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Sanford to Challenge Trump for Republican Nomination; Israeli PM Accuses Journalists of "A Terror Attack"; Storm Surge Devastates Bahamas Animal Shelter; An Insider's Guide to the Hottest Spots in Tbilisi; Rafael Nadal Wins 19th Grand Slam Title. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 09, 2019 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Afghanistan calls on the Taliban to end the violence after the U.S. President scraps his plan to invite leaders from the insurgent group to the United States for talks.

MARK GREEN, ADMINISTRATOR, USAID: There are clusters of communities that were devastated almost as though nuclear bombs were dropped on them.

ALLEN: Aid groups are getting a sense of the devastation across parts of the Bahamas as they work to help tens of thousands of people left homeless by Hurricane Dorian. Also head here, 19 major winds now for Rafael Nadal after he fights and fights hard for a win in the U.S. Open final. He finally did it after five hours.

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen in Atlanta. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now. Our top story, Afghan peace talks are suspended but both the U.S. and the Taliban indicate they are willing to keep working. But the U.S. Secretary of State says the militant group will have to meet conditions before talks resume including reducing violence and meeting with Afghan leaders.

The Taliban have rejected calls for a ceasefire and consider the Afghan government illegitimate. Mike Pompeo told CNN's Jake Tapper the U.S. will keep up the pressure on the Taliban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: Make no mistake about it, we will continue to punish, we will continue to pound, we will continue to fight, will continue to protect the American people. We will never construct a deal. If I was worried about Barack Obama and President Obama, it was because he was prepared to leave without ensuring that we could protect America. This administration will never do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ALLEN: This comes after a secret meeting President Trump says he was planning with Taliban leaders at Camp David fell apart. CNN's Boris Sanchez reports the President was pushing hard to fulfill a campaign promise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The decision by the White House to invite Taliban leaders and the Afghan President to Camp David to finalize a deal that would end America's longest war was made roughly about a week ago. Sources indicate that President Trump had become frustrated that peace talks were not moving along faster and he was putting pressure on aides to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, something that he promised during the 2016 campaign and a promise that he's apparently intent on fulfilling going into 2020.

Sources indicate that President Trump told aides that he felt that he would have a more positive outcome in these talks if he were engaged in negotiations with the Taliban himself and speaking with them directly. Of course, that meeting scrapped following Thursday's bombing in Afghanistan. But there is still hope from this administration that a deal will get done.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper on Sunday. Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POMPEO: The American people should know we're going to defend American national interests. We're going to be tough and making sure that we put pressure on all the powers, all the risks, not just the Taliban but ISIS that's there in Afghanistan as well. President Trump will always protect American and the American interest. And one of the ways we're trying to do this to take down the violence levels in Afghanistan so that we can rebalance.

We've got challenges from terrorism not just in Afghanistan, Jake, as you well know. We have to make sure we have the right force levels, the right force postures, the right people each and every place so that we're protecting America's national security everywhere not just in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We should point out, there are some skeptics who do not believe the Taliban will hold up their end of any kind of peace agreement including Senator Lindsey Graham. Another Republican critic of this meeting was Representative Adam Kinzinger. He took offense to the idea that these Taliban leaders would enter the United States at all.

Here's what he tweeted writing, "Never should leaders of a terrorist organization that hasn't renounce 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country. Never, full stop."

To be clear, the Taliban leaders never actually entered the United States. In a statement, they said that ending these peace talks would only harm Americans. Boris Sanchez, CNN at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: For more about this, CNN's Nathan Hodge joins us from our Moscow Bureau. The question is, Nathan, where does this go from here?

NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Natalie, for several months, President Trump's Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has been meeting in Doha in Qatar and in the Gulf emirate with his counterparts the Taliban negotiators. And what they've been discussing is the workings of a basic withdrawal deal.

And last week Khalilzad said that they had in principle agreed -- come to an agreement with his -- with the Taliban about an initial withdrawal of U.S. troops. But here's the rub. The Afghan government has not been directly involved in those talks and there's been a fair amount of consternation about what this process is actually leading to and if it will actually pave the way to a genuine peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

So certainly there's been a lot of concern especially after Donald Trump's decision to pull the plug on this meeting at Camp David. And here's what Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesperson for the Afghan President had to say.

[01:05:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEDIQ SEDIQQI, SPOKESPERSON, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: Any talk or talks that that does not guarantee an end to Taliban violence will be meaningless to continue. So our position has been very strong and firm in that. The president has been very clear and that for so many months to see how we can actually end this violence.

So if the Taliban are not committed, if there is a contradiction and what they say what they do in Afghanistan, so we would not only doubt that process but we will raise concerns about that process like the people have already done that.

HODGE: Natalie, so there's been a lot of questions both in Kabul and from outside of Afghanistan as to where this process is all heading right now. Is there a chance now that President Trump has pulled the plug on these initial plans to hold a meeting with the Taliban at Camp David? Is there a chance for a reboot?

Certainly, it's going to be watched very closely from Kabul as to where this process is going and whether or not it's going to be able to pave the way for a peace within Afghanistan. Obviously, the discussions were leading towards talk of a U.S. military withdrawal, but the larger question lingers as to whether a piece can be hammered out internally in Afghanistan in a country that has been a war now for 40 years. Natalie?

ALLEN: It is a high calling, isn't it? Nathan Hodge for us, Nathan, thank you. The death toll from Hurricane Dorian is slowly rising in the Bahamas. Officials say 45 people are confirmed dead but they do expect that number to climb as hundreds remain missing. Rescue teams have been digging through debris field searching for more survivors. But look at what they have to dig through. It seems impossible.

All this rubble is slowing down the effort. And the worst-hit areas relief teams are delivering aid to 70,000 people left homeless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREEN: I had a chance earlier today to tour the damage from the air in Abaco and what I was struck by was the focused nature of the devastation. So there are parts of Abaco and the Bahamas that don't show a great deal of damage, and then there are clusters and communities that were devastated almost as though nuclear bombs were dropped on them. That's how great the suffering is and the devastation is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: To give you a more close-up look at what we're talking about, here CNN's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We knew the numbers would be staggering and think of it 70,000 people now made homeless in the Bahamas. By certain estimates that's a full quarter of the population of Bahamas. So how do you deal with this? We're here in Nassau where a lot of the aid has been pre-positioned.

But it's more than just food shelter on a temporary basis. You could be dealing with people needing these kinds of things for months, perhaps even years. Some of the infrastructures in some of these places has been taken down to absolutely nothing.

That issue as well is, of course, that death toll. The government has warned us that of course, it will rise dramatically. We have seen for ourselves the temporary morgues. We've also seen the search and recovery teams. Many from the United States that are in there that will now have to systematically look through areas through that devastation.

Loved ones though that saw their family members completely swept away by the storm surge worry that their loved ones will never be found. And then there's the issue as well of identifying people. Bahamian government is quite blunt that this is painstaking work and will continue to take some time. Paula Newton, CNN Nassau, Bahamas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Tom Cotter joins us now. He is the Head of Emergency Response and Preparedness at Project Hope. Tom, thanks so much for being with us. We know that you're in Nassau now but just got back from Abaco. Can you describe what you saw there?

TOM COTTER, HEAD OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS, PROJECT HOPE: Absolutely. It's an old cliche but it really does look like a bomb went off. There are no buildings that are unaffected by Hurricane Dorian there. There are very few homes that are habitable right now and it's a very desperate situation.

ALLEN: What are the people -- what kind of help are they getting right now because you know, I know that you've got people there on the ground but for days we've been hearing people say you know, they've got very little food, very little water. They have nowhere to go because they have no homes.

[01:10:07]

COTTER: Yes. It's been a pretty, pretty difficult time to access the two main islands that been affected, the one that Project Hope was working on as Abaco. Even today, the only way that we could get there was actually to charter a helicopter to bring medical supplies in because not only it's an island but the port is damaged and the airport is damaged.

So the critical lifeline pathways into these affected areas are limping along and a lot of aid organizations are doing their best to get critical supplies where they're needed most.

ALLEN: Yes. And I've also seen a comment from you where you said that many of the people that your organization is talking with there on the island still don't know if their loved ones are dead or alive.

COTTER: Communications is down in wide areas of the two affected islands in Grand Bahama and Grand Abaco. And because of that you know, it's difficult -- not only difficult to coordinate aid, but you -- but the folks that have survived and folks that even evacuated, it's been -- it's been in a week, almost a week since the storm and some people still have not contacted their loved ones.

And you know, the Bahamas is a relatively small country and everyone knows everybody so that sense of community means that there's -- a lot of people have been -- a lot of people have been affected by this storm and there's no one who is unaffected.

ALLEN: Right. And I know that you're dealing -- talking with them -- you're dealing with the trauma of what they witnessed. We've heard story after story of people trying to even describe the sound of the storm, the impact of the storm, the sound of their house being torn apart, and you're just now getting in there via a helicopter which you chartered. So when do you think you'll be able to be there in earnest to do more work?

Project Hope has been able to do several trips to Abaco since we arrived here last Monday. So we -- it's been chartering flights and chartering helicopters and, of course, the cargo is quite limited. We're working on trying to get boats in but the debris and the water around these islands is making that difficult as well.

We want to set up a presence there, program presence on Abaco island right. Now we're at Nassau, but right now there's no food, there's no water, there's no electricity, and there's no communication. So even if we move there, we would be really relatively limited in what we could accomplish. So it really is kind of -- we have to get in and get out and keep working from where we can.

ALLEN: Yes. And I know that you've experienced several category 5 hurricanes before. How does this one compare?

COTTER: This is -- this is really bad. This is one of the worst I've ever seen. And it's all compounded by the fact that it's an island. It's surrounded by water on all sides so the aid is so difficult to get to the people who need it the most. And likewise, people can't just leave. They need to be leaving on boats or planes in those apartments where they are right now.

ALLEN: Well, we so appreciate you talking with us. We know you're very busy and thank you for the work that Project Hope is doing. Tom Cotter Forest, thank you so much. Good luck.

COTTER: Thank you, Natalie.

ALLEN: Well, we know that from the Bahamas, Dorian went up the U.S. East Coast and then it damaged Eastern Canada. Clean up efforts are underway after the storm toppled trees and caused power outages there. Transit operations are expected to resume Monday in Nova Scotia but public schools will be closed.

More than 250,000 homes and businesses are still without power. To learn how you can help those affected by Hurricane Dorian, be sure to visit cnn.com/impact.

On the other side of the world, Japan is dealing with a typhoon. There are reports of nearly one million homes now without power and our Meteorologists Pedram Javaheri has moved on to that storm now which deserves close monitoring. Hi, Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: It certainly does. You know, Natalie, this storm system here very rare to have a storm of this magnitude, a strong category 2 near category 3 equivalent moved ashore just south of Tokyo in the past 24 hours. As you mentioned, it has caused significant damage across this region.

And I want to show you what is left of this system, beginning to skirt away from Japan at this hour, but again still seeing winds 140 kilometers per hour and the damage done. Among the highest rainfall amounts across this region south of Tokyo, we've seen with about a half a meter that has come down in the past 24 or so hours. Wind gusts also near record territory in some areas, the highest wind gusts we've seen as well 207 kilometer per hour.

So when you mentioned about a million people without power across this region, it really shows why. We're in a densely populated area. Of course, you take a look, some of the footage from the past 24 hours, the storm moved to shore across this region. Faxai, again, comes in with 170 to 200-kilometer-per-hour winds.

[01:15:14] You've got to keep in mind, Japan in preparations for next summer's Olympics. So, we take a look at this damage in place, a lot of construction also being impacted by the storm. And the rarity of a storm of this magnitude coming within such close proximity, 50 nautical miles or about 100 kilometers away from Tokyo. Since the 1950s, this is only the fifth storm ever to come this close to Tokyo with such winds, so very impressive storm, to say the least. Unfortunately, we're getting to now move away from Japan.

I want to quickly leave you with what's happening with Dorian. You mentioned the extra tropical system essentially a storm that has lost its tropical characteristics, impacting the Canadian Maritimes. The remnants of this system will, in fact, move over portions of Northern U.K., impact Scotland Tuesday morning. There it is right there, the depiction of tremendous winds, potentially some damaging winds in the forecast Tuesday with what is left of Dorian, again, set to impact portions of the U.K. So, still seeing impacts across portions of the world there, Natalie.

ALLEN: Oh, my goodness. All right, Pedram, thanks very much. Well, no one in Britain or the E.U. has come close to solving the Irish backstop problem, and we're talking about Brexit. But Brexit is making some businesses on either side of the border miserable even though it hasn't even happened yet. We'll explain that story coming up here. Also, rescue crews searching for four crew members from this cargo ship, which capsized. It caught fire off the U.S. Coast.

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VINCE CELLINI, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Vince Cellini with your CNN "WORLD SPORT HEADLINES." Rafael Nadal has won his 19th Grand Slam title, that's just one behind the all-time leader Roger Federer after outlasting the Russian Daniil Medvedev in a five set epic that will become an instant classic. Nadal won the first two sets before the world number five, Medvedev, stormed back to take the next two. The Russian would stave off two match points before Nadal captured his fourth U.S. Open title.

Now to Formula One's Italian Grand Prix were 21-year-old Charles Leclerc has made it a weekend to remember for himself and his Ferrari team. Leclerc was tested by Team Mercedes, championship leader Lewis Hamilton clearly left aggravated at one point when he was seemingly forced off the track to avoid direct contact with Ferrari. Leclerc wins for the second week running, delivering the team's first win at their home race since Fernando Alonso's victory nine years ago.

And it's official, The Ashes will return to Australia after a 185-run victory over England in the fourth cricket tests of the famous biennials series. England needed to win the test in Manchester to keep the Aussies from retaining the ashes, but it wasn't to be as pace bowler Pat Cummins took four wickets on the final day of play. Former captain Steve Smith scored 291 runs in the fourth test to lead Australia to victory. I'm Vince Cellini, those are your sports headlines.

ALLEN: Another big week for Brexit is shaping up, starting with what will likely be a Monday to watch. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet with his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar in Dublin in a few hours. They're expected to discuss the likelihood of Britain striking a new deal on the Irish backstop. The Irish leader says he's not expecting a breakthrough.

Also, the new law blocking the British government from enacting a No Deal Brexit is set to take effect Monday, which means Mr. Johnson would need to come up with a new trade deal with the EU or ask for a third Brexit extension. Something he's -- has said this about, quote, "I'd rather be dead in a ditch than see another delay."

Also, the Prime Minister's team is trying to push through a vote on a snap election, but his opponents have vowed to quash it. Brexit's thorniest issue is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Right now, dairy farms ship fresh milk across the border without any problem. But that could all change if there is a No Deal Brexit. CNN's Nic Robertson has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: From sea, over mountains, more than 300 miles along rivers, slicing through towns. The border between Northern Ireland and its southern neighbor, the Republic of Ireland, cuts the island with a surgeon's precision and a drunk's sense of direction. It is an historic scar, and more recently, a symbol of peace. But it's fast becoming the Badlands of Brexit, where real lives are colliding with bitter E.U.-U.K. negotiations.

And one of Northern Ireland's biggest industries, agriculture, is collateral damage.

ANDREW LITTLE, DAIRY FARMER: There's a very big uncertainty to what is going to happen. No deal Brexit is completely (INAUDIBLE)

ROBERTSON: Andrew Little is 26. Milked his first cow when he was 10. Inherited the tiny farm not far from the border from his father, has grown it to 100 cows, scrapes and living selling milk south the border. A No Deal Brexit and the cross-border tariffs that would follow would crush him.

LITTLE: I'll be out of business just straight away. I couldn't sustain us.

ROBERTSON: You'll be out of business?

LITTLE: Yes, no problem.

ROBERTSON: You need to shut down the farm.

LITTLE: You have to shut up. And then, who's going to buy the cows if everybody is in the same boat.

ROBERTSON: Right now, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is invisible. No customs post, no controls. The road is wide open. Little more for most people than a line on the map. But after Brexit, all that could change, meaning the simple act of passing freshly-produced cow's milk from one hand to the other over the border could become a whole lot more complicated.

But even before Brexit happens, it's having an insidious impact.

Prices at this border cattle market are down 15 percent lower than last year, much of that over Brexit uncertainty according to the market's owner.

HAMPTON HEWITT, DIRECTOR, MARKETHILL: Farmers don't know when Brexit is going to happen, if it's going to happen. And if does happen, they don't know what the effect is going to be.

ROBERTSON: If prices dip more, some here could go under before Brexit even happens.

HEWITT: If the price goes down, if it's down too much, we're out of business. Simple as that.

ROBERTSON: Each day Brexit delay erodes the economy. From here, the fix seem so near.

HEWITT: When they free movement between north and south.

ROBERTSON: And yet here at the border, the same fix seems so far away. 72 million vehicles cross each year. And as yet, London and Brussels can't agree on how to handle even one of them. Nic Robertson, CNN, on the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:25:00]

ALLEN: Appreciate that story by Nic, revealing. Well, the U.S. Coast Guard is trying to rescue four South Koreans on board a cargo ship which overturned and caught fire off the coast of Georgia here on Sunday. 20 other crew members including South Korean and Filipino nationals were rescued. We have this dramatic footage of that. Some of them being lifted to safety by a Coast Guard helicopter crew. And here's more from that rescue effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're communicating via personal radio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to find a way off right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy. Any injuries?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are injuries reported within the ships hull.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Port Authority just called there's a (INAUDIBLE) advisory. 22 souls on board, and they're carrying cars and heavy equipment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Yes, they're carrying about 4,000 cars packed inside that ship, which was bound for the U.S. state of Maryland before it capsized. The vessel hasn't released any pollutants so far we're told, but crews are ready to respond if that were to happen. The cause of this remains under investigation.

A third republican is now launching a primary challenge against President Donald Trump for the 2020 nomination, but do any of them have a chance against Mr. Trump? We'll discuss that ahead here. Also, calling them fake news is one thing, but now, Israel's Prime Minister is taking his attacks on journalists to a whole new level.

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[01:29:58]

ALLEN: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. We appreciate you watching. I'm Natalie Allen. Here our headlines this hour: The death toll from Hurricane Dorian has now climbed to 45 in the Bahamas, that number will likely rise --

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[01:29:58]

ALLEN: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. We appreciate you watching.

I'm Natalie Allen.

Here are our headlines this hour.

The death toll from Hurricane Dorian has now climbed to 45 in the Bahamas. That number will likely rise as rescue teams continue searching for hundreds still missing. 70,000 people in the hardest hit areas are homeless and many are trying to leave.

Iran has indicated it will soon release the British-flagged oil tanker it seized in July. The foreign ministry says it is finishing up the legal paperwork before letting the ship go. Iran seized the vessel two weeks after one of its own tankers was briefly detained by British forces near Gibraltar.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. still wants a peace deal with the Taliban, but talks won't move ahead until the Taliban deliver on a number of commitments, including reducing violence. President Trump says he canceled his secret meeting with Taliban leaders after the militants took credit for a bombing which killed a U.S. soldier.

Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has announced he will challenge President Trump for the Republican nomination next year. He joins two other Republicans seeking to unseat the President in the 2020 primaries. All three face long odds against Mr. Trump whose approval rating among Republicans has held steady around 90 percent. Sanford says he is ready for the challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK SANFORD (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm here to tell you now that I am going to get in.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: You are going to run for president against Donald Trump in the Republican race?

SANFORD: I am. I am. I think as a party we have lost our way. The President has called himself the king of debt. Has a familiarity and comfort level with debt that I think is ultimately leading us in the wrong direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Let's talk more about this now with Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst and senior editor of "The Atlantic". Ron -- how are you doing. Thanks for being here.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me.

ALLEN: Ok. So we have the former governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford saying he will challenge Donald Trump. The issue debt deficit and spending in Washington. It sounds like issues that will resonate with Republicans but will Mark Sanford?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I don't think any of the three challengers that have emerged against President Trump -- the former Congressman Joe Walsh, the former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld or Mark Stanford is of the stature that the Trump opponents inside the party were hoping for.

And you know Trump's approval rating among Republicans is quite high which probably has a lot to do with that. The question is whether they can develop a constituency that sends a message to the broader party about the risks inherent in going down the Trump direction.

You know, obviously extremely, highly, virtually certain that they are not going to beat him. But if you see a pattern where -- and particularly some of these coastal states that they are able to do well among college-educated suburban Republicans the same kind of (INAUDIBLE) that pulled away from the party in 2018, I think that will be another piece of evidence to some of the GOP leaders that there is a cost in going down the direction that President Trump is leading the party.

ALLEN: So you're holding out a little sliver there.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, look as I said, I don't see any way that they are going to deny him the nomination. Part of, you know, it's a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy at this point. President Trump is such a strong brand to identify as a Republican almost by definition at this point you have to support him.

But nonetheless I mean we did see white college suburbs all over the country, not only, Natalie, in traditionally blue places as you know like Philadelphia and Minneapolis and Chicago. But even places that had not been moving for the Democrats like Atlanta and Houston and Dallas and Charleston and Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City moved very sharply away from the Republicans in 2018.

And I think the question is whether any of these candidates can mobilize some of those same voters to send a message -- southern New Hampshire is a place, for example with a lot of those kind of voters and it will be interesting to see whether any of them -- to get (INAUDIBLE) they can make a dent in the primary and kind of make a statement about -- from those voters about what they feel about the way President Trump is transforming the party.

ALLEN: One issue that we'll hear about on the campaign trail is gun legislation. Congress is now back in session after the leadership this summer Mitch McConnell refused to call a special session to deal with that after mass shootings in three states. Do you expect that Republicans will put this on the agenda?

BROWNSTEIN: Not in a fundamental way. I mean it's possible that something around the edge of the debate like red flag laws and that I think is uncertain but on the core issue of either expanding background checks much less banning high capacity ammunition clips or assault weapons, the answer is no.

[01:34:52]

BROWNSTEIN: I mean the Republican Party at this point is too dependent on the parts of the country where the gun culture is strong. You know, I calculated the other day there are 19 states where at least 35 percent of the population owns a gun, , another ten states where at least 30 percent of the population owns a gun.

44 of the Republican senators out of the 53 are from one of those high-gun ownership states. The other 21 states where gun ownership is relatively lower actually has significantly more people than the 29 where it is higher but because of the two-senator per state rule and the leverage that the filibuster gets to magnify that that I think it is very difficult to see how the Senate moves on gun control at any point.

Which is why I think that if, by the way, if Democrats do win back the host, hold the House and take the Senate, you know, all difficult but not impossible in 2020, I think gun control alone and climate change are going to be the two issues that creates the most pressure on Democrats to end the filibuster because it's very hard to see how you move forward on either of those issues, even the Republican dominance in the Senate, in the states that are most kind of on the other side of them.

ALLEN: Very interesting stuff there.

All right. Ron -- one more for you. Also this week House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler is expected to schedule a vote on Wednesday to authorize ground rules for launching impeachment proceedings against Mr. Trump. This has been tried before. What's different this time?

BROWNSTEIN: Well I think the big difference this time is that they are trying to broaden the inquiry and not just focus solely on the Mueller report and the questions of obstruction of justice or Russia collusion but a broader range of issues related with Trump.

The President has comported himself in office -- questions of corruption and obscuring contracts to Trump properties, in the latest issues with the refueling in Ireland. And also the questions of violating campaign finance laws in the payments that were made to women claiming affairs with him right before the 2016 election.

This seems to be the giveaway of the game in the sense that they are probably less likely to move this all the way to a full scale vote on the House floor given the resistance of the party leadership and so many of the Democrats elected in Trump's districts in 2016 than they are I think to present kind of a bill of particulars to the country.

I mean I can see it going in that direction where they try to lay out a comprehensive kind of catalog of where they think the President has violated the law and committed high crimes and misdemeanors and in effect present it to the voters for 2020.

ALLEN: We always appreciate your interesting insights -- Ron Brownstein. Thanks so much for giving us your time -- Ron.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank your for having me.

ALLEN: Well, just like Donald Trump Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares a particular disdain for the media, often labeling them, you've heard it before, fake news. But the Israeli leader is now taking that rhetoric even further accusing journalists of terrorism.

Our Oren Liebermann has the story from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They share a style, a billboard, and now it seems a campaign strategy.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That is a lot of fake news back there.

LIEBERMANN: President Donald Trump has made attacking the media a central theme of his election and his presidency.

TRUMP: If you look at the newscast, I call it fake news.

LIEBERMANN: And now his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who's facing a tough reelection bid is doing the same.

Ignoring traditional media outlets, the longest serving leader in Israeli history has gone to Facebook Live, to rail against what he calls the secret quartet (ph) of media owners planning to tilt the result of the upcoming election.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The media court marshals us. They lie, they cheat, they distort on an enormous scale. And when we give our reaction, they say this is terrible, this is awful, this is incitement.

LIEBERMANN: In a week when Hezbollah militants fired anti-tank missiles at Israel, Netanyahu said it was the media that was planning what he called a terror attack.

NETANYAHU: You are carrying out a terror attack against the truth and against democracy. We will not bow down to your hypocritical double standards. We know it is all a bluff.

LIEBERMANN: Netanyahu and his Likud Party declined to comment to CNN. But political analysts here say they've never seen anything like this.

CHEMI SHALEY, HAARETZ JOURNALIST: In Israel, to call a journalist a terrorist which is like the worst moniker that you can attach to anyone. And to declare that they are trying to undermine democracy is very dangerous. It's a new stage.

Channel 12's Guy Peleg now has a security team for his own safety. He says he's received threats but Netanyahu in another echo of Trump's language called them fake security guards.

As Netanyahu faces possible charges of bribery and breach of trust in ongoing corruption investigations, he's accused the media of carrying out a witch hunt in an effort to unseat him, even though it is an attorney general he appointed who's in charge of the cases. Netanyahu has insisted he is innocent.

[01:39:59]

SHALEY: I think now he truly believes that he is being persecuted, victimized by a vast left wing cabal run by the media. And I think it's very worrying if he is indeed living in such a delusional state.

LIEBERMANN: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also beginning to warn his voter base of election fraud. He says one of the Arab parties stole the victory from him last April when he failed to form a government after the elections. And he warns it is happening again.

Meanwhile Netanyahu's rival, former chief of staff Benny Gantz, says Netanyahu is just trying to lay the ground work to reject the results of an election, an important democratic process, he says.

Oren Liebermann, CNN -- Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Next here, a story about Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and what it did to animals when it struck. How one shelter tried to keep them safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ALLEN: The Bahamas face a long recovery after the devastation of Hurricane Dorian but there have also been many incredible stories of survival and heroism, including this one -- employees at an animal shelter who risked their lives to save hundreds of dogs and cats.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the face of a lucky duck, one of the survivors of the hell unleashed by Hurricane Dorian as it battered the Bahamas.

FELICA TELLORT, HUMANE SOCIETY OF GRAND BAHAMAS: About 300 and some animals were here at the moment.

VALDES: Felicia is the shelter supervisor, who along with five colleagues tried to keep safe 300 dogs and 100 cats, most of them waiting to be adopted, but some already had families who had been forced to evacuate.

ELIZABETH BURROWS, HUMANE SOCIETY OF GRAND BAHAMAS: The government- run shelters will not allow pets.

VALDES: Elizabeth Burrows (ph), executive director of the Humane Society of Grand Bahamas trusted this building, built in 2008 with some elevation to avoid floods.

[01:45:01]

BURROWS: And since we did not flood in the other storms, we really felt like -- we felt we might get some water but we had no idea we would get the flood that we did.

VALDES: But the water from the storm surged unexpectedly, threatening the lives of the animals and in spite of the danger to themselves, Felicia and her co-workers desperately tried to save the dogs by keeping the crates above the rising waters.

TELLORT: The water was about this high, we were doing this.

VALDES: With the water now chest high and the building flooding, they sought shelter.

TELLORT: Making sure that everything would be (INAUDIBLE) safe to try and put it up high and we went up in the manhole (ph) because the water started to come up so high.

VALDES: The manhole is the access to the attic which had no stars so they had to pull each other up.

TELLORT: As the kennel dogs, they were still howling and crying, we experienced all of that until they were not even crying anymore.

VALDES: That silence represented the death of more than 220 dogs and 50 cats. BURROWS: I feel devastated, we could not have predicted this but I

still feel responsible. My heart is broken for the shelter animals that we lost. And I feel so bad for the people who entrusted their animals to us and ultimately, we cannot protect them.

VALDES: Dorian also destroyed their medical equipment, food, medicine and vehicles. In spite of the near death experience, Felicia says she doesn't regret risking her life.

TELLORT: It wasn't about us being heroes. It was about us caring about the animals just as much as we care about ourselves.

VALDES: Gustavo Valdes, CNN -- Freeport, the Bahamas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: A new U.S. Open title for a veteran tennis champ, up next. Rafa Nadal tells us why this was such an emotional victory for him in New York City Sunday.

[01:46:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Well, I'm anchoring this program from the state of Georgia in the U.S. but we want to take you to the other Georgia -- a small country in the Caucasus mountains at the heart of where Europe meets Asia. It is now a popular tourist destination, evolving from its Soviet past, and visitors usually start their adventure in its ancient capital, Tbilisi.

Here's an insider's guide to the city's must-see hotspots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Georgia's capital Tbilisi is a city best seen on foot.

NESTAN MAMATSASHVILI, FOUNDER, GEORGIA STARTS HERE: My name is Nestan (ph) and this is my Tbilisi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three years ago Nestan Mamatsashvili created a Web site and guidebook to give young travelers an insider's view of the best places to go in the city.

At street level, Tbilisi's unique mix of influences come to life. From the sulfur mass stone on which the city was founded.

MAMATSASHVILI: This is one of the must-see place in Tbilisi born centuries ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To age-old churches and narrow alley ways from a bygone era this is a city that displays its history, and nowhere more so than at one of Tbilisi's food markets, amongst its trinkets and knickknacks lots of Soviet memorabilia. MAMATSASHVILI: We are on (INAUDIBLE) flea market, one of my favorite

place in Tbilisi. Everything you see here reminds me about my country's past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Georgia WAS part of the Soviet Union for 70 years until 1991. Traces of Georgia's communist past are laid out for all to see.

MAMATSASHVILI: This is a diploma certificate, 1984. Of course, it's written everything inside in Russian, because we were in the U.S.S.R.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Tbilisi isn't a city that dwells on its past. Old, crumbling buildings are being reimagined as trendy locations. Just like a Fabrica -- a former Soviet sewing factory transformed into one of Tbilisi's hottest urban spaces.

It's home to restaurants, one of the most popular hostels in the city, black dog shops (ph) -- a concept store putting Georgia on the map through its unique alphabet.

MAMATSASHVILI: Hello. Hello. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fine, thank you.

MAMATSASHVILI: These are workshops and all we are doing are for promoting Georgian alphabet. For me it's so beautiful. It looks like a piece of art.

What makes Tbilisi unique is that Tbilisi is keeping its past, but also is looking further, looking into the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: All right. Now we are back in New York City where Rafael Nadal is the winner of the U.S. Open. The 33-year-old Spaniard won his 4th U.S. Open title and his 19th Grand Slam in a thrilling match against Russian Daniel Medvedev.

Nadal spoke with the World Sports reporter Don Riddell after his win.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLDSPORT REPORTER: Rafa, just a few short minutes ago you were lying right here. I can't believe you're standing up. Many congratulations.

That was intense. That was exhausting. That was clearly very emotional for you. How would you describe the last five hours of your life?

RAFAEL NADAL, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS CHAMPION: It had been a dramatic match. The match had everything. And Daniel Medvedev is one of the toughest competitors and the best players of the world, of course.

So it means a lot to me to have the trophy in my hands. I was just (INAUDIBLE) during the last three hours of the match. He played amazing, I think. And for me personally the personal satisfaction is as high and possible.

[01:54:56]

RIDDELL: You're such a phenomenal competitor, at times you're like the terminator. But at the end of the match when you saw that video of all your accomplishments, you were so emotional, you just crumbled.

Why do you think you reacted like that?

NADAL: Well, I don't know. The emotion sometimes impossible to control. I try to resist, but it was difficult than I know. All these people supporting the way that our match began, you know, the fatigue of course. So all the body and on the mental side too.

So all these things make this day unforgettable for me.

RIDDELL: Novak got 16, you are 19, Roger's on 20. The greatest of all time will be measured by how many grand slam you won. How many do you think you need to get to if that's going to be you?

NADAL: I don't know. Honestly, it's not in my mind today. My mind just having the trophy in my hands, I mean everything. I cannot be all time thinking about more and more. No, I just try to do my way and more than happy about the career that I'm having, that I keep having, winning the grand slam.

Well done for all of them. I can't be frustrated if the guys are doing a little bit better than me, or I don't know. Let's see what's going on in the next couple of years. I hope the way to keep producing chances to win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Hopefully, he'll just concentrate on a little vacation now. What a win.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Natalie Allen.

Another hour is next with Rosemary and George. We hope you stay with us.

[01:56:27]

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