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Hurricane Dorian Pounds Bahamas, Creeps Toward U.S.; Israel and Hezbollah Trade Fire Across Lebanese Border; Demonstrators Block Route to airport Sunday; Britain Braces for Tumultuous Week Ahead. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 02, 2019 - 00:00   ET

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

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, I am Natalie Allen in Atlanta.

Our top story, the Bahamas are getting pummeled right now by the strongest hurricane to ever hit the islands, Dorian. It's a catastrophic Category 5 storm with winds of 180 miles or about 300 kilometers an hour. It has slowed to a crawl and is expected to stay over the Bahamas for the next 24 hours.

The Bahamas prime minister took a somber tone on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUBERT MINNIS, BAHAMIAN PRIME MINISTER: This is probably the most saddened and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people. And I just want to say that, as a physician, I have been trained to withstand many things, but never anything like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The storm has destroyed homes and ripped the roofs off buildings in Abaco Island. One woman trapped with her family, pleaded for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please pray for us, please pray for us, everyone, please pray for us. Me and my baby, everyone that stayed in that apartment building we, are stuck here. Please pray for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Flooding is a major concern with the storm surge up to 23 feet or seven meters, the Northwest Bahamas could see as much as eight months worth of rain in just a few days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is now my house, the water is up to my car. There's the kitchen and stove.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: And this, from the International Space Station, it has captured these pictures of Dorian, the strongest storm, as we said, anywhere on the planet this year, and NOAA released pictures of Dorian's eye wall that showed the clouds curving outward, that is a phenomenon known as the stadium effect.

So let's get more into the storm's path and the severity with our meteorologist, Ivan Cabrera, joining me here now. And what can you say about this one, Ivan?

IVAN CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it's just -- well, it's never happened before. We don't know what it's going to be left there in the Bahamas. A lot of folks are praying for the folks there, and you can understand why this is an unprecedented event meteorologically. And, of course, you don't have to be a meteorologist to know what's going on here.

I'm going to zoom in here and show you what's been happening. Rob, switch over to our numbers here so we can get the folks to see the right information. 180-mile-an-hour winds, it was 185. This thing has now made landfall basically twice across Abaco. And now, look at that, just incredible eye moving right through the eastern part of Grand Bahama, Freeport about to get into the worst conditions of this Category 5 hurricane has to offer here.

And I'll tell you what, I mean, for it to hit that small target in the Bahamas is just incredible. Worst case scenario for them as it continues moving on to the west through the next, well, at this point, couple of days, as we've been talking about this thing, is look at the movement here. I mean, this is now a three hour loop, just barely moving towards the west. As they begun to feel the steering currents that are not going to allow it to barreled through into Florida, that's a good thing, but also not allowed to move up to the north.

The radar now is basically the bands, the outer bands are about 150 miles, which is an incredible thing to see just to the west of West Palm Beach there and at the Fort Lauderdale area. This is, again, that we've been talking about, not going due west, thankfully, for Florida, but it's also I don't think going to turn in that time to avoid any significant impacts that I think will be coming.

Look at all the colors here. Let me try to break this down for you. Obviously, hurricane warnings in the Bahamas, now we have a hurricane warning that extends from Jupiter heading up into Cape Canaveral. But notice, a hurricane watch extends a little bit further to the south. And now, we have tropical storm watches. These are inland. So, imagine, you've got a Category 5 that's going to be moving within a few miles of the State of Florida, and you're going to feel tropical storm conditions all the way to Disney World, okay? But the worst of it will be from Miami points to the north. That is where we have our hurricane warning at this point. Here, these are plots that are going to be going up to the north, and look at that turn. We still, Natalie, don't know exactly when that turn is going to occur, which is why the cone, unfortunately, is still [00:05:00] impacting there with Florida. Some of the models trending a little further west, some further to the east, but notice the Carolinas eventually in its path there as well, by then weaker, with quote, right, a Category 3 or 4.

But we have a ways to go. I mean, that would be Thursday of next week, right? So it's going to be quite a night for the Bahamas right now. Folks are sitting there, and the eye is going over there, and you can hear crickets, right, and then the 180-mile-hour wind comes on the other side. So it's just incredible, and for the Bahamas, terrifying there and, we will keep you posted on the continuing track of this menacing storm that will likely have impacts in the U.S. as well.

ALLEN: Yes. Millions of people on pins and needles in the United States waiting to see and people dealing with it right now in the Bahamas, and we're going to be talking about some of them. Ivan, thank you. We'll see you again.

Well, as we said, Hurricane Dorian is hovering over Grand Bahama Island right now and CNN's Patrick Oppmann is there in the resort city of Freeport.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The weather here in Freeport is gradually deteriorating as Hurricane Dorian moves off the nearby island of Abaco and heads this direction to the island where we are, Grand Bahama. And we are sensing winds picking up, more rain coming in and that is just going to get worse and worse because the storm, while incredibly powerful, at Category 5, the strongest storm ever to hit the Bahamas, it is also moving very slowly. And it's a deadly combination, particularly on island chain were so many islands are very low-lying.

Where we are right now, the highest point on this island, it's only about 30 free high, the highest point of land. And so when you hear about a storm surge of 20 feet, that means in the hours and days ahead much of this island where I am standing will be under water, islands around us which are more low-lying will be completely submerged in a terrifying prospect for the people, that many people who have decided to ride out this storm on those low-lying parts of this island and other islands around us.

So not much people can do at this point because the weather is kicking up, conditions are deteriorating and this is a storm for the history books. Hurricane Dorian is going to hit the Bahamas in a way that this island chain has never experienced. It is going to hit the Bahamas harder than any hurricane ever has before.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Freeport, the Bahamas.

ALLEN: And as we mentioned, hurricane warnings are in effect right now along Florida's eastern coast. Mandatory evacuations have already begun in some areas. Residents are boarding up windows and storefronts. Of course, the Martin County sheriff delivered this dire warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF WILLIAM SNYDER, MARTIN COUNTY FLORIDA: We are within a 20 miles of an apocalyptic hurricane coming to shore on the Treasure Coast. If it does what the models are predicting, we will be okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is not quite as optimistic. He says Hurricane Dorian is way too close for comfort but the state is prepared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The Florida National Guard will have 4,500 soldiers and airmen activated and ready to respond. They have 15 rotor-wing helicopters available. An additional 24 have been offered from regional National Guard locations and the active army component has prepositioned 40 additional helicopters near our state border to respond if needed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: As far as other responses, CNN's Rosa Flores has more on that part of the story from Daytona Beach.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm at the Daytona International Speedway, home to NASCAR's Daytona 500. Except right now, it is doubling as a processing center for the more than 18,000 men and women from 34 U.S. States and Canada who will be eventually restoring power to Floridians.

As you take a look around, you can see that this is a mini army of utility workers and utility trucks. Now, if you look closely, you'll see there are different logos, different license plates.

Here is how it works. These utility workers drive into the processing center, they get checked in, they get a security briefing and then they get dispatched to 20 strategic locations in the State of Florida. Once power goes out, they will be dispatched to those impacted areas.

Now, this Volusia County, it is the size of the State of Rhode Island here in the United States and mandatory evacuations are scheduled from Monday at 10:00 A.M. Officials here [00:10:00] tell us that those mandatory evacuations will be issued for individuals who live in the barrier islands and low-lying areas and also those who live in R.V. parks as well.

But officials also tell us that they're telling their residents that if they want to evacuate and to a safer location, that they should, that they do not need to wait for that evacuation order to be issued.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida

ALLEN: So, again, yes, residents on Florida's east coast, hoping for the best but, of course, preparing for the worst and they have been warned.

Storm chaser Aaron Jayjack is joining me now from Vero Beach, Florida. Aaron, thank you for being with us. Are you starting to feel the effects of this storm yet?

AARON JAYJACK, STORM CHASER: Yes. I mean, we are definitely just now and later this afternoon. There was a difference in the last 24 hours where there wasn't really much wind yesterday. But now, starting this afternoon, we've had these sustained winds here now at least 20 miles an hour, gusts 20, 30 miles per hour, so not quite tropical storm- force winds yet. But I expect though by morning that will be a different scenario out there. It should much bigger seas (ph) and definitely those tropical storm-force winds in the morning.

ALLEN: How many people have you noticed that it seems are staying there in the Vero Beach vicinity and riding this out?

JAYJACK: Yes. So there's definitely people are sticking around here. I think they feel for the most part that it's going to be a pretty close call but it won't likely come on to land here. But if you look at the models, some of those models do have a couple of -- those models do come onshore here and do have a landfall in Florida. So it's a risk here if you don't evacuate and you are in an evacuation zone, you're taking a gamble by not evacuating.

ALLEN: What have emergency responders been saying in the Vero Beach area as far as not knowing where this storm will go? Even just in the past hour, we have been hearing it may be taking more of a western track and that would not be good news for that area.

JAYJACK: Yes. And also here, we do have evacuations, mandatory evacuation in the morning. So I'm at a resort hotel here right now but they're making us leave at 11:00 A.M. I was actually hoping I could stay here one more night because it seems like this is going to be a multiday slow event unfolding here.

So for the officials here, I think everybody had -- they have been taking the proper precautions, preparedness here, and they are ready to reverse flow if they need to get people out of here. And so I don't think there is really much concern as far as getting people that are left here out of here. A lot of people have left. There's not many people here and the people that are here, they are used to this type of situation and they're probably going to stay here and ride this storm off.

ALLEN: Right. When was the last time that Vero Beach experienced a hurricane?

JAYJACK: I was talking to the lady that lives here and she said it was the last time that Matthew, 2016 hurricane, that came cruising up along the coast here and a lot of people that were left here, they stuck around for that storm. But we kind of have that same situation this time with the hurricane just sitting offshore here in Florida and just battering the coast for multiple days.

ALLEN: All right. Well, we appreciate it. As you say, the winds starting to whip up there. Aaron Jayjack for us in Vero Beach, thanks, Aaron.

JAYJACK: Yes, no problem. Thanks a lot.

ALLEN: The scientists have long warned climate change and rising ocean temperatures could make hurricanes worse. CNN's Dana Bash spoke with acting FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor, who sidestepped the question about the impact of global warming on storms like Dorian.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Researchers say that we are going to see even more very intense hurricanes due to the climate crisis. Do you agree with that?

PETER GAYNOR, ACTING FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: You know, you could look through the history of the past 25 years or so. There has more hurricanes, more intensity. Again, I think we can look to that at another date. But I think the message today is for residents, especially with the new Cat 5, is don't take your eye off the storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Well, here are the facts on how climate change could affect hurricanes. Rising sea levels are making storm surge more dangerous and making storms wetter, increasing the rainfall rate as well as the amount of precipitation a storm can produce. Strong storms are getting even stronger because of warmer oceans and storms are rapidly intensifying more frequently. As we mentioned, Hurricane Dorian, the strongest storm on this planet right now, and we will continue to bring you updates throughout the next several hours and next year.

A Texas community is in mourning. Ahead, how Odessa and Midland are honoring the victims of yet another mass shooting in America.

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CABRERA: CNN Weather Watch, I'm Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera with an update on this monster Category 5 hurricane barreling through the Bahamas, multiple landfalls already now impacting with Grand Bahama. The worst possible weather conditions on the entire planet are being felt tonight in Freeport. This is a catastrophic storm and we are hoping for the

best.

But, my goodness, you could not have a worst kind of position here, the center of this eye going right over Grand Bahama with those 285- kilometer-per-hour winds. And, eventually, we have more land masses to the west. That would be Florida, parts of Southern Georgia and into the Carolinas and to the United States. They're flying into the eastern U.S. Keep in mind, this is going to wreak havoc, of course, across the airports in the southeast.

Anyway, but there it is, getting dangerously close and, in fact, close enough for hurricane warnings that are already posted for Florida, not per se for a specific landfall where the eye would go right over the peninsula but it's close enough or we could be looking at tropical storm-force conditions or hurricane conditions with a slow-moving system, so that means those conditions would be prolonged over the next several days.

Eventually, this heading up further to the north, that would be impacting with the Carolinas there and still a formidable storm, a Category 3 by then, and then finally, in five days, goes out to sea.

[00:15:00]

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ALLEN: We have new details about the man who killed seven people and injured 22 others in West Texas. The New York Times reports the 36- year-old had been fired from his trucking job a few hours before he went on to the shooting rampage. Police have not determined a motive and they're investigating his home.

Meantime, in Odessa, Texas, a grieving community remembers the victims.

Another committee experiencing a mass shooting, another vigil, singing hymns, praying for the people they lost.

CNN's Ryan Young was there.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another tragedy in American city, so many questions about why this shooting happened. But what we do know so far is the details about police officers getting ready to pull over a man in a car. And apparently they are pulling him over because of failure of using his signal. That man, he used gun to shoot through a back window toward officers. From there, a spree started of gunfire [00:20:00] and a police chase. It ended with police surrounding the 36-year-old man and shooting and killing him.

At a memorial Sunday night, we saw hundreds of people come together to pay their respects to the following, seven people are dead, 22 were injured. But the big question is why did this have to happen. And, in fact, two of the youngest people here had to pay their respects to a friend they lost in the shooting, a shooting, a shooting they called senseless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even though she's gone, she's still here in our heart. And this is all for her, so people can know who she was because she was everything. And everyone misses Leilah Hernandez.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think that she needs to -- like, in my mind, I want her to come back, but she can't. And I don't know. I just pray to God that she's okay wherever she is doing well, and we'll see her again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Authorities did holds a news conference but they were light detail so far. What we do know is the shooter was 36 years, he was a white, male, he used AR-15. They didn't perform a search warrant at his house.

But from there, there is no clear determination of what the motive could be. This investigation continues and there's lots of questions in this community.

Ryan Young, CNN, Odessa, Texas

ALLEN: One of the youngest shot in Saturday's attack was just 17 months old. The family of Anderson Davis says she is recovering from her injuries and is expected to have surgery in the coming hours. Her parents released this statement. It read, in part, words cannot express the emotions we are experiencing after living through the tragic events that unfolded and our hometown yesterday afternoon. We praise God for walking beside us during this time, and our prayers go out to all the families that are walking this same walk.

The girl's teacher has started a GoFundMe campaign, and so far, it has raised more than $175,000. Earlier, the teachers spoke with CNN about the baby's recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYLEE WILKERSON, ANDERSON DAVIS' TEACHER: They went in and they closed the hole on her bottom lip then closed the hole in her tongue. They have to go see an oral surgeon for her two front teeth. On top of that, they had to open up her chest to get the shrapnel out. And they left one piece in there because it was just too small to get but she is expected to make a 100 percent recovery and she is acting like nothing ever happened.

So I started the GoFundMe yesterday. I called her family and asked her family, you know, I didn't want to invade on their privacy in such a tragic time, she told me that she would love for that to be done, the last thing you think about after your daughter gets shot is how am I going to pay for this. So I went ahead and set up a GoFundMe Account. I had the goal at $20,000. And within 20 minutes, we hit that goal.

So I upped it up to $50,000. And within another hour, we hit that goal. So I just finally upped it to $200,000 dollars and we've almost hit that goal.

The money will go straight to the Davis family. It will help with the care flight that she had to have, the surgery she has to have, the oral surgeon that she has to go and see and it will just take a whole load off of that family.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ALLEN: Among the seven people killed in Saturday's attack, a 29-year- old postal service worker, Mary Granados. This is a video of Mary delivering mail shortly before the shooting, Saturday. Just as her shift was ending, she spoke with her sister, Rosie, on the phone, then suddenly, Rosy heard her sister screaming as the shooting was happening.

She spoke with CNN earlier about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE GRANADOS, LOST HER TWIN SISTER MARY IN ODESSA ATTACK: She meant the whole world to me because we came to the world together. Unfortunately, she left before I did. And I wish she would have waited for me. We would have grown old together. But she left before. And she was just -- she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: if you can --

GRANADOS: She didn't deserve this.

CABRERA: No, she didn't. Nobody deserves this. If you can, walk us through what happened. I understand you were on the phone with her at the time.

GRANADOS: Well, I was talking to her on the phone. And she mentioned something about [00:25:00] hearing gunshots. And she didn't know where it was coming from and if it was near her or anything. She was still doing her job. And I heard her screaming. And I wasn't sure what she was going through. I was just hearing her cry and scream for help. And I didn't know what was happening to her. I thought it was just a dog attacking her. And my first response was just to get in the car and go where she was to go help her.

CABRERA: And how did you find out what had happened?

GRANADOS: I went to help her out. And, unfortunately, I did see her laying on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: And welcome back CNN Newsroom. I am Natalie Allen live from Atlanta, and these are our top stories.

The New York Times is reporting that the gunman in the Texas mass shooting, Saturday, had been fired from his trucking job a few hours before he carried out the attack.

Meantime, in Odessa, mourners gathered at a vigil of the seven people killed and the 22 others who were shot and wounded. Chinese state media are warning Hong Kong protesters, and this is the quote, the end is coming. [00:30:00] They are addressing anyone who attempts to disrupt Hong Kong and antagonize China. This comes the day after demonstrators block transport links to the city's international airport. Twenty-five flights were canceled, and there was gridlock for hours.

[00:30:19] The Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants traded fire Sunday along the Lebanese border. This is the most serious cross-border exchange since 2015.

Hezbollah attacked first by firing anti-tank missiles at an Israeli army base military vehicle. Israel responded with artillery strikes and helicopter fire.

Hurricane Dorian has slowed to a crawl over the Bahamas, punishing the islands with about 185 mile-per-hour winds and heavy rain. The storm has leveled buildings and ripped the roofs off homes. Those are the initial reports we're getting. Hurricane warnings are in effect for a large stretch of Florida's eastern coast.

Joining me now from the Bahamas is Freeport resident Kevin Tomlinson.

Kevin, thank you so much for joining us, because we know you're riding out this storm. Tell us right now, what are you experiencing?

KEVIN TOMLINSON, FREEPORT RESIDENT: Thank you so much, Natalie, for having me on your show. It's a pleasure to come to speak to this, we're -- now we're having an island-wide blackout. You know, certain areas on the island have lost power and so, that's to be expected. It's part of the protocol procedure during this time, once the winds have picked up to a certain speed. The power was down.

We're getting ready now to -- we're starting to feel, I should say, the strong wind force from Hurricane Dorian. So it's -- it's a lot of just waiting now to see what's going to happen, you know?

Earlier, I talked about what has happened to our neighboring island. The devastation there. And we await to see what happens here in Grand Bahama.

The difference in -- with the Bahama islands is we're so divided with water, and so many different islands to be affected. So at the end of the day, even though we are one Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island is different from Abaco Island, but yes, we're all affected by the devastation. And we just wait and see what happens.

In 2004, when we had Hurricane Matthew, we went through the aftermath of no power, no water, and everything. And so we know that we -- we rebuild and we want to rebuild again. If anything happens like that, we would just rebuild again.

ALLEN: Kevin, we hear people there around you. So I know that you're in a shelter. How many people are there with you?

TOMLINSON: This shelter is one of the smallest shelters that we have. There are no more than probably about 43 persons here, or less.

But this shelter is an area where most persons are -- live in an area where they are either on the water or near to the water, so they came here, more inland, to move away from the coastal area. Because we were advised by our federal government to move out of the coastal area. and so that's why we came here.

So this is an area where it's -- it's really been taking care of very well. The workers here are really, really nice. We all understand what we're going through. We go through this so much. You know what I mean?

ALLEN: Yes.

TOMLINSON: So since I've been living here in Freeport, which is probably my fifth one. So, you know, we know the protocol, we know the drill, we know the procedures. We just wait. We wait and see what happens. You know? And in the shelter, we have some guests from Chicago, Illinois.

ALLEN: Oh, my.

TOMLINSON: They were staying in a hotel, the resort. And they have to come here to the shelter waiting to ride out the storm. And for some of them, this is their first time experiencing a hurricane.

So I'm spending time trying to help them along so at the end of the day, they don't get too clarified.

ALLEN: I'm sure, because you've been through this before, as you say. You know what to expect, but this is a Category Five. This could be something that you haven't experienced the before, does that concern you?

TOMLINSON: Very much so, and that's why I came -- from the shoreline, I came in, because even though I -- the building was very secure where I'm from, I still don't trust it because of this level, this category. We've never had this before. And so anything could happen and the -- what happened in Abaco is evidence of that.

[00:35:08] ALLEN: And how long before you think you're about to really experience the brunt of the storm?

TOMLINSON: Well, what's expected. I think by midnight tonight we are expected to be experiencing things, strong winds and leading up until tomorrow, where I think somewhere around 2 where we're going to really get the full weight of the hurricane and so forth. So I -- like I say, we just wait to see what happens, you know?

ALLEN: And you're -- you're prepared to be in that shelter for quite some time, I assume?

TOMLINSON: I am prepared to be in the shelter for quite some time. And we understand the value of being in the shelter, you know? And we pray that no lives are lost, you know? And that material things may be damaged and things may be affected, but lives are more important. ALLEN: Absolutely. Well, we wish you all the best and everyone there

in the shelter. And good luck comforting those from Chicago, Illinois, who happen to be there with you, as well, Kevin.

TOMLINSON: The Bahamans are resilient people.

ALLEN: Yes, absolutely.

TOMLINSON: We live in one of the most beautiful countries around the world, and the Bahamas is a place where people love to come here, and follow you around. They enjoy the sun, sand and sea. So we're excited -- I'm excited to let them know that after this, we will build very quickly, and we will be back in the business again where they can actually have fun.

ALLEN: We like your resilience spirit, and we wish you all the best and a very safe evening. Kevin Tomlinson for us, thank you very much. Take care.

TOMLINSON: Natalie, thank you. Have a good evening. Thank you.

ALLEN: We will certainly work to check back in with Kevin soon.

Well, we are following the most serious cross-border exchange between Israel and Hezbollah in years, along the Lebanese border. We'll have a live report about that next.

Also, angry protesters in Hong Kong are refusing to back down from their demands, but after a weekend of turmoil, China is losing patience. We'll tell you what they're saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:33] ALLEN: Welcome back. Every single person in a Yemen detention facility was wounded or killed in a series of recent airstrikes south of Saana. That's according to the International Red Cross.

Yemen rebels say at least 60 people were killed, 50 hurt in the attacks by the Saudi-led coalition. The Red Cross says the death toll could be at least 100. The coalition claims it bombed a legitimate military target that housed drones and missile depots, adding that civilians were advised in advance to stay away from the area. That's their part of that story.

Well, tensions remain high along the Lebanese border after the sharpest escalation in more than four years between Hezbollah and Israel. Iran-backed Hezbollah says it attacked an Israeli Army base and a nearby military vehicle on Sunday.

Israel responding with artillery strikes and helicopter fire.

For more about it, CNN's Oren Liebermann is joining us live from northern Israel. What more do we know about this and how -- why now?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Natalie, we're standing here in the town of Matullah (Ph), which is right on the Lebanese border. In fact, it's surrounded by Lebanon on three sides. And what's almost bizarre after the fighting we just saw on Sunday afternoon is how everything has quickly returned back to normal.

This starts on Sunday afternoon, when Hezbollah says it fired anti- tank missiles at an Israeli military headquarters right along the Lebanese border.

Israel says those anti-tank missiles targeted a building inside that military headquarters, as well as a military vehicle, though they say no one was injured in those strikes. Israel quickly retaliated by firing what they say were 100 artillery shells into southern Lebanon, toward the position where those anti-tank missiles were fired, as well as other military targets.

Israel also says they viewed what they called, quote, very limited helicopter strikes to retaliate for that fire. But within two hours of this beginnings, so by about 6:30 yesterday evening, the Israeli military had lifted all civilian restrictions on Israelis living near the Lebanese border, which is the strongest indication yet that, at least as of now, the military expects this round of fighting to be over.

And we see that in towns like Matullah (ph) that we're standing in now, where people here are simply driving around the streets and going about their day. And that's, in essence, what was surprising, how sharp, how quick this escalation was.

Hezbollah says they're anti- tank fireworks retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria about a week and a half ago. Israel says that was to thwart an Iranian drone attack from Syria, but Hezbollah operatives were killed and that. And Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah has vowed to retaliate.

Israel had anticipated that the expectation was very high, that he would find some way for Hezbollah to retaliate. And that's what we saw play out across the border yesterday afternoon.

Where does this go from here? Well, both sides have said they're in touch with the United Nations interim force in Lebanon called UNIFIL, which monitors the border. The Israeli military says those contacts only increase as the hostilities increased. And it seems what the Israeli military called a good deconfliction mechanism has seemed to work so far with life, at least on the Israeli side, returning back to normal after a very sharp but quick escalation -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Right. Oren, to see the scene behind you, the beautiful day and cars just ambling by, have you talked with people? Are people sensing that they feel like this situation could still be dangerous?

LIEBERMANN: I certainly would never call the Lebanese border peaceful, but for years, it was generally the quietest or calmest of the borders, and people here are used to living under what is essentially an almost constant stress or tension along the border. And it seems they're quickly happy to return to life back to normal even after this escalation because, as I said, the military lifted all the civilian restrictions here, and people were sort of quick to get back to their day, as it goes here.

So we'll see how the day develops. We'll certainly talk to a few more people here and see what they think about what's happening here.

ALLEN: All right. We appreciate it. Oren Liebermann for us. Thank you, Oren.

Well, China's state news agency says the end it's coming -- that is a quote for protesters trying to disrupt Hong Kong and antagonize China. This after a weekend of some of the most violent protests in the past three months of political turmoil. Police and protesters got into heated battles in the street Saturday.

Demonstrators threw petrol bombs and burned barricades as police shot water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowds. On Sunday, protestors caused major traffic disruptions to the city's airport and vandalized several subway stations.

CNN's Will Ripley gave us this report from the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, riot police have moved out of the area, and you can hear the crowds shouting at them, cheering as they go.

This has been a really extraordinary scene out here, because protesters were determined to stage some sort of a disruptive event at the Hong Kong airport. Let's get over here. Because security around the airport is only allowing passengers and flight crew.

So what the protesters did instead was they caused disruption around the airport. They set up barricades and set them on fire. The streets were gridlocked, the bridge to the airport completely impassable for hours. People had to get out of their cars and walk. People with their suitcases and luggage had to walk, sometimes more than an hour just to make their flight.

And now, the riot police who came here to this station had really nothing to do, because all of the protesters who came into the NTR (ph) vandalized, spray-painted, set off the sprinkler system. They all left before police even arrived.

So now officers are leaving after -- we didn't seem them make any arrests here, as far as we could tell. And they move on to the next location, where the next group of protesters might pop up.

And police don't really know what the protesters are going to do next. That's been the whole point of this protest movement. Move quickly, mess things up and get out before the police arrive.

They feel that this is a sustainable model to make their point. Thirteenth consecutive weekend approaches here in Hong Kong, and even though the crowds are smaller, the protesters are more aggressive, and this shows no sign of dying down.

Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.

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ALLEN: Britain is bracing for a turbulent week ahead as the prime minister raises the stakes and offers a warning to those campaigning against a no-deal Brexit. That's next.

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[00:51:08] ALLEN: The week ahead in Britain is expected to be tumultuous. Parliament is set to resume Tuesday after its summer recess. Then, the showdown begins against this man, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's, planned suspension of Parliament.

The opposition says the move limits opportunities for MPs to prevent a no-deal Brexit. But, Mr. Johnson had this warning, telling "The Sunday Times," quote, "People campaigning against no-deal are making it more likely."

This as a U.K. cabinet minister refused to rule out ignoring any law change that prevents a no-deal exit from the E.U. Listen to this exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this legislation goes through Parliament, both houses of Parliament, does the government abide by it? I'm sure the answer has to be yes, it's the law.

MICHAEL GOVE, CHANCELLOR, DUCHY OF LANCASTER: Let's see what the legislation says. You're asking me about a pig in a poke. And I will wait to see what legislation the opposition may try to bring forward, but we're --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what their intention is.

GOVE: -- unusual times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for a government to say we won't abide by legislation, is impossible.

GOVE: I'm sure it has to be yes, it's the law. You're asking me about legislation, and it may bring forward.

For the government to say that we won't abide by legislation it's impossible. We will. We will see what the legislation says when it is put forward.

For me, the most important thing for me is to bear in mind that we already have legislation in place, which -- which an overwhelming majority of MPS voted for.

We already have an E.U. withdrawal act. We already have the -- the notice on Article 50, a process by which we leave the European Union. The overwhelming majority of M.P.'s voted to do that.

(CROSSTALK)

GOV: You know British people. I said that we would leave. I said to my -- that we would leave. But now I actually think we won't leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The Brexit drama has increased focus on the man who referees the sometimes raucous House of Commons. As CNN's Bianca Nobilo reports, some are asking if he's crossed the line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERCOW, SPEAKER, HOUSE OF COMMONS: Order, order, order. Please.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Throughout the British democratic history, the speaker of the House played a low-key role, even if it may appear otherwise on television, charged with the difficult responsibility of refereeing the raucous chamber.

BERCOW: Stop it. It's low-grade. It's useless, and it won't work.

NOBILO: And on rare occasions, the umpire who sits in the speaker's chair has had to step onto the field of play.

BERCOW: Order.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some seven speakers lost their heads for championing the Commons against the executives.

BERCOW: The best known and most visible function of the speaker is to chair in the chamber, to chair prime minister's questions, to chair other debates. And in that capacity, I'm a referee.

Don't tell me what the procedures of this house are.

NOBILO: But for John Bercow, the son of a cab driver, Brexit has jumbled the balance, transforming him into an extraordinary player whose broad interpretation of parliamentary rules continues to galvanize the backbenchers.

BERCOW: I have always been scrupulously fair to Brexiteers and remainders alike.

NOBILO: Many of his former conservative colleagues accused of overstepping the mark, in part because they view his politics as having shifted to the left.

BERCOW: This house must seize back control of its own core functions.

NOBILO: Some of his former party have questioned John Bercow's impartiality, something he denies.

BERCOW: In grappling with the biggest current issue facing us, Brexit, no resolution of the matter has yet been obtained. It is a concern. It isn't something that the speaker can determine.

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: It is only with an effort that I can master my feelings here, Mr. Speaker.

[00:55:05] NOBILO: Last week, the speaker, once again waded in --

BERCOW: Order!

NOBILO: -- to defend the role of Parliament, describing Boris Johnson's move to suspend Parliament as a constitutional outrage, designed to prevent MPS from debating Brexit.

Tomorrow, John Bercow is likely to give the House of Commons as much of an opportunity to table legislation to stop no-deal as he can. An aggressive umpire, contentious but determined to allow parliamentary democracy enough time to have its potentially definitive say.

Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: In California, actor and comedian Kevin Hart and two others are recovering after a car crash near Los Angeles. Police say the driver lost control and rolled down an embankment.

According to the police report, both Hart and the driver have major back injuries. The third passenger was not seriously injured.

That is CNN NEWSROOM for this hour. I'm Natalie Allen. A short break, and we're right back with the latest on Hurricane Dorian for you. Please stay with us.

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