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United States and North Korea Summit; Trade Exports; Russia Investigation; Eruption of Mt. Kilauea; Deaths From Hurricane Maria; Corruption of Mr. Rajoy; Kim Jong-un Complains To Russia over 'U.S. Hegemonism'. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 1, 2018 - 02:00   ET


[02:00:13] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN, ANCHOR: As the United States and North Korea inch closer to a possible Presidential summit, Russia says it will have its own sit down with Kim Jong-Un. We're following the latest on these developments, plus this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me be clear, these tariffs are totally unacceptable.

HOWELL: Just a bit of the strong reaction coming from close U.S. allies. This after the U.S. President slaps (Inaudible) tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. We'll look into that, and the violent reality of gang life in El Salvador. One group is targeted, terrorized, and killed the most women. That situation is the final piece in our exclusive scenes. We're live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

We want to welcome our viewers all around the world. I'm George Howell. The CNN Newsroom starts right now.

Around the world, good day to you, by almost any standard it is a remarkable turn of events. This man that you see here, North Korea's former spy chief, who's thought to have been behind the cyber attack on Sony Pictures, also master minded an attack on a U.S. ally. That man now expected to be welcomed to the White House and possibly into the Oval Office.

Despite sanctions that prohibited him from visiting the country, Kim Yong-chol is now an important piece between that possible summit between the United States and North Korea, as our Michelle Kosinski reports.


MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Kim Jong-Un's right-hand man after two days of meetings with Secretary of State Pompeo in New York, and now headed to the White House. Tomorrow he will hand deliver a letter from Kim Jong-Un to President Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: A letter is going to be delivered to me from Kim Jong-Un, so I look forward to seeing what's in the letter, but it's very important to them. KOSINSKI: This, as Pompeo met with North Korea's Vice Chairman, Kim

Yong-chol, attempting to seal the deal for a Trump-Kim summit, which today he still called a proposed summit, and trying to convince North Korea that it's more secure without nuclear weapons. All in today's meeting that ended two hours before it was scheduled to. The State Department says that's because it went so well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The conditions are putting President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-Un a place where we think there could be real progress made by the two of them in a meeting. It does no good if we're in a place where we don't think there is no opportunity to place them together. We've made real progress towards that in the last 72 hours.

KOSINSKI: But Pompeo gave no detail on whether the Trump-Kim summit will happen or when we will know that, or how much the North Koreans are willing to give up, insisting that the U.S. still demands complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe they are contemplating a path forward where they can make a strategic shift, one that their country has not been prepared to make before. This is going to be a process that will take days and weeks to work our way through.

KOSINSKI: Kim Yong-chol arrived last night to New York, his first ever trip to the United States. And photos released by the State Department, Secretary Pompeo showed him the skyline and exchanged pleasantries over a dinner of American steak. But the other stakes, as in all that could be gained or lost, were also sky high.

The goals brought, the U.S. wants to see the North Koreans do something historic, something they've never done before to show they're serious about denuclearization, and to commit to it before meeting with Trump. That could mean giving up some of their nuclear arsenal or ballistic missile program.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Kim Yong-chol is going to dangle just enough in front of Secretary Pompeo, so that Pompeo can return to Trump and say that everything's fine, and that the summit can go ahead.

KOSINSKI: Also in Pyongyang today, meeting with Kim Jong-Un, the Russian foreign minister who said denuclearization should be phased in with sanctions to be lifted for North Korea, the opposite of the plan the U.S. wants. It's not clear how much Kim will budge on that, as he praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for standing up to quote, U.S. domination. But both Trump and Pompeo say meetings have been going well, things progressing, the President still hedging.

TRUMP: Process. We'll see and hopefully we'll have a meeting on the 12th. It's going to along very well, but I want it to be meaningful. It doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting. Maybe we'll have to have a second or a third. And maybe we'll have none. But it's in good hands, that I can tell you. $

[02:05:03] KOSINSKI: So if the U.S. has gotten something approaching this big gesture or big commitment that they want to see from North Korea, no one is saying it. In fact, the best that the Secretary of State could muster is that North Korea is contemplating a shift in its strategy. So the big question now, of course, is will this letter from the top, from Kim Jong-Un to President Trump move in the direction of that historic gesture that the U.S. seems, at least to still be insisting upon? Michelle Kosinski, CNN, New York.


HOWELL: Michelle, thank you. But what's in that letter, well, we don't know. Let's go live to our Alexandra Field following the story live in Seoul, South Korea. Alexandra, what is the sense there watching on as North Korea's former spy chief is welcomed here in the United States, paving the way for this possible summit.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN,CORRESPONDENT: Well, frankly we heard from the spokesperson for the Blue House earlier today, George. And the fact that Kim Yong-chol is delivering a letter written by Kim Jong-Un to President Trump was described as a relief, a sign that the plans for talks are proceeding more smoothly. Certainly, a major turn around from what seemed to be the end of the summit just a week ago, when President Trump wrote a letter to Kim Jong-Un canceling summit.

So to some extent, a reply in letter form, you might call it pro forma. This is the official response from Kim Jong-Un. We would expect that he would strike a tone where he is pushing for dialogue in supporting the cause of a summit. That would, of course, reflect the response that state news in North Korea carried after President Trump initially cancelled. There was a conciliatory tone that was struck there.

There was a willingness to move forward with dialogue. Certainly, it seems that North Korea was pushing for a summit and their actions since then have certainly underscored that point. You don't just have the meeting going on in New York between Kim Yong-chol and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but there are have also plans that are being made at various meetings, including at the DMZ and also in Singapore.

So it seems all sides are working to ensure that this summit can happen. That's if the leaders agree that it will or should happen, of course, that comes down to whether or not these conditions can be agreed to in advance. Frankly, George, there isn't a lot of time to agree to that. But you can see the Secretary of State saying a lot of progress has been made, and that they're going to continue to work toward it.

The view from Seoul is that all of this is positive. They really just want to keep the dialogue going. It is, of course, South Korea that initially orchestrated this potentially historic and unprecedented sit down between President Trump and Kim Jong-Un. Right now, South Korea can really do, though, is sit and watch and wait and see if these leaders do, in fact, agree to move forward and get it done, George?

HOWELL: And with Kim Yong-chol in the United States, competing optics really, Alexandra, because while you saw what was happening in New York at the same time, we we're seeing what was happening in Pyongyang with the foreign minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, entering the stage. What all can we take from this?

FIELD: What we are seeing, what we have seen is a diplomatic flurry of activity in recent weeks and months. You've got this high profile trip from Sergey Lavrov to Pyongyang. You also now have news of the possibility of a sit down between Kim and Putin. Certainly, we have seen in recent weeks or recent months rather, several sit downs between the Chinese President and the North Korean leader. So you have all sides looking to talk certainly in advance of this summit.

Russia wanting to make sure that its interests is expressed. China wanting to make sure that its interests is expressed. Both of them have certainly be -- concerned about expansion of American influence in the region. They are going to be staying closely in contact with Kim Jong-Un as he looks to speak to President Trump, George.

HOWELL: Alexandra Field following the story live in Seoul, South Korea. Thank you for the reporting. Now to the U.S. President and new tariffs, (Inaudible) steel and aluminum imports from Canada, from Mexico, and the European Union, the responses so far deeply disappointing, unjust, and totally unacceptable. That is just part of the global outrage and reaction that's pouring in.

And already, these key U.S. allies and trading partners, they're promising retaliation with their own tariffs on American goods, a move that will likely have a ripple effect across the global economy.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told him that the eventual American decision on the tariffs, an eventual increase on tariffs on steel and aluminum was unjustified, unjustifiable, and a dangerous decision. This decision will be dangerous for growth, for free trade, and the level of growth, both in the United States and in Europe, as well as the rest of the world. We don't want a trade war.

[02:09:56] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The European Union cannot react to that without any kind of reaction, so we'll immediately introduce a separate dispute on the (Inaudible) in next coming hours, counter balancing measures. What they can do, we are able to do exactly the same. It's totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to trade.


HOWELL: There has also been outrage some in the United States, even among in Mr. Trump's own party. Listen.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see they're going to put these tariffs on now on the Europeans. It's no longer America first. What we're seeing now is America alone. And I don't care who you are, how powerful you are, how rich you are, how famous you are. If you go alone, you're going to fall short. And that's what I'm concerned about with our country. We're losing our worldwide leadership, and what we need to do to inspire free people across our globe. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Let's get more now of the European reaction from our Atika Shubert.


ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Perfectionism, pure and simple. That's how a European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, has described the tariffs. Germany isn't happy either. Heiko Maas, the country's foreign minister lashed out with a blistering response, saying the tariffs were incomprehensible and illegal.

The answer to America first, he said, is Europe united. So what exactly is the E.U. going to do about this? Well, Germany and the other countries of the E.U. will launch legal proceedings against the United States at the World Trade Organization on Friday. They'll also be taking a look at what American products can be targeted in retaliation.

And I want you to take a look at this. This is a list of possible American products. It's 10 pages long, very fine print. Just a few weeks ago, the European Commission President said some or all American products, such as Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Bourbon, Whisky, and Levi's jeans might be targeted. But this list looks a lot longer. It could be hit with as much, but the (Inaudible) of as much as 25 percent.

It starts with sweet corn, ends with playing cards. There are hundreds of American products that are now under consideration. And of course, the ones that are going to lose out the most will be consumers on both sides of the Atlantic, who will now have to pay more for the knock on effects of what appears to be a budding trade war. Atika Shubert, CNN Berlin.


HOWELL: Atika, thank you. Canada is the largest exporter of steel and aluminum to the United States. And now, it is preparing to retaliate with tariffs on nearly $13 billion of U.S. goods. The Prime Minister of that nation, Justin Trudeau said the Trump Administration left him no choice.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me be clear. These tariffs are totally unacceptable. These tariffs are an affront to the long-standing security partnership between Canada and the United States, and in particular, an affront to the thousands of Canadians who have fought and died alongside their American brothers in arms. The American administration has made a decision today that we deplore, and obviously is going to lead to retaliatory measures as it must.

But we regret that. We would much rather move together in partnership, understanding that no two countries have economies as interwoven and mutually beneficial as Canada and the United States. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Let's talk more about this with Robert Koepp. Robert is the Director of the Economist Corporate Network, joining us live in Hong Kong this hour. You heard the reaction there, Robert. It is clear. U.S. allies not happy and taking steps to respond. What are your thoughts about this backlash?

ROBERT KOEPP, ECONOMIST CORPORATE NETWORK, DIRECTOR: Well, it's hardly surprising. Often in these sorts of conflicts, you know the budding trade wars, they're calling it. They're speaking about tit for tat retaliation. And that shouldn't surprise anyone. Tit for tat computer simulations have proven as an optimal strategy response to conflict. If you just let someone take advantage of you, they'll continue to do so. And that's how the European and Canadian allies of the United States are seeing this. It's an unfortunate situation.

HOWELL: But we heard from the U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on this, who essentially says, hey, it's not a big deal. Let's listen.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sky has not fallen in the United States since we put the tariffs on. It just hasn't fallen, and it won't. Because of the proportionality that I'm describing is just too small. The whole amount of tariffs on steel and aluminum are a fraction of one percent of the U.S. GDP. So how much impact can that have on anything? It's just silly.


[02:15:04] HOWELL: Robert, your thoughts there. Is it just silly as Ross suggests, or is he underselling the true impact that consumers could feel?

KOEPP: Well, I guess my response to Secretary Ross' statements would be if it's trivial as he claims, then why impose the tariffs? You wouldn't take this action if you wouldn't think it would have some sort of impact. And unfortunately, the ultimate bearers of impact Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is quite correct.

It's the consumers and it's our allies. It's a very unusual situation. I'm also an American citizen, although I live in Hong Kong, and I'm just mystified by this. So I don't know agree it's trivial. It's not the end of the world to give Secretary Ross credit for that, but it is a significant step, and it's a step in the wrong direction.

HOWELL: There are American supporters who see this as a good move by the U.S. President. There are those who oppose what is happening here, but the bigger question here, where do you see this going?

KOEPP: Well, that's what people are generally concerned about, with maybe the exception of the Oval Office, unfortunately, it go to just further ratcheting up of exchanges of these tariffs. And again, to emphasize the tariffs aren't so much on foreign products as much on the consumers, which include industries in America who employ people that have to now have higher input costs.

So you could see more and more costs built into the American economy, slowing down economic growth and eliminating opportunities to employ more people. That's the net result of when you start a trade war.

HOWELL: Robert Koepp, live for us in Hong Kong. Thank you for your perspective on this.

KOEPP: Thank you. $

HOWELL: President Trump and the power to pardon. Donald Trump taking full advantage of his authority and to his aides and allies caught up in the Russia investigation. Critics worry that he's sending a signal that, well, he can get them off the hook, as our reports for us.


JEFF ZELENY, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: President Trump sending more signals than ever today. He's in a pardoning mood, out of the blue, the President announcing a full-scale pardon for conservative author and film maker Dinesh D'Souza. D'Souza perhaps is best known for conspiracy theories about former President Barack Obama. Flying to Houston, the President telling reporters on Air Force One, I called him last night, first time I ever spoken to him.

I said I'm pardoning you. Nobody asked me to do it. I've always felt he was very unfairly treated. D'Souza pleaded guilty in 2014 to violating federal campaign finance laws by illegally asking two women, an employee and a woman, with whom he was romantically involved to donate $20,000 to the campaign of an old college friend running against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in New York.

He told them he would reimburse them. The President described those charges today as a quick minor fine. Like everybody else, with the election stuff. It's that election stuff, specifically Russian meddling and the Special Counsel's probe that seems to be weighing on Trump's mind. He's flexing his Presidential powers as his own fight escalates with the Justice Department.

The President talking openly about the possibility of even more pardons for Martha Stewart, and a commutation for former Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, in what could be a signal to the President's friends caught up in the Russia investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here with Donald and Melania Trump, and we're going to make a scrumptious meat loaf sandwich, which is Donald's favorite sandwich according to Melania.

TRUMP: It's very good.

ZELENY: Stewart, convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice in a securities fraud case, is an old friend of Trump's, even though she told CNN in 2016 he shouldn't be President.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm voting for Hillary Clinton. We just can't have a country run by someone who is totally unprepared for what comes.

ZELENY: But a possible pardon for Stewart could also be a way to settle scores with the prosecutor in the case, James Comey. That's the same James Comey the President Trump fired last year as FBI Director. And Blagojevich also has ties to trump. Seen here as a contestant on the Apprentice.

TRUMP: So Governor, you have hell of a lot of guts, I have to tell you that. I have friends where things have happened to them. They crawl into a corner. They die. You're out there punching, so I respect that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate that.

ZELENY: Blagojevich, a former Illinois Governor convicted of abusing the powers of his office, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011. From a federal prison, Rod Blagojevich wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this week, saying that he believes that the Justice Department is corrupt, and if they can't prove a crime they create one.

Now all of this is coming as he and others are trying to get the President's attention here, trying to use their cases to prove that the Justice Department simply is not always fair. But in the President's mind, all of these cases revolve around James Comey. His ongoing feud after firing him more than a year ago, still front and center in the Russia investigation and potential obstruction of justice, Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Houston.


[02:19:56] HOWELL: Jeff, thank you. Still ahead here on Newsroom, officials have a warning for some residents on Hawaii's big island. We'll have the very latest for you on that.

Plus, a political unknown is about to become the leader of Europe's fourth largest economy. CNN is live in Rome for the latest on Italy's new government. Stay with us.


HOWELL: In the U.S. state of Hawaii, officials say residents who stay in the mandatory evacuation zone, they do so, quote at their own risk. The Kilauea volcano has devoured at least 78 miles so far. And slowly it's eating away at the big island's economy. Our Miguel Marquez reports the situation is not getting any better.


MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: The eruption of Mt. Kilauea in this southeast rift zone is continuing unabated. In fact, it seems to be getting worse, fissure 8 now the fountain there at its highest yet, 250 feet of just molten rock. It is incredible to see these pictures. It's mesmerizing, also depressing because these are people's homes. This is a neighborhood. This is a town that is being affected by this. You see these perfectly manicured front yards in homes that are in

perfect shape, no problems. But 100 meters behind their backyard, just the mouth of hell, this mound of molten rock that is roiling away back there. Off the top of it, it's so hot, volcanic glass and what they call (Inaudible) beads or hairs coming off of it.

It looks like thousands upon thousands of iridescent butterflies that are coming off at night. It's very dangerous stuff if you get it in your eyes or if you breathe it in. This is why the mayor of Hawaii has now issued a mandatory evacuation order for the west side of Leilani Estates. There's so much lava pouring into the system there, it's pooling.

The hardened lava is basically creating a pool around this lava, and it's getting higher and higher. And if that pool breaks one side of it, it will go slopping over and destroy homes. And if you are in those homes, you will die. The mayor basically saying if you get in that situation and you need help, emergency responders will not be there for you, back to you.


HOWELL: All right, Miguel Marquez, thank you very much. The governor of Puerto Rico is defending his administration's efforts to count how many people died from Hurricane Maria last year. The official toll stands at 64 people who died. But a new Harvard University study says more than 4500 people were killed in the storm and its aftermath.

Governor Ricardo Rossello admits the official number is incomplete and his government did its best. But he warns there would be hell to pay if information on deaths was withheld. Several hours from now, Italy's new government will be sworn in after months of political turmoil.

[02:25:01] The government will be led by a political novice, Giuseppe Conte. His appointment as Prime Minister comes just hours after the two leading populous parties announced they reached an agreement to form a coalition government. Following this story, CNN Contributor Barbie Nadeau is live in Rome. And Barbie, obviously this person described, Conte, a political unknown. What does that mean for the nation? Where do things go?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN, CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it's indicative of just what this government is about. He's really a puppet figure. He's working on behalf of the two leading parties, the two populous parties, the Northern League and the Five Star Movement. And he's there to do their work for them. It remains to be seen if he has much of his own policy or if he will just cater to their bidding, George.

HOWELL: And avoiding a new election, clearly. But we are seeing this new government form. Populism, Europe skepticism at the forefront, what does this signal for what's to come of domestic policy in Italy, and also what does it mean across Europe?

NADEAU: Well, you know, you look at some of the morning papers this morning. You've got the least populous government on one hand and the other one specifically says good luck. You know one could argue that the hard part, the easy part is over and now the more difficult work begins. These two populous parties agree on a lot of issues, but they represent two very different Italy's.

The Five Star Movement populous party really represents the south, where we see so many of these economic issues, migration issue. The league on the other hand represents the wealthier north. And while they may agree on what needs to be done for the good of the country, they're really supported by two very different bases.

And I think we're going to see difficulty in some legislative issues going forward. Now, they have a majority of parliament when they work together. Each party has the ability to knock the other one out. And I think it's going to be a difficult government going forward, and that's obviously going to make it difficult for domestic policy in Italy.

But it's going to be very worrying to the rest of Europe because they both campaigned on Euro skeptic rhetoric. And you know that is still very much part of their ideology, George.

HOWELL: Barbie Nadeau, pointing out the headline, good luck. We will have to see, of course, how this moves forward. Thank you so much for the reporting and context. Spain's prime minister could lose a confidence vote and be kicked out of power in the coming hours. We're following this story. Most opposition of parliament has already declared they will reject Mariano Rajoy's leadership.

The head of Spain's opposition party filed the confidence motion after a court convicted Mr. Rajoy, Rajoy's former aides of running a slush fund. The money was used to help to finance election campaigns of the prime minister's party. Still ahead here on Newsroom, it is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Ahead, we have an exclusive look at the women caught in El Salvador's deadly gang crisis. Plus, threats against four year old Prince George, an ISIS supporter pleads guilty for encouraging attacks on the young British Royal. We have the very latest ahead. Stay with us.


[02:30:46] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour. In a matter of hours, North Korea's former spy chief is to hand deliver a letter from Kim Jong-un to U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim Yong-chol has been meeting with the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laying the groundwork for a possible summit. Now, this comes as delegates from North and South Korea met again to discuss what's being called the Panmunjom Declaration as a pledge by both countries to limit military activity and formally end the Korean War.

The nations of Canada, Mexico, and the European Union say they will retaliate against the United States by imposing tariffs on American goods. That threat follows the Trump administration's decision to impose steep penalties on imports of steel and aluminum. The U.S. tariffs took effect a couple of hours ago. At least 16 people were reportedly killed when a protests march in Nicaragua's capital turned violent. You see the images here. That march was supposed to honor those who have died in unrest over proposed Social Security changes.

Amnesty International says 83 people have been killed since mid-April. The government says that number though is 17. In El Salvador, someone is murdered every two hours. That nation plagued by crime and rampant gang warfare. But women are especially vulnerable to the violence. In this exclusive report, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh looks at women are disproportionately victims of gang brutality and we do warn you this report contains images that are disturbing.


NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What you're about to see at the side of the highway on a very ordinary morning happens to women in El Salvador every 19 hours. This is where Jennifer Landaverde was shot eight times at dawn on her way to work, age 22, clothes surround her ankles, scuff marks on her knees. Her shoes are put aside, handed to her mother who heard the gunshots, and found her daughter's body. Even police here fear to show their faces. Nobody will talk bar to say it was the gang Barrio 18. Out here far from the city used to be safe from gangs. But now, Jennifer's wake and silence with only fair filling the stifling air. The daily toll mounts its graphic scenes follow. One in every five thousand women here is murdered each year, the highest rate in the world by some counts. And only one in twenty crimes ends in conviction in El Salvador.

Gang culture is at its most twisted with women. Gang-raped as an initiation right or conversely if their family are police or military, gang drug mules or sex slaves forced foster parents to the children of gang members or sometimes they are the assassins themselves. Across town, we gain rare access to where the gangs targets turned hit men end up. This women's prison is crammed but this is comparatively good for El Salvador. A jail is so rarely a place for sympathy, but women are so often dragged in to barbaric gang culture and often find themselves on the receiving end of a violent society. Here, we meet Roxana who belonged broadly to the gang that killed Jennifer. She's 37 and remembers how she murdered a male gang member to end up here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): Perhaps I was scared, scared because it was the first time in my life something like that happened. I was scared, but when I realized what I had done, the police have already arrested me.

WALSH: That' the name of her son, Raphael, 24 on her arm, a gang member killed in gang violence. He died four months ago on this day she says.

[02:35:05] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): It was very painful for me because I didn't want him to follow my very same path. But before I realized he had become a gang member already, and I wasn't able to do anything for him.

WALSH: She remembers her initiation into the gang Barrio 18.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): I got kicked and hit. It was necessary to be a part of it.

WALSH: How long did that last for, I ask?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): Eighteen seconds. Yes, there are women that go through worse. Sometimes they're rape, beaten up, mistreated.

WALSH: She was young when she joined, it wasn't a choice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via translator): My father died and my mother was an alcoholic left us. I look after five brothers and that's how I ended up on the streets. I knew the gangs. I fought, it was a gang, and in the end it was. While I was inside here, I lost my son, my mom, all those I loved. Most people I knew when I joined are dead now.

WALSH: While they have victims of their own, they were likely once victim themselves. The cycle of brutality that drags El Salvador deeper into (INAUDIBLE) despair. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN San Salvador.


HOWELL: Nick, thank you for the report. In the United Kingdom, the man accused of encouraging terrorists to target the four-year-old Prince George at school has entered a plea of guilty. From London, CNN's Nina dos Santos has details of this case.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-three-year old Husnain Rashidhe from Lancashire in the north of England dramatically reversed his plea after two weeks in a trial when he denied the charges against him. He eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of preparing to commit terrorist acts and one count of encouraging others to do the same. Prosecutors described Rashidhe as a prolific user of social media channels and also in particular encrypted messaging apps to spread his message encouraging some of his supporters to commit jihad both in the west and also in places like Syria. When it comes to the messages that he sent to his followers in the west, he encouraged them to attack public places and also target public figures.

One of those public figures was 4-year-old Prince George, third in line to the throne. He'd only just started at his new school in South West London when one month after the start of term Rashidhe has said to have posted a message to his followers on Telegram with the picture of the young prince outside the school building complete with the school's address and super imposed onto that image were images of jihadi fighters. And the message was quote, "Even the royal family is not alone." That was taken as one of many threats that this individual has made. He will be sentenced on June the 28th. Nina dos Santos outside New Scotland Yard in London.

HOWELL: Nina, thank you. Still ahead here on NEWSROOM, another U.S. comedian is apologizing for her insults. What got the White House up in arms, in this case, not the other? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:40:20] HOWELL: Advertisers are pulling out of Samantha Bee's late

night show after the comedian used an extremely vulgar word to insult Ivanka Trump. Here's what Bee said.


SAMANTHA BEE, COMEDIAN: Ivanka Trump who works at the White House chose to post the second most oblivious tweet we've seen this week. You know, Ivanka, that's a beautiful photo of you and your child. But let me just say one mother to another, do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless -- he listens to you. Put on something tight and low cut and tell your father to -- stop it.


HOWELL: It was part of a scripted monologue criticizing President Trump for allowing policies that separate undocumented immigrant children from their parents. But even though the TV host is known for using foul language in a political comedy, her choice of words Wednesday shocked fans a critics alike. In a tweet, Bee said she that would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump. She said that she crossed a line and deeply regrets it. TBS, the network that airs BEE's show, also a part of -- a sister to CNN said the comedian did the right thing by apologizing. They tweeted, "Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too and we regret it." Again, both TBS and CNN are owned by Turner, a subsidiary of Time Warner. This follows of course the ABC network cancelling the Roseanne Barr show due to her racist remarks on Twitter. The former Chief White House Strategist Steve Bannon is making news about his hopes for the U.S. midterm elections and his plans for populism. Listen to what he had to say about the Mueller investigation.


STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: I've been a big proponent of Mueller. I was the guy that said don't fire Comey. This thing is Peter out. I said it's the -- it's the C block of Anderson Cooper. Nobody's interested anymore. It will be done in 90 days and we'll be done with it.


FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: -- that's got lots of people watch (INAUDIBLE)


BANNON: -- the energy by the time you get to the C block. When Anderson has got something from the A block. If you -- if you fire (INAUDIBLE) special prosecutor. I've been a big proponent of Mueller. I've gone to be part of that as a witness of facts. I've always said, you know, he's a combat marine of an individual. That ought to play out as it's going to play out. Now, where I have a problem and a huge problem, I was the guy that said publicly that Ty Cobb should be fired. OK. He gave the president, I thought terrible advice and I actually think lied to the president consistently about what the nature of this investigation was and the timing of it in giving overall documents. Remember, unlike all the president sat with every other president, we willingly went and gave over millions of pages of documents and allowed the White House Counsel, the Chief of Staff, the chief strategist, the head of communications --


BANNON: -- to be -- to be -- to expedite this which I thought was not wise.


HOWELL: You can see Fareed Zakaria's full interview with Steve Bannon Friday at 9:00 in the evening in New York. That's 9:00 Saturday morning in Hong Kong only here on CNN. And we thank you for watching NEWSROOM this hour. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. "WORLD SPORT" is up next.