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Former Thai Navy SEAL Dies Trying to Help Soccer Team & Coach; Mike Pence to Visit ICE as Deadlines Approach to Reunite Families; Pompeo in North Korea to "Keep Conversation Moving Forward"; CNN's "The 2000s" Look at Impact on TV of "The Sopranos". Aired 11:30a-12n ET

Aired July 6, 2018 - 11:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:14] DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: The mission to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave claimed the life of a former Thai Navy diver trying to rescue them.

Let's get to Thailand and our Asia correspondent, David McKenzie, on the scene.

David, what more do we know about that former Thai Navy SEAL, how he died?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN ASIA CORESPONDENT: Dana, it was a tragic death, of course, and trying to do the best he could to get oxygen to those boys stuck for more than two weeks in the cave. A few moments ago, a group of American military came in to help with this rescue effort. They are here. So are the Australians. Many international experts here to try and figure out how to get these boys out of that cave safely.

The big issue now is that the oxygen is at times at critical levels. They have removed, according to a source, several of the Thai rescue teams who have been there comforting the boys, making sure their health is all right, out of the cave to help the oxygen levels. A source saying it's possibly unlikely, a Navy source from Thailand, that they will bring them out in the next 24 hours for fears of their safety. They're bringing in more kit to make sure the boys are safe if they decide to take them out that treacherous journey -- Dana?

BASH: Absolutely horrible.

Thank you for the update.

This is a hero trying to save these boys.

Appreciate it. We will get back to you as we hear and learn more, David.

Coming up, any moment now, Vice President Mike Pence is expected to speak at ICE headquarters in Washington. This, as a series of deadlines for families to be reunited starts today.

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[11:36:22] BASH: Any moment now, Vice President Mike Pence is expected to speak at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters here in Washington. This, as a series of court-ordered deadlines for immigrant families to be reunited starts today. The administration says it is in compliance but that it may ask for more time to reunite families.

For more, let's go to reporters on both of the stories. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is standing by here in Washington watching Vice President Pence. Nick Valencia is in San Antonio, Texas, at a location where families are trying to reunite.

Nick, let's go to you first on the ground there.

What are you seeing and hearing about and from the Trump administration on trying to meet these deadlines?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The HHS secretary seemed to be confident they would be able to meet all of the deadlines. This one being the first of three ordered by a federal judge in California. All parents must have some sort of contact, phone contact with their children. We are hearing cases of that not happening.

Here where he in San Antonio at an organization -- an advocacy organization for undocumented immigrants

We are joined by the RAICES' executive director, Jonathan Ryan.

Thank you for taking time with us.

What are you guys doing here? What are you trying to achieve?

JONATHAN RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RAICES: We are working our hotline. Families and detained persons are calling us. We have volunteers all over our building really trying to respond to that need but also keep the pressure on the administration to follow through with the reunifications.

VALENCIA: How are detainees getting in touch with you? You have a hotline. You'll talk about it. But how do they get in touch with you?

RYAN: There are phone systems available in the detention centers. Unfortunately, they sometimes have to pay up to $8 a minute for each call. So --

VALENCIA: How are they expected to pay that? They don't have money, do they?

RYAN: That's right. It can take weeks before somebody can get registered into the system. We see people working together inside the detention centers. That's a community as well. They help each other. They lend each other the phone, they make calls, they call their family to call us, and they connect with people to --

(CROSSTALK)

VALENCIA: Just to be clear, are you actually facilitating these reunifications between parents and children?

RYAN: That's right. Even the hour since we spoke last, I had to go out and get bond checks to deliver over to the immigration office. We are continuing to do this on our own on a one by one basis, because we don't have the confidence the government can or really wants to reunify the families.

VALENCIA: That's what we hear from a lot of people.

Jonathan Ryan, thank you so much for taking time.

We are hearing from immigration attorneys that they are very skeptical the Trump administration, Dana, is going to be able to meet the deadlines. We are continuing to ask for answers, waiting for responses.

BASH: Thank you so much.

Thank you to that organization for trying to help. It's a very, very difficult situation.

Sunlen, I want to go to you.

What are you hearing about the Vice President's visit to ice headquarters today?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dana, this comes at a significant time for the administration. As we have been reporting, they have been scrambling to make these reunifications. Certainly, are under the microscope about their broader immigration policy. That's why the optics of this visit and the message are so important for White House today.

According to the White House, the Vice President today will be joined by the HHS secretary. They will receive a briefing on the mission of ICE. That's according to the White House. Pence will meet with employees there. Then, he will give formal remarks. This is one of the most interesting things we will likely see. He will likely see him give a pep rally of sorts. This comes as ICE has been zeroed in on by many Democrats calling for changes to ICE. Many calling for to abolish ICE. I think we will hear a little pushback from the Vice President of those folks at headquarters today.

[11:40:07] BASH: That's right. People who are literally carrying out the orders of the administration that they work for.

Sunlen Serfaty, Nick Valencia, thank you so much for that reporting. Appreciate it.

Coming up, America's top diplomat is in North Korea again today for more nuclear negotiations. Will the third trip be the charm?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BASH: In the state of Texas, more than 40 percent of children who go to jail once, will be back within 12 months. Today's "CNN Hero" is a chef who left a top restaurant and a successful career to help close that revolving door.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD HOUSER, CNN HERO: I remember consciously thinking that the system is rigged based on choices that were made for him, not by him, the color of his skin, the part of town he was born into, the schools that he had access to. I just thought, it's not fair.

He deserves every chance that I had. And I thought, if you are not willing to do something yourself, then you are being a hypocrite. Either put up or shut up. That was it for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: To see how Chad is helping design brighter futures for young people, go to CNNheroes.com right now. And if you know someone who deserves to be a "CNN Hero," nominate them.

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[11:45:56] BASH: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is back at the table with senior North Korean officials this morning. He tweeted this picture and said he and his staff have been working, quote, "to keep the conversation moving forward." This comes after President Trump said the North Korean nuclear threat is over.

Joining me now to talk about this is Bruce Klingner, former CIA deputy division chief for Korea.

Thank you for joining me this morning.

The wording of the -- out of the South Korean -- excuse me, the Singapore summit was to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Pretty vague. But this trip is supposed to be about defining what that means. Can Mike Pompeo realistically deliver?

BRUCE KLINGNER, FORMER CIA DEPUTY DIVISION CHIEF FOR KOREA: Well, we certainly hope so. The Singapore communique, that denuclearization phrase is actually weaker than one that was in the September 2005 six- party talks joint statement. Pompeo's trip may not be make or break, but it's very important because they have to start putting meat on the very bare bones of the Singapore communique. There's doubts that North Korea is willing to give up its nuclear arsenal. That's why Pompeo is there to push them on that.

BASH: Obviously, the stakes couldn't be higher.

CNN is reporting, my colleagues, Elise Labott, Barbara Start and others, are learning from officials, both at Defense and elsewhere in the administration, that it's really not clear whether the U.S. and North Korea will be able to agree, to your point, on the definition and extent of the denuclearization promise. That's the ballgame. Right?

KLINGNER: Exactly. In discussions with North Koreans, they make clear that they do have a different definition. They see denuclearization as global arms control. As a new member of the nuclear club, they will go down to zero once the rest of the world, including the United States, goes down to zero. They don't see it as unilateral disarmament. They even have a different definition of the Korean peninsula. They see it as anything that influences the peninsula. So that would include U.S. nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. Even our strategic bombers in Guam, North Korea would consider part of the Korean peninsula.

BASH: They would be told good luck with that. I guess you never know.

There have been no nuclear tests or missile launches since the two sides agreed to meet. Right? But the president keeps tweeting, talking about North Korea, which is -- he says it's a win. That certainly plays to domestic politics here in the U.S. But with your experience, does that give Kim leverage? Couldn't he actually just in an instant make the president look bad with one combative test or even a tweet?

KLINGNER: Well, having eight months of no tests is fine. But we need to remember, there have been numerous cases where we had three to six years of no tests. That, in and of itself, is not a real metric of success. I think there's really a difference between what we see the administration saying of, we're hoping to move forward, we're trying to put meat on the bones, and the president who said that the issue is solved and already doing a victory lap. Secretary Pompeo really does need to get North Korea to publicly and unequivocally commit to abandoning his nuclear arsenal as well as the missile and bio-chem warfare programs.

BASH: In your experience, real quick, do you think that the chances are high or even remotely close to high that that is possible?

KLINGNER: Well, I have been doing North Korea for 25 years. We have seen eight previous failed agreements. Many of us tend to be skeptical and cynical. We hope this time is different. I think having increased the pressure, particularly in the last two years, that's brought North Korea to the table. We will see if it's gotten them to agree to actually give up their nuclear arsenal.

[11:49:52] BASH: We do all hope that this time is different, no question about that.

Bruce Klingner, thank you so much for joining me.

KLINGNER: Sure.

BASH: Appreciate it.

KLINGNER: Thank you.

BASH: Still ahead, the biggest trade war in history. China says the U.S. started it. Now Beijing is striking back.

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BASH: Nearly 20 years ago, the face of television changed. "The Sopranos" debuted on HBO. It's now seen as one of the most groundbreaking and influential TV shows of all time.

CNN takes a look at the impact of TV and the first episode of the new series "The 2000s." Take a look.

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[11:54:57] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To a large degree, a lot of executives were just sanding off the edges of what was interesting.

And what HBO then opened up was a whole new avenue of creativity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think HBO is looking at the world and going, OK, how can we matter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every decade you get somebody like Peter Falk as Columbo, Carol O'Connor as Archie Bunker, somebody you just can't imagine anybody else afterwards. James Gandolfini is that in Tony Soprano.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's supposed to be a Mafia story. But I mean, it's like I said, about everyday life.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Did you know an Italian invented the telephone?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Alexander Graham bell was Italian?

JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: You see? You see what I'm talking about? Antonio Meucci invented the telephone and he got robbed. Everybody knows that.

JAMIE-LYNN SIGLER, ACTRESS: Who invented the mafia?

GANDOLFINI: What?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: The daughter that you saw there was played -- her name was Meadow in the series. She was played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler. And she sat down with Kate Bolduan to talk about what it was like working on that iconic show.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This episode, it really lays out, not that many people can forget it, just how different "Sopranos" was from anything else on TV at the time. Tony Soprano, both villain and hero, kind of paving the way for characters like Don Draper or Walter White. When you were making this series, did you have a sense that you all were breaking the mold in American TV? SIGLER: Well, I was 16 when we shot the pilot. So I didn't have any

perspective. It was really my first time on a film set. I mean, my knowledge of quality television was, you know, "saved by the bell" and Saturday morning things. But it felt special. I think just because of the chemistry on set. But I remember even after filming the initial pilot, we weren't sure that it would ever even see the light of day because it was so different. And HBO wasn't necessarily a network -- you know, they had a couple TV shows but nothing that maybe felt like you can go the long run with a successful show the way we did. But I remember even when we were talking about, you know, premiering the show, they weren't even sure how to market it. They were like, is this a comedy? Is this a drama? Obviously we found our way, but I think it was just a surprise for everyone.

BOLDUAN: I have to ask you, because when I was watching this episode, it reminded me of the series finale, the final scene of "Sopranos." One, tell me what it means, but what does it mean to you, all of these years later?

SIGLER: OK, well, let me start this by saying that I have no insider information that I'm sharing. I'm strictly of opinion as anyone else. I love the way fans have really dissected it and gone back to past episodes and really tried to figure things out. I appreciate that. For me, I think what it represented is whether the show ended then or 10 years from then, I guess meaning Tony's life, the entire series could have edited that way. That's the way they lived. I think it was inevitable that something was going to happen to him, and this family had to choose to sort of be in denial and live each day as if they were a normal family. There was possible threats from all around all the time. I think that it was just a beautiful way to sort of end this journey that we went on with these people and just understand that whether it was at meadow's wedding one day, whether it was 20 years from then, you know, this was the lifestyle that he chose and this was the life and it was what was eventually going to happen.

BOLDUAN: Jamie-Lynn, I also want to ask you, another important thing in your life was happening off camera, kind of throughout all of this, your diagnosis of M.S. I just saw an interview posted where you said you were "done being that sick girl that you've been for so long." What do you mean by that?

SIGLER: Well, I think that -- look, live been living with M.S. for 16 years. For 14 of them, privately. When you live with anything that's chronic for that long, you sort of allow it to kind of define you, and you kind of forget who you are without it. And I think now at this stage of my life as a mother of two children and being a voice and an advocate for people with M.S., I'm sort of really done allowing it to sort of define who I am. I don't feel like that's all of me. I feel like I have a lot more to offer, and I want to find life again without it. I still have to deal with it, obviously, on a daily basis, but I think there's a lot more to me and I'm trying to just pay attention more to that.

BOLDUAN: And your words will mean so much for so many.

It's great to see you. Thanks for coming in. SIGLER: You, too. Thanks for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And tune in this weekend 9:00 p.m. for the premiere of "The 2000s."

Thank you so much for joining me.

"INSIDE POLITICS" with John King starts right now.