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Pres. Biden Traveling from Israel to Saudi Arabia; Crown Prince May be Present in Meeting Between Biden and Mohammed bin Salman; Gas Prices Are Dropping; Twitter Threatens to Force Elon Musk to Buy Twitter; Sri Lanka's Prime Minister's and President's Houses Overrun by Protesters; Russia Again Targeting Civilian Territory with Airstrikes. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 11, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, despite those previous comments. Now the president will be there in the country for also for a larger meeting with Gulf leaders. But he will be meeting with Saudi Arabia's king as well as his leadership team, which includes the Crown Prince.

One thing that will likely come up in discussions are those rising energy prices as the U.S. is hoping that other countries can help with some production and output. But, all eyes towards the end of the week, as the president is in Saudi Arabia, is what those interactions will be like between President Biden and the Crown Prince, who Biden once vowed to isolate.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Right. And Nick, this does not make Saudi Arabia a pariah, it does -- it just doesn't, having this meeting. And Biden wrote in that op-ed that Orlet (ph) read from, that his aim is to reorient, not rupture relations with this country. Was he without a choice? I mean, why is this meeting with Mohammed bin Salman so critical? This meeting with the two of them so critical that he has to do it in the wake of all this criticism and really going against his word?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, I mean, when people say you campaign in poetry and you govern in prose. Remember that pariah statement was made on the election hostings (ph) this is a clear example of kind of how ugly that vocabulary can perhaps get. This is really about making sure that gas prices try and edge down in the United States to some degree.

Yes, there are broader geopolitical goals he might be able to establish during this trip. But, these meetings do begin the slow rehabilitation of Saudi Arabia, that's certainly fair to say, regardless of whether or not we see photo opportunities with the President of the United States alongside the Crown Prince.

This reminds you of what happened with Jamal Khashoggi. This was a Saudi journalist, also an American citizen, who was lured into the consulate in Turkey and essentially chopped up with a bone saw and the body then disposed of. U.S. Intelligence finding quite likely that MBS, as he's known,

Mohammed bin Salman the Crown Prince, has control over parts of that operation. The U.N. called it an extrajudicial killing. One of the most shocking things, frankly, that the journalism community's had to deal with over the past decade or so. And the sanctions put in place by the United States will slowly begin to look weaker in the face of this bid.

Does the U.S. have a choice at this stage? Well, certainly, Saudi Arabia was called a pariah before we even thought that Russia would invade Ukraine and the turmoil that that would wreck on gas prices across the world became apparent.

So, certainly, Saudi Arabia is a way of trying to emolliate that situation and if you can get that out of this possible trip that may justify some of the ugly real politics, the pragmatism of essentially having to make meeting like that too.

He also goes to the Middle East at a very pivotal time. It's less in the global focus because of what's happening in Ukraine. But, there was a truce in Yemen the U.S. tried to create there. There's a sort of calming of relations between Gulf states and Israel that many didn't see coming. And he could possibly begin to submit (ph) some of that by being there himself. Jim, Poppy?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's important for you to recount the details of Khashoggi's murder because it cannot be forgotten. And they were particularly brutal. Just quickly before we go. President Biden has said he -- explicitly he will not ask Saudi Arabia specifically to increase oil production. So, what are the potential, although he certainly wants it, but what are the potential concrete takeaways from this?

WALSH: I mean I hate to say it, but it's unlikely the White House will publicly say that's something they're going to go there as an ask, whether or not that becomes, obviously, apparent in the discussions. But, certainly, Saudi Arabia could help with that. And even just beginning to heal, possibly, bridge again that relationship may assist, certainly in the Middle East.

We have a very potentially volatile situation with the Iranian Nuclear Deal, either falling apart entirely into possible confrontation or being patched back together again. Remember, that was torn apart by U.S. president then, Donald Trump.

So, a lot that could be taken outside of the energy crisis the world's currently facing. But, still, the symbolism of a U.S. president flying from Israel to Saudi Arabia is something decades ago might possibly have seemed entirely unfeasible, yet that's what's going to happen. So, many benefits potentially from here, but I'm sure most people watching this be wondering, can it make the cost at the pump less. Yes.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much. And Arlette Saenz at the White House for the reporting.

SCIUTTO: Well, speaking of gas prices, you may have noticed some good news. Filling up is getting a bit cheaper. The price gas I actually down for the 26th day in a row. What's behind it, we'll have an update coming up.

[10:34:30]

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[10:39:04]

SCIUTTO: All right, some good news. Gas prices are dropping right now, to their lowest point since the summer driving season began. According to AAA, the national average for a regular gallon of gas is now about $0.30 cheaper than it was just a month ago.

Joining us now, CNN Business Correspondent, Rahel Solomon. So, Rahel, what's happening here? And are these trend lines expected to continue down?

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think a lot of people hope so, Jim. Yes, and it's interesting, because as you just pointed out, there a month ago we were all talking about the national average being $5.00 a gallon. And, of course, they were forecasting it could go even higher.

So, what has happened since then? This last month? Well, for one, we've seen more supply come back onto the market. The latest data from the government suggest that U.S. production is now at 12.1 million barrels per day. To put that in perspective, before the pandemic we were closer to 13 million barrels per day. So, we're not quite there yet, Jim, but certainly getting a lot closer.

On the demand side, we're seeing some demand destruction, this idea that as prices became expensive, apparently too expensive for some, folks really pulled back.

[10:40:10]

And also, concerns about even greater demand destruction, i.e., a recession. When you look at the price of dub UTI [ph] crude oil, which is the U.S. benchmark for crude, you can see we're certainly much higher than we were at the beginning of this year. But, prices have come down, certainly, the last month or so. They've sort of been trending lower. In terms of where were go from here.

Well, some tell me $4.50, $4.40 a gallon. The issue, Jim, is that demand pulling back a little bit, but even in terms of a recession we don't see U.S. oil consumption drop much, less than 10 percent if you look at four of the last five U.S recessions. And supply, of course, globally is still tight. That said, $4.50, $4.40, I think a lot of people at home would still be very excited to see that compared to where we're coming from. And in this high inflation environment, of course, every little bit helps.

SCIUTTO: Yes, $0.30 a gallon. That -- you notice that when you're filling up Rahel Solomon, thanks so much.

HARLOW: All right, so this morning Elon Musk is ridiculing Twitter's threat to force him to go through with buying Twitter on Twitter. You can't make this stuff up.

Elon being Elon, sharing his opinion in a tweet, mocking the company he once, but no longer wants to buy. Our Chief Media Correspondent and Anchor of Reliable Sources Brian Stelter is here. Just to -- OK, $44 billion deal.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

HARLOW: Twitter -- Elon Musk, Twitter, I want to buy you.

STELTER: Right.

HARLOW: Twitter, no thanks. OK, fine you can buy us. No, I don't want to buy you anymore.

STELTER: That's right.

HARLOW: And now a judge in Delaware gets to decide if they can force Elon Musk?

STELTER: The way you just described it, it sounds like this childish game that's happening. And on one level it is.

HARLOW: But, isn't it kind of the way that --

STELTER: This is juvenile.

HARLOW: Yes.

STELTER: This is absurd. And the folks who were skeptical about Musk trying to buy Twitter and skeptical of this deal, they are being proven right over and over and over again. I think the folks who had a lot of confidence and faith in Musk and were hoping that he would take over Twitter and improve the product, they may now be quite disappointed unless they think he's playing some of 4D chess and this is all going to work out in the end.

HARLOW: To get a lower price?

STELTER: And the reality, Poppy, is, no one knows how this is going to end. I read an article this morning with eight different scenarios for how this could end. Yes, maybe he'll negotiate for a lower price and still buy Twitter. Maybe he'll pay a giant breakup fee. Maybe he'll have to go to court in Delaware, negotiate a truce and then walk away quietly.

But, so far, he's not being quiet. You saw those tweets. Look at those memes again, because they are really this is a kind of Elon specialty, posting these memes that make fun of what's on, trying to -- trying to amuse his fans with commentary. And it's kind of clever. Instead of Checkmate, he's doing "Chuckmate" with Chuck Norris. But, it suggests that he's not taking this all that seriously. And maybe when you're this rich, maybe you don't have to take it that seriously.

HARLOW: OK, but I just keep thinking about all the employees at Twitter.

STELTER: Right.

HARLOW: And their whole livelihood really hangs on the balance of what -- not only do they care what happens to their company, it's like, you know, there have been hiring freezes, layoffs, these are a lot of people --

STELTER: Yes.

HARLOW: -- stuck in the middle of this.

STELTER: Right. Even if he's not taking it seriously, they certainly are. Today the stock price is down more than 7 percent right now because of Musk's attempt to pull out. And look, we don't know if he's going to. Again, we don't know what's going to happen next, but at least at the moment that stock price is down $20 from what Musk was offering. He was offering $54 a share, now it's down closer to $34. That's a real problem for the company.

HARLOW: Just to be really clear here, his beef is mainly, you Twitter won't tell me how many of your users are bots, not people. However, he agreed to a deal, right?

STELTER: Yes.

HARLOW: Where that due diligence and those kinds of facts that he could have mandated to have come forward before he agreed to any deal, that was not required in the deal he agreed to.

STELTER: Yes, normally you would look at all those questions, you would access all of those factors before signing to buy a company. He didn't sign it in pencil or crayon. He signed it in ink with lots of lawyers and financers by his side. So, normally the chance for him to challenge the bots issue would have happened months ago. But, nothing about this situation is normal.

And as you said, ultimately the folks who are stuck in the middle are the employees, the users. You can love Twitter. You can hate Twitter. But, it is one of the most important communications platforms on the planet.

HARLOW: I was just going to ask you that before you go, Brian. I mean, what do you think all this means for Twitter, because there were so many questions about Twitter's future. Not that it would exist, but how do you monetize it?

STELTER: Right.

HARLOW: What does the platform mean for our democracy going forward? How do you think that all nets out?

STELTER: It's always been an important platform but an unsuccessful business. It's never been that big as a business. Elon Musk thought he change that or at least said he could change that and I think he's disappointed a lot of people now by backtracking. Maybe he was just blowing smoke and maybe that's what you can do when you're the richest man in the world but lots of others suffer.

HARLOW: Thank you, Brian.

STELTER: Yes, thanks.

HARLOW: Appreciate it very much. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, we will go live to Ukraine for an update. This, where dozens have been killed this weekend alone, in Russian missile strikes once again on civilian targets, like that apartment building.

[10:44:52]

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[10"49:40]

SCIUTTO: CNN has learned that Sri Lanka's president was rushed to a Navy vessel just minutes before demonstrators overran the presidential palace Sunday while protesting, check out those pictures, the country's worsening economic crisis.

HARLOW: Our Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley joins us live on this developing story. And it really is developing, especially the question of when the confirmed resignation will happen, what happens next. What can you tell us?

[10:50:05]

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, we do have some new information just within the last hour on the timeline here But to go back to what Jim was talking about, that Naval vessel, that rushed evacuation out of the president's house, there was a crowd, Jim and Poppy, of more than 100,000 people assembled outside the -- President Rajapaksa's house.

And these are people who have for months now been protesting because they don't have enough food, they don't have access to fuel. They don't have medicine. They can't even get cash from the bank. And these people are angry and they hit their boiling point on Saturday. They stormed into the president's house and he wasn't there. They also stormed into the prime minister's house. He also was evacuated just before it happened. They actually set the prime minister's place on fire.

At the president's house they jumped in the swimming pool, they worked out at the gym, they played the grand piano, all of the luxurious opulent things that the ruling elite are enjoying in Sri Lanka as everyday people are struggling.

So, President Rajapaksa has now said that he will resign on Wednesday. That if he does that Sri Lanka's Parliament is due to reconvene this coming Friday, July 15. And then by next Wednesday, July 20, they are saying that the Parliament will elect a new president. They will elect someone from within their ranks to take over.

And the question now, will that be enough. Will that be enough to, at least in the short term, assuage the anger that's out there, get protestors to go back home, try to go back to work? But keep in mind, this new government's not going to be able to fix the huge problems that are facing Sri Lanka. They're more than $50 billion in debt right now. The worse financial crisis that nation of 22 million has faced in more than 70 years, since World War II.

Any new government, no matter who it is, is going to have a very difficult time fixing those problems that a lot of these protestors blame on their current President Rajapaksa, who was also, you know, his brother was prime minister up until recently and they were kind of flip-flopping the positions of power. And people say they want them out. And we'll see what happens in a couple days, if they actually do leave office as they pledge.

SCIUTTO: We'll see what the people get there. Will Ripley, thanks so much for following.

Well, this morning, checking in on the war in Ukraine, more Russian attacks on civilians there. At least six people killed, dozens more injured by missile strikes on residential areas, including apartment buildings in the country's second-largest city of Kharkiv.

HARLOW: And in the Donetsk region, rescue teams are still searching through the rubble of an apartment building looking for survivors, after a missile strike on Saturday killed at least 29 people. Let's go to our colleague Alex Marquardt. He is live in Kharkiv, Ukraine. And Alex, you were at the apartment building earlier, had to leave because it was too dangerous? What did you see?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Poppy and Jim, we were at the site of one of the around half dozen strikes that have happened so far today. That residential building six stories completely collapsed. The roof and all the floors caved in. We did have to leave because that site had actually been struck 48 hours prior. So, it was clear that the Russians were targeting some (inaudible) area. It is not clear what.

But, Jim and Poppy, we were jolted awake at 3:30 in the morning with a series of airstrikes from Russian forces. And then just a few hours later we were on the street shooting a story when there were three more rocket strikes all across the city. And the death toll has been steadily climbing throughout the day. A half dozen people so far have been killed, more than 30 wounded.

Very sadly, two of the people who were killed were a father and son who were driving in a car. Their car, we understand, took a direct hit. They were driving to get a certificate for the son to enter a university. This city has become used to nightly rocket strikes and those very eerie, spooky air raid sirens that accompany that. But direct strikes on the city center during the middle of the day that are -- that appear to be more indiscriminate. That does represent something of an escalation.

Now, we're also seeing an escalation from the Russians in the Donbas region. They've already taken the Luhansk region the -- of the Donbas. They are now focusing their efforts on the Donetsk region, the other half of Donbas. And as you mentioned, the death toll in that strike from Saturday, in the Donetsk region, has almost doubled. Initially, it was 15. Now it is up to 29. People have been rescued from the rubble thankfully, but as they dig into that pile of rubble now more (ph) -- now two days later, that death toll is growing.

Poppy, Jim?

HARLOW: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Just quickly, the defense minister says that he intends, the country intends to put together a million-man force to retake southern Ukraine. Is that a realistic goal? What's the progress?

MARQUARDT: Well, that certainly remains to be seen, Jim and Poppy. The Defense Minister Reznikov says that he has been ordered, the military has been ordered by President Zelenskyy to focus on the southern part of the country because it is so important economically.

Russia has made quite a few gains along that southern coastline on the Black Sea, on the Sea of Azov, those cities Kherson, Mariupol, that are critical to Ukraine's economy, have been taken by Russian forces. So now Zelenskyy ordering Reznikov says, a million-man force to be put together.

[10:55:10]

Whether that's actually a concrete plan or simply aspirational, that does remain to be seen. Poppy and Jim?

HARLOW: OK, Alex Marquardt reporting for us live there in Ukraine. Thanks, Alex, very much to your and your team.

Meantime, a Ukrainian family gets a heartwarming reunion after being separated by this war. Liz Schepeltelkaniktova (ph) has been separated from her parents since Russia's invasion began.

SCIUTTO: She and her fiance fled Ukraine for Kansas City, this back in March. But her parents did not have the necessary paperwork. She has been fighting to get them to the U.S. ever since. And now, success, they're together again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just really happy that they are safe. You cannot imagine how much fear there is among the people in Ukraine. That they're just going to be forgotten and left alone to die there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Liz says she hopes other families still fighting will get the chance to have the same happy ending themselves. It's not easy. HARLOW: Not easy. Beautiful to see those images.

All right, well thank you for joining us. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning. I'm Poppy Harlow.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. "At This Hour" with Kate Baldwin will start right after a short break.

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