Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom Live 20180702 : vimarsana.

In atlanta, we want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Im George Howell. The cnn newsroom starts right now. At 2 00 a. M. On the u. S. East coast we begin with a changing of the guard in mexico. Voters picked the new path forward, picking a new president. Viva mexico viva mexico zbls with the chant viva mexico congratulations are pouring into mexico city. This upon the election of Andres Manuel lopez obradoobrador. That nations Election Commission say preliminary numbers show the leftist candidate got about 53 of the vote there. He ran on an anticorruption platform. He promised to work with mexicos neighbor to the north, the United States. Listen. Translator with the government of the United States we shall try to find a relationship, a friendship and cooperation for development. Always rooted in mutual respect. And the defense of our migrant countrymen who work and live honestly in that country. The u. S. President donald trump congratulated Lopez Obrador in a feet, atweet addin hes looking forward to working with him and theres much more to be done that will benefit both the United States and mexico. It was one of the biggest elections yet in that nation. In addition to president mexican voters cast ballots in some 18,000 races across the nation. Cnns patrick opman has the very latest now from mexico city. Reporter mexicans are celebrating what many are calling a revolution for this country. You see people pouring into the square behind me to celebrate an event they never thought would take place, the election of leftist populist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Hes been running for president now for over a decade. This is his third attempt at the office. Previous attempts he said kept him from gaining office because of corruption, not right now, though. He has more than defeated the opposition. Thats because more of Mexican Society has the nations poorest. But this election he managed to reach out. So many people were struck by his anticorruption message, his message against the violence that is racking this country. But now the hard questions will begin to emerge. How will he govern . How will he for example confront donald trump over the issues that are so unpopular like the wall, like the trade war . So those questions still remain, but mexicans are out right now celebrating this very unlikely victory. Patrick opp mann, cnn, mexico city. Lets bring in karen zisis. Editor in chief of the Online Society of the society of the americas. Its a pleasure to have you on the show this day. Quite a busy day there surely there. Lets talk more about Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, reframing himself as an outsider with a populist message similar to the u. S. President donald trump. That seems to have really resonated with voters. Well, yes. He has reframed himself as an outsider candidate. But this is his third time running. So third time of a go when he made it. But hes in some ways not an outsider because he used to be a member of the party thats now in power, the pre, the governing party. And over the years hes been again, this is his third time runni running. And he he tends to use the same language over and over. He constantly refers to the that controls power. And he speaks in a very straightforward way. Voters are very familiar with him. Theyre nam with his message. And at a point when voters here are feeling very discontented that was a message that reached them. Lets talk about some of the issues that mattered for voters. First the problems with violence and corruption. How does Lopez Obrador promise to take on these problems more effectively than predecessors . Well, thats part of the issue he has talked about trying to end the issues of violence here, trying to end the issues of corruption here. But theres been some lack of clarity about exactly how he will do that. In terms of corruption hes really responded to questions about that saying by being in office and being an example he will be able to reduce corruption. But thats not really a clear proposal. So there are some concerns about how hes going to actually be able to carry it out. When it comes to trade relations with its neighbor to the north, Lopez Obrador seems open to continued talks on renegotiating nafta but is also pushing for mexico to become more selfreliant. Explain. He has made some references to economic policies that would look at mexico being selfreliant, particularly in terms of agriculture. Hes made references to the campo, the countryside being mexicos greatest factory is how it would translate. Hes taken an inward look. He doesnt speak english. Hes not a particularly much of a globalist himself. And he has been winning he won this election really based on the fact that he is focused on domestic issues. So there is a sense that hes taking some more of an inward look at the concerns of mexicans. Because in this election donald trump really hasnt factored into a reason why mexicans are choogz the person theyre going to vote for. It hasnt been mexicans done have a positive view of trump. So any candidate who says things against the rhetoric is going to only win points with the electorate. However, thats not what people are deciding their votes on here given so many of the big domestic issues looming here. And hes really been focusing on the domestic concerns. All right. Similar to the u. S. President , his rural appeal there in mexico seems to have paid off. Karyn zissis, we appreciate your time and perspective. Thank you. Thank you very much. Now to the Immigration Crisis here in the United States. The Trump Administration is awaiting a federal court ruling that could affect how long families can be detained. The u. S. Justice department is pushing a federal judge to extend the time limit on how long authorities can detain immigrants during the asylum proceedings. Last month President Trump signed an executive order stopping his administrations practice of splitting families who cross the border illegally. Keeping in mind thats a policy the president started within his own administration. That aboutface, though, came after weeks of protests and public outcries as more than 2,000 undocumented children separated from their parents. President trump is looking forward to his chance to reshape the u. S. Supreme court. In a tweet on sunday he said this 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 may be stronger than it has ever been. The Senate Confirmation of mr. Trumps choice is not guaranteed, though. Cnns Boris Sanchez explains for us. Reporter the white house would only confirm over the weekend that President Trump spoke to key allies and advisers including White House Counsel Don Mcgahn in Broad Strokes about the confirmation process. The white house would not confirm that the president actually spoke to those one or two potential nominees that he told reporters he might talk to on friday when he arrived here in new jersey. One of the topics we know the president will not be discussing with these potential nominees is their stance on abortion. The president saying he would not ask these candidates about their stance on roe versus wade. Though it is something we know that lawmakers are going to be looking for including senator Susan Collins of maine. Listen to what she told jake tapper sunday on state of the union. I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to roe v. 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 some very important fundamental tenet of our judicial system, which as chief Justice Roberts says helps to promote stability and evenhandedness. Reporter and senator collins is not alone. There are other republican lawmakers out there who tend to vote in favor of abortion rights like Lisa Murkowski of alaska. We should point out, it is going to be a razorthin margin of error for republicans. Theyre going to need almost every single vote. And it is going to be a tough process, a tough fight ahead. Notably, the president has marked july 9th on the calendar as the date that he is going to be making the announcement of his nominee. So it is going to be a tight time frame for the white house to whilt down all these names, though President Trump has said that he has about five names on his short list and that hes going to be interviewing with six or seven potential candidates. Boris sanchez, cnn, traveling with the president near bedminster, new jersey. Boris, thank you for the reporting. Now lets get some context with scott lucas. Scott a professor of International Politics at the university of birmingham live this hour via skype from birmingham. Its a pleasure to have you on the show, scott. Look, the president says that he will not talk about, will not ask about roe versus wade, that he will not discuss lgbt rights. But given this president s track record with truth, saying one thing and doing another, do you take him at his word . No. Hes telling the truth here, george, because he doesnt have to ask about roe v. Wade. He doesnt have to ask about lgbt rights. Because the people on the white house short list all have a judicial record which points to the fact that they may overturn roe v. Wade, that they may restrict lgbt rights. In other words, anyone who will uphold the current stance on abortion rights is not likely to be on the short list. And let me just add to what Susan Collins said, that she would oppose anyone who is hostile to roe v. Wade. No smart nominee is going to go before the confirmation hearing and say i am absolutely going to overturn roe v. Wade for my first day on the bench. They will go in and talk about observing precedent. They will talk about respect for the constitution. They will talk generally. So the idea that republicans can wait until the confirmation hearings and draw a line on roe v. Wade at that point, that quite frankly doesnt work politically and it doesnt work legally. All right. Look, lawmakers certainly will be paying very close attention to these nominees. Some would obviously welcome a new Supreme Court justice who challenges established law. But as you pointed out regarding senator collins, there will be those who oppose someone with that view. How much of a say will lawmakers have in this, scott . Or do you see the president s picks essentially sailing through . Well, youve got two questions, george, now because the first which has been raised is how quickly this can be put through. As your viewers all know, in 2016 the gop blocked the Obama Administration for many months from filling a vacancy on the bench. Democrats are going to turn around this time and say why should we rush through a confirmation before novembers midterm elections . In which of course the democrats might win a majority of the senate, which changes the calculus completely. And then secondly, in terms of who the nominee is and rushing this through, i do think that even republicans, you know, will want to make sure this is seen as a very thorough confirmation process. So it will take some time. I think the real balance here is whether we do get confirmation hearings that cut to the core on how far a nominee might roll back existing Court Decisions or whether everyone fujz the issue and really defers to executive authority and says you know, what if this nominee appears competent then the question of where we are in terms of various rulings doesnt matter, we will not know that until we actually get into the hearings as to which way republican senators in particular will fall on that side of the issue. All right, scott. And very quickly here, look, over the weekend we saw many people protest over the issue of immigration. Keep in mind, though, scott, many people did not. There are people who support surely the president s aggressive approach toward immigration. He sees this as a winning issue heading into the midterms. Do you think he has the support from his base to counter the outrage expressed by others who see immigration in a different perspective . Oh, i you know, this runs until november, until the elections. Which means that donald trump and his advisers are using this as an election tactic. In other words, the children have been separated from their parents not just to deter other people crossing the border but as to say to that base look how tough we are. The insistence of zero tolerance, including setting aside the Legal Process, is this is how tough we are. The question is not just for november but in the weeks leading up to november, as we saw from the families rallies, will most americans tolerate that . Will they tolerate children in detention . Will they tolerate the records of those children being lost so they cant be reunited . A chaotic implementation. Will they tolerate in fact ripping apart the american Legal Process just to appear tough to a group of voters and hope you get back into congress with a majority in november . Scott lucas, thank you for your time and perspective. Well keep in touch with you. Thank you. All right. Now to the world of sport. A lot of things to talk about. The world cup. Everybody watching around the world. And here in the u. S. Looks like we have an answer on basketballs lebron james ditching cleveland, headed to l. A. Cnns Patrick Snell here to tell us about it. And patrick, look, people have been scratching their heads, debating this for a long time. Now we know. Now we know. Headed west. Headed to the golden state, lebron james. This is a whole new era. And we were expecting something. We were expecting something, george, but we didnt quite know for sure where it was going. Here are the details. Heres what we do know. According to the agency the 33yearold signinging a contract worth a hefty 154 million. Thats a hefty contract indeed. As he leaves his Hometown Team as i free agent for a second time. Lets just remind our viewers worldwide of his status in the game. He is basketballs biggest name. No question about that. Hes a threetime nba champ. He led cleveland to a fourth straight nba finals this year. But they were swept there, george, by the Golden State Warriors in four games. And you could tell at times by his body language i think during those finals that all was not well. And the critics were saying that he was carrying the team. But earlier in his career lebron winning two nba titles. That was with the miami heat. But his finest moment, no question at all, that came during his second spell with cleveland, with the franchise, when he really did inspire them to the 2016 title, bringing the city its first professional sports title since 1964. That was a huge, huge deal. Whats been the reaction . Whats lebron himself been saying about this . He took to social media taking to instagram on sunday for his cleveland farewell. Thank you northeast ohio for an incredible four seasons. This will always be home. I was giving this a bit of thought earlier. In many ways this is the Perfect Match for james. He reportedly has two homes in Southern California and a Film Production company in the golden state as well. The lakers themselves one of the biggest names in the sport. Theyve won 16 nba titles. Though i would point out their last triumph came some eight years ago. Cleveland cavaliers have been weighing in as well. A statement from them a short while ago. Nothing but appreciation and gratitude for everything you put into every moment you spent in a cavaliers uniform. We look forward to the retirement of the famous number 23 cavs jersey one day down the line. Lebron james making his move. Hes heading west. Hes heading to the golden state. Hes going to be an l. A. Laker. All right. Excitement around that. Excitement around the world cup. Stunners. Russia. Nobody saw this coming. Not even their own fans, george. Incredible stuff. Before the tournament nobody gave them hope of even getting out of the group stages. And what do they do . Theyre into the quarterfinals, only beating 2010 World Champion spain along the way. It was great scenes if youre a fan of the Russian National team at the Luzhniki Stadium in moscow. But when they concede sod early on Sergei Ignashevich putting in his own goal, hes a 38yearold that had to come out of retirement. But they showed their famed team spirit. Unwilling to accept defeat. They gave a penalty off artem dzyubas header. That made it 11. It went to the dreaded penalty shootout. Nerves were frayed. The hero of the hour for russia, the keeper. He dives to his right there. But his trailing left leg keeps out the penalty. The moment of his career. Devastation for the Spanish National team. And these scenes of joy for russia. This is the furthest theyd gone in 48 years. Incredible stuff for the Russian National team. And who do they play next . Well, they are through to the quarterfinals, where they will play croati