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Donald Trump Throwing a Meat to Bait; Rudy Giuliani Face Grand Jury for Six Hours; Former V.P. Pence Changed His Mind; Afghanistan Still Not Safe Under Taliban Rule; Ukrainian Troops Targeted Crimea. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 18, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Donald Trump considers releasing surveillance footage of the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home. We will look at the legal consequences if he does.

Plus. A mosque in Kabul rocked by a deadly blast, we will have a report from the capital and the look at the security response from the Taliban.

And we are live in Hong Kong on China's worst heat wave in more than 60 years.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. So, get ready to listen to the next chapter in the story of Donald Trump versus the FBI. The former president is said to be considering releasing surveillance video of the search of his Mar-a-Lago home. Some want to include it in campaign style ads to fire up Trump's base, others say it could backfire when the public sees the sheer volume of material seized. Here's his son Eric on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS: You still have the surveillance tape, is that correct? Well, are -- are you allowed to share that with the country?

ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: Absolutely, Sean, at the right time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we get more now from CNN's Gabby Orr reporting from Washington. GABBY ORR, CNN REPORTER: We are learning tonight that former

President Donald Trump is facing pressure from some of his allies who want him to release the CCTV footage from the day that the FBI search through Mar-a-Lago. Now that proposal is drawing mixed reactions from inside Donald Trump's orbit. With some saying that this could send a jolt of energy through the Republican Party base. And give him a visual that he can give to his reporters, as he continues to claim that he has been facing political persecution by an overzealous Justice Department.

But there are others who have cautioned that this is not a good idea. For one, Trump was asked by the FBI to turn off those surveillance cameras on the day that this happened. And he took to Truth Social earlier this week to say that he did not comply with that request. And instead kept them on.

Others have said that this could potentially backfire, that it would give Americans a visual of FBI agents carrying boxes that we know contains classified material out of his Mar-a-Lago residence. Now, Trump has not made a decision one way or another, in fact we don't even know if he has seen all of this footage in fall.

One person close to the former president telling us that they weren't sure if the former president had seen this yet. The decision remains to be seen if he will release it. But as the former president has previously done, he could continue to tease this out without ever actually releasing the footage.

CNN's Gabby Orr, Washington.

CHURCH: In New York, the former chief financial of the Trump organization is suspected to plead guilty to a 15-year tax fraud scheme. A source tells CNN Allen Weisselberg is willing to testify in a possible future trial but he won't enter into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors.

The case involves off the book's compensation for Weisselberg and other executives including luxury apartments, two Mercedes Benz vehicles, and private school tuition for family members.

Well, Donald Trump's former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, isn't talking about his appearance before a grand jury. In the state of Georgia, they met behind closed doors for about six hours on Wednesday. Atlanta prosecutors told Giuliani early this week he is a target in their investigation. They are looking into efforts by Trump and his associates to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results.

More now from CNN's Nick Valencia.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN asked Giuliani's attorney for details of his testimony but the attorney declined to comment. Saying he was going to respect the secrecy of the special grand jury process. We don't know exactly what the line of questioning was, but we do know that Giuliani was inside for roughly six hours.

[03:05:01] He spoke before Georgia lawmakers at least three times in the wake of the 2020 election appearing twice in person and once virtually. And during those appearance he spread conspiracy theories about the election, and also baseless claims about the election fraud. Claims that we now know have been proven to be untrue. What we also don't know is how cooperative Giuliani was.

Prior to his testimony, he seems to indicate that he was willing to play hardball. Something he said through his attorney. He also said that any conversation he had with the former president, Donald Trump, was protected through attorney client privilege. But now that Giuliani has been named a target of this criminal investigation, things may not have been that cut and dry.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

Donald Trump's former vice president says he would consider testifying before the January 6 committee if he were invited. Mike Pence spoke Wednesday at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, a common stop for presidential hopefuls. A source close to Pence warns against reading too much into the remarks, but the former vice president says he will speak out at some point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The American people have a right to know what happened that day, and in the months and years ahead I'll be telling my story even more frequently than I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The January 6 committee has detailed Trump's pressure on Pence to overturn the 2020 presidential election. And we are now just learning about an online threat to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the days before the 2021 capitol riot. But the Secret Service did not notify capitol police until the evening of January 6th.

Someone on the social media platform, Parler, posted a list of enemies that included Pelosi, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It's not clear if authorities ever identified the user, or if they took any further action.

Jessica Levinson is a professor at Loyola Law School, she is also the host of the podcast, Passing Judgment. And she joins me now from Los Angeles. Always great to have you with us.

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.

CHURCH: So, Donald Trump and his team are considering releasing surveillance tape of the FBI searching his Mar-a-Lago home for those classified documents that were seized last week, we know that Trump team is divided over whether they should do this, what are the possible consequences if they do? LEVINSON: So, I think that obviously it's a political argument here,

look what's happened in my private residence, isn't this unprecedented, look at the federal law enforcement defending on my home. I'm not sure that this is really going to get where they want to go because there is a reason that law enforcement was there.

If people think, well, I've never had law enforcement at my home, it's probably because you've never done anything that would indicate that law enforcement can get a search warrant to enter your residence. So, I'm not sure that the argument will really help.

Having said that, there is a group of people who will support the former president no matter what. There is a group of people who think that he is corrupt and that there is no saving him. And I don't think this plays well to the group in the middle.

CHURCH: And former Trump attorney, Rudy Giuliani went before the grand jury in Georgia Tuesday for six hours over the Trump team's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Now that is a very long time for someone who claims that he is going to play hardball and say nothing. And for a man who is now the target of this grand jury investigation. So, what likely went down do you think?

LEVINSON: I think probably what happened is that he pleaded the fifth amendment his right against self-incrimination and they didn't let him just have a blanket answer. And they made him respond to every single question by saying and do you assert your fifth amendment to that? And to that?

And that is going to take a while. And we saw that, I believe it was just last week with respect to the New York attorney general's investigation into the Trump organization where the former president pled the fifth as is his constitutional right, but they indicated that he had to do that really to every question. And so, I think that's what happened in this case.

CHURCH: And also, former Vice President Mike Pence is saying that he would consider testifying before the January 6 committee if invited, but we already know the committee sought his testimony back in June this year. So, what is going on here? What might it signal do you think?

LEVINSON: I think he is seeing which way the political winds are blowing, he has something to say and it is useful and he should have come forward with this earlier. Now, did the vice president at that time, the former vice president do his constitutional duty by certifying the Electoral College count? He did. But he knows what led up to that dramatic moment. He knows that that was not a fait accompli and that that hung in the balance. And he himself was under threat.

[03:10:03]

And so, I do think he has useful things to say. The fact that he is now considering it, I think indicates that he is more looking at his political future maybe than whether or not this information was actually useful to the committee. CHURCH: Right, and another person considering their future

politically, Liz Cheney after her massive loss in the Wyoming primary Tuesday night. She is now teasing a possible run for president in 2024 in her effort to do anything she can to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office.

So, how viable is that given her huge loss. And who would her voters be given the Republican Party it's now Trump's party. We saw that Tuesday night.

LEVINSON: It really is Trump's party. We have seen in our country that third party candidates have an enormously difficult time being successful, but they can be spoilers. So, if we saw another election where it is close and there is a group of voters who is either former Republicans but they don't support the former president, President Trump, or there are independent voters and they're disenchanted with President Biden, that could peel enough votes off of probably Trump. Not Biden. But it could make a difference.

I don't think Liz Cheney is going to win as a third-party candidate. But she can affect the outcome and I think that's probably her goal.

CHURCH: So, if there is Liz Cheney, Mike Pence, and DeSantis, Florida governor in the mix there, what could that mean for Trump's efforts?

LEVINSON: So, DeSantis, I think in some ways is the heir apparent to the Trump movement. To the Trump wing of the party which is as we talked about is really the majority of the Republican Party at this point. If Liz Cheney is able to peel away enough of, what we've used to think of as Republicans, people who are fiscally conservative, or maybe more hawkish when it comes to foreign policy, who believe in smaller government, who would vote frankly the way she's voted against things like the Affordable Care Act, really against the Biden administration's policy proposals.

If she can peel off enough of those voters then I think you could see a either Biden reelection, or depending on if he doesn't run, an election of another Democrat.

CHURCH: Well, we'll watch and see. It's getting more and more interesting, isn't it? Jessica Levinson, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: Black smoke has darkened the skies of a Russian held Crimea for the past week. Now we have an official confirmation of who is responsible for these explosions. And why they may signal an imminent Ukrainian counter offensive.

Plus, this. A massive explosion hits a mosque in Afghanistan, and reminds the nation that security is still no guarantee under the Taliban. That's ahead.

[03:15:00]

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CHURCH: We're now learning at least 21 people are dead and 33 injured after an explosion tore through a mosque during evening prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan. That is according to a spokesperson for the city's police chief. The Taliban have condemned Wednesday's blast which happened two days after Afghanistan marked the first anniversary of the Taliban's takeover.

Improving security has been the Taliban's main selling point since claiming power a year ago. The U.N. says Afghanistan is safer now. But as CNN's Clarissa Ward reports from Kabul, violent attacks remain a big concern.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You talk to the U.N. and they would say the number of civilian casualties has decreased threefold in the seventh month since the Taliban took over as compared to the scene several months in the run up to the Taliban taking over.

So, it is definitely safer, but there is this insurgency roiling on in the background. There have been a number of attacks since we have been here, one targeted a prominent cleric who was very supportive of the Taliban, another targeting Shia Muslims in a different part of the city. This appears to be the largest since we arrived, and again, the concern is that you're going to see those casualty figures get higher and higher.

The Taliban has been really trying to keep a tight lid though on, first of all, journalists get anywhere near the scene and get any kind of information. They haven't been releasing figures very quickly, and that is partly because they are keenly aware that the one thing they have been able to do is to provide a modicum of security in this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And as Clarissa just pointed out, the mosque explosion is just the latest in a string of recent attacks in Afghanistan. Earlier I spoke with Susannah George, the Washington Post bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and she said these attacks could be a threat to the Taliban's grip on power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSANNAH GEORGE, AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN WASHINGTON POST BUREAU CHIEF: The claims from the Taliban of improved security were central to celebrations marking one year from the fall of Kabul just a few days ago, but this attack is just the latest in the last few weeks of attacks that were claimed by the Islamic states branch here in Afghanistan.

[03:19:51]

One of those attacks also killed a prominent Taliban cleric. Another one was an hours' long gun fight in a predominantly Shia neighborhood in Kabul that Afghan -- that Taliban forces tried to suppress and were finally able to end. And these attacks have people in Kabul worried that while the Taliban rule began with improve security, that this Taliban's grip could be loosening and that the Islamic states branch here could be gaining power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That was Sussanah George, The Washington Post bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We now have an official confirmation from Ukraine that its forces were behind the series of devastating blast in Russian held Crimea. An internal government report obtained by CNN acknowledges for the first time Ukraine's role in the attacks on Russian airfields and ammunition depots.

The first attack came a week ago leading to bumper-to-bumper traffic out of Crimea and heading back to Russia. Russian officials claim tighter security on the main bridge to Russia was causing the delays, not a mass exodus from Crimea. Whatever the reason, Ukraine's president says they were wise to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): The queue to leave Crimea for Russia through the bridge in recent days proves that the absolute majority of citizens of the terrorist state are beginning to comprehend or at least feel that Crimea is no place for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Ukraine claims up to 15 Russian troops were killed in this recent strike on a Russian position in the southern region of Kherson. The defense ministry says a long-awaited counter offensive in the south will begin soon, and hinted that it may coincide with Ukraine's upcoming Independence Day next Wednesday.

Ukraine says that it's repelled more Russian assaults in the Donbas but concedes that Russian forces have made some modest advances.

In the north, at least four Russian missiles were reported overnight in the city of Kharkiv including one that struck an apartment building. Officials say at least seven people were killed.

And for more we're going to bring in CNN's Nina dos Santos. She joins us live from London. Good morning to you, Nina. So, with this Ukrainian counter offensive looming how is Russia likely preparing to respond?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's likely that some moving troops into position to try and reinforce those target, sensitive targets that it's taken particularly in southern Ukraine and it's very keen to defend. In particular, I'm thinking, Rosemary, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which was seized back in March. So very early on in the invasion by Russia of Ukraine, which is such a sensitive location from which Ukraine has accused Russia of launching all sorts of attacks on its western sovereign territory.

Cities like Nikopol and so on, and so forth over the last few weeks. Ukraine very keen to try and start to regain territory and of course that crucial nuclear plant. The United Nations of course says over the last few weeks began to get increasingly concerned about the prospects of this power plant which is Europe's largest nuclear such facility getting hit in the crossfire as Ukraine starts to push further towards the east to regain territory.

But Kherson, as you pointed out to the south, also a key sight there for Russia to start -- I beg your pardon, Ukraine to start pushing forward with this much, much publicized counteroffensive that Ukrainian intelligence officials appear to be indicating is imminent at this point.

However, it's not just that. We are also seeing loss of life, more fighting in the north as well, with of course as you've pointed out the Russian strike on that apartment building in Kharkiv that have said to have claimed several lives there.

Where does this go from here? Well, there is also an important meeting taking place with the head of the United Nations Antonio Guterres is visiting Ukraine, in fact, this week, today, to meet with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey and also Volodymyr Zelenskyy the president of Ukraine.

This, soon after of course that's key brokering of a deal to allow grain shipments from the Ukraine to pass out of mined waters in the Black Sea, to try to alleviate the food shortage that this blockade of grain from Ukraine has caused right around the world.

And remember that this is a sensitive time too, Rosemary, because it is the sixth month anniversary of the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and what also coming up through the August 24th Independence Day of Ukraine itself just in a weeks' time. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Nina dos Santos joining us live from London.

Well, down but not out and not giving up on politics. What Trump critic Liz Cheney may be planning after her landslide loss in Wyoming.

[03:24:57]

Plus, Americans will also have access to a booster targeting the new coronavirus variants. Why officials are saying everyone should get that shot. Details when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: U.S. House Republican Liz Cheney is digging in for a long- term fight against former President Donald Trump. Just hours after her resounding defeat in the Wyoming primary, Cheney launched a political action committee that will raise money and fund her work. She will also stay on as vice chair of the committee investigating Trump's role in the U.S. Capitol insurrection. And she's not ruling out her own run for the Oval Office.

[03:30:06]

CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports from Jackson, Wyoming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Now, the real work begins.

(APPLAUSE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Liz Cheney is eyeing a new chapter tonight in her fight against Donald Trump, openly considering a run against the former president in hopes of blocking him from ever returning to the White House.

CHENEY: I have said since January 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office, and I mean it.

(APPLAUSE)

ZELENY: But a punishing defeat on Tuesday --

HARRIET HAGEMAN, WYOMING REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR U.S. HOUSE: Wyoming has spoken.

(APPLAUSE)

ZELENY: It's only the latest sign of Donald Trump's unparalleled influence on the Republican Party. His endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman running away with a 37-point landslide, as voters resoundingly rejected that Cheney family storied Wyoming brand. For Cheney, the defeat was expected.

CHENEY: No House seat, no office in this land is more important than the principles that we are all sworn to protect.

ZELENY: But the massive margin was not, raising questions about whether losing an election, even in principle, offers a realistic roadmap for a political future.

Cheney's advisers tell CNN she intends to wait until next year to make any decisions, when she is no longer in Congress or serving as vice chair of the January 6 committee. A timeline she explained on NBC's Today Show.

CHENEY: It is something that I am thinking about, and I'll make a decision in the coming months.

ZELENY: Yet, Cheney wasted no time turning the page, opening a new political action committee today with the Federal Election Commission. She is calling that group The Great Task, a nod to the final line from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, to which she drew comparisons in her election speech.

CHENEY: The great and original champion of our party, Abraham Lincoln, was defeated in elections for the Senate and the House before he won the most important election of all.

ZELENY: Yet she now joins the ranks of the House impeachment 10, the Republicans who voted to remove Trump from office. She is the fourth to lose her primary, with four others retiring, leaving only two congressmen on the ballot this fall.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Liz, you're fired, get out of here.

ZELENY: For Trump, Cheney was the big surprise of the midterm election season. He crowed about her defeat, writing, now she can finally disappear into the depths of political oblivion. Cheney insisted that she had no intention of doing so. She confronted the latest conspiracy theory from Trump about the recovery of classified materials from Mar-a-Lago, saying Americans have an obligation to fight against misinformation.

CHENEY: Donald Trump knows that voicing these conspiracies will provoke violence and threats of violence. This happened on January 6, and it is now happening again.

ZELENY: It's an open question whether there is an appetite inside the Republican Party for a message so focused on the former president, or could there be a lane among independents for her to run that way. I'm told by Cheney advisers none of these discussions will happen until later this year with no decisions until next year.

For now, she's heading back to Congress, she still has her seat until early January.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Jackson, Wyoming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A drop in U.S. stocks spells the end for an August rally.

The closing bell there wrapping up a rough day on Wall Street, all three major indices closed in the red. The Dow is down 172 points in Wednesday's trading. This, as investors weighed new economic data including census bureau figures that showed retail sales were unchanged in July, but auto sales were down.

Meantime, the Federal Reserve is indicating for interest rates will continue to climb until the rate of inflation is substantially reduced.

And we're now just hours away from the start of a new trading day on Wall Street. So, let's bring in the U.S. stock futures and you can see there all in negative territory. Meantime, trading across Europe just getting underway this hour.

And the FTSE 100 down but only slightly. And in Paris they're up that quarter of a percent, a quarter of a point there. And some better news too for the DAX. But we'll continue to watch it. It is very early.

And here's a look at how markets across Asia have fare today, you can see they're all in negative territory, the Nikkei and Hang Seng down about 1 percent.

Well, Americans may be able to get a new booster targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 COVID strain soon. The White House says the new shots will be available in early to mid-September, and they're urging everyone to get them. Officials say this will prevent the health care system from becoming overburdened as the influenza virus is expected to make a comeback this winter.

[03:35:06]

Meantime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning to overhaul how the agency works so it's better prepared to respond to a public health crisis in the future.

CNN's Sanjay Gupta has details.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the overarching theme here is that the CDC was unable to rise to the challenges well as they could during this pandemic. At times they were too slow to act, and they were reactive oftentimes instead of proactive.

And too influenced sometimes by politics as opposed to just pure public health. And we've seen the consequence of that, there is been an erosion of trust in the CDC. There's different polling on this but if you go back and look in 2009, faith in the CDC, trust in the CDC was high, you know, close to 80 percent, and now it's in the mid-60, 60 percent range.

So, you have about a third of the country that has really does not have the trust in the CDC and that's of significant concern if you think about the times that we are in. Even with the most current CDC guidelines, only about 19 percent of people polled said they really fully understood those guidelines. That's a concern.

So, what the CDC is outlining is several things. One is that they want to get information out more quickly. I think that that's an obvious one, they want to translate the science into practical knowledge for people to understand.

By their own admission, so much of what came out of the CDC over the last couple of years was geared toward fellow scientists as opposed to the average citizen, that has to change as well. Prioritizing that communication, and also thinking in the future about potential future public health emergencies.

I mean, we're dealing with COVID still, but also monkeypox, and polio, so some of these changes that need to happen with the CDC need to happen now while the CDC is still functioning and still very, very busy.

But again, that trust at a time when you are dealing with the pandemic and new pathogens are emerging, is perhaps one of the most important ingredients, it has been said that bad information can travel more quickly than a virus, and be more destructive, and that's why these commitments by the CDC are so important.

CHURCH: We now have new numbers on the spread of monkeypox. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. topped 13,000 cases as of Wednesday with New York, California, Florida, Texas and Georgia reporting the largest number.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says globally monkeypox cases in increased by 20 percent last week compared to the week before. More than 35,000 monkeypox cases have been reported from 92 countries so far.

Well, the suspect in the stabbing of a reward-winning author Salman Rushdie is set to appear in court today. That according to a local district attorney's office in New York, but there is no word about the nature of the court appearance. Meanwhile, the county sheriff says 24- year-old Hadi Matar has been cooperative in jail. Matar is accused of attacking Rushdie on stage before his lecture last Friday.

A law enforcement source says the author is able to talk to investigators following his surgery. Matar has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges but his motive is still unclear.

Well, the never-ending droughts in the western United States is having a severe effect on the entire Colorado River basin and there is no concrete plan to save it. The latest just ahead.

Plus, China is facing its longest and hottest heat wave in more than 60 years. How local officials are taking weather into their own hands. That's next.

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The relentless drought gripping the western U.S. is threatening to dry up some of America's most essential rivers and reservoirs and there is no plan to stop it. The country's largest reservoir, Lake Mead, has been retreating from the shoreline for decades. Now it's in danger of disappearing.

The federal government had given western states until this past Monday to come up with a voluntary plan to conserve the water, but that didn't happen. After the deadline passed, many expected the government to step in with mandated cuts, but that didn't happen either. Now no one is sure what to do.

And we get more from CNN's Bill Weir.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Desert dwellers tend to normalize drought, so sometimes you lose track of just how far the water has dropped, but there are reminders here on the Nevada side of Lake Mead. Everywhere, this is where the water line was in a 2008. A far away from where the drought started in the year 2000. That's when the waterline was way up the hill but now you can see it's

receded so far down below, this the biggest reservoir in the country. It's only 27 percent full. The bathtub ring now is higher than the Statue of Liberty, just flashing red lights of warning for the 40 million people who depend on this water system to survive.

[03:44:57]

After this new round of cuts were announced, they were agreed upon among the states, but the states who are hoping that the federal government would come in and sort of be the bad cop in the situation, and lay down some tough new restrictions that everyone then would have to adjust to, that didn't happen.

The politics in the United States these days are very complicated and nobody in an official wants to shut off somebody's water these days unless they have to. So, they've been kicking this can down the road now.

One election cycle after another, and there's no end sight to this drought, it would take 10 years of heavy snowpack to recharge this reservoir, so the only thing to do in the near term is try to preach conservation, maybe use federal money to pay homeowners to rip off lawns or farmers not to grow, to let their fields go fallow, and let these waters much of it stay here as much as possible.

But that could end up in court, whether that is ultimately decided. There are big grand promises of desalination plants. Online coming in California, maybe infrastructure to catch stormwater, pump it underground. But this takes time and a lot of money.

And in the meantime, this is evaporating, dropped by precious drought and there is nothing but thirsty days in the near forecast.

Bill Weir, CNN, Boulder City, Nevada.

CHURCH: China's worst heat wave in more than 60 years is showing no signs of letting up. The extreme heat has prompted red alerts in 138 cities and counties across multiple provinces. The Yangtze River is drying up amid the relentless heat and low rainfall threatening drinking water, as well as water for crops.

So, let's get right to CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, she joins us live from Hong Kong with the latest. Good to see you again, Kristie.

So, China is scrambling to alleviate the effects of this record- breaking heat wave, how is it doing there?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's involving officials all across the country. For example, this day we learned in the city of Chongqing, in order to alleviate the effects of this punishing and prolong heat wave which is the result in that power crunch, they made that really hard call to suspend factory production for a week.

We also learned in the city of Chengdu, the metro system there is running on low power mode. And meanwhile, in the province of Hubei officials there have resorted to a practice known as cloud seeding which involves shooting the silver iodide pellets into the air into clouds to induce much-needed rain.

This is a practice that China has done since the 1940s, they also did it during the Beijing Olympic Games back in 2008, and they are doing it now during this record-breaking heat wave.

Look, for over two months now parts of southern China, southwestern, northwestern China as well they have been literally baking under these extreme temperatures. A red alert was issued for well over 100 different cities and counties across China which indicates expected temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius, that's 104 degrees Fahrenheit. An orange drought alert has been issued as well.

And on Wednesday, authority said that this was the worst or strongest heat wave in China since 1961. I want to show the statements to share with you. This is from China's national climate center. And they say this. Quote, "the heat wave this time is prolonged, it's wide in scope and strong in extremity. Taken all signs together, the heat wave in China will continue, and its intensity will increase."

And sadly, Rosemary, there is another extreme weather event that we're keeping an eye on in China this day in the northwestern part of China, landslides and flooding have led to the deaths of 16 people, 18 people are still missing. Back to you.

CHURCH: And Kristie, what is the economic fallout of China's scorching heat wave?

LU STOUT: My goodness. It is so far reaching. As this prolonged heat wave, again, for two months now China has been suffering, it's people have been suffering. But also, there has been an agricultural cost, crop disruption, that's been happening which only adds to inflationary pressure.

Also, livestock, you know, that has been threatened as well. But the factory closures, the suspension of production will have a major economic impact and it's happening not only in the city of Chongqing, but also in the province of Sichuan. Sichuan province which is this mega province home to over 80 million people.

This is where high-tech manufacturing of semiconductors and solar panels take place. This is where Apple, Intel, Foxconn, all have factories, they have announced factory suspensions of all factories this week for six days. The cost will only add up. Back to you, Rosie.

CHURCH: All right, Kristie Lu Stout joining us from Hong Kong. Many thanks as always.

And we'll be right back.

[03:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: LeBron James is staying with the Lakers, and his new contract puts him in record territory. The NBA superstar has signed a two-year $97 million extension with Los Angeles. And with that deal, James is now the most paid player in league history with career earnings of $532 million.

James, who's entering his 20th season averaged just over 30 points a game for the Lakers last season. The new NBA season tips off October 18th.

And before we go, two D.C. based morning news anchors have parents everywhere in stitches after creating this newscast.

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JEANNETTE REYES, ANCHOR, FOX5DC: Good morning, Bella. It is 9.52. Hopefully you slept well. Certainly no one else did, but we're not going to point any fingers.

Let's send it over to Robert Burton for more on your weather.

ROBERT BURTON, ANCHOR, ABC7: Well, J.R. it's a beautiful day outside. As you can see, temps in the mid-80s, no humidity. We'll begin to a joy that. Will we get to enjoy it?

[03:55:02]

Well, if spit-ups, feedings and diaper changes don't get in the way, we just might be able to make it out of here before midnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Mom continues with a breaking news report about a diaper explosion, and a suspect who's, unfortunately not talking.

Dad then thanks viewers for watching the baby news network, or as he dubs it, BNN. The video has racked up more than 10 million views on Twitter, and more than 15,000 comments on TikTok. It's very cute. You should check it out.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. CNN Newsroom continues with Christina Macfarlane, next.

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