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Netanyahu Vows "Severe" Response To Attack That Killed 12 Children; Official: No Breakthrough In Latest Rounds Of Ceasefire Talks; Sources Reveal How Supreme Court Compromised On Idaho Abortion Ban; Most U.S. Renters Fear They'll Never Own A Home. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 29, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing that their response to this weekend's rocket attack that killed 12 kids will be severe.

Netanyahu issued the warning today while visiting the site of the strike in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the Israel-Lebanon border.

Now, Israel is blaming Hezbollah for the attack. The militant group is denying responsibility.

Yet, amid fears of a wider regional conflict, the U.S. embassy in Beirut issued this warning to Americans: Get out now or prepare to shelter in place for long periods of time.

Joining us now is CNN political and global affairs analyst, Barak Ravid. He's also the politics and foreign policy reporter for Axios.

Barak, great to see you.

What are your sources telling you about what a potential response from Israel might look like?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, what I hear from Israeli officials that there's going to be a significant response.

The security cabinet, last night, authorized Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Gallant to take the decision about the exact scope and timing of that strike.

I think the Israeli military's sort of waiting for the right operational opportunity, which means that it might be today, it might take another day, it might take another two days. It's still unclear when exactly this response is going to take place.

SANCHEZ: There was a warning from Lebanon's foreign minister, who said that they believe that an Israeli war against Hezbollah wouldn't be isolated. It wouldn't just be Hezbollah. He even vowed that Lebanese forces would get involved.

What are you hearing about the potential for a broader escalation?

RAVID: So that's that was one of the main issues that the Israeli cabinet discussed last night. I mean, how do you get to a situation where, on the one hand, you conduct a significant response to the killing of 12 children and teenagers by Hezbollah.

[13:35:01]

But on the other hand, not get dragged into an all-out war with Hezbollah while you're still fighting in Gaza. And many Israeli officials I talked to are not sure that there's this -- you know, that you can find this balance.

And this is why this thing is so dangerous. And this is why I say it was a bit strange to hear White House spokesman, John Kirby, today saying that the scenario of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah is exaggerated.

I don't think that Israeli officials, who deal with this issue, think this is exaggerated. I don't think U.S. officials, who deal with this issue, is exaggerated.

SANCHEZ: That's a fascinating discrepancy because usually the U.S. has been the one warning about the potential for a broader conflict, not necessarily the other way around.

I'm also curious, Barak, the -- this is all happening in the background of the hostage and ceasefire negotiations. Last week, we heard U.S. officials, including the secretary of state, say that talks were on the 10-yard line. Where does it appear that they are now? Are we any closer to a deal?

RAVID: Look, I'm not an expert on football, but if I'll take a metaphor from the soccer world, I think both teams are still passing the ball in midfield. And no one is pushing forward to score.

That's where we are right now. That's my that's my feeling from speaking to people on the Israeli side and with the mediators and with U.S. officials. It doesn't seem to me that we're getting close to a deal.

SANCHEZ: It does strike me that it was just last week that you had Netanyahu here in the nation's capital meeting, not only with President Biden, but also with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, we should note.

There was a lot of attention focused on the vice president's remarks after that meeting. I'm wondering how you see the response, not just from Netanyahu's orbit, but other Israeli officials, to remarks that Harris made about the war in Gaza.

RAVID: Well, when you look at the remarks themselves and the substance of them, they're not different at all than things that President Biden said many times before. And to be honest, not very different from things that President Trump,

former President Trump said the same day several hours before, where he also called for ending the war as soon as possible and for a return -- returning of the hostages.

Obviously, there were other nuances between him and Kamala Harris that we're not the same, especially the ones that have to do with the suffering of the people in Gaza that Trump did not that mentioned at all.

But I think what happened was that Netanyahu met with Harris and he did not know that right after she's going to go and hold this on- camera statement. I think it was caught off guard. I think -- and he doesn't like to be caught off guard on such a thing.

And I think his reaction was a combination of an immediate jerk reaction of, why, why is she doing this statement that I didn't know of? And second is, let's push back immediately regardless of what she actually said.

SANCHEZ: Barak Ravid, always great to get your perspective. Thanks for being with us.

RAVID: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come on NEWS CENTRAL, an exclusive inside look at how the Supreme Court justices into their ruling allowing doctors in Idaho to provide emergency abortions. That reporting you won't find anywhere else. That's next.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: This just in. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have announced the members of Congress who will serve on the bipartisan House task force on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

There are seven Republicans and six Democrats on the task force. The Republican chairman is Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Kelly. He represents Pennsylvania's 16th district. He lives in Butler, of course, the site of the assassination attempt.

The ranking member of this taskforce will be Colorado Democratic Congressman and former Army ranger, Jason Crow. This task force has full investigative authority, including subpoena power. We'll be speaking to a member of the taskforce next hour.

CNN is also learning some exclusive new details about the Supreme Courts surprising decision to allow emergency abortions in Idaho.

The June 6-3 ruling had three conservative justices siding with liberals coming to a compromise on the state's strict law, which had outright banned abortions except for if the pregnant woman's life was in jeopardy.

We have CNN, chief Supreme Court analyst, Joan Biskupic, here with her exclusive reporting.

The decision did not come lightly. Tell us what happened here.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: No. And what I wanted to know is how they could go from, in January, an order that said that Idaho could it enforce its ban across the board, even in emergency rooms when women might come in with complications.

Because, as you said, the Idaho ban only had an exception for the death of a woman as opposed to prevent real health consequences.

But what happened is, over the months, justice, the justices, sort of at the center of the court, led by Amy Coney Barrett, became aware of how this was affecting things on the ground.

[13:45:02]

Women were being airlifted out of Idaho to other states when they we're having problems with pregnancies. And she convinced Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh, at the center, to just outright dismiss this case.

But the thing is, other conservatives didn't want to dismiss this case. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said, we want to keep this case and we want to side with Idaho.

So for once, in a rare moment, liberals had some leverage here. So the liberals joined with those conservatives at the center to say, OK, we will dismiss this case if you lift that order from January that let this law take effect.

So it was quite -- quite a lot of drama behind the scenes. And when they met in their conference, everybody was so divided, the conservative bloc that had let this law take effect, had splintered that Chief Justice John Roberts couldn't even assign the case to anyone. They had to sort of work it out for dismissal.

KEILAR: Wow. And it's so interesting Amy Coney Barrett's role in this particular case.

BISKUPIC: Yes.

KEILAR: But I also wonder what it tells you. And as you watched her, since she joined the court, how her role has shifted over time?

BISKUPIC: It has. And she has moved more and more to the left. She is definitely not regarded as a liberal, Brianna. I want to make sure our audience doesn't think we suddenly have a different kind of justice in play here.

But over the years, the chief justice has played a kind of a centrist role at times. Brett Kavanaugh has, in a few rare instances. But she not only moved slightly over to the left in this case, she did

it in a few others that could suggest where she might be going to break in an independent way from her conservative brethren on the right in the future -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Really interesting.

Joan, thank you so much. Wonderful exclusive reporting. We really appreciate it.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

At least eight people were hospitalized for stab wounds after an attack in the U.K., in the northern town of Southport. Some of the victims were transported to a children's hospital, suggesting that some of them are actually children.

There's no word on the victims' condition to this point. A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the stabbings. The attack, though, is not thought to be terror-related.

Also to high-profile cartel leaders are headed to court. Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez face several charges for allegedly leading the criminal operations of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel.

Lopez is expected to appear in U.S. federal court tomorrow in Chicago. Zambada pleaded not guilty to all charges in his court appearance Friday. He's being held without bond and he's expected to be back in court on Wednesday.

And out west, California's Park Fire, one of the largest in this state's history, is now 12 percent contained. CalFire officials say it has destroyed more than 100 structures, scorching nearly 370,000 acres. That's an area larger than the city of Phoenix.

Now, folks in the town of Paradise, which was incinerated by the Camp Fire in 2018, are being told they are under an evacuation warning and should be prepared at any moment to leave.

Still ahead, new polling shows that most American renters now think the American dream of owning their own home is just a pipe dream. Details next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: For many renters, the American dream is fading. For a long time, owning a home was seen as one of the best paths to middle-class prosperity and to building generational wealth.

But a new poll shows that many renters think buying a home these days is simply out of reach. CNN's Matt Egan has the troubling numbers for us.

And, Matt, when we talk about the numbers behind the economy being sound and this being a great economy, a lot of people don't feel that way and it's because of this.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, that's right. Exactly, Boris. This American dream of homeownership, it does feel out of reach for far too many people. They want to buy. But they feel like they can't, because mortgage rates are high and home prices are even higher. And so some of them, they're throwing in the towel, they're walking away.

This brand-new CNN poll shows that 86 percent of renters say they would like to buy a home, but they just can't, 86 percent. Only 13 percent say they could buy a home, but they're just choosing not to.

Now if you dig in a little bit further, we can see that among the people who say they can't afford it right now, only 46 percent think that eventually they'll be able to. Most of them, 54 percent, say that that is not likely.

So this really does speak to some people's pessimism on this front and really a sense of hopelessness among renters.

This is a concern when you talk about the economy, because, listen, as you mentioned, homeownership, that is the ticket to building wealth in America.

And so this housing affordability crisis, it's actually widening the gap between haves and have nots, right? Homeowners, their net worth is going up as home prices go higher and higher. Everyone else, though, they're on the outside looking in.

SANCHEZ: And now what are some of the obstacles keeping people out?

EGAN: Well, one obstacle is the mortgages. And 17 percent of people who can afford to buy right now, they said that their inability to qualify for a mortgage is the biggest issue.

[13:54:59]

We also saw about one in three, 31 percent, say the biggest problem for them is interest rates. Now, there is good news on that front because, a year ago, mortgage rates were almost at eight 8 percent. Now they are below 7 percent.

And they could go lower, especially if the Federal Reserve signals later this week that they are prepared to start lowering interest rates.

But the number-one obstacle is the downpayment. And 40 percent said that that is the biggest barrier for them.

Remember, the median home in the U.S. is selling for more than $400,000. So even if you're just putting down 10 percent, that means you need $40,000 for the downpayment, plus another $10,000 for closing costs. A lot of people can't come up with that cash right now.

And I spoke to a father of twins outside of Atlanta, 40-years-old. And he told me that he was just dismayed at how expensive homes are right now.

He said, "I'm not going to pay $350,000 for a rundown house. I'm not going to play your game anymore. I'm done."

He said that this has taken an emotional toll on him because he felt like a failure as a husband and as a father.

So, listen, Boris, hopefully, mortgage rates come down and home prices calm down, because it is very tough out there right now for first-time homebuyers.

SANCHEZ: No question about that. And we may potentially see electoral consequences because of it.

Matt Egan, thanks so much for the reporting.

Still to come, new polling out showing how Vice President Kamala Harris is faring against former President Donald Trump. The narrowing enthusiasm gap between voters is something to discuss, too.

We'll be right back.

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