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CNN International: Intense Rain and Flash Floods Create Misery in Vermont; Families Forced to Evacuate in Flood-Ravaged Vermont; Leaked Documents Reveal Putin's Secret Train. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 11, 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. And if you just joining us, let me bring up to date with our top stories this hour.

Donald Trump's legal team is asking the Florida court in the special counsel's classified documents case to delay setting a trial date. Trump and the Justice Department had suggested June 18th for the first hearing in the case.

And NATO leaders are arriving this hour in Vilnius, Lithuania, for a high-stake two-day summit. The allies will focus on Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and Kyiv's push to join NATO. The White House says that the group will send a united positive signal on Ukraine's path to membership but declined to provide a timetable.

And while President Biden was in Lithuania, he declared a state of urgency in Vermont where flash floods are raging. They've wiped out roads and left entire communities underwater. CNN's Miguel Marquez shows us just how bad it is getting there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been trying to get to Ludlow and other areas that are hit incredibly hard, and this is what you find everywhere. This is the Williams River in Chester actually. We had to come back from Rockingham because we couldn't get a signal out of there and the water was extremely deep.

I want to show you. I'm standing on mud here and if I stand up this way, that is the road. But check this out. It's washed out just over here. This you will see throughout this area. You will go down a road. There'll be no water on it. A half-hour later, it will be completely flooded out. And keep in mind, this is now good. The water is starting to recede here in Vermont.

[04:35:00]

But they have had rainfall after rainfall after rainfall for weeks and weeks now, and there is literally nowhere for the water to go.

Search and rescue in Vermont has affected about 50, if not more by now. Search and rescues, we saw one earlier today in the six counties, sort of in the southern part of the state that are having -- are being hardest hit by the rainfall. The green mountains here, that storm just went up it and dumped a massive amount of rain very, very quickly onto it and it all flowed into the into the valleys and into the rivers and this is the effect. You could be upriver and the water will go down. But if you go downriver, it gets higher and higher.

We were at a spot trying to cross earlier. And suddenly we heard a very loud rumbling and emergency crew said, everybody out, you know, go back to higher ground right now. They weren't sure if a bridge had collapsed or a dam had collapsed or there was going to be a pulse of water coming down there as people were waiting for the water to recede at another crossing down here.

Just very, very concerning times for Vermont right now. The entire state has just been pummeled by this latest storm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: And we're hearing from someone who is dealing with all the flooding there firsthand. These are photos of Scott Geba's backyard in Waterbury, Vermont, and you can see the water in the distance at the back fence. And then it moves much closer. And now, the whole backyard is essentially a lake. Scott woke up early to speak with us from the hotel where he and his family are not taking shelter.

Scott, thank you so much for joining us on the line. I'm so sorry for what's happening to you and your family and your home.

SCOTT GEBA, FLOOD EVACUEE, WATERBURY, VERMONT (via phone): Thanks for having me, Bianca. As a matter of fact there's a report that you mentioned, we're in the northern part of the state and the southern part of the state has been hit a lot more. We're lucky enough, we had plenty of time to get things ready in house and get situated and get out.

NOBILO: Take us through how the evacuation came to be, and when you realized that this was an extremely serious flooding situation for you and your family?

GEBA: On Sunday evening, we kind of got alerts that, you know, the weather was coming, but it wasn't going to be too bad with the river by us. So, I always kept an eye on it, but then the rain kept coming. And then probably about Monday afternoon, we could start seeing the water get closer and closer to the house. And then the cresting reports said the river got higher and higher and started pushing towards us. The last time the area flooded and had this much damage which was in 2011 with hurricane Irene. And then as it kept on getting closer, up to the neighbors, and been here for the last ten, 15 years, with experienced it before, and they realize it was time to start getting things off the ground in the house and trying to find places to go.

NOBILO: Have you experienced anything like this before in Vermont, in terms of flooding?

GEBA: No, never. We're pretty new to the area. We've only been here a couple years, so, we have been here for the last flood. But a lot of people in our neighborhood were here in 2011 when everything flooded as well. They've been very helpful. They've just been going up and down the block of our neighborhood and helping people get situated and get out.

NOBILO: Are your neighbors and friends all in fairly similar situation to you? Have they also been evacuated to hotels?

GEBA: Yes, a lot of our friends are, other friends houses on higher ground in Vermont and then in different parts of the state that are upstream or at a higher elevation that didn't have an issue with the rivers.

NOBILO: What are your immediate priorities in concerns now for the next few days or week?

GEBA: I'm hoping will be able to get back in there sometime later today, once the water starts going back down, and see how bad it -- we just don't know right now, how much water went into the house. So, we'll find out, you know, how much water went into the house, sometime later today, and then just trying to find a place to stay for the next probably day or two while we try and to figure out and dry things out, and when we can get back into the house.

NOBILO: Well, Scott, we really appreciate you being up early and speaking to us and telling us what you're going through. Just wishing you all the best of luck. And I hope that you can get back home soon. Thank you so much for joining us.

GEBA: Right, thank you very so much.

NOBILO: We are keeping an eye on the U.S. stock futures with just hours to go until a new trading day begins. It's a mixed picture, but not a particularly positive on. On Monday, Wall Street started the week with gains as investors wait for the start of the second quarter earnings season, and for key inflation reports expected out in the next two days.

[04:40:02]

All major indexes closed the day in positive territory.

The Sunshine State has another title now, Americas inflation hotspots. That is thanks to Florida's growing population and sky-high housing costs. The Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach area is seeing a 9 percent inflation rate for the year ending in April. That's the highest rate of metro areas with more than 2.5 million residents. And census data shows Florida's population grew the most of any state from July 2021 until July 2022. Economists say that remote work gave some the freedom to relocate during the pandemic, and people are continuing to move to Florida.

Sources tell CNN that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, made an unspecified number of cuts to its election team responsible for addressing misinformation and coordinating the troll and harassment campaigns. There are worries that could affect content as the U.S. heads into the 2024 election season.

One media forensic expert tells CNN that Meta's response time to tips has already slowed down significantly. A Meta spokesperson tells CNN, quote, protecting the U.S. 2024 elections is one of our top priorities.

And 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 it launched, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. That is a staggering feat for any budding social media site, that is especially notable given Twitter's recent decline. Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO claim they don't just want Twitter defectors, they actually want to appeal to a wide audience of new uses as well, and that is part of their strategy.

Still to come on the show for you, the documents that reveal how Russia's president prefers to travel across his vast country, the biggest country in the world, aboard a secret train filled with luxurious amenities, when we come back.

[04:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Five bodies have been recovered in Nepal following a helicopter crash in the last few hours. An airport spokesperson in the Kathmandu province says the bodies haven't been identified yet, but five Mexican passengers and a Napoli pilot were on board. Nepal has it poor aviation safety record due to bad weather and dangerous mountains. Searchers continue for the sixth person who is in the helicopter with them.

North Korea has accused a U.S. spy plane of entering its exclusive economic zone on Monday, but not just once, eight times. The allegations came from the sister of the leader, Kim Jong-un, who is also a senior official in the government, but she provided no evidence. According to state media, Kim Yo-jong warned that if there are repeated intrusions, the U.S., quote, will experience a very critical fight. The Pentagon denies North Korea's allegations.

We're getting a remarkable look inside the secretive way Russia's president prefers to move about his country on the rails and in luxury. Documents shared with CNN reveal Vladimir Putin travels on an armored train complete with a gym, spa and even a Turkish steam bath. CNN's Matthew Chance has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rare glimpse inside Putin's secret train, with leaked documents shown to CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text translation): It's a special train for the president.

CHANCE (voice-over): -- revealing how the Kremlin leader travels amid increasingly tight security and luxury.

ABBAS GALLYAMOV, FORMER SPEECHWRITER FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN (: He's surrounded by enemies and psychologically, he wants to feel protected.

CHANCE (voice-over): From outside, Train No. 1, as it's dubbed in Russia, seems ordinary. Its heavily armored carriages purposely disguised with regular Russian railways paintwork and grime.

State media was once allowed inside, recording President Putin meeting transport officials in a sumptuous board room. The train's other 20 or so carriages, some updated as recently as last year but remained a closely guarded secret, until now.

Zircon Service is a Russian company that builds what it calls elite wagons for its clients, specializing in luxury designs for private and state corporations -- and of course, the Kremlin.

Among the trove of documents including blueprints, letters and images, obtained exclusively by the Russian Investigative Dossier Center and shared with CNN, is one from Zircon Service, dated August 2018, notifying the Kremlin of a test run for what it calls the sports health wagon that's been ordered.

Accompanying photos show what the Dossier Center says is Putin's private gym on board the train. As recently as last year the Kremlin was looking to upgrade the gym with American equipment to replace the Italian machines originally installed.

A former member of Putin's personal protection service, who says he fitted the train's secure communications equipment before defecting from Russia, told the Dossier Center the Kremlin leader started traveling by train more regularly in the build-up to the invasion of Ukraine last year.

GLEB KARAKULOV, FORMER ENGINEER, RUSSIAN FEDERAL PROTESTIVE SERVICE: (translated text): Planes can always be detected. While there are so many trains and there's no real way to track them. So, this was just for secrecy so nobody knew his movements.

CHANCE (voice-over): But discretion for the Russian president doesn't mean discomfort. Leaked plans for the train also show a luxurious spa on board, including a Turkish steam bath. And according to the Dossier Center, a fully equipped cosmetology suite with a massage table and high-end beauty equipment.

CHANCE: Now, the Kremlin disputes the Dossier Center's findings, telling CNN that President Putin neither owns nor uses a railway car like the one described. But in the aftermath of a recent armed rebellion here in Russia, in which Putin's authority was threatened. The focus on his isolated existence is higher than ever.

[04:50:00]

CHANCE (voice-over): And the idea of Putin being pampered as he travels incognito by armored train underlines how strangely cloistered the Kremlin leader has become, even paranoid and besieged, according to his former speech writer.

CHANCE: Why is it, do you think, that Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin has spent such large sums of money, planning and constructing this armored presidential train?

GALLYAMOV: He is losing the war. He is losing in politics. He is losing in popularity. He is getting more and more enemies, committing more and more crimes. He cannot build political walls, so he wants to build the walls of concrete and armor and physical defense.

CHANCE (voice-over): There are signs that's an image the Kremlin knows it should show. Recent weeks have seen Putin more publicly engaged than he has been for years.

But in his increasingly hostile world, the security and luxury of Train No. 1 may be sanctuary indeed.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Coming up, how one boundary breaking pageant winner can be poised to make Miss Universe history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:55:00]

NOBILO: American tennis player Christopher Eubanks is heading to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon after upsetting Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in a five-set thriller on Monday. The 27-year-old will face world number 3 Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Wednesday.

And later today, a U.S. Senate committee is said to hear from PGA tour officials about its proposed merge with Saudi-backed LIV Golf. This comes after a PGA tour board member resigned over serious concerns that he had with the deal.

And some stores in the spotlight this hour for you. 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 that 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.

22-year-old Rikkie Kolle has made history, becoming the first openly trans pageant contestant to win the title of Miss Netherlands on Saturday. That means that she'll represent her country in Miss Universe later this year. Kolle will be just the second trans Miss Universe contestant, after Angela Ponce who represented Spain back in 2018. And if she wins, Kolle would be the first trans woman to win the coveted tierra.

U.S. Powerball jackpot is now the seventh largest in the lottery's history, after no winners were announced in Monday drawing. The price has now climbed to an estimated $725 million. The next drawing is Wednesday, so, there's still some time to get some tickets. If Powerball isn't your game of choice, the Mega Millions estimated jackpot is now almost $.5 billion, and the next drawing for that is tonight. So, maybe you're feeling lucky.

That does it here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. "EARLY START" with Rahel Solomon is up for you now.

[05:00:00]