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Donald Trump Indicted On Four Counts In 2020 Election Probe; Moscow Building Struck By Drone Again; France Flies In Jumbo Jets To Evacuate Nationals; Sudanese Refugees Face Hunger, Flooding At Camps In Chad. Beijing Records Heaviest Rainfall in 140 Years; One Death Reported in Okinawa as Typhoon Khanun Nears; After War and Earthquake, Syria Now Ravaged by Wildfires. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 02, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:29]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up this hour on CNN. Now it gets really serious, Donald Trump's third indictment in four months, accuses the former president of multiple schemes to stay in power, despite knowing he lost the 2020 election.

Full-fledged war, as Ukrainian drones continue to strike inside Russia, a senior Ukrainian official warns the war will soon be waged on Russian territory.

And the three amigos, why the military regimes in Mali and Burkina Faso are now warning any attack on Niger will be seen as an attack on them.

Good to have you with us for CNN NEWSROOM and we begin with the third indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump. This is without doubt an unprecedented moment in U.S. history. Former President indicted for allegedly plotting along with six co-conspirators multiple schemes to overturn the 2020 election and steal the presidency.

The two earlier indictments, one for falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star, the other for mishandling classified material, a serious and consequential on their own, but pale in comparison to the latest charges from Special Counsel Jack Smith, accusing Trump of knowingly and deliberately spreading prolific lies about the 2020 election, even though he knew he'd lost to Joe Biden.

Trump is scheduled to appear on Thursday that's when he will be formally charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

According to Special Counsel Jack Smith, Trump's repeated lies about the credibility of the 2020 election ultimately fueled the January 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JACK SMITH, Special Counsel: The attack on our nation's capitol on January 6th 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. It's described in the indictment. It was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government and nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: To Washington now, CNN's Katelyn Polantz has been following developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Donald Trump now faces federal criminal charges for trying to hold on to the presidency in 2020 and early 2021 in a sweeping set of allegations where the Justice Department is now accusing a president, a former president, but at the time he was president of trying to defraud the government, block the electoral college vote and disenfranchise voters.

So, this is a serious set of four conspiracy and fraud charges, making this the third criminal case Donald Trump now faces as he runs for president a third time.

The allegations that the Justice Department outlined in these charges are largely a story that we have heard before, but these prosecutors that are presenting this from the Special Counsel's office went through a grand jury today, they are saying what Donald Trump was doing after the 2020 election was intentional fraud, a time where he was being told by his close advisers, that fraud didn't exist in the election, that votes couldn't be found to deliver him the presidency, and that he needed to stand down after losing the election.

Prosecutors say that Donald Trump tried to, "defeat the federal government function through dishonesty".

Now, the parts of that effort they say was that he was using state legislators, that he was using illegitimate electors, the Justice Department, his own Vice President Mike Pence, even the violence of his supporters on January 6 to his advantage.

And this case called U.S. v. Trump is only against Donald Trump at this time, making it different even from the case against him also from the Special Counsel's office in Florida for actions he took after his presidency.

But when this case in D.C. district court when it moves forward, it will be overseen by an Obama appointee judge Tanya Chutkan, a judge who is known to be -- to not suffer fools and to be a judge who is very interested in sentencing rioters from January 6 quite firmly. She has had many of them in her court before she also has denied Donald Trump the ability to block his records from his White House being turned over to congressional officials. So, that is the judge you will have this case. But all of this still is not clear exactly how much of the case behind

the scenes, how much of the investigation may remained. We have these charges against Donald Trump. This case will move forward in court, but the Justice Department even in this new indictment, on Tuesday, they are outlining six conspirators, people like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, who were working with Donald Trump after the election. And the Justice Department is saying that though these people are not charged at this time, they helped Donald Trump in his disinformation effort.

[00:05:31]

Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me now from Los Angeles is CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein. He's also a senior editor at The Atlantic and it's good to have you with us, Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, John.

VAUSE: So, this is now the third indictment of a former president in four months. I want you to listen to Special Counsel Jack Smith announcing he was charging Donald Trump, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Today, an indictment was unsealed. Charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. The indictment was issued by a grand jury of citizens here in the District of Columbia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: One of the few ways this indictment could be worse with Trump would be if he was charged with treason. I mean, there's not much else here that can top this.

And I think it's really important to listen to Special Counsel because right now has a seriousness of this moment being lost in all the hype and all the buzz and everything that is Trump.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I think the preliminaries are over. This is the main event. This is the most consequential offence, as you note that Donald -- not only that Donald Trump perpetrated against the country, but almost you can imagine any president perpetrating short of collaborating with a foreign adversary.

Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post, and I call this the most significant indictment in the history of the country. And it's hard to argue with that. The fact that so many Republican elected officials even before reading the evidence in the indictment were quick to dismiss it categorically as politicalization, weaponization of the Justice Department is ominous going forward. But this I think is the critical moment. This is the critical crucible of all the legal challenges facing Donald Trump.

VAUSE: And here's part of the response from the Trump campaign. The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union and other authoritarian dictatorial regimes.

Yes, that's, that's beyond asinine. Was it written for an audience of one being Donald Trump? Or is that what his supporters want to hear?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, Trump has I think successfully convinced the majority of the Republican Party that these charges, each one, each of these different prosecutors are part of a conspiracy so vast against him. And of course, his argument is it's not really him. He's just in the way, these are the elites in the deep state targeting you.

I mean, the extent to which the Republican coalition is buying into these arguments, as I've said, is ominous about where this is headed.

You know, you see in the polling in the New York Times Siena poll, only something like 13 percent of Republicans believe he has committed a serious crime, three quarters say that it is post 2020 actions.

All he was doing was exercising his legitimate rights to contest the election, not threatening American democracy. 60 percent now describe January 6 as legitimate protest.

The inability or unwillingness of voices that Republicans trust their elected leaders to make a contrary case to push back against Donald Trump has in effect painted them into a corner where the vast majority of their coalition believes his arguments, and they have kind of created a self-fulfilling prophecy in which they are afraid to challenge him. And he is by far the front runner for the GOP nomination, even as these indictments accumulate around him sort of like snowdrifts.

VAUSE: And there could be more on the way, there's still the Georgia case for you know, find me 11,000 votes, a telephone conversation with the state attorney general, and the cost of Trump's legal fees are staggering. Action committee Save America has spent already this year $40 million. And on that, here's the Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, this guy's a billionaire. And how about we go down the street, maybe just sell his Trump Tower and pays for his legal fees that way or maybe sell the plane, he could do that, or one of the golf courses. But instead, he's taking $25, $50, $100 from everyday Americans who believe they're giving it to him to help elect him president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It's a good question. And so it goes to the very heart of this accusation against Trump that he's running for president for himself.

[00:10:02]

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, look, that's a very powerful argument from Chris Christie. And it is even I think more powerful and revealing that it's coming from Chris Christie and not someone who is within a range, you know, of the top tier of the race.

Again, the reluctance of other Republicans, including those ostensibly trying to beat him for the presidential nomination in 2024 to discuss and grapple with the magnitude of what is alleged here, and the behavior that is documented in this indictment, is in some ways, the most revealing moment of all.

I mean, it suggests that the germ of election denial, the willingness to undermine democracy, if that's what it takes to advance partisan goals, has extended way beyond Trump, and that even legal consequences for him will not undo the process that he has set in motion.

I mean, this is going to be a very fraught time for the country, because unless something changes, he is going to be the Republican nominee, shuttling between the campaign trail and the courtroom.

And this kind of collision between the political system and the legal system reaching a level we've never seen before in American history.

VAUSE: Yes, this is a moment in history and not in a good way I guess. Ron, good to see you. Thank you very much, Ron Brownstein.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: In the past few hours, Ukraine's air defense system has intercepted 10 Russian drones over the Capitol. Local officials in Kyiv safe and now there are no reports of injuries or serious damage.

But to the east, Ukrainian officials say Russian forces shelled a medical facility in the city of Kherson, one doctor was killed and a nurse was wounded.

The same time, Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia continue to ramp up and the Ukrainian presidential adviser says Moscow is now looking at full-fledged war on Russian territory.

Officials meantime in Moscow say a high rise building which houses a number of government ministries was struck by a drone for the second night in a row on Tuesday.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen brings us the latest from -- on the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ukrainian forces advancing your Bakhmut as Kyiv says they have Moscow's army on the back foot on nearly all battlefields. And now, Russia's capital increasingly in the crosshairs, another drone attack hitting a high rise building.

Suddenly, there was this explosion and we immediately ran, this residence says, there were shards of glass and then smoke rising.

While authorities claimed the attack was thwarted. One drone damaged a building already struck two days prior in a complex housing several government offices.

Kyiv's message to the Kremlin, the war is coming to them.

I think Moscow will have more and more war on its territory, the presidential adviser says, and this has nothing to do with Ukraine alone. Now, this is due to the historical significance of this moment. If you start such a war, you have to expect that this war will be on your territory.

Ukraine is increasingly using drones to strike Russian targets both inside Russia and in Russian occupied territories, both in the air and on the water.

After Kyiv have hit the Crimean bridge three weeks ago, Moscow now saying its forces thwarted a naval drone attack on cargo ships in the Black Sea, though Ukraine denies targeting civilian vessels.

The ships of the Russian Navy which escorted the sea transport detected and destroyed all the boats in a timely manner, the spokesman says.

With Russian forces slowly getting pushed back in southern Ukraine, a rare alleged frontline visit by Putin's stop General Valery Gerasimov getting updates from commanders in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian say.

Although it's not clear where exactly and when exactly the video was filmed.

Russia's military leadership trying to portray strength and control even as more Russians feel the war coming even closer.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: To Canberra, Australia and Malcolm Davis, a Senior Analyst of Defense Strategy and Capability for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. It's good to see you, it's been a while.

MALCOLM DAVIS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: So, with Ukraine ramming up these drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, we've heard from an advisor to the Ukrainian president who is warning of much worse to come. This is his tweet or X, Moscow is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war which in turn will soon finally move to the territory of the authors of the war to collect all their debts. Everything that will happen in Russia is an objective historical process. More unidentified drones, more collapse, more civil conflicts, more war.

[00:15:01]

OK, so by using that term full-fledged war, are they suggesting the Ukrainians if given the chance, would be willing to go beyond the liberation of Crimea, beyond the liberation of Russian occupied areas, you know, in eastern Ukraine? Precisely what is he saying here? What does he mean?

DAVIS: Look, I don't see Ukraine invading Russia with ground forces anytime soon in a large scale attack. I think what he's probably referring to is these sorts of drone strikes, perhaps increasing intensity and in scope and scale. But I think that the Ukrainians would understand that if they actually then went ahead and invaded Russia with the aim presumably to attack Moscow, they'd lose a lot of support.

The Ukrainians are the clear victims of Russian aggression. And so, they've got a lot of support from Western democracies. I think if they then went on the offensive to the extent of going directly into Russia, I think that would be counterproductive for them.

VAUSE: You couldn't really blame them, though, on many levels for doing that if they did, but you know, on top of Ukraine's existing defense budget, the U.S., Germany and the U.K. have given Ukraine almost $62 billion in military aid. This is up until May this year. Add on the next seven countries for the top 10 donors for a total of $75 billion.

By contrast, even with a recent surge in spending, Russia's defense budget is said to be around $85 billion. And it seems kind of questionable how much of that 85 billion is well spent.

So, the bottom line here is that Ukraine is fast becoming a modern well equipped NATO like military. Could it soon be at that point where Russia's sort of numerical superiority isn't enough of an advantage anymore?

DAVIS: I think that's a possibility. But we'll see what happens with the Russian government in terms of whether it moves towards national mobilization. If it does that, then I think Ukraine's problems would be amplified in terms of the sheer numerical balance.

But you're quite right, the assistance that Ukraine has received from the West, it's a much more qualitatively capable force, I think, than it used to be. It's certainly battle experienced.

And I think that, you know, assuming that this war does end ultimately, with Ukraine controlling all of its territory, including Crimea, and then joining NATO, I think that Ukraine will be very well equipped to counter any Russian threat against short term, obviously, Russia using nuclear weapons or something like

VAUSE: I want you to listen to the Ukrainian president who was speaking about this, you know, taking the war to Russia last Sunday, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Ukraine is getting stronger. Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia, to its symbolic centers and military bases. And this is an inevitable natural and absolutely fair process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And under the rules of war, Ukraine has every right to attack military targets on Russian soil, as Zelenskyy said.

But you touched on this, if Ukraine went beyond that any kind of major way, would the U.S. and NATO intervene? And could they actually prevent Ukraine from going any further?

DAVIS: Well, I don't think they could prevent it. But certainly, I think the concern on the part of Kyiv would be that you might then start to see the Western support in terms of military assistance dry up.

And remember, in 2024, we're going into an election year in the U.S., which is going to be incredibly divisive. And I think that Ukraine understands that the political realities here. Yes, of course, they have every right to take the war to the Russians.

I think, you know, they are the clear victims of Russian aggression here, they have every right to defend their country and to fight back. But there are limits to how far they can go.

And historically, every country that has tried to match on Moscow has failed. So, I think that there needs to be a degree of caution here. By all means the Ukrainians should be looking at intensifying and widening those strikes against key Russian targets, using long range missiles and drones.

But I think going on the ground, trying to launch an offensive against Moscow probably would be a bad move, particularly against a nuclear armed state like Russia.

VAUSE: Very good point to end on, Malcolm. Thanks so much for being with us. Good to see you.

DAVIS: Thank you.

VAUSE: Poland is increasing its forces along the border with Belarus and has accused Belarus of violating its airspace. Poland's defense minister says additional troops as well as equipment including combat helicopters are being deployed to the border region. This comes after Poland says two Belarusian helicopters flew into Polish airspace low enough to evade radar. Poland says it informed NATO of the incident, Belarus denies it happened.

Poland also is rarely watching Wagner Mercenary fighters who are training Belarus's military near the Polish border. There's concerned some might try to cross into Berlin disguised as migrants.

[00:20:20]

Up next, France evacuates hundreds of its citizens from Niger, as anger the country's former colonial power reaches fever pitch, the latest on Niger's political crisis, that's ahead.

Plus, hundreds of thousands of people have fled the conflict in Sudan only to find a whole new set of challenges as refugees just as the rainy season begins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Evacuations of French and European nationals are underway in Niger after last week's military coup. Niger's former colonial power France sent two jumbo jets Tuesday to the Capitol. A couple of hundred people were flown out of the country.

It's not clear if French soldiers stationed in Niger will be leaving as well. France denies its planning any military intervention to restore Niger's ousted president. But supporters of the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum still believe France has an outsize almost imperial influence over the country.

Here's CNN's Larry Madowo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The first evacuation flights took off from Niger on Tuesday in the wake of the military coup last week. Carrying French and other E.U. member states citizens and their immediate families. The French embassy asked them to be at the airport with one bag and to bring food and water in case it's a long wait. The evacuation of several hundred people is expected to be completed in 24 hours.

CATHERINE COLONNA, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): There were serious and violent incidents which were organized and prepared targeting our Embassy on Sunday. We do not want to take any risks with the security of the French people.

MADOWO (voice over): Supporters of the military junta attacked the French Embassy in the capital Niamey rallying against France's postcolonial influence there.

Some waving Russian flags in several pro-military protests, signaling a possible shift towards other coup leaders in West Africa that have used Russian assistance in the fight against extremists. Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso fully supporting Niger's coup leaders.

RIMTALBA JEAN EMMANUEL OUEDRAOGO, SPOKESMAN, BURKINA FASO MILITARY JUNTA (through translator): The transitional governments of Burkina Faso and Mali warned that any military intervention against Nigeria is tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.

MADOWO (voice over): Hit by a wave of military coups in the region in recent years, the West African leaders of ECOWAS on Sunday, given Nigerian military one week to release and reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and threatened to use force.

The West African economic bloc imposed sanctions in Niger, while France and the E.U. cut economic aid. The United States which has yet to label it as a coup, suspended military cooperation, but hasn't withdrawn troops.

Niger, one of the world's poorest nations is also one of the major producers of uranium, like its neighbors, it has been struggling with the rise of Islamist extremists.

[00:25:03]

If you look at all the countries that surrounds Niger, they have all are facing insecurity problems. And Niger, which was considered as you know, a sort of islands, you know, in this -- in the middle of all this insecurity has been holding up well.

MADOWO (voice over): Presidential guard and coup leader General Omar Tchiani claims the degradation of the security situation was his motive to take over the government.

He hasn't explained what a change of strategy in fighting the insurgency would mean to 1,500 French and 1,000 American soldiers stationed there.

The anti-French sentiment is not the main driver of the coup or its supporters, experts and residents say it remains a rallying point.

ALMOCTAR BOUKARI, NIAMEY RESIDENT (through translator): As an African I can say that all the problems that Africans are experiencing in Niger, in Africa, it's France. That's at the heart of it, its France that's at the root of our suffering.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The ongoing violence in Sudan has forced the Norwegian Refugee Council to suspend all humanitarian work in the capital Khartoum and the Darfur region. Their group says it was a heartbreaking decision but they had no other choice with no end in sight to the violence between the Sudanese army and the rival Rapid Support Forces.

Over more than 300,000 people who've left Sudan even after crossing safely into Chad, refugees there confronted with other life threatening challenges. On top of the loss and trauma from fleeing the war, many face hunger and now flooding in make shift camps.

CNN's Zain Asher has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice over): A storm at a refugee camp in Chad. Double trouble for the Sudanese living here. Victims of the latest refugee crisis in Africa, fleeing fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF, the Rapid Support Forces. With plastic bags for carpets, sticks for structure and nylon for shelter, they stand no chance against the cold.

NAJMUDDIN, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): Since the previous rainfalls, some people do not even have a tarpaulin sheet to cover them from rain. Today, the situation is very difficult because there's too much wind, there's no food available, the conditions are extremely difficult and even the tents have not been set up well. The water seeps into them.

ASHER (voice over): And their children have it worse.

NAFISA, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): My son is sick with inflammation and since we fled we have been sitting like this with water over our heads.

ASHER (voice over): The tarpaulin and branches on the ground are what's left of this woman's refugee home. Devastated and alone, she can't hold back the tears.

ISLAM, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): This is the humiliation that we're experiencing. My elder brothers would have built us houses to live in if they were alive.

ASHER (voice over): Since conflict escalated in Sudan four months ago, more than 2.6 million people have been displaced within Sudan, and more than 800,000 have fled the country, creating one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.

Zain Asher, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, spare no effort. China's president orders rescue crews in China to save those caught up in extreme flooding in the wake of a typhoon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:54]

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

Well, parts of the Philippines have been dealing with severe flooding from Typhoon Doksuri, but at this wedding, it seemed to go almost unnoticed. A couple walking down the aisle, ankle-deep in rainwater. This was last weekend.

The typhoon brought some very destructive winds to the Northern islands of the Philippines before moving on to make landfall in China.

Doksuri is one of the strongest arms to hit the mainland. China's meteorological service says Beijing has recorded its heaviest rainfall since they started tracking 140 years ago.

President Xi Jing ping has ordered emergency officials to step up rescue efforts and help restore normal living conditions as soon as possible.

CNN's Marc Stewart has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Violent floodwaters race across China after record-setting rain. Destroying roads, flooding streets, and prompting rescues in the aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri.

QING QUAN, BEIJING RESIDENT (through translator): I say it is the first time in my life that I've seen such a scary flood. I haven't seen this before, and hence, it's scary. I've lived so long, and I've not seen this before.

STEWART (voice-over): Near the capital Beijing, the force so fierce the driver is trapped in their car amid the raging water. A rescue worker drops a line, and the driver is hoisted to safety.

In Beijing, a giant hole sits in front of a newly-opened wall. One of the venues from the 2022 Winter Olympic Games is underwater. And a recently-built hotel is damaged, according to a state-run media outlet.

In some cases, the water is so high it nearly tops the power lines. River banks are hovering close to the street, and where the water has to receded, a mess is left behind.

The flooding is disrupting everyday life. At a Beijing airport water is flooding the tarmac. Flights are facing delays and. in some cases, trains are at a standstill.

Evacuations are underway in Beijing. Tourist attractions remain closed.

As emergency workers do what they can to help, family members are looking for loved ones. A city brought to a standstill us another massive storm lingers in the horizon.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Typhoon Khanun has already claimed one life as it moves closer to Japan. Nearly 700,000 people have been told to evacuate just days after the region was hit by Typhoon Doksuri.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And the remnants of Doksuri really have completely left China altogether. Maybe a few scattered showers into parts of Eastern Russia and in North Korea, but that's it.

This is our next storm. This is the next one we're watching, Khanun. This is the storm that is now just to the South of Okinawa. This is a satellite picture here and a very tight eye, which leaves the wind speeds have not slowed down in the daylight hours, or into the nighttime hours.

We are still seeing a very powerful 205, maybe 215 kilometer-per-hour storm. There is the eye itself, still not moving to the West of Okinawa, and away. But think of all the waves the wind and the destruction still happening right now on the Eastern side of Okinawa.

Two hundred and five kph, moving to the West at about 11 kph right now.

Here is where it gets interesting. Where does it go from here? Well, essentially, nowhere. Not much of a turn to the North or to the West here. A slight slide to the West.

Still a big storm, 150 kph. Getting into the water again, but the water is cooling down because the storm is in the water so long, using up the energy, using up the warmth of that water, and then probably turning off to the East.

But notice, from here to here, only a couple hundred kilometers, and that's five days from now. The real risk is flash flooding if this rain continues over any of those islands for any length of time.

[00:35:12]

The computers are not convinced where this is going to go, because there's no wind to push it anywhere. Here's one of the models: takes it to the West, turns it to the right, and then finally off toward the North and toward the Northeast. But that's many, many days away.

The amount of rainfall that could come down from Okinawa to all the other islands here, even toward Kyushu, could see some very heavy rainfall, depending on where this storm truly goes.

And if you look at this white part right here, the lightest part right through here, that's 500 millimeters of rainfall or more. That's the size of South Korea. Five hundred millimeters or more in that entire area.

Now, the good news is that's ocean, or at least sea. That is water. If this 500 millimeters or more, there could be a meter somewhere. It's over an island. That is going to cause significant flash flooding.

So, we're watching it for you here. Still a storm that has a lot of energy with it right now. Waves, wind, and certainly, the loss of life possible with all of that very heavy rainfall and flooding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Parts of Syria are now dealing with a triple tragedy. First came the devastating civil war. Then a massive earthquake earlier this year. And now, wildfires. Here's CNN's Eleni Giokos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A war, an earthquake, and now a wildfire.

Syrian farmer Izzadin Zuhaira has faced every one of these disasters. His home, as he told Reuters, already damaged by war, and also by February's earthquake. Now the orchids, his only source of livelihood, are burned to ashes.

IZZADIN ZUHAIRA, FARMER (through translator): They left us with nothing at all. Now we need everything. We even need bread, because we don't even have trees anymore and nothing to spend.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Like many parts of the Mediterranean region, Syria's Latakia province has been severely affected by wildfires in recent weeks. Syria's agriculture minister says fires here burned for over five days before firefighters could get them under control.

MOHAMMAD HASSAN QATANA, SYRIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER (through translator): Most of the fires have been well-controlled. There are two to three locations. We dealt with him with all available capabilities.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Firefighters also struggled to put out the fires in Syria's Homs and Hama provinces earlier this month. And, Syria's White Helmets, a volunteer rescue and emergency group, also battled fires in Idlib province last week.

As for the culprit, Zuhaira says extreme heat is to blame for the destruction of his olive, pomegranate and walnut trees.

ZUHAIRA (through translator): I have never witnessed such weather. The temperature has been very high during the past 15 to 20 days. And because trees and land are exposed to high temperatures for a long time, they burned very quickly.

GIOKOS (voice-over): A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters, Syria's war-torn population is among the most vulnerable to climate change.

SUHAIR ZAKKOUT, SPOKESPERSON, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF RED CROSS: Over a decade of conflict has made everything weak, either infrastructure, or the resilience of people. If we mention that 50 percent of the food production of agriculture production is less due to the conflict, and a climate change combined, but these countries are unfortunately, as I mentioned, forgotten by -- when it comes to climate coping and adaptation, and to climate action.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Besides erratic rainfall, and rising heat, the ICRC says dust storms, desertification, and land laws have been impacting Syrian farmers for years.

Eleni Giokos, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Paying the price. When we come back, after all those debt ceiling stand-offs in the U.S. Congress, now a credit downgrade for the U.S. government.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:41:14]

VAUSE: U.S. credit rating has been downgraded from the highest level, with the rating agency Fitch blaming the government's growing debt and expected fiscal decline.

This comes despite the last-minute agreement in June to raise the debt ceiling and avoid the first-ever U.S. government default.

In a statement, Fitch said, "There has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says she strongly disagrees with Fitch's ratings decision, which she says is arbitrary and based on outdated data.

Let's take a look at the U.S. futures markets, which is reacting to the news. The Dow is pretty much down a third of one percent, the NASDAQ down a half of one percent, and S&P 500 futures down by at least half a percent, as well.

Well, NASA is basically shouting into the cosmos to reestablish contact with the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

The space agency says it can hear Voyager's heartbeat, thanks to help from the Deep Space Network and radio science groups.

But commands from NASA last month accidentally causing -- caused the craft's antenna to point away from Earth, meaning no communication to or from Voyager.

NASA hopes new commands can be -- can reorient the antenna, although it admits chances are low. Call home.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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