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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Nearly 900 Detained in 3rd Night of Violent Protests; Protests Expected at Swedish Embassy in Baghdad; Qazi: Property Market is Cause for Concern; Perreau: France must Learn from Minority Experience; Toxic Algae Killing Sea Mammals in California; Friday Set to be Busiest Travel Day of the Weekend. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired June 30, 2023 - 09:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: A warm welcome to "First Move", I'm Max Foster in for Julia Chatterley. Just ahead on today's show French President
Macron holding a new round of crisis talks this Friday as police brace for a fourth night of nationwide unrest. More than 800 people were arrested
last night alone.
Amid growing outrage over the death of a teenager at the hands of police, we'll have a live report. Plus, new documents shared exclusively with CNN,
suggests Russian Generals Sergey Surovikin was a secret member of the Wagner group. He's not been seen in public for days for speculation that
Russian forces are out to kill Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin too, the latest from Moscow just ahead.
On Wall Street, U.S. stocks are on track for a solidly higher open on this last trading day of the month, the quarter and the first half of the year
as well. Europe also in the green important U.S. and European inflation data have just been released too, Eurozone consumer prices easing to their
lowest level in 50 months, the second straight month of encouraging numbers.
Although core inflation rates continue to push higher, encouraging numbers in the U.S. to the Feds preferred inflation measure the core Price Index
easing slightly to 4.6 percent in May on a year over year basis, a lot to get through this hour. Then we begin though with France, where President
Macron is calling for calm after three nights of disorder following the fatal police shooting of a teenager.
Nearly 900 people were detained overnight and around 250 police officers injured in battles with protesters. At the root of it all is allegations of
racism and strong arm tactics by police. A swimming pool being built for next year's Olympics was one of several sites damage and a dozen buses were
set on fire in the same Paris suburb.
President Emmanuel Macron is in Paris chairing a second emergency meeting with Ministers having left an EU summit early. He said the situation was
unacceptable and urges parents to take responsibility for their children. But it's come under fire after pictures emerged of him attending an Elton
John concert on Wednesday night as the protests raged.
Nic Robertson is just outside Paris. I'm wondering how much difference these sorts of appeals for Macron will make when there's so much anger on
the streets.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: In the short term, it doesn't appear. So, Max, just to give you an idea of the scale of protests
at the moment. 40,000 police security forces deployed last night at the height of the pension protests 13,000 police deployed. So you get a sense
of the scale and magnitude but I'll break it down with other figures for you.
According to government officials, more than 500 buildings have been damaged, targeted in attacks. 200 of those have been government buildings,
79 of those have been police station, Security Force bases, 34 town halls, 24 schools. And this gets the point of what President Macron is talking
about.
He says it is not this violence isn't justified anymore. He says it's not justified to target government buildings in this neighborhood we're in 12
buses and one bus station were torched overnight, another 14 buses in the same area and another bus station towards a lot of other damage out on the
streets are Tran destroyed.
But the total cost just of those vehicles alone $11.7 million. So you get a sense, OK, writ large across the whole country because that's what we're
talking about now in the north. And in Lille and Nanterre in the west, -- for the South West, Marseille in the South, Lyon in the center, all of
these towns and others getting caught up in this passionate outbursts of aggression against the authorities. I asked the Transport Minister here
what the government he thinks can do about the violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLEMENT BEAUNE, FRENCH TRANSPORT MINISTER: It's in the interest of those who are expressing their anger today to protect our public service. And
then we live in the society of law. The justice system needs to be able to carry out its work. No one is above the law. But everyone has the rights
protected by the law.
We also need to leave the justice system in tranquility. It's what we owe to the young man who was killed, calm, tranquility and justice carried out
in good conditions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So the underlying appeal damage of government buildings, government institutions, places that people use schools, places, or things
that they use everyday buses and trams is in no one's interest. But at the moment that doesn't seem to be cutting through.
[09:05:00]
It's the anger and passion that seems to be winning the day or better put winning the night at the moment, Max.
FOSTER: And this idea of you know, sending in lots of police urging calm. It's difficult, isn't it? When their actual issue is with the police away
from the specific incident that happened earlier in the week?
ROBERTSON: Yes, the sense of the police, in essence, racial profiling, racial targeting, call it what you will a picking on the poorer people who
are living in the suburbs, that there's a sense of real racial discrimination, that the number of these types of attacks or situations
with the police have escalated.
This is the underlying feeling, a social and economic driving force, that there's a disenfranchised part of the population, who don't live the life
that President Macron and the people in the center of the cities, I mean, just look at that map with the fires around Paris last night.
They were around Paris, that's where the passion and anger was, we were in the center of Paris as well, last night, as well as in some of the suburbs
and there, the cafes, were all full people all sitting out on the streets, enjoying a very present and wonderful evening. But that's not shared by
everyone.
And that's what underlies this, that I'm fueled this anger here that the police just proportionately crack down with a racial bias and economic bias
in some of these more disenfranchised neighborhoods.
FOSTER: OK, Nic Robertson, in France, thank you. In Russia documents shared exclusively with CNN suggesting that General Sergey Surovikin was a member
secret VIP member of the Wagner group. The documents show that he had a personal registration number with the private military company.
Surovikin has not been seen in public since the failed Wagner mutiny last weekend. Matthew Chance joins us now from Moscow. And the assumption is
that he's been arrested, right?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's something that's been reported by the Moscow Times. But it's not something
that's been confirmed by the Russian authorities. In fact, the Kremlin has said they won't comment on it, the Defense Ministry refused to comment.
And the Moscow ombudsman for prisons that looks after prisoner rights, says that General Surovikin is not in any of the Moscow based sort of prison
facilities at this moment, and so the mystery of his whereabouts and why he hasn't appeared in public since Saturday, when he made that appeal.
That strange nervous appeal to Wagner forces to abandon their military uprising has not yet been resolved. But you know these documents that were
shown exclusively to CNN by the Dossier obtained by the Dossier Center, which is a Russian investigative group.
You know, kind of shed some light on what was previously unknown about the proximity of the relationship between General Surovikin and other Senior
Russian Military and intelligence figures. And this mercenary group that staged this uprising, and implies an overly close relationship between
certain individuals and the mercenary group.
It's relevant, because the mercenaries were basically allowed to take over an entire Russian city with virtually a shot not being fired, without shot
being fired. And so there are lots of questions being asked in Russia right now about divided loyalties and about whether or not was done by the
security services to protect Russian Military facilities from this uprising.
And so, you know, the fact that there's a list of 30 people with VIP Wagner membership, who are also in the security services, the military and the
intelligence services that may be relevant.
FOSTER: Matthew Chance, in Moscow, thank you. Meanwhile, European leaders working to figure out how to use frozen Russian assets to help rebuild
Ukraine, more than $200 billion has been locked in European accounts since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. Anna Stewart has been looking for
all of that, Anna?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, rebuilding Ukraine will take a very long time and cost a huge amount of money, the World Bank has estimated it could
cost at least $411 billion. And ever since the first round of sanctions was imposed on Russia, there has been a discussion as to how you could use
frozen Russian assets to help in that aim.
Now, simply selling Russian assets at this stage is considered a no go, it wouldn't be legal, there's also lots of political ramifications. However
using some of the interest that is generated from the frozen assets, that is something that has been seriously considered now two thirds of the more
than $300 billion of Russia's foreign reserves that are currently frozen, sort of overseas.
[09:10:00]
Two thirds of that is held in the EU and a huge chunk of it actually in Euro clear which is the European clearing house and that's because the
money simply couldn't reach the Russian accounts where it was destined. Now the interest on those assets is vast. So just in the first quarter, more
than $800 million was raised in terms of interest.
And so that's what's been discussed, could this interest being used be put in a fund? And could that then be used to help with the Ukrainian
reconstruction efforts? That's under discussion? And of course, it would mean that the Russian assets that underlie that interest would still be
available, if and when it can be returned to Russia.
FOSTER: What are the objections here? Is there anyone you know, beyond Russia objecting to this?
STEWART: There is a huge amount of hesitancy actually from some EU member states, certainly from the ECB, the European Central Bank, and really
hinging on two issues. The first is legalities is this legal? Given that Russia invaded Ukraine illegally, and the EU likes to talk a lot about how
it abides by the rule of law.
That is obviously, key. The second is really, precedent. And there is a concern here that you might put off other Central Banks from around the
world from using the euro and Euro denominated assets for foreign reserves if you went through this method. EU leaders discussing this now take it to
the EU commission level and there'll be looking at all of these elements.
I think any agreement on it if it does come from the EU will probably also require the support of the G7. So the EU doesn't have to sort of go it
alone. But at this stage, it's still very much at the proposal level, Max.
FOSTER: OK, Anna Stewart, thank you. Now to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision. The High Court has ruled race can no longer be considered as a
factor in college admissions, overturning a decade's old policy that's benefited black and Latino students. CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica
Schneider has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This ton more to unravel basic rights and basic decisions than any court in recent history.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Joe Biden slamming the Supreme Court after it up ended decades of precedent on
affirmative action. The six three opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts says Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the 14th
amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
Roberts writing, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual, not on the basis of race. Many universities
have for too long done just the opposite. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first woman of color on the Supreme Court issued a fiery dissent, accusing
the conservative majority of employing an unjustified exercise of power.
That will only serve to highlight the courts own impotence in the face of an America whose cries for equality resound. The two cases were brought by
the group of students for fair admissions led by activist Edward Blum, who has fought for nearly a decade to eradicate affirmative action.
The case against Harvard was brought on behalf of Asian students arguing they were disadvantaged because Harvard prioritized other minorities and
ranked them lower for personality traits.
KENNY XU, PRESIDENT, COLOR U.S. UNITED: We should be treated on the basis of our merits. We should be treated on the basis of how hard we work or
study, or SATs scores or grades, a name blind race blind processes.
SCHNEIDER (voice over): But critics say the ruling is a setback for racial and ethnic equality in education.
ANGIE GABEAU, PRESIDENT OF HARVARD BLACK STUDENTS ASSOCIATION: I'm really most worried about, you know, the youth and like the students younger than
us in high school and middle school and elementary school who might not get the same opportunity that I did.
SCHNEIDER (voice over): The divide reflected in sharply worded opinions from the courts to black justices. Justice Clarence Thomas writing, Justice
Jackson's race-infused world view falls flat at each step. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson firing back, Justice Thomas ignites too many more straw men
to list, or fully extinguishes here, several GOP presidential contenders applauding, the decision including Senator Tim Scott.
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): This is a good day for America. Honestly, this is the day where we understand that being judged by the content of our
character, not the color of our skin is what our constitution wants.
SCHNEIDER (voice over): The Biden administration now working to provide guidance to colleges nationwide.
MIGUEL CARDONA, U.S. EDUCATION SECRETARY: We're going to produce by September and publish best practices around college admission practices to
ensure across the country that our students know that this administration is behind them and we support them making it to college.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: More protest as I spoke to outside the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad later today after the burning of a Quran in Stockholm. On Thursday,
protesters tried to enter the embassies grounds the unrest began after man burned the Muslim holy book outside of mosque as part of a planned protest.
Swedish authorities allowed the protest to take place, saying freedom of expression had to be upheld. Muslim countries and organizations have
condemned the act, Iran calling it an act of provocation and Kuwait describing it as a dangerous step. Jomana Karadsheh joins us now.
[09:15:00]
You're protecting freedom of speech on one hand, but you're also clearly inciting violence as we've seen now in Iraq. So it's a very delicate
balance the Swedish had there.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are in a very tough position, Max. I mean, we saw that when the police authorized that protest to take
place that one man protests burning the Quran outside the mosque on Wednesday, they did acknowledge in their permission, that this could have
repercussions when it comes to foreign policy that this could cause an increase in the security risk and increased risk of terrorist attacks.
But then again, Swedish officials constantly say that this is they're not condoning this. They don't agree with this. They've condemned this act. But
they say this is what their country is about. This is democracy and it's protected by the country's constitution, freedom of speech, freedom of
expression, assembly, all protected by the Constitution.
But on the other hand, you've got Arab and Muslim states who are saying they've had enough of this, that these continuous attacks that they have
seen, they say against their religion against their holy book, taking place in Sweden, they say under the pretext of freedom of expression, are
essentially Islamophobia hate speech, and this should not be allowed to continue.
And we have seen over the past 48 hours, so not only in our governments across the Middle East, condemning what has happened. They are also
summoning ambassadors and you're seeing obviously, a more radical sort of reaction in Iraq. This is the country from which the man who burned the
Quran comes from he's an Iraqi refugee.
And there we are seeing these protests. As you mentioned, dozens of protesters did pour into the compound of the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad.
There was no violence the Swedish Foreign Ministry said that their staff were safe. But you can clearly see that people were angry, they were
outraged by what happened.
And today we are seeing more protests. These were all called for by the influential, powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who can really, he can
get his supporters out on mass on the streets. So we'll have to wait and see we're starting to see right now images coming out of Baghdad with
dozens of protesters very close to the Swedish Embassy.
We'll have to wait and see how that goes. But the expectation is it's going to be a large demonstration in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq as well.
FOSTER: OK, Jomana, thank you. Straight ahead, China's challenge new numbers show a continued manufacturing malaise in the world's second
largest economy. We'll discuss the outlook for new Chinese stimulus just ahead. And fleeing before the fourth U.S. travelers heading to the airport
before the Independence Day holiday, can airlines cope after a week of crippling disruptions. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
FOSTER: Welcome back to "First Move", new data released today shows the Chinese economy losing fresh momentum. As its post lockdown growth spurt
fades further, the numbers will surely intensify calls for Chinese officials to do more to stimulate the world's second largest economy. Anna
Coren has that story.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More bad news for China's economy with the release of economic data today from the manufacturing and services sector,
which still indicates the economy, is soft and struggling to rebound post COVID. Manufacturing activity contracted for a third straight month, while
services sector activity recorded its weakest readings since China abandoned its harsh zero COVID measures at the end of last year.
Following the government's announcement this week the economic growth of the world's second largest economy was projected to reach a modest annual
target of around 5 percent. Addressing the World Economic Forum summit in Tianjin earlier this week, Premier Li Keqiang talked about China's growth,
saying the second quarter of this year will be higher than the first but not everyone is convinced.
A long list of major banks and credit rating agencies has cut forecasts for China's economic growth this year, including S&P global, Goldman Sachs, UBS
and JP Morgan among others. The property sector remains a drag on the economy as developers struggle to complete pre sold projects.
The local government debt burden is also coming into focus. Industrial output and retail sales remain sluggish while youth unemployment is at a
record 20.8 percent causing a huge problem in China, many young people anxious about China's economic uncertainty of flooding Buddhist and Taoist
temples to pray for divine intervention in securing jobs.
Its fair youth unemployment could further rise as a record 11.5 million college students, graduate this summer. Will CNN spoke with one earlier?
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIA JIA, RECENT GRADUATE BEIJING CHINA: I feel this year is particularly hard to find a job. Have applied for so many jobs but it was very
difficult. Many small businesses and restaurants near my place have gone out of business for those people of lower income level in society. For
those whose lives are not very easy, it's been quite cool.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Analysts believe the government will be forced to stimulate the economy. Premier Li addressed the matter yesterday during a Cabinet
meeting, saying the government plans to take measures to promote household consumption. He reportedly said taking targeted measures to boost household
consumption is conducive to driving growth in consumer spending and economic recovery.
The government will be under a lot of pressure to reverse this slump. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
FOSTER: For a close look at China's economic challenges. I'm joined by Shehzad Qazi the Managing Director of the China Beige Book, a company that
provides China research to investors. Thank you so much for joining us. Is there one thing you're particularly concerned about when you're looking at
China's economy?
SHEHZAD QAZI, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CHINA BEIGE BOOK: When you look at the economy as a whole, Max, it's a mixed picture. I think a lot of the worries
around consumption slowdown or misplaced. You know, concerns about manufacturing, just going off the rails is also not fully accurate.
But the one place where there absolutely should be concerned is the property market where you have housing sales slowing, you have home
builders complaining about stocks going down investment going down. And it's pretty clear that China's property market recovery is on shaky
grounds, and is probably going to remain that way in the coming months and years.
FOSTER: They've been missing expectations, haven't they? So for people like you, it's very difficult to come up with the analysis on the exactly what's
going to happen if they're missing expectations. That's what creates the negativity.
QAZI: That's exactly right. Now, the problem here is that in the beginning of the year, a lot of the analysts out of major Wall Street banks had
published, you know, expectations and projections of how rapidly China would come back and how big the recovery would be, which were incredibly
bullish, and quite frankly, they were completely disconnected from reality.
[09:25:00]
And the problem is that even though the economy is continuing to recover, because the pace of the recovery is not anywhere near the unrealistic
expectations of Wall Street analysts, the sentiment have turned incredibly negative. There was never going to be a big bang monstrous recovery in
2023, it was always going to be slow and somewhat mediocre. And that's exactly what you're getting.
FOSTER: It's tempting for the government, presumably to borrow to fill this gap. But that wouldn't be healthy for the long term.
QAZI: Absolutely not. Again, I think you know a lot of expectations. So we've gone from expecting a consumer driven recovery in China to now
markets hoping for a stimulus powered one. But the fact is that the days of big bank stimulus at the post GFC world, it's over. The party is no longer
interested in that kind of growth.
It's no longer interested in consistently leveraging up if anything, the attention is on de leveraging. Any stimulus you get out of China this year
will be targeted will be very narrow. And I think investors need to re adjust their expectations for that type of stimulus, not the old bazooka
that they're used to.
FOSTER: Are you encouraging clients to focus on output, for example, or the sales volume? Because when you look at those specifics, which we often
associate with successful economies, they're pretty good, aren't they?
QAZI: We were telling our clients to stay, you know, constructive on a lot of the consumer names and the consumer sectors. On the manufacturing side,
I think headwinds are building up. You know, and I think that needs to be acknowledged in the second half of the year actually, is where we might see
real problems on the factory side.
That said if you think about commodities, if you think about property, there's an absolute slowdown as I mentioned, and the commodities picture is
nowhere near as bright as it was promised to be earlier that year. We've been urging caution this whole time.
FOSTER: OK, Shehzad Qazi, the Managing Director of the China Beige Book, thank you very much indeed for joining me today. Coming up after the break,
we returned to France with a soul searching is underway following yet another night of anti-police violence. When we come back, what needs to be
done to address public anger? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
FOSTER: Welcome back to "First Move". You're looking at live pictures of Manhattan from our ceiling cameras, then New York another; this is actually
the bow obviously closing. Another hazy day though in the big, big apple more widely is the smoke from out of control. Canadian wildfires continue
to impact a good portion of the United States.
Well, the 100 million people in the U.S. are under air quality alerts as we approach next week's July 4 Holiday. Canada canceling its Canada Day,
fireworks display in Montreal tomorrow too as the smoke emergency continues to impact that city, really murky out there. Nothing hazy about early
action on Wall Street though.
The major averages are solidly higher as traders receive encouraging new inflation data. Well, this as investors begins closing the books on the
second quarter and begins gearing up for the second half of the trading year. Tech investors eyeing what could be an historic day for Apple, the
company beginning the session with a market cap of more than $3 trillion.
The Apple bulls hoping the company can close above that major milestone for the first time ever today. Apple is the first company ever to hit the $3
trillion milestone. Let's get back to our top story now though.
Violence and unrest continued to grip France; nearly 900 people were detained on the third night of protests over the fatal shooting of a
teenager by police. Targets for the rioters ranged from bus stations to police stations, town halls, schools and Olympic Game facilities were also
burned.
There was looting to this Nike store was left in ruins. President Emmanuel Macron is in Paris calling to calm. The United Nations is urging the
country to address what it calls deep issues of racism in the police force. And a short while ago, it was announced that social media platforms are
being asked to remove sensitive content relating to the riots.
Bruno Perreau is a Professor of French Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joins me now from Paris, thank you so much for
joining us. Do you think Macron is doing anything to really alleviate any of the concerns that are genuinely held by many of these protesters?
BRUNO PERREAU, PROFESSOR OF FRENCH STUDIES, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: Well, right now, Emmanuel Macron just announced additional
resources to deal with riots. That is to say more police deployed. He also called on parents to be responsible and social networks to collaborate. But
these are very short term responses. What is at stake is indeed deep racism in the police, its law enforcement in general.
And these measures have yet to be announced. It's the case, especially with the law from 2017, initiated and voted by the socialist government that
actually lists circumstances that allow for the use of weapon by the police forces when facing a refusal to comply. And in a way, this law by listing
those circumstances has somehow acknowledged the possibility of using weapons.
And since 2017, the cases of death after a traffic stop as increased direly in France. So there is a need to address those issues to transform the law
to change as well, the way the police are controlled. Right now, the institution in charge of controlling police forces is mostly composed of
police officers.
France needs to go further and have an institution made of citizens, human rights organizations, and also representatives of groups, which face police
brutality, democracy is not just about the majority rule. It's also about learning from minority experience and France has not reached this level of
deep democracy.
FOSTER: What about this weekend? I mean, there's going to be a huge amount of tension in the city ahead of this and the idea that Macron's response is
to send tens of thousands more police is actually quite provocative considering the fact that they're protesting against the police and the way
the police handle situations like this.
PERREAU: Yes, absolutely. Especially in a context where there is very strong urban segregation, you would be surprised how quiet the center of
Paris is right now, as if nothing had happened. It shows that only that is this strong divide in France, but also that what it's going on.
[09:35:00]
It's an underprivileged population, protesting but also destroying the very few resources that they have a variable A. K. A. schools, bus stops, and so
on and so forth. And since these groups, protests in a quite spontaneous way, it's very difficult to predict when the riots will end and when
another form of conversation will start.
It reminds me of what famous French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, said many years ago, after other urban riots is that, you know, it's not so much
about burning cars or not burning car, it's about having a purpose, and trying to serve that purpose when protesting.
FOSTER: Just give us a sense about the culture in France, though there'll be a lot of people looking at this in France, absolutely horrified at the
damage to buildings and the disruption its causing. You know, British tourists are being advised given been given travel alerts about traveling
to France, it's very damaging to the country as well. So how many you know, what proportion of people are foreign against these types of protests, do
you think?
PERREAU: Well, I think there is and it's probably a new phenomenon, more and more understanding of abuses by police forces in France, and brutality.
And this has to do with other social movements as well. Obviously, let me take a very concrete example.
I'm a professor at MIT, I'm a gay man, I work on LGBT Studies. The type of violence that I experienced, the type of insult that I've faced in my life
is not equivalent to what racialized people in France face, obviously, I wouldn't have been arrested, even if I had refused to comply, the way not
added was a few days ago.
However, there's a resonance in terms of experiences of violence between different groups. And there's a greater sense of understanding of these
different experience and the need to build a form of new kind of coalition.
So there is a great understanding for this outcry, I would say right now, among the younger generation of the French population, even if indeed, at
the media level, and in the political arena. There are still discourses, which are only trying to undermine violence that initiated the riots.
FOSTER: OK. Brune Perreau, Professor of French Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, really appreciate your time today.
PERREAU: Thank you.
FOSTER: And to Ukraine now, where a Ukrainian military intelligence chief is claiming Yevgeny Prigozhin is the target of a hit job planned from
inside the Kremlin. The official says the Russian Federal Security Service has been charged with the task to assassinate Wagner boss, the Wagner boss
after the brief armed military insurrection over the weekend.
Nick Paton Walsh joins me now. I mean, for many people, this won't be surprising, but you know, where's this detail come from?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, obviously, we don't know the source of this information. Ukraine has had
quite good intelligence about Russian moves in the past but the same time to carry a little bit down off the head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence.
His job is also to spread information that will be damaging to Russian unity and performance on the battlefield this precisely that kind of thing.
But it does feed into a broader question as to the whereabouts of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the deal that essentially stopped the armed rebellion last
weekend involved him going to Belarus. And while the President of Belarus who brokered that deal, Alexander Lukashenko has said that he in fact
arrived in Belarus.
We've seen tracking data or planes affiliated with Prigozhin, going to St. Petersburg, Moscow Minsk unconfirmed pictures of someone who looks a bit
like Yevgeny Prigozhin getting out of a helicopter in St. Petersburg. All of this suggesting perhaps, that we don't exactly know where Prigozhin is,
but most importantly, that Prigozhin has yet to step forward and publicly confirmed that he's made that move essentially to exile that was part of
the deal.
Now, this also comes to in a climate of course of recrimination of possibly a cleaning house amongst the Russian military, the Russian security
services, the Kremlin elite. They've never faced a challenge to Putin's hold on power, like we saw at the weekend.
And European intelligence official I spoke to pointed at hints of prior knowledge of the armed rebellion amongst possibly the Russian security or
military elite. There been reports suggesting the key General Sergey Surovikin for brief time around the war in Ukraine may even have been
detained true or not.
[09:40:00]
This division, this extraordinary climate of fear and suspicion is clearly running wild across the Moscow elite at the moment. And the fate of someone
like Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mere fact that we don't know that he's gone along with this deal and move to Belarus that simply enhances the currency
he has amongst the Russian elite at the moment.
We don't know the whereabouts of his fighters. Are they all really going along with the deal and moving to Belarus. President Zelenskyy here in
Ukraine said some was still fighting in occupied areas in Luhansk. So a lot of questions and the continuing echo of this doubt.
And questioning essentially means that Putin has not put an end to this threat. And it remains very live and of course very perilous for Russia's
conducts this already catastrophic, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Max.
FOSTER: OK. And Nick, thank you. A jury in Florida has found former Parkland Resource Officer Scott Peterson, not guilty on all charges;
Peterson broke down in tears as the sentence was read on Thursday. Prosecutors accused him of ignoring his training and waiting outside the
high school as a gunman inside killed 17 people including 14 students back in 2018. CNN's Carlos Suarez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): An emotional Scott Peterson breaking down in a Florida courtroom after a jury finds the former school
resource officer not guilty on 11 charges ranging from felony child neglect to perjury. Peterson was the first law enforcement officer on the scene
that the 17 people, including 14 students were gunned down at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in what remains the deadliest U.S. high
school shooting ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got her life back after four and a half years; it's been an emotional roller coaster for so long.
SUAREZ (voice over): State prosecutors accused Peterson of ignoring his trading and doing nothing failing to confront the gunman to save lives.
KRISTEN GOMES, PROSECUTOR: What was expected was for Scott Peterson to value the lives of those children as much as he clearly valued his own.
SUAREZ (voice over): Prosecutor Kristen Gomes pointed out Peterson stayed in a protected position for more than 45 minutes while the shooter was free
to move and continue his rampage. The defense argued gunfire echoed off buildings and Peterson couldn't tell where the gunshots were coming from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not just a victory for Scott. It's a victory for every law enforcement officer in this country who does the best they can
every single day.
SUAREZ (voice over): For some of the victim's families they don't see this as a victory.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel that my faith in the U.S. justice system is shaken.
SUAREZ (voice over): Tony Montalto's daughter Gina was killed that day.
TONY MONTALTO, FATHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM GINA MONTALTO: We don't understand how this jury looked at the evidence that was presented and
found him not guilty.
SUAREZ (voice over): Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the mass shooting says this, was not a day to celebrate.
MANUEL OLIVER, FATHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM JOAQUIN OLIVER: What Joaquin cannot say today, Oh, I'm going back to my life. He will never say
that. You guys signed for that job.
SUAREZ (voice over): And Fred Guttenberg, the father of victim Jamie took his frustration of the verdict to Twitter. "While Peterson and his Attorney
Mark Eiglarsh celebrate him getting his life back" they must always remember that my daughter was murdered".
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now after the break sea creatures along the coast of California suffering from a deadly algae outbreak, we'll have a look at the rescue
efforts after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
FOSTER: Welcome back and unsettling scene on the beaches of Southern California. Officials have been flooded with calls from people reporting
sick dying and Dead Sea lions and dolphins that have washed ashore. The reason is an outbreak of toxic algae in the waters off the coast. David
Culver join rescuers who said the algae bloom is unlike anything they've seen before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 8 a.m. and they're already playing catch up, these marine wildlife rescuers inundated with calls for
help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To animals one sector than the other one one's way up the bridge and there's one by the timeline.
CULVER (on camera): The beach itself over here has been narrowing. So it's a little dicey sometimes.
CULVER (voice over): We go along with wildlife rescuer Adam Fox. He's been saving sea lions for nearly 15 years. What he's seen on Southern California
beaches since late May is unprecedented.
CULVER (on camera): Is there anyone there potentially to assist us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lifeguard there.
CULVER (on camera): OK, great. Thank you.
CULVER (voice over): As we get closer we spot one of the sea lions.
CULVER (on camera): Looks like he's having a seizure right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we'll do is just be very gentle with her, because flipper pits in and I'm going to flip it to you, three, two, one.
CULVER (on camera): They obviously were able to rescue one but you can see behind us another one that didn't survive. It's just heartbreaking seeing
us -- .
CULVER (voice over): The cons sits just off the coast in the Pacific Ocean. Out here scientists a massive bloom of toxic algae is growing, stretching
some 200 miles from Santa Barbara, south to San Diego and forecasted to get worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ocean temperature is projected to be its warmest over the next five years. That's the recipe for these blooms to become more
intense.
CULVER (voice over): Smaller sea creatures feed on the toxic algae. They in turn are eaten by larger mammals like dolphins and sea lions. These algal
blooms have happened before. But this year, scientists warned that the concentration of toxins in this bloom forecasted in red is leading to
potentially record deaths of marine life.
CULVER (on camera): Experts liken this to waves of a tsunami washing over local beaches with even more sea lions and dolphins showing symptoms.
CULVER (voice over): The dolphins lifeless once they hit the shore, the sea lions beached and suffering from seizures and paralysis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People who have called in because they've seen animals out on the beach and they've described it as the ocean sort of coughing of
death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here to report a sea lion seems to be foaming at the mouth and let's look -- we just stressed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one really, really on his way out. Its eyes are closed and just shallow breathing. That's so sad.
CULVER (voice over): All of it weighs on rescuers like Adam.
ADAM FOX, MARINE MAMMAL CARE CENTER RESCUER: Sorry. I just know from working in the colonies how incredible the animals are, so they deserve
respect.
CULVER (voice over): Respect this team shows through care unloading the season sea lion for Dr. Lauren Palmer to begin treatment. Dr. Palmer has
not had a day off in months, her desperate patients keeping her busy.
LAUREN PALMER, MARINE MAMMAL CARE CENTER: That breath she seems a little bit more comfortable.
CULVER (voice over): There's no guaranteed cure. The meds and fluids can help flush the toxins out. But if the toxins take hold, the brain damage is
irreversible, causing erratic and aggressive behavior including towards people who get too close. Off to the side we noticed this pup fighting for
survival. Desperate for milk and nurturing that only his mother can provide, she's sedated as her body fights off the toxins.
PALMER: She might deliver a healthy life pump, but doesn't nurse, doesn't lactate, doesn't pay attention to it.
[09:50:00]
CULVER (voice over): The Marine Mammal Care Center had 40 sea lions this time last year. Today, they're carrying for three times that number.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ordered fish for the whole year based upon what we would normally see and have gone through the entire 150,000 pounds this
month.
CULVER (voice over): So overwhelming, they've had to accommodate overflow in the parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's put strains on our personnel. We have one veterinarian.
CULVER (on camera): Is it only going to get worse?
PALMER: They used to call in an unusual mortality event. And unfortunately, they're frequent enough now that they no longer call them unusual, because
they're not.
CULVER (voice over): Relentless and expected to intensify, possibly devastating generations of sea lions like this -- . Just seven days old, he
may not make it. The hundreds of sea lions that are saved unable to return home until the toxic algae clears.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Good luck to everyone working there, we'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: You're ready Friday is set to be the busiest day to fly in the United States in what's expected to be a record breaking holiday weekend.
Nearly 3 million passengers are expected to fly today according to the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA.
That's nearly half a million more than this time last year. Pete Muntean is at the Ronald Reagan, Washington National Airport. There are a few factors
playing into this aren't there Pete?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: A lot of factors playing into this Max, you know things are a lot better today than they were earlier
this week. Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, we saw really high cancellations across the United States which was also trickling down into flights
internationally.
We heard from one passenger who had to rebook on a flight out of Newark trying to get to Portugal, she wasn't able to get a seat until Monday. Just
check flight aware, the cancellations here in the U.S. about 275 nationwide. 200 of them are from United Airlines.
It's been really taking it on the chin leading up to this holiday week in fact, 3200 cancellations more than any other airline in the United States,
7800 flight delays. Even in spite of all of those problems, the Transportation Security Administration says today will likely be the
busiest day for air travel in the United States that we have seen since the start of the pandemic.
The forecast 2.82 million people are passing through security checkpoints here and at airports across the country. When you consider the entire
travel period through the July 4 holiday, July 5, they say if you add up every day, 17.7 million people in total. AAA takes it one step further.
They say when you add in trans, when you add in people driving, 50 miles or more. 50 million people will travel over the July 4 holiday that is up
compared to last year, up compared to 2019 before the pandemic in fact the highest number that AAA is forecasting since 2005 when they start putting,
started putting out this forecast for the first time ever.
[09:55:00]
So the big note here is one of caution though from AAA, and they say you really just have to prepare for cancellations and delays. That's the
reality. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW GROSS, AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION: What you need to remember when you're flying is to be prepared, expect delays, expect cancellations.
Get to the airport early, have the app open on your phone. So you're getting all those notifications from the airlines. Also pay attention to
the weather.
And pay and try and figure out where your planes coming from because the weather may be great at your airport. But maybe the planes flying in from
another city and it could be delayed due to bad weather up there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: United Airlines says it's on the road to recovery trying to make things back to normal by July 4. It says it is grateful in a new statement
to all of its passengers who have had to go through so much over the last few days.
The FAA, though, says there could be some problems later on in the day as thunderstorms start to build especially in places like Atlanta, in Denver,
some major hubs here in the United States that could have an impact on international flights. And the FAA saying we could see ground stops, which
could have a trickle down of delays and cancellations Max.
FOSTER: Pete Muntean, it's good to be busy. Thank you so much for joining us. That's it for the show. Have a good weekend. With you "Connect the
World" with Becky is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
