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A Brutal Death; United in Times of Threats; Stonewalling at the White House; Four Family Members of Paris Attacker Held by Police; American Dies After Returning From North Korea in Coma; Developing Story; Theresa May Vows to Stamp Out Extremist Ideology; Brexit Talks; All Eyes on U.S. Congressional Race; Conversation with Douglas Blackmon; Pence Family's New Pets. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 20, 2017 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Driven by hate. Two attack in different cities with different targets but both with the same goal. The latest on the assaults in London and Paris.

The American college student who fell into a coma in North Korean custody has died, triggering new condemnation of Kim Jong-un's regime.

And U.S. politicians have Georgia on their mind. The key race shaping up into a referendum on the Trump presidency.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, and this is CNN Newsroom.

Two of Europe's major capitals are dealing with the aftermath of an all too familiar theme this year, acts of terror. In Paris, police say a man deliberately rammed a car packed with explosives and weapons into a police van on the Champs-Elysees on Monday. The driver who was known to French security services later died.

The prosecutor's office tells CNN that four of his family members are now being held by police. Hours earlier in London, a van slammed into a crowd leaving a mosque after Ramadan prayer. Leaders of the mosque and other worshippers wrestled that driver to the ground and hand him over to the police. He is now in custody.

And we have our teams in both locations for the very latest on this. Ian Lee is in London and Melissa Bell is in Paris. So Melissa, let's start with you. It was certainly extraordinary; the perpetrator was the only casualty in this incident given what we know. What more are we learning about the driver who died at the scene after deliberately hitting a police van. And do we know if he was working alone of perhaps with a group?

MELISSA BELL, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, that will be one of the key questions for this investigation, an anti-terror investigation, Rosemary, that was open yesterday. The fifth in as many months. But once again the security forces targeted once again in one of Paris' iconic tourist pick locations here on the Champs-Elysee yesterday afternoon. Now we've just been hearing from France's Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, from whom we had the confirmation of what had been going on around for France, but of course, for the last few hours the idea that this man, the man who then died after ramming that car packed with explosives, then you're quite right to point out that this could have been far worse than in the end it was in terms of casualties and damage.

But this man was in fact, what the French called (Inaudible) that he was under act of surveillance. He was one of the many thousands of people that authorities are meant to be keeping an eye on. And yet, he had a firearms license, and yet he was able to pack his car full of explosives, drive it down to Champs-Elysee and ram into that police car.

Now Edouard Philippe has announced that he wants to look again at that system all and how surveillance work, who has access to those files, ready considering the questions of how France goes about keeping an eye on those who come across their radar because they become radicalized.

CHURCH: All right. Let's turn now to Ian Lee in London if we can. Ian, what's the scene there. More than 24 hours after this tragic incident and what more are we learning about the perpetrator in this case of this terror attack near a London mosque.

IAN LEE, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Rosemary, as you can see people are getting back to life as usual. It's rush hour right now, people have been coming through here. This is one of the main tube stops for commuters. But along this morning we've seen people come here leaving flowers, leaving personalized messages, a lot of solidarity, a lot of unity in these messages. Then to really the feelings right now in this community.

And what we're learning about Darren Osborne the man who carried out this attack. He's a 47-year-old man from Cardiff in Wales, the father of four, we're hearing from his family has been troubled for quite some time. But they said they didn't expect him to carry out something like this.

Now the police and the government here are calling it a terrorist attack, they're investigating it as a terrorist attack. And we know that he was targeting Muslims. From what witnesses were telling us after the attack when they pulled him they were able to apprehend him. He said "I've done my best, you deserve this."

So, it was targeting the Muslim community. People yesterday shaken up that he did target them saying that they've got to be more alert, more aware when they're walking around in the streets. We heard from the police as well, they say they're beefing up security especially now because it is Ramadan. They want to make the community here feel at ease as well, and know that they're being protected.

[03:05:02] But they said, Rosemary, and we've heard this time after time, is you see something, say something. And that was the advice they were giving everyone yesterday.

CHURCH: Yes, very important. And Ian, of course, we know that ISIS and other terrorist groups want to see the sort of payback attacks, that's their aim. But in this instance we know that an effort was made to hand over this man to authorities to the police at the scene and that really stopped any possibility here of something terrible happening to the perpetrators so then we would see more of these sorts of terror attacks on either side.

LEE: That's right. You know, you bring up a really good point, because this is something we see in Iraq and Syria and really in other parts of Middle East. That's one thing that ISIS tries to do is to via driver wedge between the communities. In Iraq it's the Sunnis and Shiites and elsewhere that they try to create this divide. In Egypt it's the Christian and Muslims they want the communities divided.

And so that's what we're trying to see here as well, than trying to carry out the same goal, divide the community. But what we're seeing solidarity. And I just want to show just some of these signs. We have, you know, "united against terror" right here. There's a note down here that says "with love from a Jew to all Muslims."

We have the Sheikh community and last night we saw members of the Jewish community coming out to be there to show their solidarity but also to say if someone needs something there to help them.

So, you do have this wedge. And you have people like the man yesterday who carried out this terrorist attack who felt, who maybe we don't know the motives, and that's something that police will obviously investigate. But there is trying to divide that wedge, but right here, Rosemary, we're seeing solidarity.

CHURCH: Yes, and that is the message, unity and solidarity the best weapon against these terrorists across the globe. Many thanks to our Ian Lee in London, Melissa Bell in Paris.

Well, Russia has a stunning warning for the U.S.-led coalition fighting in Syria. We may treat -- we may treat your aircraft as targets.

Now tensions have escalated after a U.S. navy fighter jet shut down a Syrian war plane.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.

BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, CNN: U.S. pilots flying over Syria now on the lookout for Russian airplanes or missile threats following the weekend shoot down by a U.S. Navy F-18 Super Hornet of a Syrian warplane. This, because the Kremlin threaten that any U.S. war plane operating in certain areas of Syria would be considered a threat.

When the chairman of the Joint of Staff was asked if he was confident that Russia would not shoot down a U.S. war plane, the answer was carefully worded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm confident that we are still communicating between our operation center and the Russian federation operation center, and I'm also confident that our forces have the capability to take care of themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Defense Secretary James Mattis taking the treat seriously. His spokesperson issuing the statement, "As a result of recent encounters involving pro-Syrian regime and Russian forces we have taken prudent measures to reposition aircraft over Syria."

The Pentagon won't offer details but the goal is clear, yet, U.S.- backed ground forces to push ISIS out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're sending warnings to the Syrians and to the Iranians and to the Russians that this offensive must be the top priority and it be hindered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: When a Syrian war plane attacked those U.S.-backed forces on the ground the U.S. reacted. It began Sunday at 4.30 p.m. pro-Syrian regime forces attacked the U.S.-backed fighters near the city of Tabqa, a key on the way to Raqqa, the ISIS capital.

Driving them from their fighting positions, U.S. aircraft flew in launching flares to scare off the pro-Assad unit. The U.S. also contacted the Russians to try to stop the fighting. At 6.43 p.m. a Syrian SU-22 dropped bombs near the U.S.-backed fighters, it was immediately shut down the coalition said by that U.S. navy aircraft as a matter of self-defense.

A full court presence now on by the Pentagon to try and keep talking to the Russians to make sure none of this escalate out of control.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

[03:09:58] CHURCH: So let's get reaction now from Moscow with CNN contributor Jill Dougherty. Jill, what is happening here with all these threats coming from Russia, where is this all going?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CONTRIBUTOR, CNN: Well, that is the question, Rosemary, you know. People are looking right now especially in the United States at how the Russians and what they actually said that warning, which was it would track and then consider as targets anything airborne that comes west of the Euphrates.

And as pointed out it did not go so far as to say that will actually shoot planes down, but that's implicit. So it's an actual warning and then it's also an implicit warning. And the question is, is it lot of rhetoric because don't forget that Russia did that, you know, with the second part of this, which is ending that hotline, the de-confliction line with the United States.

They stopped that temporarily back in April as a sign of anger about the United States attack on that Syrian base, but then it started up again. So, the Russians many times have turn to that and said we're going to stop this to make a point but this is making a point or is this real.

So that's why you have the United States saying on the one hand we're going to try to work militarily and diplomatically to get the de- conflictions back on track and then at the same time saying that they're going to take action.

The Russians today really haven't said too much of anything but I think the point obviously was made with their statement. And then don't forget, Rosemary that this is all happening in the context of the fight against ISIS in Raqqa, their self-declaimed -- declared headquarters.

And there's a lot of jacking, in fact, it has been described by some analyst as a land grab by the forces that are involved, the Iranians, the Syrians, the Russians, and the opposition, et cetera, for a post- ISIS situation in that region of Syria.

And that the danger here is that, yes, there is a lot of physical jacking, there's a lot of diplomatic jacking. But the plane -- the problem is you have planes in the air and now with apparently no de- conflictions specifically. It can get very dangerous very fast.

CHURCH: Yes, I want to talk more about that just how concerned should the United States be if the Russians do go ahead with the threat to suspend the de-confliction hotline with the U.S., and what would be the ramifications of that. You talked about the possibility there of some terrible mistake in the air.

DOUGHERTY: It could happen, and apparently, they actually have. I mean, if you look at what the general was saying they are communicating, but apparently that, let's call it a hotline that that way of the de-confliction communication has ended. That said, Russia doesn't really want to totally end that.

I mean, but the end game here for Russia is to have a major role in Syria, especially after its -- that ever happens the end of the conflict. So they are playing a long game. Iran is playing a long game. And certainly you'd have to say that the opposition are playing to a certain extent a long game.

So, right now, that the danger is that Russia really does need the United States and the way that the Russians had carried themselves so far in Syria of ten is to push the envelope to be a quite -- even rhetorically aggressive and count on the Americans to be kind of the adults, the responsible adults who pull it back. That appears to be somewhat what's happening now.

And the question is Russians kind of feel that perhaps this is a little less predictable with the Trump administration. So, diplomatically and military it's very changeable, and ultimately could be dangerous.

CHURCH: Jill Dougherty in Moscow, always great to get your analysis on these topics. I appreciate it.

An American student detained for more than a year in North Korea dies just days after returning home in a coma. Why Pyongyang might have kept Otto Warmbier's condition as secret for so long.

And the White House take another step back from the daily press briefing. How the Trump administration is keeping reporters at arm's length.

We're back in a moment.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The United States is condemning the brutal North Korean regime for the death of an American university student. Otto Warmbier's parents made the announcement Monday blaming the torturous mistreatment their son received while detained. The 22-year-old returns to the U.S. last week i a coma.

CNN's Brian Todd has the latest.

BRIAN TODD, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: By the time Otto Warmbier was in the U.S. hospital doctor said his condition was dire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL KANTER, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI MEDICAL CENTER: No signs of understanding language, responding to verbal commands or awareness of his surroundings. He has not spoken, he has not engage in any purposeful movements or behaviors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Tonight, Warmbier's parents say their son has quote, "completed his journey home" that Otto Warmbier died today at 2.20 p.m. Eastern Time. The family says when he arrive in Cincinnati last week in a vegetative state Warmbier's face look anguish, but within a day they say his face changed. He was at peace they say.

From President Trump a somber response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He just passed away a little while ago. That's a brutal regime and we'll be able to handle it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Warmbier's doctors told reporters they're discovered he had lost much of his brain tissue due to cardiopulmonary arrest that two brain scans sent by the North Koreans suggested he'd been in a vegetative state for at least 14 months. Experts say while they're surprise North Korea would allow an American being held to reach such critical condition. They say mistreatment in North Korean jails is not uncommon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG SCARLATOIU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA: We know that they applied very brutal treatment, torture, beating, rape to their own people and also to foreigners who were held in custody.

MICHAEL GREEN, SENIOR ADVISOR AND JAPAN CHAIR, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: All of a sudden he was thrown into this hell hole so anything is possible. He could have suffered shock when he was sentenced to hard labor. He could have been beaten. He could have punch him all his life.

Whatever the circumstances, it is likely the result of the fact that the North Koreans put him in this situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: There are key questions still unanswered after Warmbier's death. Why did Kim's regime keep Warmbier's condition a secret for so long?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCARLATOIU: Perhaps they waited hoping that he would come out of the coma, he didn't. Eventually they panicked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And how might the United States retaliate for the death of this 22-year-old University of Virginia student where the North Koreans had sentenced to hard labor for allegedly pulling down a propaganda banner in a hotel.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. would hold North Korea accountable for Warmbier's imprisonment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREEN: One reason to be careful about military retaliation is the fact that North Korea now has missiles and nuclear weapons that could strike Japan, Korea, and potentially threat United States. The other reason is there are other Americans who are hostages and they imprisoned who we also want to get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Otto Warmbier's family said in a statement, quote, "The awful, torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans I'm sure that no other outcome was possible beyond the sad one we experienced."

[03:20:06] When we call the North Korean mission at the U.N. to respond to that, they hung up on us.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: And CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Seoul in South Korea. So Paula, what has been the reaction from South Korea and beyond to the tragic death of Otto Warmbier?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Rosemary, there's a lot of shock that Otto Warmbier has passed away, certainly a lot of dismay that it has come to this. We heard from the Blue House, the presidential compound, they were saying that President Moon Jae-in has sent his condolences also to the parents of Otto Warmbier.

Also saying that he questioned whether or not North Korea had fulfilled its humanitarian rights saying let us -- it is deplorable that North Korea does not respect human rights.

We've also heard from the former detainee of North Korea, Kenneth Bae, now remember he was kept in custody for about two years, just over two years to release back in 2014. He also said that it was dreadful what has happened to Otto Warmbier saying he was a college student on a journey to see the world for North Korea to detain him and sentence him to 15 years in prison was an injustice.

But for Otto to be returned to the U.S. in the state he was in and then for him to die because of it, is not only an outrage but it is a tragedy for his entire family. So certainly there is condemnation coming from all sides for what has happened.

Also, U.S. Senator John McCain talking about what he said is the fact that the North Korean regime, the Kim Jong-un regime murdered an American citizen, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, you mentioned there John McCain calling this murder. How is North Korea likely to respond to that accusation, and why do you think are we able to get an answer as to why they held onto Otto Warmbier for so long when he was in coma.

HANCOCKS: Well, to the second part first, Rosemary, this is actually taken many North Korean experts observers that I have spoken to by surprise. The fact that North Korea decided to keep this secret from the world, from the parents of Otto Warmbier and kept him in detention in a coma for such a long time, there is a sense of surprise that even by North Korean standards this was a very surprising turn off events.

But certainly we haven't had an official reaction from North Korea to what has happened today. We did last week here from state run media KCNA saying that North Korea decided to release Otto Warmbier on humanitarian grounds. That's effectively all we have heard from North Korea.

They believed that he had -- he had done something wrong that he was carrying out hostile act against the state alleging that he had taken a propaganda poster down from hotel wall, but certainly we haven't heard any more response from North Korea at this point. It's possible we won't know exactly what happened. Rosemary? CHURCH: A tragic outcome to this story. Our Paula Hancocks, bringing us up to date on the situation from Seoul, South Korea, where it is nearly 4.30 in the afternoon. Many thanks.

Well, two top democratic lawmakers want some answers about whether the former national security adviser misleads officials about business trips to the Middle East. They have sent a letter to Michael Flynn's lawyers asking for documents related to a 2015 trip involving a nuclear energy deal, involving Saudi Arabia and Russia.

They said Flynn did not accurately report his foreign travels in the 2016 application to renew his security clearance. Flynn's foreign work is a focus of the investigation of ties between President Trump's associates and Russia.

And reporters are not getting many answers from Trump officials about that investigation.

Jim Acosta reports the White House appears to be stonewalling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are you under investigation?

JIM ACOSTA, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: No surprise as President Trump offered no answers on whether he's under investigation in the Russia probe. Though, we had this to say to the president of Panama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Panama Canal is doing quite well. I think we did a good job building it, right?

JUAN CARLOS VARELA, PRESIDENT OF PANAMA: Yes.

TRUMP: That's a very good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Even though the president raise this factor that he's under investigation himself when he tweeted, "I'm being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director. Witch hunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY SEKULOW, MEMBER, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LEGAL TEAM: Let me be clear, the president is not under investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: One of the president's personal lawyers, Jay Sekulow, oddly insisted the president is not under investigation, then he all but admitted he can't be sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:04:57] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know whether he's on...

(CROSSTALK)

SEKULOW: But I'm not been notified, nor he's been notified that he is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know whether he is under -- you don't know whether he is under investigation or not.

SEKULOW: Chris, it's like...

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: A contradiction he repeated on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, HOST, CNN: Why don't you pick up the phone to find out. It's a little odd. If I hired you, I'd want you to make that phone call.

SEKULOW: Well, you haven't hired us because we represent the President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The stonewalling continued in the White House briefing room which was the scene of an off-camera no audio briefing where Press Secretary Sean Spicer provided more non-answers. Did the president fires special counsel Robert Mueller, Spicer, "I think the broader point here is that everyone who serves the president serves at the pleasure of the president."

Does the president have recordings of his conversations at the White House, Spicer, "I will tell you I believe the president commented in the next couple of weeks. It is possible we have an answer on that by the end of the week."

Members of Congress want to know where are the tapes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM HIMES, (D) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: They have not been turned over but the House intelligence committee has asked that those tapes, if they exist, be produced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The information blocked out come as the White House began what it's calling technology week by rolling out the president's son- in-law Jared Kushner to tap the administrations innovation of government services.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: By modernizing the systems we will meaningfully improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Kushner is now seeking additional attorneys for his own legal team after discovering his personal lawyer once worked with the special counsel. That personal lawyer Jamie Gorelick said in the statement, "After the appointment of our former partner Robert Mueller as special counsel, we advised Mr. Kushner to obtain the independent advisable lawyer with appropriate experience as to whether he should continue with us as his counsel."

Now White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer appears to be moving into a different role in the West Wing leaving at an opening at the podium in the briefing room. White House sources tell us Spicer may be shifted into a role that oversees both the job of press secretary and communications director.

Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: Barclays and four of its former senior executives has been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud during the financial crisis. The U.K.'s serious fraud offers made the announcement Tuesday after a five year investigation into the bank's fundraising with Qatar in 2008.

The dealings included a $3 billion loan made to the wealthy gulf state. A London court hearing is scheduled for next month.

We'll take a short break here, but still to come a diverse north London neighborhood is the target of a terror attack. But its resident have a message of resilience and hope.

Plus, Google and Facebook are fighting extremism on the internet. The weapons they are using we'll explain when we come back.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, HOST, CNN: A very warm welcome back to our viewers all across the globe. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we are following this hour. Authorities in Paris say four family members of the Champs Elysees attacker are being held by police. They say the man deliberately rammed a car full of weapons and explosives into a police van Monday (inaudible). No one else was hurt.

It was the fifth attack on security forces in Paris in just four months. The man who rammed a van into a crowd of people near a mosque in London has reportedly been identified as a 47-year-old from Wales. He is being held on suspicion of attempted murder and terrorist act. One man died at the scene. It is unclear if it was a result of the attack. Nine other people were taken to various hospitals.

The U.S. says North Korea should be held accountable for other Otto Warmbier's unjust imprisonment and now his death. The 22-year-old died Monday less than a week after Pyongyang returned him to the U.S. in a coma. North Korea claims Warmbier contracted botulism during his 17 months in detention. But U.S. doctors say there is no evidence of that.

More now on that attack in London. It happened in a part of the city that is home to people of many different ethnicities and religions. As Clarissa Ward reports, they are bonding together in the wake of this latest incident in the British capital.

CLARISSA WARD, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN: Finsbury Park sits in one of the most diverse regions of London. Home to historic Irish and Afro-Caribbean communities and large Muslim and Jewish populations. This is one of the reasons this attack feels so wrong to the local people. And Met police commissioner, Cressida Dick, paid tribute to that community cohesion (ph).

(START VIDEO CLIP)

CRESSIDA DICK, METROPOLITAN POLICE COMMISSIONER IN LONDON: This is a highly-integrated, truly diverse, and multicultural place. People who perpetrate attacks like this think they will break our society down and cause division between us, and they won't do that and they won't win. This is a very resilient city. This is a very, very resilient set of communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: The Finsbury Park Mosque is at the heart of this community. The Imam, Mohamed Mahmoud, has been praised for helping to apprehend the attacker and keep him safe from an angry public until the police came.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED MAHMOUD, IMAM AT FINSBURY PARK: A police van drove past by coincidence so we flagged them down. We told them the situation, that there is a man, he is restrained, he mowed down a group of people with his van and there's a mob attempting to hurt him, if you don't take him, God forbid he might be seriously hurt. So, we pushed people away from him until he was safely taken by police into custody and put him to the back of the van.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: In 2014, the mosque became only the third place of worship to be awarded a "visible quality mark" by the Charity Commission awarded only to safe organizations that are inclusive and welcoming. An achievement all the more remarkable considering how notorious the mosque was in the previous decade. It was closed in 2003 after concerns it was a hot bed of extremism.

The Imam was the notorious Abu Hamza who was convicted of 11 terrorism charges in the United States. Richard Reid who attempted to blow up an American Airlines flight in 2002 with a shoe bomb worshiped there. But, the Finsbury Park community has roots that run deep, and its resilience through the decades is testament to its strength. Clarissa Ward, CNN London.

CHURCH: Prime Minister Theresa May is vowing to take a tough stand against extremism in the wake of the recent attacks.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: As I said here two weeks ago, there has been far too much tolerance of extremism in our country over many years. And that means extremism of any kind including Islamophobia. That is why this government will act to stand out extremists and hateful ideology. Both across society and on the internet. So it is denied a safe space to grow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Tech companies are also using new weapons in this fight. Google, You Tube's parent company, has announced plan to use artificial intelligence to help identify extremist videos. It will also put warnings on videos with inflammatory religious or supremacist material even if they don't violate You Tube policies. Facebook also plans to use artificial intelligence to help moderators review content.

[03:35:00] Kamran Bokhari joins us now from Washington. He is a senior fellow with the Center for Global Policy and the fellow with George Washington University's Program on Extremism. Thank you so much for being with us.

KAMRAN BOKHARI, SENIOR FELLOW WITH THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL POLICY AND FELLOW WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, how effective do you think the use of artificial intelligence is likely to be in this fight against online extremism? Does it go far enough or is it too little too late, do you think?

BOKHARI: I don't think it's too little too late. I think that a lot of time has passed by and we have allowed extremist content to proliferate over cyberspace. But I think that the technology and bringing the technology to bare, as well as the legal framework with which to operate this kind of monitoring of the internet and taking down of content that's extremist in nature, I think that takes time and really it requires a geopolitical event for the political elite to actually move into this direction, and then work with the private sector to try and confront the problem.

CHURCH: Yeah, I mean, that is the point, isn't it? Because is identifying and putting a warning on videos enough? Or does there need to be a concerted effort to actually try to eliminate these types of videos altogether? Will that ever be possible, do you think? Or have we let it too late perhaps?

BOKHARI: I think that, you know, that's an ambitious goal to completely eradicate all forms of extremist content from the internet just because of the sheer size and volume of the space that we are talking about. There is also the issue of you can take down something if you know it exists. And so you may know about, you know, a certain number of sites and you can build upon that database over time.

But eventually, the bad guys are also operating in the same space. And they will continue to populate it and continue to find ways around it. So, I think that we need to bear in mind, you know, a reasonable expectation of what we would call success.

CHURCH: So, what more needs to be done, do you think, to ensure that young people are not drowning into the wave of extremism by the internet?

BOKHARI: One of the problems that young people face today and this is in general, is that they are very much, you know, in the online world as opposed to the physical realm or real space. And I think that alone is problematic for a variety of reasons. And of course, when they are consuming or they are exposed to extremist content, then that creates a bigger problem.

I think what needs to be done is, you know, shutting down or clamping down on cyberspace. But it's also about finding ways and means and this is not the job of government but rather civil society groups to provide youth with alternative healthy forms of recreation and past times so that they don't get exposed to these kind of ideologies and they don't fall prey to potential recruiters.

CHURCH: We will be watching closely to see what happens here. Kamran Bokhari, thank you so much for joining us. It's a pleasure to talk to you.

BOKHARI: My pleasure.

CHURCH: British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing growing pressures. The UK begins its Brexit negotiations with the EU. And she is already dealing with a lot after recent terror attacks in London and the Grenfell Tower fire. CNN's Nic Robertson reports.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MAY: This morning, our country woke to news of another terrorist attack on the streets of our capital city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN: On this big Brexit day, a terror attack. More pressure piled on the PM from the get go.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MAY: Today, we come together as we have done before to condemn this act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: As a top (ph) negotiator (inaudible) long-awaited talks in Brussels to get Britain out of the EU.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID DAVIS, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION: We will do all we can to assure that we deliver deal that works in the best interest of all citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: May was meeting those affected in an overnight attack on London's Finsbury Park Mosque.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MAY: Today's attack falls at a difficult time in the life of this city, following on from the attack on London Bridge two weeks ago, and of course the unimaginable tragedy of Grenfell Tower last week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Theresa May!

ROBERTSON: Pressures on the PM have been mounting up. Her rapid outreach today speedy in contrast to the tower fire tragedy for which she was heavily criticized. Back from the mosque, May greeting the new Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, later than anticipated in a meeting shorter about an hour. Varadkar not happy with May's (inaudible) for power broker in parliament, Northern Ireland's DUP.

[03:40:04] (START VIDEO CLIP)

LEO VARADKAR, TAOISEACH, PRIME MINISTER OF IRELAND: On the issue of marriage equality, I had an opportunity to meet with Arlene Foster and the DUP last week in Dublin. On that meeting, I expressed my very strong view that marriage equality shall be permitted in Northern Ireland. As you can appreciate, Arlene Foster and the DUP have a different view on this matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Pressure on May too on Brexit, how it could affect Ireland's $1.3 billion a week business with the U.K.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MAY: It won't back comprehensive free trade agreement which enables us to have (inaudible) and frictionless borders possible to continue the trade that has been so beneficial to us in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: May's hands have really been this full, some in her party feel clambering for her to step down. On this day, a principal rival for leadership in Europe backing her on Brexit.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: In the long run, this will be good for the U.K and good for the rest of Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Between now and that day, plenty of pressure on whomever is prime minister. Nic Robertson, CNN London.

CHURCH: Both the Democrats and Republicans have forward millions into it. Coming up, why a runoff election in the U.S. state of Georgia is capturing national attention. Back in a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, normally, a runoff election in one U.S. congressional district wouldn't grab much attention. But all political eyes are on the sixth district of Georgia. In about three hours, polls will open and voters could flip a district that has been solidly Republican for decades. Gary Tuchman reports on a very tight race.

GARY TUCHMAN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN: Welcome to one of the most Republican (inaudible) and one of the most Republican of neighborhoods in this Republican-dominated district in Georgia. So Republican that for years, this guy lived on the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably not (inaudible).

TUCHMAN: Newt Gingrich's ex-wife still lives in the same house in Cobb County, Georgia. But despite the Republican pedigree on the street, this now looks like a hot spot in the race between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff. Gary Sanchez has lived her for 34 years, right next door to the Gingrich house.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Did yo vote for Newt Gingrich over the years?

GARY SANCHEZ, NEWT GINGRICH'S NEIGHBOR: Yes.

TUCHMAN: And this year, voting for the Republican or the Democrat for the seat?

SANCHEZ: I am voting for the Democrat.

TUCHMAN: Sanchez, who says he is an independent, proclaims one of the reasons he is voting for Democrat Ossoff and not Republican Handel has to do with Donald Trump.

SANCHEZ: You hear the president, you know, let's drain the swamp. But here we are in the sixth congressional district, right? Thirty-eight years of the same style, the same approach, the same thing.

TUCHMAN: It has been nearly four decades since a Democrat has held a congressional seat in this district which is troubling others on the street too.

[03:45:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time for a change. TUCHMAN: Glen Smithy (ph) said it's kind of cool to live on the street where Newt Gingrich used to live. But he and his wife, Susan (ph), are Democrats. And have the only political yard sign on the block and it's for Jon Ossoff. They say this is a referendum on the performance of Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't remember any president going back from Ronald Reagan or even earlier who has been as crude and coarse to other people. I can't imagine Ronald Reagan talk in the way that Donald Trump talks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am going to vote for Karen Handel.

TUCHMAN: But the street will still deliver votes to the Republicans. Linda Petkas (ph) has lived here for over three decades.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My vote is really more of a negative vote against the Democratic Party.

TUCHMAN: Among residents we talked on and off camera in this quiet street, a clear Republican-Democratic split. Which also plays out within one of the homes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am for Democrat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I, Republican.

TUCHMAN: So, you're still able to stay married?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the time.

(LAUGHTER)

TUCHMAN: So, we came that she will vote for Ossoff, Bruce King (ph) for Handel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Most congressional candidates are aware that polls indicate the race is very close. Which also appears to be the case among voters here. On New Gingrich's old street. And even the former neighbor himself sees the race as (inaudible).

(START VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I think that the -- it's probably even money who wins the Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN Cobb County, Georgia.

CHURCH: Doug, let's talk more about this race in the sixth district. Doug Blackmon is here in the studio. He's a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a senior fellow at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Thank you so much for coming to the studio.

So, this race is as close as any could ever be, right? And it's unprecedented in that the Republicans have held this seat what, for the last four decades or so. So, how do you think this is likely to play out as too close to call of course? And why do you think it is so close?

DOUGLAS BLACKMON, JOURNALIST AND SENIOR FELLOW AT THE MILLER CENTER AT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, it is close because for one, places like Metro, Atlanta, in the center of Georgia, this giant population of people who vote differently than the rest of most of Georgia which is generally a rural agricultural state but then has a huge city in the center of it, and the demographics and the politics of that big giant urban area have been changing in a big way for a long time.

But now, what you have is that an area that was once overwhelmingly Republican is both changing in real terms. Also, this is a race that is not about either of the candidates. This is a race that is about how Americans are reacting to Donald Trump and then to some degree, which party can deliver their votes most effectively. It's a toss-up, it's a tie. In the end, it will be decided by a few negatives on the couple of the candidates but more than anything else, which party can deliver the most people to the polls tomorrow.

CHURCH: All right. So, a referendum on the presidency of Donald Trump. What is at stake here and what happens to the Trump administration and the Trump presidency, if Karen Handel loses this?

BLACKMON: If Karen Handel the Republican loses this race, the implications of this are enormous for President Trump because this should be even with the way that things have changed in this part of the country and the way that the state has changed demographically, this should still be an absolutely unlosable seat for a Republican candidate. And for a Democrat like Jon Ossoff, who really is not a particularly remarkable candidate in a notable way, doesn't have some background that makes him stand out in a tremendous way.

He seems like a smart guy, a nice guy, but he simply represents the Democratic Party. And if he were to actually take the seat away from Republicans, what that means is that immediately, there are 30 or 40 maybe 50 other Republican members of the congress who will see this and say, that looks like my district.

And if that district can be lost by a Republican because of the unhappiness with President Trump, I may need to start moving more and more away from Donald Trump between now and the election. It will be all over the country next year. So, the potential for this to be a damn breaking event for Donald Trump is very, very, very high.

CHURCH: Interesting. You mentioned that Jon Ossoff doesn't seem as too remarkable. Karen Handel isn't either. So, what would it mean to the Democrats if they lose?

BLACKMON: For the Democrats, if they lose, on the one hand, however close this is going to be and everything would suggests this is going to be very close, and the Democrats would argue that just by being close, just having a 51 to 49 loss, that that is still a victory for Democrats. In a sense, it is still is, it is still an astonishing rebuke of Donald Trump. But it does not become the kind of flag waving event that seems to set off earthquakes all across the country.

[03:50:05] If Ossoff loses tomorrow, then President Trump will come out tomorrow night, probably live, if not that certainly on Twitter. He will come out and say as he did after the primary election here, he will come out and say, look, sticking with me is how you win. Another big victory. And he won't care that they came within a race in marginal losing. So the Democrats, if this really be the kind of dramatic symbolic event they are hoping for, they have to win.

CHURCH: The poll numbers show they are around 48-49. Do you have a gut feeling how is this going to turn out?

BLACKMON: The poll numbers are exactly as you say, it really is a dead heat as of a week or so ago. There were some numbers that showed Ossoff ahead in the last 40 hours. There have been some others that showed Handel a tiny bit ahead. In the end, none of that really matters. This is an election that is going to be won in the basis of which machine that can deliver the most voters there. And I think that Ossoff has an advantage of that.

Democrats have been registering thousands and thousands of new voters. The early voting has probably worked to his advantage. So, he certainly has that behind him. Handel has the history of the district that Republican won but she does have a lot of negatives particularly with women. If I had to -- just had to make a speculative guess, I would say that women voters switching from the Republican side to the Democratic are likely to be what might push Ossoff just over the edge.

CHURCH: Right. We shall say of course that we learned from the presidential election in 2016 to be extra cautious about the polls. Thank you so much, Doug Blackmon, for joining us here in the studio. I appreciate it.

BLACKMON: My pleasure. Thank you.

CHURCH: The Western U.S. and Western Europe are facing scorching heatwaves right now and dangerous wildlife burning. We will look at the record breaking temperatures when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Millions are dealing with record hit in both western Europe and the United States. But for some, it is so hot, their planes can't take off. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has been following this. He joins us from the International Weather Center with the details. So, how often has this happened?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, METEOROLOGIST FOR CNN: You know, one other time in aviation history, and that was about 25 years ago. It is happening right now, so we are going to break down exactly what it means and why this is all happening because of course today across the northern hemisphere is the final day of the spring season. The word "hot" is widespread across Western Europe. There are some scattered storms unfortunately to other parts of Spain and Portugal where they needed when it comes to the drought situation and the fires across that region. But, you factor on the heat, you factor on the humidity. In London, as hot as 32 degrees this afternoon. In Paris, feels like 34 degrees. (inaudible) gets up into the middle 30s as well. And Of course, this will cool off into the overnight hours. And once again, on Wednesday, a similar sort of a setup across this region.

In fact, across the U.K., much of the country here, the Southern Tier and the Eastern Tier over the U.K. has issued heat wave action alerts, which means they are encouraging anyone across this region to try to stay indoor especially into the afternoon hours, stay out of extreme heat as temperature is again hottest in 2017. You notice that once they cool off by Thursday and Friday, but still stays above the seasonal values there around 21 to 22 degrees.

[03:55:00] But the trend does bring cooler air at least towards late this week. Now, across the Western United States, it is a different story. Some 40 million people are impacted by not only extreme heat but historic heat across some of these areas. We are talking the hottest temperatures ever observed. In fact, the hottest ever seen in Las Vegas was 47 back in 2013, but they got a three of 47 over the next several days in Las Vegas that were all-time high. Phoenix getting up into the upper 40s, close to 50 degrees, that is about 120 or so degrees Fahrenheit if you're curious in the Fahrenheit scale.

That would be near all-time record temperature. That is the city right there that has now delayed some 30 flights or canceled them across Phoenix International Airport. In fact, I want to show you this because we can get back in 1990. This occurred when Phoenix reached their maximum temperature of 50 degrees and were getting very close again. What happens is as air heats up, it becomes less dense. So, this thinner air has essentially entered the turbine of the aircraft. Less energy, less thrust that they able to be given into this aircraft.

So, essentially need a longer runway to generate enough lift beneath the wings to get the airplane to be able to take off. With less extreme heat, the (inaudible) that are smaller aircraft cannot safely operate to go fast enough to get enough lift beneath these wings before the runway begins to run out on some of these airports and Phoenix is one of those areas that officials are now urging these airline to begin to delay some of these flights. So, really fascinating to see this, that the density of the air because of extreme heat, Rosemary, is causing (inaudible) at least between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. when we expect temps to be close to 50 degrees and to be afternoon there.

CHURCH: Unbelievable. All right. Many thanks to you, Pedram. I appreciate it.

JAVAHERI: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And congratulations are apparently in order for the U.S. vice president, Mike Pence, when his family welcomed two new pets into their home over the weekend. An Australian shepherd puppy named Harley and little gray kitten called Hazel. The family's cat, Oreo, passed away earlier this month, leaving only Pickle, the family's orange and white cat, and their rabbit, Marlon Bundo.

The total number of Pence's pets now stands at four, just in case you are interested. And thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter. The news continues with Max Foster in London. You are watching CNN. Have yourself a great day.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)