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Biden Heads to Europe; Relaxing Tensions; GOP Sets Date for Iowa Caucuses. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 09, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.

U.S. President Joe Biden heading to Europe later today. A big item on the agenda, when and how Ukraine could join NATO.

Tensions between the U.S. and China may finally be easing as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wraps up her trip to Beijing. We'll have a live report for you from Taipei.

And mark your political calendars. We now know the date for the 2024 Republican Iowa caucuses, the important traditional, first in the nation nominating contest for president of the United States.

NATO leaders meeting this week in Lithuania will try to cover a lot of ground in just a few days with Ukraine topping their agenda. U.S. President Joe Biden is set to leave in the coming hours, stopping first in London before going on to Vilnius.

At the summit he'll press allies to continue their support for Ukraine and discuss Kyiv's longstanding request to join the military alliance.

The summit will take place against the backdrop of the U.S. finally agreeing to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs in defiance of international convention. It's a controversial move but one the president is defending as necessary.

For more on the president's upcoming trip, here's CNN's Priscilla Alvarez.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The stakes couldn't be higher for the future of the NATO alliance at a critical time, with the ongoing war in Ukraine and the failed coup attempt in Russia just last month.

So, President Biden is going to embark on this three-country trip. He's going to start at the United Kingdom where he's going to meet with King Charles as well as the British prime minister, then move on to Lithuania for the NATO summit, and conclude his trip in Finland.

But that summit is going to be key. And it is one in which there will likely be discussions about whether or not Ukraine will join NATO. Now, on Friday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that it's unlikely that coming out of the summit, Ukraine will be joining NATO, but they could be discussing steps forward. And that is something President Biden himself has acknowledged would be premature for Ukraine to join now but they could be discussing what that looks like moving forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war. For example, if you did that, then, you know, we -- and I mean what I say -- we're determined to commit every inch of territory that is NATO territory. It's a commitment that we've all made no matter what. If the war is going on, then we're all in the war. You know, we're in war with Russia, if that were the case.

So, I think we have to lay out a path, a rational path, for Russia -- excuse me, for Ukraine to be able to qualify to get into NATO. NATO is a process that takes some time to meet all the qualifications, and from democratization to a whole range of other issues.

So, in the meantime, though, I've spoken with Zelenskyy at length about this, and one of the things I indicated is the United States would be ready to provide, while the process was going on, and it's going to take awhile, while that process is going on, to provide security, ala the security we provide for Israel, providing the weaponry, the needs, the capacity to defend themselves if there is an agreement, if there is a ceasefire, if there is a peace agreement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALVAREZ: The question of whether Ukraine will join NATO will be a flashpoint over the course of the next week, and President Biden would be a key player in determining criteria or timelines. So, that is really where the focus is going to be over the next few days, is will Ukraine eventually join NATO, and also, what does long-term aid look like as the war is ongoing in Ukraine, especially after the U.S. committed to sending cluster munitions to the country?

HARRAK: Well, NATO allies are not expected to follow the U.S. lead on cluster bombs and probably couldn't even if they wanted to. The U.K., where President Biden will arrive later today, is among the many countries that banned them.

And Moscow has been dismissive of the revised U.S. policy on cluster bombs, calling it a, quote, act of desperation and evidence of Ukraine's failed counteroffensive, adding that it won't affect Russia's military from achieving its goals in Ukraine.

[03:05:09]

Let's take you to CNN's Nada Bashir in London. Nada, quite a push back to the U.S.'s decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions? NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, those words coming from the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, describing this as an act of desperation. While that certainly isn't how the U.S. has characterized its decision to supply the Ukrainian armed forces with cluster munitions, it has been acknowledged by the U.S. State Department that this has come in response in part to the lack of progress being made in Ukraine's counteroffensive against the Russian armed forces.

Now, of course, as we understand it over the last few weeks, this counteroffensive has not gone as quickly as many of Ukraine's western allies would have anticipated, and the gains that have been made by the Ukrainian armed forces simply aren't as substantial as would have been anticipated.

And the fear is now that Ukraine is simply burning through its ammunition. This isn't sustainable in the eyes of Ukraine's western allies, and the hope is that this supply of cluster munitions will hopefully turn the page for the Ukrainian armed forces, mark a turning point on the battlefield and give that all-important boost to the Ukrainian armed forces in the midst of their counteroffensive.

But as you mentioned there, this is a deeply controversial move. The use of cluster munitions has been outlawed by over 100 countries, including some of the U.S.'s closest NATO allies. Take a listen to what the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, had to say in response to this decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The U.K. is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use. We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion. We've done that by providing heavy battle tanks, and most recently, long-range weapons.

I'll be heading off to the NATO summit next week in Vilnius where we will be discussing exactly this with our allies, how we can strengthen our support for Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: And the supply of cluster munitions is certainly set to be on the agenda at the NATO summit and will be a topic of discussion. But this is something that has been under consideration by the Biden administration for quite some time now. And this is something that president Zelenskyy has been requesting and pushing for, for quite some time. But, of course, the hope is that this will mark a turning point on the battlefield, but the fear is that this could also have a significant civilian risk as well.

HARRAK: Nada Bashir reporting in London, thank you so much, as well.

Five former Ukrainian commanders are back home and pledging to return to the battlefield more than a year after they were captured by Russia and sent to Turkey in a prisoner swap agreement. While the group received a hero's welcome when they returned to Ukraine on Saturday, the 500th day of the war, one by one, they hugged their loved ones as a crowd of supporters applauded the reunion. They were allowed to leave Turkey after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy negotiated their release. Russia says the move violates the prisoner swap deal it made with Turkey.

And a group of Russian soldiers who were captured by Ukraine are speaking out about the horrors they've experienced in battle. CNN interviewed three of them after receiving rare access from Ukrainian officials.

Ben Wedeman has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): No longer on the frontlines, Anton recounts how he ended up a prisoner of war. Back in Russia, he was behind bars for the third time for drugs.

When they put me in prison, I heard they were recruiting. Serve six months and they pardon you, he tells me. So, he signed up with Storm Z, a unit made up of convicts attached to the Russian Defense Ministry. After only two weeks of basic training, he was shipped off to the frontlines near Bakhmut.

After days of intense shelling, no food and only rainwater to drink, he heard Ukrainian troops outside his foxhole. He assumed they would execute him.

I thought that was the end, he recalls. I switched my rifle to single- shot mode and thought, I'll shoot myself but I couldn't.

This video shot by soldiers of Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade, shows the tense moments when Anton and his comrade, Slava, surrendered. The Ukrainian troops told them, unlike Russians, we don't kill prisoners.

We spoke to Anton, Slava, and other soldiers in a makeshift jail in Eastern Ukraine, concealing their faces and not using their real names.

[03:10:06]

The 3rd Assault Brigade granted us access to the POWs and two of their soldiers were in the room for the interviews. The POWs will soon be transferred to Ukrainian intelligence. They didn't appear under duress and agreed to share their stories.

Slava, also serving time for drugs, said conditions in the trenches were grim.

Food was scarce, we didn't have medical kits, he says. His commanders took all the painkillers to get high, he recalled, and as a result, issued nonsensical orders. Morale was terrible.

Sergei was wounded by a grenade before surrendering to Ukrainian troops. He was a contract soldier, not a convict. He completed his six-month contract in Kherson and went home. But when he hesitated to sign another contract, a military prosecutor gave him a choice, prison or back to the front. He ended up outside Bakhmut under constant Ukrainian fire. Discipline collapsed. Officers fled. All illusions were shattered.

It was very different from what I saw on T.V., a parallel reality, says Sergei. I felt fear, pain and disappointment in my commanders.

A law passed the last year in Russia imposing sentences of three to ten years for soldiers who surrender voluntarily. If he returns home in a prisoner exchange, Anton may end up again back in a Russian prison.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: After months of strained relations, we may be seeing a relaxing of tensions between the U.S. and China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading back to America from Beijing right now after wrapping up what he describes as direct, substantive and productive talks with the Chinese premier, the vice premier, the minister of finance, and other top officials.

Well, Yellen held about ten hours of talks over the past two days aimed at stabilizing the relations between the world's two largest economies. Yellen says the U.S. anticipates more frequent and regular communication with Beijing.

Let's get you more now from CNN's Will Ripley, he's in Taipei for you. Will, any tangible results?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the biggest tangible result is a stable line of communication and a noticeably optimistic outlook from U.S. officials who in the past had been pretty discouraged by the way they were treated by the Chinese.

I mean, after the suspected spy balloon derailed the beginning of what these talks were supposed to be months ago, I mean, this all could have actually happened much sooner, but on the eve of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to Beijing, this spy balloon crossed over to the U.S. And then, of course, we all know what happened after that. Basically the two sides stopped talking, not just militarily, but economically and all other areas of cooperation, even climate.

But those lines of communication are now being reopened, and both sides seem to be aware of the urgency to do so. Because the problems that were happening, especially these military flashpoints, when you're talking about the Taiwan Strait, when you're talking about the South China Sea, there was growing concern expressed by U.S. officials that it would just take one tiny misstep and these things could have really escalated into something that would have been very difficult to control.

But by having communication back open, by talking about the important issues, not just military but economy, by the U.S. being able to sit in a room and raise its concerns with China and China to do the same, to raise their concerns about what they believe is the U.S. decoupling, trying to decouple its economy, with the U.S. then responding, saying decoupling is impossible but they're going to protect the delicate pieces of technology and other things that they feel China has been targeting covertly and illegally for many years.

And so it's not that the long list of problems and disagreements have gone away, but at least there's now somewhat of a framework in place to start to address them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We know the decoupling of the world's two largest economies would be disastrous for both countries and destabilizing for the world and it would be virtually impossible to undertake. We want a dynamic and healthy global economy that is open, free and fair, not one that is fragmented or forces countries to take sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: It's noteworthy as that was happening in Beijing, lawmakers in Taipei are hammering out revisions potentially to the trade deal that the United States and Taiwan, the first part of a trade deal that was agreed upon in principle.

[03:15:08]

This is a very significant development for this self-governing democracy, to have a trade document that lays out the rules and actually makes trade easier with the United States. That's another official level of engagement that Beijing strongly protests. And yet that's happening here in Taiwan, and those talks are happening in Beijing. So, diplomacy working on all sides and certainly is a lot more of a stable feeling than having warships and planes encircling this island, conducting military exercises and launching ballistic missiles, Laila.

HARRAK: Will Ripley in Taipei, thank you so much for your continued coverage.

A gunman on a scooter opens fire in several areas of New York City. And police say the shootings were completely random. Details on the deadly string of attacks next on CNN Newsroom.

Plus, some Chicago police officers are being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct. We'll tell you what we know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:20:00]

HARRAK: Police in New York have apprehended a man they say shot and killed one person and injured three more while riding a scooter through parts of New York City. Police say the shootings appeared to be random, and our Polo Sandoval has the details.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the indiscriminate nature of this violence is what's particularly disturbing here as NYPD investigators believe that the gunman was simply shooting people randomly in parts of Queens and in parts of Brooklyn, New York. In all five scenes, according to investigators, a suspect aboard a scooter used a nine millimeter pistol with a extended magazine, that you can clearly see in some of those photographs that were released by investigators, to shoot four people.

The arrest of the suspect happened less than two hours after the spree started. Investigators quickly able to get pictures of the suspect out to officers and led to a Hispanic 25-year-old man, and he was arrested without incident.

I want you to hear directly from one police official as they updated us on Saturday about what they know regarding this weekend's shooting and its motive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE KENNY, ASSISTANT CHIEF, NYPD DETECTIVE BUREAU: It seems that it's actually random. If you look at the demographics and pedigree of the victims, they were all different. At this time, video shows he's not targeting anybody, he's not following anybody as he's driving on his scooter, he's randomly shooting people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: In terms of the weapon itself, police went on to say that have not yet found a serial number on it, so it's too soon to say if it's a ghost gun, which is privately assembled and impossible to trace weapons, or possibly that that identifying information was just filed off. So, they'll certainly turning to federal investigators with that aspect of the investigation.

This is really just the latest shooting of its kind in the United States. It was just this past Monday that a masked, armed and armored suspect opened fire in a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shooting and killing five people.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

HARRAK: And officials in Newark, in New Jersey, say the cargo ship fire that killed two firefighters is now contained. The fire has been burning since late Wednesday. Fire crews made significant progress in the overnight hours. They were able to contain the blaze on the 11th deck of this massive ship.

Officials say all the firefighters who were injured have now been released from the hospital and the cause of the blaze is still not known.

The Chicago Police Department says it's investigating possible sexual misconduct in its police force. It comes after allegations that an unknown number of officers engaged in improper sexual relations with newly arrived migrants.

CNN's Camila Bernal reports.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These allegations are currently being investigated. So, we have to wait for the results of that investigation or for more details from authorities.

What we know so far is that the allegations are from the 10th District Police Station, and they are of improper sexual relations between the migrants and police officers. It's unclear exactly how many police officers.

But to really understand these allegations, you have to remember that migrants in Chicago are being housed at these police stations. And there's been a lot of criticism over housing the migrants there. The Chicago Sun Times has been covering this issue, and they were the first to report these allegations, allegations that were not shocking for a lot of the activists and the volunteers that are usually helping these migrants.

I spoke to Evelyn Figueroa, who's been helping them for a long time in Chicago, and here's her perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Such a harsh setup for the police and for the migrants. This is a complete lose-lose situation. So, unless you have dedicated staff that are going to ensure equity, safety, accountability, it's just these types of things are going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And I also spoke to the president of the police union. He says there are many officers who go above and beyond to help these migrants, but he says he has a lot of questions and concerns about these allegations. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN J. CATANZARA JR., PRESIDENT, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE CHICAGO LODGE NO. 7: We don't even know the validity of this complaint, the origin of this complaint. Who made it? Is it any truth to it whatsoever? Anybody can -- it's ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And we also reached out to COPA, which is an independent agency within the city that is investigating these allegations, and they say the allegations are of the highest priority. They also say that they work swiftly to address misconduct.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

HARRAK: The next U.S. presidential election is 16 months away, but the race for the White House could get its official start much sooner as Iowa Republicans choose their caucus date. The details, next. Plus, the Taliban cracks down on women's rights yet again and orders all beauty salons to shut down.

[03:25:02]

And the move will further affect women's freedom and economic rights. A report ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching CNN Newsroom.

Republican voters in the U.S.'s state of Iowa could be the first to pick their new presidential nominee. The state's central committee voted unanimously to hold their first in the nation caucuses on January 15th. Several other states have yet to declare the dates of their nominating contests, but the Iowa date would be the earliest start to the nomination process since 2012.

Former President Donald Trump called on supporters in Nevada to help voters turn out in massive numbers to return him to the White House. Mr. Trump lost Nevada to Joe Biden in the 2020 election by 2.2 percentage points.

But speaking at a volunteer recruitment event, Trump spouted his usual lies about election cheating. He then went on to criticize his leading opponent, Ron DeSantis. In typical Trump fashion, the former president called the Florida governor a disdainful nickname and criticized him for wanting to use a mountain in Nevada as a nuclear waste repository.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: DeSanctimonious has voted to fund use Yucca Mountain for a nuclear waste site. So, DeSantis wants to use Yucca, Yucca Mountain, which affects your whole state.

[03:30:01]

That's not just a little area. That stuff, it's all over the place, what a mess. So, he wants Yucca Mountain as a dumping ground for waste.

Now, he's not going to say that. I don't know how he gets out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Meantime, Florida's First Lady Casey DeSantis campaigned for her husband in Iowa this Week. It was her first solo campaign and her goal was to mobilize mothers to support Ron DeSantis' presidential bid. And as CNN's Kristen Holmes reports, she's been a pillar of her husband's political career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASEY DESANTIS, FIRST LADY OF FLORIDA: Thank you for the honor to be here.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A regular fixture on the campaign trail --

C. DESANTIS: As long as I have breath in my body, I will go out and I will fight for Ron DeSantis.

K. HOLMES: -- Florida's First Lady Casey DeSantis has built her own brand as a mom focused on parents' rights. Now, she's taking her act solo, headlining her own event in Iowa this week to campaign for her husband.

C. DESANTIS: He led with principle, courage and conviction.

K. HOLMES: And launch Mamas for DeSantis, a national initiative to mobilize women to back her husband's White House bid, releasing this video, amplifying his core message and combative rhetoric.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's nothing we won't do to protect our children. We will not allow you to exploit their innocence to advance your agenda. We are no longer silent. We are united.

K. HOLMES: Once a local news anchor in Jacksonville, Florida --

C. DESANTIS: Hello, everyone, and welcome First Coast Living. I'm Casey DeSantis.

K. HOLMES: -- she is no stranger to the spotlight, using her skill set and public speaking ease to campaign alongside her husband, helping propel him to the U.S. House of Representatives and then to the Florida governor's mansion.

C. DESANTIS: He's teaching Madison to talk.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Make America great again.

I'm bringing out the first lady of Florida.

K. HOLMES: Casey has always been a pillar of DeSantis' political campaigns, as has been their marriage.

R. DESANTIS: The two most important women in my life, my mother was from Youngstown, and my wife is from Troy. And so our family reflects your family.

C. DESANTIS: He's a good dad. He's fighting for our children, just as much as he's fighting for your families.

K. HOLMES: It's a dynamic some Republican voters have noticed.

SHELLIE FLOCKHART, DESANTIS CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: Parts that I think the DeSantises are really strong in, his family unit, his wife, Casey. He's very respectful of her, and he just loves her.

KIT HART, REPUBLICAN VOTER: His marriage with Casey and his relationship with his children are obviously of utmost importance. K. HOLMES: For Casey DeSantis action, her solo appearance in Iowa capped a week on the campaign trail that started with a pair of 4th of July parades in New Hampshire, where she and her husband were joined by their three young children.

R. DESANTIS: All things considered, they're well behaved. But you always keep your fingers crossed on things like this.

K. HOLMES: A sign of things to come as DeSantis puts his family front and center in his run for the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: In Israel, protesters kept up pressure for a 27th consecutive weekend over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial changes. Well, hundreds of thousands marched in Tel Aviv and other cities on Saturday to oppose a bill they say restricts Supreme Court power and undermines democracy, while many gathered outside of the home of the country's defense minister in Northern Israel, calling on him to join the demonstrations.

In Tel Aviv, police used water cannon on people blocking a main highway and the protests come ahead of a planned first reading of the bill in the Knesset on Monday. Israelis say they're worried about the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to make it seem like the reform is frozen, that they want to negotiate and that they are not going forward with it. But behind the scenes, they're constantly advancing more and more laws. There is a law they're planning to pass soon, and I hope we will be able to stop it one way or the other, by exerting pressure on some Knesset members so they will vote against it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I attend all the protests every Saturday, and I don't think things are getting any better. My concern hasn't dropped. I see that the government actually wants to proceed with a law that will infringe on people's ability to fight for their rights, and I'm currently concerned about our future here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with the king just hours after his coalition government collapsed over migration policies. Well, the two met to discuss a caretaker government until new elections are held later in the year. King Willem-Alexander flew back early Saturday from his vacation to meet the prime minister.

CNN's Michael Moore -- Michael Holmes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Driving himself in a gray station wagon, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte leaves the royal palace in The Hague, the country's longtime premier tight-lipped about his meeting with King Willem-Alexander, after announcing just a day before his coalition government was irretrievably broken.

[03:35:00]

MARK RUTTE, DUTCH PRIME MINISTER: It's no secret that the coalition partners, we have differing opinions about immigration policy. Today, we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences have become insurmountable.

M. HOLMES: In the end, the hot-button issue of immigration, one that is polarizing European politics, would split Rutte's fragile four- party coalition with two parties saying they refuse to back a proposal put forward by Rutte's only center-right party that would limit the number of children joining their parents who are already war refugees living in the country and make families wait for at least two more years before they can be reunited.

For now, at the request of the king, the fractured government will stay in place in caretaker mode until a general election is held probably in November.

Rutte, who's been prime minister since 2010, says he's interested in running for a fifth term, but first he'll need to convince his party that he's still the man for the job. And then there are the voters.

REPORTER: Would you like to see Rutte elected again?

PAULA GEENE, VOTER: No. I think he's pretty much done. Think he's a fairly decent manager, but I think he lacks vision and I think he's overdue.

JOHAN LEENDERS, VOTER: Yes. Well, it's a pity the government has fallen right now. It's not good for the Dutch environment, the Dutch people. They need stability in this time of economical situation and, of course, the situation with Ukraine.

M. HOLMES: While The Netherlands has one of Europe's toughest immigration policies, asylum applications jumped more than 30 percent last year. But that won't be the only issue swaying the votes. In March, a farmers' protest party, known as the BBB, won a huge victory in provincial elections by opposing government agricultural policies to limit nitrogen emissions, saying they hurt farm owners.

Both issues are expected to be key factors in the upcoming election. The next major step making way for that vote will be the dissolution of the Dutch parliament.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: 22 people have died in an air strike on Sudan's most-populated city, Omdurman. That's according to a Reuters report citing the Sudanese Ministry of Health. While this video is from forces -- from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, they dispute the official death toll saying more than 31 people were killed.

The RSF has been fighting Sudan's army for months. The government says it did carry out an operation in the city but insists it targeted rebel fighters and combat vehicles.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have found another way to restrict women's lives. They've now ordered the closure of all beauty salons. As Katie Polglase reports, the move adds to the Taliban's draconian crackdown on women's involvement in society and cuts off a vital source of women's income.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER (voice over): Driving through the streets of Kabul among the brightly colored shops is one last symbol of women being visible in the public life. Squeezing them out of sight, Taliban authorities ordered beauty parlors to be shut within the month, sending shockwaves for women already gripped in a chokehold.

A salon owner who did not want to be identified for safety reasons told CNN the Taliban's order means her poverty-stricken family cannot afford the bare essentials.

I don't understand why beauty salons should be banned, she says. My husband is jobless and this beauty salon is the only means to feed my family. I have four kids. They need food and clothes.

The Taliban seized back power in the summer of 2021 with thousands of terrified families flocking to Kabul airport, desperate to escape the group's barbaric rule. While the Taliban vowed reform, promising to be more progressive than their previous rule, women were quickly erased from public life, banning teenage girls from secondary and higher education and ordering non-profit organizations to stop their female employees from coming to work.

The salon owner we spoke to says she doesn't know what more can be taken from them before there's nothing left at all.

No woman is showing off her face with makeup outside, and we're already wearing hijab in public, she said. This will further deprive women of their rights and freedoms.

As the Taliban showily chips away at their rights, hope is slowly dwindling for some women. But others still haven't been deterred from raising their voices, even if it means risking their lives.

Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Still Amazing photographs from drones, balloons and almost anything else that flies. We'll talk to one of the judges for the 2023 Drone Awards. Do stick around.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRAK: They are the pictures that can only be taken from the air. Most of them are taken by drone, and many of them will simply take your breath away.

A judge from the 2023 Drone Photo Awards is joining us now from Paris. She is the head of the photography for National Geographic France, Emanuela Ascoli. Thank you so much for joining us. A very good morning.

What makes drone photography so unique? Is it perspective, is it the scale?

EMANUELA ASCOLI, HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC FRANCE: It's just a new way of seeing things, a new perspective, really different from the things we were used to see before, though it changed by the human point of view in a more kind of bird point of view. So, it's stunning, striking, just amazing.

HARRAK: Yes, that's a great description, a bird's view.

Now, before you talk us through some of the amazing photos of this year, what goes into picking the winning photograph? What were your criteria?

ASCOLI: Well, a compelling picture should inspire you, some empathy, emotion, wonder or even worry sometimes. It has really to tell you a story. So, stop a moment, catch the perfect moment. And, well, catch also your attention to some stories that really need to be told.

HARRAK: All right. Let's go to one of these very powerful photographs with a unique perspective. This one that we're going to pull up now is that of people enjoying a Ramadan meal among the ruins. What can you tell us about the story behind this picture?

ASCOLI: Well, this picture, it's really amazing because it really, really inspires some empathy.

[03:45:04]

Because those people were just like in the middle of, well, a country completely destroyed. But even though, they really needed to go ahead and bring some hope.

So, it's really the most important things of this picture that really inspire your empathy and compassion and hope. So, it's kind of different from the images we see like normally about the war. It's really trying to give some hope. That's the most important.

HARRAK: At their darkest moments, sharing a meal at a very important time.

Now, there are two other pictures that really took our breath away, and one is called The Breach and the other one is called Amigos, very, very moving. What can you tell us about that? ASCOLI: Well, as I told you, the criteria was really to be able to catch the moment. So, The Breach, it's really this. The photographer told us that it tries so many times to catch the whale's breach. At that time to really catch the moment of the whale jumping into the water, and with the drone point of view, you could see all the waves around. And it's something new as well. And the photographer itself told us that one day -- wildlife shot, actually, sorry.

HARRAK: Wow, yes. Now, the winning photo, let's talk about that. I mean, talk to us about the winning photo in terms of why did you pick that particular photo? Why -- I mean, you had so many photos with a powerful impact. What makes this one stand out among all the other equally powerful photos?

ASCOLI: Because it's really also stopped for a moment, in a news moment. So, all these people gathering in Israel to fight for democracy, it was really, really, really impactful. And also this time, it was kind of another point of view. Because, normally, when you see a picture of a demonstration, it's in a human point of view. And there, you had really the whole view, the whole scene with a wider angle, with all -- also the banner. And it was really strong. So, all of Jews were really, really impressed by this.

And we meant that the story that needed to be told and perhaps with a picture and with an image, it's more easy to communicate and take the message.

HARRAK: And just very briefly, in a few words, I mean, there's this one other picture we also really, really liked and thought was very striking, that a football fans packed in Bangladesh. I don't know if we can pull that up very quickly. What are we seeing here?

ASCOLI: Well, this is also another way to transmit some joy, because we also need some -- to inspire some joy and happiness, and the really great thing of this picture, that it's taken in a more abstract way. So just like the colors and all the picture gathering there. So, it tells the story of a really historical moment in another way, so different way.

HARRAK: So, these are basically football fans, they're packed in the stadium, and they're watching a big screen of the World Cup, amazing. Thank you so very much.

ASCOLI: Argentina against Poland, yes.

HARRAK: Exactly, in the World Cup in Qatar. Emanuela Ascoli, thank you so much, those were beautiful, thank you.

ASCOLI: Thank you. Thank you too.

HARRAK: And we'll be right back.

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[03:50:00] HARRAK: One of the United States' top football players has announced she will soon be hanging up her cleats. Megan Rapinoe, star of the U.S. Women's National Team, says she will retire at the end of the 2023 season.

While Rapinoe is a trailblazer on the field and beyond, Patrick Snell takes a look now back at her storied career.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Now, when it comes to footballing pioneers, then look no further than the iconic, Megan Rapinoe, the American great who really has made one huge impact on and off the field of play. On Saturday, the 38-year-old announcing she's to retire from the sport at the end of this year's NWSL season, though she will compete at the forthcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The U.S. forward training this weekend ahead of what's scheduled to be her 200th appearance for her country Sunday in the United States' final World Cup warm-up match against Wales in California. Rapinoe hoping to become part of America's bid to win three straight World Cups, something no men's or women's team has ever done before. She was also part of the U.S. squad that won gold at the 2012 Olympics, and she's netted 63 times at international levels so far, including six she scored at the 2019 World Cup, a tally that saw her claim a golden ball award.

Rapinoe, though, about so much more than her amazing footballing career, always passionate and showing deep and vocal support for a whole range of social issues, including LGBTQ-plus rights, racial inequality, voter rights as well, and perhaps most famously, gender and pay equity.

I think fair to say Rapinoe leaving the game as one of the most impactful figures in the history of football, both here in the United States and in the global women's game as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM FORWARD: I feel as excited to play the rest of am I career as I do to retire and to step away from this beautiful game. So, again, I know that I'm really lucky to be in this position that I get to have agency over the end of this really beautiful part of my life.

And so, in a way, I feel like it's a little bit of borrowed time and something I feel really grateful for and really excited about.

[03:55:05]

And there's sort of no distraction at hand, because I know what it is to lose in a World Cup final and I certainly don't want to do that again. So, the best way that I could possibly go out is winning.

And so it feels really easy to focus and easy to put my all into it and easy to be really settled and excited for what's undoubtedly going to be the best World Cup that we've ever seen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNELL: We can't wait for that World Cup, just ten days away now from kickoff. Megan Rapinoe sure to make an impact on the pitch and after she walks off it as well for the last time later on this year. With that, it's right back to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELTON JOHN, MUSICIAN: I am not going to be touring any more, apart from the last tour, which is going to start in September of this year. It will be a global tour. And it's the last time that I will be touring and traveling the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: It's official. Elton John has left the building. The pop superstar reposted this retirement from touring announcement he made with CNN's Anderson Cooper five years ago.

COVID and hip surgery delayed his farewell tour, but fans in Stockholm, Sweden, got to see his final show on Saturday. And what a remarkable career, 50-plus years of touring, 32 platinum or multi- platinum albums, 21 gold albums, more than 300 million records sold and millions raised for his AIDS foundation.

Elton John says he wants to spend more time with his two sons and husband, David Furnish.

I'm Laila Harrak. Kim Brunhuber picks up our coverage as CNN Newsroom continues after a quick break. Do stick around.

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