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NATO Summit Opens Today; Joe Biden Declares State of Emergency in Vermont due to Flooding; Israeli Protesters Call it a Day of Disruption after the First Round of Vote for the Controversial Judicial Overhaul; Concert-goers throw Objects at Artists During Shows, a Bad Behavior; Turkey Backs Sweden's Accession to NATO; Sports Drink Brand Responds to an Inquiry from Lawmakers on their Caffeinated Energy Drink Variant. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 11, 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]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.
Ahead on "CNN Newsroom." A critical NATO summit kicks off with a breakthrough after a year of stalemate. Turkey agrees to back Sweden's membership bid. A show of unity as the alliance prepares to tackle key questions about ongoing support for Ukraine.
And people take to the streets across Israel calling for a day of disruption after the government took another step forward on controversial judicial reforms.
Plus, musicians crying foul, asking fans to please stop throwing things at them on stage. We'll take a look at what might be behind this sudden rash of fans tossing items at their favorite artists.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Laila Harrak.
HARRAK: A crucial two-day summit of NATO leaders is getting underway in Lithuania's capital, as the U.S. national security adviser says the alliance is stronger and more united than ever.
U.S. President Joe Biden and key allies have been arriving for a meeting expected to be dominated by Russia's war on Ukraine and Kyiv's push to join NATO. The White House says the group will send a united positive signal on Ukraine's path to membership but declined to provide a timetable.
An official says Mr. Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday at the summit. While on the eve of the key meeting, a rapid reversal by Turkey on Sweden's bid to join NATO, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Turkey has now dropped objections to Sweden becoming a member after standing in the way for more than a year. Stockholm in turn appears to be supporting Turkish membership in the
European Union, according to Turkey's state-run news agency. While Sweden's defense minister says Turkey's decision to endorse the country will strengthen the security of both Sweden and NATO. A similar sentiment echoed by the head of the military alliance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Completing Sweden's accession to NATO is a historic step that benefits the security of all NATO allies at this critical time. It makes us all stronger and safer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: CNN Correspondents tracking all the developments for you. Clare Sebastian is in London, and Melissa Bell standing by in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Melissa, I want to start the conversation with you. The summit getting off to a good start with Turkey giving Sweden's NATO membership the green light.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And given that the wrangling, Laila, had gone on until late last night. You could really sense when you heard Jake Sullivan, the American national security adviser, speaking to reporters earlier, the relief really in what he had to say, celebrating the role that Washington, the White House had played in.
First of all, hosting the Swedish prime minister, having talks that Joe Biden continued even from his flight on his way to Europe to try and find some kind of agreement, celebrating also the behind the scenes talks that had been taking place and the place that Antony Blinken had played in those bringing this crucial agreement together.
Because let's face it, if they couldn't agree on the membership of Sweden as the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it was very unlikely that the much thornier question of Ukraine would be anywhere near resolved.
So at this stage, what you heard Jake Sullivan tell reporters a short while ago is that in fact the rumors of NATO's disunity had in the run-up to this summit been greatly exaggerated that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, would be very disappointed by what he saw over the next couple of days.
Now, what we expect is shortly the official part of this summit to kick off. And what we understand from American officials is that at this stage, President Zelenskyy, who had been unclear right up until the last minute as to whether he would not, he would or would not come, saying that he wouldn't come simply for fun, will in fact be coming on Wednesday.
Laila, that really is the point of this summit, that photo opportunity, even if the questions of how and when Ukrainian accession happens continue to divide, won't be resolved this time. You heard Jake Sullivan say you won't likely get a timetable even for their accession from this summit. And yet, the fact that they can all stand together, I think, is an important message and one that this summit was entirely designed to achieve.
[03:05:13]
HARRAK: Now Clare, as Melissa outlines there, I mean still a lot of diplomatic brinkmanship going on when it comes to Ukraine's bid to join the alliance.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Laila, absolutely. I think as Melissa touched on there, the sort of the caution that we're hearing from the U.S., the likes of Germany, President Biden on the eve of this summit, simply saying that Ukraine is not ready, versus the more bullishness that we're certainly getting on the eastern flank of NATO.
Just in the last hour, we heard from the Lithuanian president who said, look, for the last 15 years since NATO has said, you know, we welcome Ukraine's aspirations to join, they've been invaded twice by Russia, the annexation of Crimea and now the full-scale war. He said it's time to change the paradigm. So I think these divisions are something that NATO is going to have to work through over the course of this summit.
But this really matters to Ukraine. They are bringing the weight of their suffering essentially over the last 16 months. The summit is essentially a touchstone for that country. And I want to play you a really interesting exchange. A Ukrainian MP stood up just now in the last hour in a meeting with Jens Stoltenberg. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLEKSIY GONHARENKO, UKRAINIAN MP: Millions of Ukrainians are looking to Vilnius today with hope. We want to see the word invitation or to invite from NATO to Ukraine. And I have a direct question to you. Will it happen? And because that is, that will boost moral of Ukrainians enormously. If this will not happen, that will be really demoralizing. Thank you very much.
UNKNOWN: And I think we just --
STOLTENBERG: It's for the leaders to finally endorse and agree the communique. And then you can read the exact language. What I can say is that I'm confident it will be a positive and strong message on -- on Ukraine and the path forward for membership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: So wait for the language in that communique. Jens Stoltenberg did say, though, that he has already put together a sort of three-part plan for Ukraine. One is a multiyear program to bring its military up to a level of interoperability with the rest of NATO. Two is the NATO-Ukraine Council, which he says will have its first meeting tomorrow. And thirdly is the removal of that requirement for them to undergo this so-called membership action plan, which is a program that many countries do go through to join NATO, which take a number of years that he says Ukraine will be able to bypass which is fairly significant for Ukraine but as you heard from that member of parliament they are looking for the word invite.
This is very crucial and the language is something that will be watched by Ukrainians.
HARRAK: Melissa, going back to you. What other critical topics will NATO leaders have to tackle during the summit?
BELL: Well, beyond the question of Ukraine itself, this is of course an opportunity for NATO to look at its deterrence and defense capabilities. And these are plans that they've been working on since 2018, Laila, plans to strengthen their ability to face the two threats that are explicitly named, Russia and terrorism. So what you're looking at are conversations over three regional plans within NATO to bolster those defense capabilities. And they cover pretty much everything, naval, air, space, cyber, everything.
The idea is that they will bolster, remember here we are on the eastern flank of NATO that has seen a substantial increase in the capabilities of the alliance on its eastern flank. The idea is that across the alliance, if these plans are approved, you will have 300,000 men and women under NATO command at a fairly high level of readiness in order to be able to send the signal that Jens Stoltenberg had made explicit as he kicked off this summit, that NATO stands united, and that Russian aggression will not pay.
It is always being framed in reference to Ukraine, but it is, of course, much more widely and profoundly, Leila, about NATO itself, regardless of what countries continue to join and where the accession plans of various aspiring countries are, of how NATO continues to build on that solidity, that unity that was found in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in order to bolster its own defense capabilities, Laila.
HARRAK: Melissa Bell and Clare Sebastian, thank you so much.
And joining me now from Istanbul is Yevgeniya Gaber, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Turkey. So good to have you with us. A very good morning.
You're coming to us from Turkey, a country with a complex position when it comes to Ukraine and Russia. We find ourselves in a very interesting moment where Ankara is believed to have angered Moscow by wholeheartedly endorsing Ukraine's bid to join NATO, making that as worse it's released Ukrainian prisoners of war earlier this week.
[03:10:03]
Talk to us a little bit about is Turkey pivoting now away from Russia? What is your understanding in terms of Turkey's objectives at the moment? YEVGENIYA GABER, NONRESIDENT SR. FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL IN TURKEY:
Good morning and thank you for having me. Regarding Turkey, Turkey has always been supporting Ukraine's membership in NATO, as well as Georgia's, by the way, at the same time cooperating economically and in energy sphere with Russia. So I don't really see here a U-turn in Turkey's policies.
However, it really is important that President Erdogan actually voiced that Ukraine definitely and for sure deserves to be a NATO member because security in Europe and here in the Black Sea depends on Ukraine's security and on ending this war and fight against Russian aggression as soon as possible.
HARRAK: Russia has qualified or described these recent actions by Turkey as unfriendly. Do you foresee a rift growing between Moscow and Ankara?
GABER: Well, I think this is also part of this geopolitical tit for tat. And from the Russian side, there have been several cases when, actually a lot of cases when Russia has not implemented its commitments and when actually the grain deal, for example, which was brokered by Turkey, is now under threat because Russia said it doesn't want to extend it anymore.
So before the NATO summit, but also before the next round of negotiations for the grain deal, I think it's important for Turkey to send very strong message to Russia that it has to abide by its commitments because Turkey also has leverages against Russia and it can step up its cooperation with Ukraine even more.
HARRAK: Let's turn our attention now to Ukraine, which is top of mind at this summit. The expectations are that Kyiv will not be asked to join the military alliance at this summit. The U.S., Ukraine's strongest supporter in this war are already ruled out Kyiv's bid to join NATO, at least not yet because the war is still ongoing. What would be the next best option for Kyiv? What would send the right signal?
GABER: Well, I think that the right signal would have been to extend the invitation to Ukraine at this Vilnius summit, because this is how we make sure that this consensus, decision-making and unanimity of voting in NATO does not include Russia, which is an aggressor state, and there is no need to be afraid of the escalation by the Russian side, because actually Russia escalates when there is no deterrence and there is no response and not otherwise.
But the second best option, I think, would be -- of course, upgrading and increasing the level of political dialogue. Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy will take part in the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, and of course, security guarantees of the coalition of the willing and increasing military cooperation.
HARRAK: Now, if Ukraine does not get the type of security guarantees from NATO members that it believes it needs, what would that mean?
GABER: Well, that means that Ukraine will carry on to fight again this brutal Russian aggression because there is no other option for Ukraine. But this also means that we may have a, probably will have an extended and protracted conflict in the middle of Europe, just on the eastern front of NATO.
So depending on how much support we get from the Western allies, it just means that we will have to pay less cost for this war of aggression in Ukraine.
HARRAK: Yevgeniya Gaber, talking to us from Istanbul, Turkey. Thank you so much.
GABER: Thank you.
HARRAK: Germany's defense minister says his country will announce new support packages for Ukraine at the NATO summit. And South Korea is promising more non-lethal aid. But what Ukraine really needs is more ammunition and artillery as its fighters train up on new Western weapons they've been given.
Ben Wedeman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is practice. Preparing for a battle just a short drive away on Ukraine's Eastern Front. For an army long trained in the use of Soviet-era weapons, it's a time of transition to the latest arms to arrive from the West.
An American-made grenade launcher. And an American-made 50 caliber machine gun.
(on-camera): This exercise is designed to bring together troops fresh from the front around Bakhmut with new recruits to show them how it's done.
(voice-over): Veteran soldier Denys explains the finer points of the machine gun to recruits fresh but not all young.
[03:15:04]
On the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, with the counteroffensive here moving ahead slowly, Ukraine is pressing for more help, and the troops here have some ideas.
DENYS, GUNNER, 57TH BRIGADE: Maybe we need many -- many weapons, ammos, and vehicles.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): This commander call sign Martsin puts it this way.
The Russians have an immense amount of old Soviet weapons, he says. They just throw a massive metal at us. We can't overcome them this way. We need quality and precision.
Nearby, other recruits are rehearsing an assault, jumping out of an old Soviet-era armored personnel carrier, advancing under the watchful eye of their sergeant.
Mikola served in the Soviet army, then drove a tractor for decades before joining the Ukrainian army a year ago.
He says NATO should provide something newer than his old Soviet workhorse.
(on-camera): It's just all, just the two of us? OK, I can't believe it.
(voice-over): Mikola has simple advice for the new troops. Move fast and stay low. And for NATO, just move fast.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Search operations have ended in Orikhiv, a city in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region, the day after a Russian attack killed at least seven people. Ukraine says Russian missiles struck a school where civilians were receiving humanitarian aid. Rescue workers searched for hours to find people trapped in the rubble.
While this video was taken just over a month ago, showing the school's basement being used as an aid center. Russian forces have stepped up shelling in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine.
Russian forces have stepped up shelling in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine. Authorities there say 17 civilians have been killed over the past month from those attacks. Ukrainian officials say they will facilitate evacuations, but they aren't going to force anyone to leave. They want people who refuse to leave are making a conscious choice to stay in what they call the death zone.
Life is difficult enough in Sumy, which is close to the Russian border. Authorities say electricity is scarce. Shops, hospitals, schools are usually closed. And delivery of normal goods like food and medicine is not possible at the moment.
Israel's legislature takes a big step toward enacting controversial judicial reforms. Well now the country faces a day of disruption. We'll have the details coming up.
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[03:20:00]
HARRAK: Record rainfall has caused heavy flooding on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Officials say at least four people have died, 18 have been injured, and a half dozen are now missing. The rain began at the start of the month and it has triggered landslides and caused rivers to overflow.
A dangerous situation in the northeastern United States after days of intense rain and flash flood emergencies. Not long ago, the U.S. president approved a state of emergency declaration for Vermont. On more than 50 swift water rescues were carried out there as of Monday night local time. And more than 9 million people are under flood alerts across the region.
In New York, state troopers helped rescue stranded drivers trapped by heavy flooding on Sunday. They guided them to safety as the group holding hands after they were plucked from their submerged cars. This was in Orange County, New York, where the governor declared a state of emergency.
And a new dangerous, long-lasting heat wave in the United States could set dozens of heat records even in notoriously hot places. The heat is hitting South Texas, South Florida, and the Southwest the hardest now and through the work week. By the weekend, the hottest temperatures will arrive in the Southwest, making brutally hot cities like Phoenix even hotter.
And across the Atlantic, nearly 62,000 people died from heat-related causes in Europe last year during its hottest summer on record on this. According to a new study, Italy had the most deaths, around 18,000, followed by Spain and Germany. Researchers also found that the extreme heat harmed women and the elderly more than others. And experts say climate change these kinds of extreme weather events.
Here's Michael Mann, a climate scientist from the University of Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL E. MANN, CLIMATE SCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: You know, we have to step back. When we talk about the impact that climate change is having on these events, sure, you know, weather is weather, it's going to happen. Rainfall, flooding events are gonna happen. What climate change is doing, it's supercharging them. So when you get one of those weather systems that's producing large amounts of rainfall, you get more rainfall.
Every degree Fahrenheit of warming of the atmosphere puts another several percent of moisture in the atmosphere. So there is the potential for larger amounts of rainfall. That's one of the ingredients that climate change is providing. But there's another one as well. It's a little more subtle, and it's really more at the forefront of current research.
But the pattern of warming, where we see the Arctic warming faster than, say, the lower 48, that reduces the temperature difference from the equator to the pole slows down the jet stream and under certain conditions the jet stream basically stalls and those weather patterns remain in place. Those high and low pressure centers remain in place. So you get rained on the same location day after day or the ground gets baked by the sun day after day, heat, drought, wildfires out west, epic rainfall events back east.
So climate change is impacting that as well. And we're seeing more of these sort of stuck, wavy jet stream patterns that are associated with these very persistent weather extremes, whether it's the heat drought, the wildfire or the flooding events. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: And Michael Mann also says El Nino, a weather pattern that warms ocean surface temperatures, is combining with the climate crisis to create new record levels of heat on a global scale. And this after the planet saw some of the hottest days on record last week.
Protests are building across Israel at this very hour in what organizers are calling a day of disruption. Already police have tried to arrest demonstrators blocking a major road around Jerusalem. And marchers carrying Israeli flags are making their way through Tel Aviv. This is the 27th week of protests in Israel, some of which have attracted a half a million people.
While the protests come hours after Israel's legislature gave initial approval to a measure the opposition says will severely undermine democracy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government pushed through a vote curtailing the court's ability to strike down laws they find unreasonable. One protester said he's worried the country could be slipping toward authoritarianism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEIR HARASH, ISRAELI PROTESTER: I'm terribly concerned about the vote that's taking place now. It's the salami approach that Israel, all of the Bibi's learned from Hungary, to take one piece at a time and then the whole judicial overthrow is going to take place. We have to stop it now and have agreements together on how this democratic country will continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And CNN's Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem with details on the controversial measure and the protests. [03:25:04]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Israeli protesters planning a day of disruption as the Israeli government is now bringing the judicial overhaul plan back on the table after months where this judicial overhaul was frozen in place essentially months ago after this massive general strike and protest that froze Israel into place. The defense minister even coming out against his own government's plan.
Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are starting to bring it back. It looks a little bit different. It's a little bit watered down and it's being done in a very slow piecemeal fashion. But the legislation that was brought to its first vote on Monday night would strip this Israeli Supreme Court's ability of being able to declare a government action as being unreasonable.
They have rather broad powers right now to say that even if a government action didn't necessarily break any laws, that it is unreasonable and cannot stand. And this legislation would attempt to strip that away.
Now, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has watered down other aspects of the judicial overhaul, namely the ability of the Israeli parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority. Those have been taken off the table.
But the other elements are still there. And the protesters and the opposition essentially are saying, we don't believe when the government says that this will be a softer version of this judicial overhaul, and they are still taking to the streets. They've actually never gone off the streets even while there were compromise negotiations trying to take place at the Israeli president's residence even while this legislation was technically frozen in place.
Israeli protesters were still taking to the street on a regular basis, and on Monday evening They were on the floor of the Israeli Parliament. It's trying to stage some sort of sit-in. They were forcibly removed by Parliament security, and then on Tuesday is this day of disruption from the morning until the evening Israeli protesters saying they're going to essentially try to disrupt daily life in Israel, including at the airport, at Ben Gurion Airport just outside of Tel Aviv, as well as at important embassy buildings throughout the country from different countries and along the really the heart of Tel Aviv, downtown Tel Aviv and the main highway there.
We've seen these types of massive protests in the past and the goal of these protesters is to try to once again encourage important figures such as the defense minister, such as other ministers who may be supporting their efforts to come out once again against this judicial overhaul, even this piecemeal legislation, the slow pace that they plan to take it and to come out against it. Because for these protesters, the only way that they will really come off the streets is if this judicial overhaul is completely off the table.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: And we'd like to take you now for a live look to Lithuania, Vilnius, where the U.S. President has just arrived at the Lithuanian Presidential Palace right now, as leaders will get ready to kick off a very consequential NATO summit later today. And he's taking part there in a ceremony. And let's bring in Melissa Bell, who is live for us in Vilnius.
Melissa, a very important day, this first day of the NATO summit, which has gotten an unexpected boost from Turkey.
BELL: That's right. In fact, you mentioned the word consequential a moment ago, Laila. That is precisely the one that you used by the national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaking to reporters a short while ago.
It is a most consequential summit, he said, into which we go with a head full of steam, a great deal of enthusiasm at the fact that last minute wrangling between Turkey and Sweden, brokered as it was both by Jens Stoltenberg, but also the American administration, found a resolution, which means that what you're going to see today, beyond these images there, Joe Biden who's being welcomed to the Lithuanian presidential palace by Getanas Nauseda, the Lithuanian president.
They will go on to sign a welcome book inside. But it is this afternoon that the official ceremonies of the NATO summit itself will begin.
And it is, as you said, extremely consequential. With that cloud of the division behind, the question is what they can now look ahead to. What you are going to see President Biden take part in after these ceremonies are talks between the all of the leaders of the member states of NATO plus Sweden because it isn't officially in. It will have to wait until the Turkish parliament approves what Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now said he will back, which is their accession it may take a couple of weeks so they will be there as guests.
But they will be standing alongside the 31 other heads of state of NATO at a time a year and a half in to the war in Ukraine, when what they are looking at is a decided show of unity here on the doorstep of Russia.
[03:30:00]
We're only 20 miles here, Laila, from the Belarusian border, and this summit is all about the strength of NATO celebrating what's been achieved over the course of the last year and a half, which I think has surprised even NATO members themselves, but also looking ahead to the much thornier question than was the question of Swedish accession of Ukrainian accession and the question of when and how and if it is allowed to happen.
HARRAK: And of course there will also be some other very critical matters that President Biden will have to address at this summit.
BELL: That's right. This is a jam-packed couple of days for the American president. Beyond this opening ceremony and those talks this afternoon at the official part of the opening of the summit with his counter -- NATO counterparts, this is also an opportunity, of course, for bilateral meetings.
The American president will be meeting as well with his Turkish counterpart, and that will be very closely watched. Of course, the question of Swedish accession to NATO has now been resolved, but there are so many other outstanding issues.
For instance, Turkey's request for American F-16 fighter jets and how far the United States will go to us waging those demands, long standing ones, ever since Turkey was excluded from an upgrade of NATO equipment as a result of its taking Russian air defense systems.
What it is looking for now is more of that military support from the United States. That will be on the table at this meeting. But the real -- The big day, the real photo opportunity that we're looking ahead to, Laila, is the one that will come tomorrow. What we understand from American officials is that President Zelenskyy will be attending. And beyond the wording of the communique, which will be the subject of so much more wrangling to come, and no doubt a careful compromise will have to be found because this is precisely an issue on which there is a not great deal of NATO unity, the question of when and how Ukraine is allowed to enter the alliance, beyond the question of the wording the final communique and those negotiations, that photograph, a year and a half into the war, nearly a year and a half into the war, is of tremendous importance.
And we'll send a strong message. What we've just been hearing from Jake Sullivan, the American national security adviser, is that the rumors of NATO's disunity have been greatly exaggerated, and Vladimir Putin is going to find himself most disappointed. Laila.
HARRAK: All right. Melissa Bell, reporting live from Vilnius, Lithuania. Thank you so much for now.
And will continue following the story for you as it develops, and bring you all the latest throughout the summit. Do stay with us. We'll be right back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:35:00]
HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching "CNN Newsroom."
It's not just rude and distracting, it's downright dangerous and yet it keeps happening. Concert goers throwing things at the artists they've paid to see perform on stage. The biggest stars in the world are not immune to this very bad behavior.
Harry Styles got hit in the eye last weekend during a show in Vienna, and in New York you can see someone hurled a phone at Bebe Rexha that hit her in the face and resulted in stitches. So why do a few troublemakers seem so determined to target their favorite performer? Ruin the concert experience or just get a reaction?
John Drury is a social psychology professor at the University of Sussex and he is with us now from Brighton, England. Good morning sir. It is a very disturbing trend I have to say. What's behind this and what are some of the possible explanations for fans just misbehaving in this way?
JOHN DRURY, PROF. OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX: Well people have been talking about changes in audience behavior since events reopened in 2021 and it's not just live music events. People have been saying the same thing about sports, about theater, about live comedy, and they've been describing fans throwing items on stage but also other apparently new behaviors such as rudeness, aggression, people pushing, trying to get in and so on.
When you speak to fans themselves you get a much more mixed picture of this. I mean it's quite clear from people within the industry, so people who work in the music industry say this has been a trend for two years. Fans themselves sometimes describe not noticing any audience changes in audience behavior or they say that it was slightly different when they reopened in 2021 and now it's gone back to normal. So it actually depends who you talk to whether or not this is actually a trend.
HARRAK: And how can this type of behavior be stopped? I mean what are the dynamics at play?
DRURY: Well in terms of explanations, one of the explanations is that people have different expectations now, at least some people do. They are a bit more individualized, they don't have a sense of being part of a larger group or a collectivity, and they're just interested in their own personal gratification.
I haven't seen any direct tests of this explanation or other explanations, but what we have noticed from our own research is that these incidents are much less likely to occur at those smaller events where fans say there was a small intimate crowd where everybody was there for the same reason as opposed to the large stadium events with large stars.
I mean, it's noticeable that the events you talked about and the events that have been in the news involve very famous stars where there might be an element of people trying to raise their own social media profile.
And it's important to point out too, it is only a small minority of people doing this, it's not large numbers of people.
HARRAK: Yeah, but still, I mean, it's quite dangerous. I mean, some of the things are outright bizarre. I believe performer Pink had a bag of somebody's mother's ashes thrown at her. I mean, it's quite disturbing. If you're a performer, what do you do?
DRURY: I think I agree with you, there is a safety element as well as an element of affecting people's enjoyment. In terms of solutions, I'd say two things. I mean, the fact that you seem to get, you're more likely to get these at certain kinds of events means that perhaps venues and artists can learn from those events where they're less they're happening less often.
We know that some festivals work very hard to create a sense of community amongst fans and audiences beforehand and maybe venues could try and do a bit more to create that sense of community rather than simply position people as individual consumers.
The other thing I'd suggest is, I mean, one factor that everybody seems to agree is relevant is that the industry lost a lot of skilled people when live events closed down in 2020. Those skilled people didn't come back. I'm talking about staff, security people who have the diplomatic skills to defuse situations and deal with people and spot trouble. So I think the other solution is more training for staff in spotting issues and managing trouble.
HARRAK: And fans need to be reminded of concert etiquette. John Drury, thank you so much.
[03:40:04]
And still to come, new details emerge about Russian President Vladimir Putin's armor train. Will give you a look inside the luxury vehicle he's been slowly upgrading over the years.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRAK: High stakes talks are kicking off today in Lithuania's capital, where world leaders are gathering for a key NATO summit. And ahead of that, Jens Stoltenberg announced that Turkey dropped objections to Sweden becoming a member after standing in the way for more than a year.
Stockholm in turn appears to be supporting Turkish membership in the European Union, according to Turkey's state-run news agency. CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, is weighing in on Turkey's NATO bid. Here's his take on how Sweden can add to the military alliance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's a very good force. It was one of the strongest partners we had when I was commander in Europe close to a decade ago. Their army is about 24,000. They have a reserve of about 34,000. They have a very good air force of about 120 Gripen aircrafts, over 300 ships in their Navy. They have a great capability of -- of patrolling and monitoring the northern oceans that lead in and out of northern Russia. It's a good force, well-led, very operationally savvy.
But truthfully, the fact that they have stayed independent throughout the history of NATO and then suddenly they want to become members and they are now joining or they will be joining, I'm sure, it just shows how Mr. Putin's political objectives of further dividing NATO, have really fallen apart along with his other military and political objectives. So it's a very good sign. Sweden and Finland both joining NATO, there's nothing better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: All right, let's take you now to Vilnius where a bilateral meeting is taking place between President Joe Biden and the host, the Lithuanian president.
(LIVE VIDEO FEED)
GITANAS NAUSEDA, LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT: -- as historical one even before it started because the membership of Sweden is already on the table and I think we will welcome the 32nd member of NATO very soon.
We have regional defense plans approved and now it's important that they become executable by the end of this year. They've repositioning, they've assigned forces. We are probably, Lithuania is one of the most enthusiastic supporters
of Trans-Atlantic Bond in Europe and the European Union. Because the thing that your participation, your attention is extremely important in this field of geopolitical concern.
[03:45:01]
And at the same time, Lithuania is intending to buy -- to acquire military equipment from United States, and I would like to mention Blackhawks. Also, we intend to buy Heimers, JLTVs, Hoshkas and all these military equipment that helps us to modernize our military forces. At the same time, we are closely cooperating with Germany and recently a very good decision was announced by Defense Minister Boris Vissparios.
(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)
-- up to brigade size on a permanent basis. So I think it would be very positive to welcome this decision and welcome the engagement of all EFP countries in the region to increase the forward presence in our region.
So, Mr. President, thank you so much for your participation in our NATO summit. And looking forward to closely cooperate with you and with our colleagues during these two days. I'm looking forward to be able to listen to your speech tomorrow in Vilnius University. It will be a perfect historical moment for Lithuania and all Lithuanian people bring you so warmly.
Even the windows you see is a little bit empty right now, but this is because of security restrictions and some people decided to leave the city just to avoid some inconveniences. But you know, in our hearts, from bottom of our hearts, we welcome your visit. We welcome your arrival and we are looking forward to cooperate with United States in the future.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, Mr. President, thank you for the welcome. Thank you, team. Well, you know, it's great to be back in Vilnius. I was here in 2014 as vice president shortly after the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the first time, and at the time talked about what I thought Russia looked like to continue to do.
Some people were somewhat skeptical and minding judgment, and unfortunately turned out to be in agony.
And the United States is here today to reaffirm our commitment to NATO, but also to Vilnius. But we go back a long way. And when we were committed with Wayne and to the Baltics and to NATO. I remember, you may recall, when we were having a meeting in the United States Senate about enlarging NATO. I was arguing very strongly that the Baltics should all be part of NATO, and (inaudible).
Our pledge to be with you has not wavered. It didn't take us long to get thousands of troops here when Russia invaded the second time. We'll be able and be sure that (inaudible). We have the Secretary of Defense is in today, you can send him along if you want. Lock it in the side.
And look, as I've said before, we take NATO takes, all of us take Article 5 literally. One inch of NATO territory means we're all in the war together against whoever was violating in that space. We're going to defend every inch of it.
And I want to thank you, Mr. President, for hosting this historic summit at an important time. First time that NATO leaders will meet with 31 together and looking forward to meeting very soon with 32 members with the addition of Sweden.
The leader of Sweden was just in my Oval Office not long ago, and we were hoping this would occur when it did, and I'm confident. And in the coming days, we're also going to discuss a range of issues, how to strengthen NATO's eastern flank and modernize NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities. And we're going to be doing it in a place where (inaudible) those efforts truly matter every single solitary day.
And we're also going to discuss our support for the people of Ukraine. And I want to thank you and for your partnership and leadership as we take on this challenge together. So I look forward to our conversation today and to continuing to stand with you and all the people of Lithuania for a simple reason, shared values, the same values, support. That's what NATO is all about. That's what the Trans-Atlantic Alliance is about. And you've probably heard I'm a very strong supporter of Trans-Atlantic alliance.
[03:50:04]
I've learned that nothing happens here will affect us (inaudible). I'm looking forward to you today. Thank you.
NAUSEDA: Thank you.
HARRAK: All right. The press scrum there as President Joe Biden is being welcomed by the host, the Lithuanian president who has welcomed the U.S. president just ahead of the all-important NATO summit that will kick off moments from now. And both leaders, they're pledging their support for the military alliance.
We'll bring you more right after this break.
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HARRAK: Madonna is breaking her silence after being hospitalized with a bacterial infection last month. The seven-time Grammy winner wrote on Instagram that she's on the road to recovery. She thanked fans for their prayers and words of encouragement, and said she felt the love.
Madonna's celebration tour was supposed to kick off in Vancouver this weekend, but all of her North American tour dates have since been postponed. Her world tour will now start in October.
Former One Direction Member Liam Payne says he's been sober for six months. The pop star released a video Saturday saying he spent 100 days in rehab. He said he went into treatment because he had become someone he didn't recognize anymore. Payne says one of the scariest parts of his recovery was turning his phone back on when he left the facility. He says a motivation for getting sober was to be a better dad to his six-year-old son named Bear.
Sports drink company Prime is responding to calls from U.S. lawmakers for an FDA investigation into its energy drink with high levels of caffeine. The company tells CNN its products comply with all FDA guidelines and contain legal amounts of the substance.
CNN's Meg Tirrell has more details.
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MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Prime energy drinks have about 200 milligrams of caffeine per can. And to put that into some perspective, that's about the same amount of caffeine as in six cans of Coke or two cans of Red Bull. And that's a lot more than is recommended for kids.
The American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends that kids don't have any caffeine at all if they're under the age of 12. Some pediatricians say for kids over the age of 12, maybe up to 100 milligrams per day is okay. That's, you know, a couple sodas if they're having sodas.
The FDA says for adults, maybe about up to 400 milligrams per day typically won't tend to affect people, although everybody handles caffeine a little bit differently. But there are safety concerns for kids and caffeine, things like affecting their sleep, causing dehydration, anxiety, raising their blood pressure, and also raising the risk of developmental problems for their cardiovascular systems and neurological systems.
So there are a lot of reasons why pediatricians say too much caffeine is bad for kids, any caffeine for under the age of 12 is bad, and they really recommend staying away from energy drinks completely for both kids and adolescents.
[03:55:12]
Now, the FDA is, has potential, a few options for what it might do here. I've been talking with former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. He noted that when he was in the role of commissioner, he typically used things like public health advisories where really you're just putting out information, trying to make sure people know about things like this, that there are a lot of caffeine in energy drinks.
But it's really not a strict enforcement like a warning letter or something stronger like that. Now, it's not clear what, if anything, we may see from the FDA. Now, for its part, the company that makes Prime energy drinks sent a statement to CNN and really drew a distinction between the two drinks that it has on the market, Prime Hydration and Prime Energy. Now, hydration has no caffeine. Those come in bottles. But Prime Energy, which is a newer product, comes in cans and does have the 200 milligrams of caffeine per 12 ounces.
Now, the company noted that the caffeine all falls within the legal limit of the countries where it's sold. They say they complied with all FDA guidelines before hitting the market, and they state clearly on the packaging as well as in marketing materials that it's an energy drink and is not made for anyone under the age of 18.
They also note that as a brand, their top priority is consumer safety, so they say they welcome discussions with the FDA about protecting consumer safety.
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HARRAK: The new Meta Threads app has quickly become a major threat to Twitter, which is seeing its web traffic tank.
More than 100 million users have signed up for Threads just days after its launch, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. That's a staggering feat for any budding social media site, but is especially notable given Twitter's recent decline. Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO claim they don't just want Twitter defectors. They hoped to appeal to a wide audience of new users.
Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman is suing both OpenAI and Meta alleging copyright infringement. She says the companies used copyrighted material from her book without her knowledge or permission. The suit claims the companies are using books to create language models. And that's important because it could give artificial intelligence the ability to generate new material without compensating authors of the original work. Meta declined to comment to CNN and we haven't heard back from OpenAI.
That wraps up this hour of "CNN Newsroom." On behalf of all of us here, thank you so much for watching. I'm Laila Harrak. The news continues now with Bianca Nobilo in London after a quick break.
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