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President Trump focuses on selection for Supreme Court justice; Man stabs 9 people at toddler's birthday party; Boat explodes in Bahamas leaving 1 dead; Trump administration's deadline to reunite families; Former Fox News co-president tapped for a White House position; President Trump and Valadimir Putin to meet in a summit in Helsinki; A 7-year-old girl reunited with mother after border separation; Jobs and housing for the homeless by a nonprofit group; Daring escape of a French gangster in prison; Japan's rocket launch ends in flames. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 1, 2018 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: We are live in the "CNN Newsroom." Hello on a Sunday. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York, and just moments ago, President Trump tweeting about a looming decision he faces that will have repercussions for years to come. He says, a big week especially with our numerous victories in the Supreme Court. Heading back to the White House now, focus will be on the selection of a new Supreme Court justice. Exciting times for our country. Economy maybe stronger than it has ever been.

The president spent the weekend at his golf resort in New Jersey where he said he plan to talk to one or two potential candidates for the job. A formal announcement will come eight days from now on July 9th. CNN White House correspondent Boris Sanchez is in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey for us. Boris, we are already hearing from lawmakers gearing up for this big pick.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is right, Ana. And many of them I should say are focused on one key issue, and that is abortion. Because there are so many Republican lawmakers that would need to fall in line for the president to get this nominee confirmed whoever it might be, there is a razor thin margin for error.

And for certain Republicans like Susan Collins of Maine or Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, their stance on abortion and their belief in a nominee potentially in their stance on Roe versus Wade could sink the entire nomination. Earlier today, Susan Collins spoke to Jake Tapper about this. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe versus Wade, because that would mean to me that their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions, established law. And I believe that that is a very fundamental tenet of our judicial system which as Chief Justice Robert says helps to promote stability and even-handedness. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Well, we have reached out to the White House to get a status update on how far along this process has gone over the weekend. As we mentioned before, Ana, the president said that he would be interviewing one or two potential candidates this weekend here in Bedminster. They have not responded to those requests though they have confirmed that the president spoke with some advisers and White House chief counsel Don McGahn over the weekend to get a clear read on how this nomination process would go.

The president revealing that one thing they've asked him to do is to avoid asking these potential nominees about Roe versus Wade, Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Boris Sanchez, a lot of anticipation for this big announcement. Again, this is expected to move very quickly, one week from tomorrow, President Trump is planning to reveal his Supreme Court nominee. Multiple sources telling CNN two names in particular are seen as strong contenders, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. She was Trump's pick for a seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She is 46 years old and clerked for Justice Scalia.

Also Judge Brett Kavenaugh. He sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Kavanaugh is 53 years old and served as a lawyer for Ken Starr during his investigation of Bill Clinton. Let's talk it over with Matt Viser, deputy Washington bureau chief for the "Boston Globe" and Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun-Times." Matt, let me start with you. One week from tomorrow, I mean, that is coming fast. The president says we will know the name of his Supreme Court nominee. How long do you think before we actually have a vote to confirm?

MATT VISER, DEPUTY WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, BOSTON GLOBE: I think it will be fairly quick. I mean, all indications from Mitch McConnell are that they want to move forward on this. And there will be the typical sort of parade through the capital as we saw during the Judge Gorsuch's confirmation hearing process where, you know, he met with individual senators.

And key in this as we alluded to in the previous segment, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, some of these potential Republican senators who have at lot of the sway in the fate of this Supreme Court nominee. So, anticipate this taking up a lot of the oxygen in Washington throughout the summer.

CABRERA: And you talked the about how last time around he met with them after announcing Judge Gorsuch's nomination. We already know he has met with both of the senators he just listed as well as some of the red state Democrats. Let me read something Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's chief legal analyst, wrote about the next Supreme Court. Should a more conservative justice be confirmed?

He writes, quote, it will overrule Roe versus Wade allowing states to ban abortion, allow shopkeepers, restaurateurs and hotel owners to refuse service to gay customer, approve laws designed to hinder voting rights, sanction execution by grotesque means and invoke the Second Amendment to prohibit states from engaging in gun control. Lynn is this prediction realistic?

[17:05:12] LYNN SWEET, WAHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: It is realistic because this all have cases and issues in different states that could pepper up to the United States Supreme Court. And by the way, out of the two names you mentioned, Ana, I would go with Judge Amy because she has strong Indiana ties.

She sits in Chicago in the Seventh Circuit but she was already appointed once by President Trump to her appellate seat and Indiana is the home of Vice President Pence. And she would not have gotten that appointment to the appellate court if the vice president wasn't a booster.

SWEET: GOP Senator Susan Collins is seemed less concerned especially when it comes to Roe versus Wade. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Neil Gorsuch for whom you voted, don't you think he is probably going to vote to overturn Roe versus Wade if given the chance?

COLLINS: I actually don't. I had a very long discussion with Justice Gorsuch in my office and he pointed out to me that he is the co-author of a whole book on precedent. So, someone who devotes that much time to writing a book on precedent I think understand how important a principle that is in our judicial system.

I think that judges have to have to ability to puts aside their personal views and rule on the facts of the case with fidelity to the law and the constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Now, only one member of the current Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, is officially on the record supporting the overturn of Roe versus Wade. Aren't justices typically cautious about blowing up the precedents?

VISER: They are although we have seen, you know, the Janus decision just this past week regarding, you know, labor and donations or contributions from people in labor unions. That does change a little bit of the precedent so, I think you -- is going to change late built of the precedent --

CABRERA: Hold that thought for a second. I just want to point out these are live images right now as the president and the first lady return home coming back from their weekend in New Jersey. Now, please continue.

VISER: So, I mean, I do think that you will hear a lot about precedent and you will hear a lot from the next nominee about not wanting to comment on future cases, which is similar to what we heard from Neil Gorsuch during his confirmation process about not wanting to comment on things like that, so I do think that that's going to be -- we are not going to get somebody as in the nomination process who is says how they will vote on Roe versus Wade, but I think that certainly the motivating factor from both sides on what type of justice this next (inaudible) will be.

SWEET: May I jump in on this one, too.

CABRERA: Please.

SWEET: First of all we don't know the paper trail yet of the judges on it where there are clues to their thinking, but as Susan Collins said that Neil Gorsuch talked to me about precedent, I want to underscore what Matt brought up in the Janus case. This is just Wednesday just a few weeks ago he was part of the 5-4 majority. He was the key swing vote indeed yet overturned a 1977 case called Abood versus the Detroit Board of Education.

So, I don't know if Susan Collins said what she said, and maybe she was giving some kind of benefit of the doubt or trying to be diplomatic, but for a man who wrote a book on precedent, he just undid one a few days ago.

CABRERA: And there is a slim majority right now with Republicans so Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski in particula who we know are pro abortion rights will be crucial for them to get a nominee confirmed. President Trump likes to call Democrats obstructionists, so he is not counting on them.

But in the context of the Supreme Court, I'm wondering now, was Mitch McConnell the ultimate obstructionist in preventing President Obama's pick, Merrick Garland from getting a hearing because that now has huge implications, right?

VISER: Yes, and you know, seeing a lot Democrats questioning how they handled their, you know, anger during that time period, but now given that President Trump, you know, a year and half into his term is going to have two lifetime appointments that he's making to the Supreme Court.

And one other point about the narrowness I think of the Senate right now, President Trump has had a lot of ire for John McCain and his health care vote, but remember, that he was joined by Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski in voting no on health care sort of stymieing President Trump in a major moment.

This is another major moment for the president and those two senators are the ones that he is, you know, most eager to win over and who could have the fate of his next nomination in their hands. So, I think watch those two very carefully, you know, over these next couple of weeks.

CABRERA: And I just want to remind everybody that they only need 50 votes to confirm the next Supreme Court justice because if you recall during Neil Gorsuch's confirmation, they got rid of the filibuster.

[17:10:04] Mitch McConnell used that nuclear option, so Lynn, what are the options for Democrats at this point? What can they do? SWEET: Well, one option is to first hold carefully -- hold in their

group the senators up for re-election who are being targeted by Trump most particularly Senator Heidi Heitkamp and then Joe Manchin is a particular potential swing to the Republican side so Trump needs some insurance in case Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski do take a stand against whoever the nominee is.

The other thing that Democrats could do, and they are doing it already, is using this as rallying cry for 2018 and maybe spilling into 2020, but they might use it to get votes where it is going to be hard to actually stop the process from going on, and with it sooner or later, a vote on a Trump nominee because McConnell controls what is (inaudible) called.

On the other hand, he won't call a vote unless he knows he has the votes. If he has 50, do not underestimate the anger of Democrats at McConnell and his kind of the self-righteous comments a bit about obstructionists when he stopped President Obama's pick, Merrick Garland as matt noted and he made up a rule that he wanted to impose. We can't do this in the last year of a presidency.

So now the Democrats are saying, you know, we have an election in 2018, this is an election year, we can't do it in 2018 even though it is not a presidential yea. So, this is a work in progress, advantage Republicans.

CABRERA: All right. Lynn sweet, Matt Viser, we got to leave it there. Thank you both for joining us.

SWEET: Thank you.

CABRERA: And coming up, a horrific attack in Idaho. A knife-wielding man targets a 3-year-old's birthday party and injures nine people including six children. What we are learning about the suspect now in custody., next.

[17:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Breaking news out of Idaho where police say a man went on a stabbing spree at a 3-year-old's birthday party. Nine people were injured including six children ranging in age from 3 to 12 years old. This all happened at an apartment complex where mostly refugee families live. CNN's Polo Sandoval is joining us now with more details. Polo, do we know anything about a possible motive?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, police say that they are pretty confident that this was not a hate crime, but nonetheless described this as an unconscionable attack. The 32-year-old man the police say as responsible has been identified as Timmy Kidder. Authorities are saying that he was reportedly staying at an apartment complex there in Boise that houses several refugees.

He was staying there and on Friday was asked to leave. He did apparently peacefully, but then he returned yesterday seeking out the person who essentially kicked him off of the property, unable to find them and armed with a knife, police say he allegedly turned his attention on a 3-year-old birthday party. Here is how the police chief William Bones describes it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BONES, POLICE CHIEF, BOISE POLICE DEPARTMENT: Due to his behavior, he had been asked to leave. Kenny had done so, he returned last night to exact vengeance not just on those who he had been with because they were not at the apartment, but at any target which was available.

The tragedy was that a 3-year-old little girl was having a birthday party just a few doors down from where Kenny had been staying. Kenny attacked targeting the children initially. The 3-year-old girl whose birthday it was, was one of those seriously injured, including two 4- year-olds, a 6-year-old, an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The suspect was arrested a short time later not far from the scene there, Ana. He is behind bars right now. He will be back in court on Monday. These were people who were some of the newest members of the community who were targeted by this --

CABRERA: And you can see just how heavy it was on that police chief's heart. Any idea or update on the condition of those kids?

SANDOVAL: At this point, we do know that at least four of them did sustain some of these life threatening injuries, but they are expected to pull through. And as the police chief said, they will carry this for the rest of their lives, some of them scarred for the rest of their lives.

CABRERA: Right. Polo Sandoval, thank you. Keep us posted. Some more breaking news to get to, a deadly fire and explosion today in the Bahamas. Look at this. This is a 40-foot charter tour boat which exploded with 12 people on board, 10 of those people were tourists and we just heard from a government official that one of them, an American woman have died.

Several others who are on that boat are hurt, some of them we are told are in extremely critical condition. Emergency officials in the Bahamas are investigating. We don't know yet the name of that American woman killed or where she's from. We'll continue to bring you more details as we get them.

It has become a desperate rallying cry in the nation's immigration fight. Families belong together, but bringing the families back together is proving to be complicated. We still don't know exactly how many children have been separated, the plan for reunification, ore whether parents and children know where to find each other.

The Trump administration now have less than a month to reunite families separated at the border and less than two weeks for children under five. Immigration lawyer, Jodi Goodwin, is joining us now. Her legal team represents 200 immigrant detainees housed at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Texas. So Jodi, thank you for being with us. Have you had any families reunited? JODI GOODWIN, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: Thank you for having me, and just

to directly answer that question, as of yesterday, we have had no families reunited from the Port Isabel Detention Center.

CABRERA: And again, we mentioned that you represent 200 families. Are all of those parents with children?

GOODWIN: Yes, myself and a group of volunteer attorneys have a little bit of over 200 separated family members, mothers and fathers that the we are following through the process and none of them have been reunified as of yet.

[17:20:01] CABRERA: Well, have you had any luck figuring out where all the parents and their children are actually located?

GOODWIN: That is actually what we started out doing when we first initially contacted the parents, was just to find out who their children were and to attempt to try to locate them. It is very difficult to locate the children. There is not a system that is coordinated between ICE and ORR. That is beginning to be a little bit better over the last week. Some of the parents have been able to have phone calls with their children, so they have been able to have some communication.

CABRERA: What is your reaction to these new court filings that show government officials had no plan to reunify families, that it was never their intention to have to facilitate reunification?

GOODWIN: Well, I think that the court records are just confirming what we already knew on the ground, and that was that there was no plan that was in place. There was nothing that was thought out to its logical conclusion at the time that the zero tolerance policy and the separation of the families began. So I think that our gravest concerns were just confirmed with these court filings.

CABRERA: There is now a court order though with the deadline for the government to reunite the families. What are you being told by authorities? What is the plan at this point?

GOODWIN: We are not actually being told what the plan is. We sort of see scuttlebutt around the detention center with individuals being interviewed by various agencies including the Office of Refugee Resettlement. There are also individuals from the public health service that are doing some interviews and of course, agents from ICE as well. But in terms of a coordinated plan, that has not been disclosed to us so we are not exactly sure what their plan is or if they have one.

CABRERA: So how confident are you that these families will in fact be reunited at some point?

GOODWIN: If I had to place my confidence on a scale of zero to 10, I would put it somewhere around the zero and maybe one half. I'm not very confident that we can be assured that these parents will not be removed from their children on a permanent basis if they are not reunified prior to being deported or if they are not released from custody and allowed to reunify with their children here in the United States.

CABRERA: Jodi Goodwin, thank you for bringing us what you can tell us about what is happening and for those you represent. Please do keep us posted.

GOODWIN: Thank you. I will do.

CABRERA: Coming up, walking around the halls of the White House soon may feel a lot like walking around the halls of one cable news channel. How Fox News is becoming a direct line the Trump administration? Plus, from liftoff to letdown, the story behind the rocket launch that didn't go as planned.

[17:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Soon the West Wing will be brought to you by Fox News. Sources tell CNN the company's former co-president, Bill Shine, has accepted senior position in the Trump administration. Shine enjoys a very long and close relationship with President Trump's favorite anchor and biggest TV booster, Sean Hannity, who apparently talked him up to the president. CNN' Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: "Fox & Friends" in the morning is the best show and it is the absolute most honest show.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump has never hidden his love for Fox News and even if had, the revolving door between Fox and the White House would make it clear. The latest arrival, former Fox News executive Bill Shine. He stepped down amid criticism about how he handled sexual harassment claims against others at Fox. But now a source tells CNN he is joining the White House communications team.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Find familiar faces, at least eight Fox personalities at some point have worked for the president and more could be on the way.

JEANINE PIRRO, FOX NEWS HOST: This man has done nothing to create confidence that wrong doers will be accountable.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Host Jeanine Pirro has made attacking Attorney General Jeff Sessions a crusade and "Politico" says that she wants his job. In an internet post suggested maybe she should take the latest Supreme Court seat instead, Donald Trump Jr. responded, this would be pretty awesome.

By the way, he is reportedly dating a Fox News host and his father seems to like many of them, tweeting earlier this month, wow, "Fox & Friends" is on the front lawn. Maybe I'll have to take an unannounced trip down the see them. And he did.

PETER DOOCY, FOX & FRIENDS SHOW HOST: You've got some excitement out on your lawn today. Hello, Mr. President.

TRUMP: A little excitement.

DOOCY: What brings you here?

TRUMP: Are we on already?

DOOCY: We're on. We're live.

TRUMP: Wow. Wow. That's good.

DOOCY: We're actually -- we're on every channel.

TRUMP: We had a very exciting trip over here I have to say.

FOREMAN: While the president has given only a handful of interviews to all the other TV news networks combined, he has done it for Fox close to two dozen times, even shows on Fox Entertainment have noticed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, here is a new bill that you must read immediately. It lowers taxes for only Republicans.

TRUMP: Can Fox News read it and I'll watch what they say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you have to read it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: And that was Tom Foreman reporting. Joining us now, CNN senior media correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources" Brian Stelter. So Brian, let's talk about this new hire first. Bill Shine, big friend of Sean Hannity, also a protege of the late Roger Ailes. What do you see of the impact?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he was probably overlooked in the past few days but it is a big move by President Trump to bring in this Hannity friend, in fact, they go so far back.

[17:30:06] Hannity and Bill Shine have been working together for decades. You see him in screen here. Shine is also a protege of the late Roger Ailes. Essentially, he was one of the deputies at Fox News for two decades. So Shine brings deep knowledge of television news specifically conservative television news shows like "Hannity" and now that will be used in the White House.

I think it really shows once again, this is the Fox News presidency that President Trump is informed by what he hears on Fox's pro-Trump talk shows and then he acts accordingly. And I think we're going to see even more of that as (inaudible) Shine coming in.

CABRERA: And really, the president has been pretty transparent about that with how many times he tweets out Fox News quotes and so forth. What do you think it would mean with the Trump relationship with Hannity if this does not work out? STELTER: That's a very interesting question. That's what I'm going to

be watching for. According to CNN's own reporting and other outlets, Hannity was promoting this idea of hiring Shine. He wanted to see his friend in this job so, I'm expecting maybe even more Trump interviews that Hannity gets. We will see about that.

It could go sideways and that would be interesting to see as well. You know, it is never not weird just how close his relationship is between Trump and Fox News. This man, Bill shine, he was a co-president until last year. He actually was sort of forced out because in the wake of the Roger Ailes sexual harassment scandal there were questions about how he handled the cases. There were questions about how much he knew. Now Shine always denied wrongdoing, but he was named in several lawsuits.

And as biographer Gabriel Sherman recently said, this would have been a sort of thing that would have made him unhirable in the other White House. It would have been a kind of thing that would meant Shine would not have gotten this job at the White House. And by the way, we don't know exactly what the job is. The title apparently is going to be deputy chief of staff for communications, but it has not actually been announced by the White House.

It has just been reported by all these news outlets. There is even some talk about whether he is going to get an even bigger job, but for now, it seems Shine will be in charge of communications, and what that's going to means is the continued foxification (ph) of the White House.

CABRERA: Well of course, Hope Hicks was the former communications director and that has not been filled for the last few months. Shine is coming into this White House sort of with a very combative relationship with the press. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Don't be rude. Don't be rude -- no, it won't give you -- I am not going to give you a question. You are fake news.

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETAY: It's not what I said and I know it is a hard for you to understand even short sentences, I guess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Given Shine comes directly from the news world of sorts, do you think this relationship could change for the better?

STELTER: I'd like to say that. I'd like to be optimistic, but I see all signs pointing in the opposite direction, that the president's rhetoric towards the press is getting worse and worse and worse. Now, in the wake of the attack in Annapolis, he was a little more respectful for one day on Friday. We'll see if it last, but I don't think there is many reasons to be optimistic.

We saw Acosta there getting criticized by Sarah Sanders. Acosta said he really (inaudible) earlier today. He said, what we have is a state- supported media. Not exactly state-run of course because that means the government controls the media and Fox News is not controlled by the government, but it is state-supported. Meaning the most of the president's interviews are with Fox, and not just Fox, but really friendly interviewers on Fox.

Today, he was on Fox saying if ICE were to be abolished you would not be able to leave your house. It would be too dangerous. That's insane and that's just crazy talk and yet, it doesn't get challenged by his friends on Fox. So as a result I think it's up to the rest of us in the media to check what he's saying and see if it's true.

CABRERA: We got to keep on challenging. We just took liv pictures of the president returning to the White House with some wave to the press. He did not make any statements or answer any questions. Brian Stelter, thank you so much as always. Don't forget, Brian's show, "Reliable Resources," Sundays at 11:00 a.m. eastern.

Coming up, casting doubts as the president seeming to defend the Kremlin over election meddling accusations. So what will it mean for his upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin?

[17:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: It is official, President Trump and Russia's president Vladimir Putin will come face to face at a summit in Helsinki later this month, but the president is sending mixed signals as to how he is going to approach (ph) the issue of Russia's election meddling. Case in point, this tweet, Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with meddling in our elections. Now that was on Thursday.

The president once again casting doubt on the finding of his own intelligence agencies, but then a day later he said this aboard Air Force One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you hope to achieve with President Putin?

TRUMP: We're going to talk about Ukraine. We're going to be talking about Syria. We'll be talking about elections. And we don't want any anybody tampering with elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's bring in CNN national security analyst and the CIA's former chief of Russia's operations, Steve Hall. Steve, thanks for being with us. Do you believe the president when he says that he is going to discuss meddling with Putin?

STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, you know, it is entirely possible that he will discuss it with Putin, but I don't expect the discussion to be extensive. It is something that both of them have an interest in not talking about very much, and so that's what I anticipate will happen. I think you have to understand, Ana, going into this that the fact

that they're having a summit at all before the president even walks in the door is a big win for Putin and it is difficult for me to see how it is a win in any way for the United States.

CABRERA: Well, this summit does follow this one-on-one with Kim Jong- un in which President Trump bragged about winging it. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think I'm very well prepared. I don't think I have to prepare very much. It is about attitude. It's about willingness to get things done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Does that same approach work with Putin?

[17:40:00] HALL: Well, one of the interesting things if you compare these two is -- you will also recall that President Putin said before -- excuse me -- President Trump said before he went into his meetings with the North Korean, said if things did not go well, he was prepared to just leave, to just drop, you know, drop everything and leave.

In my view, the only way that this summit can really work for the geopolitical interests of the United States is if the president goes in and addresses the issues that Russia has, you know, essentially it is bad behavior, interfering in our elections, other people's elections, assassinating people abroad and of course dealing with the issue of Crimea and Ukraine.

He should go in, address those issues up front and then drop the mic and leave. That would be a win for the United States. There really is no other reason to engage with Russia at this point.

CABRERA: In an interview today, the president's national security adviser, John Bolton said critics were wrong to suggest Trump has been too soft on Russia. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I don't think anybody ought to have a case of the vapors over the discussions we have in NATO or the G7 versus discussions with Putin and Kim Jong-un. They are very, very different. The president treats them differently. He understands what the strategic interests are and that's what he is trying to pursue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: He says allies should not be worried, but the president as you've pointed out, has already done a number of things. He's already called for the G7 to reinstate Russia. He's left the door open to the U.S. even recognizing Russia's Crimea grab. So, you think he is making concessions? HALL: Well, you have to ask what is in it for the United States.

Where is the, you know, Bolton talks about these geopolitical gains that we can get, but what exactly are these? I have not heard these articulated. The president has simply said it wouldn't be such a bad thing if we had a relationship with Russia.

In fact, our allies who I think are somewhat confused at this point have agreed with us, and said, look, what we need to do with Russia now is containment not engagement. That is why there are sanctions in place. That's why they are not in the G7 because of their horrific activities on the international scene over these past couple of years.

CABRERA: Last year when President Trump was at the G20, he and Putin had the hour-long discussion and they had a Kremlin translator there. None of Trump's own national security staff was present in that meeting. If you could give the president a piece of advice going into the summit -- you already talked about doing the mic drop, but what would you tell him to about how to prepare and what maybe not to do?

HALL: I would certainly say that it is -- I would certainly say it's a very bad idea to have that happen again where he is in a room alone with these folks. You at the very least need your own translator to make sure that, you know, what is being communicated is appropriate from your side and you also -- it's good to have another set of ears as well. But one thing that he really ought not to do is take any lecturing from Putin.

Remember, Putin has already won just by being on the same world stage as the United States president. He's, you know, painted himself as a world leader. So we have already given that up, but he needs to be really firm. He needs to be as firm as he said he was going to be with Kim Jong-un.

And if he's not firm with Putin, I think there are a lot of opponents of the president who are going to be asking exactly why that is? Did they have some sort of information on Trump that he was reluctant to be more firm with them? So, he's got to keep that in the back of his mind too and I would urge him to.

CABRERA: Steve Hall, as always, we appreciate it. Thanks for your insight. We have more breaking news. Officials now telling CNN the U.S. and the North Korean officials met this weekend in a village in the North Korean demilitarized zone, the DMZ. This is the first time the two countries representative has met face-to-face since last month's summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un.

Senior State Department officials tell CNN the talks were about implementing the deals reached in Singapore. National security adviser, John Bolton said earlier today that Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, would soon be discussing the dismantlement of its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.

Coming up, a notorious gangster, a hijacked helicopter and a prison escape too incredible to be believe, the latest on the urgent manhunt underway in France.

[17:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: And just in, a 7-year-old girl is now back in her mother's arms after a border separation -- hugs, kisses, tears of joy after 60 long days apart. This little girl named Janne (ph), a Guatemalan immigrant was held in Michigan hundreds of miles away from her mother. You have to see their emotional reunion in Miami.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Janne?

(END VIDEO CLIP) ' CABRERA: Oh, let's get out to CNN's Kaylee Hartung in Miami. Kaylee, what more can you tell us about that little girl and her mother?

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Ana, we were here in Miami International Airport for that intensely emotional episode you just saw. Buenaventura being able to wrap her arms around her 7-year-old little girl, Janne, for the first time and as you said it, 60 days. There was laughter and there were tears, but I want to get to the back story to help put into context what this reunion meant to the family.

On May 1st, she left their home in Guatemala looking for a better life with her family in the United States and she brought along their then 8-month-old infant son. The plan was for the husband and Janne to follow behind a short time later. It was just a week later that they too left Guatemala. But in the time between -- the policy here in the United States changed and that father and the daughter unit were separated as they got to the U.S. border.

Now, Buena, she came here to Miami to meet with family after initially being detained in Arizona. She is here now with a bracelet, a tracking monitor device on her foot.

[17:50:02] But father and daughter were separated at the border, the father being sent to Georgia, the daughter to Michigan. Over the past month and a half those two have been detained, Buena was only able to talk to her daughter on the phone.

Today, this moment a long time coming as Buena described it, so much happiness. But Ana, the trouble for this family, is that it still not whole. Her husband, Pedro, is being held in a detention center in Georgia. His fate still at this time unknown.

CABRERA: Wow, what a story and what a beautiful reunion. Kaylee Hartung, thank you for sharing with us.

Coming up, failure to launch, a rocket comes crashing down in spectacular fashion. And wait till you see the stunned reaction from mission controllers.

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CABRERA: In this week's "Impact Your World," we are putting the spotlight on a nonprofit program giving a hands up instead of a handout to the homeless.

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ODESSA MOORE, FORMER HOMELESS: I was going through a divorce or a separation with my husband. I had lost my job. I was evicted. I had to go to a shelter. I was sad. I was embarrassed. I didn't feel like I was good enough for my kids at that time.

CHRIS FINLAY, FOUNDER, SHELTERS TO SHUTTERS: Over 70 percent of all homeless or what I call situational homeless, people that have simply had a catalyst in their life that has taken them from being working and productive to unfortunately finding themselves without a home.

MOORE: They actually transitioned me out of the shelter and into -- back into my own place.

FINLAY (voice-over): The mission of Shelters to Shutters is taking somebody who is homeless, transitioning them to economic self- sufficiency.

MOORE: Now I'm an assistant manager for an apartment complex.

FINLAY (voice-over): The job fairs have been tremendously successful. It is no better way than by putting people in front of hiring managers. When you see an opportunity to make an impact, I think we have an obligation.

MOORE (voice-over): My kids tell me, mommy, I'm so proud of you. It just does something to me, and it fires me up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: All right. A manhunt under way now in France after a prison escape you might see in a mission impossible movie. A hijacked helicopter landed in a prison yard and took off with a convicted gangster who has broken out of jail before.

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CABRERA: A stunning jailbreak purportedly filmed from behind bars. CNN cannot independently verify this video, but these shaky images appear to show the moments gunmen arrived to free this man, Redoine Faid, France's most notorious gangster. His accomplices hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to a prison near Paris. There they staged a diversion, then smuggled the 46-year-old out of a visiting room before fleeing by air.

Police later found the burnt out chopper in an area northwest of Paris. The pilot was released unharmed. The fugitive and his men were nowhere to be found. Sunday's spectacular escape is shockingly not the first for this criminal mastermind. In 2013, Faid held four guards at gunpoint at a detention center in the northern city of Lille, then burst his way to into freedom, detonating explosives to destroy five fortified doors. A witness described the dramatic scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I first saw a prison guard walk by followed by someone dressed in civilian clothes. He was holding his gun to the guard's head so I got a little scared and I hid in the room.

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CABRERA: At the time, Faid's lawyer said he was not surprised his client broke out.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is also a young man, remarkably intelligent, and he is using his intellect to serve his ambitions. And I think he has so many years in prison behind him that he thought it was one too many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The Frenchman is a self-styled modern day gangster, often taking inspiration he says from Hollywood movies. He once wore a hockey mask during a heist like Robert de Niro's character in "Heat" and brazenly attacked armored trucks and other targets. But for those who suffered his bravado, he is a real-life villain. The parents of a French policewoman killed in one of Faid's robbery attempts were devastated by the news. CNN affiliate, BFM, reported, now once again free and once again te subject of an international manhunt, his victims must wait for justice.

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CABRERA: To Japan now and a terrible setback for a privately owned space company. Watch this.

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CABRERA: That spectacular crash happened early Friday local time. The unmanned rocket that went down would have been Japan's first privately owned rocket in space. Here you see the stunned reaction of mission controllers. They are part of a private space (inaudible) founded five years ago by a Japanese entrepreneur who served prison time for accounting fraud.

It is 6:00 eastern, 3:00 in the afternoon out west. I'm Ana Cabrera and you are live in the "CNN Newsroom" on this July 1st. President Trump is back in the nation's capital now after a working weekend in New Jersey.

[18:00:00] The working part is the issue that will potentially shape U.S. policy well into the future. He is preparing to nominate the next Supreme Court justice. The president tweeting earlier, a big week especially with our numerous victories in the Supreme Court. Heading back to the White House now.