has increased impeachment capacity and notified the International Atomic Energy Agency. The news comes amid a Twitter war with U.S. President Donald Trump. He wrote on Sunday, if Iran wants to fight, it will be the official end of the country.

Google is restricting Huawei's access to its Android operating systems apps. This follows last week's White House order banning U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese telecommunications giant. The U.S. Commerce Department eased some of those restrictions on Monday.

Reuters report three-time Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda has died. Lauda had a near fatal crash in 1976 that left him badly burned. Off the track, he started a successful charter airline, Lauda Air which eventually merged with Austrian Airlines. Niki Lauda was 70 years old.

Well, evacuations are being reported as parts of Americas Midwest are getting hammered by severe weather. Tornadoes that swept through the region and now giving way to a flashflood emergency and Tulsa, Oklahoma. 14 twisters were reported Monday. The National Weather Service says at last two were large and extremely dangerous. More than four million people are still in harm's way from Texas to Missouri.

As forecasters warned of more violent weather in the coming hours. And our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is standing by in the World Weather System with more details. And this is just incredible how much everyone in that particular part of the United States is having to deal with.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, this is the region of the world where 90 percent of the our planet's tornados occurred every single spring and its typically this time of year. Late May, early June, that's when you see the activity really flourish. And Monday certainly had the potential here to be a significant weather day and a lot of ways it was but really the extent of which of city weather concerns as you noted, couple hours tornados into parts of Oklahoma, into Texas but the widespread reaching nature of this was really diminished.

And in fact a level five, it was rare level five that was issued a high risk which -- on average just a couple of times for a year, you see this where long track violent tornadoes are forecast across the regions of the United States. But altogether, latest numbers now take the tornado count up to 17. 40 reports of wind damage, 50 plus reports of hail damage. Not only that we see baseball-sized hail reported, also grapefruit-sized hail being reported across portions of the central and Midwestern United States.

And of course, you put that together and you put that with what has happened so far in the past 24 hours. Tremendous thunderstorm activity, really speaks to the instability currently in the atmosphere ginning upwards of 20,000 lightning strikes in a 24-hour period across this region. So you know it's been active. The concern now shifting in towards Tuesday, the energy shift a little farther towards the East.

Kansas City one of the areas we're watching here carefully for the risk zone on the scale of one to five. It is a two for a severe weather across that region. And a lot of this, a lot of what is happening in recent days with rainfall going to fall on top of already a flooded landscape. So every single one of these squares and boxes represents flooding that is currently taking place across this region of the U.S. And notice the heaviest rain is directly on top of that, Rosemary. So

that certainly a story worth following. And another story as we approach the holiday weekend across the Eastern United States, across the U.S., Eastern U.S. really bracing for the hottest weather we've seen in the month of May on record, potentially middle 30s in the forecast. Rosemary?

CHURCH: We are dealing with some incredible extremes, right now. Across the globe, in fact. Pedram, many thanks to you. Appreciate it. Well, Donald Trump is known for his unguarded moment and it seems the U.S. President may have once again spilled U.S. secrets, leading some to wonder what his own intelligence officials and other countries will be willing to share with him going forward.

[02:35:04] CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As President Donald Trump has access to America's most sensitive secret intelligence. And while he may not always believe all the intelligence he is given, he is not afraid to talk about getting it.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, sometimes intelligence is good, and sometimes you look at Comey, then you look at Brennan and you look at Clapper, and then supposed to believe that intelligence? I never believed that intelligence.

TODD: But analysts say in an interview on Sunday, the President may have done more than just talk about receiving U.S. intelligence. He may have revealed it. Asked about a report that he personally authorized, a U.S. cyber attack on Russian entities around the time of the 2018 midterm elections, Trump appeared to confirm the story.

TRUMP: I'd rather not say that, but you can believe that the whole thing happened and it happened during my administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why don't you talk about that?

TRUMP: Because they don't like me to talk. Intelligence says, please, don't talk, intelligence.

TODD: But that wasn't the only piece of intelligence President Trump might have revealed during that interview. While about his negotiating skills, the President also appeared to give up sensitive details about why he didn't strike a nuclear weapons deal with Kim Jong-un at their February Summit in Hanoi.

TRUMP: I said, you're not ready for the deal, because he wanted to get rid of one or two sites but he has five sites. I said, what about the other three sites? That's no good. We're going to make a deal, let's make a real deal.

TODD: Thus Kim Jong-un have five major sites that produce nuclear weapons or the components for them? U.S. Intelligence isn't saying. He asked experts who track North Korea nuclear weapons program, they say they had never heard the regime has five nuclear sites.

JOSHUA POLLACK, NUCLEAR WEAPONS EXPERT: I could not tell you what those would be. I don't know what President Trump had in mind there exactly.

TODD: Whether Kim actually has five nuclear sites isn't clear, the President could have been referring to something else. But one former CIA analyst says tipping off a dictator then a T.V. audience about anything the U.S. knows could be harmful.

AKI PERITZ, FORMER ANALYST, CIA: If you show a country we have all your satellite photos, this is you building this facility. They'll say, thanks for that information, we are going to try a little bit harder, a little tougher to -- for you to figure that out again the next time.

TODD: Trump has talked about sensitive intelligence before at inopportune moment. In May of 2017, the President was criticized for inviting top Russian officials into the Oval Office. And then allegedly telling them about intelligent the U.S. got from another country about ISIS plots. Trump defended his comments but gave away even more information with his answer.

TRUMP: Just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name Israel.

TODD: But just weeks before that incident, in a phone call with the President of the Philippines, Trump divulged that two U.S. nuclear submarines were near the Korean peninsula. According to a Philippines government transcript of the conversation leaked to the intercept. Former spy say the President's tendency to brag about his intelligence could make U.S. officials as well as overseas partners reluctant to share important secrets with him.

PERITZ: If the next time you have something you would like to keep secret, you may want to obfuscate that information. Another problem is other intelligence agencies, other country will not be as interested or willing to provide this information the next time.

TODD: Neither U.S. Intelligence Agencies nor the White House are commenting on the President's remarks on intelligence or the fallout that could bring. Former spy the fallout from the President's remarks could go all sorts of different ways including if intelligence officials don't trust the President to keep sensitive secret and they keep detail from him, that could lead to catastrophe when it goes into negotiations with someone like Kim Jong-un. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Next on CNN. Cubans are lining up for hours to buy what little food there is as the country struggles to an economic crisis. And later this hour, the brave women warriors who helped topple a dictatorship in Nicaragua. Their fight started decades ago, and it's not over yet. We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:41:37] CHURCH: U.S. automaker Ford says it's cutting 7000 salaried jobs worldwide. The move is part of a cost-cutting effort that the auto giant says it will save about $600 million a year. Our Vanessa Yurkevich reports from Ford's headquarters in Michigan.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning the scope of these layouts about 10 percent in cuts to their salaried workforce. That amounts to about 7000 jobs. And by the end of this week, 900 people will be off the job. 500 in the U.S. alone. Now these are going to be layoffs for white collared workers, these are people working in management positions, not people making the actual cars.

This was a concern after G.M. announced last year that they would be closing five of their factories in North America. And this comes during and uncertain time for U.S. auto manufacturers. We know the consumer trends and behaviors are changing, more people are wanting to buy autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles, and another point of uncertainty. This trade war with China.

We know that these layoffs are not directly correlated with the tariffs on steel and aluminum, but the President of Ford said just last year that he is projecting that the impact of the tariffs on steel and aluminum could cost the company up to one billion dollars. Back to you.

CHURCH: Well, the Eiffel Tower reopens Tuesday after an evacuation and shut down. A man climbed to the iconic landmark for more than seven hours Monday before firefighters talked him down. He was taken into police custody. Tourists were frustrated when the tower had to be evacuated and surrounding streets were locked down. There's no word on why the man tried to scale the 324-meter tall tower.

We turn to Cuba now where the communist-run island is struggling with food shortages of its own. For weeks, Cubans have complained of empty store shelves and fights have even broken out and market when chicken and other hard-to-find items to go on sale. Our Patrick Oppmann explains what's causing the food crisis.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA-BASED CORRESPONDENT: Juana leaves her old Havana apartment to see what there is at the bodega. That's what Cuban called a small neighborhood markets that carry products subsidized by the government. The options have always been scarce but these days Juana says there is less and less for people like her. Juana is retired with a government pension of about $12.00 month, and she washes laundry for her neighbors so she can afford to eat.

If you work, you don't get anything, she says. When you go to a market, there is nothing. The people who buy to resell take everything. Facing the worse food shortages in years, the Cuban government is implementing even stricter rationing on increasingly hard to find products like chicken, eggs, and soap. The government blames the shortages on increase U.S. sanctions. The slow collapse of socialist ally Venezuela would send Cuba most of the Island's supply of oil is also taking a toll.

Cuba imports most of the food its citizens consume and the government has a monopoly on those imports. Cuban officials have told the populace to remain calm.

[02:45:03] Every day, though, there are longer lines at this government-run supermarket, which charges for mostly imported good at prices far beyond what many Cubans can afford to pay. Hoarding of products is increasing as fears grow that a severe crisis is on the horizon.

So, there are several hundred people who have been here for hours waiting because the word has gotten out that there will be chicken at this market. I got a message on a social media app called, Donde Hay Comida -- Where is there food?

The problem is though, even if you get here, you have to get here early to make sure you're in the right place in line, because by the time you get inside, there may be none left.

For many Cubans, this has become a daily ritual. Waiting in line for hours to buy a single item.

"I've been here for hour, other people since 5:00 a.m.," (INAUDIBLE) tells me. On Mother's Day, I came at 9:00 a.m. and left at 4:00 p.m. It's too many hours.

The shortages came coincidentally just as the government finally gave Cuban's widespread access to mobile Internet. For the first time, allowing frustrated consumers to pose their photos on social media of endless lines and even the occasional fight breaking out.

For people on the bottom like Juana, the answer to the crisis seems to be more government rationing so that everyone gets their share.

"It's very expensive. Fruit is so expensive. Everything is," she says. "It's because of the people who resell things. There should be a law making them lower the prices."

Food shortages that despite near-total government control, are now out of control. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And still to come, fighting a revolution and then going home to cook dinner. Women helped overthrow a dictator in Nicaragua, but they're still battling for equality. We take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. We'll the Sandinista Revolution of 1979 transform Nicaragua, overthrowing President Anastasio Somoza and ending years of dictatorship. Thousands of women joined the fight, battling a murderous regime while standing up to sexism and oppression.

They sacrificed so much, yet most people don't even know they were part of the revolution. And decades later, their fight for equality in Nicaragua continues. The documentary Las Sandinistas, tells their stories. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They rose to command and led troops into battle but far to be recognized.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were important during the war and then we were marginalized. Men distrusted, women distrusted feminism.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Decades later they take to the streets again to fight new threats to women and democracy.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHURCH: Jenny Murray is the producer and director of Las Sandinistas. And Shakira Barrera is an actress and activist for Nicaraguan causes. And they join me now from Los Angeles. Thank you both for being with us to talk about this powerful film.

JENNY MURRAY, PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR, LAS SANDINISTAS: Thank you.

SHAKIRA BARRERA, ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST, NICARAGUA: Thank you for having us.

CHURCH: And, of course, not only does this documentary tackle the 1979 revolution in Nicaragua but also the fight to end violence against women in that country. And Jenny Murray, if I can start with you, how is it possible that after taking a central role in the Nicaraguan revolution, Sandinista fighting force, women within marginalized, and the history of their fighting role, three decades later is being raised

MURRAY: Yes, it's shocking, Rosemary. And it's one of the main reasons that I wanted to make this film. Women commanded the troops on an unprecedented level in the revolution and led massive social reform.

And sadly, and tragically in the '90s, and then, the early 2000s, many of them were sidelined and have now, then written out of the history altogether.

CHURCH: And why is that happening? Who is spearheading that effort?

MURRAY: Well, believe in large part it's the current government. Mainly because a lot of these women that were on the front lines, leading the battle during the revolution, unfortunately, became activists.

Again, some of the policies of the current government which they found to be undemocratic. Policies like the federal ban on abortion, issues with transparency in elections, and yes, just a number of other issues the women believe that they had to take a stand against and corruption within the government.

CHURCH: Right. And Shakira Barrera, the people of Nicaragua united to form the Sandinistas after decades of oppression by the U.S. back Somoza government. And they did win, didn't they? And drove Somoza out, but now, it's the leader of their own revolution, Daniel Ortega who they're fighting now. How, did that happen? What's the message in that?

BARRERA: That's correct. It almost feels like history is repeating itself in a sense. My uncle was a Sandinista fighter. So, in some ways, it's a loss of hope for the Nicaraguan people. We're very resilient people, but it does seem like the tables have turned and the reason for that is the Ortega regime.

It's been the social security reform, the lack of economic plan has affected the people. The protests have been detrimental to the country. We've -- it's been over a year of political and social crisis for the Nicaraguan people.

CHURCH: Yes, and Jenny, as we mentioned, decades later, efforts are underway to erase these women stories from history. But now, we see the same women leading a movement for equality and democracy out on the streets of Nicaragua. How successful will they be, and can they win this battle?

MURRAY: I believe they can, Rosemary. And they've been so successful on the past. I mean, they won a revolution, and a country of millions of people, and over through a dictator.

And today, unfortunately, Dora Maria Tellez, the heroine, one of the heroines in the film, is on the terrorist list in Nicaragua again, living underground. Her house has just been raided by government police. And Sofia Montenegro and Monica Baltodano, two of the big heroines in the film as well were protesting, just convening to protest, and were pulled into prison this March.

And luckily they were released within 24 hours, but it's a scary time. So, they are going on the street. Dora Maria Tellez was leading hunger strikes, as you could see towards the end of the film. And they will keep fighting.

CHURCH: Right. I mean, it is a big risk, isn't it? I mean, Shakira, it was to be ask, when you see these battles, and that's been going on for decades if not hundreds of years, will the battle for women ever be one? Will women always have to fight to retain an equal place in society? Whether we (INAUDIBLE) Nicaragua or anywhere else.

I mean, we are looking at women trying to fight for their rights over their own bodies across the United States right now.

BARRERA: Yes, that's correct. I believe we saw that in Jenny's film as well is that the women have always been marginalized and not treated equally, even when they fought alongside the man they were still oppressed. They still wanted to be put -- they were still put in this box that they had to cook and clean even after they fought in front of the battlefield and in front of the lines. And I feel like women will always have this power to -- this need in power to want to be equal.

And Nicaragua is -- I mean, we're suffering so much, it's a third world country at the moment, and I feel like women will win in the end, but it is a long, long treacherous battle that we are going, we are in a crisis. We even have hashtags, you know, #sosnicaragua. It's trying to reach the masses --

(CROSSTALK)

MURRAY: But hopefully, we will be victorious.

BARRERA: Yes.

CHURCH: Yes, and Jenny, as the director and producer of this documentary. What are you hoping to achieve with its rebroadcast?

MURRAY: I hope that this story can touch American lives, and remind us all that if we band together, we can change the entire world. I really do believe that. These women, as young woman, very young, some were teenagers, really believed even though it was only a few hundred of them that they could bring health care to a country that didn't have it, that they could bring health care to a country that didn't have it. That they could bring equality where it hadn't been, and that they could bring literacy and culture. Free poetry, I mean, free dance school, these wonderful innovative reforms and they pushed and did it.

You know, not only did they lead as generals in battle, but then they revolutionize their entire country with health care and with education. So, I really hope at this time in America that we have this urgent reminder that we can really change the world if we care enough, and are willing to get out there.

CHURCH: And Shakira, what was it like for you working with these women, hearing their story, spending days with them as an actress and an activist? Of course, your role here was as an activist, but how important was it for you to be a part of this project?

BARRERA: Well, for me, Jenny and I found each other through the nonprofit organization that I'm working with, which is Amigos de Nicaragua. Our nonprofit focuses on bringing about legal and medical aid to those who need it because of the political and social crisis.

So, Jenny and I teamed up. She was getting a lot of questions on what people can do to help Nicaragua. So, our organization is working directly with other alliances who are helping Nicaraguan refugees. It's basically a one to 800 number. They call these organizations, and Amigos de Nicaragua steps in, in any way we can legally, medically, psychologically.

A lot of these people have been exiled just by helping people who were oppressed or injured during the protests. And a lot of these people are doctors, lawyers, professionals, who are not able to do what they are trained to do. And now they're exiled in Costa Rica.

So, we are working with these refugees and a lot of these Costa Rican refugee houses to help these people. And most of these people, unfortunately, our students. So, we are trying to continue their education for them. A lot of them don't have financial means, a lot of them don't have family, a sense of community. So, Amigos de Nicaragua stepping in alongside with people like Jenny who care about what's going on in Nicaragua and wants to see a change, a new democracy for Nicaragua.

CHURCH: Right. We salute your efforts. It is an extraordinary and powerful documentary, and we hope that changes can be made. Jenny Murray, and Shakira Barrera thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

BARRERA: Thank you so much.

MURRAY: thank you, Rosemary. Thanks for having us.

CHURCH: And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church, I'll be back with another hour of news in just a moment. Do stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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