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Deep Sea Robot Capable Of Reaching Titanic Wreckage Where Sub Was Headed Now En Route To Search Area; Ukraine's Navy Takes On Russian Drones And Missiles; Billions Pledge To Ukraine At Recovery Conference; Dozens Injured In Fiery Gas Explosion In Paris; One Palestinian Killed In Settler Rampage. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 22, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the search intensifies for the -- for the Titan sub and five people on board. With just hours of oxygen left, U.S. Coast Guard is sending in more high tech equipment, ships and underwater robots.

Rebuilding Ukraine. Kyiv's allies gather in London pledging billions for reconstruction. But the big question, how to force Russia to pay reparations?

And the violence spiraling between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. Could this be the beginning of a third Palestinian Intifada?

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Thank you for joining us. Search efforts for the Titan submersible and five people on board are intensifying with more high tech equipment and ships heading to the area where banging sounds were heard over the past two days. The U.S. Coast Guard says it's not entirely clear what those noises are. But they're the only indication of possible signs of life from the vessel which has been missing now for almost four days.

A deep sea French robot has been rushed to the site. The Victor 6000 is one of the few vessels capable of operating at a depth of 20,000 feet. The Titan was heading for the wreckage of the Titanic lying on the ocean floor 12,500 feet down.

The Victor 6000 is remotely controlled. And while it's not able to lift the Titan to the surface, it could hook a cable from his own support shift to pull the submersible to safety.

Contact with the Titan was lost early Sunday, less than two hours into its descent to the wreck of the Titanic. Each trip begins with 96 hours of oxygen, meaning a key deadline for finding the sub could be just hours away.

More now from CNN's Jason Carroll. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. JAMIE FREDERICK, U.S. COAST GUARD: When you're in the middle of a search and rescue case, you always have hope. That's why we're doing what we do.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With what could be less than 24 hours of oxygen left onboard Titan, hope at this point may rest on noises detected by sonar. The Coast Guard revealed more noises were picked up after a Canadian aircraft dropped a sonar buoy.

FREDERICK: With respect to the noises specifically, we don't know what they are, to be frank with you. We -- the P-3 detected noises. That's why they're up there. That's why they're doing what they're doing. That's why they put sonar buoys in the water.

CARROLL (voice over): The sounds are described as banging and first picked up by a Canadian plane yesterday and heard again today.

All the acoustic information sent to the U.S. Navy for analysis. Additional resource sent to search the area where the sounds were detected. The Coast Guard cautioned about drawing conclusions before experts can weigh in.

FREDERICK: We moved assets and we're searching there and will continue to do so.

TOM DETTWEILER, OCEAN EXPLORER: It is encouraging that there did seem to be a pattern to it. And you know, we're going to continue to hold out hope.

CARROLL (voice over): Time is crucial. The rescue window continues to shrink.

SEAN LEET, CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR, HORIZON MARITIME SERVICES: We are very aware of the time sensitivity around this mission.

CARROLL (voice over): The vessel was headed to view the Titanic wreck that sits nearly 13,000 feet deep, but lost contact on Sunday, just one hour and 45 minutes into its descent.

Five onboard including OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush.

STOCKTON RUSH, CEO & FOUNDER, OCEANGATE: I'd like to be remembered as an innovator. I think it was General MacArthur who said, you're remembered for the rules you break. And you know, I've broken some rules to make this. I think I've broken with logic and good engineering behind me.

CARROLL (voice over): No question surrounding the safety of the vessel which was not inspected and classed by an independent group that sets safety standards. Most charter vessels are carefully inspected, reviewed, then classed.

OceanGate argues the Titan is not, due to the technology being so new that it's not incorporated into existing standards. Two former employees of OceanGate separately brought up safety

concerns about the vessel and the thickness of Titan's hole. There was additional testing since the time the employees left the company in 2017 and 2018. So, it's unclear if their concerns were addressed.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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VAUSE: Tom Dettweiler is an ocean explorer who played a key role in the discovery of the wreckage of the Titanic. He's also a close friend of Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who is on board the missing submersible.

I say, Tom, thank you so much for being with us. This must be quite the anxious time for you right now.

DETTWEILER: Yes, it is, John. Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: There's a lot of people who know this part of the ocean floor like you do, so from what you know and from what you know about deep sea exploration, what do you make of those banging noises and the other sounds which have been detected?

DETTWEILER: Well, the interesting thing about the banging noises is the fact that they are described as banging. And also the fact that they follow a pattern. And that's exactly what somebody like P.H. with his extensive background in submersibles would probably be doing to try to get the attention of any potential rescuers.

But, you know, I've spent lots of year listening to the ocean, through various sonar systems, and there's lots of noise in the ocean. And noise can also travel very far in the ocean. Water is unfortunately a very good conductor of noise.

So, you really can't draw a positive conclusion from it. But it's really the only piece of evidence that we've got that says they might still be there. And it's the reason to carry on with the rescue effort.

VAUSE: Absolutely. And with that in mind, he's a little more now on how the search efforts are being refocused from the U.S. Coast Guard, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERICK: What I can tell you is we're searching in the area where the noises were detected. And we'll continue to do so. And we hope that when we're able to get additional ROVs which will be there in the morning, the intent will be to continue to search in those areas where the noises were detected and if they're continued to be detected, and then put additional ROVs down in the last known position where the search was originally taking place.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Do you have any concerns with the timeline here about how long it's taking to get all this additional high tech equipment in place? It seems to be cutting it very close down to the wire.

DETTWEILER: Well, on the other hand, though, it's a tremendous effort to move this equipment, it's all very large, very heavy, it had to be flown up in cargo airplanes. And thanks to the Air Force for getting the U.S. Navy stuff up there.

Then, it's got to be secured to the ship, you know, this massive machinery has to be lifted on board and secured to the deck. So, it doesn't shift while the ship is rolling out at sea.

So, it's a massive effort. And it's really been done quite quickly. And I've seen this happened before. It's absolutely amazing how the community draws together and helps each other in episodes like this.

So, you know, it's really -- it's been done pretty much as fast as it could be done. It's just we're dealing with a long distance and, you know, difficult conditions.

If you think about it, it's very much -- very much like the original sinking of the Titanic where the rescuers just couldn't get to it in time.

VAUSE: And according the company's website, it takes the Titan submersible about two hours to make the descent to the wreckage of the Titanic, reaching a depth for more than 12,500 feet, they normally would spend about four hours there and then head to the surface.

That trip back to the surface usually takes about two hours. They lost contact about an 1-1/2 hour into that four hour trip.

How quickly could the Titan resurface in an emergency? Is it possible to resupply the submersible with oxygen at a depth of 12,500 feet?

DETTWEILER: No, there's really no way to get oxygen into it at that. There's no penetration or anything like that, that allows oxygen to be input to the summary. The thing to do would be to bring it up as quickly as possible and then open the hatch and get to the people.

Unfortunately, it can't be brought up all that quickly when it's on the end of the cable and dependent on the speed of the winch to bring it up. You're still talking about hours potentially to get it up.

VAUSE: Tom, thank you so much. Our thoughts are with you and with everybody on board and thank you very much for talking with us, Sir.

DETTWEILER: Thank you. Appreciate it.

VAUSE: This low grinding Ukrainian counter-offensive is making noticeable gains in the South according to Ukrainian officials. This video was posted on social media by Ukraine, claiming it's from the Tavriia front in the south, where Ukrainian forces continue to advance after destroying the equivalent of three Russian companies over the last day. President Zelenskyy has told the BBC, Ukraine would like to speed up

the offensive. But real life fighting he says is not a Hollywood movie. Still, he is optimistic in his evening address on Wednesday.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): On the front lines, fierce battles. In the south, we are destroying the enemy. In the Donetsk region, we are destroying the enemy. In the Kupiansk direction. No matter what the Russian terrorists plan there, we will destroy the enemy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ukraine says it has repelled multiple Russian attacks in the Donetsk region Wednesday. That includes Russia and attempts to regain some of its positions near the city of Bakhmut.

Ukraine has said the Russians are now employing new tactics in its aerial strikes flying their drones and missiles along rivers to avoid Ukraine's air defenses. But as CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, Ukrainian Navy ships are trying to counter that move.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Night after night, a common feed, Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine cities air defense viciously fighting back from land, the air and from the water. We got exclusive access to Ukrainian Navy patrol boats that are part of that fight.

PLEITGEN: The Ukrainians say the Russians often fly drones and even cruise missiles along rivers to avoid air defenses. That's why boats like this will play the important role in keeping both cities but also critical infrastructure safe.

PLEITGEN (voice over): The commander who only gave his name as Anton says air defense is a key component of their mission.

PLEITGEN: Are you effective?

ANTON, UKRAINIAN NAVY COMMANDER: So, I cannot answer that question how effective we are but so, are we affected? I will say yes.

PLEITGEN (voice over): As Ukraine presses on with its counter offensive, Kyiv acknowledges the Russians are putting up stiff resistance every yard of territory hard fought.

We would certainly like to make bigger steps, the Ukrainian president says, they are smaller than we want. But nevertheless, those who fight shall win.

Moscow claiming they are repelling Ukraine's attempted advances, Russian President Vladimir Putin saying his troops are wearing the Ukrainians down.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Currently, we're seeing a certain low, it has to do with the fact that the enemy is suffering serious losses.

PLEITGEN (voice over): The Ukrainians fear the Russians might try to infiltrate and destabilize cities like Kyiv or smuggle weapons here.

So, the Navy crew searches all boats and barges on the river.

In this search, it was an all-clear.

ANTON: Then we'll make a search of all the suspected vessel. In the meantime, we will be surrounded to make sure that nobody is going to leave the vessel that they will not be under attack.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Their work they say even more pressing after the recent destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, which the Russians and Ukrainians blame on each other.

ANTON: The river is also a strategic object, especially now as you can see what happened in Kakhovka. So, now we can understand how it is important to make it safe and a secure place.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.

VAUSE: Ukraine has new promises of billions of dollars in recovery aid and investment, not just from Allied governments, but from private investors as well.

More than 400 global companies are pledging support at a conference in London. Ukraine needs major investments in infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, agriculture and information technology to rebuild immediately after the war, and also, to secure its long term future.

New promises are coming in from the U.K., the U.S. and also from the World Bank. Even though the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the responsibility for reconstruction and pay for it will ultimately lie with Moscow.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Even as we come together here in London, committed to supporting Ukraine's build up, Russia continues to try to burn it down.

So, let's be clear. Russia is causing Ukraine's destruction and Russia will eventually bear the cost of Ukraine's reconstruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt is Associate Professor of National Security at the University of New Haven. He's an expert on Defense Security, Russia, as well as Ukraine, and it's good to see you.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Good to see you, John.

VAUSE: OK, I want you to listen to the U.S. Secretary State on the long term goals for rebuilding Ukraine. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: Even as we invest in Ukraine's immediate and long term recovery, we also have to build a Ukrainian military that is strong enough to protect Ukraine's sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and its independence, not just to defend Ukraine's land, but to defend all that Ukrainians are building and will build on that land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, all of this is certainly a lot more expensive than the $411 billion, the World Bank says is needed for reconstruction of Ukraine. Is the reality here the cold, hard truth? No one has a clue how much is needed.

SCHMIDT: That is the reality. The World Bank report is several months old that they're reporting. And the fact is that number changes every day, every time a Russian rocket hits, you know, or there's a major battle.

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I think it's important to keep in mind here that Vladimir Putin is not in Ukraine to stop NATO. He's in Ukraine because Ukrainian economic and political rule.

And so, if he can stop that economic development, even after the fighting stops, right? In a sense, he can win, right? Or Ukraine can win the battle, but lose the reconstruction. And that's what's at stake here.

VAUSE: Yes, there is agreement on who should pay for all this. Here's Ukraine's Prime Minister.

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DENYS SHMYHAL, UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER: One of the key questions we are constantly facing is who will pay the hundreds of billions for the recovery. First and foremost, Russia must pay for what it has destroyed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He's just using that World Bank number, which you said is months old, it's $400 billion. That's about a quarter of Russia's GDP. So, is it possible first of all, to force Russia to pay up?

And secondly, is Russia capable of paying up without causing economic chaos and misery on Ukraine's border across the -- you know, across Russia?

SCHMIDT: It's important that Ukraine continue to make the case for Russian reparations. It's important that the West support Ukraine's case that the aggressor country should be doing this.

But the reality again, is that -- is that Russia will not do it and cannot do it. And so, that money has to come from elsewhere. It has to come from donor states. And it has to come from direct investment from companies who think they can make money during the reconstruction while doing good there.

VAUSE: Is it possible get any access to that sovereign wealth fund, which was effectively frozen at the early days of the war with the Russian sovereign wealth fund?

SCHMIDT: It's possible that they could do that. But remember, to get to that kind of thing you have to get through world institutions that Russia sits on, like, for instance, the United Nations and its allies sit on.

So, it would be very difficult to pull enough money out of a sovereign wealth fund to rebuild Ukraine. And again, remember, I think the real number and the caveat here is is nobody really knows.

But if the World Bank is saying 400 billion today, by the time this thing is over with, I would guess the real numbers are over a trillion dollars.

VAUSE: Yes, well, many are calling for a modern day Marshall Plan for Ukraine. For those who are not familiar with the Marshall Plan, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hooray. World War II is over. But Europe is in ruins. What can a country like the United States do to help? How about setting aside over $13 billion to help rebuild the smoldering continent? That's what the European recovery plan, aka the Marshall Plan sought to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: 13 billion was about five percent of the U.S. economy at the time, which would be $1.1 trillion in 2023.

So far, the U.S. has promised $1.3 billion in financial assistance, U.K. $3 billion in new loan guarantees and 400 global companies have pledged their support. Looks like there is a long way to go.

SCHMIDT: So, there's enormous opportunity in rebuilding Ukraine, enormous opportunity, and I suspect there will be a lot of companies rushing in when the shooting stops.

But they need insurance now, actual insurance policies to protect their investments to get them to invest. And the other thing to remember at the Marshall Plan is it worked because it was money that was paid out in a community of nations that were rebuilding themselves together.

And in this case, Ukraine is alone. And so, Ukraine is not rebuilding itself, while its neighbors are rebuilding itself.

So, the Marshall Plan isn't the perfect metaphor for what's going to happen here. But the key thing for Ukraine is that they have to have foreign direct investment. They have to have companies that think that they can make money when they invest in Ukraine because the donor nation money almost certainly will not be enough.

VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt, as always, good to have you with us, Sir. Thank you.

SCHMIDT: Take care.

VAUSE: When we come back, Israeli settlers rampaging through Palestinian towns. Cycle of violence escalates in the West Bank. We'll take you to the scene of a multiple shooting that stunned Israelis and inflamed Israeli settlers.

The first fiery blast rocked central Paris, what authority say is behind the explosion. You're watching CNN.

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VAUSE: Going to state media in China, at least 31 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a restaurant late Wednesday in the northwest of the country. The blast was caused by a leak in a liquid gas tank at a barbecue restaurant. At least seven people are injured, one critically. More updates on this explosion as they come in.

Investigators in Paris looking into a powerful gas explosion which rocked the center of the city. Hundreds of firefighters rushed to the scene Wednesday, at least 37 people were hurt, four critically, these two people are believed to be missing in the rubble.

CNN's Melissa Bell has more now reporting in from Paris.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An entire part of the left bank of Paris entirely cordoned off. The results say local officials of a gas explosion that took place just before 5:00 p.m. Paris time.

What the eyewitnesses say is that it was so loud, such a great explosion. It sounded and felt like an earthquake with the walls of local departments shaking. You can see behind me the relief operations still going on, some 270 firemen sent to the scene to try and put out the fires that were set off in the nearby buildings in the range for some time. An inquiry has been opened into exactly what went on.

But again, local officials speaking of a gas explosion, the local Paris mayor came here earlier speaking of the thoughts and prayers that were now for the victims and their families.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Violence continues to escalate between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. The IDF targeted a vehicle by the -- with an airstrike, which it said was carrying a terrorist cell. A rare attack because the IDF used an aerial drone to target the car. The Islamic Jihad said three Palestinian militants were killed in the strike.

All this happened a night after a night of violence by Israeli settlers, who rampage through several Palestinian towns. They attacked residents, battered homes and shops with stones and set farm fields as well as vehicles on fire.

Some Palestinians complained IDF soldiers stood by did nothing but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that attacks by anyone, regardless would not be tolerated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I give full backing to the Israeli police and the security forces and their action to control law and order. We will not accept any provocations to the police or the security forces in these places or anywhere else. We are a country of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: One Palestinian was killed during the rampage, hundreds of people turned out Wednesday for his funeral. Palestinian television identified him as 27-year-old Omar Qatin.

The rampage came after Palestinian militants on Tuesday fatally shot four people, wounded four others near the Israeli settlement of Eli. That in turn came with that apparent response to an IDF raid in Jenin on Monday that killed six Palestinians.

CNN's Hadas Gold went to Eli to show us how the shooting unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The attack started here at this hummus restaurant that's part of a gas station complex just outside the borders of the Eli settlement in the occupied West Bank. The attackers came to this restaurant, shooting through to the restaurant, killing the first of the three victims including two teenagers. The fourth victim was killed at the gas station that's just in front of us.

Israeli officials saying that another four people were injured and saying it was the work of two Hamas operatives who came here in a car. The first of the gunman was shot and killed by an armed civilian, who happen to be onsite, and the second gunman managed to get away, steal a car. That triggered an hours-long manhunt by Israeli forces before he was cornered, and shot and killed, as well, just north of here.

But here at the scene, we are still seeing evidence of the bloody scene from the night before. We are seeing bullet casings on the ground, medical gloves, medical equipment, as well as bloodstains. And here on the restaurant itself, you can still see it is riddled with bullet holes, including this one bullet hole that managed to make its way through and smashed this window.

[00:25:19]

GOLD (voice over): The mayor of the settlement, Ari Elmaliach, said they want the Israeli government and army to take greater action now.

ARI ELMALIACH, MAYOR OF ELI: In the last 15, 20 years, nothing happened here, nothing, nothing. This gas station, Arabs, Jewish, everyone come to buy here, to buy from the Sogu, to buy from the Hummus. Everybody is here.

GOLD (voice over): Just up the road, villager Najla Awais says she also hasn't seen violence like this in decades. Her house was damaged during the ensuing Israeli settler attacks.

NAJLA AWAIS, RESIDENT OF AL-LUBBAN ASH-SHARQIYA (through translator): We felt last night danger, which we couldn't describe, terrified like during the days of the Second Intifada, which was the last time our house was attacked.

GOLD: Hours after those attacks on the gas station and restaurant that killed those four Israelis, Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian villages like this one of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya burning as you can see dozens of cars, parts of these cars just come completely melting off. In fact, right here at the morning after, and there is still smoke smoldering from the fires.

We've been speaking to villagers here that say their homes were damaged. Palestinian officials say that at least 37 Palestinians were injured, mostly as a result of stone-throwing. Villagers were talking to here saying they haven't seen violence like this against their property, against their homes since the days of the Second Intifada and that they now live in fear of what can come.

There's now a big push, especially on the right wing of the Israeli political spectrum and the right wing of this current government for a much bigger and broader military operation in the occupied West Bank than what we've seen in the past. That could lead people here fear to even more violence.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya in the occupied West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: India's Prime Minister on a state visit to the United States with Washington looking at New Delhi as a key ally to counter China's growing influence in the region. Details ahead.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Updating our top story, search and rescue crews in the North Atlantic say they've not yet found any sign of a deep water submersible, which went missing Sunday during a dive to the Titanic shipwreck. The search grid is huge. Now covering an area twice the size of Connecticut, it's doubled.

[00:30:06]

Canadian surveillance planes picked up banging noises Tuesday, early Wednesday, but nothing has been reported since.

After nearly four days, life support aboard the sub is believed to be critically low. Also, it's incredibly cold at that depth. Still, the U.S. Coast Guard says the search goes on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. JAMIE FREDERICK, U.S. COAST GUARD: We need to have hope, right? But I don't -- I can't tell you what the noises are, but what I can tell you, and I think this is the most important point, we're searching where the voices are, and that's all we can do at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Five people are on board the sub, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, whose company built and developed the vessel. If the submersible is found in time, it will begin a hurried and complicated rescue from deep below the ocean's surface.

CNN's Tom Foreman looks back at successful rescue attempts at those depths, as well as others that ended in tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Racing time, the elements and an ocean of unknowns, those trying to find the Titan face dwindling odds of success.

Underwater rescues are inherently complicated, dangerous, and the deep sea makes it all harder. Author Stephen McGinty knows.

STEPHEN MCGINTY, AUTHOR, "THE DIVE": It's hard to even imagine the. And, you know, two miles of water above you, the immense darkness, no natural light. And the weight of that crushing weight, crushing weight, so you're operating in pitch darkness at a depth that many things will fail.

FOREMAN (voice-over): His book, "The Dive," is about the deepest ocean rescue to date. In the early 1970s, the Pisces 3 sank nearly 1,600 feet below the surface, while laying an undersea phone cable off the coast of Ireland.

For three days, ships, submarines and robotic vessels struggled to get lines attached and haul up the submersible with its two experienced sailors. Finally, success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there a stage at all when you -- when you would begin to wonder whether you'd ever get up safely?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None at all. We had about a day supply left for life support, and we knew what was going on. We could talk to the surface all the time, so there's no trouble at all.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Not exactly like the Titan, the Pisces had limited air, just enough for 72 hours. The two men extended it by lying still and not talking.

And when they finally emerged after 84 hours, they had enough for only 12 minutes more.

So how different is the Titan's predicament? The Pisces was located quickly, 120 miles offshore, but the Titan is still missing more than 400 miles from land. The Pisces had steady communications. No one has spoken with the Titan since it vanished.

The Titan is in much deeper water, and yet, even when the Pisces was pulled up, the men inside were terribly battered.

MCGINTY: They thought they were going to be smashed unconscious and say the sub was just rattling and rolling and spinning. And at one point, they begged for them -- for the lift to stop.

FOREMAN (voice-over): There have been other undersea rescue attempts. In 1939, when the USS Squalus sank off the East Coast in less than 250 feet of water, 26 men and drowned, 33 were saved.

In 2000, when the Russian sub Kursk suffered a pair of onboard explosions in the barren sea, despite early hopes for survivors, the entire crew of 118 perished.

FOREMAN: But there are so few of these examples, and they are so widely different. Each time an incident like this comes along, rescuers must simultaneously look at the history and re-write the book.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Indian Prime Minister Modi is in Washington for his first state visit. And the White House is pulling out all the stops.

Just hours ago, Prime Minister Modi had a private dinner with President Biden and the first lady. On Thursday, Modi will address the U.S. Congress and hold a rare news conference with President Biden. Then comes a state dinner.

The two leaders are expected to deepen defense and technology cooperation. India is seen as a crucial partner for the United States, amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing.

On Wednesday, Mr. Modi included -- indulged, rather, in some yoga diplomacy in New York, calling for one Earth, one family, one future at a U.N. yoga event. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: Let us use the power of yoga to build bridges of friendship, a peaceful world, and a cleaner, greener and sustainable future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Ivan Watson has more on the growing ties between the United States and India.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The leaders of India and the U.S. in a warm embrace. President Joe Biden has called this a defining relationship of the 21st Century.

"We are natural partners," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at this meeting last year, adding the new momentum in relations between two democracies that are the world's largest and oldest would have been hard to imagine even a decade ago.

[00:35:09]

This year, the U.S. became India's largest trading partner, the world's most populous country, buying hundreds of American-made planes. And for the first time, Apple opening a store in Mumbai. But it's not just business that's bringing these two countries together.

SUSHANT SINGH, CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH: China is the one big clue which is holding India and the United States together.

WATSON (voice-over): High in the Himalayas, India is locked in a tense face-off with China.

SINGH: India is the only country which is militarily deployed against China in an active war, where across the 2,000-mile border, disputed border, 50,000, 60,000 Indian soldiers and an equal number of Chinese soldiers are deployed in an eyeball-to-eyeball state.

WATSON (voice-over): In 2020, a deadly skirmish like this left at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers dead.

SINGH: India does not want China to be the adjoining power nation (ph), and the United States for its own reason does not want China to be the hegemonic partner.

So the interests are very well-aligned. They're very much shared.

WATSON (voice-over): Shared interests that led to growing military partnerships like the Quad, which includes India, the U.S., Japan, and Australia.

WATSON: India has long been described as the world's largest democracy, but critics argue some basic democratic freedoms have come under fire during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nine years in office. WATSON (voice-over): A widespread crackdown on dissent, arresting

protesters in the streets, jailing reporters and raiding news organizations that criticized the government.

SIDDHARTH VARDARAJAN, FOUNDING EDITOR, "THE WIRE": We've been raided once. We had cases filed against this over the past years. But the way in which the Modi government has been operating has been one of targeting or punishing journalists and media platforms that are trying to do their job.

WATSON (voice-over): The U.S. State Department reports serious human rights issues in India, ranging from the unjustified prosecution of journalists to allegations of attacks against members of religious minorities.

Delhi says the reports are based on misinformation and flawed understanding.

Despite these differences, India's intensely popular yet polarizing prime minister has been invited to address the U.S. Congress on Thursday, a rare honor and a sign of the deepening ties between the U.S. and this South Asian giant.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, what could possibly the -- possibly be the polar opposite of farm to table. Call it lab to table. Cultivated meat, now officially on the menu in the U.S., and it tastes like chicken.

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VAUSE: Amazon is being sued by U.S. regulators for a tricking and trapping millions of Prime subscribers.

The company is accused of making it harder to cancel memberships, using a process known internally as Iliad Flow, named after Homer's epic about the long, arduous journey after the Trojan War.

The FTC says, quote, "Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as 'dark patterns' to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions."

Amazon says the claims are false in the facts and the law and said it did not receive notice before the complaint was filed.

Well, lab-grown meat has now been cleared for sale in the United States. At least two companies plan to start selling meat grown from live animal cells and cultivated with nutrients in a giant vat like you'd find in a brewery.

Supporters hope it will help fight climate change by reducing the need for traditional animal agriculture, which is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases. But how does it taste?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UMA VALETI, FOUNDER AND CEO, UPSIDE FOODS: It will taste exactly as you would expect a chicken to taste. So the part that's remarkable about it is we didn't have to raise and slaughter a chicken to get real chicken meat out of it.

And the part that's remarkable is that it tastes like chicken. It's what we've been used to eating for thousands of years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Select restaurants in Washington and San Francisco will be among the first to serve up the lab-grown meals. And maybe someday, supermarkets could be selling it, as well.

A lot more on this story coming up in the next hour.

Harry Potter actor Emma Watson is causing a little bit of a stir with an ad for her brand of luxury gin. But no one's paying attention to the booze. It seems all anyone on social media is talking about is that dress and how it's defying the laws of physics. Some say it's Hogwarts magic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMA WATSON, ACTOR: Wingardium leviosa.

WARWICK DAVIS, ACTOR: Well done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That was Hermione passing the -- making the levitation spell. And one person asked maybe if she is doing that with the dress.

Another wondered, "Why are you wearing a broken umbrella?"

A third person called it "the result of when he try to fold a fitted sheet." And that's actually quite close to it.

No comment from the wizard Hermione Granger, a.k.a. Emma Watson, so far. But she's getting publicity.

I'm John Vause. Back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break. See you back here in less than 18 minutes.

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