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Prime Minister May Faces Political Turmoil over Brexit Plan; At Least 134 People Killed in Severe Weather in Japan; One Man Helping Hundreds of Thousands of Refugees; France Take on Belgium in First Semifinal; Cave Rescue Operations Resume In Thailand; Four Boys, Coach Still Trapped In Thai Cave; Trump Nominates Brett Kavanaugh To Supreme Court Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 10, 2018 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour eight rescues fulfilled five more to go. Prevented what divers hope will be the final phase in their mission to free the trapped football team and their coach. Plus President Donald Trump makes his choice but the battle that could shake the U.S. Supreme Court, the decades is only just starting. And two top British officials call it quits, the fight over breaks it and there's told Prime Minister Theresa May might be next to go. Hello everybody. Thank you for being with us. I'm John Vause and this is NEWSROOM L.A.

Rescue crews are hoping to bring the last four boys and their coach out of a flooded cave in Thailand all of this within the next few hours. Dive teams launch what they hope will be their final mission. It all started just a few hours ago. Eight boys are being brought out so far. The local hospital says they are healthy and in good spirits and expected to stay in hospital in isolation for about a week as doctors sees the results of blood fluid tests which are currently in Bangkok. CNN's Matt Rivers is at the hospital there in Northern Thailand but first David McKenzie who is near the cave entrance. And so David, of course, everybody would like to know the timing on all this. How long before this is all done and dusted.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it's -- a rescue like this is nothing like an exact science. Certainly, the way that they've been breaking new ground as it were every day with this extraordinary series of events. What we do know from authorities just moments ago is that they hope to get the four boys, their coach and the remaining rescue team that has been hunkered down in that cave system with them out today. So in a way, it's the most challenging rescue since they began this rescue system. The rain is falling on my head, heavy cloud in the mountain behind me where the cave is so there will be pressure to get this done today, the third day of these rescues. And later today, John we expect it all goes well. Those ambulances and possibly helicopters will be flying overhead and driving behind me where I'm standing in what could be at the end of this saga for the rescue teams. An international team of rescuers led by the recreational divers from the U.K. that are just the world's best at cave diving. John? VAUSE: Keep in mind all this data for these kids on June 23rd. It's been quite a long time. But we know they are healthy and with that, we'll go to Matt Rivers outside the hospital there. Matt, we did hear from the doctors at that news conference. You know, it's incredible these kids that often they're about they're complaining about the food at the hospital, clearly, they have survived its ordeal pretty well, to say the least.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is miraculous, John. There really is no other way to put it. I mean, just a couple of days ago we were talking about whether these kids can make it out of the cave at all and now we're talking about the fact that they want more food and they've been asking for chocolate and that they're doing OK. I mean, it really is amazing. Let's run our viewers kind of through the status of these boys -- excuse me. We know that they don't have a fever, mentally they're doing OK, they're in good spirits. According to doctors, they're hungry quite often. They did have a couple of issues when they came in.

In the first four boys that were brought out, all four had low body temperatures and two of them had lung issues. The second set of four boys only one had low body temperatures. All of those boys though immediately responded to treatment and they have improved from those conditions so that's really the worst that we've seen at least so far but these boys are going to be kept in quarantine for seven days -- excuse me -- as you mentioned and that's really out of an abundance of caution, to make sure that no other symptoms manifest themselves to make sure that they don't spread any illness to others. We know the testing is going to continue.

As you mentioned (INAUDIBLE) in Bangkok, they're going to remain on a restrictive diet. Even though they are hungry, doctors are slowly reintroducing them back to solid food. But overall the treatment has gone well and these boys are in good shape. As for their families, we know the first four boys that came out on Sunday, their families were able to come see them yesterday evening, Monday evening here in Thailand. Now they couldn't go up to the boys. They had to stand behind glass, they could only wave at their children but the fact that they could do that, John, is just amazing and I'm sure that it's -- even though they wanted to give their kids a hug, I think at this point they'll take what they can get.

[01:05:01] VAUSE: And you know, it's a moment in all honesty that I guess (INAUDIBLE) they would never actually see come to reality but it has and of course, you have to keep remembering there are still four more boys to come out and the coach. Hopefully -- hoping for more good news in the coming hours. Matt and David, thanks to you both. Well, the army regional commander there has been praying to the goddess of rain to show mercy to hold off on those rains for just three more days. Pedram Javaheri is at the CNN International Weather Center. So any mercy in the forecast Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know it's incredibly even surprising for me to say this because the pattern is actually held up rather impressively in the last couple of days of course and I think it might even still hold as the forecast, John, up until yesterday they were saying heavy rainfall is set to return at least Tuesday and Wednesday, now they're actually reducing the rainfall totals in the forecast for both today and tomorrow. So I'll show you what's happening. The moisture is certainly on the increase. That's coming in from the east towards the west from areas across the South China Sea, corner of your screen to northern areas of Thailand there on the center of your screen. That's where the rain is expected to begin to push in again in the next couple of days. But how much rain are we talking and is it going to be as heavy as we've seen it in the last couple of weeks?

Well, we know the 23rd of June, that's the line up right there is the initial days where the boys were reported missing. You see quite a bit of rainfall fell in an incredible dry streak began really after the 1st of July where we had very barely any rainfall towards about 18 millimeters total so far in the first nine days of July. I looked back with my producer Michael Guy into the numbers. There are first couple of -- the last couple of years in the first week of July usually upwards of 50 to 100 millimeters is what comes down, only 18 millimeters has come down so far in the month of July. That's pretty impressive just to compare that to the last couple of years in this time of year. But notice, Tuesday's forecast, that's today, we'll get eight millimeters or so in the forecast, potentially nine on the forecast for tomorrow, up to 16 on Thursday.

So, John, you're asking about holding off for maybe another three days, I think this is a pretty good trend here because a couple of days ago, the rainfall totals were forecast to be 25 or so millimeters for those days and now we're seeing the numbers drop significantly. Now, that's not to say that amount of water is not a significant amount of water because you combine those three days totals that's about 33 millimeters is what is expected, drop down onto a football field, a World Cup Stadium size football field, if we're talking about 300,000 liters of water in just an area the size of a field so of course, that's a lot of water on the ground. If that's funneled down into the channels into the cave system it's a big-time problem but still, it is a lot less rain in the forecast than initially estimated, John.

VAUSE: Less rain is good, no rain would be better, but Phra Mae Thorani I think it's the goddess of rain who I guess many people are praying to. So wherever you're praying to, I guess their stay praying. Pedram, thank you. Bobby Chacon is a retired FBI special agent former FBI dive team leader joins me once again here in Los Angeles. Are you surprised at how healthy these kids are?

BOBBY CHACON, FORMER LEADER, FBI DIVE TEAM: Not really. I mean, I thought we would have dehydration and malnutrition. Other than that, here was a -- there was a chance of some lung infections, there's a particular fungus that kind of grows in those kind of --

VAUSE: Is that cave disease?

CHACON: Yes, but beyond that, there's no trauma, there's no you know -- the biggest danger is when I heard over the weekend that the oxygen levels are falling and they were getting hypoxic. That really was a concern for me. That's not a long-term injury thing that you would need treatment. On the minute you get back on oxygen or you know pure O2, it goes away but it impacts for diving, it lowers your judgment, your coordination, your motor skills, your cognitive functions so I thought that really you know they weren't catching a break when they couldn't pump enough water out, when they couldn't drill down and then we saw the oxygen level is low, I said these guys aren't catching a break.

VAUSE: Yes, it was down 14 percent I think at one point. I guess there's been this plan and we're not too sure if they've gone out this way but we're really tall they're going to take the strongest kids out first leaving I guess the weakest ones towards the end giving them a chance I guess to recover for a little bit longer until they get their strength back up. Can you explain the logic there? Is that sort of how you see it?

CHACON: I think what they may have done is -- and that first group of four, I think the first one, the first kid out of that four was probably the healthiest. I think they wanted to do a test, a kind of proven concept dive where you get them through --

VAUSE: They give one's confidence.

CHACON: Everyone even the rescue divers confidence, certainly the kids' confidence. And so I think they wanted to test their methods with the strongest kid first but the other three in that group were probably a bit compromised. So they got the first kid through and they said hey this is -- this works and then they brought the other three through. So I think that's what you saw. You wanted the healthiest kid I think first just to prove your concept with not having to deal with anything else.

VAUSE: Because yes, if there was some kind of tragedy along the way with that first group, it would have been devastating for everyone still there. OK, so I want you to listen to how one of the divers who is taking part of this. He's actually supporting the Navy SEALs bringing them oxygen. He describes the conditions that they're dealing with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[01:10:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Our duty is transporting the air tanks for the SEAL team. We could see only out hands with short distance. Secondly, the stones are razor sharp which is dangerous for our diving. Thirdly, the passage is very narrow. This is the hardest mission we've ever done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Have you been in anything like that?

CHACON: I've caved though and I'm certified to cave dive but only for the skills that would need to translate to other FBI duties that we had in diving. I haven't dived in tight situations as tight as this. I've dived in some dive. The I-35 Bridge collapsing in Minneapolis was a twisted concrete jungle but not like that.

VAUSE: But when you hear that is, that sent shivers?

CHACON: Yes, I get anxious just hearing about it. I know what it's like to be in a tight space and I've been in vehicles that have overturned in the water. I've been in tight situations but nothing like that and it makes me even experienced diver makes me anxious just hearing that.

VAUSE: Let alone being an 11-year-old kid trying to get out.

CHACON: Yes, exactly.

VAUSE: OK. Getting out of this combination he told us, it's combination of walking, wading, climbing, as well as diving. Here's part of Tom Foreman's report on exactly what this journey out involves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're towing these kids out not the length of a football field which would be far enough but the length of 11 football fields. Whether it's at one stretch or spread out, we don't know but we do know there are very tight passages. It's very cold. There are strong currents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So we're looking at 11 football fields, strong currents, it's cold, and then now to day three and you know obviously it's strenuous, is a lot of work. We talked last hour about the elation of having almost all the kids out. This gets really kind of tricky.

CHACON: Yes, and a dive team leader like myself, like I worry that a lack of focus. I worry that you know, you start looking past the last one right. You start look -- and that's a danger. You have to stay to the plan, go slow. You can't be you know, speed is an enemy in these kinds of things. Don't try to speed it up now as you're getting closer to the end. Stay to your plan, stay patient, stay focused and that's how will be successful. I think in Tom's -- in his graph, I think what they did was they set up a relay system. So none of the divers are going that entire distance and that right so they have us finite distance that they have to go and they go back and forth like that. I think that's a smart move in a dive like this to preserve your divers' energy.

VAUSE: And then we also know that they retain groups of four, the last two groups of four, there's still five people there including the coach. I guess that they still sort of going to make this final call whether he comes out today. It looks likely that he will. And again this changes a plan which has worked I guess on a significant way but it's still a change.

CHACON: Right, and I think that because of the success that they're having. We've been seeing them come out earlier in time than we anticipated earlier than their practice times, even so, I think they have a good plan. I think -- and a good plan like that lends itself to being adapted to this less kind of change and I think they'll do it very carefully. By all accounts, they plan this thing to the tee. They've carried it out excellently. I have no doubt that if they have to adapt it just to get that fifth person out on this day because they're basically racing the weather, I don't have any doubt that they'll be able to successfully attack now. A couple of days ago when we spoke, I would have never thought that, but now seeing how they carried out their plan, how they executed it, so great. I don't have any doubt that they'll be able to modify their plan and get this done.

VAUSE: We're out of time but we should remember, a diver has lost his life working this operation already. So you know, this is not easy, we don't think it is.

CHACON: No, nothing is easy. And I actually won't be truly relaxed until I know the last of not only the coach and the kids but the last of the divers are also out.

VAUSE: Yes, a lot of life is at risk. Bobby, thank you. good to see you.

CHACON: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Well take a short break. When we come back, President Trump has made his choice. Coming up, we'll look at what kind of confirmation battle his Supreme Court nominee is likely to face. Also, some hope amid the horror in Japan. We're following the desperate search for survivors after deadly flooding and landslides. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:16:51] VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. A Washington insider is President Donald Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Trump announced his decision on Monday night. Brett Kavanaugh is a conservative court of appeals judge for the D.C. Circuit. He's 53 years old, he worked for both Bush administrations. Boris Sanchez reports on how the president made this decision.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is no one more qualify or deserving of the position. That's how President Trump described Brett Kavanaugh, his choice to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy after he announced that he was retiring from the Supreme Court.

Two sorts of course to the decision-making process indicate that the president assured a favor for Brett Kavanaugh, even before the announcement of Justice Kennedy's retirement and after the justice and the President had a conversation in the Oval Office about Brett Kavanaugh.

Sources indicate that the president favored him even more. We should point out that those sources also say that after several key conservative voices like Ann Coulter and several writers at Breitbart defended Kavanaugh. The president was further inclined to name him as the nominee.

President Trump spoke openly about his criteria for making this decision during his speech. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What matters is not a judge's political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the Constitution require. I am pleased to say that I have found without doubt such a person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, some Democrats have already come out in total opposition to this nomination. But it is still possible for Kavanaugh to draw votes from some red state Democrats considering he has previously suggested that he may respect legal precedent in upholding Roe versus Wade.

Abortion is going to be a key issue in this nomination process, and the margin for error for Republicans is razor thin. So that fact alone may court him some important votes, potentially from Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, Republicans who favor abortion rights.

If he is, in fact, confirmed it would be a major win for President Trump to Supreme Court confirmations in two years. Just goes to show that the president is going to have his fingerprints on the leanings of this Supreme Court, potentially for generations. Boris Sanchez, CNN, at the White House.

VAUSE: Well, for more on this, we're joined now by Sam Erman, a constitutional law expert and a former law clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy. And a (INAUDIBLE) is also Michael Genevese is with us, as well. Michael and Sam, good to have you both.

Sam, I'll with you, once you take a look at this graphic, it's on the folks over at the web site 538. What they've shown is the most conservative judges are here to the right. So that puts Kavanaugh next to Clarence Thomas, more conservatives, and Justices Alito and Gorsuch.

So, if Kavanaugh is confirmed, will that mean this Supreme Court will be one of the most conservative in U.S. history?

[01:19:52] SAM ERMAN, FORMER LAW CLERK FOR JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY: That's absolutely right. So, Justice Kennedy has been a moderate even a liberal on a handful of important issues. Although, also conservative in many other areas.

Judge Kavanaugh is a choice of the conservative legal movement. He is someone that they think will be a solid conservative vote on any number of issues. And that would mean that the court will lose a swing vote that sometimes swung to the left or to a moderate way, and we'll end up with a quite conservative court that will much more consistently vote in the way that the right prefers.

VAUSE: And Michael, I want to read you a part of the reporting that we have from CNN's Manu Raju, "Because of Brett Kavanaugh's extensive paper trail, long record, moving his nomination quickly could be challenging according to sources in both parties. Two senior Democratic sources in particular say Trump picked a tougher fight than he had to by choosing Kavanaugh, saying it reopens a whole lot of Bush controversies from torture, to also to Roe versus Wade, abortion rights, and also defending free existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act that all of the things they could be back on the table."

If this is a bigger fight that the president actually needed to have, is part of the reason to that is because of the politics here, his base likes a rumble?

MICHAEL GENOVESE, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: Well, and the president likes a rumble. I mean, his model as a president has been Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson once said, "I was not born for calm times, I was born for the storm." And Donald Trump is very much like that. He loves to pick a fight, and in this case, I think, you've got a case where Brett Kavanaugh has 300, over 300 decisions on record.

And so, people will be going through those with a fine-tooth comb. He has been very active in Washington, D.C. politics and in the courts. And so, you know he's a man who has a lot of footprints. And so, there's going to be a lot to fight over. And right now, I would guarantee you that there are Democrats and interest groups parsing his every decision to find a pimple, a wrinkle or a problem.

VAUSE: And Sam, one of the big concerns for progressives, and to Democrats is that if Kavanaugh is -- you know, confirmed by the Senate, then obviously, the issue of Roe versus Wade, the whole -- you know, legal precedent for abortion rights will actually be challenged. And what, abortion ends up being illegal in the U.S.? How does this all happen? What is the process here?

ERMAN: Well, what will happen is that a series of red states will pass laws outlawing abortion which would currently be struck down under existing doctrine. So, those will create federal lawsuits, they'll reach to the Supreme Court, and in a year and a half from now, the Supreme Court could very easily decide by a vote of five to four that those laws are valid under the Constitution, and that the Constitution no longer protects a right to abortion.

And that would throw the question of abortion back to the states. And so, many red states would outlaw abortion or severely restricted. Many blue states would continue to have the policies they do today.

VAUSE: Yes. And this, of course, is an issue that the Democrats plan to fight on. And here's a statement from Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate. "I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh's nomination with everything I have. And I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same. The stakes are simply too high for anything else. If Americans believe in a woman's right to make her own reproductive choices, and that health insurance companies should not be able to charge people more based on pre-existing conditions, now is the time to fight."

So, Michael, yes, they will be a fight. But what you'll have is that -- you know, the Republicans will go after Democrats in red states. The Democrats will go after Republicans maybe who are a little bit more vulnerable, as well.

At the end of day, though it seems like it's going to be a bit of a wash when it comes to the numbers.

GENOVESE: Well, the president has the numbers on his side right now. And so, what I think you'll see is that there will be some Democrats in red states where Trump did very well who are up for re-election, being very heavily pressured.

A lot of money will be spent in those states with T.V. commercials. They'll be just barraged with commercials from special interest groups who support Kavanaugh. But you'll also see on the other side, maybe Collins, maybe Murkowski, who have very strong beliefs in reproductive rights and protecting Roe versus Wade, they might be able to flip the other way.

But I think -- you know, in spite of the fact that the president this evening said, "Look, I had no litmus test or I had no -- I didn't ask about policies, the president promised during the campaign and since that abortion was his target. He would end abortion, and so, we know that's going to be the key issue in these hearings, and that's what the battle is going to be over more than any of the other decisions that Kavanaugh has made.

VAUSE: You know, something else which is drawing a lot of attention is Kavanaugh and his use on presidential authority. He wrote one opinion which said, "Congress should establish that the president can be indicted only after he leaves office voluntarily, or is impeached by the House of Representatives, and convicted, and removed by the Senate.

And Sam here, in and of itself in isolation, that's not entirely hugely controversial point of view.

[01:24:54] ERMAN: That's right. So, the notion that the primary remedy if the President does something horribly wrong is impeachment -- is written right into the Constitution. The question that comes up is, what happens if the -- that remedy isn't available? If one party controls the chambers of Congress and there's a worry that they won't prosecute something as aggressively as they should? Or more, what happens if the Supreme Court reigns in the power of an independent prosecutor to gather evidence?

Because impeachment proceedings as we learned during the Clinton-era often piggyback on what the prosecutors have already discovered. And so, if the prosecutors are hamstrung, then, there may be less evidence available to a Congress that's considering impeachment.

VAUSE: I just want to finish with you, Michael, because a lot of people saying that, obviously, if Kavanaugh is confirmed -- you know we're now looking at this Supreme Court with a conservative bias, if you like, you know, for a generation, maybe longer. You know, there are things that a future Democrat House and President

could actually do. You know, when the Supreme Court started, there was six justices to begin with. You know, that number had increased, I think, George Washington had 11, and then, you had FDR try to appoint 15. And -- you know, finally, they settled on this number of nine but that does actually fix, Congress has the power. So if there is a Democratic Congress sometime in the future, they could appoint a whole lot more progressive justices to the Supreme Court, changing essentially -- you know, the biological position.

GENOVESE: Well, technically they could. But politically, that would be very risky because it would be seen for what it is, a power grab. And when Franklin Roosevelt, tried to do that impact the courts when he was still quite popular as president. It was just so clear what he was trying to do, clear that it was unfair. And so, even his supporters wouldn't back him on it. I think that's we will find today if it's so clearly a political ploy, it will fail.

VAUSE: Oh yes, there the old rules. I don't know. Well, it's a good hypothetical to think about. And Michael and Sam, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

GENOVESE: Thank you.

ERMAN: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, take a short break. When we come back, her Brexit plan threatens to undermine her grip on power, but British Prime Minister Theresa May is now -- is not actually backing down despite two major resignations in the past 24 hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:29:45] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

I'm John Vause. We'll check the headlines this hour.

Rescue crews are hoping to get the last four boys and their football coach out of a flooded cave in Thailand within the coming hours. Officials at a local hospital say the eight boys already out so far, the boys are in healthy and good spirits. The team was trapped in that flooded cave 17 days ago.

Brett Kavanaugh is President Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 53-year-old Appeals Court judge is a conservative who served in both Bush administrations. Republicans want a speedy confirmation process and before the midterm elections in November.

Despite losing two senior ministers within 24 hours, British Prime Minister Theresa May is moving forward with her Brexit plan, a soft Brexit, in which the U.K. would keep close economic ties with the E.U. on goods and agriculture. Jeremy Hunt is now Britain's new foreign secretary after Boris Johnson, a Brexit hardliner, resigned in protest.

And the clock is ticking for the U.K. In eight months, Britain will leave the E.U. deal or no deal, and Mrs. May faces a daunting task, trying to reach an agreement which not only protects the British economy but also satisfies both the E.U. and hardline Brexit supporters within her own party. We have details on all of that now from Nina Dos Santos reporting from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prime minister.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Faced with the resignation of her Brexit secretary and foreign secretary, Theresa May didn't flinch.

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I want to pay tribute to my right honorable friend --

DOS SANTOS: Half an hour earlier, Downing Street had announced that Boris Johnson had quit, throwing the British government into turmoil. He'd followed the path of David Davis, who'd been leading the U.K.'s Brexit negotiations.

MAY: We do not agree about the best way of delivering our shared commitment to honor the result of the referendum.

DOS SANTOS: It was only a few days ago that the Prime Minister thought she'd secured cabinet support for her Brexit plan. Any pretense of that, though, has now been blown away.

MAY: In the two years since the referendum, we have had a spirited national debate -- with robust views echoing around the cabinet table as they have on breakfast tables up and down the country.

JEREMY CORBYN, UK LABOUR PARTY LEADER: The checkers (ph) compromise took two years to reach and just two days to unravel.

DOS SANTOS (on camera): The high-profile resignations once again shine a spotlight on Theresa May's leadership and unlike the warring divisions within the government over the issue of Brexit. And if one thing has become clear during this chaos, it's that neither side seems willing to back down.

(voice over): Those pushing for a hard Brexit say the Prime Minister's plan amounts to a broken promise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your advice to the Prime Minister this morning.

JACOB REES-MOGG, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: change her policy. Go back to what she said before, go back to her speech deliver on her commitments to the British electorate.

DOS SANTOS: The cabinet ministers speaking before Johnson's sudden departure were publicly backing the PM.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our last chance to deliver a clean Brexit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she has set a path which we can all legitimately follow. DOS SANTOS: It's an approach the Prime Minister appears determined to

stick to.

MAY: What we are proposing is challenging for the E.U. It requires them --

CORBYN: How can anyone have faith in the Prime Minister getting a good deal with 27 European Union governments when she can't even broker a deal within her own cabinet.

DOS SANTOS: In Europe, officials are watching on with a mixture of disbelief and dismay.

DONALD TUSK, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Politicians come and go. But the problems they have created for the people remain. And the mess caused by Brexit is the biggest problem in the history of E.U.- U.K. relations.

DOS SANTOS: With less than nine months to go until the U.K. leaves the E.U., officials on both sides are hoping that this is a mess that can quickly be cleaned up.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, the regular downpours in Japan have stopped but the recovery is only getting started. Heavy rain flooding and land slides in the southwest claimed more than a hundred lives and left more than two dozen people missing. Others have lost their homes.

Kaori Enjoji is following the story for us in Tokyo. She joins us now live.

And Kaori, rescue crews right now, they're going door to door, hoping that they can find more survivors in what is one of the worst weather- related disasters Japan has seen in decades.

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: That's right -- John. This is day four of this worst rain-related disaster Japan has seen in 30 years. And it's getting very tough for the rescuers out there, the people who are trying to find those who are still missing, as the death count continues to mount.

As you mentioned, the rains have stopped, but that doesn't mean the danger zone is any less in some of these areas. Just earlier on this morning, we heard in one community that a river bank was broken, basically because too much water is flowing downstream now and bringing with it not only mud and trees and cars and anything in its path, but other debris that's piling up into some of these streams and causing flooding in many of these areas.

[01:35:03] So there are some alerts still active in many areas across Japan, southwest Japan, central Japan as well. It's been a harrowing three, four days for many people in evacuation centers as well. Some 11,000 people are in evacuation shelters across the country. Hundreds of thousands are still urged to stay there because the land after these torrential rainfalls are still very, very vulnerable.

So you do hear of rescues being conducted by helicopter, by boat, with 75,000 people, including the military, the Self-Defense Force out there with the firefighters and policemen but this is a very difficult battle, particularly now as the heat wave comes in.

In some of these areas that have been heavily, heavily damaged, you're getting weather of about 35 degrees today in high humidity. And you have to remember that many of these places, there's still no water and no electricity.

So I think the challenging days for many of these residents and rescuers lie ahead -- John.

VAUSE: Yes, wow. A lot of misery, a lot of tragedy there for Japan. Kaori -- thanks so much. We appreciate the update.

Next here on NEWSROOM L.A., one man making a difference to millions of people, changing lives in Rohingya refugee camps.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, online protests are spreading against Iran's growing strict social rules which prohibit women from dancing in public without -- and without a head scarf. Activists are outraged after this teenager was arrested last week for posting a video of her dancing in her room.

The Iranians have shown solidarity by posting videos of themselves dancing. All of this comes amid frustration over a weak economy as well as government corruption.

Well, the tragedy that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee Myanmar for safety in Bangladesh endures. They were escaping a brutal military crackdown -- what the United Nations calls an ethnic cleansing campaign of killing, rape and the wholesale destruction of villages.

But these people are not being forgotten by some.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just amazing to see the willingness of people, you know, to take in this population that just -- it blows my mind.

FDMN is the new term they're using -- forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:40:02] VAUSE: Joining me now, Rajiv Uttamchandani, a human rights activist and president of Humanity Education and Rights Academy. Thanks for coming in.

RAJIV UTTAMCHANDANI, PRESIDENT, HUMANITY EDUCATION AND RIGHTS ACADEMY: Thanks for having me. It's good to be here.

VAUSE: It's been a while since you were here -- a couple of weeks.

Ok. You've put out this really great video and it really sums up, you know, what's going on, but one thing which struck me, the fact that, you know, a million or so people living in this refugee camp aren't even given refugee status by the U.N. says a whole lot about how the world sort of sees this crisis.

To that point, I want to play another small clip from the video which you've made. Take a look at this and we'll talk about it in a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UTTAMCHANDANI: We have the United Nations Security Council. We have the International Criminal Court. We have people around the world that know this is happening and want to help and want to do something.

All we need is to work together to try to make that happen, so that's our mission. That's our goal. But we will do our best. I promise you that. We'll do our best to make this happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, it's incredibly moving but the other thing that struck me is that none of those institutions that you mentioned are actually doing anything. I mean I saw the look on that guy's face and it was almost like, really? I mean -- you know, no one's helping.

UTTAMCHANDANI: Right.

VAUSE: You know, how difficult is it to say to this people -- I know you're trying to do what you can do but you're not the U.N.

UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes.

VAUSE: So, you know, how difficult is it to go to these people and say that kind of stuff?

UTTAMCHANDANI: Well, the first thing, John -- is that there is a lot of aid being delivered to the camps. There's over 1.3 million refugees now living in Bangladesh -- Rohingya refugees. So once you go in the camps from Cox's Bazaar, you see trucks, you see, you know, clinics, you see learning centers that are being established. You see a lot of huts now that are being reinforced for the monsoon rains.

VAUSE: To me, that's treating the symptoms --

UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes.

VAUSE: -- not the cause.

UTTAMCHANDANI: Right, exactly. And you're absolutely right. So what I mentioned in that video was indeed the fact that we have mechanisms that we've established to prosecute key personnel, whether it be from a government or from a military institution anywhere in the world.

And I'll give you some precedent for that. The Nuremberg trials 1945, right after World War II was the first instance that we, as a civilization if you will established international criminal law as we know it today in the modern sense.

We said that crimes are not committed by abstract entities. They are committed by specific men or women in government and military that can be prosecuted.

So, we have the Nuremberg trials, 1945. We have the Tokyo trials, 1946. We have the International Criminal Tribunal, the former Yugoslavia established in 1994. We have the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established in 1995. And we have current cases that are being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court namely in Sudan, for example.

So in each of these cases, there have been dozens in each of them that individuals that have been convicted or at least indicted for crimes that they have committed. And for the criminal tribunal for Yugoslavia and for Rwanda --

VAUSE: Are we there yet with Myanmar --

UTTAMCHANDANI: No, not yet.

(CROSSTALK)

UTTAMCHANDANI: We're very far from there --

VAUSE: Yes.

UTTAMCHANDANI: -- but the point being that we have a structure --

VAUSE: Right.

UTTAMCHANDANI: -- that we can fall back on --

VAUSE: Yes.

UTTAMCHANDANI: -- that says that, you know what, there's a way to do this. This is a violation of international law. And if we work together, we can prosecute those individuals.

VAUSE: -- which is great, and I agree with you. But I just don't think it happening.

UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes.

VAUSE: And I think it's a long way from happening.

UTTAMCHANDANI: It's a long way. It's a long way. (CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: But more immediately, you actually are at the camp doing stuff, which a lot of people are.

I have another clip from your video -- have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UTTAMCHANDANI: You can see that the earth is a giant place -- so many other countries around the world, so many people living besides me and you. People who look different, talk different, act different, but in the end of the day, we are all human beings, and we are living here together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There was this potential for an entire generation to be lost to education. That looks like it may not happen, because of this -- you've set up, basically, or one step very much closer --

UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes.

VAUSE: -- to setting up these virtual classrooms. What's happening?

UTTAMCHANDANI: So August 12 is our big day.

VAUSE: Yes.

UTTAMCHANDANI: We've got the permission from the government to build a regular VSAT (ph) it's basically a small satellite dish. The point being that there are about 55 percent or 60 percent of the Rohingya are children under the age of 18 years old. So that roughly translates to about 700,000 children under the age of 18. That's an enormous amount.

Most of them have barely any elementary school education level whatsoever. So if we are considering the fact that they're going to be there at least in the camps for a decade, we need to have a consistent mechanism to deliver education.

And it's not realistic to say that we'll have thousands and thousands of educators and teachers travel all the way to these remote locations. So to set up this VSAT, to connect them with teachers and professors from all over the world, August 12th is our big date.

VAUSE: Well good for you, man.

UTTAMCHANDANI: Thank you -- John. I appreciate that.

VAUSE: Good to see you again.

UTTAMCHANDANI: Thank you.

[01:45:02] VAUSE: Here's more of what Rajiv saw on his trip to the camps. It's the Rohingya people in their own words, telling their own stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UTTAMCHANDANI: My name is Rajiv Uttamchandani. I'm a scientist and human rights activist. I travelled the world over educating and inspiring our most marginalized populations. People have lost their homes, their family, their entire lives to the horrors of war.

Who are they? What do they desire? And what can the world do better to help them? This is their story.

These types of trees and this density of forest cover these vast areas now where the refugee camps are. And I think it's just amazing to see the willingness of people to, you know, take in this population. It just -- it blows my mind.

FDMN IS a new term they're using -- forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.

You can kind of almost feel, right, that we're getting closer and closer to where the camps are, just the congregation of the different trucks, the different organizations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UTTAMCHANDANI: It's so readily apparent. And you can just see the mass influx of people, you know?

We're here.

Mohammed (ph) and Attah (ph) -- you can see are treating some patients inside and they've been seeing patients all morning. There's a lot of work that all the doctors here have to do. It's really inspiring and intriguing to see what's going on, what the patients have, the conditions that they have.

And you hear a little bit of their stories, too, who they are and the people they've lost, especially young children who come in here. And we don't know where their parents are. Some of them have parents, some of them have lost parents. So it's really disheartening but it's also encouraging at the same time to see the strength and the resilience of this population.

Well, it's great work you guys are doing here; sacrificing so much.

So we're just -- just got done with our work at the clinic. We're just going to have a little stroll, meet a few people, talk to them, hear their stories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a lot of people died -- one million people in a camp.

UTTAMCHANDANI: One million Rohingya people.

We have the United Nations Security Council. We have the International Criminal Court. We have people around the world that know this is happening and want to help and want to do something. All we need is to work together to try to make that happen.

So, that's our mission. That's our goal, but we will do our best. I promise you that. We'll do our best to make this happen.

(ROHINGYA PEOPLE SPEAKING)

UTTAMCHANDANI: It is difficult to describe what one feels when listening to their stories, the horror in their eyes, the tears they shed makes you question the true nature of man. Yet perhaps I have now seen for the first time the true strength of the human spirit, the resilience of our being, the capacity of a population to recover.

The Rohingya camps stretch for miles and miles, and despite the unquestionable gravity of their brutal past, hope still lingers.

Every team is doing this humanitarian food relief, so it's happening once or twice a week.

Man, this is really tough. It's just heartbreaking to give such heavy bags to -- are you ok -- such young girls.

Man, it's chaotic. Need some help, man.

[01:50:06] You can see that the earth is a giant place, so many other countries around the world, so many people living besides me and you, people who look different, talk different, act different, but in the end of the day, we are all human beings and we are living here together.

So many people live every day, every night. Where I come from, people don't even know what's going on, but our purpose here is to tell them your story, who you are, what you want, and perhaps this way we can help you guys.

You've been forced out of your homes, you've suffered, yet you are here to learn so I am inspired by that. That's how I feel, what's in my heart.

What burns at the root of my heart and soul is knowledge of how much these children have lost, the things they must have seen, the evil they must have encountered. Yet their priceless smiles and innocent laughter provide us with unquestionable hope in our capacity to heal.

These children are not simply the future of the Rohingya. They are the future of our entire world. And it behooves us to devote the best of our lives to provide them with this future.

Who wants to be a scientist in this room? I am Rohingya.

CHILDREN: I am Rohingya.

UTTAMCHANDANI: I want to be a scientist.

CHILDREN: I want to be a scientist.

UTTAMCHANDANI: I am Rohingya. CHILDREN: I am Rohingya.

UTTAMCHANDANI: I want a future.

CHILDREN: I want a future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: We'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The first semifinal match of the World Cup is just a few hours away. First up is Belgium and France -- both have made it to this point relatively easily, setting up a Battle Royale later on Tuesday.

Alex Thomas reports from St. Petersburg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Neither France nor Belgium played any of their previous five matches here at this impressive modern stadium. And France will be the only ones to have trained in it before kickoff because Belgium have decided to practice at their Moscow base before traveling here.

Yet, historic St. Petersburg is a fitting venue for this game between two impressive teams that could well change football history this week.

The former winter palace -- birthplace of the Russian revolution. France also know about kicking out the monarchy but these days prefer to kick around a football. And two decades after their first World Cup triumph, Les Bleus are just one win away from a chance to do it again.

[01:54:57] HUGO LOUIS, FRANCE GOALKEEPER (through translator): I think Belgium are the most complete team in all the possible aspects of the game during this tournament because they have defense, they have attack, counterattack. They defend in the air, they are strong in everything.

They have everything they need to be a great team. And they are a great team. It is a fantastic generation, and to beat them, we will have to play a great match.

THOMAS: in the heart of the original city center is the St. Peter and Paul Fortress, and defense is often seen as a key priority for the French coach, Didier Deschamps. His dilemma: stay cautious against prolific Belgium or free up his own potential match winner, Kylian Mbappe.

DIDIER DESCHAMPS, FRENCH COACH (through translator): I have made sure my players are prepared for any scenarios for the beginning of the match, any compositions and during the match as weld if that changes. This is not specifically to Belgium. It can happen with any opponent. THOMAS: Belgium's golden generation of players is as eye-catching as

the dome above St. Isaac's Cathedral -- Lukaku, de Bruyne and Hazard in particular living up their pre-tournament billing.

They've gone a step further here than the court of final defeat (ph) to Brazil 2014 and Euro 2016 with the possibility of more to come.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We respect immensely the quality of France, I think the understanding between the two squads are clear. Many players play against each other in their leagues regularly. Some of their players share dressing rooms. So I think this is the perfect game in order to be focused and as good as you can be for the semifinal.

THOMAS: This city's collection of islands divides the Neva River as it flows out to sea. The water can't choose which path to take, but France and Belgium can.

Alex Thomas, CNN -- St. Petersburg. >

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: You've been watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. Thanks for your company.

Stay with us. The news continues on CNN right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Rescue operations resume for the remaining four boys and their coach trapped in a Thailand cave. We'll get the latest from that effort and an update on the other boys already in hospital.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:00:03] KINKADE: U.S. President Trump's choice is made and the protests have begun.