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Kim Jong Un Welcomes Putin In North Korea; Israel Warns Hezbollah Of Destruction In Total War; Biden Announces Legal Protections For Undocumented Spouses Of U.S. Citizens; New Mexico Governor Declares Emergency Over Deadly Wildfires; Russian President Putin on Rare Visit to North Korea; Russian Troops Pounded by Ukraine as Putin Visits North Korea; Boeing CEO Faces Senators, Victims' Families at Safety Hearing; Americans Losing Billions to "Pig Butchering" Schemes. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 19, 2024 - 01:00 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: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, North Korea's Kim Jong Un gives Russia's Vladimir Putin a red carpet welcome, as the two leaders sent a signal to the west about their growing ties. Israel warns Hezbollah it would be destroyed in an all-out war in Lebanon after the group hosted drone video it says shows vulnerable targets inside Israel. And U.S. President Joe Biden woos Latino voters with an executive action making it easier for some undocumented immigrants to seek permanent legal status.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin this hour in Pyongyang where North Korea is officially welcoming Russian leader Vladimir Putin for his first visit to the country and 24 years. He arrived to a red carpet rollout in the early morning hours. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was there on the tarmac to welcome Mr. Putin with a handshake and a hug. The two are set to sit down for talks in the hours ahead.
Vladimir Putin is receiving a warm welcome in North Korea. We're just a short time ago, crowds turned out in Pyongyang holding Russian flags and chanting Welcome Putin. A welcoming ceremony is underway for Mr. Putin whose rare visit is expected to build on the growing partnership between the two countries. It comes as Moscow needs more Munitions for the war in Ukraine.
So let's go live now to CNN's Ivan Watson, who's following developments for us from Hong Kong. Good to see you again, Ivan. So what is the latest on Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea and what's expected to come out of his upcoming meeting with Kim Jong Un? IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right Well, we've just been watching the state television video feeds of this ceremony in Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang of Vladimir Putin's motorcade racing through the streets of the North Korean capital streets lined with residents, all waving Russian and North Korean flags and cheering welcome Putin. You know, a kind of rapturous display, also very highly choreographed display of enthusiasm and support.
I've witnessed one of these firsthand in Pyongyang in previous celebrations and it feels like the entire city's population is kind of mobilized to participate in one of these events. Kim Jong Un was in the square. The North Korean leader waiting for President Putin and the two of them met each other's delegations going down the road shaking hand by hand.
Among the North Korean dignitaries and uniformed officers was Kim Jong Un's son, sorry, rather sister, Kim Yo Jong, as well as Vladimir Putin's new defense minister, who was appointed within the past couple of months.
At the end of hearing each other's national anthems and a parade with uniformed troops marching past goose stepping past, both leaders got into an open top limousine, to then drive off. It is worth noting that the initial statements coming out of Russian state media, they are echoing an assertion that was made by Putin in his open letter to North Korea before he even landed here for this visit, where he is thanking the North Korea for its unwavering support as the Kremlin has put it for Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
And I think that's important because it highlights what has pushed these two countries closer together. North Korea has always been isolated. What has brought Vladimir Putin to North Korea is his isolation since he launched his full-fledged, full scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, and the fact that he needs help on the battlefield and he is accused of getting weapons conventional weapons from North Korea for this ongoing war of attrition. Rosemary.
CHURCH: And Ivan as you have been speaking with us we've been taking some pictures that are just coming in from the streets of Pyongyang.
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This welcoming parade as a Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrives there on his rare visit after 24 years. They're in North Korea and of course, waiting to meet very soon with Kim Jong Un. So let's talk about what this means for China. How would China be viewing this strengthening relationship between Russia and North Korea do you think?
WATSON: Well, look we've seen in Beijing and in Moscow, the Russian and Chinese leaders over the course of the last two years, embracing each other talking about their bonds of friendship, and then sharing rhetoric, similar rhetoric about wanting a new world order, or as they put it a multipolar order. And that's what we're hearing between Putin and Kim Jong Un as well. They are united in their antipathy, dare I say, hatred of the U.S. and
the U.S. lead Western allies and coalition. So this is one area where I think these three leaders are quite similar. None of them like the US. They all feel hemmed in by U.S. and Western policies. The
Kremlin is furious at what it does -- at the rules based order, as the Western consensus tries to argue it, and it is arguing that it's trying to create something that is not imperialistic that is against colonialism. It's trying to unite the global south. And this is exactly the kind of rhetoric that Pyongyang has been preaching for decades.
The proof is going to be in the pudding though. What kind of deal will these two leaders make? They have denied that North Korea is giving Russia ammunition potentially thousands of containers of ammunition which is the accusation coming from the U.S. government? And what could Putin give North Korea in return?
Just this year in March, Russia used its veto at the United Nations Security Council to veto a resolution that would have extended examinations of sanction busting by North Korea. That's the kind of support and that that Russia can offer. North Korea so isolated for generations now. Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Ivan Watson bringing us the very latest on this rare visit by Vladimir Putin to North Korea. Of course Ivan there in Hong Kong. Appreciate it.
Israel has a warning for Hezbollah after the Iran-backed militant group published a nine minute long video of military and civilian sites in Israel. The country's foreign minister is warning Hezbollah it would be destroyed and an all-out war. The video appears to show sites and highly populated Israeli cities close to the Lebanese border, hinting that Hezbollah could strike major targets there.
Now this comes after months of cross border strikes between Hezbollah and Israel since the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel's military campaign in Gaza. But the attacks have ramped up this past week after an Israeli strike killed a high ranking Hezbollah commander in Lebanon.
Israel says it's preparing for the possibility of an offensive in Lebanon if diplomatic efforts to reduce hostilities with Hezbollah fail. A U.S. envoy is in the region meeting leaders in Israel and Lebanon in an effort to prevent the situation from escalating.
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AMOS HOCHSTEIN, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: The conversations that I had here today in Beirut and the ones that I had yesterday in Israel, both are being conducted because the situation is serious. We have seen an escalation over the last few weeks. And what President Biden wants to do is to avoid a further escalation to a greater war.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Meantime, Rafah is still being pounded with airstrikes. More than a dozen people were killed and several others injured in two Israeli strikes in central Gaza on Tuesday. Gaza Civil Defense says the strikes hit two homes in refugee camps. The IDF tells CNN they are operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities. Survivors see these strikes happened while they were sleeping.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I woke up to pee pulling me from under the rubble.
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My son is gone. He's 17. His mother's in the ICU and his sister is injured inside. It's all children, all women made their souls rest in peace.
UNIDETIFIED MALE: My mom is gone, my siblings are gone, who is left in this life to stand by me?
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CHURCH: America's top diplomat is confirming an ongoing pause of a heavy bombs shipment to Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to ramp up pressure on the US. Antony Blinken says the Biden administration is reviewing the 2,000 pound bomb shipment that was paused last month over concerns they may be used in densely populated areas in Gaza.
In a video message, Netanyahu says it's quote inconceivable the U.S. has been withholding weapons and ammunitions from Israel, and added Blinken had assured him the restrictions would be lifted, but Blinken declined to say if he made such a promise.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm not going to I'm not going to talk about what we said in diplomatic conversations, I can just say. I can just say, again, that we have a commitment to make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against a whole variety of threats. Gaza is part of it. But it far surpasses Gaza in terms of the threats they face.
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CHURCH: Meantime, efforts to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza have hit yet another setback. A mobile pier constructed by the U.S. is out of service once again, due to bad weather and heavy seas. Now officials say they're not sure how long it will be until it's back up and running. CNN's Oren Liebermann has details.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the waters off southern Israel, these U.S. Army vessels wait for work. They are part of the operation for the U.S. built temporary pier to Gaza. But the pier is here some 30 miles from the war torn strip in the Israeli port city of Ashdod, tucked behind this power plant.
From these satellite images, you can see it sheltering at the port, unable once again to operate in heavy seas. The pier began with a major promise from President Joe Biden.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean. A temporary period will enable a massive increase the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Two months after the State of the Union, the pier known as JLOTS did begin delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. U.S. aid said this nautical option would one day be able to feed half a million people a month as critical supplies on the ground stalled checkpoints and air drops can only do so much.
But a week after it began operations in May, the pier broke and heavy seas repairs took more than a week. And the small army vessels that are part of the system also needed work. After four of them ran aground and high waves and winds. The Pentagon said a rare weather pattern knocked the $230 million pier out of commission.
SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: What happened was something that was quite unprecedented it was the high sea states and then that storm that that changed direction and created an untenable environment for JLOTS to operate in.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The last time the pier was used operationally was the Haiti earthquake in 2010. Since then, it has repeatedly struggled and exercises with rough weather. The pier was back up and running again on June 8, but soon hit another snag when there was no one to handle aid coming off the pier.
CINDY MCCAIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Well, right now we're paused.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): On Israeli rescue mission, which freed for hostages and killed scores of Palestinians forced the World Food Programme to pause its distribution effort and reevaluate the safety of the area.
MCCAIN: So we've stepped back just for the moment to make sure that we're on safe terms and on safe ground.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Aid still came off the pier, but it didn't get to the people who needed it. Without the UN's World Food Programme for lead distribution, it's unclear how viable the pier is in the future.
SINGH: The good news is, is that it's on the beach, so it's a step closer to getting to the people who need it most. But I just don't have an update on when that will be further distributed.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): But even the latest effort didn't last long. The pier which can only handle three foot seas, was knocked out of commission once again, moved back to Ashdod out of an abundance of caution to wait for calmer seas. Oren Liebermann, CNN in Ashdod, Israel.
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CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a new executive action that will allow some undocumented immigrants to seek permanent legal status without having to go back to their country of origin. Immigrant children and spouses of U.S. citizens who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years would be eligible for the program and the new policy affect about 500,000 families and about 50,000 children. CNN's Jenn Sullivan has more.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of the United States of America.
JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): The path to U.S. citizenship is a lengthy right now undocumented people who marry us citizens have to request parole before they can even apply to live in the U.S. illegally. In some cases, they're required to leave the country and reenter legally to be eligible for a green card. President Joe Biden wants to change that.
BIDEN: Living in the United States all this time, fear and uncertainty. We can fix that.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Tuesday, Biden announcing an executive order to provide legal status to undocumented people who are married to U.S. citizens and their children. To qualify, a person must have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17.
BIDEN: For best generations have been renewed, revitalized and refreshed by the talent, the skill of hard work the courage and determination of recruitment immigrants coming to our country.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The action would protect about 500,000 families and 50,000 children under the age of 21, according to a senior Biden administration official, many Democrats are praising the move.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): They should not have to fear deportation.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The announcement comes just two weeks after Biden took action to block migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally from receiving asylum. Many critics want to see Biden take a harsher stance on illegal immigration. House Speaker Mike Johnson tweeting just two weeks ago, the President pretended to crack down on the open border catastrophe by engaging in election year border charade. Now he's trying to play both sides and is granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Meantime on the campaign trail in Wisconsin, former President Donald Trump says if he's elected in November, he will dump Biden's new immigration program is also walking back his comments from last week when he called one of Wisconsin's biggest cities Milwaukee a horrible city. Steve Contorno has details.
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STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump appearing in Racine, Wisconsin on Tuesday, very critical of the new immigration policies announced by President Joe Biden earlier in the day he called it quote, mass amnesty. He said it would be illegal to do without Congress's approval. Take a listen to what he said.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: When I'm reelected Joe Biden's illegal amnesty plan will be ripped up and thrown out on the very first day that we're back. Because he's just using that group. They're trying to sign these people up and registered. They're not citizens. They're are not allowed to do it. They're trying to use all of these people that are pouring into our country to vote.
CONTORNO: Now I should point out there's little evidence of non- citizens voting in U.S. elections. In fact, it would be a federal crime for them to do so. But Donald Trump has made immigration a major part of his pitch to Wisconsin voters. It's one that he has delivered in this part of the state Southeast Wisconsin twice in the last six weeks alone, and he will of course, be back here next month for the Republican convention in Milwaukee.
It's a city that he reportedly said was quote, horrible last week when he was meeting with Hill Republicans. Here's what he had to say about it on Tuesday.
TRUMP: I love Milwaukee. I was the one that picked Milwaukee I have to tell you. I was the one that picked up these lion people that they say oh he doesn't like Milwaukee. I love my Milwaukee. I said you got to fix the crime. We all know that you got to make sure the elections on us, but I'm the one that picked Milwaukee.
CONTORNO: Trump also teased his upcoming debate against President Joe Biden, which of course, is just eight days away. Steve Contorno, CNN, Racine, Wisconsin.
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CHURCH: Tune in to see the CNN Presidential Debate right here on CNN coming up on June 27 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and we will of course replay the debate in its entirety a few different times. You can watch it at 7:00 a.m. London time, that's 2:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, or 12 hours later at 7:00 p.m. in London, or 10:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully getting down those numbers.
Still to come, a state of emergency in New Mexico with two large wildfires burning near communities we will hear from some of the residents forced to evacuate. Plus, major league baseball has lost a legend. Coming up, a look back at the life and legacy of Willie Mays. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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CHURCH: Communities across the globe are struggling to beat the heat as temperatures rise to record levels. A major heatwave is impacting large parts of northern China this week. But the country is not alone. CNN Bill Weir reports on how nations around the world are grappling with record temperatures.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is not even officially summer yet and he is already taking lives by the dozens. In India, during recent elections, at least 33 poll workers died of heat stress on the same day. At least 41 Jordanians perished as they made their pilgrimage to Mecca, where yesterday they set a new all-time high at over 125 degrees.
And in Greece at least three tourists lost their lives simply by hiking without enough water or shade. While those places are used to stretches in the triple digits, the American Northeast is not and on a planet overheated by fossil fuel pollution. Maine must now brace for the kind of heat and humidity found in Miami, and big cities are bracing for a strain on everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Extreme heat is the most dangerous weather phenomenon we have in New York City.
WEIR (voice-over): In the Northern Hemisphere, new science finds that last summer was the hottest since the birth of Christ. And in the U.S. heat took the most lives since records began in the 80s. This year is on pace to be even hotter, pushing disaster management into uncharted territory, as the climate crisis manifests by region and by water whiplash, either too much or never enough. In the part southwest, wildfires kicking back up from Ruidoso New Mexico to near Los Angeles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every one of us is concerned with the wind that's the single most driving factor of this fire.
WEIR: And after a wet winter brought more plant life to California, there are worries that a scorching summer could turn it all to fuel. But when you pray for rain on an overheated planet, you must specify not all at once, from Brazil, to Florida, days of torrential rain, created floods in homes and cars and lives hitting Summit, Fort Lauderdale, who are still cleaning up after last summer, which brought the kind of rain and flood that is only supposed to happen once every 1,000 years.
DANIEL SWAIN, CLIMATE SCIENTIST, UCLA: So right now, it looks like certainly this summer is going to feature a lot more extreme and in some cases record breaking heat in different parts of the globe. But you know, to be quite honest, what we're seeing now is a taste of what it's going to be like all the time in just a decade or so.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Our thanks to Bill Weir for that report. Two devastating fast moving wildfires are burning their communities in New Mexico leading to a state of emergency and mandatory evacuations.
A 66-year old man says he spent hours trying to put out fires near his vacation home in the community of Alto but finally evacuated when he ran out of water. Officials say at least one person has been killed and two others injured in these fires. They broke out on Monday and quickly exploded in size.
They've now burned more than 7,500 hectares combined.
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But crews are hopeful for more favorable conditions with rain in the forecast for the next few days. Meantime, some residents say they've lost everything.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's devastating, you know, people are deadly losing their homes right now. Not just them. Residents on the tribe but everybody doesn't have the means to pick up and start all over again tomorrow. You know, it's kind of scary and really sad.
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CHURCH: Meantime, a wildfire burning near Los Angeles has only grown slightly over the past day. The post fire is more than 30 percent contained. But crews say high winds and low humidities still pose a challenge. And they're having trouble reaching some areas. CNN's Natasha Chen has more.
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NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the post fire has burned more than 15,000 acres just one of about 10 wildfires burning throughout California right now. The post fire on the north side is pretty well secure at this point. But on the south side, there is a lot of work to be done especially along the south eastern perimeter where there was very rough and rugged steep terrain.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department says they are for the first time employing Sheriff's Department boats to take fire crews across a lake to get to that Southern perimeter. We watched as several hotshot crews were brought to that perimeter, taking everything they can with them. They have all of that medical equipment basic life support so that if something should happen, they can take care of themselves and basically do the best they can in the middle of nowhere.
Now, this fire caused evacuations for more than 1,000 people from a state park over the weekend, it grew very quickly. The difficult conditions include high wind gusts and high heat. There should be a little bit better wind and weather conditions as the day progresses. However, there is expected to be more heat coming by the next weekend. And so the work that needs to be done now is really containing what
they can, as fires continue to grow larger more quickly. The fire Police Public Information Officer here tells me that their strategy is really to bring in more crews to work on attacking the fire more quickly, so that they can wrap this and hopefully be ready for the next fire. Natasha Chen, CNN, Castaic, California.
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CHURCH: San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays has died at 93. The Giants made the announcement on social media Tuesday night. The Hall of Famer played in the old Negro Leagues and was among the first generation of African American players in Major League Baseball. CNN's Andy Scholes looks back on his amazing career and legacy.
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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR (voice-over): From the time he set foot in the major leagues as a 20-year old rookie for the New York Giants in 1951, to his last days with the Mets 22 years later, no one played like Willie Mays. Born in Alabama, he earned the nickname "The Say Hey Kid" for his enthusiasm towards baseball. He played in 24 all- star games was twice voted National League MVP and slam 660 home runs to rank six on the all-time list.
WILLIE MAYS, BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER: When I got to face hit up a one spawn. New York was like my family. They embrace me, like my mother and dad says, my dad says, when you go to New York, if they slap you, you turn the other cheek. Because if you don't take on shoot you.
SCHOLES (voice-over): Mays was as dominant in the field as he was at the plate winning 12 gold gloves. In Game one of the 1954 World Series his over the shoulder catch was considered the key point in the Giant, shocking sweep of the Indians, and has gone down in history as one of the game's most memorable catches.
MAYS: People talk about the catch and I didn't understand why because I did many things other than just cannot catch a ball. But when you find something like that in the World Series, they had to pick a highlight and they picked I guess that one for the highlight.
SCHOLES (voice-over): In 1958, Mays made the move out West with the Giants and batted a career high 347. Seven years later, Mays had one of his best seasons clubbing 52 homeruns, winning his second MVP award. During the 1972 season, the 41-year old was dealt back to New York to play for the Mets. And what became the last at bat of his career. Mays hit a game winning single in the 12th inning of game two of the 1973 World Series, putting an exclamation point on a one of a kind career.
But perhaps even greater than his performance on the field was the legacy he left off it. Playing his first major league game just four years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, Mays helped to carry the torch for future black baseball players and athletes and he inspired his community for generations to come.
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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A few years ago, Willie rode with me on Air Force One. I told him then what I'll tell all of you now. It's because of giants like Willie, that someone like me could even think about running for president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone.
More now on our top story. Russian President Vladimir Putin's rare visit to North Korea. He will sit down for talks with the North Korean leader in the hours ahead after Kim Jong-un held a welcoming ceremony in Pyongyang.
CNN's Brian Todd has more on the visit and its significance.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the Pyongyang airport, flowers are at the ready as the Russian president's plane taxis to a stop the red carpet is rolled out.
Kim Jong-un strolls up confidently to greet his VIP guest. He takes a few more strides toward the plane and patiently waits. Finally, Vladimir Putin descends the red staircase and the two strong men embrace.
Putin, greeting the dictator who is 31 years younger. They exchanged pleasantries and laughed through a translator. Putin receives his bouquet. Kim shows Putin to his limo, a large escort of motorcycle security personnel trail the motorcade in a V formation.
They travel past large Russian banners and portraits of Putin lining the avenues. The limo is pulled to a stop at the guesthouse. Putin exits, and Kim seems eager to show him around.
The smiling North Korean host escorts Putin through an ornate lobby. The pageantry for this overnight arrival, just part of what's being observed by intelligence agencies from east Asia to eastern Europe.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This is a very serious trip. This cooperation between North Korea and Russia is unprecedented.
TODD: Cooperation that U.S. officials mince no words in describing.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: North Korea is providing significant munitions to Russia and other and other weapons for use in Ukraine.
TODD: Munitions that U.S. and South Korean officials say include ballistic missiles, rocket launchers, and millions of artillery rounds that have already been used to devastating effect on the battlefields of Ukraine. Analysts expect that lethal pipeline to continue following this meeting.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, we're going to see very soon. All of these items in the battlefield in Ukraine and in missiles that are pounding civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
TODD: It's unclear exactly what Kim is getting in return for sending Putin those weapons. But experts say it is clear what Kim wants.
DOUGHERTY: That is perhaps, you know, the scariest thing of all, because what they want is really high-tech -- high-technology which they can use for satellites, which they can use for nuclear submarines and which they can use for intercontinental ballistic missiles.
TODD: Russian and North Korean officials have repeatedly denied that they're training arms and technology. One analyst says for both of these autocrats, the messaging from Pyongyang is important and somewhat deceptive.
DAVID MAXWELL, ANALYST: They want to project strength. They want to really sow fear in the western democracies because they both suffer from one major weakness. And that's internal instability.
And particularly Kim Jong-un is suffering from his failed promises to the Korean people in the North that nuclear weapons would bring peace and prosperity. And that has not done so.
TODD: While it's limited what the U.S. and its allies can do to stop or interrupt the military cooperation between Putin and Kim Jong-un, analyst David Maxwell believes what they can do is a better job of public messaging on this to hit home more than they do in briefings and news conferences, the real weaknesses that Putin and Kim have.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Earlier, I spoke with Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst on North Korea about Mr. Putin's visit to Pyongyang.
And I began by asking her what she'll be looking for when watching the two leaders during their interaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOO KIM, FORMER CIA ANALYST ON NORTH KOREA: Kim Jong-un is, of course, an authoritarian leader and all of his acts, behavior, his body's demeanor, it is practiced and he's also had ample practice at meeting foreign leaders during the summitry with president -- former President Trump.
We're looking for the level of comfort. We're also looking for how close and intimate their relationships seems to be. If Kim Jong-un is showing any deference to Putin and vice versa.
I think what we're seeing here, of course, is as a partnership that is being forged and both leaders are very conscious of the fact that we, the international community are actually watching with intent as to how this meeting is going to unfold, as well as the ramifications that are going to be impacting not just the eastern European region and Ukraine, but of course, east Asia and the United States.
CHURCH: And how significant is this rare Putin visit to North Korea? And what do you think Kim Jong-un wants in exchange for giving Putin weapons for his war on Ukraine?
KIM: So this meeting is significant because of the Ukraine war factor. We take that out, we have to ask, would Putin actually want to be so close to Kim Jong-un at this point.
As the war gets longer and extended, we're going to see more attrition in Russia. We're also going to see a need for greater military supplies and weaponry that North Korea is willing to provide.
So this is a relationship of course, of mutual convenience. The fact that there's a war going on and we're seeing two countries that are relatively isolated taking the partnership of each other to get what each country needs.
It's not entirely surprising, but at the same time, the ramifications of greater proliferation looking at North Korea receiving sensitive military technology potentially from Russia spells implications beyond just the war in Ukraine.
So it's not like what happens in eastern Europe is actually going to be staying confined within the region. It's going to -- we're going to see the impact unravel in ways that are going to be threatening to the international order as well as to the United States, South Korea, and Japan.
CHURCH: But let's look closer at that, at just how dangerous this moment is for the world, this deepening relationship between Russia and North Korea at a time when two wars already raging, one in Ukraine, the other in Gaza right?
KIM: Right. And then the third concern, the third tinderbox, of course, is in eastern -- in east Asia where we're concerned about the potential of conflict between China, Taiwan, and potentially of course, North Korea getting into the mix.
Can the United States, its like-minded partners actually afford a third conflict in another hotly-contested region? Probably not. And that's what we're trying to steer and to prevent, to deter Russia and North Korea from doing.
We've got sanctions. We've got partnerships with the international community. But one thing that we know for sure is that these have not actually been a substantially effective in reducing and deterring North Korean-Russian operation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:39:54] CHURCH: Our thanks to Soo Kim for her perspective there.
Well, as Putin cozies up with North Korea's leader, he is facing real setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine. Kyiv says U.S. support is coming through and they're gaining the upper hand in key battles.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has this report.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ukrainian troops storming a Russian trench in the Kharkiv region, firing and throwing grenades at those unwilling to surrender.
Elsewhere in the same region, a Russian soldier, it does give up after the Ukrainians decimated his unit.
"We ran to him and I saw his uniform up-close and realized he's a Russian servicemen," he says. "Then I shouted at him, hands up. He put up his hands in the air and then did everything I told him to do."
Moscow's military launched a surprise offensive targeting the northeast of Ukraine earlier this year, destroying a key town and gaining a foothold, not far from Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv.
But now the Ukrainians say they've killed scores of Russians here and are back on the offensive. A major reason resumed military aid from the U.S. and its allies, Ukraine's president says.
"We see the world's determination opening up new perspectives for restoring our security," he says. "Among other things, this concerns the security of Kharkiv. The destruction of Russian terrorist positions and launchers near the border by our forces and soldiers really matters."
As Ukraine's land and air forces are pounding his troops, Russian leader Vladimir Putin was at a children's musical school in Russia's far east en route to meet a key ally, North Korean strong man, Kim Jong-un.
With the going tough on the battlefield, Putin has already threatened the West for supporting Ukraine, but also claims he wants peace talks.
"So far the West has been ignoring our interests," he says, while they forbid Kyiv to negotiate, they hypocritically call on us to start some sort of negotiations. It just looks idiotic."
But Ukrainian troops facing the Russians on the eastern front say they have no trust in the Russian leader's words and want to fight on.
"Russia understands force only," this soldier says. "All the agreements and signings are just games with a beast. Sooner or later it will regain its strength, lick its wounds, and will be conquering even more because it has already tasted blood."
And so Ukraine's forces continue the battle against an enemy with more troops and a lot more fire power.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Berlin.
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CHURCH: When we come back a tense exchange between a U.S. Senator and the head of Boeing who endured a grilling from lawmakers over the company's safety failures and came face-to-face with the families of plane crash victims. We'll have that.
[01:42:53]
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.
Nvidia is now the most valuable company in the world, taking the crown from Microsoft. The microchip manufacturer's market capitalization closed at roughly $3.34 trillion on Tuesday stay edging it pass Microsoft's $3.32 trillion value. Apple is the third most valuable company in the U.S.
Nvidia's computer chips are essential in producing processors that power artificial intelligence systems. Last month, the chip maker posted another blockbuster quarter noting a 262 percent increase in revenue and a 462 percent increase in profits year over year.
The head of Boeing faced a bipartisan grilling over his company's safety record and he came face-to-face with the families of passengers killed in two Boeing crashes.
Tuesday's Senate hearing is the first time CEO Dave Calhoun has answered to lawmakers over Boeing's recent safety failures, including a door plug that blew off a plane mid-flight in January.
Calhoun took responsibility for that incident. he also acknowledged Boeing's development of a software system linked to the deadly crashes of its 737 Max planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Those crashes killed almost 350 people in 2018 and 2019.
As the hearing began, Calhoun apologized directly to the families of some of those victims. He later admitted to issues with the company's culture, but defended Boeing's choices and overall track record.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): Why haven't you resigned?
DAVE CALHOUN, CEO, BOEING: Senator I'm sticking this through. I'm proud of having taken the job. I'm proud of our --
HAWLEY: Proud of this record?
CALHOUN: -- safety record.
HAWLEY: You're proud of your safety record.
CALHOUN: And I am very proud of our Boeing people.
HAWLEY: You're proud of this safety record.
CALHOUN: I am proud of every action we have taken.
HAWLEY: Every action you've taken.
CALHOUN: Yes, sir.
HAWLEY: Wow. Wow. There's some news for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Law enforcement authorities in the United States say an elaborate scam is costing victims billions of dollars.
And in one particularly heartbreaking case, it cost a family their father. The scam is known as "pig butchering". International scammers using fake online identities target their victims on dating Web sites convincing them to invest in phony cryptocurrency businesses and before they know it, their life savings are gone.
CNN's Ivan Watson now with the devastating financial, psychological, and emotional toll the scheme has left behind.
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MATT JONES, DENNIS JONES' SON: As soon as I found out that it was a suicide, I was 100 percent sure that it was the scam. And it just -- it crushed him, like took the life out of him.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has only been a couple of months since Matt and Adrianne suddenly lost their father.
JONES: I mean, our father was the grand optimist. He was always -- and they extinguished that for him.
WATSON: I meet them at Adrianne's home in northern Virginia, where their father's ashes have yet to be buried.
Dennis Jones was an avid photographer, guitarist and loving grandfather. But last summer, Dennis started withdrawing from the family, instead talking daily to a woman he met on Facebook.
WATSON: The profilers name here is Jessie Chu.
Do you think this person exists?
ADRIANNE, DENNIS' DAUGHTER: Yes.
WATSON: Over time, Jessie convinced Dennis to invest in crypto currency. He pumped more and more money in until it suddenly disappeared.
Text messages show Dennis was desperate and yet his children say he still trusted his friend named Jessie.
ADRIANNE: I do believe he loved the person that was -- that he believed was behind that profile.
WATSON: Carina, who works in biotech in northern California, is also the victim of an online cryptocurrency scam.
Were you in love?
CARINA, SCAM VICTIM: I was yes. I really felt like I trusted this person.
WATSON: She says she first met her scammer on the dating app, Bumble.
How much money did you lose?
CARINA: In the end, I ultimately lost $150,000. I mean I went into a depression. I was depressed. I am ashamed, embarrassed that I had done all this without sharing it with anybody.
ERIN WEST, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SANTA CLARA COUNTY: I've been a prosecutor for over 25 years. I spent nine years in sexual assault. And I've never seen the absolute decimation of people that I've seen as a result of pig butchering.
[01:49:54]
WATSON: Erin West is a deputy district attorney in northern California, specializing in online crypto scams she calls pig butchering.
WEST: We've got over $5 billion in losses.
WATSON: In 2023?
WEST: In 2023. And that's up 38 percent from last year. And when crime is growing at 38 percent, that's something you better keep your eyes on.
WATSON: Using fake social media profiles, scammers spend months gaining the confidence of their victims before convincing them to invest in crypto currency through fake Web sites.
Those platforms claim huge profits until the money suddenly disappears into the pockets of criminal gangs, mostly based out of Southeast Asia.
A 2023 CNN investigation revealed many scammers are actually themselves victims of human trafficking, like this Indian man named Rakesh. Imprisoned in this armed compound in Myanmar, he was forced to work, pretending to be a Russian woman targeting Americans online.
RAKESH, SCAM VICTIM/SCAMMER: Like they're providing for us. I got a Russian girl with using a Russian girl fake profile. I need to scam the people.
WATSON: Investigators warn of a mass transfer of wealth, stealing billions of dollars from ordinary Americans. And this year, they predict it will only get worse.
JEFF ROSEN, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SANTA CLARA COUNTY: Many of these perpetrators are beyond my reach. And in order to establish deterrence, we need to prosecute some individuals who are running these operations in Southeast Asia.
WATSON: U.S. law enforcement say they have yet to arrest a single scammer though the U.S. Secret Service has had better luck in recouping some of the lost money.
SHAWN BRADSTREET, U.S. SECRET SERVICE SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, SAN FRANCISCO: We've been able to claw back millions. But it's still a small percentage compared to how much is going overseas.
WATSON: Which is billions.
BRADSTREET: Which is billions.
WATSON: The scammers flood social media sites to ensnare victims. Tech companies like Meta, Match Group and Coinbase say they're trying to spread awareness about the threat. But deputy district attorney Erin West says that's not enough.
WEST: An enemy has declared war on the rest of the world without really telling any of us that we are at war. And we are not fighting back.
WATSON: Carina says she spent hours every day exchanging romantic texts with the person she thought she loved.
CARINA: It's heartbreaking for me to see the state that I was in.
WATSON: By the time she realized she had been defrauded, Carina says she took out high-interest loans, borrowed money from loved ones and had to move back in with her mother.
WATSON: What is the timeline like for repaying your debts?
CARINA: Probably 10 years.
WATSON: After Dennis Jones took his own life, his adult children were left piecing together what happened by looking through his Facebook messages.
JONES: He's saying these are basically evil people. I did not know that such people existed. And he ends it with, "The ultimate pain here is that I've betrayed my family's trust. This is unbearable."
WATSON: In early March, Matt, Adrianne and their sister, Laura, planned to have a meeting to help out their father. The plan was for him to move in with Adrianne here in Virginia. ADRIANNE: Unfortunately, the day that we were supposed to have the meeting is the day that we found out he died. You know, he died embarrassed, ashamed, you know, financially-devastated and heartbroken.
And if sharing our story helps somebody else or another family, then it's worth it.
WATSON: Ivan Watson, CNN -- Leesburg, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:53:48]
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.
Justin Timberlake's latest tour could face some delays due to legal troubles in New York. The pop star was charged with driving while intoxicated early Tuesday after being pulled over by police in the Hamptons, an upscale community on Long Island.
The officer said Timberlake's eyes were bloodshot and glassy and there was a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Timberlake told police he had one drink with friends and was following them home.
He has since been released and has a court date set for next month.
Wednesday marks the Juneteenth holiday in the United States commemorating the end of slavery in the country in 1865.
And on this day Netflix is out with a new documentary celebrating a unique milestone in African-American culture.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Little white girls, they could see possibilities in their barbies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there was nothing that I can relate to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: "Black Barbie" tells the story of how three black women worked to create the first black Barbie doll in 1980.
The documentary features African-American celebrities who had Barbie dolls made in their likeness, including television mogul, Shonda Rhimes, who produced the film, and ballet star Misty Copeland.
Before 1980, that toy company Mattel had black dolls as friends of Barbie. But none of them had carried the Barbie brand. Today Mattel says Barbie is the most diverse line of dolls available in 35 skin tones with 97 hairstyles and nine body types. And be sure to watch the CNN special event "JUNETEENTH: CELEBRATING FREEDOM AND LEGACY". It is Wednesday starting 10:00 p.m. on the U.S. East Coast and you can also stream it on CNN Max.
Thank you so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. Do stick around.
[01:57:25]
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