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Lebanese Media Says 16 Port Workers Detained in Investigation; Beirut's Governor Says 300,000 People Lost Their Homes; Anger Grows as Officials Investigate Deadly Blast; Fauci: U.S. Positivity Upticks a Predictor of Trouble; U.S. Cases Rise as People Attend Crowed Events; Trump Signs Order Banning TikTok, WeChat in 45 Days. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 07, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to you, our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Just ahead, warnings ignored, dangers overlooked and devastating consequences. Anger grows in Beirut over who's to blame for Tuesday's horrific explosion.

Plus President Trump takes action against the Chinese social media app TikTok and WeChat when it takes effect and what it means for users.

And the U.S. government lifts its global coronavirus do not travel advisory. But Americans who want to go abroad shouldn't pack their bags just yet.

The investigation into Beirut's devastating explosion reportedly has led to the detention of 16 port employees. And CNN has learned the bank accounts belonging to both the port director and the customs director have been frozen. Nearly 3,000 tons of hazardous ammonium nitrate stored in the port warehouse is the suspected source of the blast. At least 137 people were killed and 5000 were wounded.

Shock has quickly turned to outrage towards the government. Documents show officials were warned repeatedly about the hazardous stockpile but nothing was ever done. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is covering this disaster for us and joined us from Istanbul. So many elements to this horrific story. What's the latest?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kim, as you mentioned there, the focus, of course, is that shipment of ammonium nitrate. Nearly 3,000 metric tons of it that sat in the Beirut port for more than six years.

Now we know, we believe how it ended up there, it was a shipment that was headed to Mozambique. Financial disputes on board that ship. It ended up stopping in Beirut, confiscated. The Beirut port authorities confiscated the consignment and kept it there in a warehouse.

Now what we understand happened since and over the years, multiple times according to local officials is that they notified authorities several times in memos that apparently seemed to be documented, whether it's in court documents or emails. Saying they needed to resolve the situation. They needed to move this dangerous, hazardous material out of the port.

Now ammonium nitrate is used as an agricultural fertilizer. It's used as an explosive for mining, but it is a highly explosive, hazardous material and it was being kept in the heart of the capital.

So the questions right now, the focus of the investigation is, one, what led to the initial spark? What ignited that blast. But also, who knew about this being there? Why did they do nothing about it for so long? And all indications at this point seem to be pointing to negligence, incompetence, all symptoms of this non-functioning bureaucracy in Lebanon and we see it in other parts of the region.

And this is why people are so angered. They are outraged by this because they believe this could have been so easily avoided. This could have been prevented. So right now you're hearing more and more calls, Kim, for an international investigation. Because while authorities there have promised a transparent investigation, they have promised to hold those responsible accountable, the population does not trust their authorities to be able to deliver any sort of credible and transparent investigation. Because you're basically asking the authorities that are being blamed for this to investigate themselves.

So you're hearing these calls from people in Lebanon and also a number of different international organizations like Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International all saying there should be an international mechanism, an independent investigation that is free of any sort of political influence and interference in that country to really hold accountable those responsible for this and to provide justice for the people of Beirut.

BRUNHUBER: And that's what so many people want. Thank you so much, Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul. Appreciate it.

Well the people of Beirut are showing uncommon resilience in the aftermath of Tuesday's tragedy.

[04:05:00]

Volunteers armed with brooms and shovels immediately took it upon themselves to clean up the widespread damage. But beneath their resolve is deepening anger that this disaster might have been avoidable. We get more from CNN's Arwa Damon in Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could there be anyone left alive? It's a hope dozens of family members of the missing cling to. Knowing that it is unlikely, but not wanting to accept that their loved one could be gone. Others are laid to rest. Lives, utterly shattered in the trail of destruction by Tuesday's explosion and Lebanon's capital city. Those who survive are trying to pick up the pieces. Glass and debris crunch below the feet of an army of volunteers. Stepping in where the government is not. Attempting to clear the rubble of billions of dollars of damage. They urge each other on. But for others, it's all just too much. The intensity of the emotional rollercoaster that is being Lebanese, has left many of them hollow shells.

What should we feel? Asks one resident, you can't feel anything in Lebanon, there's nothing to be sad about it anymore, he says.

As the cleanup continues a rage grows across the country. At how a new disaster could happen. Still without any clear explanation or apology.

As French President Emmanuel Macron toured the wreckage, the first foreign leader to set foot here, he was surrounded by hundreds of Lebanese calling for revolution, urging him, begging him do something. He vowed that France would stand with the Lebanese people, but cautioned its leaders.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): The requirement of a friend in times of need is to rush to scene when times are hard, but not to hand out blank checks to assist them, not trusted by the people.

DAMON: From outside and inside the country, demands for answers grow louder, as calls emerge for an independent probe into the explosion. This is not just about accountability or how the country is going to rebuild emotionally and physically. It's about how it is going to find its soul.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Now on Wednesday independent weather news journalist Luna Safwan wrote a powerful piece for "The Washington Post" about the anger people are feeling in their country. So we're pleased to have her here with us now. Luna Safwan from Beirut, welcome and appreciate you speaking with us. To start out with, I mean, so many people have a dramatic, almost unimaginable at least to us sitting here, stories about how they experienced the explosion. Just take us through what you and your family experienced.

LUNA SAFWAN, JOURNALIST: Thank you for having me, first. I don't live inside the city in Beirut so the last thing we expected is that we would feel an explosion as big and hit in different areas in Lebanon. The aftermath of the explosion around me is almost recognizable. What we felt at home was that the whole house was shaking at first when the first explosion happened, and then when the second explosion happened, a few of us actually flew across the hallway. And we live in a relatively -- in a relatively sided area, not in the middle of the city of Beirut.

It was shocking. It was traumatizing. Especially that every single person in Beirut and its suburbs felt as this explosion occurred right under their house. BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's unbelievable. I mean, the people there are so

resilient between wars, assassinations, you've lived through so many disasters and unrest. So how does this one compare?

SAFWAN: Well, right now I think that all of us are very hesitant in using the word resilient because all of us are feeling helpless. And we don't know where to start picking the pieces from. We understand that we've been resilient for years, but when something like this happens to top an economic crisis, we thought that was it for us with the economic crisis in Lebanon. And then this happened. So all of these tiny bits of resilience that Lebanese have were also shattered across the country with this explosion. It's very hard to pick up the pieces. And you could feel sadness overcomes positivity in every single way in this country today. And that's very sad to see for people who were so motivated to stay in Lebanon and do whatever they can to save it before this explosion.

BRUNHUBER: I mean, that sadness you wrote that eloquently. I want to read you back something you wrote.

[04:10:20]

Today most Lebanese have no faith that this political class or government will bring any sort of justice to Lebanon. This catastrophe could be a new trigger to revolt or a trigger to surrender to total helplessness. This time, there is no place in between.

I mean, that seems like a very bleak assessment. Neither option, quite frankly, seems positive. You think one is more likely than the other?

SAFWAN: I know for certain that every single Lebanese person, regardless of the political differences, is more than sad at the moment. Everyone is angry. I am just as every Lebanese. I am hoping that Lebanese and us, will put this into action. Because really, this is the last trigger. To live in a city and I've been thinking about this for hours, we've been in a city that is a ticking time bomb for years. Since 2014, 2015 when this shipment was saved in Lebanon, when it was put aside in Lebanon in the port.

No one said anything about it so it could have been any of us at any moment for all of these years. You feel that you are not actually alive because you could have died any moment, and you were just lucky. Lucky between brackets because are we really lucky to be alive among all of this destruction?

We're hoping that this would really push people to demand more than justice. To demand answers and transparency that will put every politician into its place and hold them responsible for what they have done. Because this is something that we don't -- this is something that we didn't do as Lebanese. So this was the aim of this conclusion that I wrote in my piece.

BRUNHUBER: Well, listen, I wish something gives you a bit more hope in the next coming days and weeks and we certainly hope that, you know, you can bounce back, indeed. Thank you so much for speaking with us, Luna Safwan in Beirut. We really appreciate it. Well, we're going to take a short break here. But just ahead, Los

Angeles says it could be lights out for house parties as some people still aren't taking the coronavirus seriously.

Plus, the clock is ticking for the popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat after Donald Trump sets a deadline. He says sell them or be banned in the U.S. stay with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. has now surpassed 160,000 COVID-19 deaths and some researchers say that number could almost double by the end of the year. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts almost 300,000 U.S. deaths by December. But it says tens of thousands of lives could be saved if 95 percent of Americans consistently wear masks.

And the World Health Organization has also released new findings. It claims the coronavirus is starting to hit younger people. Most people affected are 25 to 64 years old, but cases in infants, children and teens have risen sharply.

The top U.S. infectious disease doctor says it's time for the country to get serious in order to lower infection rates by November. CNN's Athena Jones explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: This is a predictor of trouble ahead.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new warning for nine U.S. cities in California's Central Valley, where the rate of people testing positive for coronavirus is rising.

FAUCI: It's a clear indication that you are getting an uptick in cases, which inevitably, as we have seen in the Southern states, leads to surges, and then you get hospitalizations, and then you get deaths.

JONES: In a recording of a private phone call with state and local officials obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, the White House's Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, urging these areas to take measures to mitigate the spread, like avoiding crowds and using masks. Arguing, data from previous hot spots show such measures work. In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci says these simple measures could bring COVID infections down to manageable levels by Election Day.

FAUCI: If we pay attention to the fundamental tenets of infection control and diminution of transmission, we could be way down in November.

JONES: But far too many people haven't gotten the message. In Los Angeles, house parties like this one leading authorities to say they'll start turning off power and water at places that host such functions, especially repeat offenders.

ERIC GARCETTI, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: These large house parties have essentially become nightclubs. Some research has shown that 10 percent of people cause 80 percent of the spread.

JONES: Since the beginning of June, the infection rate in Los Angeles County tripled among 30-to-39-year-olds and nearly quadrupled among 18-to-29-year-olds.

Dr. Fauci pleading --

FAUCI: Don't be the weak link in the chain. Be a very strong part of the chain of ultimately getting us down.

JONES: In a stunning move in the town of Sturgis, South Dakota preparing to host a motorcycle rally expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people. No masks required.

MARK CARSTENSEN, STURGIS, SOUTH DAKOTA MAYOR: We want to stress personal responsibility to our visitors and our residents as this gathering moves forward.

JONES: While new infections are steady or falling in all but three states, it isn't all good news. Mississippi reporting the highest COVID test positivity rate in the country, at nearly 26 percent. While Louisiana has the most cases per capita. And with testing rates falling off, these positive trends likely don't show the whole picture.

Meanwhile, the number daily deaths on the rise in 15 states and stubbornly high nationwide, averaging more than 1,000 a day for the past seven days, the University of Washington now predicting nearly 300,000 U.S. deaths from COVID by December 1.

And, as more schools reopen for in-person classes, cases of coronavirus are popping up daily.

[04:20:00]

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We're trying to open up schools in the middle of a raging forest fire in many parts of the country and we can't do that.

JONES: Outbreaks in Georgia and Mississippi proof in-person learning is risky in some places, which is why nearly seven million children will begin the year remotely.

(on camera): And one cautionary tale about schools. More than 260 employees of Gwinnett County schools have either tested positive for COVID-19 or are under quarantine. Just another sign of how difficult it is to reopen schools in a place where the virus is still surging.

Athena Jones, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: President Trump is making good on his threat to crack down on two popular Chinese owned social media apps. He signed executive orders banning TikTok and WeChat from operating in the U.S. within 45 days unless they're sold. Mr. Trump says the apps are effectively spy wear. CNN's Hadas Gold is covering this for us from London. So many twists and turns on this story, what's the latest.

HADAS GOLD, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: So these two executive orders came out just last night focusing on TikTok and as you noted, WeChat saying that the U.S. will ban these apps within 45 days unless they are taken over by an American company.

Of course, we know that Microsoft is currently in talks to buy some of TikTok's operations in countries like the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In his executive order Trump cited some of things we already know that U.S. officials are worried about when it comes to these apps. Things like national security concerns, how they collect data. Ironically also, they also cited that TikTok is used to spread disinformation around coronavirus.

Which is a little bit ironic considering Trump himself has had some posts on social media actually removed by platforms like Facebook and Twitter for spreading disinformation around coronavirus. But TikTok as we all know by now has become one of the biggest hits of the last few years. But almost since the moment it launched it's had a rather bumpy ride. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD (voice-over): For many people around the world. TikTok has become a lifeline of joy.

JAKE SWEET, TIKTOK STAR: People rely on this app for happiness sometimes. I could read hundreds of thousands of comments from my videos alone that would say like, this video like really made my day. I get messages all the time saying like, you've really helped me like during hard times.

GOLD: The app, owned by a Chinese company ByteDance, changed British 22-year-old Jake Sweet's life, after he joined, and amass nearly 7 million followers. Not many Chinese own app have reached such global success. But after ByteDance bought the music app, merged it under TikTok and launch worldwide, it hit 1 billion downloads by the following February. As it rose in the app charts, controversy followed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, guys, I want to teach you guys how to --

GOLD: It's been accused of censorship, temporarily suspending the account of a 17-year old girl last November who went viral for a video she made criticizing the Chinse government and its Uyghur detention centers. The company says the teen's account had been suspended due to a post on her other account and apologized. Blaming the decision on human error. At the same time U.S. lawmaker were warning the app could pose a national security threat. Saying it was putting Americans data in the hands of the Chinese government. A national security review was soon under way.

TikTok said in a statement that it stores all U.S. user data in the United States and backs it up in Singapore and would never share data with the Chinese government. By December, the Pentagon urge military personnel to delete the app from government issued smartphones. And some branches followed up with outright bans.

In June 2020, India went further, completely banning the app in the country, claiming it poses a threat to sovereignty and integrity. But several cybersecurity experts tell CNN, that though TikTok's Chinese ownership is worthy of concern most of its data just wouldn't be that useful for a real espionage.

EVA GALPERIN, DIRECTOR OF CYBERSECURITY, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION: This is mostly a political move. But it is based around a tiny seed of something which could be a real concern. If you are, again, an activist in Hong Kong, if you are a whistleblower on you know, a Chinese government corruption. I would not recommend installing TikTok on your phone. If you are a, you know, soldier deployed in North Africa and the Middle East by the United States, I would not recommend installing TikTok on your phone. But you know, for example a dancing teenager probably it's not.

GOLD: As the app becomes a diplomatic flash point, TikTok's legions of influencers and fans desperately hope this won't be their last dance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD: And Kim, one thing that this Executive Order actually did not mention. If you remember a few days ago President Trump mentioned that whatever sale ordeal might come out of the Microsoft TikTok negotiations, he thinks the U.S. should get a cut of that deal. Something that experts we have spoken to said has absolutely no basis in current law. So there a little bit confused on where comes from. That executive order that we saw last night did not make any mention of the U.S. getting any sort of cut of that deal -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that was a little confusing. Thanks so much.

[04:25:00]

CNN's Hadas Gold in London. Appreciate it.

Now for the second time in two days China has sentenced a Canadian citizen to death for his role in a drug trafficking ring. The man was convicted of charges that he and his accomplices manufactured and intended to distribute amphetamines. One of his associates was previously sentenced to death for the same crimes. Four others face long prison sentences. China says it doesn't for see any impact on Chinese Canadian relations but there's been no response yet from the Canadian government.

Well we'll have more on the explosion in Beirut just ahead. Where cleaning up from a disaster in the age of coronavirus is presenting unique challenges.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Please do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: At least 16 employees of Beirut's port have been detained as authorities begin to investigate the cause of Tuesday's deadly explosion. That's according to a report by Lebanese national news. A warehouse full of volatile ammonium nitrate is the suspected source of the massive blast which caused damage up to 10 kilometers away. Only the port's badly damaged grain silos, you can see there, are still standing. At least 137 people were killed, 5,000 were injured.

The former captain of the ship that brought the materials to Beirut says he doesn't understand why it stayed in the warehouse for so many years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS PROKOSHEV, FORMER CAPTAIN OF MV RHOSUS: (through translator): As far as I know the cargo was unloaded in 2014 or 2015. No one ever claimed it. It was possible to register it as dangerous and it was, indeed, dangerous, and then move it to some.

END