Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Communities Decimated By Raging Wildfires in Maui; Trump Indictments Expected in Georgia; FBI Kills Man in Utah Who Allegedly Threatened Biden; Trump Indictments Expected in Georgia; Russian Drone Attack in Ukraine; A Look at Counteroffensive on Ukraine's Southern Front. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 10, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo live from London. Max Foster has the week off have you may have noticed. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know some people didn't get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fire is on front street and it's time to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So quickly these flames reached other neighborhoods. They jumping highways and freeways and destroying people's homes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You never know who your neighbors are late. You just don't know who you're living next to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump has been pretty clear publicly. But he expects to be indicted for a fourth time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the same game. We've watched this play out before. He is angry, he throws red meat to the crowd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It is Thursday, August 10th, 9:00 a.m. here in London and 10:00 p.m. in Maui, Hawaii. Where deadly wildfires are burning out of control. State and federal officials held a news conference last hour and had this update.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. KENNETH HARA, ADJUTANT GENERAL, HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: The primary focus is to save lives and to prevent human suffering and mitigate great property loss. So that's what the counties were and have been doing and are doing. What we do anticipate is additional requests and we're already providing support for trying to get the communications back up, water distribution. We're hearing that Maui may need additional law enforcement support. So that may be both for federal law enforcement and state law enforcement. So we're working through that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Here is what we know so far. Crews battling the flames him have dropped at least 150,000 gallons of water on Maui county. More than 11,000 people were flown off the island on Wednesday. The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy are helping with search and rescue operations. And at least six people are confirmed dead in Maui, but several others are still missing. Some of the evacuees were able to escape by boat as the tourist town of Lahaina burned in the distance and thousands of people are now in shelters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABE JOHNSON, MAUI COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER: We need to help the people who are volunteering. Whether we need to the people who are first responders. We know we need to make sure that the people who has been affected, we need to get their immediate needs met. In the future we rebuild. You know, Lahaina is strong. It's not just an expression. So we start rebuilding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Meanwhile, fires are also spreading on the island of Hawaii known as the Big Island. We're told two new brush fires have erupted in recent hours. 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 for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVIA 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.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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 tinder-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 (voice-over): 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 grave we think the situation is.

WEIR (voice-over): 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.

MAJOR GEN. KENNETH HARA, ADJUTANT GENERAL, STATE OF HAWAII, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Right now the priority is for saving lives, preventing human suffering and then mitigating great property loss.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes have been burnt down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lahaina is on fire.

WEIR (voice-over): In 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 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.

[04:05:00]

LUKE: It has turned very serious and very dire.

WEIR (voice-over): Most striking to so many residents, just how fast the flames spread.

CLAIRE KENT, ESCAPED FROM LAHAINA: At one point, we were sitting there and I was like feeling the wind 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, 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 (voice-over): 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 a thousand travelers had no choice but to sleep on airport grounds after several flights were canceled. Officials in Hawaii now discouraging nonessential 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 (voice-over): Bill Weir, CNN en route to Maui.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: A little more now on the exodus from Maui. We've been hearing from locals and tourists who are desperate to escape and many are still stranded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAIRE KENT, HOUSE BURNED IN LAHAINA HAWAII: I know for a fact people didn't get out. I know -- when we were sent away quite a few homeless people in the area and people just not able -- who don't have access to vehicles. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: High winds have been making matters worse for the crews racing to contain these fires. And officials don't fully know the true extent of the damage so far. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Such a devastating series of events here in Lahaina, in Maui. As we look at these pictures last night, we were looking at the ground and seeing these hot spots and thinking they were likely trees on fire. But now in the light of day and kind of correlating the locations, some of these hot spots were actually homes that were burning to the ground. Reminding you really of what Southern California can look like sometimes with pictures at night.

There is the smoke that came off of Lahaina. And across the entire area just covered in smoke with winds blowing at 60-mile-per-hour and in some spots 82-mile-per-hour was the highest gust that we were able to find. So, yes, a devastating series of events and yes, there's some drought in Hawaii, about 30 percent there of Hawaii in some type of drought. Mainly the lowest levels of drought, but that just means the grasses are dry and ready to burn and that's exactly what they did.

So how did it happen? Well we talked about this hurricane to the south -- a category 4, Dora. But there was also a high-pressure to the north. The difference between the low and the high caused all of the winds to funnel in through the Hawaiian Islands. And that area there near Lahaina obviously picked up some of the biggest funnels even though the storm was 800 miles away and a big storm at the time. Of course, it still is and still moving away. And this is what will let the winds die off.

We're not at 80 anymore. We're not at 60 anymore. A couple of gusts to around 40. But as the days go on those wins will eventually die off even more. And so, even for later on today and into tonight, likely the biggest gusts we'll see is maybe 20 to 30. That's already and still a problem when you talk about flames that are still burning. And we know that that's actually happening right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Just into CNN, we've received a tragic update to the death toll that's been caused by the wildfires in Maui. Initially we reported six deaths and now we understand that the number is 36. And we'll keep you updated throughout the day.

A newly unsealed court filing shows special counsel Jack Smith's team secured a search warrant in January for Donald Trump's Twitter account. It was part of their investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The search was so secret that Twitter was barred from telling Trump it was even happening. Twitter, which has changed its name to X was fined $350,000 for delaying handing over its records. But the company run by Elon Musk ultimately complied.

Donald Trump's legal troubles are expected to get a whole lot worse next week in Georgia. Sources say the Fulton County prosecutor will pursue more than a dozen indictments of the former president and his allies. These are state charges separate from the federal indictments brought by Jack Smith. More now from CNN political correspondent Sara Murray.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expecting 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.

[04:10:02]

But there are many other avenues she's looking at, such as a voting systems breach in rural Coffee County, Georgia, as well as the fake elector scheme in Georgia. And sources are telling us that there are people who participated in those efforts who believe that they could face charges as part of her investigation next week as well.

Again, we've seen signs that we're 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)

NOBILO: One person who is likely to testify at any eventual trial in Georgia is former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan. Here's what he told CNN about Donald Trump and the potential indictments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFF DUNCAN, FORMER GEORGIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: He's angry. He throws red meat to the crowd. He tries to stir the pot. He spreads misinformation. He gives no facts behind his data points. It continues to just be a disaster.

Just imagine if Donald Trump was your neighbor that just moved in next door. Imagine if you knocked on the door and you brought a plate of cookie, hey, I want to introduce myself. Tell you little bit about yourself. Well I've got a couple of state and federal indictments. I got a sexual harassment case out there. I've got -- and I'm sending tweets about other folks. I think he's just deranged and unhinged. And the problem for me as a Republican is we're poised to renominate this gentleman to represent our party and then represent our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The Republican National Committee says Fox business will host a second primary debate on September 27 in California. Frontrunner Donald Trump has still not said whether he will attend the first debate on August 23rd in Milwaukee. Here's what he said about signing a loyalty pledge in order to participate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a problem with the debate for another reason. I wouldn't sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge? There are people on there that I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have certain people as, you know, somebody that I'd endorse. So they want you to sign a pledge. But I can name three or four people that I wouldn't support for president. So right there, there's a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: A Republican source tells CNN Ron DeSantis and Ramaswamy Vivek have signed the loyalty pledge and several others candidates are expected to sign it this week.

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 President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and others. CNN's Josh Campbell as the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: FBI agents in the U.S. state of Utah fatally shooting a man Wednesday morning while attempting to take him into custody. According to federal court records Craig Robertson had been under investigation for allegedly making online threats against U.S. President Biden who was set to be in the state of Utah on Wednesday.

Now, I'll read you one of the alleged online posts from the suspect. He wrote:

I hear Biden is coming to Utah. Digging out my old ghille suit (that refers to camouflage worn by snipers) and cleaning the dust off the M- 24 sniper rifle.

That post obviously very concerning to the U.S. Secret Service as well as the FBI.

A law enforcement source tells me that as FBI tactical agents tried to arrest the suspect, they were giving him commands when the suspect pointed a gun at the agents. One FBI agent opening fire fatally shooting that suspect.

Now this entire investigation began back in March when a social media company contacted the FBI regarding concerning material that they were seeing on their platform allegedly tied to this suspect. One particular threat was against the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. I'll read you part of that post. The suspect allegedly writing:

Heading to New York to fulfill my dream of eradicating another George Soros two-bit political hack D.A. I'll be waiting in the courthouse parking garage with my suppressed nine-millimeter to smoke a radical fool prosecutor that should never have been elected.

The suspect then went on to allegedly write in graphic detail how he would kill Manhattan's district attorney.

Now back in March the FBI confronted the suspect, he was under surveillance. But agents eventually approached him, brought up this online material. The suspect allegedly -- according to federal criminal completes -- telling the FBI that this was all a dream. He told them to come back when you have a warrant. That they did. Showing up at his residence Wednesday morning. Again, that suspect fatally shot after a law enforcement source says he pointed a gun at those agents. The FBI says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding that shooting. Has no further comment at this time.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Ecuador's president has declared a state of emergency and three days of national mourning after the brutal assassination of a presidential candidate. Six people have been arrested over the killing which appears to be caught on video. We're about to show you that footage. Of course, we need to warn you that it is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SEVERAL GUN SHOTS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:15:00]

NOBILO: At least 12 gunshots could be heard on that video which appears to show the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. Officials say that he was gunned down at a campaign event in the capital on Wednesday. The country's attorney general says security forces later exchanged fire with the suspect and he died in custody. Government officials say the presidential election will still be held on August 20th as scheduled.

U.S. officials and an aid organization in Haiti have welcomed the release of an American nurse and her daughter who were kidnapped near the Haitian capital last month. The aid group says that they were abducted from the organization's campus on July 27th, but it's still unclear who took them or why. A health worker from New Hampshire moved to Haiti, I'm told, to offer nursing care for her children. Now the group asked that no one contact the family while they process and heal from this terrifying ordeal.

Up next, new developments out of Ukraine where a massive drone attack is being reported. The latest in a live report coming up just ahead.

Plus, the Biden administration is set to tighten U.S. rules for doing business with China's high-tech industries. We'll explain why and Beijing's angry response in a live report from Hong Kong.

And later, a once-in-a-lifetime performance in Philadelphia. Pitcher Michael Lorenzen throws a no-hitter in his first home game with his new team. That remarkable moment is still ahead.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: We're following new developments out of Ukraine where the western region has of Rivne has suffered a massive drone attack overnight. A local official says an oil depot was destroyed but so far there's no word on casualties. Officials in Ukraine now say at least three people were killed and nine others injured in Russian attack on a residential area in the city of Zaporizhzhia. The same missile strike also destroyed a church and retail outlets. Following the attack the Ukrainian president reiterated his call for more air defenses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our entire territory needs much more air defenses than we have now. Step by step we are turning this much more into concrete capabilities of our air force, our anti-aircraft gunner, our mobile firing brigades. We are also preparing more specifics on modern fighters for our warriors. I have no doubt that F-16S will be in our skies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Meantime Ukraine's deputy defense minister says forces have achieved partial success on the southern front and are pushing forward in the direction of Bakhmut, Huliapole and Orikhiv.

CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me now to discuss this. Clare, this has been another night of lethal drone warfare.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is notable. Because obviously we know that drones attacking infrastructure is a well-worn strategy by Russia. We've seen it many times before. But Rivne region is where this so-called massive drone attack -- according to the Ukrainian head of that region -- happened is very far west. This is about a couple of hours drive maximum from the Polish border. Some 1,000 kilometers though from the front lines.

So look, we have seen attacks in the western region before, but they are less common. So I think this is made for -- in that regard and if you look at those images. That's the regional chief himself standing in front of this huge blaze. You can see why he's calling it a massive attack. He's saying that an oil depot was essentially destroyed. No casualties reported as of now. the Air Force saying that ten attack drones were launched from the northeast but they managed to overt seven of them. Still though a lot of damage.

And this comes after Russia is reporting this morning that a total of 13 drones were fired by Ukraine. Two of them towards the capital, Moscow. They were shot down by air defenses. Two more were shot down by air defenses near the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. And they say that nine more were averted using electronic warfare and crashed into the Black Sea. Ukraine isn't saying anything about this. But this comes just one day after another two, Russia says, were fired at Moscow. So this is happening with increasing regularity.

NOBILO: And another major concern when it comes to the Russia's invasion of Ukraine has always been the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. And we're now receiving word that there is further cause for concern.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, I mean, lest we forget, right, that Europe's biggest power plant literally sits on the frontlines of this conflict. The spokesperson for Energoatom, which is the Ukrainian state atomic energy company, saying this morning that they have lost their main high voltage power line. This isn't the first time this has happened. We've seen this happen before. And now relying on the lower voltage line. Which isn't the last line of defense. They still have generators after that. But the worry is that one of the six reactors is in a state of what's called hot shutdown. Which means it still requires cooling. It still a sign there's sort of nuclear fusion happening there.

The Russian company in charge -- as they've been occupying this for almost 18 months now -- says that they disconnected the lines for protection and the needs are being met by the lower voltage line. We haven't heard anything yet from the U.N.'s nuclear watch dog which has a presence at the plant.

NOBILO: We'll keep monitoring that closely. Clare Sebastian, thank you very much.

Now to a CNN exclusive. An up close and frightening look at an area of Ukraine's frontlines that no reporter had seen until our correspondent Nick Paton Walsh. We warned you that some of what you are about to see is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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 in dust. In the southern counteroffensive near Orikhiv, Ukraine has the initiative.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): Come on Dima, fire!

WALSH (voice-over): Yet they have to shoot their way forward round by round.

[04:25:00]

The Russians are just past the building on the horizon.

WALSH: Let's get moving guys. They're very anxious to leave.

WALSH (voice-over): We're the first journalist to reach this part of Ukraine's counteroffensive push south towards Robotyne.

WALSH: 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 had destroyed U.S. supplied Bradley armored vehicle.

WALSH: And this thick dust these tankers moving forwards to fire at Russian positions which they say are beginning to look in periled as Ukraine's 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 with 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 (translated text): They are wrong. We have successes. It depends on how fortified they are. Above all, don't underestimate the enemy.

WALSH (voice-over): 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 (translated text): Su-35 jet in the air.

WALSH (voice-over): We take cover in a basement. One day 20 rockets hit in as many minutes.

WALSH: The wait now is for what they think is another missile to come in and land.

WALSH (voiceover): The smell of death haunts the rubble where entire lives have been torn through.

WALSH: 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 a 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. 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 if 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 (translated text): 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 (voice-over): His family, his mother, they are in a temporarily occupied territories. They couldn't even come to the funeral.

WALSH (voice-over): Down here, deaf is far too close. And they seem to shut it out.

EUGENE (translated text): When they hit further than 100 meters away from us, we don't pay attention. If it's closer, we just laugh hysterically.

VLAD (translated text): I tell everybody, we will all die. But a bit later. Maybe in 50 years.

WALSH (voice-over): They need the war to end in months though, not years before nothing but dust is left.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Orikhiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Still to come residents on Maui run for their lives ...

[04:30:00]