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Source: Russia Buying Military Equipment From North Korea; Canadian Police Search For Remaining Suspect In Stabbing Spree That Killed 10; Biden Storms Swing States As Sprint For Midterms Begins, Continues Attacks On "MAGA Republicans"; Oz, Toomey Ramp Up Questions About Fetterman's Health Amid Stroke Recovery; Biden Going To Ohio To Support Ryan In Senate Race; 2 Dead After Fire Breaks Out In Southern California Town; Scientists: "Doomsday Glacier" Could Erode Rapidly In Coming Years. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 06, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:44]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: The Kremlin is now spending millions on rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in Ukraine. A source says it's a sign the Russian military continues to suffer from supply shortages.

CNN's national security correspondent, Kylie Atwood, joins us now.

So, why North Korea?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Russia is turning to essentially any country that it can right now. And its an indication -- the indication here that it's turning to North Korea is because other countries are not willing to provide Russia with what it needs.

An indication that its stockpile isn't doing so well as it continues to try and sustain this war in Ukraine.

According to this U.S. official, Russia is in the process of buying these artillery shells and rockets from North Korea. We don't have many details as to exactly when those millions of weapons will actually arrive in Russia.

But the Biden administration believes that the sanctions that are in place are having an impact, and that's why Russia is turning to rogue nations like North Korea, like Iran, for these weapons.

Just listen to what a U.S. official told me.

Quote, "This purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due, in part, to export controls and sanctions. We expect Russia could continue to purchase additional North Korean military equipment going forward."

Now, we also know that just last week, Victor, the Russians picked up Iranian drones, bringing them, of course, also to Russia to try and sustain this war in Ukraine.

And while the economic sanctions haven't had such a broad impact in terms of the Russian economy, because they still have a rising number of imports that they are able -- excuse me, exports, in terms of oil, their revenue is quite high.

But on the military front, it is clear now that they are facing an impact because of the sanctions. We'll watch to learn more -- Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you.

In Canada, the manhunt continues for one of the two suspects in this weekend's mass stabbing that left 10 dead and 18 injured. The killings happened at multiple locations throughout a Saskatchewan indigenous reserve.

Now officials say the two suspects are brothers. And 31-year-old Damien Sanderson was found dead on the reserve on Monday. Officers are still searching for 30-year-old Myles Sanderson. He has a long list of priors and is considered armed and dangerous.

CNN's Paula Newton is live in Ottawa.

Are we learning more, Paula, about the manhunt and the motive behind the stabbing?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, we are, Victor. Just in the last hour, police in Saskatchewan issued another alert, so everybody got them on their phones.

Especially in James Smith Cree Nation, that community you were just discussing, people were told to shelter in place because they had reports of a possible sighting of Myles Sanderson. And as you said, he remains a man that police consider armed and dangerous.

This is so unnerving for the community, Victor. It was one of the reasons that the community was essentially on lockdown. It had established a state of emergency until at least the end of the month.

People in that community described to me how terrified they were and why they didn't want to speak out, because they were afraid he was still there.

I want you to listen now to police, the RCMP in Saskatchewan, really describe the kind of individual Myles Sanderson is and the danger he poses. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RHONDA BLACKMORE, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: Myles Sanderson, Damien's brother, may have sustained injuries. This has not been confirmed. But we do want the public to know this, because there's a possibility he may seek medical attention.

Even if he is injured, it does not mean he is not still dangerous. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So, given what we just heard, Victor, you can imagine how riled up the community is right now. They are indoors.

There's a heavy police presence there. And they are searching the community thoroughly. This is pretty small, little more than a thousand people there.

Having said that, one of the issues police are trying to get at is whether or not Myles Sanderson is responsible for the death of his brother, Damien.

And I just can't say enough about the trauma in this community right now, Victor, and the fact that they feel menaced by this suspect who is still at large.

[14:35:04]

The last information that they had before this sighting was that he was a few hours' drive away in the capital of Saskatchewan, Regina. Police admit the trail went cold after that.

We will bring you the latest as we have it in the next few minutes as police continue to go to that community and see if they can check out these leads.

BLACKWELL: Yes, this trauma continues, because the threat is still out there, and now, as you report, this possible sighting.

Paula Newton for us there. Thank you, Paula.

Control of Congress is up for grabs this November. President Biden, former President Trump taking aim at one another in key swing states. Will this strategy work with voters? We'll get into it next.

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[14:40:18]

BLACKWELL: The U.K. has a new prime minister, Liz Truss. She met privately with the queen, then started her first day on the job at 10 downing street, and there she recommitted to growing the British economy, responding to the energy crisis, and standing up to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: United with our allies, we will stand up for freedom and democracy around the world, recognizing that we can't have security at home without having security abroad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Truss is replacing Boris Johnson, who resigned in July. Nine weeks from today, voters will head to the polls for the midterm

election and decide who controls Congress. Now, Democrats are hoping to hang on to their majority.

President Biden tested his political capital on the campaign trail, stopping in critical battleground states of Wisconsin, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, yesterday, and he heralded his economic record.

Continued his attack, also, against what he calls MAGA Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This new group headed by the former president, the former defeated president, we found ourselves in a situation where we really are going to look forward or look backwards, and it's clear which way he wants to look. It's clear which way the new MAGA Republicans are. They're extreme.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Charlie Dent is a CNN political commentator, former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania. Eva McKend is a CNN national politics reporter.

Welcome to you both.

Congressman, let me start with you.

Do you think this works, what the president's doing?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think he is smart to try to make this election -- this midterm election a choice between himself and Donald Trump, because Donald Trump is probably more unpopular than Joe Biden is.

So, I've never seen a midterm election like this where the former president of the United States, a defeated former president of the United States who was unpopular, is inserting himself into the conversation to this extent.

Clearly, Republicans in Congress do not want Donald Trump involved in the election. They want the election to be a referendum on Joe Biden and the Democrats.

And so all these issues between the 1/6 committee, some of these fringe or weak candidates, the Dobbs decision, most especially, these are all mitigating factors that could really, you know, mitigate Democratic losses.

But we should also say that the political environment, still broadly speaking, favors the Republicans. But I suspect they're going to have a rather slander majority.

But I'm also somewhat humble in making any predictions. Just that this is sort of an unprecedented midterm election from my perspective. BLACKWELL: Congressman, let me stay with you on the distinction that

the president is trying to create here.

Because there are some Republicans who are saying that the -- the president's deriding all Republicans. He is slamming and dividing the country.

Do you think Republicans of your ilk, non-Trump supporters, get the delineation, that they appreciate the distinction that he's making, whether it works or not?

DENT: Well, I think President Biden did a better job yesterday with his comments than he did in Philadelphia the week before and also when he -- he made that comment about semi-fascists. I thought that was a bit over the top.

I never liked it when Republicans, you know, painted with a broad brush, calling Democrats Socialists or Communists. I thought it was unfair.

I think it was unhelpful that the president was overly partisan in some of those speeches. Although I think his tone has gotten better the last day or two.

And one thing he should do, he should throw a bone to some Republicans and just say, look -- to my Democratic friends, he should say, you know, you shouldn't be doing anything to prop up these election- denying candidates.

You can't, on the one hand, say these people represent an existential threat to democracy and then turn around and support them with your money.

BLACKWELL: Eva, you are covering the Pennsylvania races very closely. Let's focus now on the Senate race, Oz v. Fetterman.

And today, the retiring Republican Senator, Pat Toomey, was with the Republican nominee, Dr. Mehmet Oz, on John Fetterman not yet agreeing to debate.

Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR MEHMET OZ, (R), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE FOR PENNSYLVANIA: John Fetterman is either healthy, and he's dodging the debates because he does not want to answer for his radical left positions, or he's too sick to participate in the debate.

SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): He said the only lingering effect of the stroke is, and I quote, "every now and then, I'm going to miss a word or mush two together," end quote. Well, if that's all true, then why won't he agree to debate Dr. Oz? It's clear that he's being dishonest.

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[14:45:04]

BLACKWELL: Is there evidence that this decision not to debate Mehmet Oz is costing, is hurting John Fetterman?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: We will have to see how this plays out in the weeks ahead. You know, Fetterman is going to continue to get questions about this as long as he does not agree to debate.

Here's where I think the miscalculation is, though, Victor, on Oz's side. So, this idea that if Oz only has the opportunity to debate Fetterman, and they are getting asked tough questions, he will be able to show Pennsylvanians how far to the left Fetterman is.

Pennsylvanians already know who their lieutenant governor is. And some of them might support him in spite of not agreeing with all of his policy positions.

That's certainly the sense I got when I was out there just a few weeks ago, that you have some center right folks who like his persona, who tell me that they remember when he was the mayor of Braddock and, late at night, knocked on people's doors to make sure they had heat.

So even if they don't agree with his progressive policy positions -- by the way, he's confusing no one by no longer calling himself a progressive -- that they are inclined to maybe support him anyway.

I wonder, even if they do ultimately end up debating, how much that changes the overall calculation in this race.

BLACKWELL: Eva, the message we heard from the president three times in Pennsylvania over the last week, going after Donald Trump, Donald Trumpys, as he calls them. Interesting choice there.

But he's going to Ohio in a couple of days, a Trump-plus-eight state. Does it work there? I mean, if he thinks it works in Pennsylvania, does that carry over where Tim Ryan is in a very tight race with J.D. Vance?

MCKEND: I don't know if we're going to hear the same message, the Friday event is a groundbreaking of a new semiconductor manufacturing facility. That is not really a political event. And if he's there to tout the CHIPS bill, that was a bipartisan victory.

Also, Tim Ryan, the way he is running his race, is really focused on the dignity of the American worker, bringing jobs back to the state.

He's really not talking about the former president or the 2020 election. So, I don't see an emphasis on MAGA Republicans from Congressman Ryan or the president on Friday. But we'll have to see.

BLACKWELL: All right, Eva McKend, Congressmen Dent, thank you.

A glacier, bigger than the state of Florida is said to be hanging on by its fingernails in Antarctica. The impact of the so-called Doomsday Glacier, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:51:53]

BLACKWELL: More than 50 million people are under heat alerts today. Extreme temperatures are blanketing a significant portion of the west for the seventh straight day.

In California, several cities set records on Monday. And there's a potential for more record-breaking temperatures today.

Meantime, in the southern California city of Hemet, officials right now are battling a deadly fire that has left two dead.

That's where we find CNN's Stephanie Elam.

What are we seeing on this fire and the heatwave?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, let me first tell you what I'm feeling. It's tremendously hot out here. And it's also very breezy.

If you can tell by the meter, it is blowing out here, which is very bad when you're trying to battle a fire, now 2,400 acres, 5 percent contained.

There were two women trying to escape the blaze, officials say, that lost their lives in this fire. We know that one other civilian was injured as well.

And the schools are closed because of people trying to just make sure their homes are OK. They figured it was easier to do that.

You can see two massive plumes. There are fire crews out there, Houses that are burned out, cars that are burned out up there as well.

And all of this heat is making it so much worse. We have extended heat that's not leaving and is expected to stick around for a longer period of time. A few more days here.

According to my car and my watch, it's now 103 degrees here. So very hot.

You can hear one of the planes flying over that's doing drops as well. So you can see the fire retardant here, all of this problem because of this extended heat that's going from the southern border of the United States to the northern border of the United States.

We're talking about some of those temperature records. Sacramento yesterday hitting 114 degrees. That is a record in September for Sacramento. San Francisco airport, 97 degrees, which was a daily record there for this month.

And Death Valley could hit 125 degrees. And that is just one degree shy of the all-time September record of 126, which was hit in Mecca, California, in 1950. As you can see, climate change is here, and these temperatures are

really proving it all across California -- Victor?

BLACKWELL: Yes, and all the ingredients there for that fire to continue to burn.

Stephanie Elam, thank you for covering it for us.

Scientists are also issuing a stark warning on the Doomsday Glacier. It earned that name because its disintegration could raise global sea levels by several feet.

And they say the glacier, which is bigger than the state of Florida, has the potential to rapidly deteriorate in the coming years.

CNN's Tom Sater is with me now.

The Doomsday Glacier, tell us more.

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You pretty much answered the question as far as, if you think about the state of Florida being an ice cube, and it breaks off from the U.S., it is surrounded by warming waters through our climate crisis. So that ice cube is going to melt and raise sea levels.

[14:54:58]

So it was a week ago, Victor, a week and a half that we did the story of the glacier in Greenland. Scientists believe it will raise sea levels by a foot. That's one foot.

Let's toss two more into the equation. Thwaites Glacier, nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier because they have been studying this with higher technology, satellite from above, underwater robots, and they have been mapping what it looks like from underneath.

Located in west Antarctica, one of the most fragile places on the planet. Because the waters are getting warming, it's really melting this ice.

We have a high rick now of a collapse and a threat to the global sea level rise.

And here's why. Scientists have been there since the '70s. In the last two decades, what they've been finding out, they have been mapping the historical retreat.

At times in the past, at some point in the last 200 years, the glacier dislodged from the seabed.

Right now, it's stable because it's connected to the seabed. If it breaks off, it gets surrounded in the warmer waters. In the past, they realize it has retreated at two times what we're seeing today.

Today, we're seeing it retreat over a half mile a year, meaning melting. In the past, it's been over a mile and a half. What we're seeing is the capability of a rapid retreat, again, in the near future.

Under water robots have been mapping this. And what they have been finding out, is they noticed how it's broken off in the past. But satellites today, Victor, have been noticed in the last couple of years numerous fractures that are growing across this.

Remember, it's the size of Florida. We have already seen a rise since 1990 and we're seeing a steeper increase. But if it breaks off, it will be several ice cubes that will break off into chunks, so there's a two-foot rise. You add in the report from Greenland, that's another foot.

It's going to be staggering for places we have seen. This is one foot. Paris, Louisiana, I can't imagine what three feet will do.

Another alarming climate study, unfortunately.

BLACKWELL: Tom, and there are more fissures now, so this could break in more places than previously expected.

SATER: Yes, many more. In fact, once this breaks off, if it does, the sister glaciers that surround it would actually increase sea level rise by even more. That's why they're saying maybe several feet.

This is -- you know, Charleston, and you can see what one foot does here. It's just amazing.

BLACKWELL: Tom Sater, thank you for that.

A tragic end to this case of a missing Tennessee woman who was abducted while jogging. Police have now identified the body of Eliza Fletcher. New details ahead.

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