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Israel Launches Large-Scale Military Operation in West Bank; Supreme Court Leaves Biden's Student Loan Repayment Plan Blocked; Harris and Walz Sit Down with CNN for First Joint Interview Tomorrow; Foo Fighters, Beyonce and Others Tell Trump, Stop Playing Our Songs. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 28, 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]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Hamas is calling for escalation and mobilization after Israel carried out raids and airstrikes in multiple parts of the occupied West Bank. A spokesperson for the IDF says it carried out the operation to remove, quote, immediate terror threats in real time, threats which they say are linked to Iran. Palestinian health officials say at least 10 people were killed.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is with us now from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, tell us what you're learning.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this appears to be one of the most extensive Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank in years. What we are seeing is a pretty significant mobilization of Israeli troops, Israeli border police officers, all raiding two key Palestinian cities of Jenin and Tulkarm, as well as the surrounding area. Not only are they accompanied by D9 bulldozers that are tearing up the streets in these areas out of concern for potential IEDs, but they are also getting support via airstrikes from the air. At least 10 people are dead, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The Israeli military says that it is carrying out these raids for two key reasons. The first of which is they believe that Iran is trying to flood the West Bank with additional weapons. That's an assessment that we've heard from the United States as well. And they also say that a number of recent attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians have been carried out by militants stemming from these two cities in the West Bank. This isn't happening in a vacuum, of course.

We know that since October 7th, there have been near daily raids by the Israeli military in the West Bank. And there have also been a number of attacks against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank from Palestinian militants. And more recently, there was also this failed suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, an explosion that happened, but thankfully didn't kill anybody.

That also appears to be part of the context for this operation. That's very much intended to show quite a bit of force from the Israeli military. KEILAR: And, Jeremy, the Israeli military says the body of a soldier abducted on October 7th and held hostage in Gaza was returned to Israel. What more are you learning?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. The Israeli military says that it recovered the body of this soldier, brought his body back to Israel. They are not releasing the identity of the soldier, although they say the family has been notified but has requested that his identity not be released.

We know that that now leaves us with 107 hostages who are still being held captive in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli government.

We heard today, though, also from one of the hostages who was rescued alive. And that was Farhan al-Qadi, who not only was rescued yesterday in a tunnel in Gaza, he emerged today also from an Israeli hospital, returned back home with his family.

And while he was there, he spoke to reporters. He said that he was happy to see the light of day after so long in the darkness. And he also called for the return of the remaining hostages in a ceasefire deal that would see them come home -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Jeremy Diamond, live for us from Tel Aviv, thank you for that.

And still ahead, a huge moment for the Harris/Walz campaign. The vice president and Minnesota governor sitting down exclusively with CNN for the first interview of their campaign.

We'll talk with former White House chief of staff, former CIA director, and former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta about what they need to accomplish.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Some news just in from the Supreme Court. The justices have declined to lift a sweeping block on President Joe Biden's new student loan repayment plan. CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic is joining us now.

Joan, what does this mean?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Sure, Boris, good to see you. This is just another protracted step in the ongoing fight over just what the Biden administration, what any administration can do to alleviate student loan burden and the high cost of college and university study.

[15:40:00]

You'll probably remember that about a year ago, the Supreme Court totally struck down a Biden loan forgiveness program that would have, you know, affected some 43 million student borrowers. This program is more modest, the one we're talking about here. It would affect about 8 million borrowers.

And instead of being a total forgiveness program, it's a repayment restructuring that would lessen the amount of monthly payments that borrowers would have to give. And also speed their path to loan forgiveness down the road. As I said, it would affect about 8 million borrowers.

Right now, however, for anyone who's covered by this particular program, they should know that the Biden administration had already put it on hold and instituted an interest forbearance program so that people don't have to make their monthly payments under this right now, as they would have been scheduled just because of the legal uncertainty.

With the Supreme Court, the Biden administration lawyers had gone to the Supreme Court, challenging a very sweeping order by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is in the Midwestern part of the country, that had negated the effect of the Biden plan universally throughout the country. And the Supreme Court said no, but it did say that it expects the 8th Circuit to give a final ruling with some dispatch and not a single justice at least dissented publicly -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Joan Biskupic, thank you so much for clarifying that for us.

BISKUPIC: Sure.

SANCHEZ: Thanks -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Vice President Kamala Harris has just landed in Georgia, where she and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, are kicking off a bus tour in battleground, Georgia, one day before their first sit-down interview since becoming the new Democratic ticket. This is an exclusive interview that you'll see right here tomorrow on CNN with our own Dana Bash. And I think we have some pictures, actually, of her plane arriving there in Savannah that we'll be able to show you here in just a moment.

Actually, here's the pool picture coming to us of the vice president's plane, so we'll be waiting for her to deplane there in Savannah. Joining us now is Leon Panetta. He was defense secretary and CIA director under President Obama and also served as White House chief of staff for President Clinton.

He has endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket. And thank you so much, sir, for being with us to talk about this. I wonder what you think undecided voters need to hear from Harris and Walz in their interview with Dana Bash.

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY, CIA DIRECTOR UNDER OBAMA: Well, I think this is a great opportunity to be able to discuss not only issues that are involved in this campaign, very important issues, but also talk about the election itself and how they're going to conduct the campaign to be able to win in November. I think it helps to be transparent, particularly with the public and with the media. And I think Dana Bash is probably the perfect person to ask very tough questions of both of them. It's a good thing.

KEILAR: I do agree with you on that about Dana. So Harris is going to be giving this interview on the eve of what is the third anniversary of America's total withdrawal from Afghanistan. You spoke last week at the DNC forcefully making the case for Harris's commander in chief.

Does she carry the legacy of President Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal, in your opinion?

PANETTA: Well, you know, look, this this is the president's decision. From my experience as chief of staff, it's the president who makes a decision like that. And there's no question in my mind that Joe Biden carried this decision because he felt deeply about trying to remove the troops from Afghanistan.

The fact that that the vice president was in the room, along with I'm sure other members of the National Security Council, you know, they are without question there to listen. But at the same time, they just don't bear the same responsibility that the president bears with regards to the final decision.

KEILAR: You hear Trump allies say Russia looked at the Afghanistan withdrawal. They saw it as a green light to go into Ukraine. Hamas looked at it, saw it as a green light to attack Israel.

And they blame Harris for that. I hear you obviously saying that's a leap that they cannot so effectively make. But what do you say to that criticism?

PANETTA: Well, look, I don't think there's any question that mistakes were made with regards to the withdrawal that should not have happened. And, you know, you're never quite sure what signals were or were not sent to Putin.

[15:45:00]

My experience is that Putin for a long time decided that he had a license to go into Crimea, go into Syria and go into other areas.

So it seems that he was pretty intent on going into Ukraine no matter what. So to be able to tie it to a particular decision here, I think, is a little bit of a stretch.

KEILAR: Our Manu Raju is reporting that congressional Democrats argue Harris does not need to focus on laying out a detailed policy agenda, that she should instead highlight the contrast in values between herself and former President Trump. Do you agree with that?

PANETTA: Look, I think it is important to discuss the issues that you believe in, in a way that the American people understand. But you also have to have the backup in terms of making sure that when you're asked about particular aspects of an issue that you're discussing that you know that issue and you know the answers to questions about that particular issue. So, yes, look, I think it's important to talk to the American people

in a way that they understand what you're trying to do in order to direct this country to a better path in the future.

As to questions that go into particulars about that position, you better damn well know the answers to specific questions, because that will test whether or not you're just talking in broad terms or whether you really have a specific policy that you want to put in place.

KEILAR: Secretary Panetta, great to have you. Thank you so much for being with us.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

KEILAR: And still ahead, what do the Foo Fighters, Celine Dion and Beyonce have in common? We have that next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We have breaking news into CNN. A former Las Vegas, Nevada politician has been found guilty of killing a reporter who had done critical stories about his office. Prosecutors accused 47-year-old Robert Telles of stabbing Jeff German, who worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Telles was a former Clark County public administrator, and his articles exposed turmoil in his office. Telles was said to be concerned about another upcoming article, and prosecutors say he wore a disguise, including a large sun hat, hiding outside the reporter's home before killing him. Telles now faces a life sentence.

Former President Trump is in trouble yet again for playing unauthorized music at his campaign rallies, this time from the Foo Fighters. The rock band joins megastars including Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, and Beyonce, who want the former president to stop playing their songs as well, but can they actually stop him?

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is following the fight. Elizabeth, Trump has had similar battles in the past with Rihanna, Guns N' Roses, The Rolling Stones as well. What's the latest here?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is certainly not the first time that an artist has spoken out against Trump and his campaign for using their music. But the latest now is involving a whole host of stars, including none other than Beyonce. You'll remember that last month I exclusively reported that Beyonce gave her sign-off for the Harris campaign to use her song Freedom, which is why many people thought it was strange when the Trump campaign posted a video of the former president, which was set to Beyonce's song.

Now, Beyonce reportedly sent a cease and desist, her label rather reportedly threatened that cease and desist, and shortly after that video was taken down. Now, we've obtained a statement from Trump's spokesperson, and here's what they have to say about that video.

Quote: The purpose of the post just proved the point that Democrats are all about banning things, including freedom. They fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Now, that's an interesting take, and maybe there's a bit of humor involved there, but this really isn't about banning anything, Boris. This is about music rights and clearances, which are very complicated and very litigious.

Now, Beyonce is not the only star to speak out. The Foo Fighters have also said that they did not give Trump their permission to use their song at a rally last week when RFK Jr. came up to join him. Now, Trump's spokesperson told me last night that they did in fact license their song, but a rep for the Foo Fighters is saying, no, we did not give permission.

Now, where this is complicated, Boris, is it is possible that you license the music from the publisher or from whoever owns the rights to the music? The artist, though, the songwriter can still object to it, and depending on which state you're in, there are rights to publicity, certainly if an artist's music is used for politics where they could have protections.

SANCHEZ: Elizabeth Wagmeister, thanks so much for the update there.

Still ahead, Pizza Hut, where you can get food and furniture? We'll discuss in just a moment.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Next time you order a pizza, you could score a free table as well. Pizza Hut is now offering a special pizza box that turns into a mini table. But there is a catch.

It's only for customers who are moving to three cities. Dallas, Charlotte, and Orlando. And may still be awaiting their furniture arrival.

KEILAR: So Pizza Hut said it chose these cities based off a Penske truck rental list that ranked them among the country's top moving destinations. Pizza Hut's chief marketing officer says many can relate to the chaos that comes with moving. And the last thing you want to worry about is unpacking to enjoy a hard-earned meal at the end of a long day.

SANCHEZ: Who doesn't enjoy a nice glass of red wine with their pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut on the Pizza Hut table? I think it's a great idea.

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KEILAR: You are drinking that out of the bottle if you're in that situation because where are your glasses?

SANCHEZ: I didn't think of that. But I was told that we might get one of these pizzas things in here. Unfortunately, given the update on where they're available, they're not available in D.C. Nevertheless, I feel like I was deceived and we're owed a pizza.

KEILAR: It's fair. We did pitch this story thinking we might get a snack out of it. And alas, we didn't.

SANCHEZ: Some dreams were not meant to come true. But that's a nice- looking table. I wouldn't mind having that in here.

KEILAR: Yes, I guess it works. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.

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