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CNN Follows Breaking News on Trump's Arrest and Arraignment; Niger's Ousted President Speaks Out In A "Washington Post" Op-Ed; Myanmar's Military Rulers Postpone Promised Elections; Typhoon Khanun Expected To Stay In Japan; South Korea Officials Call A Stabbing Attack At A Subway Station A Terrorist Act; Human Rights Groups Call On India To Provide A Safe Haven For Rohingya Muslims; Two U.S. Navy Sailors Arrested On Espionage Charges; U.S. Appeals Court Allows Biden Administration To Keep Asylum Policy In Place For Now; DHS Calls For An Investigation Into The Recent Drowning Deaths Of Two Migrants. WFP Warns it May Have to Suspend Aid to Palestinians; Lebanon Marks Third Anniversary With Day of Mourning; German Heavy Metal Festival Turns into a Mud Bowl; Lollapalooza Music Festival Kicks Off in Chicago; Attorney's Say Battery Charges Dropped Against Cardi B; Viral Video Sheds Light on Dangers Faced by Sun Bears. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired August 04, 2023 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers around the world, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us. Ahead on CNN Newsroom. Donald Trump in court officially charged with attempting to topple America's democracy. What the judge said to the Former U.S. President that reportedly irked him. Mejia's ousted leader in his own words, quote, my country is under attack and I've been taken hostage. His warning to the world. Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW OLSEN, U.S. JUSTIVE DEPARTMENT, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR ANTIONAL SECURITY: China among all such nations stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Two U.S. Navy sailors arrested and charged with giving military secrets to China.
VOICE-OVER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: Donald Trump has officially pleaded not guilty to all four federal criminal offenses, alleging that he plotted to steal the U.S. presidency in what many experts say is his biggest legal threat. After his appearance in Washington -- in a Washington courtroom, Trump returned to his golf resort in New Jersey. And in the day ahead, he will hold a campaign event in Alabama and then another one on Saturday in South Carolina.
And towards the end of this month comes another hearing where the judge is expected to set a trial date. Prosecutors want to move quickly, but Trump's legal team is trying to delay the trial until after next year's presidential election. Trump was released without any real conditions, but the judge reminded him not to commit any crimes and not to interfere with any witnesses. Sources say he left in a sour and dejected mood after the judge addressed him as Mr. Trump and not Mr. President. He spoke briefly to reporters at the airport.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: This is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America. This is the persecution of the person that's leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot. So, if you can't beat him, you persecute him or you prosecute him. We can't let this happen in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, more now from CNN Senior Legal Affairs Correspondent, Paula Reid.
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Former President Trump in federal court Thursday pleading not guilty to those four felony counts that he is facing. And going forward, it appears this could be a rocket docket. The judge who will oversee this case through a possible trial, giving the government just seven days to tell her when they're going to be ready to take this case before a jury and how long that jury trial could take.
Now, defense attorneys are supposed to give her the same information just a week later so that she can possibly set a trial date at the next hearing which is in August 28th. That is a pretty quick turnaround for these kinds of decisions, suggesting that the judge would like to move this along quickly.
Now, it is unclear at this point if this case really will go to trial before the 2024 election. One of the big outstanding questions that could really impact a possible schedule is if the special counsel intends to add additional charges or additional co-defendants. We know from our reporting they will continue to interview witnesses over the next several weeks suggesting that there could be additional charges which could impact that timeline. Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
KINKADE: Ron Brownstein is CNN's Senior Political Analyst and the Senior Editor for "The Atlantic". He joins us from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks Lynda, thanks for having me.
KINKADE: So, for the first time in U.S. history, a former president is facing court for interrupting the peaceful transfer of power. And for Donald Trump, this is his third indictment this year. But the most serious so far, right?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, yeah, absolutely. The preliminaries are over. Certainly, the classified documents case involved serious accusations, as well. But this is really the core question left at the end of the Trump presidency. Did his actions in trying to overturn the 2020 election and instigating the January 6 riot and insurrection -- does that rise to a level of a crime?
[02:05:00]
It may be, as I think many legal commentators have said, the single most momentous set of accusations that have ever been presented in American law, and certainly perhaps the most consequential trial ever, given how open Trump has been about if he has re-elected his intention to use the justice system himself to quote, "deliver retribution against those he believed has wronged him and his followers".
KINKADE: And it's been interesting watching the coverage of this. From what I saw, the most-watched right-wing network in the U.S., Fox News did not cover this story in their primetime hours on Thursday night. So perhaps, it's not surprising that the latest poll will show that no matter what charges Trump faces, most Republicans stand by him and believe the lies.
We've got a poll here that shows 69 percent of Republicans and Republican leaning independents believe that Biden's 2020 win was not legitimate.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
KINKADE: And overall, 61 percent of Americans believe that Biden won fair and square but 38 percent believe he did not. What does that tell you Ron about the electorate?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, look, I mean, we are extremely polarized at this point, you know. And this is something that's been growing for decades. But I think this entire episode of Trump's -- the attempts to bring legal accountability to Trump has really shown the extent to which we are living in two countries that are operating on a very different set of values and really living almost in completely different information spheres.
Now, this is not unique. I think people who study threats of democracy around the world will tell you that quasi-authoritarian leaders who are later brought to account for their actions are often able to generate this kind of response in their core supporters. Not only that poll that you point out from CNN today, a recent poll from a group called Bright Line Watch, which is a consortium of political scientists studying threats to democracy, found that 60 percent of Republicans in London now call the January 6 riot legitimate protest.
The separatist impulse that is now evident in the Republican coalition, the belief that they are the victims of -- in a changing society is really profound. We are seeing that and we are seeing some of the dangers, but not -- I don't think we've seen the last of the dangers that represents. KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. It really is. Those -- those polls are just
absolutely startling. The former president is accused right now of defrauding the nation that he once led. Many Republicans are defending the president claiming that he is entitled to say what he wants due to the First Amendment. This is what House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said.
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KEVIN MCCARTHY, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: You are entitled to raise a question. You're entitled to question whether it was honest or not. That's the uniqueness of the First Amendment. That's the uniqueness of America. But you know what? You shouldn't be prosecuted for your thoughts. And the difference here is, when Hillary Clinton said it, nothing happened to her. When they said it in Georgia's election, nothing happened to them, either.
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KINKADE: But Ron, this case isn't just about what Mr. Trump said. It's about what he did, or the scheme --
BROWNSTEIN: Well, that's the point, right? KINKADE: -- the conspiracy to change the results, right?
BROWNSTEIN: It's astonishingly misleading. First of all, as many legal scholars have pointed out, the First Amendment does not extend to your right to launch into a conspiracy, you know, or to yell fire in a crowded theater, in effect. And as you point out, Marco Rubio made a similar argument as Kevin McCarthy. This is not only primarily -- this is not even primarily about what he did -- said. This is about what he did.
The First Amendment does not include your right to organize a conspiracy to pressure the Justice Department to send letters without fact telling states that there that there is serious fraud in their results or to enlist, you know, co-conspirators in the states to create slates of fake electors.
What's really striking to me is that you have many of the people who worked around Trump in the executive branch even to the point of such a slavish defender as Bill Barr, not to mention the defense secretaries, Mark Esper, James Mattis, General Kelly, the former Chief of Staff, basically saying -- John Bolton -- that his actions have rendered him unfit to be President. And there are vanishingly few Republican elected officials who will say the same, a few candidates on the periphery of the race, Chris Christie, Will Hurd, Asa Hutchinson among them.
But the vast majority of Republican elected officials are rejecting these prosecutions out of hand. And I think, in some ways, are creating a closed circle. They say they can't, some of them will say they can't oppose Trump or legitimize these elections because the base is with him. Well, one of the reasons the base is with him is because no one they trust is telling them otherwise. So, these, in fact, are historically serious charges in the same way that someone like Bill Barr even is now saying. [02:10:00]
KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. And interestingly, looking at Donald Trump's reaction today. It's not surprising that sources have told CNN that he was sour, he was dejected after facing the judge and one thing that reportedly irked him is the fact that he's still referred to as President Trump at his resort in Florida, at his golf clubs, but when the magistrate, the judge called him, addressed him, she simply said Mr. Trump. What did you make of the way the judge addressed him, his reaction and how is Trump's legal team expected to handle all these cases, all these charges over the next year or so in the midst of an election year?
BROWNSTEIN: I mean, it's a staggering concept to think that we are going to have a president -- not only a presidential candidate, but really a president, a dominant presidential front runner in the Republican Party shuttling between the campaign trail and the courthouse. And you know, openly, basically -- openly telling the electorate that if he is reelected, not only will he seek to end the cases against him, but as he has said many times, that he will seek to pardon many, perhaps most -- all of the January 6th rioters.
He is creating a very stark choice for the country. It is one that has rallied the Republican base around him. I believe, you know, as I've written for many years, I believe the fundamental fault line in American politics is between those who welcome and fear the way America is changing demographically and culturally, for those Republicans, for the dominant faction in the Republican party that is uneasy about the way the country is changing. They view Trump as their indispensable warrior, and they are with him down the line because they believe he is the one politician committed, I think, to combating the changes they think are marginalizing them.
And so, the prospect is that he will be a strong candidate. Now, the other Republicans are still hoping there's some straw that eventually breaks the camel's back and causes the Republican electorate to break away from him. But if he, if that doesn't happen and he is the nominee, the broader elector will face a fundamental choice, unlike any I think this country has faced before.
We have never had the dominant faction in a major party be so open to a leader, openly willing, be so committed to a leader, openly willing to use anti-democratic means to advance. And we really haven't seen anything like this, I think, since the South's efforts in the pre- civil war to try to govern the country as a minority and prevent the majority from acting against slavery. This is an extraordinary moment for the country and whose gravity really cannot be overstated.
KINKADE: Yeah, it's going to be an interesting 18 months or so. Ron Brownstein, as always, great to get your perspective. Thanks so much for joining us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: Russia claims it's foiled two types of drone strikes launched by Ukraine Friday morning. The first was a sea drone attack on a naval base in southwestern Russia, which Moscow says was repelled by its warships. The second was an alleged strike on Crimea, where Russia says it intercepted 13 aerial drones. It says the attack didn't cause any damage or casualties.
Well, Ukraine is tamping down expectations of its counteroffensive, which has slowed down to a crawl because of complex Russian defensive lines. A top Ukrainian official says Russians have laid, quote, an insane number of landmines, up to five per square meter in some cases. He also says Ukrainians are now clearing the minefields on foot, which you can see here in this video taken by Ukrainians. The official adds that Ukrainians are not facing any deadlines to break through such heavily fortified areas.
Well, Kyiv says Russia is bringing more battle-ready forces to Bakhmut to prevent further Ukrainian advances. Russians are also trying to push back along parts of the front line. But according to President Zelenskyy, they're not getting anywhere.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Front line. The battles are tough. The occupiers are trying with all their might to stop our guys. The assaults are very fierce. But no matter what the enemy does, it is the Ukrainian forces that dominate.
Well, Niger's ousted President spoke out in a "Washington Post" op-ed Thursday night. Mohamed Bazoum is being held captive by soldiers at the presidential palace. He said, quote, "I write this as a hostage. I'm just one of hundreds of citizens who have been arbitrarily and illegally imprisoned. This coup has no justification whatsoever. If it succeeds, it will have devastating consequences for our country, our region, and the entire world." The President warned that the Wagner mercenary group active in the region along with his ouster could give Russia greater influence in West Africa.
[02:15:00]
KINKADE: Well, thousands came out to show their support for the new military junta on Niger's Independence Day on Thursday. Many in the capital shouted anti-French slogans while also chanting the name of the general who has seized power. They also demonstrated against the growing pressure from other West African countries to return to democracy. CNN's David McKenzie is following the situation from Johannesburg.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the crowds came out in force for a protest in support of the coup in Niger, in the capital of Niamey. It was also the Independence Day of Niger from France. It is unclear, though, and it must be said, we don't know how widespread the support is across the country for those coup leaders that took power last week.
We do know from a former adviser of the President, Bazoum, that he, according to that individual, is feeling in high spirits, that he is confident he is currently under house arrest, according to that former advisor, and with his wife and son. He has been able to speak to world leaders repeatedly over the last few days, including the U.S. Secretary of State.
Diplomats do feel that there could still be a window to negotiate an end to this coup. ECOWAS, in particular, the regional bloc, is aggressively pushing against the coup leaders, saying that this needs to return to a democratic dispensation in Niger. They've even threatened troops to be sent. And Senegal, a critical country in ECOWAS, says they are willing to send troops and that they've had enough.
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AISSATTA TALL SALL, SENEGALESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Why didn't we do it for Mali? Why didn't we do it for Guinea? Why didn't we do it for Burkina? And why are we doing it for Niger? To give one answer, I say it's one coup too many.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: She's, of course, referring to countries that have had coups, part of ECOWAS in recent years. The coup leaders for their part are digging in. At least one leader went to neighboring Mali, where the military is in power, opening the door possibly for Russian involvement should they consolidate their power in Niger. I think the next few days will be critical here as the pressure builds, both in terms of sanctions and trade from ECOWAS and potentially the coup leaders digging in to consolidate power. David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
KINKADE: Well, Myanmar's military rulers are postponing the elections they promised when they ceased power two years ago and issuing only a partial pardon to the democratically elected leader they ousted. Now, the son of Aung San Suu Kyi is outraged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM ARIS, SON OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI: The only real meaningful movement that they could come up with is releasing her and restoring the democratic government, but they're not about to do that anytime soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: More ahead on CNN Newsroom. Plus, Typhoon Khanun has already battered parts of Japan with heavy rains and strong winds and it could happen again. We'll have an update from the World Weather Center when we come back.
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[02:20:00]
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KINKADE: Well, days of relentless rain have caused havoc across parts of China. A video on Chinese social media site Weibo shows one near disaster. The state media reports a bridge partially collapsed in the eastern part of the country. The video shows a car driving along them plunging off the collapsed roadway into the river below. Fortunately, the driver of the car was rescued at the scene.
Well, the typhoon that knocked out power in parts of southern Japan and killed at least two people on the island of Okinawa has begun to turn back towards the northeast. And that sharp turn means it's expected to dump even more rain on Japan. Meteorologist Chad Myers has the details from the weather center.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Typhoon really is the major story here. Not much else going on in the region. The storm has lost quite a bit of intensity and now though down to only 130. So, we've lost the eye, we've lost the rotation, we've lost the breathing of the storm, and we've also lost the very warm water that was here because it's now all just stirred up.
Still though, some spots over 350 millimeters of rainfall. There's the center of the storm here. There's Okinawa back off toward the east and the storm is forecast to turn back off toward the north and toward the northeast over the next several hours and next several days. The only problem I see here is that there is a swing back up toward Japan at the very end of this forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. It doesn't have a lot of strength here, but still it's beginning to build.
I don't like this trend back up to 130 kph as it makes its way into that warmer water. And anything can go plus or minus 10 or 20 percent from here. And all of a sudden, this could be a fairly major event for parts of Japan. So, all the models now beginning to turn it to the left into parts of southern Japan. We'll have to watch that. Some models are to the left, some models are to the right, but most are doing this, still gaining some strength and times, gaining some wind speed, maybe getting the eye back. If that happens then all of a sudden this turns into a much bigger story over the next coming days.
We've seen a lot of rainfall with this and I think we're going to see more. Even if we don't get landfall we're going to see a couple hundred inches -- a couple hundred millimeters there -- of rainfall across parts of southern Japan. And that's going to be the story, more or so, if it does not make that turn for the left. So, here is your typhoon, 130 kph at this hour, we'll keep watching it for you.
KINKADE: Thanks so much to Chad. South Korea officials are calling a stabbing attack at a subway station on Thursday a terrorist act. We need to warn you, some of the images in this video are graphic. At least 14 people were injured after a man drove a car into a pedestrian walkway. National Police say the man then went on a stabbing rampage near a subway station south of Seoul. So far, no deaths have been reported following that attack. South Korea's President ordered all police forces to mobilize against such incidents.
People in Myanmar will have to wait at least a few more months for promised elections. After the country's ruling junta postponed six months, the vote it had pledged to hold this month. The military made the promise two years ago after it overthrew the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. But it now says the ongoing violence in the country marks it unsafe to hold a nationwide vote. Suu Kyi's youngest son is demanding the junta give his mother complete freedom as the 78- year-old spending the rest of her life in prison.
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ARIS: The whole world knows that the military have played these games with propaganda trying to make themselves look better on occasion just because they need to do something to try and appease the world. The fact that they've reduced my mother's sentence by a few years means absolutely nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Human rights groups are calling on India to provide a safe haven for Rohingya Muslims fleeing genocidal attacks in Myanmar. Forty-five Riots (ph) says an investigation found that refugees who crossed into India face illegal arrests, beatings and indefinite detention.
Two U.S. Navy sailors have been arrested on espionage charges. Federal authorities say they shared national defense information with Chinese intelligence in exchange for money. CNN's Anna Coren joins us now live from Hong Kong. Good to see you Anna. So, these are pretty serious charges. What more can you tell us?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, very serious indeed, Lynda. Two U.S. Navy sailors, as you say, have been arrested on charges of handing over sensitive national security information to Chinese intelligence officers.
[02:25:00]
U.S. officials are condemning China's espionage campaign. One of the sailors, 22-year-old Jin Chao Wei, was arrested Wednesday as he arrived at work at Naval Base San Diego, one of the largest Navy installations in the Pacific. He was charged with conspiring to send national defense information to China in exchange for thousands of dollars. Now, the other sailor is 26-year-old Wenheng Zhao, a Petty Officer at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California. Now, Zhao was charged with conspiracy and bribe-taking having been paid $15,000 in exchange for photographs and videos of sensitive U.S. military information. Let's now take a listen to Matt Olsen from the Justice Department.
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OLSEN: The charges demonstrate the PRC's determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means. So, it could be used to their advantage. The alleged conduct also represents a violation of the solemn obligation of members of our military to defend our country, to safeguard our secrets, and to protect their fellow service members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Now, prosecutors say that Wei who received U.S. citizenship in May of 2022 -- he served as an engineer on the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship. He allegedly entered into a handler asset relationship with a Chinese intelligence officer a few months earlier and according to the indictment, Lynda, the Chinese handler allegedly congratulated Wei on his naturalization.
Now, Wei allegedly sent photos and videos of the Essex and other U.S. Navy ships to the Chinese officer, as well as dozens of technical and mechanical manuals relating to the ship's layout and weapons system. This went on now, we believe, for more than a year.
Now, much of the information was stored on restricted access, Navy computer systems that Wei was able to access because he had security clearance. Now, as for Zhao, the other sailor, he was responsible for installing, repairing and servicing electrical equipment on U.S. military installations and had also been given security clearance. He allegedly provided sensitive military information to the Chinese for almost two years, including operational plans for a major military exercise in the Indo-Pacific, plus photos of blueprints and diagrams of a U.S. radar system stationed on a military base in Okinawa, Japan.
This week's arrests, Lynda, come amid growing concerns by the U.S. military about China's ongoing and brazen campaign to target U.S. officials with access to sensitive military secrets. The Chinese embassy in the United States refused to comment on these two cases, but a spokesman said that China firmly opposes the U.S. side's groundless slander and smear of China. We might hear more from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China later this afternoon, Lynda.
KINKADE: Okay, we will check back in with you then. Anna Coren for us from Hong Kong. Thanks so much. The U.S. Appeals Court will let the Biden administration keep a controversial asylum policy in place for the time being. It's called The Pathways Rule and it largely restricts migrants who pass through another country from seeking asylum in the U.S. A district judge blocked the policy last week but put the ruling on hold during the appeal process. Opponents have been critical of the Biden policy and a similar rule during the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is calling for an investigation into the recent drowning deaths of two migrants. They happened near a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River along the border with Mexico. The Justice Department is suing the state of Texas to get the boys removed. Mexican officials say a Honduran woman has identified the body of one of the victims as her 20-year-old son. The second victim's identity is still unknown.
Still to come on CNN, two million Palestinians in Gaza now facing the real possibility that a major source of their food could soon disappear. We'll have those details when we return.
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[02:30:00]
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LYNDA KINDADE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Palestinians in Gaza, are now facing a much more urgent crisis, a potential cut in food supplies. Thousands protested Sunday over soaring prices and power outages. Well now The World Food Program warns it's running out of money to
keep providing Gaza with flour, cooking oil and other basic supplies, CNN's Richard Greene reports.
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RICHARD GREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The World Food Program aid warehouse in Gaza. People collecting staples like flour, lentils, chickpeas, and olive oil produced locally and bought by the agency to distribute to people in need from Palestinians, for Palestinians.
About 20,000 people rely on food handouts from this distribution center. One of the two WFP aid centers in Gaza, where unemployment is over 45%, but they may soon be going hungry as the World Food Program itself is running out of donor funds.
People like Khader Khder (ph), he works one or two days a month in construction, earning less than $30. That's not enough to buy even one of these bags of flour, an essential ingredient to keep his family of 10 alive.
KHADER KHDER, WFP AID RECIPIENT (Translated): Generally, if we have flour at home, everything has fine. We're not asking for luxury. As long as we have flour, it means that we have food. We do not cook every day, but we make bread every day.
GREENE (voiceover): Only one of Khadir's eight children is working. One daughter is married, another disabled, and two are still in school. One son works as a trader in the market, but his other three sons are unemployed.
KHADER KHDER, WFP AID RECIPIENT (Translated): If there was work, they would have worked. But the situation is very hard, and there is now work.
GREENE (voiceover): The WFP is in danger of running out of money, already reducing the amount of aid it hands out, and warning that by November, it will be forced to suspend operations in Gaza and the West Bank if more funding doesn't come through.
That would be a nightmare for Samar Al Bayyouk, who shops in WFP approved stores with a card issued by the aid agency, rather than getting commodities from a warehouse.
SAMAR AL BAYYOUK, WFP AID RECIPIENT (Translated): If this help stops, my while life will stop. I know people that stopped having it, and I can see their lives just stopped. If they tell me one day that I will stop getting it, I might have a heart attack on the spot.
GREENE (voiceover): Al-Bayuk supports a family of seven, and the WFP aid means she can buy meat, cheese, salt, even jam and chocolate for her kids.
[02:35:00]
Until recently, the WFP supported 275,000 people in Gaza this way, but with money running short, first they cut the amount of money each recipient got, and then started cutting people off completely. Al- Bayuk doesn't know what she will do if that happens to her.
SAMAR AL BAYYOUK, WFP AID RECIPIENT (Translated): I wouldn't be able to buy all this without the voucher. I may buy one thing and some days we may stay without anything. Without this voucher, we cannot live.
GREENE (voiceover): She's far from alone. Two out of three of Gaza's two million plus people struggle to put food on the table. And unless donors come up with the $41 million the aid agency says it needs for Palestinians by November. Gaza and the West Bank may not have the World Food Program to help. Richard Green, CNN, Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINDADE: Well, Friday marks the 3rd Anniversary of the devastating explosion at leveled (ph) parts of Beirut Lebanon in 2020. A day of mourning has been declared for the more than 200 victims who died and the thousands more who were injured.
The blast originated in a warehouse full of ammonia nitrate that had been -- that hadn't been stored properly for many years. It's not known what set off that explosion, but the shockwave was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. Today, no official investigation into the cause has been completed.
A viral video is raising awareness of one of Asia's most endangered animals. Coming up, how environmentalists hope attention on the Sun Bear will help lead to protections for the animal.
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KINDADE: Metal Heads in Germany had to make the best of a bad thing this week when the world's largest heavy metal festival got drowned Tuesday in a sea of mud. About 30,000 fans were turned away from the Wacken Open Air Festival after rain flooded the site. The German news agency DPA reported about 50,000 people got in as the show went on.
Well, the messy conditions didn't seem to dampen the fun. Musical organizers installed a pipeline to funnel beer to the site and audience members seemed to be taking advantage of it.
One of the world's biggest music festivals kicked off Thursday in Chicago. Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, and Kendrick Lamar among the headlines at this year's Lollapalooza Music Festival. Nine stages are set up for the four-day event. More than 400,000 fans are expected to attend.
In the U.S., it seems rapper Cardi B is off the hook and will not face battery charges after a concert in Las Vegas last weekend. She was under police investigation for throwing a microphone into the crowd after a concert goer threw a drink at here while on stage.
[02:40:00]
Cardi B's attorney says police notified them and that she would face no charges based on the department's investigation. CNN has reached out to the Las Vegas police for comment.
A viral video is raising awareness about one of Asia's most endangered and intriguing animals. Video of a Sun Bear at a Chinese zoo went viral with the zoo goers saying it appeared to be a person in a bear costume. Environmentalist hope the added attention will help save the bears. CNN's, Ivan Watson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This video put a zoo in China in a bite. When Chinese social media exploded with claims this animal was a human in a costume, the zoo decided to grin and bear it, issuing a statement in the voice of the animal saying, "I'm a Sun Bear," a message echoed by another zoo in the U.K.
WATSON (on camera): Have you seen that video?
SIEW TE WONG, BIOLOGIST, FOUNDER OF THE BORNEAN SUN BEARS CONSERVATION CENTER: Yes, I've seen that video and I am very, very convinced, 100% sure that it is a Sun Bear.
WATSON (voiceover): Siew Te Wong is a Biologist and Founder of the Bornean Sun Bears Conservation Center.
TE WONG: This is male. We got Joel over here.
WATSON (on camera): And I think we can confidently say that that's a bear, not a human in a costume.
TE WONG: Yes, that is a bear.
WATSON (voiceover): This forest enclosure in Malaysia and Borneo shelters 44 rescued sun bears.
TE WONG: They are the smallest bear in the world. It looks very similar to people when they stand up.
WATSON (voiceover): Sun bears are also an endangered species. Their tropical forest habitat across southeast Asia is shrinking.
WATSON (on camera): What does the future look like for the Sun Bear as a species in the wild right now?
TE WONG: The forest is not big enough. Even hunting and poaching still continue. The future is very bleak for the Sun Bear, because they need large forests in order to survive.
WATSON (voiceover): Wong says there's an illegal market for Sun Bear claws, teeth and organs used for traditional Asian medicine.
Now the Chinese viral video is giving the world's smallest bear a moment in the sun. In recent days, attendance surged 30% at the zoo in Hongzhou. It doesn't look human at all when you see it in person this man says. Something to 'bear' in mind the next time you're sent a viral video. Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
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KINKADE: Well, that is of this edition of CNN Newsroom. I'm Linda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.
Stay with us. WORLD SPORT is up next and I'll be back in about 15 minutes with much more CNN Newsroom.
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