Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Reactor Shut at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Amid Shelling; IAEA Team Heading to Zaporizhzhia; Justice Department: Classified Documents Found in Trump's Desk; Williams Stuns World Number 2 Kontaveit at U.S. Open; Interview with Catherine Russell, UNICEF, Executive Director: Ukrainian Students Face a New Reality. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Max Foster here in London. Just ahead --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I've already won. It's just pretty awesome the things that I've done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When her serve is on, there's no stopping her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are watching greatness and we're watching it with grace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The former president here taking issue with this FBI search.

There are many documents with classified markings left behind at Mar- a-Lago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But if the documents are in the former president's desk it's sort of hard to say they got there by accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Hello and welcome, it's Thursday, September 1, 4:00 a.m. in Washington, 9:00 a.m. here in London and 11:00 a.m. in Ukraine. Where new develops are emerging from the embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We've now learned one of the reactors at the facility has been shut down and an emergency protection system activated because of the ongoing shelling in the area.

This comes as U.N. inspectors are en route to the site as fears grow that the shelling could trigger a nuclear accident. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says the team is pushing forward despite the significance risks involved.

Well, CNN's Melissa Bell is following developments for us in joins us now live from Kyiv. Melissa, we've heard from Rafael Grossi saying that his team will continue to travel to the plant despite the increase in shelling. This visit's becoming more important by the hour given the news we're hearing of yet another reactor here shut down. What more can you tell us about that?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Christina. And what we're getting is a much clearer picture of how events have unfolded this morning around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. As you say, the heart of so much concern over the course of the last few days. And what we're seeing is that it was at about 5:00 a.m. that that shelling began.

We had heard first of all from the mayor of Enerhodar, which is the town in which the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is. What he spoke of on the telegram channel was shelling, machine gunfire in the streets, helicopters overhead, and civilian casualties.

Now, since then, we've also been hearing from one of the heads of the Russian-backed administration in those Russian controlled zones around Enerhodar saying also that there had been three civilian fatalities, five injuries in this fighting that has been going on around the plant, the shelling that I was telling you about.

Now, that began just after 5:00 a.m. It was just before 8:00 a.m., so a couple hours later, a few hours later, that the 14 man mission was to set off from Zaporizhzhia city, it's a couple hours away from the plant itself. And here is what Rafael Grossi had to tell journalists as they set off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: We are moving. We are aware of the current situation. There has been increased military activity including this morning. Until very recently, a few minutes ago. I have been briefed by the Ukrainian regional military commander here about that and the inherent risks. But weighing the pros and cons, and having come so far, we have not stopping. We are moving now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Extraordinary determination and courage there on the part of the lead of that 14 man strong IAEA mission that has a sense, as you heard there, and we've been hearing from Rafael Grossi these last few days that it is extremely dangerous, the risks are significant, and yet this is a mission that has to take place. As you say, Christina, all the more so now in the context of where that fifth reactor, one of six but one of only two that was functioning, has now been switched off as a result of the shelling.

And I think it's important to bear in mind the context here. Repeatedly Ukraine has accused Russian forces of using the Zaporizhzhia power plant as a military base for their equipment and from which Ukraine says that they launch attacks. Russia for its part has been speaking about shelling. I think no one anticipated that even as the convoy of the IAEA was on its way things would become so much more tense this morning -- Christina.

[04:05:03]

MACFARLANE: Yes, Melissa Bell, absolutely. Thank you for that live there in Kyiv.

And I want to talk a bit more about this now with CNN's Fred Pleitgen who is live for us this morning in Moscow. Fred, Russia we know had allowed this mission to take place and had consistently denied any blame for the shelling. Do they share concerns for the security of the plant, the, you know, obvious nuclear threat?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly share concerns for the plant they say. It's been quite interesting because, you know, just hearing what Melissa said, the Russians actually acknowledged that that shelling has been going on in the city of Enerhodar and that also several people were wounded in that as well including a child which apparently was critically wounded. They obviously blame all of that on the Ukrainians.

The latest that I'm seeing on Russian news agencies right now is that they say that most people have been brought to shelters in the town of Enerhodar, that most shops are closed and that there's barely anyone in the streets right now. So obviously a very tense situation and one where certainly the fact that that town has been shelled is something that seems to be confirmed by both sides even though both sides are trading blames for that.

It has been quite interesting because following Russian state media and Russian state news agencies, they've sort of been giving out progress updates on how that convoy IAEA has been moving along and they said that it's been stuck at some checkpoints for a certain period of time. But they also say that they expect that convoy to reach the Enerhodar power plant -- the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant fairly soon. And the Russians continue to say that they hope that the mission will be able to be successful and will be able to take place.

One of the interesting claims that we've heard from the Russians this morning is that they claim that the Ukrainians are trying to derail this mission, even tried to land paratroopers in the power plant to try and stop this mission from taking place. Obviously impossible to confirm any of that.

But it certainly does seem to be the case that this is a mission that is taking place under not only tension but extremely difficult circumstances as the IAEA tries to get to that power plant.

The Russians by the way also confirming what Melissa just said there that she heard from the Ukrainians as well, that apparently one block of that power plant has now been shut down. One of the things that we have to point out, is that that power plant is really only running at very little capacity to begin with. Apparently only two blocks of that power plant are in situation anyway and now one of them seems to have been shut down as well -- Christina.

MACFARLANE: All right, well as you say, Fred, both sides following this mission as it proceeds to Zaporizhzhia very closely. Fred Pleitgen there with the latest from Moscow. Thank you.

And coming up later in the show, schools in Ukraine are open for the first time in months. We'll talk to the executive director of UNICEF about the impact of war on Ukraine's children and their education.

Now Donald Trump's lawyer will appear in a Florida courtroom today to argue for a Special Master to review documents seized by the FBI at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. They claim it's no surprise agents found classified material at his home and it was never cause for alarm. But the Justice Department sees things differently, accusing the former president of hiding and moving documents to obstruct its investigation. CNN's Sara Murray reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The Trump team is doubling down on their request for a Special Master to review the materials that were seized from that August search in Mar-a-Lago, that's from a court filing from the Trump team Wednesday night. They say the notion that presidential records contained sensitive material should not have been cause for alarm. And they say the National Archives should have continued to negotiate in good faith with the former president to get those documents back. Of course, we know those negotiations went on for months and the former president still had not returned all of those.

Now the Trump team did not rebut fact by fact in many of the damning items the Justice Department laid out in a court filing in their narrative of events earlier this week. They did that issue with the June 3 meeting, the Trump team says has been significantly mischaracterized.

This is when investigators showed up at Mar-a-Lago to collect documents after they had issued a subpoena and a Trump lawyer signed a document saying essentially, we've handed over everything with classified markings pursuant to this subpoena. Of course, we later learned from the Justice Department that was not the case, there were many documents with classified markings left behind at Mar-a-Lago.

The Trump team also had some pretty pointed words for how the Justice Department has conducted themselves saying: Left unchecked the DOJ will impune, leak and publicize selective aspects of their investigation with no recourse for Movant -- that's Trump -- but to somehow trust the self-restraint of current unchecked investigators.

Of course, the move the FBI have made so far have been signed off on by a judge, but we are going to hear more about this fight in a hearing in Florida on Thursday.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, the Justice Department says it recovered more than 100 documents with classified markings during its August search. That includes three found in the desk of Trump's office. Mick Mulvaney as acting chief of staff during the Trump administration. Here's his take.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:10:00]

MICK MULVANEY, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF: I know a little bit about how the White House works. I know a little bit how it wasn't working very well at the end of the first term. And it's completely possible that he threw a bunch of documents in boxes and just left and that inadvertence would be a defense here. But if the documents are in former president's desk, it's sort of hard to say they got there by accident.

And I told the president this when I worked with him in the Oval Office, it's very rarely the original act that gets people in trouble, it's the attempts to obstruct or cover up after the fact. And my guess is -- and it's an educated guess at this point based on what we're sighing in the media -- that the president may be in more trouble for how he treated the documents after the FBI started its investigation than he is because of how they got there in the first place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election are also under investigation in the state of Georgia where he allegedly pressured state officials to find more votes.

A key ally involved in the scheme conservative lawyer John Eastman testified on Wednesday before a Fulton County grand jury -- that's according to his attorneys. Eastman stood alongside former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani as they fired up a rally of Trump supporters on January 6 just before the riot. Giuliani has already testified but no details have been disclosed about their testimony.

Now to a truly inspirational story from the world of sports. After losing badly at Wimbledon and hinting at a possible retirement, tennis superstar Serena Williams is moving on to the third round of the U.S. Open. She beat the world number two Anett Kontaveit of Estonia on Wednesday night. Williams says she is playing well because she loves the challenge, she doesn't have anything to prove and she has absolutely nothing to lose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERENA WILLIAMS, DEFEATED ANETT KONTAVEIT: I just feel like I have had a big red X on my back since I won the U.S. Open in '99 and it's been there my entire career. Because I won my first Grand Slam early in my career. And so -- but here it's different. I feel like I've already won, you know, figuratively and mentally. And you know, it's just really awesome the things that I've done. And so, I never like except that and I never think about it. And, yeah, so tonight I was just like -- Serena, you've already won, like just play, be Serena, you're better than this. And that's what I was able to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MACFARLANE: Serena Williams will face Ajla Tomljanovic from Australian in a singles play on Friday. For more now and Williams' amazing run, here's CNN Sports, Carolyn Manno.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS: Serena Williams has had a professional career that has spanned nearly 30 years. I mean, five American presidents. That really puts it into context. We all know about the 23 grand slam singles titles, the four Olympic gold medals. She has done so much over the last two decades on the tennis court and still she proved on Wednesday night that she loves this sport so much that she is not ready to hang them up just yet.

It was such a gritty and inspired performance against the second seeded player in the world Anett Kontaveit and at the end, it was Serena who reigned supreme. As she is moving on in this tournament with one final chance to win another singles title and add that to a legacy that already has no equal. What else could you possible expect from the greatest to have ever played the game.

WILLIAMS: Well, I'm a pretty good player. You know, this is what I do best. I love a challenge, I love rising to the challenge. And yeah, I haven't played many matches, but I've been practicing really well and my last few matches, it just wasn't coming together. And I'm like but this isn't me.

MANNO: What is remarkable, is that Serena was a 50:1 long shot coming into win this tournament on the singles side and here she is defying expectations like she has her entire career. She'll be on the court with her sister Venus in doubles on Thursday -- her coach confirmed to me that that is still the plan. Even though she is advancing on the singles side and we'll see if she can continue this magical run in singles on Friday.

In Flushing, Queens for CNN, I'm Carolyn Manno.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, the home crowd has definitely been a boost for Williams, especially with many celebrities. We saw Tiger Woods in the crowd just there. We asked tennis experts what else they are seeing in her game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MCENROE, FORMER PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: Her movement has been so off since coming back at Wimbledon, of course she didn't play for a year. That was to be expected. But how quickly she is seemingly finding that "A" game again and I think the dreams that we all had about serena making a big run and going deep in this tournament are starting to become a potential reality right now.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, SPORTS COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: Now no one expects her do well, she's having a blast and she's playing great tennis. And right now, you're kind of going, oh, my goodness, could we be watching something really spectacular as in she continues to work her way through the draw, goes all the way through the weekend and into next week.

[04:15:03]

I mean, I think that anything now is possible for of course one of the greatest athletes in any sport we have ever seen.

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: She's coming as if she just started as a teenager. She letting you know who I am, I am authentic. That's everything about the presentation is true to who she is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: And Williams will be back on court today for a doubles match with her sister Venus.

OK, still ahead, going to school in the midst of war. Students and teachers across Ukraine are adapting to a new reality as they return to class today. A top UNICEF official will be with me to discuss the challenges they face.

And sharp rebuke from the office of the Chicago mayor after the governor of Texas buses dozens of migrants to her city.

Plus, a wildfire closes parts of a busy California interstate, why a weekend heat wave could make matters worse.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Christina, as temperatures soar to 15 to 20 degrees above average this weekend, not only will it stress the firefighting efforts, but also California's electrical grid. I'll tell you how hot it will get and cover all those stories coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:20:00]

GREG ABBOTT (R) TEXAS GOVERNOR: They are seeing the chaos that has been caused by the Biden administration. Well, I have news for New York. I've got news for Washington, D.C. as well as the rest of the country. We are not done yet. There are more cities on our list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Texas Governor Greg Abbott there making good on his promise. His government sent dozens of migrants by bus to Chicago on Wednesday. But the Illinois city welcomed them saying it would assist them. A spokesman for Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement that Abbott's practices were racist and he was without any shame or humanity. Figures released this week show that Texas spent more than $12 million on busing migrants to other cities as of August 9.

Now in California, the Route fire shut down part of Interstate 5 in both directions in northern Los Angeles County on Wednesday. More than 10,000 vehicles passed through the area on a daily basis. Evacuations were ordered for those close by.

The state is also preparing for a strain on its power grid, temperatures are expected to rise throughout the Labor Day holiday weekend possibly breaking records. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now live from Atlanta. And Derek, how bad are these temperatures going to be?

VAN DAM: Well, these temperatures are going to stay extremely hot for an extended period of time. So, it's going to be a strenuous heatwave, a long standing heatwave as well. So, it's not only going to put that strain on the firefighting efforts that you saw there, but also on the electrical grid as well. PG&E -- the largest electrical supplier to the state of California -- warning its customers to not charge their vehicles during peak electrical demand, 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. locally on the West Coast. That's just incredible to think about what's happening there.

And we've already broken records in some locations. Anaheim, California being one of them. Yesterday the mercury in the thermometer client to 106, breaking a record set a couple years ago. So, what's to come? We have over 40 million Americans under heat alerts as we speak. So, these are heat advisories in the shade of orange from southern Oregon and Idaho, through much of Nevada, but that is an excessive heat warning from San Francisco just outside of the Bay Area into the Los Angeles region.

And it includes the coastal areas where you would anticipate at least the option to cool yourself down closer to the Pacific Ocean. This particular heatwave doesn't look like it's going to plan out that way. We have over 160 potential record highs to be tied or broken over the next week or so, and it's all because of the extensive area of high pressure -- we also call that a heat dome. This time of year, that's going to trap in the UV radiation from the sun and that's going to allow for our temperatures to sky rocket.

In fact, triple digit heats easily met for many of these locations. Death Valley often considered our litmus test. Well, how warm it will get out West, well we know the hottest temperature on planet earth during the month of September is 126 degrees. We will be flirting with those temperatures this weekend, especially into Labor Day. We believe that Monday will be the hottest day of this long-standing duration heatwave. You can see the shades of red just really dominating this weather map and we anticipate that extreme heat to be the main story going into the weekend.

MACFARLANE: Yes, gosh California continuing to be hit hard here. Derek, thank you so much.

VAN DAM: You're welcome.

MACFARLANE: The death toll continues to rise in Pakistan from deadly monsoon rains and flash flooding. Almost 1,200 people have died since June. Nearly a quarter of those are children. The World Health Organization has classified the disaster with its highest emergency rating. And have $10 million from an emergency fund to help the country as rescues continue and recovery slowly begins.

Now how do you focus on learning when you are in the middle of a warzone? Students and teachers across Ukraine will have to adjust to that reality as the new school year gets under way for many today. But the adjustment will be difficult to say the least.

Because according to the U.N., more than 7 million refugees have fled Ukraine, many of them children, and more than 5 million Ukrainian kids need humanitarian assistance. And close to 1,000 children have been killed or injured since the war began. That means five children are killed or wounded every day on average. And one in ten schools has now been damaged or destroyed. .

Well for more, we're joined by UNICEF's Executive Director Catherine Russell. She's joining us from Irpin, just outside Kyiv from what seems like a very busy backdrop behind you there, Catherine. Thank you for joining us. We know that nearly 1,000 children have been killed or injured since this war began. And education is important at any time, but during a time of war, this war in particular, and given the trauma that children have suffered, how vital is it that they return to education today?

CATHERINE RUSSELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNICEF: As you said war is the worst enemy of children.

[04:25:00]

It's terrible, it destabilizes things. But education gives them some sense of normalcy. And so, we've seen this today at this school where it's the first day back, kids are excited. But we also see that they have a shelter here where they have to, you know, go for protection. So, it's this very difficult situation of contrasts in a warzone.

MACFARLANE: And it's great to see that scene behind you there and see the obvious excitement that the children have, you know, returning to school today in Ukraine. But we know, Catherine, that the scale of this task is immense. More than 200 schools damaged, over 200 completely destroyed, and the risks of course of continued shelling is there. Ukrainian children have been scattered far and wide due to the war. So, how is this going to work? What are the challenges you face and what plans have you put in place for this?

RUSSELL: Well, as you say, there are immense challenges. And first, we're trying to get as many children back in the classroom as we can. Because in addition to this war, you know, they've also had two years really of COVID where they were doing remote learning, right. So, on top of that, they have a conflict of war here where we're trying to get them back in the classroom.

As you said, many schools have been destroyed. We're working to try to get those back on track, but we also are in a situation where the government is allowing children to come to school only if the schools have shelters in place. And so not all schools obviously have those. We're helping to build those refurbish those shelters so that children have a place go when the alarms go off. MACFARLANE: And how difficult has it been to get teachers, educators

back into classrooms, you know, in the midst of a warzone, the dangers that they face. Has that been a challenge to find teachers to resume the school year?

RUSSELL: Yes, it's a -- you know, if you imagine yourself as a parent, right, and you have to decide whether you feel comfortable sending your child to school where they're going to be by themselves when the inevitable alarms go off. And yesterday I was just at one of our facilities and the children were there playing and next thing you know there's an alarm that goes. All the children are, you know, moved in to shelters. Adults are rushing to shelters.

That's a terrifying thing, right. And to imagine that your child is alone or separated from you having to go through that, is a tough decision for parents. So, on the one hand they want to keep their children close, it's a natural instinct. On the other hand, they know how important it is to get these kids back into classrooms and into schools because they have to get their education back on track. And children want to be with other children. You know, I definitely picked that up since I've been here, the kids are excited to be together again.

MACFARLANE: And, Catherine, one of the most complex and dangerous situations is likely going to be for children and teachers living in occupied areas where we know Russia have already moved to change curriculums, the educators not even be Ukrainian, they may be Russian. So how will teaching continue in those areas?

RUSSELL: You know what, it's a really difficult question for us, Christina, because we don't have access to those parts of the country. And access is absolutely critical. Humanitarian access is critical. We need it, we have to have it in order for us to assess what's happening and try to help the children there. But right now, we're almost operating in the dark. We don't know what's happening there.

MACFARLANE: Well, for the children who are returning today, as I say, it's fantastic to see and we hope that they will get the education they need as the war continues. And many thanks to you also, Catherine, for joining us there from Irpin and giving us your take on the situation.

RUSSELL: Thank you so much. I mean, children are children, right. They want to be in school, they want to learn and they want to have fun and we're doing our best to help them here. So, thank you so much.

MACFARLANE: Good to hear. Thank you.

Now U.S. President Biden is ordering federal assistance from the capital of Mississippi which is desperate for water after a treatment plant was damaged in recent flooding. The governor says a new pump has been installed at the facility which moves clean water to tanks around the city, but it has mechanical and electrical issues and needs new parts. Residents of the city of 150,000 are getting dirty water from those tanks. Jackson's mayor says he hopes clean water can be restored by the weekend, but the governor warns of more interruptions. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TATE REEVES (R-MS): I do want to be clear and set expectations that there will be future interruptions including the one today. They are not avoidable at this point and they will be as limited in time as we can possibly make them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: The mayor of Flint, Michigan says his heart goes out to the people of Jackson. Flint dealt with a water contamination crisis after it switched supplies to cut costs.

Disinformation and lies, that's how China describes a new report on human rights violations from Xinjiang Province. We're live with the details of that next.

Plus, President Biden is on a campaign blitz of Pennsylvania ahead of the midterm elections with a key address in Philadelphia tonight. Those details are coming up.

[04:30:00]