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Zelenskyy Asks Parliament to Dismiss Top Security Chief; Leaders of Russia, Turkey, Iran to Meet in Tehran Today; Police Identify Victims, Alleged Gunman and Armed Bystander in Indiana Mall Shooting; China Reports Most Cases Since May Amid Heat Wave. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired July 19, 2022 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the Biden administration is struggling to find the best way to mark the one year anniversary of the chaotic U.S. military withdraw from Afghanistan. Several officials tell CNN the administration is trying to strike a balance between celebrating the milestone end of the long war while also honoring the 13 service members who were killed in a bomb attack in the final days of the conflict. More than 100,000 people were frantically evacuated from Kabul International Airport at the end of August last year as the Taliban quickly seized control of the country.
OK, as his war rages on in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin makes a rare trip out of Russia. A live report on his objectives in Iran when we return.
Plus, the fighting may be focused on the east, but allegations of treason in Kyiv are revealing a different kind of war raging in Ukraine.
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MACFARLANE: Hello and welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up- to-date it our top stories this hour.
In the U.S. tens of millions of people are under heat alerts that cover parts of some 15 states. Almost 85 percent of Americans are expecting to endure highs above 90 degrees Fahrenheit over the next week.
And this first on CNN, the January 6 committee investigating the Capitol riots will hear from former Trump White House deputy national secure adviser Matthew Pottinger in their eighth public hearing.
[04:35:00]
Pottinger will be joined by former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews who will also testify on Thursday.
Now to Ukraine where allegations of treason are fueling more government shakeups and exposing the shadow war happening behind the scenes of Russia's invasion. On Monday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially asked Parliament to remove head of Ukraine's security service, known as the SSU. A day earlier Zelenskyy suspended a secure chief along with a top prosecutor saying that they failed to purge Russian collaborators from their ranks. He says dozens of workers within both departments are operating against Ukraine in Russian occupied territory while many others are suspected of treason. And this might just be the start of a much wider purge among security establishment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Personnel audit of the service is taking place. The issue of dismissal of 28 officials is being considered. Different levels, different directions. But the grounds are similar. Unsatisfactory job performance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well even as those accusations shake Kyiv, Russian troops are continuing their relentless attack. Ukraine says at least seven missiles were filed at the port city of Odesa overnight hitting homes and other civilian areas. Officials say at least six people were wounded including a child.
To the east, Ukraine says its forces are still fending off Russian advances in the Donetsk region, a key target in Moscow's push to capture the entire Donbas. And new weapon supplies by the West could help turn the tide against Russia. In particular Ukraine's military says longer range artillery is playing a critical role as they mount counteroffensives on Russian held territory in the south.
Meanwhile Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska is in Washington this week. On Monday, she met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and in the coming hours she'll head to the White House to speak with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden. And then on Wednesday, she's scheduled to address members of Congress.
Now Vladimir Putin is on a rare foreign trip visiting Tehran to meet with both the Iranian and Turkish presidents in the coming hours. Their main focus is on Syria, but other topics will likely include Ukrainian grain exports which are largely frozen due to Russia's naval blockade. Turkish Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also renewed his threat to halt the bids from Finland and Sweden to join NATO. He met with Iran's president a short time ago.
Well CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has more on this joining us from Istanbul. And Jomana, this is Putin's first trip outside of Russia since the war began, an indication perhaps that Russia and Iran are becoming more aligned. Many things on the agenda today, but with those vital grain supplies still stalled in the Black Sea, there'll be a lot of focus on whether these talks can get things moving again.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I think, Christina, the optics of this meeting today, these different meetings, is very significant for both Russia and Iran perhaps a single message to the West, to the international community, that despite attempts to try and isolate those two countries, that they remain important players on the global stage, that they are still capable of forging alliances and expanding trade and economic ties. And one thing that many will be keeping an eye on is the potential expansion of military and defense ties between Russia and Iran. The recent U.S. intelligence indicating that Iran was preparing to supply Russia with hundreds of weapons capable drones.
So, we're expecting today a series of bilateral meetings between the different leaders and there's also that tri-lateral summit, something that they have held regularly when it comes to Syria as the three main players in the Syrian conflict right now.
President Erdogan is going to be meeting with President Putin and we understand from the Kremlin and also, from Turkish officials that that grain corridor, that attempt by Turkey to try and unlock Ukrainian grain exports is going to be discussed. As you know, Turkey is a key NATO member, but it has maintained strong ties with Russia. Both presidents have very close -- have a good working relationship really.
And what Turkey has tried do since the start of the war is to try and emerge as a mediator in the conflict and perhaps signs that there is some success in those attempts especially when comes to the Ukrainian grain exports. We saw the meeting last week take place here in Istanbul between the United Nations and Russian and Ukrainian delegations and Turkey and a lot of optimism that they may have reached an initial agreement on Ukrainian grain exports. A second round of talks is expected this week. And perhaps according to Turkish officials and the United Nations possibly signing an agreement. So, we'll have to wait and see what comes out of that.
[04:40:00]
But I can tell you, Christina, many in this region especially here in Turkey and also, in Syria are keeping a very close eye on that tri- lateral summit. Turkey has made clear that it is ready to launch a military offensive into northern Syria to push back Syrian Kurdish fighters that it considers a national security threat. But it really can't do that without some sort of a green light from the Iranians and the Russians. So, we'll have to see what comes out of that. We know the Syrian Kurdish authorities have declared a state of emergency and are waiting to see what the outcome of this meeting is going to be. Are they going to reach some sort of an agreement to overt a military offensive or is Turkey going to get the go-ahead -- Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and Jomana, I know you're going to be keeping across this if anything comes out of this in the next couple of hours. So, thanks very much for now there live from Istanbul.
All right, still to come, we have new details about the alleged gunman at a mall shooting in the U.S. and the bystander who ended the rampage.
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MACFARLANE: Welcome back. We're learning new details about the deadly shooting at a mall in Indiana. The 20-year-old alleged shooter killed three people and injured two others Sunday before he was shot by a bystander. Police say the shooter had three weapons and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. CNN's Omar Jimenez reports from Greenwood, Indiana.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's become an almost familiar scene of evacuation in America.
HEATHER ARTHUR, WITNESS: So, we were in the food court and we heard loud gunshots.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): As an Indiana shopping mall quickly became among the latest settings for a mass shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mayor.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): The police chief announced the findings of their investigation, including the movements of the gunman.
CHIEF JAMES ISON, GREENWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT: He walks directly to the food court restroom.
[04:45:00]
One hour and two minutes later, he exits the restroom and shoot Victor Gomez outside of the restroom. He then points his rifle into the food court where Pedro and Rosa Pineda were eating dinner and shot both Rosa and Pedro.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): According to police, the gunman shot and killed three people Sunday evening using a rifle, Victor Gomez, Rosa Rivera de Pineda and Pedro Pineda. Police say he injured at least two others, including a 12-year-old girl.
And then police say less than two minutes after the shooting began, the attacker was killed by a, quote, Good Samaritan with a lawfully carried gun.
ISON: The shooter fired several rounds striking the suspect. The suspect attempted to retrieve -- retreat back into the restroom and fail. I will say his actions were nothing short of heroic. He engaged the gunman from quite a distance with a handgun, was very proficient in that, very tactically sound. And as he moved to close in on the suspect, he was also motioning for people to exit behind him.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Police say the 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken doesn't appear to have any police or military background but fired his weapon at least 10 times based on handgun rounds recovered at the scene. Stopping a gunman with another gun is relatively rare. According to data from Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training at Texas State University, there have been at least 434 active shooter attacks between 2000 and 2021. Of those, just 22 ended with an armed bystanders shooting the attacker. And of those 22, 10 were either from a security guard or off duty officer. JIMENEZ: And everyone thought they would just be going shopping that day, everyone except for maybe just one. Police say this gunman had three weapons, at least two on him, a rifle and a pistol, and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.
Now, police say he only fired from the rifle and they found 24 rifle rounds at the scene of the shooting. And then ten rounds from that Good Samaritan Elisjsha Dicken. And police say he engaged this gunman, the Good Samaritan did, from quite a distance and was able to neutralize him in under two minutes, likely saving lives in the process. And it is why the police chief, the mayor, the governor and many more in this area are hailing him as a hero.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Greenwood, Indiana.
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MACFARLANE: Well, it's been more than four years since the terrifying school shooting in Parkland, Florida. And now the sentencing phase of that trial is under way. Families are once again hearing what happened that day as prosecutors describe the gunman as cold, calculated, manipulative and deadly during opening remarks on Monday. Three witnesses to the attack testified including a teacher.
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BRITTANY SINITCH, TEACHER, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: I heard what I describe as just the loudest noise you could possibly imagine going directly into my hallway. And when that happened, everything was just happening very quick in my classroom. A student made sure the door was shut. We shut the lights off. My students went into corners. I had some with me behind my desk. Almost instantly I called 911 just out of instinct. They couldn't hear me over the sound of the gunshots. It was so incredibly loud.
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MACFARLANE: Well, jurors will have to decide whether the gunman should receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole for killing 17 people and wounding 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
All right, still to come, a heatwave is spreading across China sending people indoors just as parts of the country go under COVID lockdown. The latest on China's fight on two fronts when we return.
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MACFARLANE: Welcome back. China has reported almost 700 new local COVID cases on Tuesday. That is the most since May. The Omicron sub variant BA.5 is spreading across the country sending some cities into either full or partial lockdown, all this as a brutal heatwave could bring temperatures as high as 42 degrees Celsius this week. Well, Selina Wang is joining me now live from Beijing with more. And Selina, these high temperatures no doubt making everything harder including mass testing. I'm sure as people are having to queue for hours in the intense heat.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christina, it has been absolutely brutal for health workers and residents. This is the kind of scorching weather that is rough even in a tee shirt and shorts. Now imagine having to go a whole day wearing full body protective gear covering you from head to toe and your hands, that is what COVID workers across China are dealing with. There have been an increasing number of reports of COVID workers collapsing or fainting on the job due to heat stroke.
In addition to this, resident as you say are required to wait in these long lines in that heat to get their mandatory COVID tests. Justice past weekend in Beijing in 99 degrees Fahrenheit weather, was waiting in a long line for an hour. Some residents were stooped by the side unable to bear the heat. Many people had their umbrellas, ice packs to try to keep them cool.
Now across China, many cities are reaching record temperatures, some of them last week reaching more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit. All of this as China is reporting another surge in COVID cases and those snap lockdowns well, they're ruining some people's summer holidays.
Just this past weekend, thousands of tourists were trapped in the resort town in the city of Beihai.
[04:55:02]
Authorities ordered mass testing and they ordered residents to stay in their homes. All of this also is worsening an economy that's already been battered by the pandemic, by China's zero COVID policy. Authorities say that this heat wave is going to have an adverse effect on crops like soybeans, wheat and corn. We're already seeing pig prices increase because of the increasing price of feed. So, all of this threatens to push up inflation in China. So, this heat, it is rough on residents, rough on health care workers and also bad news for the economy.
MACFARLANE: Yes, absolutely. I cannot imagine having to wear full protective gear whilst being in that heat. Just awful. Selina, thank you so much there, live from Beijing.
Well, a cleanup is under way in Hawaii after huge swells sent waves crashing into homes and businesses and also wiped out tables at this wedding reception on Saturday. Goodness me. The bride and groom said luckily their wedding cake wasn't damaged and the ceremony did go on.
Several homes were damaged on the big island when walls of water washed over rooftops, but thankfully no injuries were reported. Officials say the swells were highest in more than 25 years.
Well, one of the U.K.'s rock stars recently got help for an up-and- coming director for his latest music video. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MARCUS MUMFORD PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: That is "Cannibal," the latest solo release from Marcus Mumford. And the man behind the camera, Steven Spielberg directing his very first music video. The singer says the legendary filmmaker shot the entire video on one take on his phone. At times being pushed around in a rolling chair by his wife who clearly understood what he wanted to accomplish with the video, according to Mumford after just one shot, not too bad, is it.
All right, thanks for joining me. I'm Christina McFarlane in London. Stay with us, "EARLY START" is up next.
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