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Biden, Harris Speak To Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu About Ceasefire Talks; Ukraine Launches Drone Attack On Russia's Kursk Region; Interview With Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO): Tim Walz Military Service And His Acceptance Speech. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 21, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We have news just into CNN. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris just spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about ceasefire and hostage negotiations. The call comes at a critical point in the talks.

Netanyahu reportedly said earlier there may not be a deal. Some gaps still exist, including whether Israeli troops can stay in an area on the Gaza-Egypt border. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that this may be, quote, the last opportunity to reach a deal.

Keep in mind, Gaza's health ministry says more than 40,000 people have been killed since Hamas attacked Israel last October.

Meantime, in eastern Europe, Ukraine is pushing into Russia's key Kursk region with multiple drone attacks. But it is still facing a tough battle inside Ukraine's own borders.

This Ukrainian military video shows artillery strikes on Russian troops advancing in Ukraine east of Pokrovsk. Moscow launched an overnight drone strike at the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The fighting, the most intense fighting, though, is in its eastern region. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned some residents there to evacuate.

Let's get the latest now with CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt. So, Alex, take us through these back- and-forth drone attacks.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the past 24 hours, Boris, has really underscored what an intense drone war this is. Really the first of its kind in modern warfare. So we saw these waves of drones launched by each side at the other.

Some 45 Ukrainian drones were taken down by the Russians, according to Russia. 11 of them in the Moscow region alone.

[15:35:00]

That means those Ukrainian drones managed to fly some 280 miles from the Ukrainian border, which really does speak to the advances that the Ukrainians have made in their own drone technology. The Moscow mayor said that this is one of the largest attempts, he said, to attack Moscow with drones of all time.

And then on the Russian side, they launched some 69 drones towards Ukraine, including towards the Ukrainian capital, combined with missiles. Most of those were shot down, according to Ukrainian officials.

But this really does come amid a major spike in activity on the battlefield inside both Russia and Ukraine. You had that extraordinary operation by Ukraine that started two weeks ago. Ukrainian troops pouring into the Kursk region, taking over territory as far as 35 kilometers or 22 miles inside Russia. The Ukrainians have taken over some 90 Russian villages and settlements.

And we actually have new satellite imagery showing that the Russians are digging in. They're putting trenches in place, defensive positions in place on their own territory to prevent the Ukrainians from advancing.

Now, that's not to say that the Ukrainians are the only ones advancing. Inside Ukraine, you have the Russians doing the same farther south in the Donetsk region. They are pushing towards a city called Pokrovsk.

And Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as regional officials, have urged locals to evacuate. There's some 60,000 residents in the region that they want to evacuate. Zelenskyy is saying that they are strengthening themselves in order to defend against the Russians. This is a very dynamic battlefield.

SANCHEZ: Yes, thanks so much for keeping an eye on it. Alex Marquardt with the latest. Thank you so much.

Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. U.S. job growth this year has not been quite as strong as initially thought. The Bureau of Labor Statistics every year refines its numbers. And now it says it overestimated job growth by more than 800,000 jobs. This is the largest downward revision since 2009. Economists say that could seal the argument for a Fed interest rate cut this September.

Meantime, a New York appeals court is going to hear oral arguments in Donald Trump's civil fraud case on September 26th. That makes it unlikely for a decision to be reached by Election Day. The former president is fighting Judge Arthur Engoron's order, finding him liable for fraud and ordering him to pay the $454 million judgment.

And a standoff near the DNC in Chicago is over. U.S. marshals say a man who barricaded himself inside a restaurant near the convention is now in custody. Officials say Joshua Zimmerman had been on the run since June after escaping from a jail in Mississippi. He'd apparently been working in Chicago. He was being held on attempted murder and armed robbery charges before the escape.

Still to come on NEWS CENTRAL.

Governor Tim Walz is still facing attacks and questions about his military service. In just moments, we're going to speak to an Army veteran serving in Congress about how he thinks the vice presidential nominee should approach the subject during his big speech tonight. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:50]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, we are back here at the United Center in Chicago for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and I'm joined by Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado, who I just want to be exact here, is of course a former Army Ranger, Bronze Star recipient, and also now a Harris-Walz campaign surrogate.

And I mention all of that to say, I want to ask you about some of these attacks by Republicans on Tim Walz's military service. And I think the Democrats feel they're very unfair, but they -- and we've seen this before -- have been effective in some ways.

How does he need to confront this, and does he need to do it tonight?

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO), HARRIS CAMPAIGN SURROGATE: Well, I don't think this is an issue of fairness or not. This is an issue of truth versus lies, right? The truth is, Tim Walz has 24 years of honorable service.

They can't attack his policies. They can't attack his messages because they know it's very popular. So they're trying to do classic political character assassination.

It's not going to work, though, because it's not true. He has a long and distinguished history of service, and that stands on its own.

KEILAR: He has been inexact talking about his retired rank versus what he achieved in service, versus what he retained upon retirement, talking about carrying a weapon of war into war, which obviously he did not do. Does he need to clear that up?

CROW: No, you know, the issue of the rank, people in the military actually know this distinction, that you can hold a position in the military, but not achieve all of the requirements for it, the training in this case. But he held the position of command sergeant major in his battalion. That's the highest ranking NCO, which is actually significant because that makes him the highest ranking enlisted person ever to be on a presidential ticket, which is a win for working class America because military veterans know that the NCOs, the enlisted are the backbone of the military.

This is a really significant moment in history for us.

KEILAR: What do you want to hear from Walz tonight?

CROW: Well he's going to talk about a lot of things that I can relate to. You know, I grew up working class. I grew up working minimum wage jobs and fast food. I worked in construction to put my way through college. You know, that is an experience that so many millions of Americans can relate to, and that is his life. That's his lived experience. [15:45:05]

So I think you're going to hear him talk about what it was like to be a public school teacher, to be a football coach, to grow up working class, to be an enlisted soldier in our National Guard. It's an incredible experience, and I look forward to the message.

KEILAR: Do you think -- I guess, what more do you think Democrats should be doing on the issue of the economy, which is so important to voters? It's really their top issue.

CROW: We need to just continue to do what we've been doing and recognize that there's a lot of people that are struggling. You know, like I said, I grew up working class. I know what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck in that struggle.

And we're not where we need to be, but we're making progress. Just this last week, inflation dropped below 3 percent, the first time since early 2021. So the trend is in the right direction.

We passed incredible things in the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. My constituents, the fact that insulin is now capped at $30 a month, the fact that now 10 of the most common and most expensive drugs are significantly reduced in prices. These are wins, and that is money in the pocket of my constituents and people around the country, and we're just going to talk about it.

KEILAR: Michelle Obama seemed to warn last night about this idea of once, sort of a, not an if, but a when, this ticket comes back down to earth, because things are going pretty well right now. Even Republicans will admit that. What do Democrats need to keep in mind? And are you worried about when things do come back down to earth?

CROW: Well, first of all, Michelle Obama blew the roof off this place last night. It was unbelievable. You know, she really brought the heat. It was an incredible speech. And you know, she just talked to folks in the way that she does, right? It was frank. It was just blunt talk, which is what we have to continue to do.

So I don't know about coming back down to earth. I mean, we know this is going to be a tight race. Everybody that I talk to knows this is going to be a tight race, right? This is a comeback operation. We are working hard. We're getting the message out. We have, you know, 75- plus days. We have a lot of work to do.

KEILAR: Do you think Americans know who Tim Walz is and know who Kamala Harris is? The polls indicate that they don't, or at least a significant portion of them don't. Is there enough time to really introduce themselves?

CROW: There's definitely enough time. And we are continuing to do that, right? First of all, Vice President Harris has been the Vice President of the United States for almost four years now.

I think people know who she is, her character, her integrity. But we're going to tell more of that story. We're going to introduce her policies.

And the same thing with Tim Walz as well. We're going to tell the story, which, frankly, is the story of a lot of Americans. So people are going to be able to relate to that. And I'm pretty excited to tell it.

KEILAR: Congressman, thank you so much for speaking with us.

CROW: Thank you.

KEILAR: All right. We have much more ahead from night three of the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago. We'll be back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:23]

SANCHEZ: Get ready. Get ready for some purple rain tonight. We're learning more about the star musical acts that are going to be performing at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Just before Vice President Kamala Harris takes the podium tomorrow night, sources tell CNN that Pink will take the stage. And tonight, John Legend is going to open up for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz playing some of Prince's biggest hits.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us now with this exclusive CNN reporting. Elizabeth, break this down for us.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Boris. So along with Jamie Gangel, we have gotten reporting that yes, tonight John Legend is going to perform and tomorrow night, the big closing performance is going to come from Pink. So let's start first with John Legend.

As you said, he is going to perform a tribute to Prince. Now, the reason why this is relevant, of course, Prince hails from Minnesota, and that is where Governor Walz hails from. So this will be an introduction of sorts from John Legend.

Now, John Legend has a long history of supporting the Democratic Party. He performed at the DNC back in 2008 for Obama and also in 2020 for President Biden.

Now, tomorrow, when Pink takes the stage, this will be her first major political performance. Although, of course, she has been very outspoken about her political beliefs. Pink is one of the biggest stars in pop music. She has been for decades.

And over the years, she hasn't been shy, Boris, about speaking up for LGBTQ rights and women's rights. So it'll be interesting to see what she has to say, what she will perform on the stage. But, you know, she's known for acrobatics.

So I think it'll be a pretty, pretty stellar performance.

SANCHEZ: Yes, she hasn't been shy about dangling from cables from the roof. We'll see if she does that tomorrow night.

Elizabeth, this is obviously following a long list of performers and celebrities we've seen at the convention so far, including Lil Jon.

How is this Hollywood energy impacting the event?

WAGMEISTER: You know, this really has been, really seems like the Obama years, Boris. You remember that Hollywood really rallied around the Obamas. And the excitement that we are seeing now for Harris reminds us of that.

Certainly, it would have been much different if President Biden were at the top of the ticket when sources tell me that Hollywood celebrities were reluctant to come out and support him. Now, with Harris, it's the complete opposite.

As you said, we got a surprise appearance from Lil Jon last night. Of course, that roll call was highly energized, unlike anything that we have ever seen at a political convention before.

[15:55:00]

We saw Eva Longoria repping Texas, Spike Lee repping New York. So a lot of celebrity faces, of course, also the celebrity hosts. I broke the news for us earlier this week that each night has a different host.

Tony Goldwyn kicked off the week. And tonight will be Mindy Kaling taking the stage.

Now, I also do want to point out one last piece of breaking news for you, Boris. Along with our own Betsy Klein, we have just learned that country star Maren Morris will also be performing tonight. This is a big deal because country stars have historically leaned more conservative. But Maren Morris has been one of the most outspoken liberal stars in the country music scene.

And Betsy and our team on the ground, they just saw her soundtrack. So a little information for you there.

SANCHEZ: A great tidbit. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much for the reporting.

CNN's coverage of the Democratic National Convention continues on "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper after a quick break.

Thanks for spending your afternoon with us.