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Maui Reels As Dead Now Number 80, With Death Toll Climbing; Judge Warns Trump About "Inflammatory Remarks"; G7 Leaders Affirm Long-Term Support For Ukraine; Trump To Campaign At Iowa State Fair; Suspects Arrested In Ecuador Assassination; Hacker Competition Takes Aim At AI Apps. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired August 12, 2023 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from United States and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.
A return to homes that no longer exist. Residents of Hawaii's Lahaina are allowed to briefly return to the town that wildfires virtually wiped out.
The U.S. attorney leading the Hunter Biden criminal probe has now been given special counsel authority. What that could mean for the president's son and the president's reelection campaign.
And --
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HARRAK (voice-over): Adam Sandler casts his real life family in his latest comedy on Netflix.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.
HARRAK: There's word of yet another evacuation on Maui. The police department says there is a fire in West Maui and residents in the Kaanapali area are currently being evacuated. We're told the area was untouched by the initial wildfire.
That comes as a search for survivors is taking a bleak turn. Days after devastating wildfires tore through parts of the island, countless people remain unaccounted for. Cadaver dogs are sifting through the charred remains of homes and buildings.
And although the number of people confirmed dead stands at a grim 67, officials warn that figure will likely rise much higher in the coming days. Authorities predict it will take years to get the island back to where it was, with damage estimates running well into the billions. Thousands of people have been left homeless and in desperate need of
shelter after running from the flames, often with little more than the clothes on their backs.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We stepped out my front door and it was just this hundreds of feet of black smoke engulfing the town and it was everything I could do to just gather my kids and gather whatever I could in two minutes to get out of the house. I mean we ran out of the house with no shoes. It's just so much. It's a lot.
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HARRAK: Authorities have briefly reopened the main road leading into Lahaina so people could return to what is left of their homes but closed it again a short time later. Veronica Miracle reports the devastation in the area is hard to believe.
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CHIEF JOHN PELLETIER, MAUI POLICE: When the mayor said it's all gone, it's all gone. It's all gone. It's gone.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Unimaginable shock, an entire city burned completely to the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Devastation, everything gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody lost everything.
MIRACLE (voice-over): We surveyed the damage from above and the destruction is difficult to imagine.
MIRACLE: So the view from above, it's apocalyptic. You can see a row of cars clearly trying to make it out many of those stuck in accidents in a traffic jam on a one lane road. All of those cars reduced to ash.
MIRACLE (voice-over): Lahaina residents will be allowed back into the city today to see the destruction up close but not without a warning from the governor, who told a local TV station in Hawaii,
"I want to caution everyone, Lahaina is a devastated zone. They will see destruction like they've not seen in their lives. Everyone, please brace themselves as they go back."
As some may be able to return to their hometown, as many as 1,000 people are still missing and unaccounted for.
PELLETIER: Honestly, we don't know. And here's the challenge, there's no power. There's no internet. There's no radio coverage.
MIRACLE (voice-over): And there's fear the climbing death toll will go even higher, with more than 1,000 buildings destroyed.
PELLETIER: I do not know what the final number is going to be. And it's going to be horrible and tragic when we get that number.
MIRACLE (voice-over): Thousands are still displaced and thousands of travelers are still waiting to get off the island.
GRANT GIFILLIAN, AUSTRALIAN TOURIST: Yes, we're just visitors. We're leaving primarily because we're just using up food and resources that the locals need.
MIRACLE (voice-over): People remain without power and many have no water.
GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HI): We're talking about more than just days. We're talking about weeks to months, in some cases, to get energy fully restored.
MIRACLE (voice-over): And shelter space on the island is filling up quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're kind of at the limits in some of the essential Maui wants. And we'll have to be creative with our team after this, to try to get more for folks on the west side.
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MIRACLE (voice-over): As the reality of the situation sets in, so does the frustration with how it happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have tsunami warnings that I think should have been utilized. I think this could have been handled so much better in so many ways.
MIRACLE (voice-over): And questions are now starting to circulate among the people who inhabited this once paradise island.
Why weren't they warned sooner?
GREEN: I think that the tragedy would have been very difficult to anticipate, especially as it came in the night with high winds. But that does not mean that we won't do everything we can in the future to stop this.
MIRACLE (voice-over): Veronica Miracle, CNN, Maui, Hawaii.
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HARRAK: Dr. Reza Danesh is an emergency doctor who runs mobile medical clinic MODO Mobile Doctor. He joins us now from Maui.
Doctor, so good to have you with us. We've all seen the horrifying, heartbreaking scenes from the impacted areas ravaged by the wildfires.
Can you describe for us what the situation is like?
DR. REZA DANESH, MODO MOBILE DOCTOR: On the first day, second day or today?
Because each day has been different.
HARRAK: Go ahead.
DANESH: The first day was probably the most traumatic. I think nobody knew what we're dealing with, even the medical personnel. We all had warnings that there's going to be high winds and fires. I personally thought it's going to be some brushfires. We get those every now and then. Seems like we've been getting them annually.
Luckily I wasn't needing to evacuate. I woke up in the morning and just wasn't getting any news from Lahaina. Obviously the power lines were out. Cell phone signals weren't working. I got notified just through some EMS, emergency medical services people, paramedics, firefighters that did some runs over there.
And they're telling me they're seeing bodies on the ground. And I said this could be serious and had this gut feel that something could be wrong. I activated our team and started a nonprofit called MODO for the people, where we do MODO Mondays and we help on the island.
And I called in that team and got in my mobile unit, the little private ambulance I built out with everything in it, from oxygen, portable EKG, wound care, IV fluids. And we drove out to Lahaina.
And it felt like an atomic bomb went off when we got to ground zero and a apocalyptic like, kind of like COVID-19 but yet with just trauma and disaster and hot smoke and smells and fires. And just seeing the wounded kind of come out of the woodwork a bit little.
So we triaged a couple people, whether dehydration; started with some people who felt like they were starving. Some had hypothermia. I was just shocked to hear their stories. People had swam into the ocean and hung on for dear life. I've seen some of the footage that's very disturbing now that's coming out.
We had people that had eye issues, respiratory issues. The second day we went out, it was a little bit less but some people kind of congregated in our area. And I think that's the hard part. Some of these people don't want to leave. There's people still in tears, looking for their pets, their loved ones, very disturbing.
So each day it's like another scene and the island's doing its best with shelters. But I realize now we had a meeting or some of the higher-ups realized that we might have to go to them and I'm the only doctor that's been going to them because I'm a mobile setup and that's what I've done during COVID-19, house calls.
That's my specialty as an ER doc. I do concierge (ph) and (INAUDIBLE) calls but I help the people and this is like my calling. And that's what I do with my team. But there's still -- the roads aren't good.
They're still not letting -- I see the vision and the purpose that they wanted to have people come out of there and get to the shelters in the middle of the island. When I went there, I felt like I was stuck because some people have chronic medical conditions and their medication's gone.
Guess what?
I'm a doctor. I'm like, let me prescribe it for you.
Wait, how you going to get there?
Your car's gone. Wait, you don't even have gas. There's no gas on that side of the island. So there's nothing that can be done unless we have the resources. So we need them for the people. We need to take medicine to them.
That's what I think we need to start working on these next few days. And I think the Department of Health is on it and they'll go visit and adjust.
HARRAK: So Doctor, lots of very daunting challenges.
What is most needed right now?
What does the community in Lahaina need?
DANESH: I feel electricity, medicine, buildings; all these things are going to take months, weeks. You know, this is not just an acute disaster. A hurricane comes or a tornado comes and just goes. This is going to be a long time effect, everything from mental health to chronic illnesses. And we only have one hospital on this island.
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DANESH: And trying to limit these chronic conditions from being acute. That's my fear. My fear is these people have ran out of medicine. You can skip the medicine one day, two days depending on your condition. But at some point it's going to get worse.
And I'm hearing reports these people in their homes or at their families' homes who made it out but there's a whole area in Kaanapali, it's a whole different city outside of Lahaina and they have no electricity. I don't know how they're surviving for 3-4 days now without it.
We're doing runs; I'm delivering pizza, food and water and half the time I'm out there but I'm also doing medical work when I find people. We need to set up a center and advertise for these medical people to come to us.
Or we need to be there more to find out where we need to go because that's my problem. I feel like, with my team we're mobile and we're one or two vans looking and searching and, ground zero, I think most people have kind of come out and gone to shelters because there's no way you could survive there. There's nothing.
HARRAK: Our thoughts are with all the people impacted and with first responders like yourself, Doctor Reza, doing such important work. Dr. Reza Dinesh in Maui, thank you so much for speaking to us and sharing with us your experiences. DANESH: Thank you for having me. Have a good night.
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HARRAK: After five years of investigating Hunter Biden, the federal prosecutor in that case has been elevated to special counsel. Under those new powers, the investigation could expand into many other areas. CNN's Jenn Sullivan has the details.
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JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A surprising move in the ongoing probe against Hunter Biden. U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland announcing Friday David Weiss is special counsel in the case.
MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: It is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The president's son was charged with failing to pay more than $200,000 in taxes on more than $1.5 million in income back in 2017 and 2018 and illegally owning a gun at a time he was addicted to drugs.
Last month, Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors. In exchange, he'd not face jail time for the gun charge but the deal between the Justice Department and Hunter Biden fell through at the last moment.
The district judge called the deal confusing and not straightforward. Hunter Biden pled not guilty. The two parties continued negotiating but prosecutors finally said talks were at an impasse.
GARLAND: The appointment of Mr. Weiss reinforces for the American people the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): This means Weiss will have more power than a typical U.S. attorney.
GARLAND: Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The ongoing probe has drawn intense political scrutiny from Republicans arguing Hunter Biden was given a slap on the wrist because his father is president. It's the latest development further fueling political divide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he were a Republican, he'd be in jail by now.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): And Democrats firing back.
REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL), OVERSIGHT AND INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEES: Allegations of political bias don't seem to hold weight when Mr. Trump was ultimately in charge of the Justice Department and its handling of its investigation.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Now the criminal case will likely go to trial -- I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
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HARRAK: The federal judge presiding over the election subversion case against Donald Trump warned Trump's lawyers on Friday to avoid making inflammatory public statements about the trial or she may have to speed up the court date. CNN's Jessica Schneider has the details.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The case against Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., is moving rapidly and the judge in this case is really being firm on what Trump and his legal team can and cannot disclose about this case to the public.
So Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a protective order that lays out that Trump and his team cannot disclose any sensitive information given to them during this discovery process. That includes material about the grand jury or search warrants.
And she also issued several warnings to Trump. She noted that, even though he's running a political campaign, he still has to, in her words, yield to the administration of justice.
She said if that means that his political speech has to be somewhat limited, then that is how it's going to be. And she says she's going to be carefully scrutinizing statements from Trump and his team.
She says anything that can be interpreted to be intimidating to witnesses or prejudicial to potential jurors, it could really threaten the whole process in this case. So under all these terms, prosecutors said they're prepared to begin handing over material immediately.
That includes 11.6 million pages of documents. It includes hundreds of recordings of witness interviews, which Trump, of course, will be prohibited from disclosing publicly. And now we'll see how quickly this case can go to trial.
The prosecution already said they want it to start January 2nd. Trump's legal team has to propose their start date sometime next week. They'll likely propose it after the election in 2024.
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SCHNEIDER: But really at the rate the judge is moving, she might want to move closer to the prosecution's proposed January 2024 date. So we will see -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
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HARRAK: Just six months remain before the Iowa caucuses. And that's why Republican candidates are now at the annual state fair, hoping voters like what they hear. But it could be a hard sell, especially after Donald Trump arrives later today.
Plus Ukraine's president moves ahead with a major crackdown on corruption. How some officials reportedly made ill-gotten gains while recruiting troops for the front lines.
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HARRAK: As Ukraine fights brutal Russian aggression, its allies are starting to work on deterring any future incursion by Moscow. On Friday, G7 countries set their opening talks with Kyiv on how to build a military --
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HARRAK: -- capable of heading off a future Russian invasion. Meanwhile, about 1,000 Ukrainian Marines are returning home after six months of training in Britain. They were trained by British forces on how to storm beaches and conduct other amphibious operations.
And over in Washington, the White House says it's open to training Ukrainian F-16 pilots on U.S. soil. European countries are still putting together plans for that training. But the White House says the U.S. could step in if needed.
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ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Support Ukraine for as long as it takes. We've been eager to move forward with providing Ukraine that long term capability. And eager is a good word for it.
Our European allies are leading the effort but if the capacity for training in Europe is reached, we are certainly open to doing the training for Ukrainian pilots here in the United States.
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HARRAK: Meanwhile President Zelenskyy is announcing a crackdown on suspected corruption in Ukraine's military recruitment centers. For more, Salma Abdelaziz joins us now live from London.
Salma, a striking move by the president of Ukraine, clamping down on corruption.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Zelenskyy announcing all officials in charge of regional military recruitment offices have been dismissed amid widespread corruption allegations.
The fear is bribes were being taken; there was draft dodging occurring in these recruitment offices. Ukraine has long suffered from issues of corruption. But of course, it hits a deeper nerve, if you will, during a time of war.
President Zelenskyy taking a very strong approach to this, describing the allegations of corruption here as essentially high treason. Take a listen to what he said in his public announcement. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Some took cash, some took cryptocurrency, that's the only difference. The cynicism is the same everywhere. Illicit enrichments, legalization of illegally obtained funds, illegal benefit, illegal transportation of persons liable for military service across the border.
This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in times of war constitute treason.
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ABDELAZIZ: Ukraine has long suffered issues of allegations of corruption way before this conflict. It's part of the reason why President Zelenskyy came to power. It was part of his platform when he was running for president, that he would fight corruption. But he needs to take a tougher stance in a time of war.
This is not the first time since the start of the conflict there has been issues of corruption, allegations of corruption. Earlier this year, he had a major shake-up in his cabinet after there was yet another corruption scandal, I believe in January this year, over the procurement of wartime supplies among his own cabinet, among his own government.
This is, of course, concerning, not just for those families that are seeing dozens of soldiers dying on the front lines, that are seeing many men coming back wounded and hurt, but also very key to Ukraine's allies -- NATO, the United States -- who are providing billions of dollars in support and aid, to know that that money is being used rightly on those front lines.
HARRAK: Salma Abdelaziz, thank you very much.
Ahead, how and why did the wildfires on Maui spread so quickly?
A CNN meteorologist has the details in the latest forecast for Hawaii.
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HARRAK: Welcome back.
As rescue crews search for survivors in the devastation wrought by wildfires on the island of Maui, we're getting a better understanding of just how quickly the nightmare scenario played out.
Satellite images show the shocking before and after from the Lahaina fire, which, in a matter of hours, went from being seemingly extinguished to a raging inferno that claimed at least 67 lives. Desperate people caught off guard by the fire's quick and dramatic
spread ran in search of safety. A video on TikTok seems to show some of them wading into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. One survivor detailed the chaotic scene.
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RACHAEL ZIMMERMAN, MAUI RESIDENT: There were people jumping into the ocean, swimming to boats to try to escape the fire. There were people on the ground, crying, unsure where to go or not able to breathe because of the smoke.
And we were minutes away from that potentially being us. And it's just unbelievable to know that so many people have been lost and we don't know where they are.
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HARRAK: Winds are forecast to decrease across Maui on Saturday and a few scattered showers are possible. The devastating fires were fanned by a combination of strong winds and drier than usual conditions.
But how and why did the fire spread so quickly?
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HARRAK: In a state that's no stranger to devastating wildfires, California is using artificial intelligence to improve how fire departments detect and respond to blazes. CAL FIRE is connecting AI technology to a network of more than 1,000 cameras.
Instead of waiting for a 9-1-1 call to report flames, the department is alerted when the technology detects a fire inside of one of the rotating cameras. The AI is learning to detect wildfires more quickly and accurately, helping the department respond faster.
CAL FIRE hopes firefighters in places like Greece and Canada will be able to benefit from the technology as they fight devastating wildfires.
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SUZANN LEININGER, INTELLIGENCE SPECIALIST, CAL FIRE: I think it's 100 percent applicable throughout anywhere in the world, especially now that we're experiencing a lot larger and more frequent fire regimes. And with climate change, it's coming everywhere.
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HARRAK: Well, according to CAL FIRE, AI has already cut response times when every minute counts to keep flames from spreading.
(MUSIC PLAYING) HARRAK: Donald Trump will be campaigning at the Iowa State Fair later today, where he remains the frontrunner in a crowded race for the nomination. But he may have to tone down his usual rhetoric after a judge's warning not to make inflammatory statements. Here's a report from CNN's Kyung Lah.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The rides, the animals, the deep-fried everything.
Then add in more than a million visitors to the Iowa State Fair and you have the reason why presidential candidates are flipping pork burgers in the first-in-the-nation caucus state going to Iowans where they are is how they've traditionally won the caucuses --
MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R-FL), MIAMI, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Yes.
LAH: -- county by county, one voter at a time. As former vice president Mike Pence draws some attention, many pass right on by.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump was here, they'd be packed here, I think. If Trump goes to jail, then I'll change my mind.
LAH: Cooking in the rear of the pork tent.
CHARLIE JOHNSON, FARMER: Love it and put out the word for pork.
LAH: Iowa farmer Charlie Johnson, he's seen cycle after cycle of Republican candidates flip pork in his fair tent. This year, Johnson doesn't want the usual Iowa persuasion.
As far as moving you at all, is that even possible?
JOHNSON: No. I'm pretty well stacked where I'm at. Most people have got their minds already made up. Like I say, I know in my area, it's Trump country.
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DAVE PRICE, LONGTIME IOWA POLITICAL REPORTER: So different. We haven't experienced anything like this that I can think of because of Trump.
LAH: Dave Price has covered Iowa politics as a reporter for more than two decades, when Trump comes to the fair this weekend, he will skip the traditional soapbox and the interview with the state's popular Republican governor, writing his own rules and still leading in the polls.
What Price doesn't know is if that lead holds until January's caucuses.
PRICE: There is still concern from Republicans about, hey, we want to win in '24, we lost in '20, we want to win in '24. And is Trump really the guy to get the party there? LAH: At the fair's famed butter cow, you hear the party's divide and the role the indictments play, even among lifelong friends like these three Republican women.
Are the indictments changing how you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, because I do think a lot of that is for effect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of those are trumped up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't find the charges against him being trumped up at all. That's my opinion. And I believe in our judicial system. So I hope our judicial system holds together.
LAH: On Saturday, think of the Iowa State Fair as having its main event, at least politically. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump will both be here at the fair at around the same time.
And Trump will be bringing Florida state representatives to accompany him here at the fair. Not so much a decorum break there but think of it more as trolling to jab at DeSantis -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Des Moines, Iowa.
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HARRAK: Still ahead this hour, more pushback against potential military intervention in Niger. What protesters are saying about a regional bloc's decision to put troops on standby.
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HARRAK: We have this just in. Maui County officials in Hawaii say the death toll from the devastating fires there has now risen to at least 80. That's up from an earlier count of 67. Officials have warned that number will likely rise much higher in the coming days.
Supporters of Niger's coup staged a large protest against the regional bloc, ECOWAS, a day after it activated a standby force for a possible military intervention. On Friday, thousands of people condemned the bloc as they rallied near a French military base in the capital.
Many also demonstrated against France, saying the former colonial ruler should leave their country for good. CNN's Jim Bittermann joins us now live from the French capital.
ECOWAS' punitive measures are starting to bite. But a peaceful transition of power seems even more remote than ever.
Is France still backing a potential ECOWAS intervention in Niger? And is Paris at all worried by how deeply unpopular France now appears
to be among the population in Niger?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think France, at any cost, would love to see the situation stabilize and Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president in Niger reestablished in power.
And if that takes ECOWAS intervention, then I think they'd definitely be for it because they see this as an important base. They've got 1,500 soldiers based in Niger. And that base is the base that's been fighting terrorism across Western Africa in the Sahel.
The Americans, by the way, also have about 1,500 soldiers based in the northern part of the country. And so I think for Western interests anyway, they would love to see the situation stabilized. And we're watching very carefully what happens with this ECOWAS force.
They said earlier this week they would stand up what they call a standby force, put together a bunch of military from the various countries that are members of ECOWAS -- for example, Ivory Coast said they would donate perhaps 800 to 1,100 soldiers.
But they're meeting now in Ghana, trying to figure out the whole confused logistics of this operation, who's going to contribute what forces, how they're going to be supported, who's going to pay for it, all that sort of thing that has to be worked out.
So I think everybody is depending on them to take this first step, because the last thing the French want to see is a kind of the anti- French sentiment we saw yesterday at the demonstration in front of their military base there.
People were saying things like down with France, down with ECOWAS. We need Russia's help to get rid of these French monkeys, things like that. And they would like to get a little stability in the region and get the democratic authority to reestablish in power.
HARRAK: Jim Bittermann, thank you so much.
Now next to Ecuador; the shocking assassination of a presidential candidate has left the country deeply shaken and increased calls for better security.
On Friday, the slain politician's casket was taken to an exhibition hall so that more people could come and pay their final respects. He was then buried in a private ceremony. For the latest on the investigation, here's CNN's Rafael Romo in the capital.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: The Ecuadorian attorney general's office announced Friday they introduced what they call 22 elements of conviction against the suspects. By this, prosecutors mean evidence collected at the crime scene and
during raids carried out after the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. Investigators say they obtained witness testimony and ballistic tests.
They have also analyzed security camera videos in and around the crime scene. There was another crucial piece of information revealed by investigators. They say the autopsy shows the victim received long distance shots.
And they have been able to match shells to a rifle confiscated in the raids. All six suspects are Colombian nationals, according to authorities.
There was a seventh suspect who died after being shot by police, whose identity has not been revealed, although police said he had been previously arrested for gun possession in mid-June and later released.
In one of the raids, officials say they found the stolen vehicle that had multiple weapons in its trunk, including rifles, a submachine gun and four pistols and three grenades and four boxes of ammunition, containing 384 cartridges as well as two magazines.
Of course, many questions remain; among them, who was the mastermind of the attack. But given the information provided by authorities so far, it seems like this was a well planned and coordinated attack.
Late Friday night, five presidential candidates signed an agreement for the peace of the country. They're demanding a swift investigation and more resources to improve security in Ecuador.
Officials say a presidential debate scheduled for this Sunday and the presidential election for the following Sunday will still go on as planned -- Rafael Romo, CNN, Ecuador.
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HARRAK: Still ahead, a big test for the co-hosts of the Women's World Cup.
Can Australia overcome a more favored French team to reach the semifinals?
We'll have an update for you after the break.
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HARRAK: At the Women's World Cup, France is taking on co-host Australia this hour for a chance to advance to the semifinals. It's been an even match so far with both teams still searching for their first goal. CNN's Amanda Davies joins us now with more.
Give us some of your first impressions.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you I have a very nervous looking Australian cameraman just off shot. And he's not the only one here, Laila, at the fan fest. New Zealand may be out but there's a good 1,000 or so people here very much nervously watching and supporting their co-host, Australia.
As you mentioned, looking for a Women's World Cup semifinal for the first time and they know that they are not only looking to do that but also overturn the weight of recent history for Women's World Cup hosts.
The last four have all gone out at this stage, the quarterfinals. And Australia's opponents, France, know all about that because exactly that happened to them four years ago in 2019. They were beaten by the USA.
But France equally have said they knew exactly what they were walking into in Brisbane today, about 50,000 passes and support all decked out in the green and gold very much supporting the home side.
This Australia team have really galvanized the nation. There's billboards. There's airport signs supporting them. There's even talk of a public holiday if they are to make that semifinal next week.
As you rightly said, it is really, really tight. So there is nothing to split these two teams at the moment. This promises to be a fascinating 45 minutes.
The big question, will we see Sam Kerr come off the bench?
She's been there with a big smile on her face. She certainly looks ready for action but there is still that question mark about her fitness. What we know is that the winner of this one will face the winner of the other semifinal taking place in a few hours' time. England very much the favorites to progress from that one.
The European champions against Colombia in the semifinals of the Women's World Cup for the first time but England are going to have to do without Lauren James. She's suspended, has been so influential so far in this tournament. She scored three goals. She's made three goals in just four games.
This Colombia team are on a fairytale run and they know they are saying they're not only here to make history but they're doing it to earn respect and dignity for women who play football and around the world.
HARRAK: Amanda Davies in Auckland, New Zealand, enjoy the match. Thank you so much.
Now thousands of hackers are descending on Las Vegas this weekend for a competition taking aim at popular AI systems. The annual DEF CON hacking conference looks to expose critical vulnerabilities in the computer systems helping developers work out the flaws or bugs that could be used in a real attack.
The conference has the support of big tech companies like OpenAI, Google and Meta and even the backing of the White House.
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[03:55:00]
HARRAK: Now actor and comedian Adam Sandler is sharing the spotlight with his wife and real-life daughters, Sadie and Sunny, in his upcoming film "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah."
(VIDEO CLIP, "YOU ARE SO NOT INVITED TO MY BAT MITZVAH")
HARRAK: Well, Sunny stars as the seventh grader, Stacy, who is preparing for a blowout bat mitzvah, alongside her best friend, Lydia. But things go comically south when Lydia steals Stacy's crush. The movie is adapted from a 2005 book of the same name. It streams on Netflix later this month.
That does it for us. I'm Laila Harrak. Thanks so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'll see you tomorrow.
