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CNN International: Kremlin: Certain Contacts on American Prisoner; Zelenskyy: Russia the Only Danger to Zaporizhzhia Plant; Meta About to Launch Twitter Competitor Threads; U.K.'s King Charles to Receive Second Crown in Scotland; L.A. County Sheriff Deputies Under Investigation; West Virginia Police Accused of Spying of Female Officers. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired July 05, 2023 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with the top stories this hour.
The suspect who police say opened fire in Philadelphia killing five people and injuring two children, will appear in court in the coming hours to face multiple murder and assault charges. Police haven't yet released the identity of the suspect.
And international nuclear regulators have approved Japan's plan to dump more than a million metric tons of treated radioactive waste water from its decimated Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Which caused neighbors including China and South Korea are against the decision.
NOBILO: The Kremlin is dropping new hints about detained American "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich. The Kremlin spokesperson says there are, quote, certain contacts on the matter but we do not want them to be made public. Gershkovich was arrested in March and was accused of espionage, which he denies. Another U.S. citizen Paul Whelan was arrested in Russia back in 2018. Kylie Atwood explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Russian officials won't even comment at all on conversations to secure their release. Because they say they need to go through the entire trial system. So it's noteworthy however, you know, it does sort of also reflect what our reporting is, that U.S. officials have really been looking around the globe to try to see what options they can gin up to try to offer to the Russians to secure Evan Gershkovich's release and of course Paul Whelan as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Ukraine says Russia is using all its forces to stop Kyiv's progress around the city of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian deputy defense minister says the country forces are facing very serious resistance there. As she says that Ukraine is advancing on the city's southern flank.
NOBILO: And Russia is also putting up a fierce fight on the southern front lines. Ukraine isn't reporting advances around Zaporizhia and Kherson, but they do insist that they still have the upper hand. CNN's Scott McLean joins us now to discuss. Scott, speaking of Zaporizhzhia, President Zelenskyy has made some deeply alarming claims to both the Ukrainians and the international community about the safety of the power plant.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. So it was actually last week that Ukraine started doing exercise to prepare for what they describe as potential terror attack coming from Russia. Something the Kremlin firmly denied that they would ever be responsible for. Pointing to the fact that there are IAEA inspectors on site right now who have the run of the place. They can look at whatever they would like.
But now Zelenskyy is sort of repeating this claim that he's been suggesting for a while now, saying that the Russians are essentially trying to plant a false flag operation.
[04:35:00]
Going as far as saying that Ukrainian -- Ukraine has intelligence that there are objects placed on the roofs of some of these power units that resemble explosives. The Ukrainian military is saying that, look, these would potentially be strong enough to look like Ukrainian shelling, but not strong enough to actually do any real damage to the power units.
I should mention that the actual reactors themselves are housed in containment units meant to withstand the force of an accidental plane crash. So they are heavily, heavily reinforced. How they would react to being hit by weapons of war, that is obviously a completely different question.
The good news is that we are getting some reassuring signs from both sides. The nuclear official on the Ukrainian side says that the situation is stable right now. Their counterpart on the Russian occupied side as well also saying that everything is normal. Background radiation levels are normal. Calling the Ukrainian claims garbage. And calling people -- on people not to fall for what he calls the, quote, information psychological operations of Zelenskyy.
FOSTER: It's going slowly, isn't it, this offensive.
MCLEAN: Yes, slowly and I'm not sure that surely would be the next word to use. Because the Ukrainians say that, look, they are making some step-by-step progress in the southern end of Bakhmut, but elsewhere they say that frankly the frontlines are very heavily fortified, in some places triple reinforced.
It was I think a few days ago that the Ukrainians estimated there are some 180,000 Russian troops on the eastern frontlines alone. 50,000 of them in the Bakhmut sector. And so, we're not seeing a lot of movement at the moment. What we are learning this morning, what we are seeing new is that the Russians are accusing Ukrainians of attacking some border regions in Kursk and Belgorod. And obviously, we're seeing the aftermath of missile strikes on the Ukrainian side as well. One of them hitting a town in the Kharkiv region when a funeral for a fallen Ukrainian soldier was taking place.
FOSTER: Scott, thank you so much.
The Taliban in Afghanistan have ordered beauty salons to close within a month. It's the latest crackdown on access to public places for Afghan women. One business owner told CNN her salon was the only means to feed her family. Bathhouses, gyms and parks have also been closed to women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
NOBILO: Last year authorities closed most girls' high schools and barred women from universities. Western governments and international organizations say the restrictions on women are hampering any possible progress to recognition for the Taliban on the world stage.
Still to come, Scotland prepares to celebrate the accession of King Charles. With the British monarch is set to receive a second crown today. We'll have more on the festivities -- which you'll break down for us.
[04:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Some Twitter users have not been happy with the platform since Elon Musk took control of the social media giant last October. Now Instagram's parent company Meta is about to launch a new social media app called "Threads." Now they're hoping to poach some Twitter users when it goes live tomorrow. CNN's Anna Stewart explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: A battle between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg and no, it's not in the ring, at least not yet. This time, Meta is taking on Twitter by launching Threads. It's an app that has more than a passing resemblance to Twitter. From the interface with Threads of messages to the functionality with options on the messages much like Twitter's, like reply, repost and share buttons.
Multiple social media apps have been launched in competition to Twitter, True Social and more recently Blue Sky. But a major difference is Threads can lean on Instagrams huge existing user base. It has more than 2 billion monthly active users. Plus, the timing could work in its favor. Twitter under Elon Musk is undergoing a major transformation. And not everyone thinks it's going all that well.
Whether it was the removal of blue verification ticks for those who refuse to pay, or the reappearance of users who had been previously banned from the platform for hate speech and misinformation. Or even operationally their outages over the weekend. And now Twitter has temporarily limited how many tweets users can see. The fact is some of Twitter's users could be ripe for the picking.
So, in this fight, perhaps the odds are looking favorable in Mark Zuckerberg corner. But judging by this tweet from Elon Musk, appearing to question the sanity of Meta's leadership team, he's not tapping out.
Meanwhile, the actual fight that the two have said they're ready for, no news on that yet. But from Thursday, we can look to both Twitter and Threads for any updates from Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: What do you think of the name Threads?
FOSTER: I think it's -- because tweets -- it's referencing threads of tweets. Isn't it?
NOBILO: I suppose so but it's making this into what a weird uncle might say when he is trying to sound cool talking about new jeans.
FOSTER: It's the threads.
NOBILO: Yes. Switching gears slightly.
Scotland is set to celebrate the accession of King Charles with its own festivities following his coronation in May.
FOSTER: Puts him on top really.
NOBILO: Yes, the British monarch will be presented with Scottish crown jewels at a ceremony in Edinburg today. The event is part of Royal Week which takes place annually to celebrate Scottish culture. King Charles and Queen Camilla will be joined by Prince William and Kate for a series of engagements around the country.
So how are the Scottish crown jewels different? What will we be expecting to see?
FOSTER: They are older. They are the oldest crown jewels in Britain. And Mary Queen of Scott used them and was crowned with them. That's why there's some confusion here. Why it's not a coronation because he is being presented with a crown and previous kings and queens of Scotland did have coronations. But I think that they're just being very careful not to confuse it with the other one. So he's being presented with the crown.
NOBILO: And how enthusiastic do you expect Scots will be about the events?
FOSTER: There are a couple Scots up in the news room, said they haven't heard much about it. But there are quite a few crowd barriers out. I think people -- it hasn't been much publicized. I think elsewhere it will look like quite a grand affair. Will be bringing it to people live, won't we, together? NOBILO: We certainly will. So stay tuned for that later in the day. We'll bring you live pictures and much trivia about the crown jewels and so on.
FOSTER: British police are reopening a probe into a potential COVID-19 breaches at an event held at the Conservative Party headquarters during the pandemic. The announcement follows release of a video showing party aides at a Christmas celebration in December 2020. Police had investigating gathering before but no fines were issued at that time.
NOBILO: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating two of its deputies after body camera footage showed a woman being thrown to the ground.
FOSTER: The department says that the officers were attempting to detain a couple of suspected -- a couple suspected of robbing a grocery store while the man was being handcuffed, the woman recorded the video.
[04:45:00]
A warning this video does show some concerning content.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, telling us (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now you can't touch that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't touch me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAM)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down on the ground. Get on the ground. Stop. I don't care -- stop. (BLEEP) Stop our you're going to get punched in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop. You can punch me and you're going to get sued. You already got two. I got it on camera.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop, turn around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got it on camera. Get down neck of my -- off my -- I can't breathe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were in a fight at the --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't breathe. There's no fight. You put me to the ground. Stop manhandling me. I didn't do nothing. You're pulling me down. (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands behind your back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The man just stops twisting my arm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands behind your back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: I mean, that is just a horrible disproportionate use of force and that's truly terrifying. The couple were cited and released. Although it's not clear what they were cited for. Authorities say that both deputies have been reassigned from field duty pending this investigation.
In West Virginia, the state police are facing allegations of spying on female officers and minors.
FOSTER: A New civil lawsuit alleges that male officers have a hidden camera in the woman's shower and locker room over a ten-year period. CNN's Brynn Gingras has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEGAN TALKINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: That's all I wanted to do my entire life was to be in law enforcement. And now that, you know, I'm going on 13 years this year, and I can't even view law enforcement the same as I have.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Megan Talkington and Brenda Lesnett, active law enforcement in the state of West Virginia, their dream job. But now, everything has changed.
TALKINGTON: I don't want my daughter to walk the halls of the West Virginia State Police Academy, not unless there's reform from top to bottom.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Both women now suing the agency that trained them after an anonymous letter written to top state officials including the governor and lawmakers went public in February. Alleged widespread misconduct within the walls of the West Virginia State Police Academy, including a hidden camera system inside the women's locker room.
BRENDA LESNETT, WEST VIRGINIA LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: I was shocked to hear that that happened. I was completely appalled. And now more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Sitting here today I still feel exposed. And I'm constantly wondering who's going to see me next, who has already seen me, it's very nerve-racking.
GINGRAS: Those thoughts are constantly in your mind?
TALKINGTON: Yes, am I going to deal with this the rest of my life? Ten years from now will it show up on the dark web, on the regular web, I don't know.
LESNETT: Every female that has gone through the academy, civilian or for law enforcement training, is a victim.
GINGRAS: How many we talking here?
LESNETT: There could be thousands.
TALKINGTON: Hundreds if not thousands.
TERESA TORISEVA, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIMS: It's a hostile, misogynistic, toxic environment that's not just male dominated, it's anti-woman.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Attorney Teresa Toriseva represents about 70 women who have similar allegations, including minors who took part in a junior program at the academy.
GOV. JIM JUSTICE (R), WEST VIRGINIA: I don't know how in the world many things could be much, much worse than that.
GINGRAS (voice-over): The state doesn't dispute a camera existed. This is how Governor Jim Justice publicly addressed it in March.
JUSTICE: There was three troopers that found a thumb drive. And absolutely from that, they found the video. And then from what I understand, one if not all, you know, immediately jerked the thumb drive out and threw it in the floor and started stomping on it.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Justice replaced the head of the agency and pinned the act on a high-ranking academy official who died in 2016.
GINGRAS: You don't think he was the only one responsible?
TORISEVA: Common sense tells you he wasn't the only one responsible. It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up. And it feels like you're blaming somebody who can't speak for themselves.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Toriseva's team names three current and former state police employees who they say are responsible for the recordings in a recently filed civil lawsuit. The first and what will be a long list of similar civil action taken.
GINGRAS: It's a risk you guys are taking to file a lawsuit while you're still working. What do you fear?
TALKINGTON: I fear retaliation. I feel -- I fear Brenda and I are going to have a target on our backs.
GINGRAS (voice-over): There are two open state investigations.
JUSTICE: We're going to clean it up.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Where those stand, unclear. We reached out to Justice's office and the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and got no response. The state police said no comment. Officials haven't reached out to the alleged victims either.
GINGRAS: Crickets.
TORISEVA: It's disheartening. It is outrageous.
LESNETT: I feel like this hasn't been taken seriously.
[04:50:00]
I think that there needs to be more investigation, a more thorough investigation, and I think that we all want answers.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, Charleston, West Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still ahead, Bud Light is hoping its new ad campaign will wash away the bad taste left behind from its previous controversy. The beer company's new strategy is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The stories in the spotlight this hour. Bud Light is hoping its new masculine ad campaign will help win back consumers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ohhhh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeahhh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ahhh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Umph.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeahhh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The ad features NFL star Travis Kelce and other men grunting and sighing -- in case you didn't hear it. No words spoken as they sit down for a beer. It's already being met with criticism with some calling it a desperate appeal to conservative men. The pivot in strategy comes after Bud Light sponsored a transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. It set off a firestorm of anti-trans backlash and calls for a boycott as well.
[04:55:00]
The company's tepid response also angered supporters with the LGBTQ community. In May Bud Light was dethroned after 20 years as the number one selling beer in America.
NOBILO: Apart from the broader issues of the controversy, the idea that sort of the pinnacle of masculinity is grunting as you sit down and get up.
FOSTER: What we're hoping to achieve as a man.
NOBILO: This is being a man in fact. FOSTER: Singer Adele isn't asking. She's telling fans to stop a very specific behavior at concerts. She's joining other performers in trying to get fans to stop throwing things at artists on stage. It's been a growing trend on social media with videos showing singers being hit by objects whilst performing.
And the TikTok video featuring Adele, shows her daring concert goers to throw something at her to see what would happened. She also added that some fans seemed to lost all concept of etiquette. Has anyone ever thrown anything at you?
FOSTER: I can't talk about it here. Please don't embarrass me.
NOBILO: Oh, really. It was like undergarments. Someone through an apple at me when I was a reporter.
Iceland has been ranked the most peaceful country in the world for the 15th year straight. And that is according to the annual Global Peace Index released by the Institute of Economics and Peace.
FOSTER: Denmark and Ireland took second and third place respectively out of the 163 countries listed. The U.S. came in at 131. The report also found the world has become a little less peaceful overall.
NOBILO: Which is intriguing because Iceland was colonized by Vikings, wasn't it? They were quite a war mongering stock.
FOSTER: Yes, you have to pick your theory of history.
NOBILO: Yes.
FOSTER: Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.
NOBILO: And I am Bianca Nobilo. "EARLY START" with Rahel Solomon is next for you on CNN.
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