Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Lahaina Wildfire Now Second Deadliest In The U.S. For Past Century; U.S. DOJ Proposes An Aggressive Timeline On Trump Charges; Republican Candidates Scramble To Catch Fire With Voters; U.N. Humanitarian Official Appalled By A Russian Strike On A Hotel Frequently Used By Various NGOs; Five Americans released from prison to house arrest; Spain beat Neatherlands 2-1 in quarterfinal thriller; Fatal FBI shooting in Utah not an isolated incident; "Rust" film armorer pleads not guilty to manslaughter; How "cop-watchers" are changing policing in the U.S.; Writer's Guild and studios to resume negotiations; Russia launches first lunar lander in 47 year; Virgin Galactic launches first tourists to edge of space; Actor Pedro Pescal misses art exhibit featuring him. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 11, 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]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN Newsroom --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: It looks like a war zone out there. It really looks like somebody came along and just bombed the whole town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Billions of dollars in losses, dozens dead, the scope of those devastating wildfires in Hawaii is becoming tragically clear. GOP presidential hopefuls campaign at the Iowa State Fair ahead of their first debate, while frontrunner Donald Trump refuses to comply with one requirement to qualify for the event. And, five Americans have been released from one of Iran's most notorious prisons, what it will take to bring them the rest of the way home.

VOICE-OVER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: The catastrophic wildfires scorching the Hawaiian island of Maui have now killed at least 53 people and it's feared that death toll will keep rising as emergency crews reach more areas turned to ash. Power and cell servers are still out in western Maui and the main tourist district of Lahaina which is making it difficult to determine how many people are still missing. The Hawaii governor estimates upwards of 1700 buildings there were destroyed. The Lahaina wildfire is now the second deadliest in the U.S. in the past century. And the governor says the fire is likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaiian history. One resident describes the terrifying moments of her escape. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAY WEDELIN-LEE, MAUI RESIDENT: Once the palm trees that are 40 feet up in the air was the flames hit that and the heat came and hit us in the face. It was like maybe like 50 to 100 yards away. You know we were like we got to go. So, we just ran and just panicked mode and just -- we wanted to stay together, let's stay together, but there was no time to wait for anybody.

Like, I just jumped in my truck and the smoke, it was 4 o'clock or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and it was pitch black. It was like it was nighttime. The smoke was so thick and so dark, and it was just panic. People were crying on the side of the road and begging, and it was a man. I'm never going to forget him as long as I live. He laid in the middle of the road and just cried and pleaded to Jesus that we were going to be safe, you know? It was --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Much of the fire is now contained. And U.S. President Joe Biden has greenlit a disaster declaration that will free up federal aid for Hawaii. CNN's Veronica Miracle reports from Maui.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: If anybody's still out there, it's time to go!

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chaos and panic as the relentless wildfires continue to ravage the Paradise Island of Maui, leaving loss and destruction in its wake.

UNKNOWN: Oh my god.

MIRACLE: Some residents escaping by boat, watching the flames engulf their town as they sailed away. Historic Lahaina essentially gone as the fire torched hundreds of houses, cars and businesses. We caught up with volunteers today in Kahului Harbor while they were loading up supplies to be taken to nearby Napili.

UNKNOWN: We've hit the fire. Bombs were so big. They were sucking oxygen out of the air. People were -- didn't have oxygen to breathe. I think this is an absolutely top-level national disaster. We've never seen anything like it. I've been here 32 years.

MIRACLE: The before and after images show the horrific scene left behind and fears of a rising death toll.

UNKNOWN: What we're seeing is just this widespread devastation across many different neighborhoods in Maui. MIRACLE: For some who escaped, like Florian Doyal, who was able to

get out with his kids and dog Bizu (ph) a feeling of guilt that he couldn't do more to help others.

FLORIAN DOYAL, ESCAPED FIRE IN MAUI: There's a lot of people -- more than 36 people that didn't make it. I tried to warn a lot as many people as I could. We tried. There was a lot of people like I think it's just like so chaotic that nobody knew there was no phone connections and as much as I was trying to save and let people know there was no options, I just had to go. I went and got my kids and now I got the news that there's like so many friends that --

MIRACLE: The Coast Guard pulled more than 50 people from the ocean who had jumped in to escape the flames.

UNKNOWN: Still got dead bodies in the water floating and on the seawall.

[02:05:00]

MIRACLE: Nearly 11,000 customers remain without power. More than 2000 residents are in shelters and thousands of travelers are still stranded on the island. The National Guard reports they dropped 150,000 gallons of water over the fires Wednesday to help suppress the flames and while the fires still rage on, the search and rescue efforts continue.

KENNETH HARRA, MAJOR GENERAL, ADJUTANT GENERAL, HAWAII DEFENSE DEPARTMENT: The primary focus is to save lives and then to prevent human suffering, and then mitigate great property loss.

MIRACLE: Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke toured the damage by helicopter, Wednesday, and was shocked by what she witnessed.

SYLVIA LUKE, HAWAII LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: It looked as if -- it's just -- the whole town was devastated.

MIRACLE: The one road into Lahaina remains closed. People can leave, but they cannot go back in. And others have been waiting on the side of the road, hoping that the moment this road opens up, they can go see their homes and their community. But the governor of Hawaii saying earlier today, he estimates about 80 percent of Lahaina has been decimated. There is a glimmer of good news. That fire that decimated Lahaina, it is now 80 percent contained. Firefighters have been able to make forward progress despite these conditions. Veronica Miracle, CNN, Maui, Hawaii.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Attorneys for Donald Trump and the special counsel will be in court in Washington in the coming hours. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin will hold a hearing on how to handle evidence in the election subversion case. She's also expected to weigh in on what Trump can say in public, especially in LIBA's inflammatory social media posts. Now, it comes as the Justice Department is proposing an aggressive timeline for the former president's trial on obstruction and conspiracy charges. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has details.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: The Justice Department now has their hopes for a trial schedule outlined in a new filing in federal court on Thursday for Donald Trump. What the Justice Department and the prosecutors want to do is they want to take Donald Trump to trial in this January 6th criminal case in federal court by January. They'd like to have jury selection in December and then the case kickoff with evidence being presented beginning on January 2nd of 2024.

Now, that is the date that Donald Trump and his lawyers are almost certainly going to be pushing back on quite harshly. They are not going to have to respond in court to it, to this, until next week. But when they do, they've already signaled that they're very likely going to want to claim that they have a lot of legal arguments to make that are not going to allow for a trial that quickly in four to five months from now, things about presidential immunity, things about the First Amendment.

Also, they've argued in other cases and here, that Donald Trump is quite a busy individual right now who's running for president. Not only is January and February going to bring about the beginning of voting in the 2024 primaries for president, he's going to be running there.

Iowa caucuses will be on the calendar. But also, there are other things he needs to do at the beginning of the year, including prepare for other trials, both lawsuits that are taking him to trial -- there's already one scheduled in mid-January. E. Jean Carroll, the columnist in New York, taking him to trial on a defamation case for the second time, and then other criminal trials that he's preparing for, now that he has been indicted multiple times in multiple courts.

So, that is going to get hashed out. It's not going to get hashed out right away, though. On Friday morning, there will be a court hearing in this case, the federal criminal case against Donald Trump related to the 2020 election. And in that hearing, it's going to be the first before federal judge Tanya Chutkin in the D.C. District Court. She's going to be talking to the lawyers about how evidence should be handled in this case.

There has been some dispute over that, how much Donald Trump actually will be able to share publicly as he learns information that the Justice Department gathered and they hand it over to him, so his team can prepare for trial. She's going to be determining that.

And she also may be responding to some of the things both Trump's lawyers and the Justice Department has said in court filings so far about his social media posts, that he has been quite aggressive on social media, talking about Mike Pence, talking about the judge, talking about the prosecutors, and so a lot to watch out for, exactly how the judge responds and what the tone will be in this very first hearing before the federal judge, who will oversee the trial of Donald Trump related to the 2020 election. Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Washington.

BRUNHUBER: The Iowa State Fair opened on Thursday and was the place to be for many Republican candidates still scrambling to catch fire with voters. GOP's first debate is less than two weeks out and the fair has always been a natural stumping ground for the reach large diverse crowds. Frontrunner Donald Trump is expected there on Saturday, but we still don't know if he plans to appear on the Milwaukee stage. So far, he's balked at the party's required loyalty pledge to endorse whoever the nominee turns out to be. Listen to this.

[02:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Four candidates, however, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley have taken the oath. Here's how DeSantis described it afterward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON DESANTIS, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I signed the pledge to support the team going forward in 2024. I always said that that's what you do. There's no way that I would ever just take my ball and go home and pout. You got to continue to fight and fight for what you believe in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right, for more on this, I want to bring in Ron Brownstein who is CNN's Senior Political Analyst and the Senior Editor for "The Atlantic", and he joins me from Los Angeles. Good to see you again, Ron. So, what's going to happen? Do you think -- Trump list debate -- I mean, he said essentially not only that he wouldn't support some of the other candidates but also he has nothing to gain by debating them.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, on the latter point, he's right at this point. And I think he also wants to make a point to Fox. I would be, I think most people would be surprised to see him there at this first debate and maybe even at the second debate that Fox is again hosting, Fox Business at the Reagan Library in September.

But I do think that once the debates move to the early caucus and primary states, the calculation will be different. People might remember that back in, right before the 2016 caucus in Iowa, he skipped a Fox debate in Iowa and held a counter-programming event. He said he was raising money for veterans that never seemed to pan out.

But he ended up losing the caucus somewhat surprisingly. I think he will feel more pressure to participate in the debates in those early states for which absence could be seen as a slight not only to the sponsors but to the voters. But on these early debates, I think he's going to make his -- I think most people believe he's going to make his point and, you know, keep his marbles and go home as Ron DeSantis said.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, so if he doesn't show, I mean, is that an opportunity then for the other candidates to sort of rise above the others free from the pull of Trump's gravity?

BROWNSTEIN: Interesting question. Well, look, there'll be fewer eyeballs on the debate. And ultimately, you know, this is a race about finding an argument against Donald Trump at this point. I mean, you know, the Republican, the other Republicans in the field, more or less, although, you know, certainly DeSantis has moved toward a little sharper criticism of Trump.

More or less, they're replicating the strategy of 2016, which was hoping somehow, some external event, you know, as I like to say, a meteor striking the earth, dislodges Trump's support in the Republican Party and they will be there to pick it up if they haven't alienated his voters in the meantime by talking too harshly to him or, you know, or challenging him directly.

That strategy didn't work in 2016. It's not working now. They ultimately have to give voters a better reason than they have done, so far, to bypass Trump. And we'll see whether with him not on the stage, they are willing to go further in that than they have him. But I think it'll kind of be a wet blanket over the whole debate if he's not there.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, I imagine. All right, so, let's talk about Iowa then the Republican candidates swamping the state fair. What's at stake for them? How important is this? And -- and do they actually have a window there? I mean Trump has a big lead there even though he's barely visited.

BROWNSTEIN: Necessary but not sufficient really applies to the Iowa caucus and the other Republican candidates. Necessary for one of them to beat Trump or post a very strong second, because if Trump wins that convincingly, it's very likely. I think people in the other campaigns even agree, to steamroll to the nomination. He's traditionally been stronger in New Hampshire than in Iowa, and if he wins Iowa and New Hampshire, he would likely win South Carolina, and, you know, someone who wins all three of those contests is not going to be beaten.

Not sufficient, however, because the last three winners of the Iowa caucus, Mike Huckabee in '08, Rick Santorum in '12, and Ted Cruz in 2016, did not win the Republican nomination. All of them failed to build a broad enough coalition. You can win Iowa by really digging in deep among the state's evangelical Christians, who are a significant majority of the Republican electorate there, but if you can't appeal beyond that, it's very hard to win the nomination.

So, I'll be looking for two things in Iowa, whether anyone can put a dent in Trump or beat him, which still seems possible in Iowa to me. But also, in the course of doing that, can they demonstrate the breath of appeal right out of the gate that will be necessary to beat him for the nomination.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, Ron DeSantis has been practically living there, but the polls and history, as you suggest, seem to be against him there. So, hanging over all of Iowa in a different way, the president's mounting legal problems is the court calendar, slowly starts to take shape as we heard there from Katelyn Polantz and the Justice Department trying to start one of his trials in early January possibly during the Iowa caucuses.

[02:15:00]

So, how distracting might all of this be for Trump's campaign and defending himself in court at the same time or conversely, how useful might it be for his reelection as a way to fire up his base?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, even no matter how politically powerful or popular you are, you can't be in two places at once, right? So, if in fact any of these trials do begin during the primary season, that's going to be a complication for Trump in one sense, that he's not going to be able to be out there in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina and the other early states.

On the other hand, as we have seen, he has been able to convince his electorate within the Republican coalition that this is all some, you know, multi-pronged, a conspiracy so vast to deny him the nomination. And if you can shift attention to that, it can benefit him, but I think there's a real cost for anyone in being on multiple criminal trials when they're trying to run for president.

BRUNHUBER: All right, it will be fascinating. Always appreciate your insights, Ron Brownstein. Thank you, so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian officials call it a miracle which saved children's lives during a Russian missile strike. Still ahead, a stroke of good luck that made the children leave the site of the attack just in time. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: The U.N. humanitarian official says she's appalled by a Russian strike on a hotel frequently used by the organization and various NGOs in Ukraine.

[02:20:00]

It happened on Thursday in the city of Zaporizhzhya. Ukraine says one person was killed and 16 others were wounded. The building also serves as a children's day camp, which closed for the day just an hour before the strike. In the northeast, Ukraine has ordered an evacuation of civilians from the city of Kupyansk, which is under Russian military pressure, while in the South, the frontlines are largely holding despite reports of heavy fighting amid Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive. Ukrainian officials say Moscow is now rushing reinforcements from Crimea while pulling back a lot of damaged military equipment.

For more on this, we're joined by Stuart Crawford, a Defense Analyst and a former Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army, and he's speaking with us from Edinburgh. Thanks so much for being here with us. So, we've been reporting that officials both inside and outside Ukraine now admit advances in the offensive are coming more slowly than they'd hoped. Why is that? What are some of the challenges that they're facing out there?

STUART CRAWFORD, DEFENSE ANALYST: Yes, good morning. The offensives are very, very slow indeed because basically, the Ukrainian armed forces in simple terms aren't strong enough yet and the Russian forces have had a considerable amount of time to prepare their defenses. And if you look at the map, we're talking about prepared defenses which in some places are 30 kilometers deep and it's a major and difficult operation of war to breach those defenses particularly when neither side has got air superiority.

BRUNHUBER: The Russians, they seem better at defending than they've been at attacking.

CRAWFORD: Yes, I think that's the case. I think historically, that's always been the case. The Russian military doctrine is very much top down, directed from above, whereas in Western circles, there's much more initiative allowed at junior levels of command, very much like the German model during the Second World War, which both the U.S. and Britain and other NATO allies have adopted. So, that's where we are at the moment. The Europeans aren't strong enough, and the Russians are too strong at the moment.

BRUNHUBER: Well, just to give one example of one of the challenges, for instance, when Ukrainians breach minefields, for instance, then the Russians can just sow them again. I mean, what effect does that have?

CRAWFORD: Well, I mean, absolutely right. Breaching a minefield is a very complex and difficult operation. And it's not just the engineers who go in first and clear the mines out of the way. They have to be protected both against ground fire and attack from the air. And once they clear a path through the minefield or a partial path through the minefield, the Russians have the capability of remotely delivering mines on the bit that's been cleared behind the engineers. So, it's incredibly complex and dangerous.

BRUNHUBER: And they apparently lack a lot of the equipment they need for preaching, as well. So, for Ukraine casualties are mounting, how big a worry is this in terms of their ongoing challenge regaining territory?

CRAWFORD: Well, it's a big challenge, I think, to be on the offensive of the classics of doctrine dictates that you have to have a superiority of at least three to one and preferably closer to five to one or six to one. And the Ukrainians just don't have that nor do they have the necessary training yet in what we call All Arms Combat above, say, company level. And that needs practice -- that needs -- it needs rehearsals, it needs meticulous planning and of course, you need lots of stuff because losses are bound to occur and they need to be replaced.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah and you mentioned air support. How big of a factor is that when it comes to the counteroffensive?

CRAWFORFD: Well, it's -- the Ukrainians are trying to basically breach Russian lines without air superiority either in space or time. And the downside of that is that the Russians have more aircraft equipped with longer range weaponry, which means that the Ukrainians have to move their anti-aircraft assets closer to the frontline, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to Russian fire. So, it really -- swings and roundabouts at the moment. And I can't see the stalemate being broken unless there's some dramatic development. And of course, the window of opportunity is always closing because the autumn rains will come and that basically means off-road maneuver is curtailed absolutely.

[02:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: Yeah and the window closing also because we've seen less popular support for, you know, giving money to the war in Ukraine, here in the U.S., as well. So, that adds another level of urgency, as well. Listen, we'll have to leave it there. Stuart Crawford, I really appreciate your insights. Thanks so much.

CRAWFORD: My pleasure. Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: All right, still ahead here on CNN Newsroom. The U.S. strikes a deal with Iran, a group of Americans released from one of the country's most notorious prisons. What Iran is getting in exchange. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: There has been a major development in the contentious relationship between the U.S. and Iran. Five Americans have been released from an Iranian prison and are now under house arrest according to one of their attorneys. We know the identities of three of the men declared by the state department to be wrongfully detained, a source says it could take weeks before they return to the U.S.. The deal calls for the U.S. to release $6 billion of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea, but that money can be used only for non sanctionable trade including food and medicine. More now from CNN's Kylie Atwood at the state department.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House confirming 5 Americans held by Iran are a step closer to freedom.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well good afternoon everyone.

ATWOOD: Freedom that, for the United States, will come out of price.

BLINKEN: My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare. And the nightmare that their families have experienced.

ATWOOD: Four Americans being moved out of Iran's notorious Evin Prison and joining a 5th under house arrest. Three of them, Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi have been held by Iran for years. Sources telling CNN, their full freedom is part of an elaborate multi national effort involving billions of dollars and a potential prisoner swap. Among those potential plans, giving Tehran easier access to $6 billion in Iranian funds, currently held in South Korea. A source familiar with the negotiations saying there would still be strict limitations on how that money could be used. For their part, Iran also said that 5 Iranian prisoners in the U.S. would be released as part of the deal. But the Biden administration still needs to finalize some details in the coming weeks, leaving plenty of room for something to go wrong.

JARED GENSER, LAWYER FOR SIAMAK NAMAZI: All we know now with any assurance is that they are out under house arrest, what happens next is anyone's guess.

ATWOOD: National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson called their move to house arrest, quote "An encouraging step", but said that the Biden administration will not rest until they are back in the U.S., calling ongoing negotiations delicate. Siamak Namazi is the longest held American prisoner. Arrested in 2015, and left behind in multiple deals between the U.S. and Iran that freed other Americans. His brother telling CNN this in 2021.

BABAK NAMAZI, BROTHER OF SIAMAK NAMAZI: Each time I saw lights at the end of the tunnel, it turned out to be a fast moving train, unfortunately.

ATWOOD: And Siamak was so desperate to get out that he courageously called CNN's Christiane Amanpour from behind bars earlier this year.

SIAMAK NAMAZI, DETAINED IN IRAN (on a call): Desperate times call for desperate measures.

ATWOOD: Kylie Atwood, CNN, The State Department.

BRUNHUBER: Next hour, Japan and Sweden go head to head in the 2nd quarter final match of the Women's World Cup. We will have a preview plus the highlights from the thrilling Spain Netherlands match when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:37:16]

BRUNHUBER: The Women's World Cup quarterfinals got off to a thrilling start earlier in New Zealand, Spain eliminated the Netherlands in extra time. Final score, 2 to 1. Next hour Japan and Sweden will fight for a chance to take on Spain in the semifinals. CNN's Amanda Davis is live for us in Auckland. Amanda, Sweden squeaked through their last match in the shootout win against the U.S., now facing Japan, maybe the best team so far in the tournament.

AMANDA DAVIS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, very much so. You're not the only person to say that about Japan, Kim. We are just under an hour from kickoff now here at Eden Park. The fans are arriving in their droves, they are very much in good spirits. I've seen a couple of vikings turn up, a giant panda has just walked past as well. People have reason to be excited because Japan, the team who scored more goals than any other in this tournament so far, 14, up against a Swedish side with one of the best defenses in this tournament, who as you rightly mentioned, knocked out the defending champions, the USA, in that incredible encounter in the last 16. It will be fascinating to see what impact that has had on this group of Sweden players perhaps physically, mentally, emotionally. Their captain, Kosovare Asllani, has said it has very much given her side confidence, and they will need that against this Japanese team who not only are a side in form but a side that many people say are looking for revenge, because it was Sweden who broke Japanese hearts on home soil at the Tokyo Olympics a couple of years ago. Knocking Japan out in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Women's Football Competition, as they went on to claim the silver medal. What both of these sides know is that this is arguably the best chance in a generation to potentially lift this Women's World Cup trophy. Something Japan did back in 2011 but Sweden have never managed to do. The side that will be waiting for them in the semifinal is Spain. Spain produced a bit of footballing history for them as a nation, a little bit earlier on, as you mentioned, in Wellington, knocking out the 2019 runners up, the Netherlands, 2-1. It was a game that had a bit of everything. This Spanish team so incredibly talented. Very much dominated possession. Dominated in front of goal. But for very long time, you feared they were going to rue their mischances, they just couldn't make the breakthrough with a fantastic performance in the Dutch goal from Daphne van Domselaar.

[02:40:12]

But ultimately, a mistake from a veteran Dutch defender saw a handball and penalty conceded, that saw Spain go ahead. But then Stefanie van der Gragt, in what has proved to be her final match in professional football, scored the equalizer that took the game into extra time. And then, it was 19-year-old Spanish talent, Salma Paralluelo, who scored not only her first ever World Cup goal, but the goal that puts her nation into the World Cup semifinal for the first time.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely thrilling. can't wait to see the next match. Amanda Davies in Auckland, New Zealand. Thank you so much. I'm Kim Brunhuber, for viewers in the U.S. and Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after the short break. For our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:33]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN NEWSROOM. The fatal FBI shooting of a Utah man on Wednesday is unsettling in its own right, but people in law enforcement say it is not an isolated case. Plots against political figures are up sharply in recent years. Some experts say the current political climate is making it worse. CNN's Brian Todd has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Law enforcement officials are now conducting a post incident review of a deadly confrontation in Utah. An FBI shooting response team launch from the agency's headquarters in Washington to the scene. On Wednesday, just hours before President Biden's visit to Utah, FBI agents approached a man named Craig Robertson at his home at the state. Robertson, court documents say, had made violent threats against the president and other democratic politicians. A law enforcement source tells CNN when FBI SWAT agents gave commands to Robertson, he pointed a gun at them and he was then shot and killed. In court documents, prosecutors say in one social media post, Robertson said, quote, "I hear Biden's coming to Utah. Digging out my old ghillie suit", which is a camouflage suit for snipers. And, quote, "Cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle". But if Robertson was just spouting off and he hadn't acted on any threats, why go in with force?

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: His comments about the president arriving in his area, preparing to take out his sniper rifle and engage in some sort of violence directed at the president of the United States, that is clearly beyond the pale. Those are actionable threats, and that's what brought the FBI to his door.

TODD (voice-over): Documents say Robertson had also made threats towards prosecutors who brought cases against former President Donald Trump. Like Attorney General Merrick Garland, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In one post, prosecutors say, Robertson wrote that he wanted to, quote, "Stand over Bragg and put a nice hole in his forehead with my 9 millimeter".

TODD (on camera): How much is the political climate in the United States these days fueling all of this?

MATT DOHERTY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SIKICH LLC: No question. And it gets difficult for law enforcement threat investigators to determine what is a real, serious posing of a threat, and what is a direct threat.

TODD (voice-over): investigators say, in march, FBI agents approach Robertson at his house about a social media post. He refused to speak to them, documents say, then afterwards posted a message to the FBI, saying, quote, "You have no idea how close your agents came to 'bang'".

MCCABE: Then he begins taunting the agents with multiple postings on social media telling them that he almost shot them that day.

TODD (voice-over): Part of a threat environment that is getting more alarming. Recently the U.S. Capitol police chief said threats against lawmakers had gone up more than 400 percent over the past 6 years.

DOHERTY: The rhetoric is rising, the threats are rising and for them to screen and figure out which resources go to which cases, it's just going to be critically important for that information. TODD (on camera): What concerns former Secret Service Special Agent Matt Doherty about what lies ahead is the possibility that those who mean harm to top officials might switch targets, realizing that someone like President Biden has several layers of protection, they might then refocus their plot on those who have less protection like some judges or members of congress. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: In New Mexico, the armorer for the movie Rust pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence according to court documents obtained by CNN. The charges filed earlier this year involve the deadly 2021 shooting of the film cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Production stopped once Hutchins was shot and killed after a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin fired live ammunition. Hannah Gutierrez Reed is now set to go on trial December sixth, the judge recently denied her attorney's motion to dismiss the manslaughter charges.

There is a growing movement in the U.S. of ordinary citizens filming police encounters and then sharing them online. activists say it is another way to hold law enforcement accountable. It's also causing some backlash and a string of new laws. Josh Campbell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: Back up.

UNKNOWN: I'm on a public sidewalk.

UNKNOWN: This is a traffic stop, you do not belong here.

UNKNOWN: I am far away.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's become a youtube staple. Cop watching.

UNKNOWN: Don't touch me.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): People are recording interactions between the police and the public, and then posting them online.

UNKNOWN: I can get them with another video.

CAMPBELL: Where they're racking up millions of views.

[02:50:04]

WILLIAM GUDE, POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY ACTIVIST: Having the film ourselves from a different perspective allows us to document the incident, document the misconduct and then from there we can take it to the public.

CAMPBELL: Cop watching, or First Amendment Auditing, is hardly a new trend.

UNKNOWN: Can I get your name and badge number?

CAMPBELL: But it's grown more prevalent in recent years after the 2020 video shot by a 17-year-old bystander captured the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer using excessive force.

GUDE: If it wasn't for somebody actually filming that incident, no officer would have been held accountable. It's powerful when we can actually show the public what happened, as opposed to a police narrative.

CAMPBELL: Cop watchers say their goal is to keep the police from overstepping, and to inform people of their rights. And while they rake in views, some are also making money.

UNKNOWN: Back at it once again --

CAMPBELL: From ads and subscriptions. But while critics say some cop watchers film in ways that are controversial or seen as aggressive towards law enforcement --

UNKNOWN: Am I obstructing the roadway?

UNKNOWN: You're in the roadway.

UNKNOWN: Am I obstructing it? That's the only law [bleep].

CAMPBELL: -- and could be increasing tensions between police and the public.

GUDE: I personally think i calm down the situation. When I show up, cops act differently. We all act differently when people are watching.

CAMPBELL: So you've arrived at a scene, started filming and seen a noticeable change in the posture of police?

GUDE: Every night. All the time.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I've reviewed a lot of video taken by citizens regarding police conduct, and it does give you a clearer picture of what actually took place.

CAMPBELL: Videos can be selectively edited, but when legitimate, offer a different view than an officer's body camera.

RAMSEY: As long as the officer's actions are consistent with their training, with their department policy and, most of all, are constitutional, then it is not a problem, at all.

CAMPBELL: In recent years, several states have tried to pass laws creating more physical distance between people and police. Last month a new law in Indiana went into effect ordering people to stay 25 feet back from police activity when asked. This week the ACLU sued on behalf of a citizen journalist saying that law violates his First Amendment right. The ACLU challenged an Arizona law last year that tried to make it illegal for people to record videos within eight feet of police activity. UNKNOWN: The first amendment allows me to do this --

CAMPBELL: That law was put on hold.

RAMSEY: People have a right to film the police, they don't have a right to interfere with police trying to do their jobs and making arrests. But they have every right in the world to film. That is just a fact and police officers have to adapt to it.

CAMPBELL (on camera): And even police officers who don't necessarily like being filmed have to understand that we're never going back to the days when filming wasn't as ubiquitous as today, because nearly every one of us carry a camera in our pocket. What is so interesting in covering this story was seeing the commonality between both the cop watchers and a lot of people in law enforcement. The cop watchers think that filming police encounters helps protect members of the public from having their rights violated, but even a lot of people in law enforcement think that filming can be beneficial, because if a police officer is wrongly accused of excessive force, the video may tell a different story. Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: U.S. screenwriters and Hollywood studios have agreed to meet in the coming hours to resume negotiations. That will be the first such meeting since writers went on strike, May second, crippling the entertainment industry. Both sides remain far apart on issues like pay and residuals. Actors are also on strike, in a statement, the writer's guild said, quote "Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal knowing the unified WGA membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies".

For the first time in 47 years, Russia has successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft to the moon. The Lunar 25 is expected to enter and orbit around Earth before transferring to a Lunar orbit, and then descend to the surface of the Moon. The Lunar and an Indian spacecraft that launched last month are both expected to land at the Moon's south pole on August 23rd. So, it is a race to see which country will land first.

More than a decade after it began selling tickets to space, Virgin Galactic has finally launched its first tourists to the edge of space. Have a look.

UNKNOWN: Five, three, two, one, release, release, release.

BRUNHUBER: The spacecraft, the SS Unity, traveled more than 80 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The altitude, the U.S. government considers to be the boundary of outer space. It carried three paying customers, a former olympian who is the second person with Parkinson's Disease to travel space, and a mother and daughter team who won their seats in a fundraising drawing. Let's listen.

KEISHA SCHAHAFF, TOURIST ON VIRGIN GALACTIC (voice-over): I was flying with my daughter and there was an ad that popped up. Would you like to become an astronaut? Would you like to go to space? I said yes.

BRUNHUBER: Now that Virgin Galactic is up and running it can begin tackling its lengthy backlog of purchased flights. About 800 customers have previously bought tickets, the prices of $450,000 each.

[02:55:08]

And before we go, one Hollywood actor is taking his botch trip to an art exhibit in England featuring works of himself, all in stride. Pedro Pascal of HBO's post apocalyptic drama The Last Of Us went to check out the Rhodes Gallery in the town of Margate, East of London. But he and two art podcasters with him discovered the gallery is closed on Sunday. So they snapped a selfie to mark the unsuccessful visit and posted it on social media. And the gallery owners say they are now rethinking their Sunday policy and plan to send Pascal a gift. I'm Kim Brunhuber, I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this short break. Please, do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00]