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Kamala Harris Speaks on Reproductive Rights During a Georgia Campaign Event; Lebanon: 14 Dead, Dozens Injured in Israel Strike Near Beirut; Welcome Week Aims to Help Military Families on the Move. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 20, 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]

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: ... dependence. Her family was telling me that she was able to get an apartment in a gated community with a pool for her son to play in. She was so proud and she was headed to nursing school. And her name, and we will speak her name, Amber Nicole Thurman.

Amber Nicole Thurman.

CROWD: Amber Nicole Thurman.

HARRIS: That's right.

And she had her future all planned out and it was her plan. You know, let's understand, just take pause on that for a moment. She had her plan, what she wanted to do for her son, for herself, for their future.

And so when she discovered that she was pregnant, she decided she wanted to have an abortion. But because of the Trump abortion ban here in Georgia, she was forced to travel out of state to receive the healthcare that she needed. But when she returned to Georgia, she needed additional care.

So she went to a hospital. But you see, under the Trump abortion ban, her doctors could have faced up to a decade in prison for providing Amber the care she needed. Understand what a law like this means.

Doctors have to wait until the patient is at death's door before they take action. You know, on the other side of my, you know, the other folks, Trump and his running mate, and they'll talk about, oh, yes, but I, you know, I do believe in the exception to save the mother's life. OK.

All right. Let's break that down, shall we?

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Let's break that down.

So we're saying that we're going to create public policy that says that a doctor, a healthcare provider will only kick in to give the care that somebody needs if they're about to die.

Think about what we are saying right now. You're saying that good policy, logical policy, moral policy, humane policy is about saying that a healthcare provider will only start providing that care when you're about to die. And so Amber waited 20 hours, 20 hours, excruciating hours, until finally she was in enough physical distress that her doctors thought they would be OK to treat her.

But it was too late. She died of sepsis. And her last words to her mother, which her mother, as you know, tears up and cries every time she speaks it, last words to her mother, promise me you'll take care of my son.

So I met last night, and I spent time with Amber's mother and her sisters, and they spoke about Amber, a daughter, a sister, a mother, with the deep love that you can imagine, and how terribly they miss her. And their pain is heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking.

Amber's mother, Shanet (ph), told me that the word preventable is over and over again in her head when she learned about how her child died. The word preventable, she cannot -- she can't stop thinking about the word that they spoke to her. It was preventable.

Because, you see, medical experts have now determined that Amber's death was preventable. And through the pain and the grief of her mother, who courageously told her story.

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I promised her, as she has asked, that we will make sure Amber is not just remembered as a statistic.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: That she will not just be remembered as a statistic.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: So that people will know she was a mother and a daughter and a sister, and that she was loved, and that she should be alive today. And that she should be alive today.

(APPLAUSE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We've been listening to Vice President Kamala Harris in Atlanta, Georgia, giving a message on reproductive rights.

Saying, quote, It should not be the government or Donald Trump telling women what to do with their bodies.

There she was recounting the story of Amber Thurman, this Georgia woman who passed away, as ProPublica reported, as a result of what Harris describes as Trump's abortion ban, his effort to overturn Roe v. Wade by appointing Supreme Court justices.

There, Harris calling Republicans hypocrites, saying that they have not provided care for women and children in the United States, but yet have argued that these changes to abortion laws are in the interests of women.

One especially notable moment there, she described her upbringing and her desire to become a prosecutor as being rooted in an effort to help a friend when she was a young woman. A friend of hers was apparently being routinely molested by her father, and she approached her mother asking if her family could take her in.

And she says that that desire to advocate for those who are vulnerable was born in those moments. And that is what has led her now to the vice presidency and, of course, running for the White House.

But going back to that moment about Amber Thurman, she described in detail her interactions with her mother. And it is a captivating story.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, it certainly is. And we actually spoke earlier in the show with a practicing OB-GYN there in Georgia. And what she relayed to us was, this is accurately describing the situation, that this really is the reality in some of these cases in that state, that the confusion of the law in some of these cases, one described by that OB-GYN, terrorizes some women who are miscarrying, including what are wanted pregnancies. And then, at worst, leads to grave danger to the lives of some, like Amber Thurman.

The law there in Georgia can cause some confusion, because it does allow a D&C in the case of a spontaneous abortion of natural causes. In Amber's case, she had received a medical abortion using the abortion drug in neighboring North Carolina, because when she found out she was pregnant, the six-week ban there in Georgia had just kicked in. So she went next door to North Carolina in just a tragic case.

But we're going to continue to monitor this campaign event of Kamala Harris's there in Atlanta. And we'll be right back with more.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: New details now about Israel's deadly strike in southern Lebanon today. The IDF says that about 10 Hezbollah commanders were killed and it's being described as a, quote, precise targeted attack. They're claiming the group was plotting something akin to the massacre on October 7th. The strike, though, flattened an entire residential building.

CNN's Jeremy Dimon joins us now live from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, take us through the details on what we know about this strike.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, a very significant strike and one that is sure to deal quite a heavy blow to Hezbollah. Ibrahim Akil was a senior Hezbollah commander. He was the group's operations chief, the head of its special operations forces, including its Radwan unit. And he, according to the Israeli military, was killed alongside 10 other Hezbollah commanders. The Israeli military says that they were gathered underground beneath a residential complex. And indeed, one residential building was entirely flattened in this blast.

And as a result, there were quite a significant number of casualties. And the death toll is continuing to mount. At least 14 people were killed, as far as we know right now. Dozens more were injured, some of them very, very seriously. But many more are still believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

This is, of course, the fourth day in a row that we have seen some kind of attack in Lebanon, almost all of which appear to be attributed to Israel.

It began on Tuesday with those thousands of pagers that exploded. The next day, it was walkie-talkies exploding. Over those two days, we saw dozens of Hezbollah members who were killed, as well as several civilians.

Last night, the Israeli military conducted one of its heaviest barrages of airstrikes in southern Lebanon. And so what this shows us is that the Israeli military, as its defense minister talks about a new era of this war, that the Israeli military, the Israeli government, are willing to go further than they have in the past. And to quickly climb up this ladder of escalation, even if it risks turning this conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has been ongoing since the day after the October 7 attacks into an all-out war.

And that risk is certainly rising very, very rapidly. Today's strike in the Lebanese capital, killing this very senior Hezbollah commander, as well as multiple other people, is certainly escalating things in a very, very serious manner.

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Hezbollah has already vowed to retaliate for those wireless device attacks earlier this week, and there's no question that they will have to retaliate for this as well.

And so even as Israel says they are carrying out these strikes to make the residents in the north, some 60,000 of whom have been displaced from their homes, to make them safer, there's also no question that this is escalating things. It is risking all-out war, and it appears to be a calculus that the Israeli government has made, that they feel like the diplomatic option is gone, or certainly that it has faded, at least for now, and instead they are choosing to turn up the temperature militarily to see if they can change the dynamic -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Jeremy Diamond, live for us in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much, Jeremy.

Next, we're going to speak with a woman behind an effort to support hundreds of thousands of families enduring the challenges of military life.

Stay with us.

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KEILAR: On this week's Home Front, here's a statistic that brings all kinds of challenges. An American military family can expect to move to a new city every two to three years. You can imagine the stress and strain that that puts on a family to have to start over in new schools, maybe even a new country every few years.

Well, Blue Star Families, the leading nonprofit servicing military and veteran families -- which full disclosure, I'm on the board of -- tries to make that a little easier. And tomorrow, they're doing just that. They're kicking off Blue Star Welcome Week.

And we have Kathy Roth-Douquet, the founder and CEO and president of Blue Star Families. And Kathy, you've been doing this, Blue Star Welcome Week, now for a few years. It's really America's newest tradition.

KATHY ROTH-DOUQUET, FOUNDER AND CEO, BLUE STAR FAMILIES: It is. And we love this tradition. You know, 600,000 military families move every year from duty station to duty station. They're at risk of being isolated. And if folks are lonely, they can't find their friends, their solutions, their doctors, and all those activities. Things spiral downhill.

They're living in communities. They're not on installations. So we need to find a way to welcome them. And when we do, everything's awesome.

KEILAR: Yes, that's the thing that I think is one of the biggest misconceptions when I talk to people about military families, is they think they live on military bases. And most of them actually don't. They're living in our communities. They're in our neighborhoods. They're in our kids' schools. They're in our workplaces.

So what do we do to welcome them during Welcome Week and year round?

ROTH-DOUQUET: So Welcome Week is super fun because people hold block parties to welcome military families. We've got a school here in Springfield, Virginia, who all week they're having every kid wear blue to welcome the military kids. They're interviewing them. And at the end of the week, they're having a lunch for all the military families to come in and get welcome.

All over the country, there's different ways -- people are taking outings, rolling out their red carpet. And it makes a difference in people's lives.

KEILAR: You mentioned people going to new places. They're going to need things like new doctors or dentists. I think that doesn't occur to people who don't move all the time.

But talk about ways you can reach out to maybe a new neighbor who might be military about giving them recommendations in your community for the best thing, just to make best things, to make their lives a little bit easier.

ROTH-DOUQUET: You know, Brianna, and you know this. We moved a lot in my family, nine times in 16 years. And you really don't know.

You know, I want my kids to keep taking the piano or the guitar. Where do I go for that? I got a pet, and I want to take care of that pet. I don't have a person to put down as my emergency contact at the school when I go into the school.

So just asking, hey, at my school, in this class, are there any military families? I want to make sure I include them when there's a party or an outing.

At this sports club, are there any military families? Let's ask if these kids, you know, need any extra attention and support. Maybe there's a dad deployed.

Ask the question. Be welcoming. Include them. It will mean the world to people.

KEILAR: And how can military families get involved in Blue Star Welcome Week? And how does that kind of carry them through their time in a new place?

ROTH-DOUQUET: This is our little gateway treat to get people involved with us, right? Come to Blue Star Families. Sign up. We'll help you get to know your neighbors. We want the civilians to sign up, too. And then 365 days a year, we have things for people.

Our military are living in their community. They're taking care of us so we can be safe and secure. But we actually have to take care of them, too, so they can keep doing this tough job. And everyone wins when we do that.

KEILAR: And you have great research, as well, that is kind of guiding. I think you mentioned the isolation that military families face. But you're also discovering a lot of other needs that they may have through your research.

What are you seeing?

ROTH-DOUQUET: Sure. Unfortunately, food insecurity is becoming a bigger and bigger problem for folks in the military. Twenty-six percent of our enlisted families are having a hard time making ends meet.

It's expensive -- housing is expensive now, and sometimes you have to choose between the two. But often, people find help through the people they know. They find jobs through people they know. They find these kinds of solutions.

So we do direct service, like putting together food pantries and doing giveaways for coupons for groceries. But also, this fellowship makes a difference. It helps people solve their problems locally. And that's the solution, too.

KEILAR: Well, it's really great. I'm looking forward to seeing how this Welcome Week turns out. It's always very fun.

ROTH-DOUQUET: It's going to be super fun.

KEILAR: Kathy Roth-Douquet, with Blue Star Families, thanks for being with us.

ROTH-DOUQUET: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: And coming up, a zoo scheme involving a beloved bear sparked all-out pandemonium.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: You can call it a fuzzy fraud or a cuddly con. Bottom line, a panda ploy has gone to the dogs. A zoo in China is now admitting that its star attraction is bogus.

Meet the panda dogs, chow chows that were painted to resemble the country's beloved national animal.

KEILAR: So the zoo in southern China says that people are flocking in for a glimpse of the pups masquerading as pandas. What's not clear is why they tried to do this, right? Or, you know what gave it away? I don't know. Could it have been that the pandas were panting or maybe barking? The mystery continues. Nevertheless, this isn't the first time that a zoo in China has admitted to a ruse of this kind.

[16:00:02]

In May, another zoo sparked outrage after visitors discovered that it painted dogs to resemble pandas. Following widespread criticism, the zoo copped to it.

SANCHEZ: If you squint like real hard.

KEILAR: I totally agree with you.

SANCHEZ: They could cut a pass.

KEILAR: In fact, at first glance, and I wasn't squinting. I was like, that looks like a panda to me.

SANCHEZ: Whoever painted them, I got to say, did a pretty good job. It's a pretty accurate representation of a panda.

KEILAR: The eyes give it away.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and they're not eating bamboo.

KEILAR: Yep, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.

END