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Israel Launches Lethal Airstrike On West Bank; NYT Follows 11- Year-Old Boy Near Ukraine's Front Line; Nearly 90 Million Americans Under Severe Storm Threat; App By TikTok Parent Company Gains Traction In U.S. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 03, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This has turned into the largest Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank since 2002, since the days of the Second Intifada.

What we've seen is huge Israeli number of forces, hundreds of forces, if not up to 1,000 entering especially the refugee camp as well as the use of bulldozers to tear up streets. The Israeli military saying this is because IEDs are being hidden beneath the pavement.

And we have even seen the use of drone airstrikes targeting militants. And we have even seen Israeli tanks outside of Jenin itself.

But still, it's hard to emphasize just how the image of Israeli tanks in the West Bank. These are things we have not seen since the violent heady days of the Second Intifada in 2002.

The Israeli military saying they'd actually been planning this operation for quite some time. It started overnight with what Israeli military is saying are precise drone strikes on militant locations.

They say that over the past 18 hours they've been targeting what they say are command centers for militants, a weapons storage sites, explosive manufacturing sites. They say they've targeted some tunnels that militants were using under a mosque.

But it has turned the Jenin refugee camp into essentially a war zone. And I was actually just in Jenin yesterday speaking to residents and those same residents today are saying they have never seen anything like this, and they are really afraid to leave their homes.

Now, the Palestinian Ministry of Health saying that eight Palestinians have been killed. Israeli officials have been saying that nearly all of them were armed when they were killed.

We do know that several of those killed were teenagers. And there are some 80 injuries.

I should emphasize that this operation is still ongoing. So we will likely see those numbers increase. The Israeli military saying one of their soldiers were injured. Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just spoke in the last hour or

so, and he is saying that this operation will go on as long as necessary. He says, in recent months, Jenin has become a haven for terrorism, and they are not ready to accept this.

We have seen, of course, increasing levels of violence across the occupied West Bank and Israel over the past year and a half between these regular Israeli military raids and Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

But what we're seeing right now, this is at a new level of intensity. And the big question now is, will this spill over into something much broader than what the Israeli military is saying is a targeted operation focusing on Jenin -- Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Hadas Gold, live for us from Jerusalem, thank you.

Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: We're going to give you a powerful perspective on Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. It takes you right to the front line. And seeing it through the eyes not of a soldier or doctor or journalist, but the eyes of a child trying every day just to survive.

An 11-year-old boy named Ygor. A photojournalist for "The New York Times," Lynsey Addario, followed him and his mother, Lena, living less than 15 miles from the war-torn city of Bakhmut.

They suffered through shelling, the loss of basic services such as running water, electricity, schooling, and a constant closeup view of the casualties of war.

Lynsey Addario joins me now.

These are such powerful photos. I think that they carry such meaning with them because they bring people there in a way that they might not get otherwise. I think that sometimes people get numb to over time as a war like there carries on.

You wrote a note in there, you said that "Ygor no longer flinched when shells were fired as he ate his morning dumplings."

And I, like you, have a son of similar age to him. My first thought was, wow, he's strong, but my second thought was the scars must be so deep from all this.

LYNSEY ADDARIO, PHOTOJOURNALIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes. I mean, I've been covering the war in Ukraine for a year and a half now, and I have repeatedly photographed children dealing with trauma. And I have an 11-year-old, just like Ygor.

I first met him in January of this year. And he was learning how to suture trauma wounds with one of the military medics at a hospital, a military stabilization point.

And of course, the first thing I thought was, I -- I can't even fathom what it would be like for my son to be in this situation.

And so I had the idea of trying to live with him and his mother to really try and get a sense of not only the moments where it was intensive fighting nearby but also those sort of quiet moments. You know, what happens to a boy who has been exposed to war over and over?

SCIUTTO: And his mother, too. She's involved. She's working, as you described, in this hospital helping clean, helping treat the wounded.

Both of them are seeing the bloodshed firsthand. They see these broken bodies of young men coming back. I think Ygor noted that, that they're so young. Not that much older than he is.

ADDARIO: Yes. And I talked to his mother, Lena, about, does she try to shield him from these sights. One day you showed an image of him sort of standing in the doorway, of medics trying to resuscitate a young man. That young man died.

[14:35:06]

And I said to Ygor, you know, what do you feel when you see this? And he could barely articulate -- he just said it's so sad, it's so sad, they're so young.

And his mother said, look, I can't shield him from this war. It's been going on -- they live in Donbass, and she said we've been at war a long time now, and I just can't hide it from him.

SCIUTTO: Yes. When I was there in the early stages of the war, millions of Ukrainians fled, as you know. But then, as I stayed, many came back, and they'll say this is my country, they want to do their part.

But Lena and Ygor are right on the front lines. They are in the most dangerous part of the country, one of the most dangerous parts of the country.

Do you know why -- did Lena explain why she kept Ygor so close to it for so long?

ADDARIO: Yes. I mean, I think the basic answer is she didn't have money to leave. She didn't have relatives living in the West. She didn't want to impose.

She had taken on all of the animals, many of the animals in her neighborhood that her neighbors left behind. So they had 14 pets.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

ADDARIO: And so actually since I left, they did leave. She was able to get Ygor out because it became too intense, and they started targeting the hospital where she worked.

And so she was able to take him out to the West, dropped him with a friend -- not even a family member, but a friend -- and was given 30 days to go back and get her other daughter, Angelina. If not, they would send him to an orphanage.

So that is the sort of stress that families are living with. And she was just able to make it out, as well, in the last 10 days.

They're still looking for a place to live. They have no money to rent a place. And they have 14 pets, which she refused to leave behind.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And listen, we know the stories of children who have been forcibly separated from their parents, taken to Russia. I'm sure all these fears factor into those decisions.

There are so many -- powerful photos that we've been showing. Is there a photo, in particular, that captures the effect of this war on this little boy?

ADDARIO: I mean, look, I think sort of the juxtaposition of him standing at the door over the soldier for me really summed it up. That was the moment where I thought, you know, he is witnessing these wounded soldiers coming in day in and day out. The soldiers themselves were traumatized.

And I think, you know, I don't know what he does with everything he has witnessed over the past year and a half.

And I think that it will be a long road for many of these children, many of these Ukrainian children who were on the front line, but also in Kyiv and other parts of the city, other parts of the country.

SCIUTTO: Yes. It's a legacy of so many of these wars we cover. People move on from the war in Afghanistan or Iraq or Syria, but the people carry those memories and those wounds, and the loss with them.

Lynsey, thank you so much. You did a great service here, I think, explaining to folks, conveying to folks exactly the pain of what's going on there. We appreciate you joining us today.

ADDARIO: Thank you so much.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Severe weather threatening millions of Americans on the eve of July 4th. And it could make for another frustrating travel day and pour some cold water on your fireworks. We'll have more on that just ahead.

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[14:42:55]

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we are watching this hour.

Nearly three dozen people were injured when an SUV plowed into a bar and restaurant in New Hampshire. This happened Sunday afternoon in the town of Laconia. Police say a three-car accident in front of the building sent one of

the vehicles careening into this restaurant. None of the injuries are believed to be life threatening.

Also, the U.S. ambassador to Russia has met with jailed "Wall Street Journal" reporter Even Gershkovich. It is the second time Gershkovich has been granted consular access to the ambassador since he was detained back in March.

Last month, a Russian court upheld his extended detention in a Moscow prison until at least the end of August.

And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveling to Beijing later this week. She is going to be the second cabinet-level member to head to China since June as the Biden administration is trying to improve ties.

Yellen is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials. She is not expected, though, to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, incredible video out of Chicago where heavy rainfall brought severe flooding. That's downtown Chicago over the weekend. Crews had to rescue people who became stranded on the roads after the storm left their cars under water. You see there, that's dangerous.

The threat for Chicago now, thankfully, over, but millions of Americans remain on alert for severe weather.

And it's a long list, as the great Chad knows, damaging winds, tornadoes, dangerous heat.

Chad Myers, every time I talk to you, there's something big happening somewhere. It was raining cats and dogs over the weekend in D.C. We lost our power twice.

Tell us who is going to get hit next and with what.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You don't come to me when it's good weather.

SCIUTTO: I know.

MYERS: I never get to talk about sunny and 72 in San Diego.

SCIUTTO: Let's do that tomorrow. We'll look for the good weather tomorrow.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Tell us where the bad is.

MYERS: Perfect. Two areas, one around Rapid City in South Dakota and another area with a highly populated area here on the I-95 corridor, the mid-Atlantic all the way up into, really into Philadelphia. [14:44:58]

Yesterday, three tornadoes were on the ground. We had 250 wind reports. We may get that kind of number today. There's radar now popping up. Lightning popping up, as well.

And just in one minute, inside this red box, 663 lightning strikes have hit the ground. That's in one minute. That number will change at 665 because it's a running total as it updates every couple of seconds.

So, yes, a lot of lightning out there. That's what I'm truly concerned with today. Yes, there will be wind damage and even maybe the possibility of some hail, especially across the northeast here.

If you're outside -- so many people are outside -- and you get that lightning detector on your phone that says something's within 10 miles, you need to get inside because, today, there will be tens of thousands of strikes that come down today in a minute as we get into the afternoon and the heat of the day.

For tomorrow, I think parts of Nebraska, Kansas, toward Minneapolis, that's the area probably for the worst weather for fireworks if you're shooting fireworks off on Tuesday.

Big heat -- weather, big heat across parts of the Deep South and the southwest for tomorrow. Temperatures still going to approach 110 to 115 from Vegas to Phoenix and Twentynine Palms. Hot weather up there.

SCIUTTO: No question. I was going ask you about fireworks in this area tomorrow. Sounds like we're going to be OK but other folks have to watch out. We'll bring updates tomorrow.

Chad Myers, in the Weather Center, thank you so much.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: When life gave TikTok lemons, its owner made lemonade. Details on a new app and the national security concerns that go along with it. We'll be right back.

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[14:50:58]

SANCHEZ: Security concerns over TikTok are growing with more states banning the Chinese-owned app over concerns about user data. Despite that, a new app launched by TikTok's parent company is starting to gain traction in the United States.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us now live from New York.

Vanessa, what is Lemon8 and what does it do?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Lemon8 launched in the U.S. earlier this year and people are describing it as a mix between Instagram, Pinterest and a little bit of Tumbler.

But what it lacks in popularity here in the U.S., it makes up for in power. Strength in the fact that it is created by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.

So we spoke to social media influencers and security experts and asked them what they thought of the app and if they have any growing concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MADISON SHAPIRO, INFLUENCER, SISTERSNACKING: People started saying, oh, have you heard about Lemon8? And I'm like, what is this? Like lemonade? What - I don't know.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): With more than half a million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined --

(on camera): You guys are known as?

SHAPIRO: Sistersnacking.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): -- even they hadn't heard of Lemon8.

SHAPIRO: People were saying it was TikTok's new app -- kind of like a mix between Instagram and Pinterest.

YURKEVICH: They joined Lemon8 in April and have less than 40 followers, but say it isn't about follower count for them just yet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you hear about something like this, especially if it's from TikTok, you want to make sure you're some of the first people there.

YURKEVICH: Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, the same company behind TikTok. That's raising some eyebrows among security experts and lawmakers.

But TikTok has 150 million users in the U.S. compared to Lemon8, which has only 900,000 active monthly users, and say they are "Creating a community where people discover and share content related to beauty, fashion, travel, and more in an authentic and diverse environment."

LINDSAY GORMAN, SENIOR FELLOW, GERMAN MARSHALL FUND, ALLIANCE FOR SECURITY DEMOCRACY: Even when you're talking about a platform like Lemon8, which can start with something that seems quite benign, there might be less of a national security concern.

But four, five years ago when we started raising the alarm about TikTok, we encountered the same thing.

YURKEVICH: Now, bills like the Restrict Act are swirling around Congress to address concerns that foreign countries could access U.S. user data through social media apps.

SHOU ZI CHEW, CEO, TIKTOK: Two years ago, I became the CEO of TikTok. YURKEVICH: TikTok's CEO testified in March he's seen no evidence the

Chinese government has accessed any of that data. Lemon8 declined to answer questions about where data on its app is stored.

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Good afternoon, everyone.

YURKEVICH: The bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Mark Warner, told CNN, "Today, we're talking about TikTok, but as the growth of Lemon8 shows, new apps and tools are popping up constantly. We need a real strategy to address them. No more Whack-A-Mole."

GORMAN: I think it's definitely possible that ByteDance is seeing some of the writing on the wall with TikTok in the U.S. and is looking for a plan B.

YURKEVICH: N.K. Medani says she was hired and paid by an influencer agency to create content promoting Lemon8.

N.K. MEDANI, INFLUENCER: I was a little skeptical at first. I didn't know what it was. I had never heard of it.

YURKEVICH: But now she says she's having fun exploring what Lemon8 could be, but it's not rival to TikTok yet.

MEDANI: That buzz of Lemon8 came from the almost removal of TikTok. A lot more people are talking about it now but I think it is solely because of that mini scare that we all had.

YURKEVICH: And where consumers are, brands follow.

FIONA CO CHAN, FOUNDER, YOUTHFORIA: I think social media has driven a lot of our organic awareness, so I think it accounts for about 85 percent of our sales.

YURKEVICH: The beauty brand Youthforia found massive success on TikTok and is seeing it if can squeeze some more juice out of Lemon8.

CHAN: I think the fact that it's created by a parent company that's really successful -- is very, very successful at creating a social media platform that was really interesting, and I'm watching it kind of pick up steam.

It's still to be determined if Lemon8 is going to be that platform for us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:55:04]

YURKEVICH: And we asked these influencers whether they shared the concerns about their privacy, data or Lemon8 and TikTok's connection to China and they said they do not.

And that is because a lot of these influencers have become incredibly successful, particularly on TikTok. They've made a lot of money. They're hoping to replicate that with Lemon8. They admit that they only have each about a couple dozen followers.

But they're hoping that because TikTok has become so successful under ByteDance, Lemon8 will follow.

Of course, time will tell. But that's initially, Boris, why they got on Lemon8 in the first place, just in case it takes off just like TikTok -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Commerce continues to rule all in that space.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: A concerned former OceanGate employee sent a prophetic email obtained by "The New Yorker" about the "Titan" submersible and the dangers long before its deadly end. That's coming up next hour on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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