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Presidential Candidate In Ecuador Is Assassinated During Rally; Wind-Whipped Fires Rage In Hawaii; FBI Shoots And Kills Utah Man Wanted For Threats Against Biden; At Least Two Killed In Russian Attack On Zaporizhzhia City; Tropical Storm Khanun Makes Landfall In South Korea; Fire At French Vacation Home For Adults With Disabilities Leaves 11 Dead. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 10, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:40]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead on CNN Newsroom, presidential candidate in Ecuador assassinated after a campaign event in the Capitol. Plus, a CNN exclusive Ukraine's frontline troops fighting dug in Russian forces across miles of trenches and minefields under pressure to move faster. Without the tools they say they need to do it.
And --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lahaina is on fire.
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KINKADE: Up in flames, deadly wind whipped wildfires rage across one of Hawaii's most picturesque islands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
KINKADE: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinakde, good to have you with us. We start with breaking news out of Ecuador. Officials say their suspected gunman is dead and six others and now behind bars after the brutal assassination of a presidential candidate. The killing appears to be caught on video which we are about to show you but we need to warn you. The footage is disturbing.
At least 12 gunshots could be heard on that video, which appears to show the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. Officials say he was gunned down at a campaign event in the capital Quito on Wednesday. It happened 10 days ahead of Ecuador's first round of presidential votes.
The country's Attorney General says security forces later exchange fire with a suspect and he died in custody. Journalist David Shortell monitoring developments for us from Mexico City and joins us now live. Good to have you with us.
So this presidential candidate was a married man, father of five shot dead at the end of this campaign event. What more can you tell us about the arrests?
DAVID SHORTELL, JOURNALIST: Yes, Lynda, that's right. That information is just coming into CNN tonight. Six people that authorities say are connected to the shooting were arrested in two neighborhoods in Quito that of course coming after the news earlier that this suspected assassin had been killed in that shootout with police.
We know that the Villavicencio was shot about 12 times according to that video that you just saw. 12 gunshots captured as he exited a political rally held at a school in the capital city of Quito. He was stepping into a car flanked by police officers and onlookers when those gunshots rang out. Nine other people are said to be injured in the shooting.
Motivation is still very much unclear at this hour but the Ecuadorian President appearing to indicate in a statement earlier that it could be connected to organized crime in the country. He said that organized crime has gone too far and they will feel the full weight of the law upon them.
Now, Ecuador has seen a surge in violence in recent years as it's really been caught in the crosshairs of a political criminal turf war between two rival gangs the small Andean state, as we know located between Colombia and Peru, two of the largest drug producing nations in the world.
Earlier this week, the country's interior minister, I should say, telling reporters that amid that climate of violence that seven of the eight presidential candidates were under police protection, including the candidate shot and killed tonight.
Now this candidate we know was a former lawmaker, a former journalist, well known within Ecuador for his crusade against political corruption.
In an interview with CNN in Espanol earlier this month, he called Ecuador a narco state and said that he had presented evidence to federal authorities that he claimed linked lawmakers to the payroll of narco traffickers.
Lynda in that interview, he also said that if you were to be elected president, he would work to secure the country, end the violence by adding more armed forces and police officers to the streets. Lynda.
KINKADE: All right, David Shortell with us on that breaking news out of Ecuador. Thanks very much.
Well, the FBI says it's reviewing the shooting that happened Wednesday when its special agents killed a man in Utah who allegedly made threats against U.S. President Joe Biden.
[01:05:00] A law enforcement source tells CNN the agents were trying to arrest the man identified as Craig Robertson and were giving him commands when he pointed a gun at them. He was facing three federal charges related to the alleged threats.
Authority say he also posted threats online against the Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic politicians, as well as prosecutors who brought charges against former President Donald Trump. Now this incident happened just hours before President Biden's trip to Utah Wednesday evening.
Now to a CNN exclusive and up close and frightening look at an area of Ukraine's frontlines that no reporter had seen until our correspondent Nick Paton Walsh. This new reporting comes in a day that saw more Russian missile strikes.
And two dead in Zaporizhzhia after an attack on a residential area of the city, including as you can see here, a church.
Now the attack comes a day after at least nine people were killed and 82 injured after two Russian missiles struck a residential building east of Pokrovsk. Ukrainian say that attack happened -- it was designed specifically to target rescue workers.
The battle has become fierce as Ukraine pushes its counteroffensive in the south and Nick Paton Walsh was there and has this startling new video but we must warn you some of what you're about to see is graphic.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The brutal work here the world hasn't seen but wants its results from the west they have words and weapons of support. But out here it's them alone in searing heat cloaked and dust. In the southern counteroffensive near Orikhiv, Ukraine has the initiative.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on Dima, fire.
WALSH: Yet they have to shoot their way forward round by round.
The Russians are just past the building on the horizon. Let's keep moving guys. They're very anxious (INAUDIBLE). We're the first journalist to reach this part of Ukraine's counteroffensive push south towards Robotyne.
WALSH (on camera): So they're pretty sure the tank was spotted by the Russians. And so now we're moving fast out of here because they're expecting return fire.
WALSH (voiceover): The losses from their earliest assault evidence this destroyed us supplied Bradley armored vehicle.
WALSH (on camera): And this thick dust these tankers moving forwards to fire at Russian positions which they say are beginning to look in parallel as Ukraine southern counteroffensive pushes forwards. WALSH (voiceover): The 15th National Guard have lost many friends here
but also gained ground. It has been incredibly tough, but some faces we saw over the past week have brightened. Robotyne has got closer.
Some of the assessment of their fight and the tools given towards it grates here. They're being expected to do things no NATO army would attempt with equipment they'd scoff at. The Humvee we travel in with tires so threadbare. No American soldier would be expected to drive it. They have no time for armchair assessments that they're failing.
VITALY, TANK OPERATOR, 15TH NATIONAL GUARD BRIGADE: They are wrong. We have successes. It depends on how fortified they are. Above all, don't underestimate the enemy.
WALSH: And that underestimation is visible here in the nearest town of Orikhiv. Pummeled by the main problem, Russian air superiority and the half ton bombs they drop. At any moment, it may not matter how much cover you have.
VITALY: Su-35 jet in the air.
WALSH: We take cover in a basement. One day 20 rockets hit in as many minutes.
WALSH (on camera): The wait now is for what they think is another missile to come in and land.
WALSH (voiceover): The smell of death horns the rubble where entire lives have been torn through.
WALSH (on camera): Now this was the main humanitarian aid point of the town and weeks ago, this was where the remaining locals would be hiding out getting shelter from airstrikes, but it's taken direct hit and quite a few people lost their lives when this explosion happened. You can still smell the explosive in the air.
WALSH (voiceover): In Moscow's warped world of targeting it is these men, the military medics who feel hunted.
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The underground world in which they live is hidden as their last two triage points have been bombed and in the three hours a day they spend above ground this is what happens. This is rare footage of their frontline rescues.
The painkillers clearly not enough. The treatments given at up to 100 miles an hour over bumpy shelled roads. It seems miraculous anyone makes it.
In the back of this armored vehicle, not everyone has. These transfers perilous, their vehicles bunched together, perhaps visible to Russian jets. Sometimes they don't all come back.
On Friday, fellow medic Andre, age 33, was hit by artillery. They buried him Monday. EUGENE, MEDIC, 15TH NATIONAL GUARD BRIGADE: We went there immediately. Another team picked up the driver. And that was the hardest thing I ever did pick up the body, and deliver it to the morgue.
VLAD, MEDIC, 15TH NATIONAL GUARD BRIGADE: His family, his mother, they are in a temporarily occupied territories. They couldn't even come to the funeral.
WALSH: Down here, deaf is far too close. And they seem to shut it out.
EUGENE: When they hit further than 100 meters away from us, we don't pay attention. If it's closer, we just laugh hysterically.
VLAD: I tell everybody, we will all die. But a bit later. Maybe in 50 years.
WALSH: They need the wall to end in months though, not years before nothing but dusters left. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Orikhiv, Ukraine.
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KINKADE: In Russia, officials have opened an investigation after a powerful explosion rocked industrial plant in Moscow.
The blast windows and sent residents running at least 60 people have been injured and eight others are unaccounted for. Russian state media reports the blast occurred in the pyrotechnics warehouse on the site.
Leaders of the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet in the coming hours in Nigeria to discuss the coup in neighboring Niger. They're pushing for a diplomatic solution but a threatened military action to restore democracy.
Niger's military leaders met Wednesday with two envoys from Nigeria offering some hope for dialogue. They then lashed out at France for allegedly violating the Niger's airspace and freeing terrorist prisoners to destabilize the country. France denies the claims.
Well, the U.S. is expressing concern about the health and safety of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. He says he hasn't had electricity for a week and has been forced to eat dry pasta and rice while under house arrest.
In text messages shared with CNN, Bazoum also says he's been denied any human contact, including with his doctor since Friday.
Deadly wildfires are tearing through a place many think of as paradise and crews have yet to contain them. The fires are raging in their Hawaiian island of Maui, and have claimed at least six lives so far. And the tourist town and the business hub of Lahaina has been devastated.
This video is shot by a woman who as you can see says she was able to escape. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate and now in shelters and others have had to be rescued from the ocean where they ran to escape the flames. View from a boat fleeing Maui shows the danger left behind.
With power and phone outages, it's tough to get a full understanding of the damage. But footage shows entire blocks decimated by the flames as their thick hazy smoke hovers over lineup. Search and rescue operations are still underway and it's believed several people are missing.
Well the message we keep hearing from residents of Maui is that they can't believe how quickly the wildfires arrived at their homes. CNN's Bill Weir picks up the story.
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SYVIA LUKE, HAWAII LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: We never anticipated in this state that a hurricane which did not make impact on our islands will cause this type of wildfires.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): While hurricane Dora is hundreds of miles south of the Hawaiian Islands, the storm brought winds of up to 80 miles an hour to Maui, turning the tender dry hillsides here into a blowtorch and catching hundreds of people between flames and the Pacific Ocean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody was prepared for this.
WEIR: Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation Tuesday and Governor Josh Green is returning to the state tonight.
LUKE: He is cutting his trip by a week and that tells you the magnitude of how brave we think the situation is.
WEIR: Thousands are in evacuation shelters and rescue operations are underway for both Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii where several other fires are burning as well.
MAJ. GEN. KENNETH HARA, ADJUTANT GENERAL, STATE OF HAWAII, DEPT. OF DEFENSE: Right now the priority is for saving lives, preventing human suffering and in mitigating great property loss.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone I know in Lahaina their homes have been burned down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lahaina is on fire.
WEIR: One of the hardest hit areas the charming tourist mecca of Lahaina. The Coast Guard said it rescued 12 people who jumped into the ocean trying to escape the flames. Officials say a thousands are without power, the 911 emergency system has been down at times and hospitals are overwhelmed with burn patients at least three in critical condition.
LUKE: It has turned very serious and very dire.
WEIR: Most striking to so many residents just how fast the flames spread.
CLAIRE KENT, ESCAPED FROM LAHAINA: At one point were sitting there and I was like feeling the winds shifting and I said to my friend, I was like, should we turn the radio on and see if this like, you know, things are getting bad. But I mean, I didn't get a text message. It was all just like word of mouth like people running down the street saying like you need to get out. There were guys riding around on bicycles just screaming at people to leave.
WEIR: With hundreds of homes and businesses feared destroyed. The extent of the damage won't be known for days. But images from the sky give a glimpse of the destruction. Overnight more than 1,000 travelers had no choice but to sleep on airport grounds after several flights were canceled. Officials in Hawaii now discouraging non-essential travel to the Aloha State.
LUKE: Even as of this morning, planes were landing on Maui with tourists. This is not a safe place to be.
WEIR: Bill Weir, CNN, enroute to Maui.
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KINKADE: Now, Judi Riley lives in another part of Hawaii, but he's currently stranded in Maui near the airport. She joins us on the line now. Judy, it's just after 6:00 p.m. there. This fire, of course erupted in the middle of the night. It seems like there was no warning everyone caught unaware. What did you say?
JUDI RILEY, STRANDED IN MAUI: Well, it's more than just one fire. It's multiple fires. And that's the problem is that it's multiple areas. And you know, Maui, we've been hit to the south of us. You know, door is passing through. So we've been hit with these enormous winds that are accelerating.
So we're not strangers to brush fires. Maui has brush fires. But the winds that we're experiencing right now are very unusual. So the brush fires are rapidly traveling across the lands. So on Mount Haleakala which is a 10,000 foot dormant volcano. There are several fires right now and the smoke is traveling across the valley. And then up and over the other mountain west Maui's is behind, which was completely devastated by the fires.
KINKADE: And Judi, I understand about 2,000 people are in emergency shelters right now. Are you one of those because you were visiting the island?
RILEY: No, we're staying with friends right now. We just live across the channel and another island called Lanai. But the docks in behind. You know, that's where the ferry departs. The docks are completely taken out. The entire city has got it. And the boats in the harbor were decimated. We're not even sure at this point is the ferry. There's a few of the ferries that run a few of the boats and we're not even sure if they're still intact.
KINKADE: And can you give us a sense Judi of this status of the fires right now? Are they still out of control?
RILEY: Yes, they're still burning. We've thought of control. There's over 100 firemen. They're calling for other firefighters to come from the other islands to offer support. The helicopters are now running because they weren't able to douse the fires by the helicopter because the winds were too strong for them to take flight.
So now they're I think there's four helicopters running now. There's multiple fires spread across a great distance.
KINKADE: And I understand, Judi, you're pretty close to the airport right now. Is the airport still operating? Are you going to try to get out?
RILEY: At this point, right now we're just hunkered down I'm trying to help as much as we can.
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I'm involved in the horse community trying to evacuate, you know, said we have to prepare for evacuations and get trucks and trailers ready. So trees are down and we have to organize for people to come with chainsaws to make sure that the roads are clear in case they have to evacuate the animals.
The upcountry area is called. There's a few communities altogether. They're called up country up in the volcano and it's a horse community, a farm community. Lots of livestock. So people are really rallying to help those people.
KINKADE: Well, Judi, it's great to hear that you are helping the community there. We appreciate your time. Please stay safe.
RILEY: Thank you. Thank you for covering and letting people know that it's a dire situation.
KINKADE: Yes, we hope you stay safe. We will check in with you again soon. Thanks, Judi.
When Tropical Storm Khanun has made landfall in South Korea after threatening the region familiar weak and battering southern Japan twice, hundreds of flights and ferries were canceled and more than 10,000 people were evacuated from the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest on what's in store.
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CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): We still have two tropical storms on the map, but one has just made landfall 9:20 a.m. local time in South Korea. Another landfall for Khanun, remember where this thing's been over its lifetime, which seems like 10 days.
Now finally over the South Korean Peninsula, and we will see that probably lose significant strength quickly. It wasn't a big storm. It wasn't a typhoon even when it came on land, but it will make some wind 100 kilometers per hour, will make some waves maybe even a little bit of storm surge on the east side of South Korea.
And then over landfall will lose all of this energy because it doesn't have any more warm water to work with. Still moving north at 24 KPH and that's going to continue for the next couple of days. That northern motion is actually a good sign that quick northern motion is a good thing, because then we will see the amounts of rainfall that we could if it was just sitting there like the other ones did over parts of China that picked up, what, 700 millimeters rain. We're going to see that with this. This will be probably 250 millimeters at the most in any one spot.
Something else you're seeing behind me right here. The next storm system that may come on land for Japan, that would be Lan. There's a Lan right there. You can see it. It's moving to the north a little bit more on the latest computer models than it did yesterday.
But the Joint Typhoon Warning Center also talked about that, also talked about it leaning a little bit farther toward the north. There's your rainfall for Seoul. And there's your rain for Osaka and possibly even for Tokyo.
This is the likely track, at least the likeliest track. Remember, this far out, five days away. This is part of the eye here, part of could be part of the eye way over here to the east, missing Japan all together. And this has been trending to the right as we call it or turning to the right a little bit more with every progressive time that we run the models, every time that we run through and take a look at all the models and add them up and divide by the number. So we'll hope that this thing does make a near miss.
But that's always not the normal possibility. You always want to look at the middle of the line. Even though the middle of the cone is the most likely doesn't mean that that's where it's going to be, could be left, could be right and notice that the left side is all the way to Osaka. Five days away. We'll keep watching it. But this thing still could have a mind of its own.
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KINKADE: Thanks to Chad Myers. Well, still to come in CNN Newsroom, how full migrants survived after their boat capsized, and everyone else on board was killed. A very remarkable story of survival. Plus, a deadly fire rips through a French care home for people with disabilities. The latest on that tragedy, next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back, Slovenia is recovering from its worst floods on record. At least six people have died over the past few days. Thousands have been evacuated as floods swept away homes and left towns devastated, causing more than $500 million worth of damage.
European Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen visited the country Wednesday, she pledged $400 million in aid on behalf of the European Union, saying officials mourn for those killed. Von der Leyen praise Slovenians for standing together in their most difficult time.
The International Rescue Committee is calling for the expansion of safe and regular routes from migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa. The aid group spoke after another migrant boat sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa killing 41 people.
The Red Cross says four survivors drifted at sea for days holding onto the remnants of another ship wrecked vessel. As our Ben Wedeman reports despite such tragedies, the wave of migrants coming to Europe keeps growing.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNTAIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yet again a boat has gone down in the Mediterranean Sea, taking with it more than 40 lives. According to four survivors interviewed by the Red Cross on the Italian island of Lampedusa, the boat took to the sea from the Tunisian port of Sfax late last week, with 45 people on board but the survivors said that just hours after it left us Sfax, it was hit by a huge wave and the boat went down.
The survivors used inflated inner tubes to stay afloat until they found they said an abandoned boat they drifted for six days until they were rescued by the crew of a merchant ship. The International Organization for Migration says that so far this year alone, more than 2,000 people have drowned crying trying to cross the Mediterranean to get to Europe. That brings to nearly 26,000 the number of people who've died in the Mediterranean since 2014.
Now this year has seen a massive surge of refugees and migrants trying to reach Italian shores as of the first week of August. The total number of people who tried to reach Italy this year so far is nearly 94,000. That's more than twice the number of people who tried to reach Italy in the same period last year.
The European Union has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in countries including Libya, and Tunisia to try to help those countries prevent people from taking to the sea and reaching Europe. But clearly the desire to escape war and hopelessness in their home countries is far greater than the fear of drowning in the Mediterranean. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN reporting from Rome.
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KINKADE: French authorities are investigating what caused a deadly fire to home hosting people with disabilities. It killed 11 people visiting a small town in the country's northeast only Wednesday. CNN's Jim Bittermann has the latest from Paris.
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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The drama began around 6:30 in the morning, local time at a residence for intellectually disabled on the eastern side of France near the German border in a very small town of about 7,000 people. Flames responded coming from the residence and they fired a button what was called it took them about 15 minutes to get to the scenes quite rural area.
And as a consequence, by the time the firemen arrived 17 of the 28 people who were inside the residence at the time were out there were safe, but 11 were still missing. The flames had totally engulfed the building according to fire officials and the search began for the 11 people who were missing.
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During the day today, they looked for remains and bodies, and in fact by the end of the day they pronounced everyone dead. Now a crisis center has been set up for the families and friends of those people who perished in the fire.
And the prime minister herself went to visit the site during the day today. The president of France sent his condolences. It's really a tragedy. And a big investigation started by the local prosecutor who wants to know exactly why the fire started, but also exactly what the parameters were for this residence. Whether it was meeting all the safety requirements and that sort of thing.
Jim Bittermann, CNN -- Paris.
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KINKADE: Nearly two weeks after they were abducted in Haiti, an American health care worker and her young daughter have been freed by the kidnappers.
We will have the details just ahead.
Plus more than a dozen new indictments expected next week for Donald Trump and his allies. Details on a potential case in Georgia.
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KINKADE: Want to update you now on a breaking story out of Ecuador. Prosecutors say six people have been arrested following the assassination of the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. Officials say the suspected gunman died in police custody after exchanging fire with security forces.
Villavicencio was gunned down at a campaign event in the capital of Quito Wednesday. It happened ten days ahead of the first presidential vote.
Nearly two weeks after an American nurse and young daughter were kidnapped at gunpoint in Haiti. The two have now been set free.
The humanitarian aid group Elvor Haiti made the announcement Wednesday, which was welcomed by the U.S. State Department. Alix Dorsainvil a health worker from New Hampshire moved to Haiti to provide nursing care for school children.
CNN's Rafael Romo reports.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is not clear whether the mother and daughter were kidnapped in the first place, kidnapping for ransom has becoming an epidemic in Haiti. In the last few years, more than a thousand people were kidnapped in the Caribbean country between January and June this year, according to a report by the U.N.
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ROMO: As to where the kidnapping victims are right now, what I can tell you is that the Christian humanitarian aid organization that Alix Dorsainvil works for says that they can confirm the safe release of their staff member and friend.
Elvor Haiti, that is the name of the organization, also said in a statement that today they are praising God for answered prayers while asking people not to contact Dorsainvil or her family because, quote, "there is still much to process and to heal from in this situation".
As you may remember, the nurses (INAUDIBLE) Dorsainvil, the Christian organization's director. The same day, they were kidnapped in late July, the U.S. State Department ordered the departure of nonemergency government personnel from Haiti as the security situation in the country worsened.
This is how a department spokesman reacted to the news earlier. Let's take a listen.
MATTHEW MILLER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN I will say that we welcome the reports of their release, we have no greater priority, of course, than the safety and security of U.S. Citizens overseas.
We express our deepest appreciation to our Haitian and U.S. inter- agency partners for their assistance in facilitating their safe release and out of respect for their privacy, we will let the individuals speak for themselves when they feel ready.
ROMO: The Haitian national police told CNN, they can't comment on the matter because they're still investigating the case. But again, the good news, is that Alix Dorsainvil and her child are now free.
Rafael Romo, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Joining me now is Jacqueline Charles, Caribbean correspondent for the "Miami Herald". Good to have you with us.
JACQUELINE CHARLES, CARIBBEAN CORRESPONDENT, "MIAMI HERALD": Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: So, today, the American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were finally released after being kidnapped at gunpoint 13 days ago. We don't have a lot of details about that release, but can you give us a sense of the feeling from people you are speaking to in Haiti? CHARLES: Well, definitely the organization that she worked for Elvor
Haiti, which is a Christian humanitarian aid organization released a statement and they're very grateful both for the support that they receive and also to God for ensuring this release.
And of course as you know, there were protests by some of the people in the community that's been helped by Miss Dorsainvil and this organization. So they of course, are happy.
But I have to remind everyone that there are still others who remain in captivity, one of which is the former head of the electoral council. He's been held now for more than a month.
KINKADE: Wow, yes. I mean, this is far from a unique situation. These abductions in Haiti are on the rise.
We know that 300 women and children have been kidnapped in the first six months of this year. And most typically taken are locals, right?
CHARLES: Yes. I mean, you know, Haitians every day are targeted, and they have been kidnapped. But we have also seen a number of foreigners, still unclear how many of them are American citizens. We don't really get that information. But there is a local organization on the ground that monitors kidnapping.
And again, this remains an under-reported epidemic. But we have seen a number of (INAUDIBLE) that have also been held hostage.
But yes, you are correct, most of them are locals or Haitians.
KINKADE: Jacqueline, the situation in Haiti has been deteriorating for years, especially since the assassination of the president two years ago. Gang violence has soared.
We know that the acting prime minister has called for foreign troops to intervene. this is what one resident had to say about that. Just take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hear about the question of the foreign troops that will come. if they, come they will be useful to us. Her kidnapping made us feel afraid to move around. Before that, IN the small area we could stay out until late. 10:00 OR 11:00 at night. Now we can't because of kidnappings.
Even if the hospital might reopen at stores, we will always be afraid of the area due to the reported kidnap cases here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Just give us a sense of what most people in Haiti want? Do they want foreign intervention?
CHARLES: I think what most people in Haiti agree on, regardless of where they stand on this issue on foreign intervention, they want to be able to breathe. They want to have this sense of security.
Now some people think that you can get that with Haitian police force, which is roughly 3,300 police officers throughout the country, on any given day of public safety duty. And, imagine, this is a country with a population of 12 million.
And then there are other people who acknowledge the police just cannot do this job on their own and they need some assistance. That is what you heard from the United States and the U.N. in terms of seeking out the multinational force, a country to leave this. So this is not going to be a group of foreign police officers or even military personnel who are going to come in replace the Haitian national police. They are going to work hand in hand, allow them to continue to hold ground in areas where they have been able to move in and take control of gang controlled areas.
Because right now, the police are really, really stretched. Then when you think about the fact that in January 29th, we had just outside of the capital, we had a police station that was attacked three times. You had over a dozen cops killed in the span of just a couple of days.
[01:39:58]
CHARLES: And you have a police unit that has been out every single day, chasing after gangs with no rest at all. And yet every time they seem to make some inroads, we get back to where we are seeing an escalation. And the gang violence and escalation and kidnappings which last month led to the U.S. embassy basically ordering the evacuation of U.S. citizens, and the withdrawal of non emergency personnel from their embassy.
KINKADE: Yes. and I did want to ask you about that given the U.S. government has done that has ordered those non emergency government personnel to leave and has issued these travel advisories. Do you expect more people to flee, more aid agencies to potentially not even work in the country?
CHARLES: Well, you know, that is something that we have been seeing and we've been monitoring over the last couple of years that as these violent kidnappings have escalated, a number of aid agencies have quietly pulled out.
You know, Alix Dorsainvil worked for a Christian humanitarian group that works in Port-au-Prince. If you recall, there were 16 American missionaries as well as a Canadian that were also kidnapped.
Locally here in south Florida, when we talk to Haitians in the diaspora that we go down to Haiti and go down to these far reach places in the rural areas to provide health care.
They haven't been able to go because of the reality. One, they can't move from one region to the other by road. Second of all is that fear of basically falling victim either to the violence or the kidnapping.
KINKADE: Jacqueline Charles from the "Miami Herald", we appreciate your time. Thank you so much. CHARLES: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: Donald Trump's legal troubles are expected to get a whole lot worse next week here in Georgia. Sources say Fulton County prosecutor will pursuit more than a dozen indictments of the former president and his allies. And these are state charges separate from the federal indictments brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
More now from CNN political correspondent Sara Murray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek indictments against more than a dozen individuals when she goes to present her case before a grand jury next week sources are telling me and my colleagues. Of course, Fani Willis has been overseeing this sprawling criminal investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump has been pretty clear publicly that he expects to be indicted for a fourth time, and of course he is at the heart of her investigation. But there are many other avenues she is looking at, such as a voting systems breach in rural Coffee County, Georgia as well as the fake electors scheme in Georgia.
And sources are telling us that there are people who participated in those effort who believe that they could face charges as part of her investigation next week as well.
Again, we have seen signs we are getting closer. We've seen the ramp up. we've seen the security perimeter harden around the Fulton County courthouse, and we could be just days away from learning who exactly is going to be charged in this roughly two and a half year investigation into Donald Trump and his associates.
Sara Murray, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well Pakistan is switching to election mode after the country's president dissolved the parliament on Wednesday. The move came three days before its current term would have expired. A caretaker cabinet which is yet to be picked will lead Pakistan until the next election. It is expected to be held mid November.
Pakistan is reeling from a major economic and political crisis, including the conviction of former prime minister Imran Khan of apparent corruption. He denies any wrongdoing and has filed an appeal.
Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, how scientists are working to protect a European river and the wildlife that depends on it from hydro power projects.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
Known as the "Blue Heart of Europe", the Balkans is known for its exquisite natural river system. But a boom of hydro power projects in the region could threaten wildlife. Today on "Call to Earth", meet the scientists working to protect these waterways from overdevelopment.
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ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the dense forest of Bosnian Herzegovina, a strip of blue-green water carved its way from the Dinaric Alps to the Adriatic Sea.
ULRICH EICHELMANN, CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR, SAVE THE BLUE HEART OF EUROPE: And that's why it's probably one of the most exceptional rivers in Europe. It is one of the few places where you have a big and large intact ecosystems.
There is no road in between. There is no logging fields. There's not even trails. It looks like pure wilderness.
ASHER: But this is changing. According to the Center of Environment, a Bosnian NGO, more than 50 hydro-power plants are proposed along the rivers 140 mile length. If built, environmentalists fear these would alter the river's course and character forever.
EICHELMANN: Dams destroy rivers completely because the impact is not only where the dam actually is. They impact everything upstream and everything downstream.
ASHER: This is why Ulrich Eichelmann together with more than 60 scientists converged on the banks of the Neretva in June as part of the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign. They are on a mission to collect data on the river's unique biodiversity and to build a case for why it should be preserved.
EICHELMANN: We need to do more than ever before to save the last remnants of European beauty.
ASHER: For some scientists like Kurt Pinter, saving the river means wading out into the crystal waters and discovering who lives in it.
KURT PINTER, CONSERVATIONIST: One of the main problems that we are facing with hydro power plants is that they are blocking the migration which is a very important part in the life cycle of most of the fish species here.
ASHER: But there's one species in particular he's searching for.
PINTER: What we try to find here is the (INAUDIBLE) trout. It's a very special and endemic trout which can only be found in a few rivers in this area. The Neretva is one of the last rivers that is holding wider stock of this species.
ASHER: Already endangered, he fears the proposed dam could drive it to extinction. This could cause ripple effect across the surrounding ecosystems. It is a delicate balance between providing energy, and protecting the environment.
In Bosnian-Herzegovina hydropower is a key source of electricity, and it could help the country transition away from fossil fuels.
The campaign says it is not against hydro power altogether but it wants to implement no go zones in areas of key biodiversity.
EICHELMANN: There is a reason for dams. There is a purpose for hydro power. But like any medicine, when small doses might be correct and healthy, if you take too much of it, it's deadly.
ASHESR: Recent history shows that nature can win. In March 2023, after several years of campaigning, the Vjosa, a river in the nearby Balkan Country of Albania was granted protection.
EICHELMANN: Eventually, we convinced the government to not build dams, but to create a wide river national park instead. That is a very new model of river protection that we inaugurated, created, and this created a little flush of waves across the Balkans.
ASHER: The Balkans is one of the few areas of Europe where free- flowing natural river systems still exist. For scientists and conservationists alike, that is reason enough to preserve them.
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EICHELMANN: This, we call it the blue heart because it is the last large area where we have this jewel. It is like a gift to Europe that these rivers survive decades of destruction.
And on the Balkans we have this one chance to keep this blue heart beating.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, let us know what you are doing to answer the call with the hashtag "CallToEarth".
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is prompting some major concerns and ethical questions. The new technology is still evolving, and it has limitations which can of course lead to errors with a real world impact.
Take for example the case of a former Dutch member of the European parliament, and the international policy director at Stanford University Cyber Policy Center.
An A.I. powered chatbot from Facebook parent company Meta falsely labeled Marietje Schaake a terrorist. Miss Schaake joins me now from the Netherlands. Thanks for joining us today. MARIETJE SCHAAKE, FORMER DUTCH MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Good
to be here.
KINKADE: So there is a huge amount of fascination around artificial intelligence, its potential. It's been described as the biggest disruptor since the launch of the worldwide web. But its evolution is also triggering alarm bells, especially when it comes to A.I. spreading lies.
You yourself experienced just that. You were called a terrorist. What was your reaction?
SCHAAKE: Well actually, it was one of disbelief. I thought somebody was pranking me because I couldn't believe that somebody would have labeled me a terrorist except in a humorous context.
But then, I looked again and it was a result of the research that my colleague at Stanford did into generative A.I., chat applications, like the ones that are becoming more popular now.
And the bot that was developed by Meta about a year ago, indeed actually put forward my name as a terrorist. So the question prompted was, who is a terrorist? And then the bot came up with my name. So that was bizarre.
And I mean for me, it was easy to dispel this untruthful claim. Because information about me is everywhere on the web. I served in public office for ten years. I have never been accused or convicted of anything even remotely close to terrorism.
But I think for people for whom that is harder, with less of a public profile or people who may not find out until much later, that lies about them are going around the Internet, this is much harder.
So I think we need to take it very seriously, because people treat these chatbots as facts, as the answer is actually quoted in media, they are used widely. Students are using it in their research.
And so I think it is really important people treat this with the utmost skepticism, and certainly don't treat the answers that come out of these generative A.I. applications as facts.
KINKADE: Yes, you make a really good point because you do have the platform to challenge it. As you say, you have been a Dutch politician serving the E.U. parliament for over a decade, an international cyber policy expert, a director, and an adviser to several nonprofits and governments.
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KINKADE: And so, I want to understand how you went about getting recourse, when you were falsely labeled a terrorist from this A.I. chatbot created by Meta?
SCHAAKE: Well, you know, I shared the post on Twitter, and then a lot of people reacted. Some of them got even more untruthful responses in prompting the chatbot around my name.
So one of the people came back and said, the (INAUDIBLE) had said, no actually she is not a terrorist, but somebody with her name stars in a German series on television, and that character is a terrorist. Also not true.
And then after a while, I think the error was corrected. So you know, the problem was sort of solved, and I did not see much of a method of recourse, because there are disclaimers in all of these chat applications. They are evolving and they're in initial stages. And the companies of course say this when you use them.
But that doesn't prevent masses of people from actually treating the outcomes of these chat applications but also image generators in a way that can be very misleading and actually erode trust in everything -- in the media, in our democracies, in what it is that we can see with our own eyes. And that is something that really concerns me.
KINKADE: I just want to quickly play some sound from Gary Marcus, the leading voice in artificial intelligence who testified before U.S. Senate in May.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY MARCUS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EXPERT: These new systems are going to be destabilizing. They can and will create persuasive lies at a scale humanity has never seen before.
Outsiders will use them to affect our elections, insiders to manipulate our markets and our political systems. Democracy itself is threatened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: You are an expert on cyber policy. What is going to be effective, and are we playing catch-up?
SCHAAKE: We are playing catch-up. And I think what is really concerning is that there is so much power in only a handful of companies' hands that are is not allowing independent scrutiny for example by academics like my colleagues at Stanford, to really look into these systems and to probe what it is that is going into them, what is coming out and what is going wrong.
There is a variety of known problems, like bias and discrimination, the spreading of lies that we have just touched upon. And indeed, as Professor Marcus says in the clip that you just played, democracy is at stake. And that is something we cannot take lightly, and we also cannot experiment with.
So next year, 2024 there will be huge amounts of elections in key countries -- the United States, the European Union, India, Indonesia, just to name a few. And, I think the whole idea that we do not know enough about what all can go wrong, how malicious actors may use these new applications to manipulate the debate to try to persuade people on the basis of lies to vote for a specific candidate. It is a real risk to our democracy in ways that would be harder and harder for ordinary Internet users to discern. So we need expert looks to see (INAUDIBLE) allows to scrutinize these companies.
KINKADE: Marietje Schaake, we appreciate your time and your expertise on this issue. Thank you so much for joining us.
SCHAAKE: You are welcome.
KINKADE: I'm Lynda Kinkade.
That was CNN NEWSROOM.
Stay with us. More news next with Rosemary Church.
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