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One World with Zain Asher

President Biden Announces Steps Adapting To The Effects Of Climate Change; Niger's Military Says President Bazoum's Tenure Is Officially Over; Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell Freezes Mid-Sentence For About 30 Seconds At A Press Conference; Trump's Lawyers Attempt To Prevent Another Indictment; Nigeria Ranks 40th In The FIFA Rankings. Sinead O'Connor Dies At 56. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired July 27, 2023 - 12:00:00   ET

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

Time: 12:00>

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Zain Asher in New York and this is ONE WORLD. President Joe Biden can't do much right now to stop the

heat wave that is currently gripping the United States, but he is trying to respond to it. Any moment now, he is going to be announcing his plan to

deal with the extreme weather that is hitting multiple states in the U.S. right now.

Those measures set to include protecting vulnerable workers, investing in better weather forecasting, water storage and climate resilience. Some 140

million Americans are under heat alerts right now, while temperatures keep climbing and setting records. July is actually set to be the Earth's

hottest month ever, ever in history since records started in the 1850s.

I want to bring in Kevin Liptak, joining us live now from Washington. President Joseph Biden also coming under fire from Democrats for scrambling

to deal with the effects of climate change instead of focusing on the cause, and that is, of course, greenhouse gas emissions.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, you know, this event today kind of demonstrates the bind that he is in. He is announcing these steps

that adapt to the effects of climate change, but don't necessarily address the source of the problem. But these adaptations that he will announce are

essential because of the heat that is racking the United States. And you hear it, feel it, even here in Washington, temperatures rising to triple

digits for the first time in nearly seven years.

And so, what the President will announce today, steps that will protect workers, very critically, construction workers, farm workers, including

increased inspections of their work sites during high heat moments. He'll also talk about bolstering weather predictions, $7 million to improve

weather prediction through the NOAA, the weather agency here in the United States. And he'll also talk about grants that would ensure clean drinking

water out west in some of these states that have been so hampered by some of the high heat that you're seeing.

So, the President really under pressure to do something to help Americans and particularly those Americans who are out in the heat every day because

they have to work out there, helping them adapt to it. But certainly, there are Democrats who want the President to do more to combat climate change

and that is something that the president will probably address in his speech today. But he isn't announcing any new steps on that front.

Certainly, he is still working towards those steps. It's a very complicated issue politically for him, but certainly he is taking these steps on heat

today, Zain.

ASHER: All right, Kevin Liptak, live for us there. Thank you so much. Right now, as I mentioned, we are living through the hottest moments ever

recorded on Earth. In a just released report, the World Meteorological Organization says that July is the hottest month on record for the entire

globe. The global air temperature, for the first 23 days of July, average 16.95 degrees Celsius. That's well above the previous record of 16.63

degrees Celsius set in July 2019.

Experts cite human-caused climate change as the culprit behind the extreme weather and the extreme heat we're seeing across the globe. Marina

Raminello joins us. She's the Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. Marina, welcome. So, here's the thing. The eight

hottest years on the planet are essentially the last eight, which tells you the direction we're heading.

One thing that I'm concerned about is if these are the sorts of temperatures we're seeing right now, heat index in Iran up to 150 degrees

Fahrenheit. Of course, those sorts of temperatures, unsurvivable, even though we're just talking about the heat index. What do the next decade --

what does the next 10 years look like for the climate?

MARINA RAMINELLO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LANCET COUNTDOWN ON HEALTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Well, the outlook is very concerning. As you can imagine,

we're seeing temperature records every year. We're seeing temperatures that we were not expecting 10 years ago to be seeing already. So, even our

previous climate models are falling short right now of the intensity of heat that we're seeing. We had 40 degrees in London last year where I live.

We were not expecting 40 degrees in the U.K. until mid-century.

So, what we know is that the heat will become much more intense, much more frequent, and that if we don't act very urgently to reduce drastically

greenhouse gas emissions, then the outlook will be very serious, reaching, as you said, temperatures that are beyond the limits of physiological

survival.

[12:05:00]

ASHER: So, when you say, you know, act urgently to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, what does that mean, specifically? I mean, obviously, we all

know, I think most of us know, I should say, that greenhouse gas emissions do need to be reduced. You have various states, for example, California,

implementing new measures like banning the sale of new gas-powered cars after the year 2030. That means that old gas-powered cars can legally still

exist in California, but no new ones will be sold. That to me suggests that the pace of change is going to be very slow. What needs to be done

specifically in terms of curbing greenhouse gas emissions right now?

RAMINELLO: Well, the first thing is obviously to commit to urgently facing out fossil fuels. That is a commitment that we still have not seen from

decision makers globally. So, even the basics have not been yet committed to. They spacing out fossil fuels urgently and increasing our capacity for

renewable energy generation has to go hand in hand with that. But most importantly, increasing our energy efficiency, reducing our energy

consumption and our energy waste as much as we can, reducing from the demand side.

And that's one thing that's very important to take into account when we talk about facing our fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the main single

contributor to human-made air pollution. And we know that air pollution leads to enormous burden of disease. Our own estimates from the Lancet

countdown say that small particulate air pollution linked to the burning of fossil fuels leads to 3.3 million deaths every year. And there's estimates

that say that it's close to eight million deaths every year.

So, when we talk about the need to face our fossil fuels, we need to think not only about the need to protect ourselves from climate change, but also

the immediate health benefits that that could deliver. And we have the technology to replace fossil fuels with safe renewable energies. And we

need to increase our ambition very rapidly and take this very seriously, because the temperatures that you have seen will only increase.

ASHER: Yeah, there are a lot of political barriers to limiting and phasing out fossil fuels, as you well know. All right, we do have to leave it

there. Thank you so much. We appreciate you being on the show.

RAMINELLO: Thank you.

ASHER: Thank you, Rina. All right, Niger's military says this. All right, President Biden is speaking now. Let's listen in.

(LIVE COVERAGE)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: And it is a threat. We're going to outline steps we're taking to help communities who, right this minute, as both the

mayors can tell you, are facing a real crisis in their cities. We talk about steps we're taking to help people get through this tough time. And

we're also going to talk about steps we're taking to help communities prepare, plan, and recover, and make our nation more resilient in future

heat waves. And there will be more.

I don't think anybody can deny the impact of climate change anymore. There used to be a lot of time when I first got here, a lot of people said, oh,

it's not a problem. Well, I don't know anybody -- I shouldn't say that. I don't know anybody who honestly believes climate change is not a serious

problem.

Just take a look at the historic floods in Vermont and California earlier this year. Droughts and hurricanes that are growing more frequent and

intense. Wildfires spreading a smoky haze for thousands of miles, worsening air quality. The record temperatures, and I mean record, are now affecting

more than 100 million Americans.

Puerto Rico reached a 125-degree heat index last month. San Antonio hit an all-time heat index high of 117 last month. Phoenix has been over 110

degrees for 27 straight days. And with El Nino and the short-term warming of the ocean, that exacerbates the effects of climate change, making

forecasts even hotter in the coming months.

Ocean temperatures near Miami are like stepping in a hot tub. They just topped 100 degrees -- 100 degrees, and they're hitting record highs around

the world. And that's more like, as I said, jumping in a hot tub than jumping in an ocean to ride a wave.

Most people don't realize for years, heat has been, and I have to admit, I didn't know it either. I thought it -- I knew it was tough, but the number

one weather-related killer is heat. The number one weather-related killer is heat. Six hundred people die annually from its effects more than from

floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes in America combined. And even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen as hot as it is now

for as long as it's been. Even those who deny that we're in the midst of a climate crisis can't deny the impact of extreme heat is having on

Americans.

[12:10:00]

Americans like an elderly woman in Phoenix who fell out of her wheelchair, and after five minutes on the ground had third degree burns --third degree

burns. For the firefighter who's already -- has a logo or 45 pounds of gear through smoke and flame, which is incredibly hot. The job is even harder

and more dangerous to do in record heat.

For the farm workers who have to harvest crops in the dead of night to avoid the high temperatures, or farmers who risk losing everything they've

planted for the year, or the construction workers who literally risk their lives working all day in blazing heat, and in some places don't even have

the right to take a water break. That's outrageous. That is outrageous. Anybody who says that, does that.

Folks, we really want to pretend these things are normal. Experts say extreme heat is already costing America $100 billion a year, and hits our

most vulnerable the hardest. Seniors. People experiencing homelessness who have nowhere to turn, disadvantaged communities that are at least able to

recover from climate disasters. And it's threatening farms, fisheries, forests that so many families depend on to make a living. But none of this

is inevitable.

From day one of my administration, we've taken unprecedented action to combat the climate crisis that's causing this. We're using a law I got

passed the first day in office, the first month in office, called the American Rescue Plan, to help states and cities promote energy efficiency,

reduce flooding, and open cooling centers. We're delivering over $20 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law to upgrade the electric grid

to withstand stronger storms and heat waves so we don't cause more fires.

Look, last year I signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate investment ever anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, FEMA has been on

the ground responding to those unprecedented weather emergencies in real time. And I've traveled an awful lot in that helicopter with you all across

the country, and to see the devastation that occurs, the kind of wildfires and other -- and drought and the like. We've launched a -- a place you can

go -- heat.gov. Go online, heat.gov to share lifesaving information that you may need to know about.

Last year, my Department of Labor created the first-ever national program to protect workers from heat stress. Since then, we've conducted 2600 heat-

related inspections at workplaces nationwide to protect the health and safety of the workers on the job so they're being taken care of.

Today, I'm announcing additional steps to help states and cities deal with the consequences of extreme heat. First, I've asked Acting Labor Secretary

Julie Su to issue a heat hazard alert. It clarifies that workers have a federal heat-related-have federal heat-related protections. We should be

protecting workers from hazardous conditions, and we will. And those states where they do not, I'm going to be calling them out where they refuse to

protect these workers in this awful heat.

Second, the Acting Secretary of Labor will work with her team to intensify enforcement, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like

construction and agriculture. This work builds on the national standard the Labor Department is already developing for workforce and workplace heat

safety rules.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service will award more than $1 billion in grants to help cities and towns plant trees that in the long-term will help

repel the heat and expand access to green spaces, so families have a place to go to cool off and to bring down the temperature in cities.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing billions to communities to make buildings more efficient and to make more heat -- make

them more heat-resistant, opening cooling centers for residential areas and in the cities that the communities can go to be safe. The Department of

Interior is using infrastructure funding to expand water storage capacity in the Western states to deal with the impacts of future droughts that are

made all this more extreme heat more consequential.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is launching a new partnership with universities and impact communities to improve the

nation's weather forecast and its accuracy, so Americans everywhere can be better prepared when they -- and they can better predict what the heat is

going to be in that community with the weather. In all my investing in America agenda, we provided a record $50 billion for climate resiliency to

restore wetlands, manage wildfires, help Americans in every state withstand extreme heat.

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But our MAGA extremists in Congress are trying to undo all this progress. Not a single one of them, not a single Republican voted, voted for the

Inflation Reduction Act, which had all this money for climate, which provides funding to combat climate change. And now, many of them are trying

to repeal those provisions. We're not going to let that happen.

Part of the reason we're here today is to get word out so state and local governments know these resources are available and uses them. I want the

American people to know help is here, and we're going to make it available to anyone who needs it. Follow guidance from the local leaders and public

safety officials when you hear it in your cities, towns and states. Stay indoors if you're vulnerable. Be careful on hot pavement.

ASHER: All right. President Joe Biden speaking there, flanked by the mayors of Phoenix and the mayor also of San Antonio. Both those cities have

seen record temperatures in recent days. President Joe Biden essentially announcing a slew of measures to help the United States become much more

climate resilient and also ensure that workers, people who work outside, are protected from the heat. He pointed out the fact that heat is still the

number one cause of weather-related deaths in the United States. He gave examples of various temperatures we have seen here in the U.S., including

Puerto Rico reaching a high of 125 degrees Fahrenheit. That's in terms of the heat index. San Antonio, 117 degrees.

(LIVE COVERAGE ENDS)

ASHER: We will continue to keep an eye on what the president is saying. Once again, President Joe Biden announcing a slew of measures to ensure

that the United States becomes that much more climate resilient as it battles climate change.

All right. Back now to one of our top stories. Niger's military says that President Bazoum's tenure is officially over as protesters gathered outside

parliament today in support of the coup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: That sign there calls for the ouster of all foreign troops in the country. And earlier today, Niger's army lent its support to the coup,

citing the need to avoid bloodshed. The capital of Niamey is a far cry from calm, as demonstrators set fires outside the ruling party's headquarters.

And Niger's foreign minister remains defiant, calling on, quote, mutinous officers to return to their ranks. But the coup's supporters say that

they're not going anywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: We are protesting to show our support to the military who've just put an end, I would say, to the rule of the Seventh Republic. Yesterday we

saw the march of those supporting the president, but I am sorry, today the real Niger has come out on the streets.

ASHER: Let's bring in CNN's Larry Madowo who's tracking the latest developments from Nairobi. So, Niger is a country that has seen a number of

coups. I mean, I think that there's been about four coups since independence. President Bazoum himself dealt with an attempted coup just a

couple of years ago. What more do we know at this point about the fate of President Bazoum, especially because his own army is saying, listen, we're

going to side with the coup leaders, not the president?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been another dramatic day in Niamey and in Niger, Zain. We still do not know the location of President Bazoum,

especially after the army command sided with these military men who took over power in Niger. We saw these pro-military protests outside the

National Assembly on Thursday, which were counter-protests from what we saw on Wednesday. When the reports first emerged of President Bazoum being held

at the presidential palace by the presidential guard, those who support him, those who support the Nigerian democracy came out in the streets.

And then, today, we're now seeing these people who support this military takeover back on the streets, setting cars on fire, setting the party

headquarters of the president on fire. And they're saying that they don't need any foreign militaries inside the country. Some background here. Two

U.S. officials tell CNN that the U.S. has about 1100 troops stationed in Niger. They have been there since at least 2013 as part of the

counterterrorism operation there. And a French Minister of Defense official said that there are about 2500 French troops in Niger and in Chad.

As French troops have left Mali, Niger has become the centerpiece. This is the anchor for much of the international community's Sahel security

strategy because this region is still battling a big jihadist insurgency in Mali, in Burkina Faso. And, therefore, Niger has been a safer place for

that. But the country is almost at a standstill with the military shutting down aerial and land borders, suspending the Constitution, removing the

president and there's even more. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMADOU ADRAMANE, COLONEL MAJOR, NIGER ARMY SPOKESMAN (through translator): All the institutions of the 7th Republic have been suspended. The

Secretaries General of the Ministries will take care of the day-to-day business.

[12:20:00]

The defense and security forces are managing the situation, and all external partners are asked not to interfere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: That warning about foreign military interference. The Army Command today said that any foreign military intervention risks having disastrous

and uncontrolled consequences of the country. And we also heard from the spokesperson of this committee, the Council to Protect the Homeland. These

are the men in charge of the country now who say that France violated that decision to close the airspace. They landed a military aircraft in the

country in violation of that.

And I guess that's why you see, for instance, a Russian flag in the crowd during these pro-military protests today. It's early to tell, but this

Russian flag in the crowd is important because after they quit Burkina Faso, we also saw a Russian flag in the crowd. And with the interest and

the expanded activities of the Wagner Group in places like Mali and the Central African Republic, that is certainly something notable, Zain.

ASHER: Yeah, the Wagner Group is certainly present in the Sahel region, so that does raise red flags. Larry Madowo, live for us there, thank you so

much. All right, still to come, how the instability in Niger fits into the regional context as a Sahel region where there's yet another military coup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: As we look a little bit closer at the situation in Niger, it is part of a wider sobering context. The Sahel region as a whole has long

struggled with that recurring motif of political instability. Niger joins a trend that holds true across a lot of the continent, especially pronounced

in West and Central Africa. Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Chad, and Sudan have each faced their own, some of them multiple times, as clear a sign as

any, that the instability in the

Sahel has proven contagious, unconfined by borders, and persistent in its spread. The fear now is that the region's fraught politics may compound its

other crises, from climate displacement to violent extremism, casting a huge swathe of the world into even deeper chaos.

Our guest, Kamissa Camara, knows these problems very well, having served as the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and she is now a Senior Adviser for

the African-U.S. Institute of Peace. Commissar, thank you so much for being with us.

[12:25:00]

You know, this particular country has been beset by coups in the past. What is it about this particular coup that sets it apart from previous coups

that Niger has faced? Obviously, there's been about four coups since 1960 and President Bazoum himself was the target of an attempted coup in 2021.

KAMISSA CAMARA, SENIOR ADVISOR FOR AFRICA, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: Right, Zain. Niger has been on a steady trajectory towards democracy. President

Issoufou was elected 12 years ago in a democratic election. He served two terms and then handed power over to a democratically elected president in

the person of Mohamed Bazoum. And so, we believed that Niger was on a solid path towards democracy and then despite the coup attempt two years ago that

Niger was on the right track to become a stable country despite very unstable neighbors.

And so, this coup came as a surprise. International partners have considered Niger a very stable international security partner in the

region, in the Sahel region. Some have even considered Niger a sort of leader in t he Sahel region. A leader who could talk to neighbors and

ensure that the region became stable. Unfortunately, with the coup which happened yesterday and was confirmed in the early hours today, it's kind of

a sad development for the region. Niger is the fifth country in the Western Sahel out of sixth country, which is now being led by military coup

leaders.

ASHER: And just in terms of, I mean, we've talked a lot about this idea that, you know, President Bazoum was seen as a partner to the West in their

fight or them assisting in the fight against Islamic insurgency in the Sahel region. So, they considered President Bazoum to be a partner and an

ally to them. What was the view of President Bazoum among his own population? How popular was he among his own people as a president?

CAMARA: Well, he was democratically elected as president. So, you could say that there was a majority of Nigerians who believed in him. He was a

known political figure. He served in the past as prime minister of Niger. He served as a very effective Minister of Interior. He knew the security

situation of the Sahel really, really well and was able to advocate for the region internationally.

So, he was really perceived as a strong man who knew the region really well and could advocate for the needs and the regional influence of Niger. And

so, what we're seeing or what we're hearing from the ground, from Niamey, is that this coup started as the disgruntled army general who was being

removed from his position and who had been in the position for 10 years and who woke up one day and decided that he was going to remove the president

because he was not happy with being removed from the position.

But what we saw later was the entire army, which was considered loyal to the president, joining the coup leaders in kind of a surprising way. So,

it's really hard not to imagine that the leaders, the military leaders of Niger are not taking their cue from other military coup leaders who have

led successful coups in their region. So, we're looking at a very unstable region where it's kind of hard to imagine how international assistance,

international security assistance could be helpful and could be effective.

ASHER: Right, I mean, yeah, you point out that perhaps the coup leaders were taking cues from other countries that had a successful coups in the

neighborhood. Obviously, Mali, your home country, being one of them, also Burkina Faso, as well. Kamissa Camara, we have to leave it there. Thank you

so much.

CAMARA: Thank you.

ASHER: All right, still to come, high stakes with a low turnout. Russia holds to summit African leaders and make some major promises. So, why are

there so many empty seats? And Trump's legal team meets with a special counsel as a potential federal indictment looms all the inside information

that reporters are hearing, coming up. And later, a stunning upset at the Women's World Cup as one of the host nations in danger of going home much

earlier than expected. We'll talk about Nigeria's win at the Women's World Cup. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Hello and welcome back to ONE WORLD. Vladimir Putin claims Western sanctions are to blame for triggering a global food shortage, not his war

on Ukraine. He's hosting a two-day summit for African leaders in St. Petersburg, but the turnout is far lower than in previous years. Earlier,

the Russian president pledged to supply six African countries with free grain. It's all part of an attempt by the Kremlin to shore up allies and

expand its influence in Africa.

CNN's David McKenzie joins us live now from Johannesburg. So, let's talk about this announcement, this idea that Russia is supplying free grain to

six African countries. When you look closely at that list, these aren't just any African countries. These are African countries in which the Wagner

Group either have a strong presence or want to have a strong presence. Just explain to us what Russia is getting out of this charitable, quote,

unquote, "gift" to these six African countries.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, I think what is getting out are two things. One, the Moscow and the Kremlin

want to show to the rest of the world to demonstrate that Vladimir Putin is not totally isolated since he invaded Ukraine and more recently was

indicted by the International Criminal Court. And so, by putting on this show of giving grain as food aid to a variety of countries in Africa, they

are -- they think they're showing that.

[12:35:00]

But then, also, there is this fact that there is no such thing as food aid that is without strings attached. And it is telling that these countries do

have some involvement of Russia and Wagner for that grain to come in. The Russian president as you say, blamed Western sanctions on the inability of

Russia to get its grain out of the country, despite the fact that recently, of course, Russia pulled out of that grain deal that did allow grain to get

on the worldwide market. Let's listen to the Russian president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: We sent almost 10 million tons to Africa, obviously in the conditions of the illegitimate sanctions, which

makes it much more difficult for Russia to send food to Africa. We talk about logistics, banking and transfers. We have a paradoxical picture here.

On one hand, Western countries are limiting the supply of our grain and fertilizers to Africa. And on the other hand, in a totally hypocritical

manner, they blame us for all the problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Well, seventeen heads of state or thereabouts are at this Russia Africa summit, and that is, as you say, reduced from the first one in 2019.

But I guess the Kremlin would think that 17 is better than zero, and it does show that there are allies or at least leaders willing to speak to and

hear from the Russian president in Africa. Zain.

ASHER: All right, Dave McKenzie, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, a news conference in Washington that got a lot of

people talking. What exactly caused the most powerful Republican in the Senate to stop mid-sentence as he was speaking? We'll discuss when we come

back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Gone too soon. The President of Ireland is leading the tributes to Sinead O'Connor. She found global fame with her version of the ballad,

"Nothing Compares To You". And today, police in London are out with an announcement saying that her death is not being treated as suspicious.

CNN's Randi Kaye looks at her rise to fame and the deeply troubled life that followed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN NEWS JOURNALIST (voice-over): Sinead O'Connor singing the hit song that catapulted her to international stardom, "Nothing Compares to

You".

[12:40:00]

The song was written by Prince and in 1990, she topped the music charts with her version of it. The Irish singer earned four Grammy nominations for

the song and the album it was on. She also won the award for MTV's Video of the Year.

In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine named her "Artist of the Year". O'Connor's singing voice was extraordinary, pure power, and her stage presence,

electric. But behind all of that, or perhaps helping fuel it, there was pain, lots of it. O'Connor spoke about how her mother abused her in a

recent Showtime documentary called, "Nothing Compares".

SINEAD O'CONNOR, SINGER: My mother was a very violent woman, not a healthy woman, mentally at all. She was physically and verbally and

psychologically, spiritually and emotionally abusive. My mother was a beast and I was able to soothe her with my voice. I was able to use my voice to

make the devil fall asleep.

KAYE: Sometime after her parents divorced, O'Connor, at age 14, was sent away to live in an asylum run by the Order of Our Lady of Charity.

O'CONNOR: I was a bit messed up and it wasn't acknowledged what had happened to me in my mother's house.

KAYE: O'Connor's mother died in a car accident in 1985, two years before her debut album was released. O'Connor often used her music to address

social issues and inspire change. In 1992 on Saturday Night Live, O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II to protest sexual abuse in the

Catholic Church.

O'CONNOR: Fight the real enemy!

KAYE: In 1999, she became the first priestess of a dissident Roman Catholic group. And after the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal broke wide

open, she called on the Vatican to stop covering up the truth, telling Anderson Cooper this, in 2010.

O'CONNOR: The one thing that the victims really require for healing and so do the rest of us as Catholic people is a full admission by the Vatican

that there was an active cover up in operation for decades since, since 1922.

KAYE: O'Connor long struggled with her mental health. She attempted suicide at age 33. In 2017, she posted this video of herself at a motel in

New Jersey in the midst of a mental breakdown.

O'CONNOR: The people who suffer from mental illness are the most vulnerable people on earth. We can't take care of our (BEEP) self.

KAYE: A year later, she converted to Islam and changed her name to Shehada Sadakwa. Last year, O'Connor's 17-year-old son, Shane, died by suicide.

O'Connor shared this photo of the two of them just last week on Twitter. Despite saying in 2021 she would quit making music and touring, O'Connor

recently recorded the opening song for the hit show, "Outlander", Seventh Season. Sinead O'Connor was 56.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And she will be certainly missed. All right, a quick programming note for you. In the next hour on CNN Artificial Intelligence, The Power

and the Peril, Christiane Amanpour hosts a special show with four leaders in the field of A.I.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: Are people playing with fire?

UNKNOWN: Absolutely, without a doubt.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Four leaders in their field unpack the uncertainty that lies ahead.

UNKNOWN: We have agency. I just want to kind of divorce that kind of hypothetical scenario with the reality, and that is we decide.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): What it means for jobs and how it will change our working lives.

UNKNOWN: I genuinely believe we're going to get a four-day week out of AI.

UNKNOWN: We can now call the 2024 Presidential Race for Joe Biden.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Policing misinformation ahead of crucial U.S. Presidential Elections.

UNKNOWN: I've got two children who are 11 and 13. Are they going to grow up in a world where they can trust information?

AMANPOUR (voice-over): How to regulate a technology that even its creators don't fully understand.

SAM ALTMAN, CEO, OPEN A.I.: If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): How A.I. could revolutionize healthcare.

UNKNOWN: These are life-saving opportunities.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): And make our relationships with machines much more intimate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: The possibilities, the challenges, and the dangers it poses to our very survival. Join Christiane for a CNN special starting at 1 PM Eastern,

6 PM in the evening if you are watching from London.

[12:45:00]

You won't want to miss it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: In Washington, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is back on the Hill after brushing off concerns about his health. During his weekly

news conference Wednesday, he froze mid-sentence for about 30 seconds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH MCCONNELL, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER: We're on a path to finishing the NDA this week. It's been good bipartisan cooperation and a

string of --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: His colleagues then realized that something was wrong.

UNKNOWN: Okay, Mitch. Anything else you want to say? Or should we just go back to your office? Do you want to say anything else to the press? Okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: McConnell returned a few minutes later. An aide said that the Senator felt lightheaded. The 81-year-old was hospitalized in March after

he tripped at a dinner event, suffering a concussion and broken ribs. Sources now say he's fallen multiple times this year. He's up for

reelection in 2026 if he decides to run for another term.

And it appears Donald Trump's lawyers are trying a last-minute move to keep him from being indicted again by a federal prosecutor. CNN has learned that

Trump's lawyers met just a short time ago with Special Counsel Jack Smith. The meeting comes after Smith issued a target letter indicating that he may

indict Trump for efforts to overturn the 2020 elections.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us outside the courthouse with the very latest. So, what more can you tell us about this meeting in terms of what came out

of it and also what it means in terms of a possible timeline for a possible indictment, Katelyn?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUTICE REPORTER: Yeah, Zain, it's really unpredictable when an indictment could be returned against the

former president for his actions related to the 2020 election. But this meeting is one of those things that you would expect to happen after Donald

Trump received that target letter 11 days ago informing him he was very likely to be indicted for potentially obstructing Congress, for potentially

conspiring against the United States government and other possible crimes.

[12:50:00]

And so, that meeting - that is an opportunity for his defense team to sit down with the prosecutors. We have confirmed that Special Counsel Jack

Smith himself was in the meeting, as well as, the two top January 6 defense attorneys that Donald Trump has working for him at this time. The meeting

ended and there wasn't a clear indication to the defense team exactly what was going to happen next and if Trump would be indicted.

But Zain, it is very, very likely and very expected from Donald Trump's team that he is going to be indicted in this case because he got this

target letter, because the meeting has happened. And we are just now waiting to see what the grand jury here might do. Here at the federal

courthouse, there's been a lot of activity this morning. The grand jury convened. The last time they were in was last Thursday. They heard from

several witnesses then.

We don't have any indication there or witnesses coming in today. And while that meeting was going on with the Special Counsel and Trump's team, the

grand jury was having a pretty early lunch break. They're now back together. There have been more prosecutors arriving throughout the day.

But that proceeding remains completely confidential until there is some sort of indication of what the grand jury and the Justice Department want

to do here with charges. They would need to approve them, hand them up through the court system and then we could learn exactly what this case,

maybe. Zain.

ASHER: All right, Katelyn Polantz, life was there. Thank you so much. All right, a stunner at the Women's World Cup. Nigeria ranked 40th in the FIFA

rankings, took out number 10, ranked Australia today 3-2. What makes the win even more shocking is that the Matildas were playing at home. They were

playing in Brisbane, Australia. It puts Australia in a desperate must-win scenario in their final group match against Canada.

Let's bring Don Riddell in from World Sport with more. I can't say I'm sad as a Nigerian myself. I loved the video of the Super Falcons. Did you see

the video of them dancing in the locker room? That was amazing. They're off to play Ireland next, I believe. Don, take us through it.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: I mean, it's just wonderful, isn't it? If you're a Nigerian fan, if you're an African football fan, I personally

believe that any football tournament is better when the home teams do well, but you cannot take anything away from what Nigeria have achieved. And they

deserve this win. It was a brilliant performance and not one that you would have expected.

Let's take a look at the way they went about this game because the Aussies scored first. The Aussies were looking as though they were going to secure

their place in the knockout round but Nigeria hit them with three goals. Uchenna Kanu scoring the first one late in the first half and then a couple

of quick goals in the second half from Osinachi Ohale heading in there at the far post.

And then shortly afterwards, it was Barcelona's Asisat Oshoala coming off the bench. She plays from Barcelona, coming in here, getting around the

keeper and scoring from a tight angle. Absolutely brilliant win for the Super Falcons, 3-2. Australia scored a late goal. They were trying to get a

draw in the end, but it wasn't to be.

And as you say, the scene's absolutely wonderful at the end. A huge, huge achievement for a low-ranked team, a team that is struggling off the field.

There was talk that they might have gone on strike before their opening game against Canada, which was a draw They're in dispute with their

federation over pay and bonuses and now they've gone and done this. Let's hear from the players.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASISAT OSHOALA, NIGERIA FORWARD: I think I'm gonna give kudos to my teammates everyone went out there to play their hearts out. No one knows

what this team is made of. We only have to come to the field and show ourselves and show the kind of heart we have. Like I said earlier, this

team has a lot to offer and everyone and the world has seen that today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And Don, just walk us through just the overall sort of energy that we've seen at this particular World Cup, from the players that you know,

everyone expects to win, and also the underdogs, as well.

RIDDELL: Yeah, well, the underdogs are playing really well. We're not seeing too many blowout wins, which we've seen in previous tournaments. And

we're looking at really, really big teams, like the reigning two-time defending champions, the United States, who are struggling. They played the

Netherlands, who are a top European side, the Netherlands recent European champions.

And the Dutch took the lead in this game. I'm hoping that we can show you some of the highlights because this is a game that there was an awful lot

of interest in the American team, really has been the pre-eminent force in women's soccer globally for the last two decades. But they're kind of

meeting their match these days. The Dutch taking the lead in this game through Jill Roord.

[12:55:00]

And the Americans who would have been hoping to secure their place in the knockout round. Well, they didn't get it on Thursday. They needed an

equalizer from Lindsay Horan in order to make sure that they at least got a point from this game. The Americans are now going to have to get a result

in their final group game against Portugal. But yeah, not the result many people would have expected from the American team. And the kind of -- the

newer countries or the kind of lesser lights are certainly acquitting themselves very well in this tournament so far, Zain.

ASHER: Yeah, the highlight, though, for me, was Nigeria doing exceptionally well against Australia. Obviously, Australia were down --

some of their key players -- but that doesn't take anything away from Nigeria and how well they did, Don Riddell, live for us there. Thank you so

much. And thank you for watching ONE WORLD. I am Zain Asher. "AMANPOUR" is up next. You're watching CNN.

END